HallAssRacing Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Hello everyone! I just joined so I could ask some questions but just by reading some of the posts I’ve been able to answer everything I’ve got at the moment. I have inherited this 34 which my father-in-law had sitting in his garage for about 38 years which he claimed was driven in the garage in order to “fix it up”. He never got the time to continue the project as he had a very demanding job as a minister for the deaf of several Southern California churches. So far I’ve just cleaned up the car inside and out, drained the oil (sludge), flushed the radiator, done some electrical repairs, and after putting in some second hand oil & pulling the plugs I managed to manually turn the motor with the hand crank. I thank you all in advance for all the questions I am sure to have going forward. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pont35cpe Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Great looking ol Pontiac, don`t see many 5 windows.. Damn, i should have gotten married, so i could inherit something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HallAssRacing Posted March 29, 2021 Author Share Posted March 29, 2021 Thanks pont35cpe, of the five windows all are good except for the windshield. It’s destroyed. Probably bashed by my ex-wife? LoL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kornkurt Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 I'll probably get in trouble with my POCI and Early Times Chapter friends, but this car should be made into a street-rod. If you try to restore this car to original showroom condition, you will have about 3-4 times as much invested as the car will be worth. Fire away with your thoughts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&J Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 8 hours ago, Kornkurt said: I'll probably get in trouble with my POCI and Early Times Chapter friends, but this car should be made into a street-rod. If you try to restore this car to original showroom condition, you will have about 3-4 times as much invested as the car will be worth. Fire away with your thoughts. I do get what you say about "showroom condition" costs, but he does have a very complete engine that should run. I would try to get it running and "driveway moving" first. He could then just "fix it up", rather than go showroom. The biggest issue is all wood framing. The first pic shows that the driver door has loose wood joints as it does not fit the curve of the rear panel. Maybe just needs regluing of the joints "IF" the wood pieces are still good, and if there is a way to get the horizontal pieces out to be able to re-glue each joint. That may be a real fight, but it's all labor, not spending any money except screws and marine glue, ......"if" it can be done on site with what tools he has. The car value would go up a lot if it ran and if the doors were fixed to fit and close good. He won't have very much invested for money at that point, if he had to sell it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 What shame it would be to street rod that. The paint costs are the same either way, factory wheels or mags are the same cost either way. I agree with Frank, get it running and do some minor stuff and see where it goes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pont35cpe Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Another cause on the door could be the diagonal rod is loose, lower horizontal wood piece rotted, and metal piece for rod becomes loose and has no tension. There was no window sweeps back then, which left a big gap for rain and trash to get inside, build up in the bottom of the door, rot the wood, and usually the lower 4" of the sheet metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARY F Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 I agree with F & J. Also before you try and start it , drop the pan. You wont believe the sludge in there and the oil pick up screen clogged. I did this on my 37 8 cyl Olds . That is how i know. Everyone else on here will agree. I also had valve lifters frozen which you can work out easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HallAssRacing Posted March 29, 2021 Author Share Posted March 29, 2021 19 hours ago, Kornkurt said: I'll probably get in trouble with my POCI and Early Times Chapter friends, but this car should be made into a street-rod. If you try to restore this car to original showroom condition, you will have about 3-4 times as much invested as the car will be worth. Fire away with your thoughts. I hear what you’re saying and against my father-in-law‘s wishes I would love to hot Rod this thing. Due to my permanent Covid vacation I’m not looking to drop a ton of money into it so I was just trying to get it up and running. I have no plans to sell it so I just wanna have some fun with it. When I got the car it was on four flat white wall tires on the original spoked rims. I put on a cheap set a tires and rims just to get it rolling up on my trailer. This thing has to weigh over 3000 pounds? The wood on the inside is going to be a challenge I already pulled out the seat since the rats had been living in the padding of the seats. I pulled out hundreds of very small tach nails that held the fabric in place to the seat frame and had to repair one corner of the frame as it was coming apart but it cleaned up real nice. There’s quite a few spots on the inside wood that seems to have flared out due to moisture maybe or just kind of come apart but fixable (I hope). Take a look at the wood lattice in the roof....it’s crumbling away.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HallAssRacing Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 From the top.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kornkurt Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Drop down to the December posts on this page and read about my 1934 Pontiac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HallAssRacing Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 17 hours ago, Kornkurt said: Drop down to the December posts on this page and read about my 1934 Pontiac. That post was actually one of the first ones I read when I joined the forum. You’ve got a great story behind that 34 and it sounds like you’ve put in some serious time getting her where she is now. Nice job. i’ve got the time, and i’ve got a toolbox as tall as me and has always had what I needed when working on my past 3 Chevy trucks and my 07 Harley FatBoy that I ride 3 to 4 times a week. What I don’t have is the knowledge about all the things to do and watch for when bringing this car back to life. Couple questions you mentioned a gravity fed gas tank supply to your carburetor... was that something homemade or is that something that’s out there? I tried to make one years ago but I never seemed to work right. What the hell is ETC? I worked for Robertshaw/Ranco for 32 years so to me that means electronic temperature control? today I have been trying to get all the old and crusty rods, levers, switches and whatever else lubricated and moving freely again. I have several springs that I just have no idea how they connect to the carburetor yet? I am hoping this 150 page shop manual is going to help me out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HallAssRacing Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 OK so I knew there was a lot of wood in the car but I had no idea there was this much.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HallAssRacing Posted April 1, 2021 Author Share Posted April 1, 2021 On 3/29/2021 at 2:29 PM, GARY F said: I agree with F & J. Also before you try and start it , drop the pan. You wont believe the sludge in there and the oil pick up screen clogged. I did this on my 37 8 cyl Olds . That is how i know. Everyone else on here will agree. I also had valve lifters frozen which you can work out easily. I plan to drop the pan before I try to start it. Thanks for the advice. I'd also like to get some new spark plug wires. Any recommendations? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kornkurt Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 Good place to get plug wires: The Brillman Company 2328 Pepper Rd Mt Jackson, Va 22842 540-477-4112 Good quality electrical parts and he owns a 1951 Pontiac. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 I made these with wire and terminals from Brillman. . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now