1921 Oldsmobile Model 46 - I ask myself, Why?

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

3 hours ago, TexRiv_63 said:

This is one of the best play-by-play restoration threads here, keep up the good work!

Yes, I agree. Between @Stude Light , @Lahti35 , @Matt Harwood and others their posts are the best illustrated and most educational. Thanks to them for the extra efforts put forth for us, the highly entertained!

Edited January 31, 2023 by Jeff Perkins / Mn (see edit history)

[Stude Light]

I decided to work on some easy things. I installed the new distributor driveshaft that Rusty Berg made for me (shown earlier in the post) along with the spring that keeps it engaged with the distributor but also allows for belt tensioning since the distributor moves up and down with the generator and adjustable mounting bracket to maintain proper belt tension. I will get into setting the timing once all the controls are in place. 

One of the few items I never got around to painting was my exhaust manifolds as I had loaned out my pint of paint. I got that back and painted them up. I used Bill Hirsch manifold paint on my Studebaker when I restored it some 7 years ago and it still looks great. 

I installed the intake and exhaust manifolds on the block and loosely installed the fasteners. It uses flat copper/"asbestos equivalent" crush washers and the bolts draw up both manifolds.

When complete it looks something like this

I installed the gaskets, then the aluminum intake crossover which has an exhaust port running across it to help vaporize the fuel. I had considered blocking the crossover off but never got around to it.

You have to leave the manifold fasteners loose until you fit the crossover on to get everything lined up. This was a lesson I learned after tighten stuff down and trying to get things to line up 😉. I decided I would gradually tighten everything down together. I was drawing up the last fastener on the intake crossover and heard a little "ping". Noooo! I few choice words were uttered.

I hate it when that happens! I think when I tried compressing the copper crush ring on the ID of the gasket (left one in photo below) I pulled down on the mounting ear too much as there is less gasket thickness where the bolts go. I will switch to a flat gasket next time (right one in photo).

That part will get a little welding repair and we'll see how dirty the aluminum casting is afterwards. Time to move on.

 

With the help of my wife on the jack, I was able to get the transmission installed. That wasn't too bad, although I have a funny feeling I'll be pulling it back off along with the clutch to maybe grind off some leather. I'm hoping I can get the clutch to release enough and it will burnish in and seat a bit farther in the tapered flywheel - we will see.

Next is the driveshaft and I can maybe start rewiring the car and install a new fuel line.

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by Stude Light (see edit history)

[Lahti35]

Looking good!

[chistech]

I hate those cracking sounds. In wood or metal, neither are good!😡

[Stude Light]

I took a few items to my friend, Aaron Rogahn, to get welded up and the aluminum intake crossover was one of them. Considering the porosity, occlusions, junk and oil found in these early aluminum castings, the weld came out pretty well.

While the TIG welder was fired up, I machined up some plugs and had Aaron weld the crossover ports shut. In the early 1920s, gasoline did not readily vaporize so the manufacturers found various solutions to heat the intake ports. Today's fuels readily vaporize so the added heat is not needed and reduces power so I was happy to eliminate this feature.

Since the copper crush seals around the intake and exhaust ports had been crushed and reused a few times, I decided to order some new ones. While waiting for those, I decided to mock everything up so I can get the Stewart Fuel Pump set to the correct height and plumbed up. Although the engine is bolted directly to the frame and the relative movement to the body should be small, I wanted to add some flex to those lines so added a loop to the copper 1/4" vacuum and 5/16" fuel delivery lines. Hopefully that will help reduce any propensity to work harden.

While I had some room to work, I was also able to set up the control rods and tweaked a few of them to get a better fit and clearances. I'm sure that over the last 100 years they had a few extra bends. There isn't a lot of clearance between the fuel pump, fuel lines and control rods to the exhaust crossover.

 

Now a question.....I have disassembled two of these Northway V8 engines and got a chance to look inside of a third engine (which is probably the latest model). What I found was baffles on the bottom of the cylinder bores. The picture below is looking between crank throws, up along a connecting rod and looking at the bottom of one of the 8 cylinder bores. I must assume these were installed to reduce the amount of oil thrown on the cylinder walls since the "oil control" ring and scraper rings were not all that capable. There is one on each of the 8 cylinders. I have never seen this before and was curious if other engines have baffles like this?

Edited February 8, 2023 by Stude Light (see edit history)

[Stude Light]

I decided to seal up and install the valve covers so took off everything I mocked up to make easy access. The valve covers only came with gaskets along the top and sides and I trimmed them to fit properly,

I decide to install these with Hylomar so I can get them off easily when comes time to adjust lash. The problem is what to do along the bottom. There is not enough room for a cork gasket which is what is needed due to varying gap thickness. I decided to use The Right Stuff so I applied a bead along the bottom of the valve cover but I really didn't want it to stick to the block as I know I'll need to adjust valves and it'll be a pain to clean off. The area I'm talking about is along the red line below.

So, I looked around the shop and found some Johnson's Stick Wax so I heated the surface a little with my heat gun and applied a thin skin of wax to that surface and dropped the covers in place. The idea is the sealant will fill the gap but the little layer of wax will keep it from really adhering well.

Next, I installed the starter. The Bendix unit needs to be removed first, then it is held in place (forward of the ring gear but behind the block) while the starter is slide in place in the bore while you line up the output shaft with the Bendix - bit of a pain by yourself.

You'll see a single bolt holds the starter in place. The bolt has a pointed end that fits into a conical recess in the starter housing. If you look closely, there is a hole in the center of the bolt. There is a path from that hole in the bolt to the front bushing on the starter. Below is a shot showing the location of the Bendix unit - starter housing on the left and cross frame on the right.

And where the bolt goes that you have to install when done that holds the Bendix unit on.

It is all pretty tight in that area.

 

[Stude Light]

Got my new gaskets so....Take Two

With the exhaust crossover ports blocked off, there was no need to add the copper seals that may have added stress on the aluminum intake crossover to pull them down.

Everything bolted down without any cracking noises 😀. I first bolted the carb to the intake crossover, then loosely attached the intake/exhaust bolts, then tightened the intake crossover to the intake manifolds, then tightened the intake/exhaust to the block, then added the exhaust Y-pipe.

The Y-Pipe is sealed by a special spacer that fits into a bevel in the Y-Pipe and compresses a copper flange gasket on the flat side.

When you pull it up to seal, it doesn't go flat. You have to keep yourself from over tightening these to avoid snapping an ear off the castings - so, just snug them up but not too tight.

I needed to find some coolant hoses to connect the water pump to the block. They are 1.06" ID with a 90 degree bend. I searched online but couldn't readily find anything so I went to the Gates website and found that they have a really nice and comprehensive listing of their molded hoses. 

https://www.gates.com/content/dam/gates/home/knowledge-center/resource-library/catalogs/gates-molded-coolant-hose-id-guide_web.pdf

 

I found a hose with the correct ID and that looked like something I could cut a section out of based on the photo.

They worked out well.

I also needed a new fuel line from the tank to the Stewart fuel pump. Originally, it was 1/4" soft copper so that is what I used. There was a short section with a special soldered tapered end that attaches to the tank so I kept that piece. I found a nice vintage Carter fuel filter and decided to use that. Made a new cork gasket for the bowl.

I found a good spot near the tank to mount it then ran a new line forward following the route the original line took and reused the same clamps.

You can see in a few photos up the fuel line coming up the firewall and attaching to the fuel pump.

 

Moving on to electrical cables....1/0 or larger is the way to go with these 6 volt systems and you'll have no issues. Please note below that battery connectors come in Positive and Negative hole sizes so they fit the top mount terminals correctly.

I soldered the new cables to each of the connectors. I reused the clamp that attaches to the starter lug.

I'll share a few of the specialty items I use for electrical.

 

First is the 3M linerless splicing tape. If you've never used this, do yourself a favor and buy a roll (electrical supply or online). I use this on my trailer wiring more than anything else but always find other uses. It stretches and sticks to itself and creates a water tight seal. You may even thank me someday for the advice. I ended up using a little under the cloth tape on the battery cables to build up the OD between the cable and battery clamps.

 

Next is the 3M Temflex cloth friction electrical tape. Looks just like what was used back in the day. It sticks well and stretches a bit. You can find it at Home Depot.

 

Last is the Carbon Conductive Grease. I use this on electrical connections that I want to keep corrosion out of....things like headlights, where they clamp on the crossbar and are supposed to make an electrical ground contact. I also use it on my ground bolt threads or other areas where a bulb socket interfaces with a bore and is supposed to have a ground path. It works well on the starter mounting areas too. Unlike regular grease, which is non-conductive and flammable, this stuff works to create conductivity, is non-flammable and keeps corrosion away. I've only found it online. A word of warning....it is like black ink (or carbon black) so doesn't readily clean out of your finger prints.

Rather than running the ground cable to the chassis, I decided to use one of the bolt holes on the starter mounting flange (this flange is not used). Rather than trying to work a good ground path back to the starter (the device that requires the highest current draw - 800 amps) I thought I would give the starter the maximum ground path and work the rest of the ground through the engine and mounts to ground the frame for the 20 amps or so that the lights need. 

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Stude Light (see edit history)

[Stude Light]

Looking for some clean work that would keep me off the ground one evening, I started on the ignition system.

 

The Delco distributor is interesting as it has two sets of points….not to help with dwell or coil saturation but to increase the ampacity by having two paths. Not sure what they were thinking as it’s just a coil with a resistance unit so amperage isn't that high. You do have to be very accurate to get the two points set just right to open simultaneously.

 

Step one was to set the point gap when on the high end of the cam lobe (max opening) to 0.020”.

With no indicator on the flywheel or front pulley there is no way to tell when #1 cylinder (right front) is at Top Dead Center (TDC). The primer cup holes are right over the top of the piston so I used a dial indicator to show when the piston just came to the top on the compression stroke. This is right at the point that the dial stops moving before reversing rotation. I paint marked the flywheel (TDC) at this point for future use.

Next, I loosened the screw that holds the distributor can in place. It is on a taper that goes into a split segment - you can see it in the first picture.

 

I hooked up my multimeter and set it to chime with continuity. I then placed the cam on the shaft and rotated it so that it just opens the points at TDC. You have to be careful setting this up so as not to have the spring/weight mechanical advance system rotate. You can feel the cam work against the springs rotating in the forward (clockwise) direction but it goes against the stop in the opposite direction. Held against that stop is where you want the points to just open. The Owners Manual says to set all this up with the timing controls on the steering wheel set 2” down from full up. This allows you to retard the spark (full up) if you need to hand start the car. Once set, I cranked the engine around and watched the dial indicator while listening to the multimeter and at the instant the dial indicator needle stopped moving, the points opened. Perfectly timed on the first try….that never happens.

I installed the the rotor and looked to see if it was lined up to one of the distributor cap terminals. Yes! The cap is numbered 1-8 and by total happenstance it was lined up with number 1! I was thinking I should go out and play Powerball.

Next I started adding the spark plug wires to the distributor cap. I needed an appropriate beer though.

The cap terminals are easy enough to connect up. Just strip about 1/4” of insulation off the spark plug wire and insert it in the hole.

Using a small screwdriver I bent the wire strands at 90 degrees.

Then screw the cap down over the distributor terminal.

I finished up all 8 and the coil wire.

I'll work on wiring up the car next.

 

Edited February 16, 2023 by Stude Light (see edit history)

[edinmass]

Everything looks exceptionally well done. Everything looks great. My one comment and concern is the cork oil float. It’s a compressed and chipped cork that was glued together. I recommend testing a similar cork in hot oil because of possible glue failure from temperature and most importantly over time. Personally I would not be comfortable with it. I was in the package store business for over forty years…….I have zero faith in that cork. It would keep me up at night worrying about it. I would switch over to a brass float. Haven’t seen a better thread here on overall details and great photos. Best, Ed.

[Stude Light]

23 hours ago, edinmass said:

Everything looks exceptionally well done. Everything looks great. My one comment and concern is the cork oil float. It’s a compressed and chipped cork that was glued together. I recommend testing a similar cork in hot oil because of possible glue failure from temperature and most importantly over time. Personally I would not be comfortable with it. I was in the package store business for over forty years…….I have zero faith in that cork. It would keep me up at night worrying about it. I would switch over to a brass float. Haven’t seen a better thread here on overall details and great photos. Best, Ed.

I thought that was the “end” grain structure as when I sliced it to get a flat side it looked a lot more uniform but you may be right. It’s easy enough to pull out. I could not find a 7/8” diameter brass float so I’ll just order some real cork and cut it to fit. Thanks for the feedback Ed.

 

[edinmass]

Tractor Supply has these in stock.......I would start with something like this. Best, Ed

[ericmac]

On 2/15/2023 at 7:24 PM, Stude Light said:

Looking for some clean work that would keep me off the ground one evening, I started on the ignition system.

 

The Delco distributor is interesting as it has two sets of points….not to help with dwell or coil saturation but to increase the ampacity by having two paths. Not sure what they were thinking as it’s just a coil with a resistance unit so amperage isn't that high. You do have to be very accurate to get the two points set just right to open simultaneously.

 

Step one was to set the point gap when on the high end of the cam lobe (max opening) to 0.020”.

With no indicator on the flywheel or front pulley there is no way to tell when #1 cylinder (right front) is at Top Dead Center (TDC). The primer cup holes are right over the top of the piston so I used a dial indicator to show when the piston just came to the top on the compression stroke. This is right at the point that the dial stops moving before reversing rotation. I paint marked the flywheel (TDC) at this point for future use.

Next, I loosened the screw that holds the distributor can in place. It is on a taper that goes into a split segment - you can see it in the first picture.

 

I hooked up my multimeter and set it to chime with continuity. I then placed the cam on the shaft and rotated it so that it just opens the points at TDC. You have to be careful setting this up so as not to have the spring/weight mechanical advance system rotate. You can feel the cam work against the springs rotating in the forward (clockwise) direction but it goes against the stop in the opposite direction. Held against that stop is where you want the points to just open. The Owners Manual says to set all this up with the timing controls on the steering wheel set 2” down from full up. This allows you to retard the spark (full up) if you need to hand start the car. Once set, I cranked the engine around and watched the dial indicator while listening to the multimeter and at the instant the dial indicator needle stopped moving, the points opened. Perfectly timed on the first try….that never happens.

I installed the the rotor and looked to see if it was lined up to one of the distributor cap terminals. Yes! The cap is numbered 1-8 and by total happenstance it was lined up with number 1! I was thinking I should go out and play Powerball.

Next I started adding the spark plug wires to the distributor cap. I needed an appropriate beer though.

The cap terminals are easy enough to connect up. Just strip about 1/4” of insulation off the spark plug wire and insert it in the hole.

Using a small screwdriver I bent the wire strands at 90 degrees.

Then screw the cap down over the distributor terminal.

I finished up all 8 and the coil wire.

I'll work on wiring up the car next.

 

Good choice of beer there Sco tt. Great explanation of your work.

[Stude Light]

On 1/26/2023 at 9:17 PM, Stude Light said:

For the pan to spacer gasket I used Hylomar.

Hylomar is some great stuff but is hard to find. It is only cut by acetone but allows you to reuse gaskets so works well for oil pans and valve covers (things that get opened up occasionally) .

Okay, every now and then I screw up and I think maybe I have provided bad advice. I’ve used Hylomar in the past on smaller gaskets without a problem as it is supposed to be non-hardening and non-setting. I used it on the oil pan gasket on my 1939 LaSalle and let me tell you, it did not come off easily today. Maybe it was the specific gasket material but this is what it looked like after removing it.And this is how I got it off….I had to pound razor knife refills into the gasket from the side like this.

So maybe stick with nothing or The Right Stuff.

 

I just got back from a 3 week vacation so I’ll start working on the car again although I started another project on my LaSalle which will take a bit of time.

[Stude Light]

On 2/15/2023 at 7:50 PM, edinmass said:

Everything looks exceptionally well done. Everything looks great. My one comment and concern is the cork oil float. It’s a compressed and chipped cork that was glued together. I recommend testing a similar cork in hot oil because of possible glue failure from temperature and most importantly over time. Personally I would not be comfortable with it. I was in the package store business for over forty years…….I have zero faith in that cork. It would keep me up at night worrying about it. I would switch over to a brass float. Haven’t seen a better thread here on overall details and great photos. Best, Ed.

Finally got some time to get working on the car again. I pulled the oil level float and Ed is correct as it looks like agglomerated cork (ground and glued). Looking below, the cork on left is similar to what I originally used, although mine was even coarser which just looked like grain structure to me. The center is a micro grind and easy to spot, right side is natural cork, which is what I should have been using.

So, thank you @edinmass for spotting that and preventing a possible failure. That's a great thing about this forum....there are people with all types of background, including packaging which might just include being a wine cork aficionado.

 

I could not find a brass float that I could get through the access hole in the oil pan so I ended up with cork again only I used pure virgin cork as was originally used. Reading up on cork, it has some amazing properties so I have no concern about it holding up. About a month ago I dropped the oil pan in the Model 46 at the RE Olds Museum and it had its original cork float which was in great condition still. That car also has the original gauge that converts the up down movement of the float rod to an arc needle movement - forgot to take a picture though.

 

I installed all the water port covers in the heads. The gaskets are pretty simple to make but these are from the gasket set from Olson's.

I used The Right Stuff on the gaskets but used Permatex #2 on the bolt threads and this is why. The bolts go into a blind threaded hole in the heads but that area is filled with coolant. When I took this engine apart I had to drill a couple of those out as they were seized due to corrosion. I figured I would seal the threads so coolant doesn't end up in the threaded cavity and cause the same issue for some future owner.

First, I coated each side of the gasket with The Right Stuff and stuck it in place - oops, maybe a bit too heavy on this first one. The sealant will fill the pitting on the casting.

Next I installed the cover but added a a little sealant where the copper bolt gasket seals to ensure a leak-free joint.

Bolted down

But I like a cleaner looking job so took a paper towel and wiped up the excess. My wife wonders why we never seem to have enough paper towels in the house 😉

It's like wiping your copper plumbing solder joints....not required but gives a lot nicer looking job when done. All done. You may notice that all those fasteners in the photo below were made on a lathe.

 

[Lahti35]

1 hour ago, Stude Light said:

You may notice that all those fasteners in the photo below were made on a lathe.

Same thing on my '25 Nash. Must have been a long monotonous work at the lathe making bolts day in and day out...

 

Looking good!

[Stude Light]

I decided to remove all the wiring in the car. I have a schematic but also went through each connection on the main switch (which are all numbered) and made notes for each connection. Since I’ll be adding a brake light, turn signals and a spotlight, I will have to make a few modifications.

When you look at the pile, there isn’t that many wires.

The main switch is the hub for everything and also contains the cutout relay for the generator.

You’ll notice in the above photo that I also removed the speedometer. When I was reaching behind the dash I found that the speedo input was seized. So….

The rotating magnet was seized on the bearing and the input drive gear wasn’t looking too good.

I could not figure out how to get the bearing shaft out of the rotating magnet. When I restored the one on my 1923 Studebaker it has two thrust ball bearings….this one looks like a bushing design. After some cursing, WD40, brakleen, marvel mystery oil and finally some gun oil, I’m happy to report it is all freed up. I saved some parts from my Stewart speedometer used in the Studebaker and found those.

And found a good input gear

It is all back together and appears to work fine. As long as I didn’t accidentally bend anything, stretch any springs or move a setting maybe it’ll read correctly.

Worst case is I’ll have to pull it back out and adjust it. I had to do this with my Studebaker speedometer since I played with the internals a lot. On that car I worked out the gear speeds, Speedo input speed and correlated that back to vehicle speed, then used the various fixed speeds on my combo lathe/mill and dialed the speedometer in with the 3 adjustments available. This is what that looked like

If I’m lucky I won’t have to repeat that work for this one.
 

I’m currently working up the new wiring plan and need to start mounting all the electrical components like the horn, headlights, stop lamps, tail light, turn signal switch and turn signal lights.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Stude Light (see edit history)

[Stude Light]

The only light the car had in the back was a modern trailer light for a tail light. The original tail light was a simple round red light with the lens held in by a wire spring clip. It had a side facing lens to light the license plate and was held by two fasteners. I could not locate an original but I found something almost identical except it only uses a single center fastener. I also wanted some type of vintage stop light (yes, like the one I gave to my friend Rusty a while back) and found one, presumably from a vintage motorcycle, which I purchased fairly reasonably ($75). I mounted the stop light to the tail light and am happy with the setup. I'll end up adding a removable "Brakelighter" LED light bar for touring.

With these parts procured and a vintage turn signal system (patent date 1918), I laid out all the ancillary electrical components to see what I had for connectors and started working on each component.

Each headlight has 4 different bakelite connectors, which get rather fragile with time. Some time ago, a friend gave me a coffee tin full of these style connectors, so with some time, and a bit of JB Weld, I was able to put together exactly what I need. The cowl lamps will be updated with a dual filament bulb to allow for their normal function and to add turn signals. You can see those new connectors in the middle of the above photo. I started pulling wires (cloth and armor based on what was there originally) and decided to go with the used looking turn signal box so it matched the condition of the car better. I still has the original cloth wires which are in great shape so I was able to use those and used cloth friction tape to run them down the steering column giving it the look it might have had if added back in the day - nothing fancy and no zip ties.

I'll just start with the headlights and work my way back.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Stude Light (see edit history)

[Stude Light]

Multitasking and skipping around the car....

The wood under the driver's seat was rotted around the battery box.

I removed the rotted boards.

My friend, Mike Walters, is a great woodworker and set me up with some new southern yellow pine that he planed and cut to length.

Between some stain, paint and dirt, I got them to a similar color and am working on installing them.

 

The rubber on the bottom of the windshield was petrified. Using a small screwdriver and a pick, I painstakingly removed the rubber from the T-slot - a very slow and messy process.

Restoration Supply sells a decent replacement and I installed that.

I also got the petrified rubber off the glass between the upper and lower windshields and installed a new piece there. 

After examining it, I think whomever installed it before had it oriented wrong (as I had it installed above) so I reversed it so the upward pointing lip is on the outside of the glass.

 

[Stude Light]

I keep picking away at the electrical - rather tedious work and waiting on a few parts but also working on other stuff.

 

I finished up the wood repair. Between stain, paint and dirt, I got it somewhat matched. I need to make a new battery box.

Since I am running all the wires, I needed to install the speedometer cable too, but I had to clean it up. This is a link style speedometer drive so I pulled the links and soaked them in solvent and got them cleaned up. Next, was the housing. I grabbed my rifle cleaning rod and an appropriate sized brush which tuned out to be a .40 caliber pistol brush. After many cleaning patches and half a can of Brakleen, I got it pretty clean.

The link design is interesting. Each link is easily removed from the others but the housing holds them from coming apart. 

One word of warning....these links are hardened. I tried closing the gap a bit on one using a vice and it immediately cracked so don't do that. A little TIG weld cured the mistake.

Since my past experience has been with spiral cable speedometer drives, I wasn't sure the best lube to use. I posted in the technical area asking advice for the best lubricant for these link drive designs. Once I get the cable put back together, I'll install it so I can get the toe board installed.

[Stude Light]

It's been a while since I posted.....the weather got nice and my priorities changed. FYI - I ended up lubing the speedometer drive (above) with a combination of grease and engine assembly lube. I'm sure it will be fine.

 

I had to build a new battery box and I couldn't find any thin steel angle without making a special trip so I just used aluminum plus it's a lot easier to work with. I picked up what I needed at Home Depot and cut and bent everything to fit in the opening under the seat.

Providing a hand rolled Cuban cigar and some ground "bourbon" flavored coffee I picked up in Tennessee, I enticed my friend Aaron to do a little TIG welding. He did a great job welding all the miter joints and supports. Afterwards, I painted the frame.

It fit in the access hole perfectly. If you notice it sits an inch or two above the exhaust pipe.

I cut a piece of sheet metal and painted it with a reflective high temperature silver and dropped it in the bottom.

Next came a piece of painted wood (a little insulation if you will) and the box is completed.

[Stude Light]

I am almost done with all the wiring. It is rather boring to look at and tedious work but here you go if interested in some photos.  I tried to use the same materials, routing, support, etc., although I did add a stop light, turn signals and a Removable LED Brakelighter Bar for touring.

 

The car came with a vintage spotlight/ side mirror so I rewired it and reinstalled it.

I ran my primary ground to the starter then from there I ran a 10 gauge wire back to the original frame ground and another 10 gauge ground wire up to the dashboard to tie in all the ancillary equipment up there.

Here is the main switch with all the various wires. As mentioned earlier, I used cloth and armored cable and 3M friction tape which replicates the original tape used. All connectors are soldered....none of the crimp on connectors.

The headlamps had an interesting Tee split to drop a wire to the right lamp while the run continued to the left. First, the main wire was stripped and the branch wire was wrapped around the main.

Then it was soldered.

Then the armor was tightened up and it was all taped well.

BTW. I'm laying on my back on a creeper trying to reach up in hard to get places doing this. After all this, a protective metal piece is secured over the Tee fitting and then it is tucked away in the frame rail.

I wanted to make it like it was originally. The wires then go up to feed the headlights.

I was able to use all the original bakelight connectors in the headlight assemblies.

 

This is a wire bundle I ran to the rear.

Now I was able to reinstall all the floorboards

Edited April 14, 2023 by Stude Light (see edit history)

[Stude Light]

I cleaned up all the radiator inlets and outlets, applied JB Weld to fill in the pits then sanded things smooth and painted them.

With that all done, I installed the radiator.

[Stude Light]

I finished up the wiring finally. Here is a shot of all the lights in the back on at once. The vintage turn signal switch also allows for a hazard operation and I was able to capture both the vintage turn signals (1918 patent date) lit. I plan to mount the Brakelighter in the rear window eventually.

The hand windshield wiper that came with the car was in a womped out hole in the windshield frame so I opened it up slightly to a 3/8" diameter and fit this bushing that the arm fits in perfectly.

Not much of a windshield to wipe but at least will afford a small hole to peer out of.

 

Next, I installed the hood lace. I cleaned the paint first (what little there is) so when done you shouldn't see a discolored line.

I start using an awl to punch a hole in the hood lace (centered) and in the correct location to match the hole in the body.

You need to watch the end of the awl to prevent from puncturing the fuel line, radiator, etc. 😉. Next, insert the split rivet.

I then took a screwdriver and spread the rivet slightly.

I got this hand rivet tool from my friend Aaron. It has square handles though which are not that comfortable.

Place the tool and squeeze hard.

This is what the rivet looks like from below after using the tool.

I didn't use a handtool when I did my 1923 Studebaker (actually couldn't anyway) so I had made an end for my airchisel that is shaped like the rivet head.

To really pull up the split rivets tight I used the air chisel and bucked it with a piece of steel.

It pulls the head down tight and flattens the bottom side. It will go flat if you turn up the air pressure on the air chisel which I did on others.

After the first rivet is done, pull on the hood lace and line up for the next one.

And keep going until done.

[Stude Light]

Last night, I filled the radiator with RO water, engine got it's 5 + quarts of oil, I filled the Stewart fuel pump and added about 5 gallons of fresh gasoline to the fuel tank. Amazingly, I only had one small leak of fuel at one of the flare fittings going to the carb. I was able to tighten that fitting a little and problem solved. Over night there were no leaks....yeah! That hardly ever happens, at least for me.

 

I bought a new battery and installed it today and rechecked all the electrical - all good. I was out in the shop tinkering with a few items and my wife came out asking how things were going. I decided it was now or never so I got in, put it in neutral, set the parking brake, pulled the choke, retarded the throttle and stepped on the starter button. After a 3 second crank, the engine roared to life. I'll have to say that we were both amazed. I jumped out and immediately shot this short video.

 

As it was running I noticed that a few of the spark plugs were wiggling around. Of all things I forgot to tighten! I had just run them in finger tight. Took care of that issue. It runs really well and smooth with no adjustments - and good oil pressure at 25 psi.

 

 

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

Good to hear it running. Why did you use RO water?  I prefer to use soft water and antifreeze. Mike

[Stude Light]

3 hours ago, Mike "Hubbie" Stearns said:

Good to hear it running. Why did you use RO water?  I prefer to use soft water and antifreeze. Mike

After verifying no leaks, I was adding in No-Rosion. They recommend RO water as it is the purest you can get. I use No-Rosion in all my cars and have 8 years experience with it now.

This car will be running water/No-Rosion as a coolant as does my 1923 Studebaker as they are both in a heated building in the winter. I replaced the coolant in my Stude after 5 years and it looked like the day I put it in.

The benefit of glycol is freeze protection and higher boiling point  (and corrosion protection with the additives) but it is a 20% drop in heat transfer ability and will ruin your paint if hot plus it breaks down and forms acids over time, especially in an open system. Water is a much better option for me.

 

I use 20% glycol with No-Rosion in my 1939 LaSalle as I run it later in the year.

Edited April 15, 2023 by Stude Light (see edit history)

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

That’s fine with me. I just know the purer water gets, the more aggressive it gets. Water likes to have something in it. Mike

[TexRiv_63]

That engine looks and sounds great!

[Stude Light]

I pumped up the tires and took the car out for a little driving. The clutch is still a bit tight. It has a clutch brake so if you stomp it to the floor, you can get it in gear while the engine is running but the shifts are a bit tough. It's getting better after a bit of driving and slipping the clutch a touch. The engine has a lot of torque and can run down to about 5 mph. It easily runs up to 40 mph but being a fresh rebuild, I'm mostly running to about 30 mph and down to 10 mph and going with various throttle inputs to break in the cylinders. Good oil pressure at 25 psi.

 

First and second gear have plenty of gear whine/rattle but if you keep the engine revs down it's not too bad. The car steers and tracks nicely and stops really well. I'm pretty happy with it. Just working through little issues. Oh, the speedmeter lasted about 3 miles before it locked up and broke a link on the drive chain - oh well, I tried. Until I get it fixed, I have my phone app for speed 🙂.

 

The weather has been very warm in Michigan this week so I took the opportunity to get a few cars out but primarily focused on the Olds.

Most importantly though, after a few engine thermal cycles, I retorqued all the head bolts, exhaust manifolds and intake/exhaust manifold to head mounts. It's amazing how much relaxing goes on with all those gaskets after the first few runs. I'll do this a few more times. Need to order some tires on Monday and get rid of the vintage whitewalls.

Edited April 16, 2023 by Stude Light (see edit history)

[ericmac]

Looks fantastic Scott. I've really enjoyed watching your progress on this one. You really do a magnificent job explaining your work process. 

[Grimy]

16 hours ago, Stude Light said:

t has a clutch brake so if you stomp it to the floor, you can get it in gear while the engine is running but the shifts are a bit tough. It's getting better after a bit of driving and slipping the clutch a touch.

On my two cars with clutch brakes (1918 Pierce 48-B-5 and 1925 Pierce 80), the clutch brake is activated by pushing the clutch all the way to the toeboard, and is used ONLY when the car is at rest, i.e., going into first or reverse.  While shifting underway, I avoid the clutch brake by depressing the clutch pedal to a point 1 inch shy of the toeboard.  That takes some getting used to if I've driven non-clutch-brake cars in the interim.

Edited April 16, 2023 by Grimy
clarified by adding a phrase (see edit history)

[Stude Light]

7 hours ago, Grimy said:

On my two cars with clutch brakes (1918 Pierce 48-B-5 and 1925 Pierce 80), the clutch brake is activated by pushing the clutch all the way to the toeboard, and is used ONLY when the car is at rest, i.e., going into first or reverse.  While shifting underway, I avoid the clutch brake by depressing the clutch pedal to a point 1 inch shy of the toeboard.  That takes some getting used to if I've driven non-clutch-brake cars in the interim.

That's exactly how I have to drive my Studebaker Light Six. You're right, as when you go a little too far down you are sure to get clash since you just stopped the input gear. With the Olds, I had to use the clutch brake to add some friction to stop the clutch from turning just to shift into gear at an idle, otherwise I had to start the engine while in gear with the clutch depressed. After a little driving though, the high spots of the leather facing (the raised areas of leather around the rivet heads) are wearing off so it gets better after each drive.

 

I have a few more things to do on this car so I'll keep posting those updates.

Scott

 

[nickelroadster]

Doing great!  I only hope my 44 will run and sound that good.

[Stude Light]

I've been putting a few miles on the car and working through little issues. I have about 10 miles on it now and I'm happy to report that the clutch is working very nicely, well, let's just say nicely for a cone clutch.

 

I took it out for an evening drive today and used the low beam lights. I got back and neither light was working. I started checking the switch and wires and thought "I'll check the brand new bulbs". Yep, both failed in a few miles. These were a couple of 32 CP 1680 bulbs I tagged on an order from Restoration Supply - they must be getting their bulbs from China. I just replaced them with a couple of 21 CP 1129 bulbs I had laying around. Speaking of bulbs, for my front turn signals, I just repurposed the cowl lamps with a dual filament bulb and the only place I could find the ones I needed was on eBay from England. They are 6 V and have a 3 CP element (cowl light) and a 21 CP element (turn signal).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/363482190448

 

Everything was good under hood so I dumped the water I had in the system, added new RO water and added 2 pints of No-Rosion Cooling System Corrosion Inhibitor. Then I put the hood on.

I was getting worried that I forgot to add oil as I had no leaks but it is now properly marking its territory - primarily engine and trans output shafts as it has no seals and only slingers.

 

When I set the timing on the car I had to use a dial indicator to find TDC so I marked the rear of the flywheel with some paint marks at the time. When I was driving, I was getting some coughing when accelerating and a little miss at higher speed driving and advancing spark most of the way solved the problem so I was thinking the spark was off a bit. I put on the timing light and sure enough, using the marks I made it was retarded with the spark lever all the way up which should fire at TDC so I corrected that problem and solved the miss and cough issues.

 

A friend has a combustion analyzer that we can use to tune the carburetor air adjustments on this Ball and Ball carb in the near future.

 

I ordered new tires from Universal and they are being shipped from Coker so I'm guessing those two companies work together on these vintage tires. I'm supposed to get them tomorrow (Friday) which means it's time to remove all the tires on the car. I'm debating on having the 5 rims sandblasted and powder coated (~$375 and two weeks) or just use rattle can paint which would probably better match the condition of the car. I guess I'll make that decision tomorrow.

 

I'm also picking up a connecting rod I had resized for my LaSalle tomorrow and need to put that engine back together so that may delay working on the Olds.

 

 

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

I would rattle can the rims as it would look more correct than powder coat. Plus it’s easier to repair any chips that may happen when you change the tires. Mike

[Stude Light]

I removed all the wheels and started breaking them down. You can only collapse these rims so far before the locking tab hits the valve stem.

So you have to spiral the rims out a bit to get the tires off. You can see part of the tool I used to collapse the rim in the background.

I got all the tires removed from the rims and decided to drop them off at my local powder coat company but just to have them sandblasted as I will be painting them.

All the new tires, tubes and hardware showed up so I need to unwrap all the tires and clean all the tire mold release compound off them. Speaking of release compound, any suggestions on what works best? I've used mineral spirits or naphtha in the past.

[Stude Light]

While waiting for my rims to get sandblasted, I decided to check out my front spindle bearings. I pulled the wheel and found that, like my LaSalle, this car uses angular contact ball bearings. Unlike my LaSalle, the bearing balls are huge!

 

Angular contact ball bearings are typically more expensive than tapered roller bearings but have a lower rolling resistance which is why they are typically used in premium applications. I'm not sure why Olds decided on these bearings vs tapered roller bearings. I surmise that, since Timken was the premier supplier of tapered roller bearings and still held the patent and GM had acquired New Departure just a few years earlier in 1916, that Olds used the best solution from New Departure.

 

After removing the spindle nut (LH thread on the left side of the car and RH thread on the right side), I pulled the wheel. You can see the felt seal and bearing balls for the inner bearing.

These are all the bearing balls. 3/4" on the inners and 9/16" on the outers. Talk about overkill!

I found a few balls were spalled. Ball metallurgy and quality control was not the best.

Luckily, all the bearing races looked great - both left and right side

Besides the spalled ones, a number of the bearing balls just did not look pristine so, I decide to just buy all new bearing balls from McMaster-Carr (about $35 cost).

 

One of my assignments when working at GM was leading a group of technical specialists for designing new front and rear axles for their full-size trucks and one of those folks was a bearing expert. I learned a lot about bearings during that program. One thing that kind of puzzles me is that when designing the preload used on axle gear pinions, the axial load is rather high, like 1000 pounds axial force or sometimes more. Then add the several thousand pounds if separating forces from the gear loads. The pinion uses tapered roller bearings or angular contact ball bearings. The preload is high because when the axle heats up and the housing expands causing the distance between the bearings to increase, you need to maintain a positive preload - no lash. When the axle is cold the preload is really high, they relaxes as the axle gets to operating temperature but never loses all of its preload.
 

So, why on spindle bearings are they set with virtually no preload? Hubs don't really get hot like a an axle housing but the bearings can take a significant amount of preload.

 

When I set them up, I usually crank the spindle nuts down to ensure everything is seated, then back off until loose. Then I tighten to remove all the play and set just a slight preload. If I can't get the cotter pin lined up, I will always go tighter than zero play while I find a lot of others get worried about any preload at all and they go loose. It really helps to understand bearing capabilities to avoid having end play in the bearings as that will cause damage. You would really have to tighten the spindle nut down to cause the bearings to overheat and fail.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Stude Light (see edit history)

[Bloo]

I never worked in the engineering end of things, but tapered roller bearings would rather have no preload as far as I know, and that's how they were usually set up in the drum brake days, from what I can remember. Preload for tapered roller bearings (on front wheels) came along with disc brakes when any slop at all resulted in pad knockback and a lower pedal.

 

New Departure front wheel bearings (balls) have always wanted a little preload as far as I know. What you are suggesting above is exactly what New Departure recommended for their wheel bearings in this document from 1952.

 

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/manuals/1952sbb/52bb12.htm

 

 

[Stude Light]

2 minutes ago, Bloo said:

 

I never worked in the engineering end of things, but tapered roller bearings would rather have no preload as far as I know, and that's how they were usually set up in the drum brake days, from what I can remember.

 

You sure load them up I on an axle application. Preload does cause more drag so I guess without the need for the added preload there is no reason to increase drag. My point was adding a little preload won’t hurt and it’s better than running loose with end play.

[Bloo]

In a rear axle I think it has more to do with the extreme forces involved and trying to keep the pinion from being able to push the ring far enough away to overstress a tooth and break it. Differential carriers bend more than you would ever expect, so they preload the snot out of them. I remember reading an interview with the owner or Randy's Ring and Pinion (a nationwide ring and pinion supplier) where he said he didn't think it was possible to put too much preload on carrier bearings. I'm not sure if he meant some specific differential or not, I suspect not. I've seen modified Land Rover diffs that have a bolt head that the back of the ring gear hits (on purpose!) under stress to prevent the ring moving far enough away from the pinion to break the teeth. I still think tapered rollers would like a tiny bit of slop, but they are so tough it may not matter. I seem to recall that rear wheel bearings (tapered rollers) in Chrysler products ran about .023-.031" slop, cumulative for both sides to allow for the expansion of the axle shafts. Those were packed with grease once when new and almost never failed.