1931 CM6 first real drive!

[EThomas]

I got her back yesterday from the mechanical restoration and took her out today, as it was raining pretty hard when she was delivered. 
 

I took a video of her inaugural drive, in case folks are curious. I’ll update this later today or tomorrow with details of the difficult and expensive journey to get her here. In the meantime, enjoy! I guess it shows with enough determination, anything is possible.

 

 

[keiser31]

Beautiful car!

[31 LaSalle]

Love the car cant wait to here about your journey

[EThomas]

I’ll try to put this long post in some form of chronological order, while giving some history along the way. It sure has been quite the journey.

 

We bought the car in December of ‘22 from a consignment dealer as my Christmas present. It was being consigned from a collector who purchased it to go into his private collection the year before. The collector purchased it directly from a museum. So, the previous two owners displayed the car, one first in a public collection, the second in a private collection. When I asked the consigning dealer why the collector was selling the car, he said he decided he didn’t have the room and wanted to look at getting a Ford instead. Later, as we started really going thru the car, I now know exactly why the collector sold it.

 

I inspected the car and took it for a light test drive and everything seemed fine. Being a museum car, the cosmetics are stunning. There are no imperfections anywhere in the paint or upholstery. It truly does look like a brand new car with an odometer of less than 400 miles (keep this in mind as a key component down the road). The dealer said the car was freshly serviced and didn’t have any issues. Also keep in mind, my reference point for pre-war cars was a ’30 Ford Model A. Though I grew up on 60’s muscle cars and spun a fair amount of wrenches, I knew nothing about complicated pre-war cars, flat six motors or pre-war hydraulic brakes. Knowing what I know now, alarm bells would be going off based upon the power delivery, braking and overall ride. Anyway, that clarity comes down the road as this tale has its twists and turns.

 

After delivery in late January ’23, things started to get bad as I tried to drive the car. Real bad. Bad enough that I was terrified I had a 5-figure paperweight and got royally screwed over - which, in some ways, I did.

 

Eventually, somewhere around the end of Spring ’23 and the beginning of Summer ‘23, I got so frustrated that I threw in the towel and found a shop in Chicago to get the car running reliability and drivable. At that point, I thought it was just an engine servicing issue, as I had replaced all the fluids, greased the car, replaced the cooling hoses, flushed the radiator, replaced the plugs, replaced the plug wires and soft fuel lines. I also cleaned each and every electrical connection. I knew it needed new tires, as the ones on it were old. Oh, the naivety.

 

Shortly, after dropping off the car to the shop and after their initial inspection, I learned one of the reasons why it felt like the power was down. The brakes were binding and the front passenger side was locked. Before anything else could happen, that needed fixed. So, new drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, lines, master cylinder - the full nine yards. The bonus round of that issue was the hydraulic fluid had leaked everywhere, so the frame, battery tray and all the under body shields needed repainting. Great.

 

Then the tires and new tubes were installed.

 

Once that was done, it was on to the engine. First issue, the generator was bad and the bearings were locking up. Great. It went out for a rebuild.

 

Once that was back, there was an issue with the water pump and off it went to rebuild, only to find it couldn’t be rebuilt. Great. Now, I had a scramble to find a water pump to ship and get rebuilt. Thankfully, two members of this forum helped me out and I will forever be grateful for that. Once that was done, it seemed the car should be ok. The engine was running fine, the brakes were fixed and all the paint damage was taken care of.

 

I scheduled a time to pick it up and that was an absolute disaster. The car ran great; it just wouldn’t actually go anywhere - not even 15 feet. I asked for shake down drives of at least 50 miles before we called the car good. This car is not going to sit or just be back and forth on a trailer. It will be a semi-daily driver. Now is when the fun starts and all the bugs show up.

 

First break down, the carburetor needed rebuilt and it was shipped out. Great.

 

Second break down, the fuel lines needed replacement. Great.

 

Third break down, the gas tank needed boiling out, coated and repainted. Great.

 

Fourth break down, the grease points on the rear axels were incorrectly installed on the restoration, so new bearings were installed on each side due to lack of lubrication. Great.

 

It was as this point that I had a conversation with the shop. I asked about the quality of the restoration and why this was turning out the way it was. The shop said the restoration was fantastic – they estimated it had to be a six-figure restoration (they do Pebble Beach cars) as everything was top of the line, absolutely correct and 100% stock – but the issues didn’t make sense with the car being restored in the early 2000’s and sitting for two decades.

 

At this point, I decided to contact the museum owner directly and get the scoop. I’ll add that tidbit down at the bottom, as we’re still trying to get the car going.

 

Fifth break down, the entire fuel system needed cleaning again with an additional filter installed near the gas tank. Great.

 

Sixth break down, the carb float had a crack and needed repair. Great.

 

Seventh shakedown try. She passed with no issues. Finally!

 

Between the fifth and sixth break down, I contacted the museum owner to see what he could tell me about the car. The news was a little eye opening, to say the least. Turns out, the car was initially restored in the late 1980’s. The gentleman commissioning the restoration wanted to compete at all the concur shows. Unfortunately, his desires and his bank account didn’t align and he filed bankruptcy.

 

As part of the bankruptcy settlement, the car was repossessed and sold by the state of SC. In order to sell it, the car had to pass the annual SC state inspection (hence the 7/92 inspection sticker on the windshield). The museum owner bought it from the state of SC and displayed it ever since. He put less than 5 miles on the car from 1992 to selling it in ’21. The 300 and some odd miles on the car were shakedown miles from the initial restoration in the late 1980’s. Now it all made sense.

 

The car hadn’t sat for two decades; it had sat for almost three! I suspect the collector realized what it would cost to get the car into a drivable shape and decided to pass that little gem on.

 

I’m sure I’ve missed some of the minor details and repairs. At one point, I was overwhelmed and stressed, watching the cost rise and the progress slow. That said, at the end of the day, it’s been an adventure and an expensive lesson. I look at museum cars, trailered show cars and super low mile anything with a skeptical eye these days. I know that to get one to be a reliable daily driver will cost near the initial purchase price, as the outside can be pretty; but the mechanicals can suffer from neglect. I have the receipts.

 

That said, Alice (as she is affectionately known) is home. I’ve put over 150 miles on her between yesterday and today. She’s done great and will be going out and about, exploring the world and I’m sure our adventures will continue. 

Edited December 21, 2023 by EThomas (see edit history)

[keiser31]

WOW! That is quite the story.

[31 LaSalle]

What a journey put the experience behind you forget the cost and enjoy a beautiful car

[EThomas]

It's been an adventure. The focus now is making memories with family and friends. We've got a laundry list of things we want to do and Alice seems to be the perfect companion for them. All things said, I'd do it all over again - just with my eyes wide open the next time! LOL

Edited December 21, 2023 by EThomas (see edit history)