gwells Posted August 29 Share Posted August 29 I work and volunteer at a train museum here in the greater Atlanta area and we have a 1935 Pontiac done up as a taxicab. Car has been sitting for more than five years and we'd like to get it running again. It was running well some time in the not-to-distant past. First problem we have encountered is that the lug nuts on one of the front wheels are rusted to the studs and everything just spins, so they can't be removed. I wasn't present when this work was being done and haven't seen the shop manual we actually have, but wondered if any of you Pontiac gurus have some insight into how we might resolve this problem. My first thought was to soak the nuts and studs for a week or so with Kroil or something similar and then hit 'em with a big impact gun. Long shot but might work. TIA in advance for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwells Posted August 29 Author Share Posted August 29 Heck, I just realized that this thing is a 1935 Pontiac, not a 1937 as the museum has it labeled, at least based on images I have searched up. Am I correct? Original post edited to correct year. Post edit: the museum did have the car's year correct in the display. Dunno why I was thinking it was labeled '37, creeping senility most likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted August 29 Share Posted August 29 (edited) 1935. Left side of car has left hand threads. Don't break any studs on the left side or you will have a really expensive and time-consuming problem. Edited August 30 by Bloo (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwells Posted August 29 Author Share Posted August 29 Thanks, Bloo. Any advice as to whether we may have problems with the brakes because it has been sitting so long? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Is it a Deluxe? It may not matter for what you asked but there are some differences in the brakes. The big important difference between the "Standard", sometimes called "Master" and the Deluxe is that the Deluxe has a Chevrolet-like Dubonnet suspension and the Standard/Master has a straight axle. All Eights are Deluxes, while Sixes can be either Deluxe or Standard/Master. Pontiac marketed the straight axle cars as "Standard" for part or maybe all of 1935, and "Master" in 1936. By 1937 they were calling all the 1935-36 straight axle cars "Master" in the parts catalog. This explains the confusion you are likely to run into ordering parts. You should at least bleed out the system enough that you have all fresh fluid, and look for leaks. Brake fluid rots. Get the old stuff out of there. If it were me, I would probably put new rubber in the system, especially if you don't know how old the rubber is. The brake hoses are at NAPA, but they are not cataloged there for your Pontiac. The oldest Chevrolet pickup they list (might have been a 1950 3/4 ton) uses the same brake hose in the back. This Chevrolet back hose is the same as all 3 hoses on a 35-36 Pontiac Standard/Master. Probably Deluxe too, but I am a little less sure of that. The back one is definitely the same. Compare old hoses to be sure. If it were me, I would hone out the cylinders and rebuild them, sleeving them if necessary due to rust damage. I believe the master cylinder rebuild kit is the same for many years, maybe even all the way to 1954? The master cylinder itself is not likely to be. The wheel cylinders use 1" cups all the way around on one version (Master/Standard or Deluxe). On the other version it is 1" cups on two cylinders and 15/16" on the other two. I am not near my books and can't remember offhand which is which. I had a wheel cylinder piston stick on a trip once, and would like it a lot better if the cylinders had been lightly honed recently and the pistons and cups all lubed up with Sil-Glyde. These are Bendix servo-action (floating anchor) brakes very similar to ones used as recently as the 1970s on some cars. One major difference is that there are more adjustments like an adjustable top anchor and if I remember correctly, maybe a stop on one shoe. If you are not overhauling the brakes and putting on new linings, it is best to stick to just adjusting the star wheel to compensate for wear. If it is all screwed up though, or you change linings, you can use a feeler gauge to check and adjust (it's in the shop manual). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 When did Pontiac adopt hydraulic brakes? I know 1936 was the first year for Buick. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 1935 Pontiacs definitely had hydraulic brakes. I don't really think 1934 Pontiacs did, but I'm not sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 (edited) On 8/30/2024 at 12:19 AM, Bloo said: 1935 Pontiacs definitely had hydraulic brakes. I don't really think 1934 Pontiacs did, but I'm not sure. Correct. Chevrolet, the next year. Edited September 6 by Pfeil (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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