Projects Mild custom '51 Pontiac Chieftain

Old car bulbs are so dim compared to modern I just drive with high beams on the whole time and never get flashed by oncoming traffic. Recently I was out in a very dark, unlit neighborhood running highs only and came on a car that only after it passed did I realize it was a cop who did nothing. Even on high they are too dim so I ordered these but have yet to install.
Hella 7" Round E Code H4 Halogen Replacement Headlight Kit with Standard 60/55W H4 Bulbs

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FKIURK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

They are but with that comes intrinsic benefits.
Night vision is improved and seeing into the darker unlit areas is easier. There's less of a contrast between very brightly lit pavement and the periphery.
I have a modern vehicle with very precise optics in the headlights which produce very bright, even light on the highway with an incredibly sharp cutoff. So much so that anything outside the lit area is rendered near invisible.
A well aimed set of more dim lights is easier to drive on unlit road with oncoming traffic, I find.
Particularly so as I beefed up the car's wiring when I ran new wire, the bulbs are as bright as they can be; on the old harness they were noticeably more dim.

Phil

 

Might consider adding relays to fire those lights and take the strain off of the light switch.

 

I had considered it but with the stock lights, 70 watts is fine; the switch is easily capable of passing 4.8 Amps. I took the switch apart, cleaned it and reassembled with dielectric grease. The dimmer switch also is fine.
If I were to fit higher wattage bulbs, absolutely.

 

Nice Pontiac, lotta work... I had a 55 Pontiac Safari, complete, minus engine and trans, unrestored, pretty good condition , very minor rust(desert car). Those are very complicated cars. Not a simple car. I thought of it like a Cadillac with all the accessorize and do-hickeys. Would be very expensive and time consuming to restore

 

Started to clean the car, got as far as getting the front chrome clean and it started to rain. Oh well. Another day.

 

My '51 Ford, which has admittedly been pampered all of it's life and has the 6 volt sealed beams that were in it when I got it in 1987, has perfectly adequate lighting for night driving. I don't remember any difference between it and my "modern" cars.

 

Amusing parking lot interaction yesterday at the grocery store.

I'm just unlocking the car to get in and an older guy stood next to his pickup truck hollers at me: "What year that is?"
I reply back: "1951."
"Pontiac?"
"Yessir."
"Six?"
"Eight."
"Eight? I want to hear you start that up!"
"Sure thing."

I twist the key and push the starter, the car fires straight up and idles.

"You stalled it?"
"It's running."
"Man, that's quiet!"

Yup, the starter is louder than the engine, by quite a margin. Funny that people think it's going to be noisy.

 

Been practicing my MIG (gasless) welding for when the time comes.

Phil

 

I think I see "16GA" at the bottom of the picture. You're off to a better start than I had.

 

I did that on my 6V merc, plus 6v LED bulbs and it improved the lights dramatically, almost like a modern car now.

 

Yeah, the metal I found was either 22ga or 16ga. Well, we can go thicker rather than thinner. Takes longer to rust out.

 

I've just been driving driving driving.

Real nice weather yesterday and today. Hot, but the air is dry. Really strange to work outside in the sun, get in the car and have the breeze actually dry my shirt.

Seeing the sights from behind the wheel.

All the way through to sunset.

Got a new pair of rear shocks in the mail too. That should tame the rear end a bit.

Phil

 

I did my first true nighttime drive in my old '52 Stude pickup the other night, country roads, no streetlights anywhere. Quite a surprise, the headlights were sorta cross-eyed and focused about three feet in front of the truck. Custom canted '59 Chevy dual headlights, I hope there's enough adjustment in them to get where they need to be.

 

Fitted a new pair of shocks to the back tonight. Should've done that years ago, the right hand one was seized up.
By comparison these new ones are like driving a bedframe around, rides real nice now.
Differential nose seal is on the to-do list...

 

Is the rubber bit on the shock just a dust cover or does it do something else?

 

They look like the air assist dampers I have on my Chevy, very handy when you've got a large load t in the trunk or a few folks out back.

 

Bang on the nose, right there.
Yes. They're air assist shocks. Because they move quite a long way the dust cover is made into that big sock.
The springs are quite soft, so with the lowering blocks, even with the chassis notched it will still bottom out on the lovely smooth* highways we have around here if people sit in the back.
I can keep the correct altitude without discomfort. They're handy despite being less long lived than regular shocks.

Phil

 

Car was starting to look like I had just dragged it out of the field it had sat in for decades.

Got the roof and back end polished. Hopefully get the rest tomorrow after work.

Phil

 

Better now. Looks a bit more cared for.

Phil

 

Out and about today with friends.

Went had lunch at a nice place in Jean Lafitte, which is south of New Orleans.

Saw a bit of deep Louisiana scenery, which is you look carefully contains genuine alligator.

Scenery wise, there was even more up from the bridge.

Braved the Interstate highway through the city.

And ended up doing some groceries.

185 miles round trip. Bit of an Italian tune-up.

Phil

 

Hmmm. Feels like I've got a wheel bearing starting to get grumpy.

Need to put the car in the air and check that out.

 

Sure enough, fronts have too much lash.

I'll pull the drums off at lunch and check them, repack and refit if they're good.

Too many miles driven, I guess.

Phil

 

Yup, nipped up the bearing one flat. I think I was a bit too conservative when I tightened them up initially.
Used to needle roller bearings, which get mighty upset when they're too tight.

Phil

 

When I packed the bearings on my 53 Chieftain last spring I re read the manual 3 times thinking I was mis understanding it, but the procedure does have one really snug process for the bearings!! On the other hand the brake adjustment procedure calls for 14 clicks from contact but the pedal was way to low so I tried 7 clicks and the brakes are much better.

 

Yeah. It feels unnatural to tighten the bearings up as much as the manual states.
The brakes, same thing here. 14 clicks is a significant amount of clearance and I had the same problem. Glad it wasn't just me.

 

Phil, are you planning to make a showing at cruisin the coast this year?

 

I know there won't be much going on but I'm planning on coming across this Sunday if all goes well.

 

I had noticed in one of the photos that the mustache of the front grille wasn't lining up again on the driver's side, so I went out to adjust it.

Turns out a couple screws had fallen out! Replaced them and it's attached securely again now.

The front emblem had been looking a bit sad ever since the storm, I took it off because it was rattling; one of the rubber mounts had disintegrated. I replaced it with a new one.

Took the paint off and cleaned up the metal.

Redone quickly; I'll have to do it again because once I had taken the paint off I realized I only had flat black. Still, it's a bit tidier now.

Oil change, grease, clean, polish and tune-up tomorrow.

 

Looking good, I'm still followin' ya. Great stuff!