Hot Rods Making the Unexpected '34 my own

Scored one yesterday!

 

That’s so awesome!! Would be suuuuuper handy now that we bought a wall clock and I picked up a set of 56 Olds headlight cut offs, a set of 56 Chrysler grille bars and a new 34 dash this weekend. Full load going back home. Lol

 

Love it

 

Well, other than driving it the hour and a half home when we bought it, made the maiden road trip to the Stray Kat this weekend. The car did fine, other than wanting to run hotter than I think it should. Stopped a few times to cool it off, but never blew its top, so that's good.



Had it loaded pretty full, but the back seat holds a surprising amount of stuff....spare, jack, tools, wash bucket (which turned out to be handy to splash cool water through the radiator lol), a '52 Chevy grille and another one in parts for @RMONTY, a couple of chairs and luggage. @guthriesmith brought me the banjo wheel he posted a few posts back (sadly, it doesn't fit my column, so we couldn't install it....we were all bummed), the show sign Steve Stanford painted for Lee for the Impala and the car cover Lee had for it. I also picked up a set of '56 Olds headlight cut offs a set of '56 Chrysler grille bars Dave Faust cut off his 56 Tbird to put on mine and an original '34 dash to install, so plenty full load on the way home as well.



Before we bought the car and were still thinking about it, Michelle said the first thing that has to go is the steering wheel and it needs more pinstripes. Of course, I totally agree, so got some more stripes added while we were there. Give a custom guy a hot rod and he's sure to screw it up doing custom things to it. LOL It already had the little bit on the gas tank cover, so Josh added some blue to it to blend it in with the new.









The new banjo wheel was supposed to fit a GM column, but turned out to fit and original Ford column, so have to regroup on that. Offended by the remaining billet, @BigJoeArt couldn't even look in the direction of the car...



Was a great weekend getting to see everyone. Winter is always too long and the SK is a welcome time to finally get to see everyone again after months apart. I always tell Michelle it's sad all our friends live at least 4 hours away. LOL

Was also cool to get to see @atch and @winduptoy win awards.





All in all a great weekend, perfect weather and most of all, great people and wonderful friends. Now I get to sort out the cooling issue. Behaving like it has too low of a thermostat, or a bad one or not one even at all. Timing checked out ok, so that shouldn't be the problem. Could also be the gauge is inaccurate or maybe a failing water pump. I'm going to go ahead and drain the system, replace the thermostat, check the hoses, put in the new gauge set, and maybe replace the water pump as long as it's all drained down. I figure a shot gun approach might fix it and I'll never be sure exactly which one was the problem. LOL

 

That pinstriping looks just right! I appreciate the grill/grill parts and pieces. With the stuff you gave me, and the grill that @Lone Star Mopar hooked me up with, I should be able to make a damn fine grill for the Sedan Delivery. Thanks again Dave, it is very much appreciated! Great seeing you and hanging out with you for a little while.

 

Glad I could contribute a small part!

 

Sure is a great looking car, glad to hear you didn’t have Aton of troubles getting it to Dewey.

 

Thanks!! We missed you this weekend, but I know you have more important things going on right now.

 

Well the good news is I am getting some work done on the Merc., maybe by...............

 

The sedan looked real kool. Thanks for driving over to visit. Pictures don't do the sedan justice, the gray really pops. It gives us hope that Kustoms guys can drive Hot Rods too.

 

I don't know about the grey "popping" but it sure does suit the car and I've really come to like the color. Now if I could only figure out what color it is for repairs later if necessary.

Thank you again for a great weekend Mick! Couldn't have been more perfect-er....unless it was longer and more time to hang out.

 

Got a little time the last couple days to fiddle with the ‘34. I put it up on the cribs so I could get under it easily, drained the coolant and started assessing things.



The thermostat was a 160 degree that had clearly been in there for a while. The aluminum water neck had seen better days as well. New 195 thermostat (with a hole drilled in the rim to eliminate bubbles) and hoses on hand a new water neck on order. That should solve the running hot issue I was having last week. It behaved just like the thermostat was open all the time once it got warm and never cycled to let the coolant stay in the radiator long enough to cool off. A 160 will do that here in the south. Lol

I also took the billet wheel off and decided to see if just for grins I could make the banjo wheel work even though it has a hub to fit a Ford Colin rather than the gm one I have. Well, sure enough, it will be no problem. Just like when I put the Merc accessory wheel on the gm column in my Merc, I can cut a key way on the top of the steering shaft and drill a hole in the hub for the turn signal cancel cam. I have a friend that is big into 3D printing these days and he’s going to print me a ring to fill the gap and blend the wheel to the diameter of the column. Just like it never happened. Ching!





When I removed the wheel, I discovered some hot pink overspray behind the wheel and inside the column. I also found quite a bit behind the dash and noticed some in some paint chips in the door jambs. I removed the gauge cluster to start getting ready to swap the gauges and there is hot pink on the dash behind the gauge cluster as well. Looks like I got me what once used to be a hot pink 80’s hot rod. Makes me want to get out the 80’s Street Rodder and Rod Action mags off the shelf and see if I can find it! Lol



As long as the coolant is drained, I’m going to replace the gauges. I started exploring about the fuel sender and found a rubber patch (made
from a piece of running board cover) pop riveted and sealed to the floor over the tank. I removed it today and lo and behold, a very nicely cut hole right above the fuel sender. Another win! Ching again!



Hoping to make a good bit of progress this week. I’ve got a couple days off, so maaaaaaaybe might get it all buttoned back up this week.

 

Sure glad someone covered up the hot pink! And, glad that steering wheel can work.

 

Man, it sure would be cool to find some pics of it in that (or any previous) version, though, wouldn’t it? Regardless, this car has really been cared for well over its life I thing. I see no evidence of terrible repairs, cherry floors and don’t even see any rust or repairs in the fender wells. Really a very nice solid car.

 

Saw it at Dewey, nice 34.

 

Beautiful car, but be mindful of scope creep! lol

 

Very cool!

 

Wise words here!

 

Oh, I know all about scope creep and am the KING of scope creep. Lol. Today isn’t the day for that on this car though.