Projects Mish-Mash Nash -'52 Rambler Wagon

I've had good luck with sleeves.......

 

Thanks for the input @patsurf and @sidevalve8ba. I used a sleeve on a harmonic balancer long ago, which didn't go well, but it's entirely possible it was the installer's fault...

I decided to play it safe and buy a new pinion yoke, but I can always sleeve the old yoke and keep it as a spare. I also needed some u-bolts, and Denny's Driveshafts had both in stock, so they arrived within a few days. Nice sealing surface on this one :



Same for the Yukon limited slip differential, longer ring gear bolts, and marking compound from Quick Performance, so I am mostly set now:



I didn't necessarily need a LSD, but the open carrier I have showed some signs of water intrusion, and I have no idea what the maintenance history was, so again, I erred on the side of caution and spent a bit more to upgrade.

I also ***umed the bearings I already purchased for the stock open diff would also fit the Yukon LSD...nope. So, I ordered the correct size bearings from Rockauto and they should arrive later this week.

I've been debating how to reconcile the difference in bolt patterns between the 5x4. 5" Parnelli Jones wheels I picked up last summer and the 5x4.75" LM Corvair front hubs, so looking at the hubs again today it appears they could be re-drilled without much trouble. Plenty of material, consistent thickness, etc.:





And then I flipped the second hub over...:





Yep, two different castings. Looks like I need to find another matching hub.

 

New/correct carrier bearings and races arrived a few days ago, with the bearings and ring gear now installed on the carrier:



The center section looks good in all the important areas, so it will be cleaned up a bit and re-used:







Another order from Clark's Corvair Parts, consisting of all new lower ball joints, upper front shock bushings (which are unique to late Corvairs, I found out), and new front brake backing plate seals came this week, too:



Today, a rebuilt old stock(?)Airtex fuel pump I purchased on eBay was delivered, and looks the same as the dis***embled pump I already have, so I have two options now-- this one, or the Stewart-Warner electric pump I bought a few months ago:

 

Picked up a few things at the Madison Cl***ics show today. The '83 S-10 non-WC T5 was a nice surprise find, which I decided not to p*** up.





A vintage dimmer switch and two grommets, a S-W temp sensor, some vacuum hose, shock bolts, a mystery section of cloth wrapped wires, and a clutch fork boot were also purchased, so hopefully I can out some of them to use:

 

That's a good score on the T-5. It has the "good" gear ratios!

 

Truth be told, I bought it to get the mechanical speedo drive tailhousing and shifter, and didn't even check the ID sticker numbers until I got home. I like a lower ratio 5th gear/overdrive, so the F-body gears I have should be fine for now.

I had to crack open the T5 and have a peek inside, but everything looks great. I suspect someone has been inside at least once, judging by the black RTV which sealed everything up, but no damaged gears nor synchros, and the br*** synchro rings look great, too. I'm happy.

 

Couldn't wait, huh? There's always something one brings home, that needs an immediate inspection to verify a super deal!

 

Nope. I had no reason to doubt the seller's claim that the trans shifted great and was clean inside, but no sense in waiting and finding out later.

I now have a second "dummy" main case and tail housing to use for mock up, which will allow me to rebuilt the T5 and keep it (mostly) clean and dry until it's ready to install, which, may be a while.

 

Nice T5. Been , sorta, looking for one from a CJ , of the late 80s, with 4WD. Scarce. At least I have found none.

Ben

 

Picked up a new Crower cam and Edelbrock manifold for the Olds 215 a few weeks ago, then a nice used Carter AFB earlier today. Ideally, I will eventually find and use a smaller Edelbrock 1403 (or the earlier Carter equivalent), as I suspect the 625 cfm Carter is a bit too large. I figured for $75 and two hours of my time it was worth having.









I have the Camaro T5 mostly ***embled, and was able to get the speedo drive gear relocated to match the S-10 tail housing. I used two 1-1/8" shaft collars, and some br*** sheet strips to get everything snug and secure. I had no luck drilling into the hardened tail shaft to re-use the stock speedo drive gear clip, so I found an acceptable work around.

 

Picked up a dirty, used Edelbrock 1403 carb (500 cfm w/electric choke) last Sunday, then dis***embled and dropped it into the ultrasonic cleaner today:



Dirty, dirty, dirty...:





One jet was ruined trying to remove it, so maybe buying the coordinating Edelbrock calibration kit would be a good idea. Everything else came apart neatly and intact, and both floats are still buoyant, too.

It was a mostly low humidity weekend here in SE WI, and I was able to get most of the front suspension component painted, though the final sheen turned out a bit glossier than I had hoped:

 

Whatever it was on probably didn't run very good. That thing was nasty.

 

Started with a new carb rebuild kit in hand...:



...and finished with a rebuilt carb:



It made for a nice Heat Dome '25 project yesterday, and everything went back together without a hitch.

Today I carried the left door into the ba*****t and started stripping it down to the shell. I had to drill two screws out, but the rest came out after a bit of a fight. RIP large phillips bit from the vintage Vissel impact driver/remover.

I also removed and dis***embled the left door hinges, so I will eventually media blast them and source new hinge pins and bushings.

The bottom corners of both doors need some rust repair, but the areas where the left hinges mount is mostly solid, so I've got that going for me:









Too hot to work inside the garage this weekend, so hopefully I can get back to work on the rocker panels next weekend

 

Those Phillips head hinge screws are the worst to remove. Harbor Freight sells a comically oversize flathead and Phillips screwdriver set, they claim the Phillips is a #4 size head but it's bigger, and the shaft is square instead of round, so I've been beating that screwdriver into those screws and then turning it with an adjustable wrench on the screwdriver shaft, and I've yet to have one strip. It's the only thing I've ever had that really worked. I've ruined tons of those impact driver bits trying to remove those screws.

 

I made this tool for my air impact, and use the hammer impact adapter and bits with it. Worked pretty good on my 56 tailgate screws. Of course oil, and some heat helps too. Don't even try turning the screw, until it's ready, but still get some impact work in.

 

ANYBODY else used this harness... Think im gonna use it in my 32...

 

I cleaned up the two used oil pans I have, with the hope of combing them to end up with one good oil pan, with the sump area moved rearward two inches or so. I was hoping the bolt holes were all evenly spaced, but no such luck. I need to straighten out the pan flange and ease out two dents, too, but having a spare/third engine block to use as base is a nice luxury.

Nice flange, ugly sump:





Better sump area on this one:



The space soon to be filled with the modified pan:

 

I cut up two oil pans this week, then started fitting and welding them back into one pan today. I made a conscious effort to not overthink things here, and either live with the results or do it over, but I think the end result will work fine. I had to remind myself this part is going to be mounted to the bottom of the engine, and its job is to contain the oil, not look ***y, so while I did do some hammer and dolly work, I accepted a less-than-perfect fit in some areas...time will tell if that comes back to bite me. For now, the modified pan is mostly complete, with some detail grinding and a leak test still to be performed, and maybe some dent removal, too:







The below photo shows where the welds are. I wasn't 100% sure on welding the two sections together at the 90* angle at the pan rail, but it welded nicely and I got good penetration, so I feel a bit better about that decision now:



Below you can see the weld seam yet to be smoothed, and the less than elegant rear vertical section of the sump area. Should function fine, just not all that pleasing to the eye:




In hindsight, I could/would have done a few things differently, but if it doesn't leak and fits in the space it needs to, I'm happy.

 

Thank you both, @Squablow and @Algoma56 for the suggestions. I do not yet have a large volume compressor nor air tools, but I did stop at HF today, and "comically oversize" was no exaggeration. These screwdrivers are HUGE at 21" long. Below is a pic of the Phillips head bit below a Craftsman #3 Phillips head bit:





I think this may be exactly what I needed.

Here's a pic of the large Phillips head machine screws which retain the extruded aluminum door top section to the lower/main steel door:

 

Yesterday I knocked out the front few inches of the RH rocker panel and a small patch at the rear, but it was brutally humid, so no pics taken-- just glad to be (mostly) done with that side, to be honest.

Today I cut out a small dogleg(?) section which is located behind the lower rear corner of the right door, where the quarter panel, B-pillar, and rocker panel meet. I could see it had gotten very wet inside the cavity at some point, and there was definitely rust present, so, now's the time to take care of it. Nothing fancy, just cut out the rotten piece, make a patch, weld it in, and grind it smooth. Part of this patch will eventually be hidden behind the quarter panel flange, so while not perfect, it's acceptable:

Starting point. The largest hole visible is a factory hole for...I'm not sure TBH, but it's present on the left side of the car, too:




Out with the old:




...in with the new:




All cleaned up:




I was feeling motivated by the dry 72*F weather today, so I jumped to the driver's side and started on the long patch in the rocker panel. Cut to slightly oversize, shape and contour using the pipe anvil and English wheel, then test fit multiple times until it looked right. I only took one pic early on, with the patch tacked into position, but I used the Fitzee Cut-n-**** (tm) method for the patch which worked great. Still more welding to do, but getting close to being done with the rocker panels:




Hopefully the AMC Homecoming Show in Kenosha doesn't get rained out next Saturday, but if it does, I'll have some time to finish the LH rocker panel.

 

Nice.

 

Hey @In_The_Pink

First of all, bravo on the continuing efforts, at making this cool old A.M.C. wagon, the masterpiece its going to be!

I know this is a long shot, as the manufacturers of today's tools, don't always take advantage of what is possible.
I have found from past practices and purchases, when dealing with the extra long and extra stout screw drivers, when and if possible, try to get the ones with a square shank, that way you can use a crescent wrench on the square portion of the shank, to help to turn the screwdriver as you bare down on the handle to try to turn the screw!

This one is an ancient one, I have, made by "VACO" and this model is a BULL DRIVER B.D. 410.
This one is 14.5 " long. Just a thought to consider the next time you are at a swap-meet or possibly
"VACO" tools still makes them!

Thanks from Dennis for all of the excellent show and tell photos of this project!

​

 

The factory hole near the bottom of the B pillar was probably a rubber bumper.

 

@41 GMC K-18 , I will keep my eyes peeled, and thanks.

@pprather, that sounds plausible to me. The front fenders have similar rubber bumpers, so I will look at those a bit more closely.

Today I picked up a set of 15x7 American 200-S wheels from member @Phillips :




Then later attended the AMC Homecoming Car Show in Kenosha, WI, saw plenty of great cars, talked with a few people, and got some ideas for my own project, too. It was nice to see eight or so early Ramblers present:

 

The Lois Lane car is owned by my good friend Rex. I was parked next to him the prior night at our local cruise night.

 

This thing is Rad!

 

I finally finished repairing/patching the left rocker panel, and even though it took two pieces to do the job, it's more than acceptable. There are a few low spots to work out, but it's good to be 95% done with the rockers. Now, on to making the firewall and engine bay.

I needed to reinstall the engine parts to check clearances, so in went engine block number three, the two-barrel heads, etc:




I specifically wanted to check oil filter and alternator clearance, so I mounted the oil pump housing and filter, as well as the alternator and its bracket to see just how close they are to the right frame rail...:







When the alternator adjustment bolt is at its maximum travel, the alternator case contacts the frame rail, so I will need to check the belt I have and order a slightly smaller one if necessary.

Oil filter clearance is not really a concern it turns out (at least not yet) and it looks like there will be enough space for the steering components to fit ahead of the crossmember, too:



I also decided to buy the ARP main cap and head bolt kits, as both were highly recommended for the Buick/Olds 215. The convenience and strength of studs, as well as the decreased likelihood of any stripping out the threads in the aluminum block, versus stock bolts seems well worth the extra cost in this case.

 

Great progress!!

 

I've seen guys notch the frame rail (and box for strength) for the low mount alternator.

 

Great pics, love all the rarely seen stuff get the full treatment. First set of wheels I ever bought were 200s's as cast, so those are near and dear.
Keep it up and you can be proud to display your efforts alongside all those others.