Great start! As luck would have it I just picked up a 50 2 door the other day. Patina is about like yours but I have a bit more body work to do. Floors solid on mine. No rust thru or even flakey rust anywhere on the car. Just surface rust. I don't think it was ever driven in the winter. 50K miles and it runs like a new car. Considering it sat in an open shed for 18 years I'm amazed. They put a new muffler and fuel pump and filter on it other than that I think it still has everything it had in 1950. Glove box light even works. Drove it to cruze night yesterday. Found a 1962 calendar on top of the passenger side visor. I think that's the last year it was driven... And the original sales contract from November 1950 and the owner's manual were in the glove box. I've ordered an Offy dual intake and a set of Fentons for it. Always wanted one of these I could cruise in. Last one I drove had B/G on the windows and gave you a nose bleed from the altitude and that was long long ago Never thought in my earlier days I'd ever be happy with a 6 banger and three on the tree but I am. Mellowed out in my old age I guess.
Joe, thank you! Even being a young guy the straight 6 isn't even an issue for me. Just lookin to cruise and bang some gears!
Well, you may have seen my other post. Having fuel pump issues. No fuel to carb, so I kept the line connected to the pump, and pulled from the carb. Cranked on the engine, and nothing coming from the line, bone dry. So I pulled that line, blow it out with some WD40, and it is clear and free. Still bone dry on the outlet side of the pump. YES - the pump is mounted bowl side up. The bowl is full of gas, but gas is not getting out of the pump. I have a receipt from the previous owner, and this is a new pump. I am going to pull the pump tomorrow night to manually pump the actuator arm to see if it is pumping. Then re install, and check to see that the cam is actuating the arm. And yes, the motor does fire and turn over when primed with gas and/or started fluid, but just doesn't stay running long enough to get gas it would appear. By process of elimination, the pump must not be getting actuated as I would imagine the few times it has at least run for a few seconds each time that would get gas into the outlet line, but that is literally bone dry. Also noticed a decent oil leak from the front of the pan. There was a nice slick on the floor. Should do an oil change anyways, so I'll need to drop the pan and re-seal.
A couple more pics from tonight. First "new" purchase. Now that I have them, not 100% sure. I wasn't aware these wouldn't fit over the trim above the window, so I put them on the leading edge of the door. I really wanted hanging peep mirrors. I just found out that the filling station carries them for the same price. What do you guys think? Does it look good? Goofy? I have plenty of visibility (well, as good as you are gonna get with 4" peep mirrors). This part is always like Christmas... Beer fridge art!
Well, I'm a bit stumped. New fuel pump, even added fresh gas to the tank, pulled the bolts from the pump and pulled it off the block, and even when manually pumped, not getting gas in the outlet line. Is there a chance there is air in the fuel lines (which are in good shape)? What is the correct way to vet the tank? Is there a secret to it? Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
If the car set, the tank might be gummed up. You can pressurize the tank with air but it doesn't take much. This will force fuel to the pump.
Thanks Mark. I will see if I can figure out a way to do that. Unfortunately I am dealing with a garage with no air compressor, and no driveable car! Gonna stick to interior and exterior needs for now, until my dad is in town next weekend. He should be able to bring some tools to get us where we need to be!
Get a cheap turkey baster or some other type of squeeze bulb and actually fill the float bowl on the carb. This will let the motor run longer to see if it will pick up fuel. If that don't work, take the fuel line loose between the carb and the pump and use some rubber hose so that you can supply the carb with fuel from a gas can sitting on the roof. Also, use some hose from the pump into a pan because it may start pumping and if it does this will allow you to see what comes out. Another thing, I've been told that you can damage a pump by pumping it with your hand, so be careful! Hope this helps.
Unclee, Thank you! I will try that as well. My dad is going to bring an electronic fuel pump that we will run off a jump pack as well to see if that will help just pick up fuel, and then get running. I just want to diagnose that it is for sure not the fuel line from the tank to the pump as well to make sure!
Well, she runs great! FINALLY got fuel up the line from the tank - apparantely it was just a matter of tons of priming needed....but one the gas got up to the carb, she ran great. Got the idle adjusted nicely and everything. Found the source of the oil leak - the pan just wasn't tightened down all the way! And finally, we tore into the brakes, and as opposed to needing a whole rebuild kit, we probably will only need a wheel cyclinder and a couple feed lines to get them all working! Great news there for sure! I wil post up pics later, but thought I'd share the news. Here is a video of it running just for good measure!
Playing with photoshop. I think this is what the initial iteration will look like. Paint the factory wheels black, factory caps, lowered 3 inches. KIS rule for now - Keep It Simple. Thoughts?
Thanks Les! It is my first time with a straight 6. Fun little motor, and SO easy to work on. Next up will be brakes, just need a wheel cylinder for the drivers front, and it'll stop. We pinched off the line for now, as it was just hanging and the brake assembly was literally all the way off, just the backing plate. You can feel some pedal coming back. Once that happens, we should be able to do a (slow) cruise around the block!!
Steady as she goes! Updates are slow, but so are resources and limited space make it tough as well. Got all the carpet out and back seat completely out, only to move it to the trunk for storage! Floors in the back are super solid which is awesome! Just a couple pics. As you can see, space is limited... Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Great Car! Love your rendition with the whitewalls. Same thing I am going to do to my 64' stepside except I am going with the red powder coated wheels. I had the same fuel problem you had but my issue was there just not enough gas in the tank to flow to the front and overcome the small uphill it had to travel. Glad to hear you got it running. Bret
Hey thanks Bret! Appreciate the kind words! Those mechanical fuel pumps can be tricky, but once they work, they do just fine! Best of luck on your '64! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
SHE DRIVES!! It was an exciting night for me last night. I topped off the oil, dumped in some brake fluid, and we had the driver side brake crimped off. And success!! My first time driving a 3-on-the-tree, but man was it a blast. With some tuning, this this is gonna be such a great cruiser! Even got the wife in the car with me when she got home later. She loved it!!
hey cmarcus. your photoshop changes are perfect. Love the wheel/cap combo. ~Haywire www.BrooklynLeather.com
Baby steps, small, $0 things I was able to do. CLR light scrub on the trunk lid to knock some of the surface rust down. Some more light-ish blues came through as well. Started to clean the black overspray from the B pillar. I think somebody at some point in the par was going to pair this thing black. All the jambs are painted, but were not masked. Went at this pillar with acetone till I inhaled enough. Some pics posted earlier on show the "before". Sorry...cell pics. Did some polishing. Left one is done. The right one is before. Suppose it is t great if I need to explain!! I plan on buffing further with compound and painting the gold over on the centers. ....and last but not least added some wall art from old Mass plates!! I know it isn't much, just chipping away bit by bit! Birthday in July so then things will be moving quicker! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Great job on bringing another Chevy back to life. Looking good and the feeling you have right now is lightning in a bottle. Keep up the refresh job and put many more miles on that Stovebolt this summer. They're miles of smiles and this one is shaping up nicely!
Thanks Daryl! It sure has been fun. Just put together my "to-do" list to get it there, and I think cost-wise I am right on par. Can't wait to REALLY drive it! The best part - the work is never done
Worked on measuring out floorpans last night. We shall see how the measurements actually come out. Next step will be to make templates to see how they fit. This is my first time doing this from scratch. Start yelling if I do something wrong!! First, from this: To this: The plan is to not have "tabs" on the edges, but to "fold" the corners over, and then trim and weld, so I have a nice smooth rounded corner, if that makes sense, like this tech article. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=438292 Next step: Get some fiber board for templates!
Not dead guys, just broke! I will be updating in the next couple weeks as my birthday is coming in July! Thanks! Gotta fix the Photobucket issue as well. Ugh.
Well, got some $$$ to get moving again. Parts are coming for the brakes, heading out tonight to do some interior shopping - sheet metal, carpet, door panels, etc. This weekend my dad is hauling it to MI so in a couple weeks we can pull the motor to find the oil leaking issue which will give us a chance to clean and paint the firewall and frame rails, get in new bushings, chop coils, block the rear, get brakes finished and new tires/wheels, weld in floors. etc. Gonna make a marathon weekend of it coming up soon! Photos as updates and parts come! Also joined the Alliance today, so looking forward to my firewall tag! Long term goal is the Relix Riot, maybe some other shows if sooner allows.
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