Life gets in the way

  When we last spoke, our forlorn little Chevy was ready to have all of the old wiring stripped out and replaced with new.

  Then life struck. A backed up drain and flooded basement has crimped progress for a couple of weeks. To make things even better, the main drain line may be collapsed. If that is the case, and we can't find a alternative to digging up the entire street to replace the line, we may have to move rather quickly. So, if I disappear for a while, do not believe that the project is stalled and the blog forgotten. It WILL be back, just from a new location.

  But, I did manage to get all of the old wiring stripped out. To keep things as simple as possible, for the time being, I cut the wires a couple of inches from any sockets or plugs. If the sockets are able to be cleaned and reused, they will be.

This is what's left of the original harness and the "work" done by idiot PO's.

  I had worried about what would be the best way to run the wiring to the rear of the car. Running it anywhere along the floorboard on the inside is sketchy, since it could be damaged by being stepped on, even if run underneath carpet and sound deadener. However, I quickly found that Chevrolet had run the wiring up the A pillar, along the roof, and back down into the trunk through the C pillar. Slick and safe. I'll have to pull it all back when we go to chop the roof, but the clean way of hiding the wiring will be great.

  When working on unwiring everything under the dash, I quickly decided that dismantling the dash would make everything much easier. During the process, I found that the cool looking ancient compass on the dash even has a backlight to it. I may have trouble finding a replacement bulb in 12 volt, but if this stuff was easy, everyone would be doing it.

Cleaned out and ready to rewire

  The radio turned out to be really interesting. It actually has the speaker mounted to the top of it. I don't know if it will ever play again, but it will go back into the dash. Whatever I use for tunage will be more modern and less visible (as in not at all)

Various bits and bobs that may or may not get reused. Saving them for now.

  In my last entry, I mentioned how the stock electrical system had only a fusible link and fire as ways of dealing with an overcurrent situation. When I pulled out the multi gauge unit (ammeter, water temp, oil pressure and fuel level) I was rather shocked at what I saw on the wiring to the ammeter- a couple of the wires to it had been so hot they burned off the insulation. I wonder how long they were just sitting back there bare, and I am amazed that they didn't end up torching the whole car.

Toasty!

  The next step will be to mount the new distribution panel and start pulling wire. After that it will be lots of soldering and heat shrink. It's going to be a lot of work, but starting from scratch will be so much easier than trying to repair what was there, it will be a lot better than it was when it was new, and with my pickiness, it will be a trouble free system for many, many years!

Finally, we're blogging in real time!

  Ah, the last post brought everything up to date, so starting now, my entries will be on things that have happened within the last 30 days or less.

  Steering was next on the list. Hard to know what I would find once I got into close inspection. Having once been certified as a suspension tech, I've always been fascinated by the wide variation in steeirng and suspension systems. Of course, that experience has taught me that GM steering systems, if a few years old, almost ALWAYS have at least one worn component needing replacement.

  The steering system on this car is different than anything I've seen before. The sector shaft on the steering gear actually comes out horizontally, toward the passenger side of the car. An arm and pushrod connect it to a bellcrank-type member, which has the tie rods connected to it.

  So, I got the front end up in the air, and began the process of shaking it down, looking for worn components, and lubricating all of the grease points. Shockingly, I could find not one part with any visible sign of wear! Everything seems tight, and the steering gear doesn't show any slop, either. The only parts I found that needed replacement were a few zerk fittings! I greased everything up, got it back on the ground and looked again for any slop or play. None was found! I'll need to road test it to be sure, but for now- it's time to move on to a big monster- electrical.

  I knew the wiring was a mess before I bought the car. But, if the electrical system was in perfect condition as it came from the factory, I'd still have a major problem with it. As Chevrolet made the car, it had no fuse panel! The only method of dealing with an overcurrent sitation was a fusible link or a fire. In addition, as built, the car did not have turn signals. Now, I understand that most idiots on the road consider their use optional, but I'm kind of fond of using them.

  And, of course, the electrical system was a LONG way from being "as built." Between the problems with the original design,  60 years of use, and at least one owner who didn't let the fact that he's a blithering idiot stop him from doing "repairs" that he had no business doing- I have only one intelligent option- total and complete replacement.

Old original wiring, and crap added later. Wire nuts and butt splices- classy

Why solder when you can use Sta-Kon's? It's not like it's going to be subject to the elements or vibration!

The jury-rig under the dash in place of the ignition switch

  OK, so where do we start to deal with a mess like this? Well, the car starts and runs, and fixing the wiring will disable that possibility. I like being able to start it up and pull it outside when I can, so the first step is to do a quick jury rig so that I can still start and run it while I'm routing and connecting wires. So, I laid out and wired up a quick start-run-charge circuit. It's entirely under the hood, and therefore almost completely out of the way of doing the proper electrical work.

No, it is NOT proper. It is only for pulling the car in and out of the garage!

    So, with the car NOT disabled, I can take my time with the rewiring. I briefly considered pulling a fuse panel from a newer car at a boneyard and building my own wiring harness. I compared the cost of that route to the cost of buying a premade universal harness, and the universal harness won out very quickly on cost. In addition, it's a huge winner in terms of labor. A little shopping around and asking others who have used them led me to buy the Rebel Wire 9 + 3 harness. It probably has more circuits than I'll ever need, but better too many than too few.

This might look a bit daunting. It is, but it's so much easier than other options.

  So, the next step is going to be to rip out all, and I mean ALL of the old wiring. This should be fun!

Winter blahs

  January- February 2011  When I last left you, it was New Year's eve,  I'd purchased a 235 and 3 speed from a '55 Chevy with no way of getting it out of the truck and no good place to put it.

  Well, thankfully, Harbor Fright Tools was open on New Year's day. We went down early, I purchased a 2 ton hoist, and after assembling it in the driveway, I unloaded the engine and stashed it between the car and the overhead door for the time being.

  The rest of January was pretty much typical of what I'd expect from what is traditionally the worst month of the year- it's cold, there's not much going on, it's gray, depressing, and hard to motivate. I made a small cart to support the engine and transmnission, and put in on wheels so I could roll it around.

    I did score these taillight bezels from a '58 Biscayne. Not sure if I'll use them or not, but I bought them right, and can get my cash back if I don't.

  I also hung my new shop signs that I got from Christmas from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. My Mother-in-law had a '51 Chevy way back in the day, and her's was even the same color that mine originally was. (Fathom Green) She loves old cars, and I can't wait to take her for a ride in mine this year!

 

  If you look to the left of the door, you'll notice an Oregon license plate from 1951. I started last fall on collecting a 1951 plate from all 48 states. Remember that Alaska and Hawaii were 8 years away from being states in 1951

  On the car itself, I struggled with the brakes a bit. I'd reassembled everything last month, but hadn't yet bled them out. I tried numerous times to gravity bleed them, but for some reason was never able to get any flow. That and the aforementioned January blues kept me from getting much on the car actually accomplished.

  February brought more cold, and an ice storm that blocked the garage door shut for several days. But, as the month wound down, things started to wind back up.

  51 Chick and 51 Kid ordered me a cool aluminum shop sign for Christmas, but when it was shipped, it had the wrong design at the bottom. When she called to get it corrected, they told her to keep the wrong one. I thought even the wrong one was pretty cool, so I went ahead and hung it up in the shop, along with the new shop stereo that they got me for Valentine's day.

When the replacement sign got here, it was also incorrect! It was the same as the first one! So, I get to keep TWO wrong ones and still get the right one.

  I decided to skip the gravity bleeding, and enlisted 51 Chick's help to do it the long way. The first time she pumped up the brakes, I heard the squirt and saw the drip that explained why I couldn't get a good gravity bleed- I'd forgotten to tighten one of the lines to the master cylinder! Once that was fixed, we got the brakes working great in fairly short order.  The next day, I fired the car up, and pulled it out of the garage for the first time since before the front suspension came apart.

    While the car was outside, I sprayed down the steering linkage with degreaser, since that's the next step. I also rolled out and hosed down the 235 and 3 speed. While the degreaser soaked, I did some cleaning and reorganizing in the shop.

  The reorganizing turned out to be VERY timely. 51 Chick asked me that night what did we need for the car that she could be looking for. I told her "old steel wheels, and a driveshaft and rear axle from a 55, 56, or 57 Chevy (these axles are all the same, and will essentially form a matched set with the engine and transmission).

4 days later, she once again showed me why she earns the name "the seeker." Thursday night at work, I get a text from her. She's found a guy who has 15 steel wheels from 49-53 Chevys, and two rear axles from 57 Chevys. The next day, 51 kid and I went to Mooresville, and came back loaded

The wheels are already sandblasted, and the axle has new brakes and bearings. When I got it home, I did a bit more digging on the axle, and found that it has 3.36:1 gears. PERFECT for what I want to do with the car. This gear will make for nice, easy highway cruising!

 

Winter work and acquisition

  October- December 2010.  I spent the early part of October preparing the shop to be somewhat hospitable for work during the cold months. The garage door has had a history of sticking tight when it gets cold, and I did NOT want to be locked away from the project until Spring. So, after fixing the door, I had one thing left to deal with- heat.

  Enter yet another member of the extended crew. Are any of you yet noticing that this shoestring build is being done with a pretty kickass support network? Maybe I should name the car "Ringo," because I'm getting by with a lot of help from my friends! Could I do this without them? Probably. Would it be a hell of a lot harder, take a hell of a lot longer, and be a hell of a lot less enjoyable? DEFINITELY.

  Actually, he was a member of the extended crew long before I ever bought the car. The knowledge he's passed to me, and the things we've learned together were pretty instrumental in my wanting a project car such as this.

  Carl and I worked together for several years. When I started, he and I were on different shifts, but I had some opportunities to work with him. It didn't take me long to realize that he had a boatload of knowledge (that I wanted), a desire to learn more, and a wilingness to share the knowledge. When a job opening on his shift became available, I asked the boss if I could take that position, and then leave mine to be filled. The boss agreed, and things took off from there. He became a great co-worker almost instantly, a good friend soon after that, and then quickly progressed to the point of being family, as far as I'm concerned. Even though I changed jobs about 4 years ago, and he retired a couple of years after that, our twice weekly project sessions have continued, and shall continue indefinitely.

  Carl is extremely generous to me, always has been. When he heard that I was prepping the shop for winter, he instantly stepped up with a nice 100% combustion propane heater. It's not going to turn the garage to Summer, but it does a great job of making it very livable and workable. It's worth noting that this is just another in a LONG string of ways he's made my shop better. On the rare occasion that I am able to argue him into letting him pay for something, he always sells it to me ridiculously cheap, and grumbles at me, saying I "do so much for him, that I should just let him give it to me" which is balderdash. The more I try to get caught up with him, the further behind I fall.

  So, I'm ready for the cold weather. Our annual family trip to the Smokies took some work time away. The cold weather slowed me a bit, too. But, I did get the front brakes completely redone and reassembled. I also replaced the rest of the brake lines, as I'd only replaced about half of them when I did the rear brakes.

  The funny moment came when I put the front wheels back on and lowered the car down to be back on all four wheels for the first time since I disassembled the front suspension.

  If you compare this with the pictures taken before I did the front suspension work, you'll notice that the car does not sit much if any) lower than it did before. There is tangible proof that shot peening the springs restored strength to them. I removed 9% of the spring, yet the ride height is vitrually unchanged. It likely means more work to get the car lowered to where I want it, but I'll wait until I get more suitable (that means ones that don't make me want to puke) wheels and tires on it. I'll have a better idea of how much more to cut then.

  I did do a good bit of acquiring parts and tools during this time. In addition to building this car in traditional style, I also plan to use traditional techniques extensively. That means gas welding as opposed to MIG for the sheetmetal work. It also means using lead for filler work instead of bondo. Used properly, bondo isn't bad. It had a bad reputation because too many people use it as "bodyman in a can." I have nothing against bondo, but I just want to use lead for the nostalgic value. Well, that and the fact that it's a new skill to learn and master :)

  When Carl learned that I'm going to make the Chevy a TRUE "lead sled," he took me down to his basement, and said "You'll need some of these," and gave me a box of vixen files, used to shape lead once it's applied. You can't sand lead, because the dust will kill you.

  Shortly after this picture was taken, I clearcoated the wood to protect it, and gave all of the files a vinegar soak to remove the rust. (This really works well.)

  In November, the 51 chick calls me to the computer, and says she's found a guy I may want to talk to. The ad listed a LOT of old Chevy parts for sale. Most of the stuff was too old to be of any use to me, but he also had some NICE old hubcaps for sale: 4 bars, late 50's Chevy dog dishes, and '56 Olds Fiesta caps, which caught my eye.

  We drove up to Elwood the next Friday, and spent an hour or so with Ron. His garages were chock FULL of neat stuff. When he first opened the door, I saw the back of a '51 Chevy just like mine. Well, just like mine, except that it was in great shape. Nicely done mild custom. He also had a  '37 Chevy sedan done up in great oldskool style, and a cherry '68 Impala convertible. We had a great talk about cars and life in general. And we left with a set of caps that will look killer on my car! Great find by the 51 Chick!

If you look back a couple of posts, you'll notice that the '51 Chevy owned by John Denich has these same caps on it.

  New Year's eve. If you remember back, the weather was pretty decent that day for the time of year. 51 Chick was working, so me and the 51 kid headed out to batesville, IN chasing down a lead that I'd found on Craigslist.

    This seller was a young guy in his early 20's. He'd bought a 90,000 mile 1955 Chevy 2 door sedan, drove it home, and instantly pulled out the driveline to start building it into a gasser. He'd advertised the engine and transmission for sale, and had said that they were complete. Complete is a good thing in these situations, as those little bits and pieces that get taken off and lost during the removal process can be a royal PITA to find later.

  "Complete." was an understatement. The tranny hadn't been separated from the engine. The generator and starter hadn't been taken out. Heck, it still had the lower radiator hose attached!

  But, I had a bit of a dilemma. If I bought this engine, I had no good place to store it. I didn't even have any way of getting it out of the truck!

  Carl has told me his approach to this type of situation. He says that it can be very easy to talk yourself out of a good deal over things like moving, loading and storing. He syas that if you go ahead and jump on the deal, the logistics are easier to solve once you're comitted and HAVE to find a solution. And I have mentioned before that with this 50-60 year old stuff- you buy it when you find it. So, with those bits of wisdom, I gave Cody the money, we loaded up, and I had an hour's drive back home to work out a way to deal with my purchase.

1955 235 6 cylinder. The second generation Chevy 6 that I mentioned in my post regarding engines

Talk about complete- it still has the air cleaner on it! I even got an extra starter, generator and cap and rotor with it! This engine has the superior oiling system over the engine currently in the car, and the transmission is set up for the open driveline that I want. Big score!

Back underneath

  September, 2010- OK, back to business. When we last left out beloved little basket case, she had a new door, but the front suspension was still entirely disassembled.

  The orders from Paragon Corvette and Chevy's of the 40's (yeah, they have a lot of stuff for 1950's Chevy's, too) are in. The onr last thing to take care of are the front springs.

  I stated earlier that I wanted to lower the front of the car now. Of course, I saw two options: buy springs that will lower the ride height, or buy stock springs and cut them to lower the car.

  Enter another valuable member of the extended crew: The Wizard. OK, he's really my brother-in-law, but he has a sickeningly broad base of knowledge. He retired from Delco as an electronics engineer, but what's totally cool about his base of information is that he's fascinated by all science, and in addition to learning concepts, he has great common sense for application of the concepts.

  On one of our conversations, he told me that in his studies of metallurgy, he found out exactly how GM made coil springs. They were NOT, as many think, made from spring steel. They were formed from cold rolled steel, and then shot peened. The shot peening work hardens the surface of the spring to give it its' springiness. It therefore follows that if old springs are not physically bent, but have lost some springiness dur to age and surface rust- they can be re-shot peened, and they will have the same springiness that they had when they were new.

  So- armed with that new knowledge, I pulled out the die grinder, lopped one coil from the springs, smoothed the edges, and it was off to the machine shop to have them shot peened.

New springs cost $125. Shot blasting the old ones was $60. The shoestring budget loves it anytime I can spend half the cash and get the same effect.

  Time to put it all back together.

All new, and ready for the brakes!

Definitions

  For the benefit of friends and family who may be reading this saga, yet do not know exactly what is meant by "traditional kustom," I'll do some defining.

  Early on, people started modifying their cars. In the neginning, it was almost exclusively modifying them to go faster. In the 1040's, a new trend started- modifying them to improve and personalize their appearance.

  The Kustom craze was born. It's gone through a lot of changes over the years, but it lives on today, even if a lot of today's customizing is pretty lame

  The golden age of Kustoms started in the early 1950's, and continued until the mid 1960's. It gave us some of the great legends of customizing, names like Cushenbery, Winfield, Hines, The Alexander Brothers, and Barris.

                                                                  Some were mild

This 1950 Chevrolet has some very simple and tasteful modifications, such as shaved door handles, frenched headlights, and all of the trim on the hood removed (nosed)

Some were radical

Bill Cushenbery's Limelighter- one of my all-time favorite customs

  Even though these types of cars stopped getting the acclaim and press that they got in the golden age, they've never gone away. Today, many people build "traditional kustoms"- cars that, while built today, look as though they could have been built between 1950 and 1965.

  For me, I find this a fascinating genre to work in. The possibilities for fun shaping and reshaping of metal are endless. Of course, the modifications made must all serve to make the car more aesthetically pleasing. These will usually entail modifications that make the car appear shorter vertically and longer horizontally. Notice the 1950 Chevy pictured above- the modifications done smooth it out, but the high roofline makes the whole car appear short and squat (in my opinion). This are the exact same bodylines (and problems) that I will deal with in my build.

  And then, there are THE RULES. And the rules vary quite a bit from person to person and group to group. Everyone is willing to make some concessions to the passage of time and development of technology, yet still consider a car traditionally styled. The purists of the group despise ANY visible modern part. Some of the more liberal are concerned mostly with only the body and interior- whatever you do as far as running gear is acceptable.

  Personally, I say everyone should build their car the way they want, and to please themselves. My standards for my car are simple. Inside and outside, under the hood, and underneath the car- always try to make it look period correct. The one place where I have no problem straying from period correct is in matters of safety. Seat belts were not mandatory on cars until the mid to late 1960's. My car has never had them. It's going to. Period correct be damned, I'm going to haul important people, and seat belts are not negotiable. And of course- any modern goodies I can put in the car, and  have them not be visible are fair game!

  One problem I am facing is this- uniqueness. 1949-1952 Chevrolets have been popular canvasses for customizers since they were still on the dealer's lots. After 60 years, there's little (if any) you can do to one that hasn't been done before. So, as I modify it, I also have to lean away from some (but not all) of the common mods that peoiple do to them. Hopefully, when I am done, I'll be able to park my car in a line with 20 others and still stand out. And in a positive way!

Some great customized 1949-1952 Chevrolets:

"La Jolla," 51 designed and owned by Harry Bradley (the guy who designed the first Hot Wheels cars

This 51 is a modern build, executed in perfect traditional style. The builder of this one is HAMB member  John Denich- a great guy, who has helped me with issues.

Larry Watson's "Grapevine." In typical Watson style, the body modifications are few, but the paint work is simply stellar.

  So now, you know what I mean when I say "traditional kustom." And now, it's time to get back to work on mine. I gotta get it driving before I worry too much about making it sexy!

Road Trip!

July, 2010. I touched on the fact that the front fender and door on the driver's side were a total mess. I really wasn't kidding

  I described previously how 51 Chick had spotted out the junkyard car that donated its' fender to the cause. Her part spotting ability will blkossom quite well in the coming months.

  Even though I wasn't at the point where I truly needed the fender and door, you buy stuff when you find it, and you keep the lines out for stuff you know you're going to need, even before you're ready for it.

  Well, I responded to an ad on the Koolhouse message board. The post stated that the seller had a lot of parts from a 49 Chevy for sale. Since it's the same door as a 51, I asked if he had a door. He responded that he had one in "workable" condition that he would let me have for 50 bucks.

  "Workable" is a rather broad term. What is or isn't workable varies a lot by the talent level of the builder. I asked for a picture, and was shocked by what I saw. The door wasn't pefect, but it was better than I expected to find, and it was a LOT better than what I expected to fiond for 50 dollars. I e-mailed the seller back telling him that the door was worth more than 50 dollars, and offered him the chance to raise the price. After a joke, he said no- he'd stick with that price. I arranged to go get it that Friday.

  Oh, I forgot to mention where he was located- Carol Stream, IL. Yes, it's a long haul, but those doors don't grow on trees, and the price was super right. So, Leigha and I hopped in the Ford Almighty bright and early, and headed North.

  Dale turned out to be a great guy. Very much what you'd expect from a Chicagoan. His pride and joy was a SWEET '49 Chevy styleline deluxe. We loaded up the door, and decided to go to an Italian place for lunch. He wanted to go dutch, but after the sweet deal he'd given me on the door, I couldn't let him buy his own grub.

  We sat and talked cars for a while, then we left to try and beat the rush hour traffic. As I thanked him for the great deal, he said "just don't let me see that door on eBay." I told him the only place he'd be seeing it was on my car, and probably soon.

How's this for "barn fresh?" It still has the coating of bat shit!

When we finally got home, I was worn from all the road time, but I still hit the garage. I started stripping out any useable part from the old door. The next day, I went ahead and did the swap.

I DID clean the bat poo off of it before I installed it

Please notice the lack of construction cleavage

Dale found this picture in his inbox the next day.

I mentioned that the old door was bad. If the pictures of it on the car didn't illustrate how bad it was, these might help

Notice the the entire bottom of the door is gone.

  I mentioned that on the HAMB, people can be opinionated, and love to throw verbal crap at one another.In my build thread, I commented on dealing with some of the rust issues in the car, and had a coupleof guys trying to tell me that this car is too far gone, and I should get something better to start with. Well, those of you who know me know that this sort of talk only fires me up.

  So

  I fired back a little smartassery about having enough skill to bring it back, and I posed for this picture of me "putting the car out of its' misery." This picture has been my avatar on that site ever since.

Note that I've treated myself to a bit more dabbling in bodywork by starting to nose the hood.

Random acts of kindness and rust

  I mentioned the Hokey Ass Message Board (HAMB) in an earlier post. HAMB is, quite simply, the best automotive forum going. ChevyTalk and Koolhouse are way up there, too.  But HAMB is the most entertaining collection of cantankerous old farts (and some not so old) that build some KICKASS machines.

  These people are a treasure trove of information, which they aer very willing to share. They also have a lot of opinions that they are equally willing to share, sometimes even when you want them. They have low tolerance for stupid questions and douchebaggery, and are more than willing to put someone in their place when they need it. And they are also an extremely generous bunch. There's almost always an auction or two going on to help out someone who is sick, or has hit a run of bad luck. Good guys to trade info and verbal punches with.

  So- back to work. Time to totally disassemble the front suspension and evaluate just exactly what needs to be done. From a simple shakedown, I know it needs king pins, but I have to disassemble it to find all of the surprises. And oh, did it have a big one!

And to think I considered driving it home on this!

  All in all, the front suspension wasn't in too bad shape, but that control arm is scary bad. Time to start doing some searching.

  My search ended quickly and nicely, though. I posted this same picture in my build thread on HAMB, and the next day, I got a private message: Hey, I saw the picture of your lower control arm. I have a set from a '53 Chevy in my garage- if you want them, they're yours.

  I'd seen some posts from Fred before. He's on the NW side of Indy, and I called him. As it turns out, he worked for a company that my father also worked for, but not at the same time. We arranged a day for me to go out there, and I had a GREAT time out in his shop. He's got a cool '54 Ford traditional kustom, as well as a nice 1940 International pickup, a really nice T bucket, and a WICKED cool old school front engine dragster that he used to race back in the day. I coud have talked with this guy all day, but I had to leave to make it to work.

Pre cleanup pile of parts (with the new control arms)

Where they all came from, and will have to go back to

   That weekend, it was time to start cleaning the parts up, and while I was working, a cute little face appeared at the garage door and announced "Daddy, I want to get my hands dirty. Do you have a job for me?"

  Not wanting to let her down, and wanting to see if she was really into helping as much as she said, I gave her a putty knife and told her to start scraping dirt and grease. And, to her credit, she not only jumped in with enthusiasm, she did a good job! She's on her way to becoming quite the garage girl!

  With everything cleaned, it was time to repaint the parts that would be reused, and order replacements for the worn ones. Chevy's of the 40's and Paragon Corvette (because it's the same suspension that the 'vettes used until 1962) provided everything I needed.

  Even though I got my big present early, on Father's day, 51 Chick and 51 kid wanted to decorate the car up a bit.

  During that time, I also couldn't resist the temptation to start a bit of bodywork. I removed the chrome handle from the trunk, welded the holes shut, and smoothed it a bit. A minor thing, but I just HAD to do at least a little bit of sheemetal work!

Flying sparks = happy boy!