1938 Cadillac: Work Begins (My first Broken Part)

Well, it finally happened. I started work on the car. I began on Friday, briefly, by spraying penetrating oil on the screws that hold down the hood side panels. On Saturday, I took a trip to the store(s) to buy some miscellaneous stuff. Specifically, I bought some big vinyl-coated hooks to allow me to hang stuff from the walls. When I got home, I took the side panels off by losening the two screws that hold each panel in place. Here is a couple pictures:






You will notice how the engine compartment is much more accessible from the side, but the hood is still kind of in the way. At the very least, it blocks the light that would otherwise shine down from the ceiling. Also, think its quite inconvenient to have to lean over those huge fenders so I will take those off too. I'm not exactly sure what I have to do to take the fenders off, so I sprayed all the bolts I could see that look like they might be holding the fender on to the car. Also, I sprayed all the bolts for the hood.

On Sunday, I decided to take the hood off. I looked in my shop manual for some idea of the exact process to take the hood and fenders off. It had the process to remove the hood, but it was no-go for the fenders. I'll just have to wing it. The process for removing the hood was to remove the side panels (done) and then close the hood. Take a small screw or a cotter pin (I used a nail) and insert it through the hole in the hinge to lock them in place. After that, simply remove the bolts and lift the hood off the car. It sounds easy enough.

In fact, it was easy. Here are some pics of the process:










You can see in the top-left photo that there are 4 bolts on each side. In the top-right photo, you can see the nail that I pushed through to lock the hinges. This photo is a shot from the inside of the hood facing outward. The bottom two photos show the car with the hood removed.

Well, thats all for this update. Next, I intend to get the driver's side fender removed. I don't know how long it will take, since I have to wing it.

Oh yeah, I forgot... The title "My first Broken Part" must be explained. While I was looking at the next step (removing the fender), I wasn't sure if I needed to remove the electronics from the inner fender. As I attempted to slightly lift the horn relay cover, several pieces cracked off. It appeared that it used to be some sort of hard rubber or plastic. Now, it was just junk. Its not really supprising, considering it is almost 70 years old. I would bet that pretty much every plastic or rubber part is going to be replaced. Fortunately, http://www.steelerubber.com/ had the part for $48.06 (part no: 70-0623-21). Well, its the first of many...

1938 Cadillac: More Motivation (And Time)

My motivation to do something on the car has been rising over the last few months. In early-December I had to clean the garage up a bit because the furnace repair man was coming. Being in the garage put my in the same place as my car. I think it's more of a child-like compulsion. If I don't see it, I don't miss it, but as soon as I see it I want it more than anything else.

In any case, I started looking around the net for more information and motivation. I caught up on all the old messages on the forums at: http://www.cadillaclasalleclub.org. I started thinking of what I could start working on that wouldn't take too much time/money. I debated cleaning out the garage and finishing up some projects around the house so I would be able to have some guilt free time to work. And, lastly, what pushed my motivation to the top was checking in on: http://www.harwoodperformance.bizland.com/1941buick/. I was so surprised because there haven't been any updates to that site for a while.

So that's it. My motivation is up high enough to begin. I want to begin. I need to begin. I will get something, even if it's a small thing, started on the car.

Incidentally, I decided that it might be a good idea to start with the radio. It had been pulled and disassembled from the car by my grandfather many years ago. I have read up on radio restoration and have learned that the capacitors and vibrator will need to be replaced. Also, it looks like my grandfather may have replaced some of the original tubes, but I have faith in anything he did. He was one of the most knowledgeable engineer/tinkerer/DIY-er I have ever known. I aspire to be like him in many ways.