1938 Cadillac: I finally ordered some water pump parts.

I had intended to do this last April. I finally got around to it on Monday. I ordered the parts to rebuild my water pump. Also, my work had a "Diversity Week" thing which included a Hobby Show. I brought in a few of my repair/restoration items and the "most restored" thing from the car which is the water pump housing. If you happened to have read the post related to the last car photo gallery, I had to wait 4 months to touch up some spots that I missed with a rattle-can unless I wanted to buy a quart of paint and brush it on. I had intended to buy a quart. Really, I did. I just never got around to it. Now, more than 4 months later, I finally touched it up. It looks pretty nice, if I do say so myself. Hopefully, with the baby becoming less needy, I will be able to do a little bit of work on the car over the winter.

1938 Cadillac: Water Pump Work

I don't know why I didn't make this a post last April. I, for some reason, decided to put this write-up in the description for the photo gallery. Anyway, without further delay, here it is:

The days efforts were mixed. I decided I needed to degrease before I derusted. I picked up some Zep-brand Industrial Purple from Home Depot. A guy I knew restored antique tractors and that is what he used. Personally, I was a little less than impressed. It smelled like drain opener, so it was probably lye and detergent. It required a pretty heavy ammount of scrubbing to get it almost clean. I ended up using some engine degreaser and a toothbrush to finish it off. When I was picking up the Industrial Purple, I got some Metal Prep Rust Remover, which I believe was also made by Zep. It said most rust will be removed in 30 minutes of soaking (but no more than 8 hours). While it was true that most rust was removed on the pump pulley in 30 minutes, the pump housing was another story. Both required scrubbing with a wire brush to clean off the rust from the outside. Also, I soaked them for about 3 hours. The back and inside was so pitted, I'm not sure it was even worth the effort. I can't see it getting any cleaner without an abrasive blaster, and for that I need a sizable compressor. I'm thinking I won't do anymore cast-iron stuf until I get blasting equipment. Anyway, I used Hirsch Engine enamel in a rattle can on the housing and pulley. I primered the pulley first, per the instructions for smooth metal. I definitely need some practice painting too. I got a few bubbles in the paint on the back of the pulley. I think I might end up with a few runs on the edge too because that stuff was super thin. I might have done better with a brush. Anyway, even if the paint does't come out great, I still had fun.

UPDATE: At the end, you can see the finished product. I definitely will need to sand out the bubbles on the pulley. Also, I missed a spot on the bottom of the pump neck. Unfortunately, you can't touch it up with a rattle can for 4 months. I might just have to buy a quart.

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.

1938 Cadillac: A New Beginning

As a kid I remember my '38 in my grandparent's garage. I never saw it move. I never heard the engine run. It was just a giant space-taker.

Flash forward to today...

I had been asking my grandmother for years and years if I could buy the car. She assured me that no one else wants the car, but she never said I could buy it and that distressed me.

Don't get me wrong, I was happy not to have to pay money for something that would be an even bigger expense. What was a point of great concern was my aunt. My aunt has always valued certain things. As long as I can remember, she lofted up status symbols such as IQ, SAT scores, posessions and, of course, money.

My biggest fear was that she would see the dollar signs in her eyes and then that would be the end of my dreams of owning and restoring the car. Sadly, my grandmother died in May 2004 and as my grief subsided, my concerns escalated. I made it absolutly clear to my mother (the executor of the estate) that I wanted the car. I asked if I could buy it from the estate and she told me that would not be necessary.

Well, to make a long story slightly longer... Mom came through for me and told my aunt that I WAS getting the car. My only responsibility was moving it 4 miles down the road and into my garage.

The tires looked like they would tollerate rolling. At least they had been supporting the car for 50 years or so. I called a local towing company. I asked them a few of questions about their dealings with old cars and felt confident that they could do the job. One of their drivers showed up with a flat bed and hooked up a cable. I got to "drive" it back out of the garage. After an uneventful trip to my house, he lowered it down and, with a little pushing, we rolled it into the garage with my wife at the wheel. I was supprised how easy things went. The only thing remarkable that happened was that the guy's lift blew a hydrolic line, spraying fluid all over my driveway.

Before, during and after, I took plenty of pictures. If you're interested, you can check this page out here:

http://www.therhodeislandreview.com/recreation/1938cadillac65/1938cadillac65.html