jkcab95

Hello all,


I introduced my self over at the new member form and am in the process of tearing down my 56' for restoration.
I had read here previously a discussion about splash guards on the 56' and was hoping to upload some photos of what is on the car. I am waiting for a reply from the administrator about some issue with upload so they will be coming soon.
What I found was some woven material with what appears to be a paper covering on it. It attaches to the inner fender and then wraps over the frame and under the radiator support. This is on both sides of the car and appears as though it may have gone completely across but was cut at one time. I see advertisements for a arm splash guards for 54-56? I do not see any signs of splash guards ever being on the car and when you look in Fusicks catalog they skip 56'.


My other question is what are you using for anti squeak material? They make precut kits for Chevy but I can't find any info on what it is made of. It looks like paper gasket material but I fear that it will retain water and cause rust between the panels. At the lower inner fenders it had some minor surface rust were the anti squeak material was. In the upper areas it seamed as though it was coated with some black petroleum product?


All of the suspension seems in great shape. The tie rods were a little looser then I liked so I purchased replacements. The brakes were in excellent shape except the front wheel cylinders. The drums looked freshly cut and were all just over 11" id except one. The drivers rear had a heavy groove and was cut to 11 1/8" (over sized). I will need to replace that one. All the aftermarket ones look different so I am hoping to find an original one that has the spring groove to match the rest. I found an Idler arm support replacement with a new bushing that is correct. I had ordered a new complete unit from Jacksons but the bolt holes were a 1/2" off and I had to send it back. the center link and inner tie rods are perfect and the king pins and wheel bearings are great as well.


Last is the steering box. I have power steering and the pitman shaft feels loose in the lower needle bearing. I was wondering If any of you have had some experience with the power steering box. I am capable of rebuilding the box and installing a new bearing but am concerned the shaft may be worn. I can not find parts for the box and am hesitant to send it out for rebuild due to the cost. However I don't want to spend $100.00 on a kit only to find I have to send it out anyway?


I am debating over pulling the rear axels to be able to clean and repaint the backing plates. The rear axel seals are not leaking and the bearings seem fine so I am hesitant to pull them for fear of creating a problem? the rear pinion seal has a slight leak and will need to be replaced and I was thinking I should drain the rear and refill? Or should I pull the cover and clean the gears and then refill?


I was able to get new leaf springs from Truck springs dot com for $257.00 delivered to the door! They are not a perfect reproduction for a 100 point show car but they are really well made. The insulators are plastic and the ends of the leaves are curved differently then the originals so you would lose points in a show. If you were a stickler for detail they could be disassembled and reshaped on the ends. You could then replace the insulator material with the appropriate kind and you would have a perfect match to the originals. My goal is to make it as original as possible without breaking the bank.


My car was equipped with an s18 guide spot light on the drivers side. I love the option but it needed a new bulb and I could not locate one. The one that is in it works but the rubber seal on it had dried up and moisture attacked the silver on the reflector. It looks a little shabby. I found a nos one on ebay for a good price with the original instructions, template and install kit. I will probably sell the one that was on the car as the new one is ...well new! If anyone is in need of a template I can scan it as a PDF and provide a copy. I have read posts here of some people in need in the past.


The engine Has 63,000 on it and the car was purchased 16 or so years ago with 56,000 on it. I am hopping to just freshen it up and all will be good. The valves tap but the engine runs well. It has great compression and pulls 20in of steady vacuum. I figure the lifters are the problem and am hoping the cam is still good. I have heard a lot about cams going flat on the 56' 324. I had rebuilt the carb back when I got the car but it could use a bore and bushing job to be 100%. Is there someplace to get a new choke spring and shield for the inside of the automatic choke? I have had no luck in locating one.


I have a question about the Jetaway as well. I have noticed since I have owned the car that the engine needs to run for a minute or two before the car will even move. Is this normal? It seems to drive and shift fine But I find this an odd quirk? I am hoping I am not in need of a rebuild. The last tranny I did was 30 years ago and I am not at all familiar with the Jetaway.


As this has been a long post I will ask one more question for now. I am trying clean and restore the parts as they come off the car and then wrap them up for storage until re assembly. I am wondering what others have done for all the cad plated parts and hardware? An example would be the hood latch. It was in great condition but had some surface rust in a few places. Some items get wire brushed others glass bead blasted but then the cad plating is striped off. I have seen steel look paint in rattle cans but am wondering how they look? I thought some clear epoxy would be good but everything seems to be too glossy. I have been using VHT epoxy for the suspension parts. I know that it is not the best choice but loading the gun for every assembly becomes a little costly and inconvenient. In addition my homemade portable spray booth gets assembled where the car is now. Lastly I would think that paint technology in a rattle can has to be better than the original lacquer from 60 years ago?


Thanks for taking the time to read my adventure,


Jeff K.

Tedd Thompson

First I must ask what are your goals for this car, driver,show car, concourse build, because it would determine some what what you put in to the build and how far you need to pull the car down.

First off those inner finder splash guards are seldom replace unless your building a Concourse type build, most people don't even know they were ever on there to begin with.
I just used heavy duty black gasket material for my anti squeak applications, it is waterproof and so far it has worked well. The black petroleum product is probably tar or perhaps your car was undercoated at some time many were.

If it were me I wouldn't pull the axles to paint the backing plates unless the seals were replaced at that time, they can be painted well enough from underneath unless this is going to be a high end build. Just my thoughts.... Tedd

jkcab95

Thanks for the reply Ted,


My goal for the car is to do the best restoration I can do. That being said I most things involved are time and labor. I have a hard time putting in the effort and spending a lot of money on new parts and not doing the whole job. I am hoping to do a lasting restoration so I will be able to pass the car down to my son some day. That is part of the reason I want my son involved. Since the car is garaged I could have just cleaned things up and replaced what was needed. I then could paint and do the upholstery as planed. The little bit of rust that is there would probably not get too much worse in my lifetime! It is always hard to find the cutoff point.


When I bought the car it was my intention to restore it back then and with the exception of one season in the weather it was stored indoors. I found that one season had contributed to some considerable deterioration. I want to be able to drive the car and not have it leak into the interior if I am caught in the weather. I also don't want to worry about deterioration in those instances. I would like to show the car from time to time at the surrounding car shows. Last I want it to endure for the future.


I am now considering taking the body off the frame. Although it seems like a lot of work I think it will be less in the end when considering the time and aggravation involved laying on a creeper. I can weld up a rotisserie for about $500.00 and save my back. I figure I can sell it to a local car club for the cost of materials when I am done.


There are only a few jobs that really concern me. Removing the front and rear glass for a proper paint job. I am concerned that the new gaskets will not be as good as the originals. I purchased new roof rail weather strip from Fusick when I got the car. I spent the extra cash for the ones with the metal insert. It was advertised to be the same as the original. It was not. The original had a pre-bent piece of angle iron in it that the rubber was molded around. The reproduction was molded straight, over a piece of flat steel. The first problem was it wrinkled where it followed the curve of the roof. The second problem was it was an 1" shorter and left a gap where it meet the rear door (air and water leak). The last issue was it was originally covered in bow drill cloth but they only sell it in 5' lengths. The molding is about 69" requiring a seam in the bow drill. I don't know how anyone could build a concourse car unless money was no object!


Paint without a spray booth makes me nervous. All my experience has been acrylic lacquer. Time consuming process but very forgiving.


On the financial end is the cost of all the chrome. Especially the pot metal pieces that they don't make reproductions for. The other cost concern is if the engine will need outside machine work and or the transmission will need a rebuild beyond my time and talent. I can do a valve job on the Bridgeport mill. It is a bit of a pain but doable. I can't however bore the cylinders or cut and polish a crank. I can even rebuild the lifters although I doubt it is worth it versus replacement.


Speaking of transmissions, could you comment on my statement about warm up before the car will move?


As for the axels, I would not consider removing them without replacing the seals. I think your right though Ted, I should be able to get behind the hub to clean and paint the backing plates. I am going to have to drop the rear anyway to replace the springs. I figure while it is down I will clean and paint the whole thing. I have a poor ground or a bad sending unit in the gas tank so I will have to drop that as well. You can see why It seems silly to take all these things off and not clean up the underside of the car and refinish?


Right now I have the right fender and inner fender well left to remove and that will complete the front clip. I ordered a 3/4" 8 point socket and modified it per the shop manual to remove the hood bolts. I tested the fit last night and it was good to go. I think I will stop there until I finish the rest of those parts before I pull the engine and trans. I will probably leave the outer fenders till later as well.


Once the engine and trans are out and I have assed the situation I will take a break from the mechanical and start the upholstery. My daughter wants to help with that. Her and her brother are twins and I would like a little daddy daughter time on this project as well. Mommy just wants to ride around in the really cool car!


I was hoping to attend fall Carlisle this Saturday but it looks like a complete rain out for the entire time except tomorrow. It is a 2.5 hour drive for me and Pensy traffic in the rain is no fun so I think no go.


Jeff K.

oldcutlass

Yup, its like how do you eat an elephant? One small bite at a time. There is nothing wrong with a frame on mechanical and cosmetic resto for something that's going to see the weather in future driving. It is really sad to get it all looking sweet under there and get caught in the rain and have to lay under there for hours to clean and detail it all back up. If your on a budget, just catch up on all the maint and wear items, give it a decent paint job and interior, get the mechanicals, and safety items up to par, and then just drive and enjoy. I've seen too many projects go south if there is not enough money to take it to the next level.

Tedd Thompson

About the transmission is it a Jet-a-way or a slant pan? What you describe could indicate a old dry seal that won't seal till the oil gets hot and makes it pliable again, usually not a good sign because it is on it's way to fail. Or it could be something as simple as needing a transmission flush to clean up a sticky check ball.To hard to tell from here but if mine I would give it a filter and oil change and see what that leads you to.

A poor ground is common thing on fifties era Oldsmobile's. Why they grounded the gas sending unit to the fuel line is the misery of engineering. If you haven't checked that attachment or if there has been a repair that has resulted in the gas line being spliced with a rubber hose breaking the ground you might try looking there before you go to the trouble of dropping the tank unless of course you do the frame off thing and then all this will happen in order to separate the body from the chassis and expose the tank so it will be easy to work on. Keep us posted on your progress and problems if you get stuck....Tedd

bigin1978

I had a local shop plate my hood latch. I believe it was nickel plate.
I have a complete rebuilt 4bbl carb for a 56.
when I put my car in drive or reverse for the first time after it sits for a couple days. I have to give it some gas to get her moving. after that its fine for the rest of the day. its been like this for fifteen years. It has 57000 miles , I had a slightly bent pushrod causing a ticking. lifter was cupped and cam was about worn out. replaced it with a cam kit from fusick and a new timing set. did it in the car no problem. It was a frame on restoration years ago. I stiil got a first place at OCA nationals in 2014, so you don't have to do a full frame off unless you want a concourse car that isn't driven. too many times guys go gung ho with the restoration and get the frame perfect and run out of steam and money to finish . then the car sits in pieces for years. Most likely gets sold for a big loss, just to make a wife happy.

jkcab95

Attached are a few photos of the car. I found if you upload one at a time it will except the attachments. I don't have any photos before I started disassembly in my current digital library so these are from when I started. You can see it was in pretty good shape to start with. There is a picture of my son for Eric! He was removing the last of the fender bolts while Dad held the flashlight. The blessing of a small handed helper. The last photo is of the dust cover that wrapped the frame and attached to the radiator support. I am still curious as to the extent of its original coverage.


Ted,
It is definitely a Jetaway trans not a slant pan. I wish I had asked the question before I disassembled the car. I would have changed the filter and fluid to see if it helped. At this point I am debating if I should take it to my tranny guy after it is out. I had done that with my 67 powerglide back when I did the Chevy 11.


Oldcutlass,


I'm not so concerned with detailing the underside as I am with protecting it from corrosion. I was planning on re undercoating for a factory look any way. When I look through the holes in the floor pan bracing I can see bare steel with the slightest amount of surface rust and come spots with none. On the other hand the lower attachemt for the front fenders is very rusty and may need some metal replacement. The worst spot to my surprise is under the hood at the front reinforcement. That area is actually rotted through but the hood is perfect?


What has been your experience with fit and finish of aftermarket weather-strip and rubber parts? Also do you guys have any thoughts on the steering box issue I mentioned?


Thanks,
Jeff K.

oldcutlass

Most would kill for their car to be in the shape of yours. It looks very solid.

jkcab95

Eric,


It is funny you say that. I have found that if it needs to be replaced it doesn't matter how bad a shape it is in. Short of a basket case or serious rust they all seem to require the same amount of restoration. I am dreading the passenger side body work. It looks as if it was creased along the side in the 50s. I say that because you can see the depression in the door from the inside and the lead where the paint has peeled on the outside. The scary part is the pillar between the doors. It looks like a bad repair and I'm afraid of what I will find under the paint. The paint will need to be stripped because it looks like it was an Earl Shive enamel repaint. The previous owner compounded it to a translucent finish and you can see the primer in places. The bumpers are really badly bent and rusty and the rest is just pitted enough to need to be re-done or replaced.


Here are some more photos, the last one is the inspection sticker from the original owner. It was there when I bought the car.


Jeff K.

Rocketowner

As to your question to Oldcutlass about the fit of weatherstripping and rubber parts,I replaced my weatherstripping purchased from Steel and it worked well and iis holding up with no problems.My car has never had anything but a partial repaint and weatherstripping replaced. Larry

oldcutlass

I don't have much experience with the weather stripping on the 50's cars, the 60's and 70's are pretty easy and the fit is generally good. Steele Rubber makes a very good product.

Tedd Thompson

X2 on Steele rubber products I've never had a problem with their products.


You might look into using a rust converter for the places that are hard
get to or remove.It will help keep the rust from working for quite some time. It's water thin and can be sprayed into areas that can't be sanded or reached with a paint gun. It converts red iron oxide to a black oxide which stops the working of the rust.

As far as glass goes you probably can remove it without much of a problem(cut it out) but replacing it it may be better to have a glass shop put it in. New front glass goes for around $500 bucks and I know of two of my friends that broke new glass trying to install it them self.

Can't help much on the steering as my car hasn't needed anything in that area but others here have had theirs rebuilt with good results.....Tedd

jkcab95

Thanks for the replies,


I've replaced a few windshields in the past but they have always been broken and I was reusing the old gasket. They were not curved and that dose give pause for some concern.


Anyway I thought you would like to see some pictures. I did not have much time this week but I am determined to make some progress no matter how small every week. I decided to smooth out some bumper trim pieces before packing them up. the photos are in order of progress. The first ones show the damage followed by some progress and then final sanding. The finish buff I will save till they are ready to be re-installed. I will need to make two posts so you can see all the photos.


Hope you like em,
Jeff K.

jkcab95

And here are a few more.

Tedd Thompson

Excellent job on the trim pieces all that will save you bucks if you send it out to be finished buffed or are you doing it all your self?....Tedd

jkcab95

Thanks Ted,


The first pic is the before and the last pic is the after. I will finish buff myself. It just needs one more shot on an open wheel with stainless compound.


The only trouble is it is very time consuming. The piece in the picture took 4 hours to straighten not including making a few tools the right shape. Then its file flat and through the grits, 180 to 1500.


The bottom of both front fenders look like they will need some metal replaced right in front of the support rib. I'm not sure how I'm going to accomplish that? Someone filled them with Bondo before me!


Jeff K.

Sporty45

Very nicely done, Jeff! You do nice work, and I know how tedious it can be to get them right. If the rest of the car gets this kind of attention it will be a stunner!

rket56

Did a lot of the work you are doing now on mine, but just jacked the body off of the frame, a lot of hand scraping/painting and new body mounts. Your rear pinion seal is probably leaking due to the clogged vent located on top of the rear axel on the d-side. I pulled the axel and replaced the bearing and seals along with the new pinion seal. I built my own spray/sand blast booth around the front of the car, using pcv and plastic tubing when I re-did the firewall to accommodate duel circuit disc brakes. Be careful of the hood springs, trying to remove and re-installing can be dangerous. I used cadmium spray paint on the hood latch and it came out pretty good. I have a lot of pics if you need more detailed info. Chuck

jkcab95

Thanks for the info Chuck it is much appreciated. I have started on the upholstery to break up the monotony of cleaning parts. here are a few photos. I had said I would chronicle the upholstery job as I go. I am not sure this is the right place to do it. I will do the first post here and if you guys think I need to move the project to another location please direct me where you think best.


The first two photos are of the drivers side door panels. The first is the rear and was the best looking of the four. The second is the front and you can see how deteriorated the arm rest is. I tried to buy some Chevy ones in hopes of modifying them to fit. They were to large and made from the wrong material. I was hoping to see a couple of cars at the last cruise night to compare but it was rained out. It appears the rears are smaller on the Chevy and I thought they might work. I suppose I will be fabricating my own from some material I purchased from McMaster Carr. Fortunately the rear pad is in almost mint condition and will serve as the pattern.


The next two are of the door panel removed and the back of the front door panel. For those of you who have not removed one before you can see the fasteners and tabs that need to be bent back and removed. If anyone has specific question please ask and I will do my best to answer. I am not including every photo and step in the process here so you will need to ask for more detail.


The next photos are of the rear door panel stripped and ready to be traced onto the new door panel material. I have read much about the debate over the type of material used for the door panels. I chose the original water resistant cardboard for several reasons. You can see from the photo the panel board is fairly complicated. The cardboard will be much easier to cut. Since this will be a complete restoration I will be installing new window seals and gaskets to seal out the moisture. The car probably wont see much weather so I suspect they will last my life time. The other more important reason is the upholstery is sewn directly to the panel. This limits the type of material needed for the job. If the machine you have available can not handle the material and cardboard, you will need to sew the vinyl together and then staple it to the panel bending the staples over on the back.


My machine is a Singer 96-10 from 1918. It is a high speed tailoring machine and really not the ideal machine for upholstery. You can use any home machine for upholstery provided it meets a few minimums. A presser foot that can lift at least a 1/4" and be able to take a #18 needle for use with #69 or Tec 90 thread. You will find a few times were sewing will be difficult but if you work your way through the area by hand ( turning the hand wheel ) you will be successful. If you have never sewed before you should read the manual for the machine and then take some heavy paper and draw a series of lines and curves with a pencil. Take the tread out of the machine and practice following the lines as you punch holes in the paper with the needle.


The next photos are of the completed panel blank and the tools used to complete the job. A sharp utility knife and a few passes will cut the outside. An inexpensive set of gasket punches and a scrape of wood to back them up. A real sharp set of chisels are a great time saver. Just gently rock them from side to side to cut through the panel, there is no need to beat on them with a hammer. Tool abuse is a shameful thing!


I hope you all like the first installment. As I said previously I can provide more or less detail as we go just let me know. The next installment we will make the patterns, discuss materials, substitutions and possibly do a little sewing. Ho Boy!!


Jeff K.