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Good Evening,
First post - apologies if it's a loaded/general post.
I inherited my Grandfather's 1938 Olds 6-cylinder after his passing. Unfortunately he and I didn't get to talk about the car much while he was alive, so I'm trying to gather as much information on it to keep it in good, drivable condition.
Most of the car is intact and original I believe. There are some obvious modifications he made in the electrical department, but I believe most of the original car is there.
He had it running right up until his passing about 2 years ago. But there is a significant coolant leak which I believe to be at the water pump (pictured below). I've found a gasket kit from Hagen's out in WA that I may pick up to have for future use.
To get to the point:
- I was hoping to get some leads on resources in regards to general maintenance, cold start procedures, etc.
- Any links to a post on swapping the gasket on the water pump would be great (I'm unsure of what model years are similar to the 38)
- If anyone has any connections in the Raleigh NC area that I can reach out to for assistance that would be great.
I'm somewhat mechanically proficient but I mostly work on my 2000 4runner and Harley, so I don't want to do something boneheaded/irreversible to the car.
Thank you guys for any help, I'll provide any additional info as needed.
There is no longer an active Oldsmobile club in NC but there is an AACA group in the Triangle area. Those folks can help. I don't personally know anyone in that group but every AACA group I'm familiar with has been good people. If you're set up to receive PM on this site I'll pm the Triangle AACA Chapter's contact info. Or you can go on the AACA website www.aaca.org and search chapters by state.
A '38 should have an automatic choke. Cold start- depress gas pedal to floor ONCE to set the choke and try to start it. Should start and fast idle. Tap the pedal after a few seconds and engine should settle down to normal idle speed.
If it's been sitting a few days it may take a couple more pumps on gas pedal to get fuel to the carb. I often spin the starter a few seconds on my carbed cars to prime the carb and then set the choke and start the car.
I HIGHLY recommend not using ethanol gas in this car. You may have to search but non-ethanol gas should be available in Rollywood. My experience is that gas sourced from the Kenly tank farm tends to give better mileage than gas from Greensboro, which is all we can get up here.
Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.
There is a gas station down the road in Angier that sells ethanol-free gas, so that's easy.
I'll give it a go this week after work, and keep scouring the forums for anything I can find.
Thanks again.
Welcome to C.O., car looks great for 83 years old, you posted in the right forum. Some of the guys familiar with this vintage on here may take a bit to reply.
I just looked on Ebay and there are several reasonably priced shop manuals for sale on there, having a shop manual can be very helpful. Joining the National Antique Olds club can also be helpful. Charles Degges is the 38 Olds advisor in the NAOC, Charles would be a great guy to connect with. Charles drives his 38 to every national meet,
Thanks, I was able to get in touch with Mr Degges and he sent me some great info. He gave me a lot of troubleshooting on the electrical side, which I have limited understanding of, but I’ll take my time with her and make sure things get done in the correct order.
I appreciate everyone’s responses and help.
Nice ride, good to see that its still all original, clad to have you aboard. Your water pump can be rebuilt if you don't find a replacement. There are shops out there that specialize in rebuilding the older stuff...... Tedd
Your Grand Father will be proud of you for keeping his car in the family! I’m glad to see you want to keep the car original, how long did your Grand Father own it? Good Luck!
Your Grand Father will be proud of you for keeping his car in the family! I’m glad to see you want to keep the car original, how long did your Grand Father own it? Good Luck!
Thanks guys.
I'm not sure how long he owned the car, but my mom learned to drive in it, so I would imagine he has had it at least 50 years, maybe longer. He also had a 37 I believe, but has rotted away somewhere if I'm not mistaken.
Just looked a little closer at the pics. Looks like your grandpa added turn signals which is a good idea. Also added a horn button, guess there's an issue with original horn contact on the steering wheel.
Just curious- that battery looks like a golf cart battery which is a deep-cycle type battery. Not sure how it will hold up in automotive service. Tractor Supply, Rural King and NAPA will have suitable 6V batteries, and a good NAPA will be able to get a lot of mechanical parts for this 38.
If you can work on a 2000 Toyota, you're in for a pleasant treat on a car as simple as a 1938 Olds. Just don't overthink it. A set of SAE combination wrenches and sockets along with basic hand tools will fix about anything on this beast without having to plug up a scan tool.
Just looked a little closer at the pics. Looks like your grandpa added turn signals which is a good idea. Also added a horn button, guess there's an issue with original horn contact on the steering wheel.
Just curious- that battery looks like a golf cart battery which is a deep-cycle type battery. Not sure how it will hold up in automotive service. Tractor Supply, Rural King and NAPA will have suitable 6V batteries, and a good NAPA will be able to get a lot of mechanical parts for this 38.
If you can work on a 2000 Toyota, you're in for a pleasant treat on a car as simple as a 1938 Olds. Just don't overthink it. A set of SAE combination wrenches and sockets along with basic hand tools will fix about anything on this beast without having to plug up a scan tool.
Ya, my grandpa definitely would have made some modifications to it, not sure what I'll run into with his changes!!
The battery is a 6V I picked up from O'Reilley's. Electrical is way out of my wheelhouse, so it could very well be something that may not work, so any guidance there would be great.
I picked up the shop manual off Ebay, so my main priorities now are simply getting it started and fixing the water pump leak. I have pretty much a complete tool set-up in the garage for the other toys so I should have everything needed hopefully to do the basics.
Thanks again for all the feedback.
My guess from a far is that it's not the water pump gasket that is bad but the seal around the pump and fan. If it is the gasket one can be cut out by hand of black gasket material, most anything can go bad o a 85 year old car. Should it be the seal there will be liquid coming from the weep hole at the bottom of the pump, easy to see or feel...... Tedd
My guess from a far is that it's not the water pump gasket that is bad but the seal around the pump and fan. If it is the gasket one can be cut out by hand of black gasket material, most anything can go bad o a 85 year old car. Should it be the seal there will be liquid coming from the weep hole at the bottom of the pump, easy to see or feel...... Tedd
Thanks Tedd,
It's a slow drip that lands just below the water pump (picture #8), it was a little tough to source but what you are saying makes sense, I didn't feel much around the gasket, so the seal would make sense.
Arthur Gould is one that specializes in old water pumps.. Very helpful people.. call them..
IF you are not, I use a Florescent dye system, maybe you can borrow one from an auto parts store, call around.. this has saved me a lot of guessing where the problem is..
Arthur Gould is one that specializes in old water pumps.. Very helpful people.. call them..
IF you are not, I use a Florescent dye system, maybe you can borrow one from an auto parts store, call around.. this has saved me a lot of guessing where the problem is.. https://www.amazon.com/MASTERCOOL-53...230003&sr=8-34
Cool inheritance.. Your grandpa would be proud of you!
Fred
OK great, thanks for the links. I picked up the shop manual so I'm combing through that to get a feel for what/where everything is.
Almost got her going today, she ran for about 3 seconds then gave up. We just moved to the neighborhood and buddy down the road is in a classic car club, so hopefully I can get him over and get a new set of eyes on it.
Good afternoon guys,
Making progress on the 38. I went out to my grandparent's house a couple weeks ago - he was the kind of guy who kept everything. He has all kinds of parts for the car, so I was able to find an old water pump (among a ton of other things). Thank you for recommending Arthur Gould - I sent off a pump I found in Pappy's garage and they sent it back looking great.
I had a question with regards to the small hole on the upper driver side part of the pump. There is a rubber gasket type plug (pictured) on the engine block, but I'm unsure if I need to put some gasket maker on the pump to seal it? Arthur Gould was kind enough to provide a gasket for the installation, but it doesn't cover the small hole, only the main slot. The old pump had gasket maker over the whole backside of the pump pretty much, but I could easily tell that was my Grandpa's work, so I'm unsure if it's correct. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you very much. Old and rebuilt pumps. Rubber plug on engine block.
It appears to me that the small hole contacts the piece that sticks out from the head. I would think it would also need some kind of a gasket. With the pitting on the back plate it has seen a lot of moisture. My first guess on that plug on the front of the head would be that it was for a fitting to attach a hose for the heater which was optional on that car.
April 18th, 2021, 02:26 PM
