Customs finishing off my 38 chevee project

went for a spin to the local bike meet tonight.the truck was well recieved and got loads of compliments from the bikers.one guy commented i can hear that from my house every time you start it up.turns out he was living local.had a couple of teething issues .the battery is on its last legs need another .thing is its a side pole one i imported.costly local and have to be ordered and wait wait .new front brakes are bedding in and will need another look to see how things are .not too impressed with the wipers.motor and linkage work ok but the wipers themselves are not up to the job very flimsy.glad i went for the intermittent though.i have a cunning plan for the wipers.it was very overcast heading there it got dark early and rained.interesting spin home.im allways a bit nervous driving in the dark/wet.the lights are a little too far from the edge of the truck for night driving a friend who was heading the same way drove in front for the spin home .just like old times elbow out the window in all weathers.enjoyed the drive.i had reassembled the steering yesterday only to find there was a problem .some tight spots and some noise fron the linkages.i checked to see were they out of phase .this was not the case one shaft was sticking into the steering joint a little too far and was rubbing on the joint.solution was more carefull assembly .its running smooth now loctited and everything..the intention is to machine some flats on the shafts sooner than later.one problem solved another 2 to go

 

on the battery.i found a side pole reduced on the web.to e119 from e147.it arrived today,ordered thursday.even though the package was marked this way up it was delivered on its side.and damaged package when i opened it up it was leaking water or acid.phoned the guy said they will send another .hopefully ill have it this week.its YUASA brand 66AH,3 year guarantee

 

the grub screws on the borguson steering joints are 5/16 unf.to mark the spots on the shafts i had a 5/16 bolt drilled 5mm down the centre..removing one grub screw at a time and replacing it with the bolt i can mark the shaft with a 5mm bit drilling through the bolt.then do the other end of the shaft.remove the shaft i can drill a dimple large enough to locate the grub the 2 do list.

 

when i was putting the doors back on i pushed the door restrictor in to the door.could not find the clutch head screw driver.sitting in the truck i was looking and fiddeling with the link and knob that opens the door from the inside.its still not operating great.when i eventually located the clutch head screwdriver and opened the door up i gave special attention to the link and door knob.i concluded the link was very heavy at the knob end and would benefit from loosing some weight.my intention is to drill some lightening holes in the link and hollow out the knob which seems extremely heavy and face it with an old coin.i know the very man for this job.the lock itself has a good spring and lightening the package should improve things greatly.the link slides in a guide on the door.it seems very loose in the guide.im thinking of glueing a tie wrap to the link for a hard wearing low friction surface on the link photos to follow.

 

battery arrived today. better packed than the last one. fitted right in and ran well with 14 volts. good service for an unusual item in these parts. battery fits under the bench seat .new battery didnt come with vent hose or fittings but the fitting from the last battery went right on yeehaw.!

 

. grub screw bolt drilled on lathe.old lock link bar.started drilling this one to lose weight.drilled this using a step drill.its still doing the job.the knob end is quite heavy .and could do with shedding weight.the knob is heavier than it looks,much heavier than it needs to be.plan is to hollow out the knob and machine the heavier end of the link.the knob has casting marks ,irregularities i normally like but will have to go to lose weight

 

2 x knobs gone on a crash diet come back soon

 

spent a while drilling the old link today.gave the damaged one a trial run.a lot of effort for little reward.made sure i didnt drill the spot welds.will do something similar to the ones in the truck .hopefully the knobs will be back from the machine shop this week

 

knobs were machined today and delivered thanks again mick.the threaded insert is splined and pressed in .no excuses now gotta make time to reassemble

 

even though we have lost a bit of weight im gonna drill some more holes.mick weighed the knob reckons it lost about 1/3 of its weight post machining.way to go !!

 

.well drilled the link and knob.greased up everything ,but it was binding when the door card when back on.ive diagnosed the problem .there is wear on the guide on the lockrail.thebottom edge is worn on the guide allowing the link to move off the guide and rub against the door card.plan is to bend up some thin metal and bond it to the guide.then bond a tie wrap to the new metal guide .it just might work.was thinking of sticking the tie wrap to the link but ill stick it to the guide and save theweight on the moving part.

 

experimented yesterday adding a piece of half mm steel .1 1/2"x 1 1/2" with a 5mm x 1 1/2"
90 degree lip.just held on with masking tape at present.for the first time i have a free moving latch , latch snaps shut every time .need to order up 2 / 1 1/2" strips of stainless to finish the job out.pass side isnt that bad but ill modify that side as well.
i like this part of the build where i can concentrate on fixing the finer faults

 

had another go today. made another piece this time out of 2mm aluminum ,reduced the 5mm lip to 4mm . worked even better .added the tie wrap but it binded a little .removed the tie wrap its working great again. wiped off some of the grease and sprayed with a tec 7 even better. the plan is to go again in 1.5 mm stainless. that will give me more clearance for a tie wrap .if it comes to it will skim a few thou off the latch on the mill

 

called to niall today at his business looking for some 1.2 ,1.5 ,or some 1mm stainless .he didnt leave me down.left with a piece of 1mm ideal for the job.thanx .picked up a tube of superglue on the way home. looking foward to wrapping this job up.1mm is excellent ,leaving more clearance for the tie wrap.

 

ive been barking up the wrong tree with the latch assembly.armed with my 1mm stainless i made another one and fitted it.it was binding the issue is the latch is binding between the guide and the door card..the 2mm piece worked because it gave more clearancebetween the latch and the guide.the 1mm piece reduced clearance,the binding returned.the solution is either a 2mm shim between the latch or to skim a mm from the thicker section of the latch.ill try a shim to confirm.

 

returned the 2mm piece.it worked excellent.the door card has been on and off like a hoes drawers. need a little 2mm mild steel to fix for good.to help replacing the door card i cut the heads off 2 screws to help locate it.just screwed them into the top corners and no more struggles

 

Chris - ya ol’Irish nut - things just don’t work to well inside yer head - enjoy yer posts - keep at it
Later Brother Flea

 

all right Mike .how are you getting along.tell me how do the locks/latches on your 38 work??
now 85 years old the locks have lots of work done.my lockrail was out of shape looks to me the doors may have been used without the door cards. i straightened with a shrinker.but not perfectly straight now.a shim here and another there has them working freely again.lightening the knobs and latch helped loads.going from i job to another does not help things and i was working on 4 different fixs at the same time.back on track now.just the petrol pump on the daily to replace .

 

.mission accomplished today. drivers side done .replaced the door panel, all the screws and nipped them up.its working perfectly.as good as if not better than new (a guess ).ended up making the guide from a little 2mm mild steel.didnt use the stainless because the mild steel is easier to bend and cut.its 1 1/2 square with a 1/8 return.drilled some holes on the side to be bonded and let it ooze through.used some 2mm noise insulation to compensate for the 2mm steel.pass side should be easy now i know the cure

 

Keep at it!

 

Taint gotten to the’38 yet - that’s why I enjoy reading yer posts - figuring you’ll save me time figuring it out for me

 

will do thanx

 

mike in hindsight,the issues here were caused by the lock.it was being slammed shut .it had broken springs in when i got the truck.i replaced them but there was wear and strain on the lockrail which were not apparent.eventually i purchased a v good pair of door locks.they had helper springs installed.the lockrail would benefit from some u section being added something like 2" x1/2 x 1/2.spot welded in place out of 1.5 or 2mm sheet.i had purchased those helper springs L+R but they didnt come with instructions and the vendor couldnt supply any.after replacing guides and rubbers in the B pillar ,the dovetails in the door and the locks plus improvments to the latch.all is well everything works as it should ,the door closes without any play.sound insulation in the door was a great improvement.replaced the window runners and had new glass cut.only job left here is the winders need an overhaul.have a new replacement which ill replace once i locate it again.overall it took a lot of time and effort but well worth it now.door mirrors are also on the agenda,ones that i can see out of.

 

whipped the (pass ) door panel off today for a look around.first there is some play in the locking door handle internally about 1/8 turn but the lock ( latch) is in good condition just added a little 2mm insulation as a packer and it working great.so should be able to wrap this one up the next day.i intend to set up deadlocks for security (on remote fob).but thats another days work,adding another switch to the A pillar so they cant be activated with the doors open or maybe using a relay off the existing interior light switch we will see.

 

I’m glad to see you’re still at it, Vic . I hope you had a good winter.

 

hi leakie im back as myself again.last week spotted a box of Bahco sockets in the middle of the road u turned and blocked the lane .picked the whole set up only a few couldnt be found.they were scattered all over the place.all in the pissing rain.since then ive been working in the garage flat to the mat.cleaned up the 1/2 drive set and replaced the missing items.then mounted all my spanners on the wall metric and a/f.that took a while, afew days.pulled the truck out and swept the floor.pulled a plank from the pit some water there.i decided to drill a 1 1/8 hole either side of the planks this vented the pit hit the holes with a chamfer bit now they are finger holes to remove the boards ,should have done this ages ago..delighted with how the spanners turned no looking for anything now its in my face and im putting them back when im finished.now its time to do some jobs to the truck.

 

started with the bottom rad hose .didnt like it from the start it a green stripe universal type hose .when fitted it was very rigid and reluctant to take the shape needed.a couple of years later it wasnt weeping any fluid and was very difficult to remove.a kettle of boiling water softened it and it came out eventually.ive 2 gates hoses to replace it with. 20225 and 20242..20242 is a little short i will have to extend the outlet on the rad.20225 is too long and it might fit after carefull trimming.these hoses dont grow on trees here.i have a extra rad outlet sticking this in the hose will allow me trim the hose accuratly. time will tell.loads of other jobs to do.some upgrades ,some just improving on the original jobs ive done.pics soon hopefully.the weater has warmed a little its good to work on it again after a winter break.water pump is a long one from edelbrock. never noticed it before but the outlet isnt as tapered as it could be ill clean that up with a file to ease hose fitment.im regularly dissapointed by the quality of parts .that aluminum edelbrock water pump was not cheap chalk that one down.

 

continued with the bottom rad hose fitment .filed the water pump outlet.hose fits on better awkward to file it.trial runned it.it was long at the radiator end.removed an inch.placed the spare outlet in the pipe tightened the hose clip measured and cut along its edge.for a better than factory finish.offered it up deccided another 1/4 "had to go.it fitted well cleared the petrol line and the pump.but then i spotted a deep cut in the new hose at the waterpump end .hose was junk sure to leak when it gets hot.rang a friend who s on holiday going to nascar .hopefully he will bring a Gates 20225 home with him when he returns.

 

next job id like to space the fan shroud back off the radiator about1/2 to 3/4".there is room to do that.fit a overflow bottle on the rad is on the list.need the heads off to confirm tdc and set up my adjustable timing pointer once and for all.and then bleed and sort out the brakes.

 

after the disappointment with the rad hose.i was looking for something quick to do.a holley manual choke kit arrived from the us last week.hoping to get it working on a barry grant 625 4 barrel vacuum secondaries.it looks like it could fit.opened the box from summit ,holley#45-225.instruction were vague ,no diagrams, an embarrasment to holley.id never get it on relying on their instructions ffs.so searched my friend u tube,found this one .good vid with better lighting it would be brilliant.conversion came loose in a bag in a box.with this vid i hopt to get it working on BG 625 cfm carb