That Fresh LeMon Scent--1959 Edsel

[squirrel]

Thanks. Overhauled the carb this morning. Played with the vacuum wiper motor and got it kind of working. Not good enough. Built a new battery tray to fit a modern battery.

[hauen]

My '55 (like most Detroit cars of the era) had the same vacuum wiper setup, it was a pile (come to think of most vacuum operated accessories were pretty much crap). If you're in love with the retro wiper action you'd be better off wiring in a vacuum pump off a diesel. The wipers still won't work that great though. Probably best to convert to electric.

[squirrel]

I have a leftover modern conversion wiper motor for a truck, that I could probably adapt...it would be more likely to work.

[squirrel]

pics....the battery tray was designed for a group 29 battery, which is not so common these days. I made a new one from some old angle, bolted together, that will fit a group 24. Fitting the theme of spending no money, of course.



the guts of the wiper motor...the gaskets tore when I took it apart, so I made some crappy new ones from a manila folder.



The car is mostly done looking, as done as it will be, that is. I'll run it without a hood and see how it works.

[silver_bullet]

WHAT!?!?! no sealed hood class?

[squirrel]

Sealed no hood?

Let's see....the trans is connected up mostly, I got the overdrive cable and solenoid installed, as well as the speedo. It's not wired up though, I need to work on that one of these days, but it can wait. I got my new Chevelle gas tank today, it fit surprisingly well, I had to lengthen the filler neck, which was easy to do. I also got the new fuel pump, it does not have the vacuum side so it was not too expensive. I need to wire up the sending unit on the gas tank and see if it reads full when it's empty (chevy and ford used opposite resistances).

And I worked on the rearend, the pinion seal looked leaky and it seemed a bit loose, so I took out the pinion support, the nut was loose, and the seal was pretty bad. I replaced the seal and O ring and crush sleeve, so it should be good for a while.

[DanStokes]

You're right - that tank fits like it was made for it. So Chevy copied Ford, no doubt!

Dan

[Russell]

Can't believe you put that gas tank on the trunk lid! You might dent it or scratch the paint.

[squirrel]

what, the paint on the tank? yeah, it got kind of messed up underneath....

[squirrel]

Still waiting for a radiator hose...sigh...

But I took off the fan belt after I installed the driveshaft, and I put some gas in the new tank. And I drove the car out of the shop! yay.

The gas gauge works, reads F when it's empty, reads 3/4 full when it has 5 gallons. That's all I need to know.

[DanStokes]

Just remove the tank and turn it over - it'll read correctly then! (I always have simple solutions, don't I?)

Dan

[Scott Liggett]

Chevy sending units read backwards than Fords. Just like their dome lights are wired backwards.

[DanStokes]

Well, it WAS an idea.......

Dan

[CTX-SLPR]

What about the early (or late if this is an early) GM sending units? I know the sender on my 64 Riv was a different range (and I think direction) than the 96 Impala SS assembly I put in it.

[Huskinhano]

That old 90W gear oil must of smelled real nice!