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1939 Chevy coupe

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  • While I'm waiting on the new carb, and we're self quarantining, I figured I'd tie up loose ends. I got little bits and pieces over the weekend, so began assembling some things.
    Installed the throttle cable, and cut it to length for housing. Wait to trim the inner cable after the carb is here. Installed the pedal assembly, and repaired the broken end on the cable arm. Someone broke it off, so I cut a piece of 1/8" stock and drilled and bolted it to the arm to make it back to the correct length.
    I also got the sight glass repair kit for the old Demon, and installed those parts. Will stick it on Craigslist and hope to get my money back on it.
    I had a nice polished stainless catch can-recovery tank, so built brackets and plumbed it into the radiator. Filled it with coolant and it's ready to go.
    I keep an old fan belt here to measure with that is cut at one end. I wrapped it around the pulleys, and then measure the length of how short it is, or how much too long it is. Then take the measurement to the parts store and get a belt. This engine needed a 55" for the alternator/water pump, so got that taken care of too.
    Carb is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, and if it gets here early enough I may try round 2 of starting the engine. Weather is gorgeous here today at low 60's and supposed to be similar all week. Was actually nice enough to leave the doors open on the shop wile I worked on the coupe today!

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    • It arrived too late to install today, but tomorrow for sure! The new Quick Fuel 650 DP carb! I like the two tone look Quick Fuel does.



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      • Sure was nice today!

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        • Originally posted by Deaf Bob View Post
          Sure was nice today!
          Yes, and of course the brown truck wasted the day driving back and forth around my neighborhood! I see him go down the side street just one house away in the morning. But by the time he goes East-West it's always after 2:00 p.m.! Sometimes I think I should have things delivered to my buddy who lives around the corner so it will arrive earlier! He always gets his UPS by 9:00 a.m.
          But there's all day tomorrow, and it's supposed to be another warm day. Friday even warmer at mid 60's!!

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          • My Buster Brown Driver and I are on the Same Page, being a Fellow Teamster Member......
            FedEx....I'm on the 4th Driver 18 Months....
            I get most Fed Deliveries transferred. To my Post Man....
            Such is Life in Area BFE ...

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            • I got the '39 fired up today, and it ran pretty well for no tune at all. Loaded it up on Youtube so I can post a link at the end of this reply.

              All went well, but it did get pretty warm running inside the shop until I turned the fan on. Then it ran around 180 degrees. I'm sure when it's outside it will run cool regardless.
              Had an issue with that nifty stainless steel upper radiator hose though. It leaked after I shut the engine off, and wouldn't stop no matter how much I tightened the clamps. I pulled it off and thought I'd just run the open hose with the SS hose, but that's when I saw the clamps had actually dug into the splice hose at each end and split it! The cheap hose had no cloth reinforcement inside, and was more of a soft pure rubber than regular radiator hose is. I went over to the parts store and bought a 1.5" radiator hose that had enough straight section to cut off two 5" straights. Slid them on and tightened the heck out of them. They held beautifully and work like radiator hose is supposed to work.
              I stuck a timing light on the engine and it was only off about 2 degrees after timing it by ear. Still need to final adjust lifter lash, and tweak the carb. Also need to get a carb return spring as the idle kept fluctuating if I didn't press the linkage closed a little by hand.

              1939 Chev coupe first start up on engine.


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              • Spent the day cleaning out the interior of all the crap and tools leftover from final wiring thrash. Then pulled wires through the trunk bracing, and assembled and wired the original license plate light. I'll also be adding a 3rd eye that will sit on top of the license plate, so pulled the extra wire for it too.
                Got the seats out of storage and gave them a dye job to go from charcoal gray to black. Then bolted them back in the car so I can sit when I'm pulling it outside to do the sanding. While bolting the seats in I noticed some fluid on the shop floor! I put my finger in it and it was tranny fluid! I mounted the trans cooler under the car to keep it concealed, and away from other heat. It was a freebie from a buddy, and brand new. But it appears it got nicked somehow, or bumped, and it leaks. So I'll have to buy another and replace it before I top off the trans.
                Buddy stopped by this morning to hear it, and I was happy to oblige. Jumped in and gave it a couple pumps to set the choke and touched the key. It fired in a half second, and rumbled away perfectly. I looked at him, and he was grinning. He asked if I put fuel injection on it, since it fired so easy cold.

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                • Originally posted by 1946Austin View Post
                  While bolting the seats in I noticed some fluid on the shop floor! I put my finger in it and it was tranny fluid!


                  eeew stop hanging out with bruce jenner and this kinda stuff wont happen.....
                  just kidding. sounds nice & rumpy at the tailpipes, amazingly fast build. wish
                  i could get stuff done on my 55, but life is just kicking my fat@ss lately, no
                  time no $$$ and zero energy for anything extra.

                  anyway, congradulations on getting it fired, again-sounds great !

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                  • Originally posted by fatguyzinc View Post

                    wish I could get stuff done on my 55, but life is just kicking my fat@ss lately, no
                    time no $$$ and zero energy for anything extra.

                    anyway, congratulations on getting it fired, again-sounds great !
                    I was thinking this was taking me forever? The last couple builds took half as long as I've done already, and this one still has months to go!

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                    • Originally posted by 1946Austin View Post

                      I was thinking this was taking me forever? The last couple builds took half as long as I've done already, and this one still has months to go!


                      age might be partially to blame...my first c3 vette i did a 350 to 454 swap,
                      started at 7am (drained coolant on 350-drove it home the night before...)
                      the 454 was in and was running by 5pm--100% solo.

                      last one (same 350 to 454 swap in another c3 vette) took me almost a year with help..............

                      the 1st one i was 22, the last one i was 46.....
                      Last edited by fatguyzinc; March 21, 2020, 08:11 AM.

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                      • Originally posted by fatguyzinc View Post



                        age might be partially to blame...my first c3 vette i did a 350 to 454 swap,
                        started at 7am (drained coolant on 350-drove it home the night before...)
                        the 454 was in and was running by 5pm--100% solo.

                        last one (same 350 to 454 swap in another c3 vette) took me almost a year with help..............

                        the 1st one i was 22, the last one i was 46.....
                        The Austin I started at 60 yrs. old, and the Falcon at 65. Almost 70 now, and this will probably be my last ground up build. When I did the Austin I was eager, and spent 10 hrs. a day, and almost every day of the week on it. Slowed down to 8 hrs. a day, and maybe 4-5 days a week on the Falcon. Now I'm lucky when I occasionally do a 6 hr. day or more, and rarely more than 3 or 4 days a week. Sometimes less if it's too cold out in the shop!
                        But our warm spring certainly has reinvigorated my urge to work! When it's 60's outside it just feels like the perfect temp to work.

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                        • We had another perfect weather day here, so I chanced going to Home Depot and bought a sheet of finished, sanded plywood. I just couldn't sit and twiddle my thumbs knowing in a week everything might be shut down!
                          So started out measuring up the back seat trunk divider, and cut up a filler. The opening is wider than 4', so had to add a filler piece to each side to get it all closed.



                          Then I made another for the base and it sits right on the tunnel. I added braces underneath on each end, and a filler along each side in front. Then bent up some really thin metal to tie the base to the back panel. Like the back panel the base needed fillers on each end also, but the support underneath I made wide enough to screw the pieces to the same support and make it stronger and easier.



                          After that was done I planned on building out the hinged cover to go over the fuel tank filler and cover vent and wiring. But after looking at having to make it narrower than the trunk lid opening to hinge and raise it, plus cutout for battery, and side bracing, I realized there wouldn't be much left of a cover! I decided to make a cover that was boxed in off the existing divider in the trunk, and not hinge it. The divider is 5" tall so I built a box the same height and screwed it to the lip of that divider. So it leaves the battery and gas filler accessible and doesn't require me to lift a panel to fill gas. It left a recess in front, which might be a good place for a space saver spare if I ever took a long trip and wanted to toss in a spare tire and jack.







                          At some point I'll be covering all this with black carpet right up to the package shelf. Probably do the shelf in vinyl to match door panels.

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                          • nice
                            Doing it all wrong since 1966

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                            • Last of the warm weather from what I see in the forecast, so I did some painting today. Wanted to paint the divider and cover box in the car. Hoping paint will allow the carpet to stick even better. And of course paint in the trunk is just to make everything black.



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                              • The Hayden replacement trans cooler came in recently, so tore out the old cooler and fabricated new mounts for the Hayden cooler. Started it up, and no more leaks!
                                I'm glad I got 3 gallons of trans fluid because it too all but one quart to fill the 700R4 trans. Once I got it warmed up and full I tested the gears, and it seemed to work fine. Still need to get it out when the rain stops and adjust the TVR cable to set shift points.

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