1939 Chevy coupe

[oletrux4evr]

Saw this nice little console made from a shift boot, two valve covers, a little sheet metal and a huge socket as the cupholder........pretty neat.

[1946Austin]

Saw this nice little console made from a shift boot, two valve covers, a little sheet metal and a huge socket as the cupholder........pretty neat.

The idea is good, but looks like it must be in a rat rod? I'm afraid even my low budget project needs something a little nicer. But I think a similar idea using old aluminum valve covers could work if I weld aluminum sheet between them and polish or brush the finish, and cut holes for cup holders! But I might have to rebuild my shifter if I do this as it's a short arm, and it might restrict movement if the boot was that high above the floor.

[1946Austin]

Wife finished up my sun visors, and I installed them this morning. They look great, and work nicely!
Then I decided to tackle a job I've been putting off for awhile. The '39 rides pretty stiff, and I planned to remove some leafs up front. Always a guessing game as to how many, and how it will affect the stance. So I decided to go big, and took 3 of the 5 leafs out, but the shortest 3 leafs. That is a total of 3/4" off the stance, and with less spring rate I figured I'd lose another 3/4"-1" on top of that.
So I set about to remove the 3 leafs, and build a spacer block to adjust for the loss. I had plenty of extra length on the U bolts, so I used heavy wall 2"x 2" box tubing, and cut it 5" long. I drilled a hole at center, and opened one side up to 3/8" and the other side up to 9/16" I bolted a stainless steel 3/8" allen bolt in the 3/8" hole to be the alignment pin. The other fits over the 3/8" pin on my springs. Before installing the spacers I cut 2"x 2" plates to weld over the ends of the box tubing to make it stronger, and make it look like a solid block.
Bolted it all together, and lowered the car down on the ground. My before and after measurements were 1/2' difference, and that's 1/2" higher. So it appears my seat of the pants guess on the spacer was as close as I could guesstimate. Love when I get lucky!
Took it for a ride, and even with only two long leafs, the ride is still firm, but not nearly as hard as it was before. Glad to get this mod done, and it actually was a lot easier, and quicker than I thought it would be!

[oletrux4evr]

Actually that console was in a primered '38 Dodge pickup.. Unfinished class.
Nice to see someone else uses the 'offset plate' method to re-center or re-create spring pins........

[1946Austin]

Actually that console was in a primered '38 Dodge pickup.. Unfinished class.
Nice to see someone else uses the 'offset plate' method to re-center or re-create spring pins........

Those blocks aren't offset plate type. They're straight through, so simply raise the stance and no offset forward or back. Same setup, but I didn't need any adjustment, so didn't do any offsetting.

[1946Austin]

Took a look into installing the electric door locks on the '39 today, and just stuffed them back in the bag for now. Where they attach to the locking mechanism is nearly impossible to access, and if I pull it all out to add the clamp from the kit, I'm unsure how to determine where to clamp it to ensure I can still have the solenoid sitting where it needs to go. So I shelved it for now.

I decided I had enough miles to spend some time going over all the front suspension bolts. Most are grade 8 with locking nuts, so not much that can work loose, but I also had some grade 5 bolts that came with new parts, and wanted to change those out to grade 8.
The Speedway disc brake kit had two 7/16NF locking nuts missing, and I forgot I never replaced those. When I saw they were still regular nuts I got grade 8 locknuts, and figured I'd replace them today. They hold the tierod brackets to the spindles, so pretty important!
When I went to remove the nuts today they had backed off a good 1/8" from tight!! I was shocked to see this, and checked the other bolt that had a locking nut, and they were still tight. But I've had a little bit of "wandering" in my steering, and I bet this was the case. I replaced the nuts with the grade 8 locknuts, and put blue Loctite on all 4 nuts also, just for extra security!
I also replaced all the 1/2NF U bolt nuts for the springs with grade 8 nuts, and Loctited them too. Never seen U bolts with grade 5 nuts before, and didn't like the looks of them for such a critical fastener.
So with everything checked, tightened, Loctied, and changed; I took it for a short spin. The steering is noticeably crisper, and more precise, with no wandering going down the freeway. So I'm glad I took time to check everything after a few hundred miles!

[SuperBuickGuy]

it's dang hard to properly lead a protester with loose suspension parts, glad to see you've got that fixed

[1946Austin]

it's dang hard to properly lead a protester with loose suspension parts, glad to see you've got that fixed

Yeah, I'd give them a 5' lead, and then the car wanders around and I hit them off a little and just wound them. Irritating.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Yeah, I'd give them a 5' lead, and then the car wanders around and I hit them off a little and just wound them. Irritating.

they are fleet little m'fer's

[1946Austin]

they are fleet little m'fer's

Yes, but easily lured into complacency by a little signal fire. Toss one out in front and they stop to watch it burn!

[SuperBuickGuy]

Yes, but easily lured into complacency by a little signal fire. Toss one out in front and they stop to watch it burn!

I'll have to try that, I've been waving a small US flag to get them to funnel to the front... but sometimes there needs to be added incentive...

[1946Austin]

I'll have to try that, I've been waving a small US flag to get them to funnel to the front... but sometimes there needs to be added incentive...

It's also easier in the "big cities" where they tend to herd up. Don't have to be as accurate with swarms of dead beats as you do in less populated ares!

[1946Austin]

Been having issues with my fuel cell QD filler cap. Sometimes I wrestle with it for several minutes at the pump before I get it off. I finally got irritated enough to order a different filler with a 45 degree neck, and pipe thread billet aluminum cap. It arrived this morning, so figured I'd see what it took to replace the old cap. 12 bolts on the outside, with a ring on the inside that hols the 12 nuts. Fun!
Easy to remove, and once I got to the last bolt I reached inside with my fingers to hold the ring as I removed the last bolt. It's a split ring, so I pulled it out to match it to the new filler, and all was good. Then I thought, "How do I hold the ring below, with a 1.25" filler neck on top?"
No way to reach down the neck to hold it! I started one bolt with the new neck turned to one side, but when I tried to swivel it into place the ring moved too! Fought it for awhile, an then decided to bend up two pieces of iron tie wire to make hooks on each end that I'd use to hold the ring up while assembling the filler. I slid the gasket over the wires, and then the plate one wire at a time. Pulled the ring up, and held it with the wires in one hand as I started bolts with the other. A juggling act, and I kept thinking if I dropped it I'd be fishing it out of the fuel cell with my bare hands! Fortunately after a fair amount of struggling, and some cussing, I was able to get some screws started. Then I pulled hard on the iron wire to straighten it out and pull if free of the two holes.
While the filler was out I bent the float arm up too, so it wont have over half a tank when it reads empty! Had to guess what it needed, so hope it leaves me a few gallons when it hits empty, instead of 7 gallons at empty!
And a bonus of changing the filler, (besides easily filling gas!) is I can fill gas right up to the top of the tank now. The filler is about 4" tall, so wont shut the pump off before the tank is full.

[1946Austin]

I was invited to meet with a car club this morning, by a friend who knows me and the previous owner of my '39 Chev coupe. He told Ed he had a "surprise" for him, and to be sure he made it to breakfast today. Drove out to meet the guys, and Ed showed up late, so didn't get to see his reaction outside, but did see it inside. He was grinning when he saw me, and after saying hello he told me he was tickled to see his old '39 on the road, and done up in gasser style. He added that he was glad somebody got it who followed through with it, as he'd never have gotten it done himself. Another guy asked if he wanted his '39 back, but Ed said it was in good hands, and he couldn't afford it now.
Ed is an old Bonneville racer who runs a '51 Chevy with a 301 straight six, and a lot of other work done to it. It runs 127 mph on the salt, and he's hoping to get it to 130 mph club the next trip down. He spun it out last year at over 100 mph when the clutch began to slip, and thinks it could be close to going 130. But he said the salt is literally eating the car away! In just 6 years of running it there, the fenders, brackets, frame, and most metal parts are falling apart. Even with a pressure washing each time he gets home, it still eats everything up!

[SuperBuickGuy]

But he said the salt is literally eating the car away! In just 6 years of running it there, the fenders, brackets, frame, and most metal parts are falling apart. Even with a pressure washing each time he gets home, it still eats everything up!

whaa? salt eats metal? you'd think someone would have voted to make sure that doesn't happen anymore...

The Corvette is being watched by the guy I bought it from - so I have to be careful posting (though finding that cut wire for the left tail light severely challenged that self-imposed limit)....