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1939 Chevy coupe

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  • Found another source for the 1.5 qt LF-692 oil filters, and they give a great discount for multiples! I got 4 coming my way for $7.46 each, and free shipping! Since I've got three vehicles that can use these I figured I'd stock up!

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    • Hit the Wed. night cruise at the drag strip last night. Temps were perfect at around 77 degrees, but we got beat to our favorite shade tree where we usually park. We were shown a spot in the sun, and after parking I noticed they'd set up a huge canopy for a 4th of July event this coming weekend. I walked over and asked the guy who parked us if we could park under the canopy, and he told me, "I don't know why not?" So we moved under the shade, and had premium parking!
      As soon as we pulled in, a bunch of others asked to park under the canopy also, and it filled up quickly! Was a nice cool spot for cars, and chairs!


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      • Old cars always seem to need attention, even when you've got them finished. Out cruising around town on Sunday when I got off the freeway to get some gas. Rolling off the ramp and as I applied the brakes I felt the pedal begin to drop slowly down. It stopped at about halfway, and the car came to a stop, but with a lot of foot pressure, and a little puckering! Luckily nobody on the ramp, and plenty of room to get it stopped!
        Got my gas and carefully drove home, but still only half pedal and lots of foot pressure to stop it. Once I got home I looked at the master and saw one reservoir nearly empty! Grabbed a flashlight to se where the fluid was going, but all looked dry. I jacked the rear up and put it on jackstands. Put my hand on the brake pedal, and using my foot I stretched back and pushed the rear tire around. It moved with zero resistance, so I knew where the problem was.
        Removed the rear tires, and pulled the brake drums to find the driver's rear was saturated with fluid from a blown wheel cylinder. Passenger side was just starting to weep, but no drips yet. Cleaned it all up with brake clean, and went and grabbed wheel cylinders and shoes for the 1992 Ford 8.8" axle. Was going to just do kits, but I wanted to avoid the possibility of pitted wheel cylinders, so bought new. Of course these days that is a chance taken, as new might be poorly built too.
        Got everything ready yesterday and tore into it. I checked visually for poor machining on the wheel cylinders, and tried the mounting screws only to discover they'd been threaded with a dull tap. So had to run my tap through them to make the bolts work. Fresh brake shoes, and a quick bleed, and off for a test drive! Better than I remembered, even before this failure. So probably was seeping a bit long before it blew out.
        When I got this junkyard axle I checked the brakes before installing it in my '39. The shoes were new, and all looked great, so I just fabbed up mounts and installed it. If I did it again I'd do the same, as no sense in replacing what looks new until it isn't new.

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        • Been really quiet, and trouble free driving lately. Almost boring without any engine or brake issues haunting me now.
          So much so that I decided I'd do a little upgrade I had planned for winter down time now instead of waiting. I've had braided line kit, and fittings to relocate my trans cooler for a month and figured it would be simple and quick. When I built my '39 I located my trans cooler under the passenger side floor to get away from exhaust and engine heat. But the area still sees a fair amount of heat pushed back from the engine bay, so I got the kit with 52" braided stainless lines to relocate the cooler up front.
          When checking the location and line length I installed the braided lines to the 700R4, and loosely routed them to see where I could use up all the length. Turned out to be very close to my furthest forward round tube crossmember that's just below the grille. So I measured out and drilled and tapped for two 1/4-20 holes. Then cut 1/4" all thread studs and locked them into the crossmember with nuts. Slid 3/8" rubber hose over them, and then slid my Hayden cooler over the rubber insulated bolts. A flat rubber washer on each side, with a fender washer over it, and nylock nuts so it didn't need to be over tightened. Connected up the hoses on each end, and added straps to the frame rails to secure it along the length. I had to convert the 6AN line to about 4" of hose at the cooler, as the Hayden cooler has barbed 3/8" hoe inlets.
          It was a quick, and easy job, and it's sitting about as far up front in cool air as it could be.

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          • Got a big scare last weekend. Coming home from a cruise, and beginning to not worry anymore about previous engine/lifter issue. I came off the freeway ramp for home and began to hearing a metallic knock from the engine bay! But not like a lifter, as it was a tinnier knock than lifters or rods. I pulled over once I got on the street and left it idling. Oil pressure and temp were great, but hearing the metallic sound at a lower speed at idle.
            I looked through the open side of the hood and it sounded like it was coming from the water pump? I walked around to the passenger side and it was louder still. Stuck my head inside the opening to get a closer look, and saw the culprit! My polished stainless overflow catch tank was loose from the bracket mount! The radiator had two side brackets that I didn't need for my application and I'd used them to mount the catch can to. The top bracket had an offset bent into it and the bracket broke right at one of the bends. So likely they degraded the bracket when it was stamped out.
            Pushed it away from the fan, and the noise stopped. I headed home slowly to keep it from moving, and the next morning I fabbed up all new mounts to relocate it to my tubular framework that I built to support the frontend. I big relief it wasn't anything motor related, and an easy fix.

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            • whew
              Doing it all wrong since 1966

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              • Yeah !!!
                Whew !!!

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                • Last week the temps finally got lower, and cool enough I wasn't worried about paint drying before it could lay down! I've been planning to do a little tribute on my '39 to Dave Erhmann. Dave was NHRA Nationals Champ with his '39 Chev coupe in 1965-66. Back when I was just starting to drive, and was infatuated with Gas Class cars, and especially Dave's winning '39 Chev coupe!
                  So got my brushes and paint out, and did a little lettering. This is the roof just above the drip rail:



                  And the lower fender edge:



                  Sunday's surprise at the Duke's car show. The '39 got the trophy for "Best Vintage Iron". I really appreciated the acknowledgement of the '39 being classed as "vintage iron" more than just getting a trophy.

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                  • EXCELLENT lettering! Is that what you do for a living?

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                    • Originally posted by DanStokes View Post
                      EXCELLENT lettering! Is that what you do for a living?
                      No, retired electrician. Just too cheap to pay somebody else to do it.

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                      • That looks fantastic!
                        Chris - HRPT Long Haul 03, 04, 05, 13, 14, 15,16 & 18
                        74 Nova Project
                        66 Mustang GT Project

                        92 Camaro RS Convertible Project
                        79 Chevy Truck Project
                        1956 Cadillac Project

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                        • Originally posted by 74NovaMan View Post
                          That looks fantastic!
                          Thanks!
                          This has been a build just for fun, so I'm still making small changes like many of us do over time.

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                          • Originally posted by 1946Austin View Post
                            Last week the temps finally got lower, and cool enough I wasn't worried about paint drying before it could lay down! I've been planning to do a little tribute on my '39 to Dave Erhmann. Dave was NHRA Nationals Champ with his '39 Chev coupe in 1965-66. Back when I was just starting to drive, and was infatuated with Gas Class cars, and especially Dave's winning '39 Chev coupe!
                            So got my brushes and paint out, and did a little lettering. This is the roof just above the drip rail:



                            And the lower fender edge:



                            Sunday's surprise at the Duke's car show. The '39 got the trophy for "Best Vintage Iron". I really appreciated the acknowledgement of the '39 being classed as "vintage iron" more than just getting a trophy.

                            Not surprising... You did great on the Austin!
                            stands to reason you did great with this 39!
                            congrats!

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                            • You can letter for me any old time! Might be a retirement gig if you're so inclined.

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                              • Thanks Bob and Dan! Probably wont be doing this as my 72 year old hands are beginning to get shaky, so it takes me forever to do it and not mess up. I did have a couple mess ups, but if you wipe them off quickly with thinner you can redo them. Or sometimes use a Q-Tip to just "erase" the goof up, and then fix it.

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