A good weekend

Friday was a beautiful day and I was able to make the rounds to visit my buddy Dennis that sold me the '41, the folks at More Power, did some shopping at Sam's Club and paid a visit to a shop that does high end restorations and was recommended by my friend Paul.  Jerry calls his business Paradise Motors and I had him take a look at the '41 to see about having some paint work done on the front of the car.  The headlight rims had been removed previously with a sharp tool (probably a screwdriver) and the dark green paint is badly chipped around the bottom of the rim.  Also, the area under both fender ornaments and the edge of the fenders where the hood lays have chips in the paint.  All total, I put about 50 miles on the car on Friday. 
     Saturday was rainy and cold so the 41 stayed in the garage.  When I did move it, however, I had the unpleasant surprise to find an oil puddle on the floor!  It appears the repair I attempted on the rear main seal was unsuccessful.  Now I'm in a quandary as to what to do next; build another short block using the '54 block I have or pull the engine, completely disassemble it and have the back of the block machined for a one piece seal. 
     The wife and I took the '41 to a family lunch gathering today and I used the GPS to check the speed on the speedometer.  Looks like the calibration went well as the two speeds match exactly.  We had a ball driving the car today.  It was sunny and in the 60's and people were waving and smiling at us everywhere we went.  Kinda nice to enjoy the new radio and listen to some old tunes while driving a 71 year old car!  Tomorrow morning I'm driving to Maksim's so Tom can finalize the front end alignment and recheck the brake system for leaks.  One final brake bleeding should make her totally road worthy.  Hopefully, the oil leak isn't coating the bottom of the car and making a mess!  I'll find out tomorrow when she's on the rack.

Ready for the road!

Drove the 41 to Lentz USA to have a new exhaust system installed on Tuesday.  They kept the car over night and finished the job on Wed.   The exhaust looks good and is much higher under the car this year.  Pipes are only 1 3/4" due to the tight area next to the engine where the pipes run side by side.  I don't expect any major performance loss with the smaller pipes since I'm not into maxing out the horsepower.   Here's a pic I took while the car was still on the rack.

Notice how the passenger side pipe is routed under the transmission and over the frame to crossmember arm.  This allows the pipes to tuck as close as possible to the floor.  The driver's side had to be routed under the arm due to the location of the master cylinder.  While the car was on the hoist, I was able to inspect everything.  Found a couple of minor brake line leaks that I was able to tighten the fittings today and correct. 
     Took care of several minor things today; rotated the steering column a bit to properly position the levers and applied some silicone to the hose carrying the rear wires thru the floor.  The one major project was removing the door weather stripping and installing new.  The doors fit much tighter now.
I received a replacement passenger wiper assembly last week from Owens Salvage in Texas.  UPS managed to mangle the box and break the lever off the tower.  Bob at Owens is a stand up guy.  He sent another one right away and it arrived today.  Turns out the UPS damage was a bit of a blessing as the replacement unit is in much nice shape that the first one.  The chrome on the first one was badly pitted while the replacement is very near the quality of what is on the car now.
     UPS also cost me 2 1/2 weeks waiting for a box of parts from Chevsofthe40s.com.  The replacement arrived yesterday and the new knobs look great on the wiper and heater/defroster controls.  Here's a more complete interior pic.

Also received the headlight rim gaskets and got them installed too.  Also connected the wire for the glove box light.  Tomorrow I'll install the side mirrors and attempt to program the speedometer before paying a visit to More Power. 

Weekend Update

With the engine compartment completed, I thought it might be a good idea to take a couple pics before the hood went on.

     Dan came over yesterday, Saturday, and helped me get the hood reinstalled.  I had some aligning to do later since the entire front end had been removed/reinstalled and a new gasket had been installed at the rear of the hood.  The exhaust pipe I had re-bent didn't do much for clearance from the ground.  I got the pipe and muffler installed but the pipe still hits on the ground.  I plan to take it back to Lentz tomorrow and get it bent again so I can drive the car there for a new exhaust system install on Tues.  While the exhaust was in place, I fired up the motor and made sure all was working correctly.  I was very pleased with the results!  All the gauges worked perfectly - fuel level seems correct, 14+ volts on the volt meter, 30 lbs of oil pressure at idle and the engine warmed up to 160° and stayed right there.  Couldn't help but smile!  I checked the timing with my timing light and monitored the rear main seal for any signs of leaks.  So far, so good - NO LEAKS!   The 6 volt, foot activated starter works like a champ on 12 volts; just like all the old timers said it would.  The engine start had occurred earlier in the week so once the hood was installed, I bolted on the bell housing pan and front shield.  That was the last bag of bolts remaining from all the tagged parts!
     I ran without the vacuum advance last year and didn't have any issues but several articles I've read seem to indicate these old 235 6's like the vacuum advance working.  So I installed the vacuum tube for the vacuum advance connecting the distributor to the carburetor today too.  We'll see what effect it has.        
      Almost forgot, I made a wooden floor panel for the trunk today.  I used some left over pieces of Luan flooring material and made a two piece floor cover.  This will eventually be covered with carpet material at LA Trim.  The floor covers the spare tire well and will allow for a clean, organized area to carry the EZ Up canopy, lounge chairs and cooler for car shows and outings.  I don't plan to carry a spare tire since the front wheels are 5 lug and the rears are 6 lug.   
     I'm hoping the coming week goes according to plan.  The replacement dash knobs and new head light rims should be here from Chevsofthe40s.com, the passenger windshield wiper should arrive, the exhaust system will be installed, I'll connect the light wire for the glove box light and get the wiper installed.  Then I can begin the removal of the old weather stripping around the doors and get the new pieces installed.  Still a few things to do but I'm hoping to be on the road by this coming Thursday. 
    

Just pickin' away

     Got a few more items accomplished today.  Clutch and brake pedals are back in and adjusted.  Pumping the brake pedal revealed a leak in a t-fitting connection for the pressure switch.  It was in a tight location but I was able to tighten it and stop the leak.  The driver's side exhaust pipes are back on the car.  All the exhaust will be removed again next week when I take it in to Lentz to be reworked.  I stopped in there today and discussed the new configuration I have in mind with removable sections and they agreed to do the job.  I had missed one electrical item and decided to put that on today.  The glove box light/switch assembly needed a new wire installed so I did that and put it back inside the glove box.  Once the car is back on the ground, I'll route the wire to the power connection on the terminal block to complete the install. 
     Just found out tonight that Dave Marfia aka: Dave Dunnit was seriously injured  in a car accident this past Sunday.  He was scheduled to apply some pinstripes on the firewall panel this week.  Looks like I'll just install the panel without the pinstripes for now.  Get well soon Dave!
     Need to take the other exhaust pieces to Lentz tomorrow so they can apply a bend to one pipe and expand another.  This will allow me to have both mufflers on the car when I take it in next week.
     UPS was supposed to deliver a package yesterday from Chevsofthe40s.com but it never showed.  Didn't show today either.  The package contains the headlight rim gaskets and the new knobs for the wipers and heater fan.  Did a phone follow up with UPS and it looks like the package is lost.  Now I have to call the vendor tomorrow and start a claim.  What a pita!
     Received a reply today from Owens Salvage in Texas regarding a replacement wiper for the passenger side.  They have one that has a "few pits" in the chrome so I ordered it.  Hopefully, it's not in too bad of shape. 
  

Feels good..........

.....to be able to sit in the seat of the 41 again!  Got the interior fully reinstalled including new lap belts for the front passengers.  Still need to install the clutch and brake pedals and the new knobs for the wipers and heater blower.  The knobs will be here tomorrow.  Here's the new carpet and seat brackets installed.

    When I took the front seat out, I discovered the reason the seat had been so difficult to move.  The passenger side of the release rod wasn't connected properly and it was bent.  I straightened the rod and used a tie wrap to secure the passenger side since the stock retaining clip was broken too.  The mats laying behind the front seat are actually for the front foot areas.  LA Trim made those from carpet scraps that were left over.
     Here's a couple pics of the heater blower motor replacement.  The original motor was the same 3" diameter as the replacement unit so I used a hammer and chisel to remove the 3 L type brackets that were welded to the old motor.  These had been used to bolt the motor in the center of the housing.  I ground off the spot welds and attached the brackets to the housing.  Then I pushed the new motor within the brackets and checked the position of the squirrel cage fan.  A large hose clamp was used to firmly secure the new motor to the brackets.

     Next, I enlarged the hole for the wires so a rubber grommet could be installed.  This is a 3 speed motor so 4 wires run from the motor to a switch on the dashboard.  I used new wiper switch from KwikWire to control the motor but only connected the low and medium speeds on the motor as low and high on the switch.

     Here's the 2 fans prior to cleaning.  I'm not sure why the 4 blade fan is used but I reinstalled in anyway.

     I couldn't resist climbing in the back seat and checking out the view of the dash area.  Puts a smile on my face!

     Don't think I ever mentioned replacing the cigar lighter with a new style power plug.  This will give me a connection for the gps unit.  Time for a road trip!  Next is getting the exhaust system reinstalled well enough to take it back to Lentz for a full system rebuild.  The pinstriping should be done this week too.  I'm going to wait a bit to install the new windshield glass and mouldings.  Need to do some more research and I may have someone else do that job.

Still pluggin' away.

Haven't taken any pics for a while because the majority of the work isn't very visible.  Here's a partial list of the things I've finished up. 
- The wiring is completed and tested.  All the exterior lights, turn signals, new led 3rd tail light, dash lights, and radio all work perfectly.  I replaced the tail lights rather than rewire the sockets.  I have to install the electric wipers yet and the heater assembly to complete the wiring. 
- The passenger side wiper transmission has a broken chain and I'm unable to fix it.  For now I'm going to install the wiper tower without the transmission arm on the passenger side and only use the driver side wiper if I'm caught in the rain.
- Got the firewall panel back from the powder coater and it turned out nice.  I talked to the pinstriper today and he promised to come here soon and have it done by next Friday.
- Ordered and received wiper tower gaskets, cowl vent gasket, headlight rims, clutch and brake pedal rubber stops, and door moulding.
- Dick at More Power was unable to modify the shafts on the heater fan motor.  His lathe is too big.  So, I contacted a fella I worked with a few years ago.  He has a small shop at this house and was able to use a small lathe he has to reduce the two shafts from 5/16" to 1/4".  He then cut them off to 7/8" long and the motor is now a near perfect physical match for the stock 6v motor.  This 12 volt motor has 3 speeds with individual leads and I've tested it with a 2 speed windshield wiper switch.  It worked perfectly without a fan load and I'm confident it will work fine as I plan to run it on only 2 speeds.
- Added a vent tube to the rear axle housing.  Never put one in last year so it seemed like a good idea.
- Took the front tires down to Maksim's earlier this week to have them balanced and new chrome valve stems installed.
- Installed the cotter keys in the upper and lower control arms and in the tie rod ends.  Also added one turn to the front springs to bring up the front end a tiny bit.
- Replaced the dual 6 volt horns with a single 12 volt Ooga horn from Harbor Freight.  Had to take the steering wheel off and take the top of the steering column apart to shift the horn ring.  It was contacting the turn signal arm and causing the horn to blow intermittently.
- Was told the stock knob for the windshield wipers would work with the new electric wiper setup - NOT true - at least not true on a 41 Chevy.  Instead, I opted to remove the choke and throttle cable knobs from the dash area by the radio and mounted the wiper knob on the left and the heater fan control on the right.  I found a couple of aluminum knobs with the right size hole for the shafts on the switches and the knobs match the headlight switch knob as well as the turn signal and column adjusting knobs.  Those should be delivered along with new headlight rim gaskets on Monday.

     I'm planning to get the car back on the road in the next week or two and then continue with the additional moulding and windshield installations as time permits.  I'll take some pictures of the finished wiring installation this weekend as well as progress I'll be making on the interior reinstall.