1928 Chevrolet start up after 50yrs of sitting

This is a nice little video of how easy these old cars will fire up after sitting for many years..
The gentleman in this video is Ron Beam from San Jose CA USA - The host of  http://www.1928chevrolet.com/  which is a very informative site for 1928 Chevrolets also Ron kindly sent me over a few spare parts for Monty free of charge from his large collection a while back so thanks for that once again Ron, they were certainly put to good use.. 

Love that sound!!

Some B&W photos in the shed.

Was just having a little fun..

Resto: Main timber rail work

Today I laid out the timber rails then marked the 6 x holes to line up with the old existing mounting holes in the chassis of the chev, although this seemed fairly straight forward I was not 100% sure on where the edge of the timber should sit, at first I thought the inside edge of the timber rail should run along the inside edge of the chassis but after sitting the cowl in position when clamped down I was way out at the front by about 15mm each side hhmmmmm, this didn't look right, and wouldn't work either..
I rang Ray who quickly ran the tape measure over his car here and there and yes we both agreed that his car could be out also, thses cars are all a little different and "ya going to have to fly by the seat of your pants with this a little"....was the conclusion we both came to.
So I continued to measure a few things, stand back in the corner of the shed, scratch my head and have a good look, with nothing to lose I sat the cowl back on top for the umpteenth time and buggar me it all lined up right this time, I removed it all again and then marked the holes, drilled them out and dropped the bolts through, that part was done and out of the way for now........

Next I had to mark and notch out the 2 x timber sections where the cowl timber uprights that holds the front door on extend down through the main rails on each side and yes being a non timber person who has not done any work like this before it can be a little daunting when standing there with the saw in the hand hoping that I have marked it in the right spot because if I haven't and stuff it up and am toast.
It all worked well and everything after I notched it out  sat and locked in place nice and firm and looking at these photos it is all just sitting there and needs to the screwed and bolted down tightly, but I have some painting and other work to do first.  A rewarding few hours work for me and another step closer..... Cheers

Resto: Stage 2 Starts - The body

Today, Sunday was a quiet day with the lawns being mowed, some gardening completed and also a few other odd jobs around the house were knocked on the head, the kids were coming and going with the swimming pool getting a good workout and then there was some time spent in the shed cleaning up a few things and also admiring a couple of items that I brought for a song mind you up at the Bendigo Swap Meet in central Victoria yesterday, Ray and myself made the 700km return trip with a 2.30am start on Saturday morning to be there by 6.00am when the gates opened and I could not believe the crowd that was there at this hour of the morning as the sun was coming up, bargain hunters everywhere as we ran to the "$10 Big Breakfast" tent for bacon and eggs and that much needed coffee, 2.30am start, what were we thinking!!

So today after lunch I removed all the temporary timbers that we had installed to hold up the vacuum tank, steering wheel and foot control for a test drives that we had done over the past months and I removed all the "hot wiring" as well so that I can start to install the new timber rails that Peter from NSW made, the same fella that made the timber steering wheel, brilliant work from a very talented craftsman, thanks Peter once again.

I also have the cowl back now from panel shop and you can see in the photos I had new replacement "lower panels" welded into place on each side as the original sections were completely rust away, the panel beater also cut out rust and old bog, strengthened and then fixed both mounting point locations for the windscreen frame where it attaches with 3 bolts on each side of the upper cowl.
I have only just sat the timber rails and cowl onto the chassis for photos purposes as when it is installed properly the cowl sits and locks in under the timber rails but rests on top of the chassis.

So now the fun begins as the timber work was always going to be the big test.... We'll wait and see I guess!

A chance I couldn't knock back

After our little bit of fun yesterday and before Ray left to drive his lovely Chevrolet back to Melbourne he "through me the keys" so to speak of his 28.... "You have a drive of this", hhhmmmm this will be good I thought, my first real drive of a restored 28 and no rust, just shiny paint everywhere you looked.

All I can say is what a great experience it was cruising at a respectable 45mph out on the Princes Hwy and to Ray's credit it goes great and does everything very well just as I thought it would, steers, brakes, corners, and at 45 - 50 mph the engine is just humming along with a nice feel to it and also a nice note out the back through the tail pipe, we cruised along chatting and laughing about the day we just had.
We soon came to a holt out front of my house after the 20 mile drive and I handed the car back over to Ray who was quickly on his way back down the street again and headed for Melbourne which would be a journey of 66 miles to his house.....Cheers mate and thanks for the drive.



Endurance Run Results

Gidday All,

Firstly I must explain that given an open flat smooth bit of paved roadway accompanied by one stripped down 1928 4 cylinder Chevy and Ray turns into a complete bloody mad man who could of given "brocky" a run for his money on the track in his prime, this photo below is say it all of the speeds that were acheived in the first few laps..... There was no holding back on the corners either!!.

BTW did you notice the new "tandem" style of seating that now sits proudly across the bare chassis, one old wooden "chairsaw" carry box was very comfy and serviced it purpose well, anyway back to the days task.... With the trip metre set at 00000 Monty rolled off about midday with all the zest and enthusiasm you would see at any major motoring endurance challenge and soon we had hit the 3mile mark with smiles all round and it was bloody flying really with the old speedo nudging the 35 mph mark on many occasion with us both venturing out on "Contour Road" for the run up and down the street at 45 mph and I can tell you that with no body panels around you and just the old wooden steering to hang onto, the wind was really flying through the thinning head follicles before you had to jump on the brake pedal and swing it around through the gates and back onto the enclosed "race track".... Monty was going great, "This thing is flying Grant"

At 9.2 miles travelled things turned a little sour and the "Flying Monty" well, did shit his pants so to speak, and that bloody fuel issue from last week rose its bloody ugly head again and promptly put an end to our day... "coffee time Ray" as we sat for a moment to contemplate what to do...
We checked everything again, like last weekend, spark plugs, points, distributor, coils, all good so it must be a fuel problem.....BUGGER IT!!....... Then Ray showed a side of himself that I had never witnessed before with old Monty, the normally quiet, meticulous, city mechanic suddened turned and without me looking he took a quick disliking to the vacuum tank and started to wack it with his hand a few times.....WTF I thought and then the next breath he says "Try that, give it a start".........BANG the engine was purring like a kitten again, so with that in mind we have come to the conclusion that the vac tank needs to come off and given a good check over....

"The Pits"

With another quick lap completed Ray came into "the pits" at 9.5miles travelled  for a quick fresh oil change and filter drain before I went out for a couple more and the day was looking good with the car running well now and "The Pits" fully stocked with lamingtons, buscuits and coffee and also clear blue skies overhead with the temp sitting at a pleasant 28c degrees, the scene was set and we had plans to drive some distance..

At 10.4miles travelled disaster struck us BIG TIME!.... The fuel problem came back once more and no matter what we tried we could not continue the endurance run any further, "beaten yes, disappointed no". Monty was soon hooked but up to my ute and we towed him back over to the resto shed where I will pull apart the tank properly on the bench and have a good look at it in the next few days, thems the breaksI guess!!
So there you go folks.....A great day was had but a few more miles would of been lovely but besides that Monty pulls out of corners really strongly, "doesn't it Ray"?  and shows great potential for a road going car which will not be to much longer I hope..

UPDATE:

The next morning early on went the computer to check the emails and sure enough Ray sent through one:

"Grant remember last week when I said we were not looking outside the square. Well there is a way to prove it is or is not the vac tank once and for all, or maybe the vac tank tap.

 

Suggest you try this if you want, as you were going to strip it anyway, and you can do this first.

 

1. Remove the top and all the guts of the vac tank so its just like a small petrol tank.

2. You will need to remove the vac line from the manifold or blank it off at the hose end, and try to start the bugger. make sure that condenser wire is not shorting anywhere.

3. If it starts and runs good could be that vent where petrol was squirting out. Never seen that before.

 

OK then so out i went and tried this in the resto shed ASAP and Monty fired straight up and sat there idling fine, so back in went the vac tank internals and on went the top and screwed down tight, I hooked up the pipes and hoses then started it......All fine again, but for how long??......

Resto: Before and After pix of the engine

Before: but with new spark plug leads installed

After: before body is re-installed and when all mechanical work is completed but fuel vacuum tank and fuel lines are still all "make do" because there's of no firewall to hang them off and also the wiring is all just a "hot wired job" at this stage.

Resto: Endurance run for a few hours

This morning while sitting with hot coffee in hand, staring out the window at the misty rain laying itself down on the garden, where's the sunshine??, they said sunny skies today!!.  I got to thinking about giving the Chev a really good long run, well a longish run for a non registered vehicle away, get that old engine nice and hot for a few hours, give all that thick diff oil and gearbox oil a really good working over before the body is installed back on the chassis, if there is anything to sort out then now would be a good time to do it....
A family relo has a very large, fully paved, very smooth industrial area in town so this week a phone call is in order to arrange the use of that area for this Sat or Sun if the weather is fine.
First I must install the speedo back onto the temporary wooden dash so that correct mph and total distance for the trail can be measured but most importantly the drivers chair will have to be re-screwed down a little firmer and maybe even some padding added?,  then I will trailer the bodiless Chev over there, fill up the fuel tank, oil all the correct points around the engine plus take a few tools and other things with me.
As I have always said, Monty will be driven quite a lot once the resto is completed, it had been my goal,  although a little tentatively at times, right from the first time we turned the dusty, oily old motor over 11 months ago, fix it, use it, enjoy it.

Won't be long and the body will be back on it

 This little "endurance run" will be fun and as silly as it sounds to most people I could easily spend the entire day over there clocking up the miles, it makes the many hours spent in the "Resto Shed" all the worth while and since with all the mechanical work now completed it will be a very good test.

I will add some photos here when the run is completed

Rest: Video with new exhaust fitted....So Quiet Now!!

To be honest after I got it back last week from the exhaust shop ole Monty was not running good at all, on start up it was coughing and running very rough, would not hold idle and had a definite sound and feel like it was starving of fuel, which was very strange as it was running and started well when I drove it up on the trailer, had something shaken loose from the road trip?, had rain water soaked in somewhere? I was really not too sure where to begin once the basics were sorted but then again this whole resto experience is a big learning adventure, so learn I shell...
After a few discussions with Ray over the phone we thought that it has to be carbie troubles and that some rusty metal rubbish had got sucked onto it after the original old brittle exhaust pipe was cut off over on the other side of the engine just below the air cleaner, so with that in mind I removed, dismantled and cleaned the carbie, well I completed that process about six times in total over the last few days so now I am a self appointed certified Chevrolet carburettor technician but still no difference to the engine, this was a little baffling us..
"I'll be up on Sunday morning, I'll throw some parts in with me" Ray said and sure enough bang on 10am today as planned the resto shed is awaken and Monty rolled out under the carport as some fresh air was needed to work in with the rich exhaust fumes produced by the rough engine.
We first pulled off my old carbie again, "I'll do it Ray, another time won't hurt me" and then we installed a new carbie that Ray had of the same make and model as my 28, I hit the starter button and still the same coughing and farting sounds with clouds of black smoke pouring out the back.... HHHmmmm....we both looked at each other, now that’s a bit odd, so with it not being a carbie issue we again swapped the carbies back over.
Next the spark plugs were pulled and cleaned again but this time we re-gapped them and checked for spark, "plenty of sparks there" but still the same engine response, next the points and distributer checked and given the thumbs up, then the copper fuel lines and connections were checked for air leaks and one replaced which was a little suspect, still the same!!! WTF....bloody hell this had us beat, what could it be! So next off came the top of the fuel vacuum tank for a check and inspection but it was full of fuel and working all properly...... "Time for lunch Ray, let’s have a think about this mate", we cleaned up and washed our hand, both now a little quieter than when we started a few hours earlier.
With a belly full of tucker and washed down with a strong coffee we were soon back at it again, "righto let’s check the valve clearances first off", this I had never done before on Monty so I was given a "how to" lesson and yes they were couple a little out of wack but not by much....
So with the clearances adjusted back to the Chevrolet manual standard, the spark plugs re-gapped and another good check and clean of the points and distribtor and with all wires checked it was time to hit the starter again with the foot, here's hoping we thought and then the next thing, BANG!! it purred like a kitten, smooth and quiet, it was the most "vintage like sounding" I had heard this engine be as it sat there idling, it was music to our ears as we watched and smelt the "new smoke" rise off from the new stainless steel exhaust as the metal slowly turned from a shiny silver to a tarnished golden look....BEAUTIFUL & WHAT A RELIEF!!

So with it now running and sounding more like a vintage car than it has in many many years and with smiles on our faces there was only one more thing left to do.......... Take Monty out for a drive so we did just that and the neighbours didn't even hear us this time!!

So you could say that at this point of the resto all the mechanical work is completed...VERY HAPPY!!

Bendigo Swap Meet here we come!!

Resto: Stainless steel exhaust fitted

1 x new stainless steel exhaust system is now all fitted with many thanks going to Steve the proprietor of Warragul Exhaust who has done a great job..