It should be tomorrow ! Finished up brakes today. Gas, oil, & battery are in .Coolant will be in in the morning and then will give it a shot. Will let you know when it happens.
I have been fooling around with old cars since I was 14 years old. I am now 67 years old and I still today get a mouthful of gas, siphoning gas up the fuel line in the coupe. I must have done this a dozen times over the years and still continue to do stupid things. Anyway I did get the coupe running today! Finished up upper radiator hoses by using a Goodyear hose #60376 for another car to get the top hoses to the radiator. Not having much room to clear fan etc. it was a challenge that a local parts house helped me out by bringing in several hoses that looked like they would have the 45 tight bend I needed. Found one that worked and the rest is history. I made up the top stainless pipes and it looks pretty good. Next sort out the engine "Some Fine Tuning". Ronnie Roadster is coming by with his doctor kit in the next day or two. After that put the hood back on and go for some crusin. Going to wash my mouth out again for the fifth time today!
Those are original early thermostats! Normally they go right on the radiator under the top hose, but because of the tight bend I put them down stream a bit. Good catch.
This morning I hear something very nice coming up my driveway! I look out from my garage and it is the service man in his work vehicle. Ronnie Roadster shows up to help set up my carbs etc. That was the good news. The bad news is I had a couple of coolant leaks. One was just the overflow tube on the radiator that I fixed already. The other is my driver side water pump leaking bad Ron did the carbs and dist. I drove the car up the road and that sucker is not holding back anymore. So I now get to take the car apart again to do the water pumps. Going to do both while it is apart. Should I send mine to Ship Haney or just go with Speedway's? Don't want to do this twice. This motor feels like it has some power now! Much better than before. That blue roadster is a nice service vehicle for sure. Thanks Ron, sorry for getting you wet.
Beautiful car, beautiful work. My dad is the same age, also bad shoulders. Been after him for a while to get them fixed, also been after him for a while to chase what you are chasing. Some hot rodders never fold, others put the hot rods behind them. Nothing better then what you are doing. Enjoy the show!
Thanks "kidcampbell1171" Don't be too hard on your dad. Recovery is tough at this age. Doing cars is what I have always done. If I did not go out to the garage every day I would weigh about 300 lbs. Thanks for the kind words. Started taking the car apart yesterday to get the pumps off. Talked with Skip Haney and that is where I will send my pumps for rebuild. Also went over to tb33anda3rd's to check out a car he just painted. Very Nice!
The water pumps are on there way to FL. Out in the roadster this weekend. Birthday party on Saturday with cars. On Sunday local car show. Some photos of each. Top row is B-Day party. I think I had too many cold ones by the time I took the photo of my roadster . CAR SHOW PICS
No Drinking on Sunday! And Then there was This Car shows are not what they used to be There was some real odd stuff there. I tried to take some of the better stuff.
Got the water pumps back today from Skip Haney. They look great and were competed as promised. Will get them painted tonight and start putting the coupe back together tomorrow.
Just curious, did you notice any leaks before you pulled the engine? Or do you think they dried out from sitting. I replaced my gaskets but the engine has sat for about 9 months, think before it goes in I'm going to replace them.
No leaks before I pulled engine. My guess they dried out from sitting too long! If I had it to do over again they would have been rebuilt/replaced before reinstalling. They are a real pain in the neck to replace after.
Had some issues with one pump again. Seems pump could not be rebuilt without leaking. Anyway George "Skip" Haney is a real stand up and great guy. He really helped me get this resolved. Car is all back together and I got the timing on the motor feeling good. I will be taking it out for gas later and take some photos.
Had the car out today! Still some bugs, but getting there. Did a little more fooling with the timing and carbs and I think it is about where it needs to be. Motor sounds and feels good. I will be back at it again tomorrow. Starter needs to come out for a spring, front right brakes need to be a looked at. Here are a couple of shots. It has not been cleaned in a long time but it still looks like the Coleman Coupe. Mission accomplished.
Damn....sure it was a joy to drive before......but I can imagine with the "maintenance" you performed this shut down....that car can only get better. One of my favorite cars, and as you can imagine.....one of my favorite owners. You did that car right, sir. Congrats, and have some fun.
Looks great. A delicious classic hot rod. I enjoyed the thread with your skill, humor and perseverance. Have fun with that fine 5 W. Thanks. TEB Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Finished it up today! Man that flathead sounds good. Thanks to everyone for the kind words and inspiration.
The car is beautiful but please don't start another 100+ post thread on wether it should or should not have hood tins. Oh what the hell, let's just see a pic without the hood and get it over with. "Listen Mr... It ain't broke if I can't fix it"
The Jalopy Journal
