I love the way you are headed with this, factory knob on an aftermarket switch for instance. The car has found a good home. The gas tank "cradle" seems like a clever solution but how fortunate the the correct tank is available. Now what you need is a pair of the aluminum chebby heads with the Pontiac logo on them Or if you need a Pontiac straight 8, look me up!
Thats a nice looking car for sure......BTW the the rear wheel spats look almost identical to those used on 1949-52 Chevs, at least here in Oz anyway and should have a rubber seal or gasket between the spat and the body, I was able to get these seals from Steele Rubber....also you mention that the car had a sun visor........the 41 Plymouth I had I obtained and mounted a Fulton 1000 Series Visor which had come from a 1948 Plymouth it was on in the USA however my understanding is that the 1000 Series Visors were used more into the early 50's so that might be worth checking out......my personal preference was for this type of visor as it does not have the "wooden plank" look of a lot of the visors used and suits the more rounded "streamlined" early 50's styling......see pic of my Plymouth, since sold, also larger stainless steel reinforced centre bracket...........anyway thats a nice hardtop you have.............regards from Oz......andyd
Nice going . Just got here. A nice car gets a great surgeon. Funny, when saw the tank mount I figured, 'That's why guys get accused of not asking for directions'
Progress continues, decided to rip out the remaining firewall insulation which was pretty bad shape. This made it a lot easier to finalize the location of new Heater/Defroster Will clean up the rust and put something on the firewall to help with heat and noise.
So here are a few more updates - Finished the plumbing for the heater - Started on plans for a 3RD Rear light, using the same type that was in the Nomad - Made a glove box out of an old file box i made in the 70's - Added a set of headlight visors.... Just for fun? (Or do they help keep the car "Cooler" in the summertime?)
Happy to say the wiring for interior lights and switches has been sorted out and is now ready to go. It’s toward the end of the rewiring list since it is not “necessary”. There was not a lot to start with as much of the existing wire and parts were gone or needed rework. To figure out how to get 4 lamps and 4 switches to all work in harmony a lot of jumpers with alligator clips were used. Only 2, 15-amp fusses were blown. Discovered there is a back seat switch for the lamps, its on order and will just need mounting on the rear driver's quarter panel cover. Made my own larger schematic to check off parts of the circuits as they were confirmed. Also have a functioning Neutral Safety switch mounted under the car to the TH400, Reverse light switch and Kickdown switch. I will spare the details unless someone needs to know the process used. Wiring and sensors for the oil and water temp are next
Finally, it really took a lot of other work to get to where I could hook up 2 wires for the back-up lights
Getting the Car ready for spring and summer. Cleaned the interior with an upholstery cleaner Installed the seatbelts Reworked the passenger side wheel opening to properly fit the skirt Hopefully today's rain will get the roads pretty well washed off.
New plates will make it easier to know if it is my car or a different 1952 Pontiac Chieftan Super Deluxe Catalina Also removed the "H" Guard in the rear, like the simpler look better
Looking real nice, you've done it justice. I agree on the excess chrome frippery too. Looks better without. Phil
Guess it is time for a bit of an update, have had the car out several times when the weather was cooperating. replaced the old original Speedometer cable and it seems to be very steady and accurate now, hopefully it will stay that way. The TH400 Kickdown seems to shift as it should, and the Quadra-jet Secondaries also seem to operate properly now that the vacuum lines have been sorted out.... However, when it is floored to WOT and the RPM's are getting pretty high, there is a bit of a high pitched whining sound. let up on the gas, it upshifts and its fine. anyone familiar with this sort of thing?
Can't help on the whining noises, but I did find that my wheel skirts would rattle- I just cut some thin rubber tube and stuck it over the legs where they slot in. That snugged them up nicely. Phil
My Skirts still need to be painted and then put on. Did buy the proper seals for when they are ready to go on.
No new pictures but I have been driving the car around the area. Today I drove our Grandaughters to thereir schools at the request of the 13-year-old
Well, the initial shakedown process is complete, and the Catalina should be ready for the summer and increasingly longer trips. Drove it to the store today, went on the highway and repeatedly verified the TH400 would dropdown to low and take off. The squealing was the fan belt slipping at WOT and found some helpful information here on that. painting the fender skirts is the next larger task, but it is in the nice to have category .
The Jalopy Journal
