Hey thanks for the advice! I'm sure they have never been adjusted since they were replaced a few years back. I'll pull the wheels this weekend and try to adjust them. Good thing I have that shop manual, my experience with drum brakes is limited to the self-adjusting type.
Make sure the adjusters turn freely, you might have to take them apart and lube with Lithium grease or high temp grease. If the wheel cylinders are damp or leaking you can put new kits in without even taking the cylinders off the car. You will need to remove the brake shoes etc., inspect for rust or pits, and hone them or clean them with Scotchbrite. Do not use any cleaning solvent except Brake Kleen or alcohol and be sure the parts are completely dry . A few tiny pits are not a problem but if they are real rusty they will need to be replaced.
I haven't checked, but I'm wondering if these drums have the access port on the backside so you can adjust them without taking the wheels off...
Took its maiden voyage tonight. Started and ran great. Water pump is noisy as hell. Probably worn out from almost a decade of not turning. I greased it and it didn't make much difference. Took it around the block and when I came back the pump is leaking a little bit. I have a rebuild kit so I'll pull it and rebuild it. The temp was nice and steady before I left. 170-180 on the IR thermometer. But after driving it, I checked and it was 200-210. Hoping the water pump rebuild will remedy this. Or maybe it's just normal?? Few hours later I had the wife take video, took a while to restart, I figured I flooded it. Got it running, down the street, turn around, coming back car dies and won't restart. I'm guessing the generator isn't charging properly. Starter turns, but no fire. So there's still a ton of work to do, and I had to have 3 neighbors help me push it back up my driveway into the garage, but I can't stop grinning. Vid of engine running, water pump noise: https://flic.kr/p/vaiqsv Vid of me driving it before it died: https://flic.kr/p/w6wM7W Commentary by my 4yo
You always adjust brakes from the back with the wheels on. There is a slot at the bottom of the backing plate. Turn the adjuster wheel by prying UP with a screwdriver or adjusting tool to tighten the brakes, DOWN to back off. Turn the wheel with your hand and stop when the brakes start to drag. You are supposed to back off a bit so they don't drag but I never bother. After adjusting the brakes pump the pedal a few times and check them again. As I said before, if they are way out you may need to adjust again after a couple of weeks of driving, then they should hold their adjustment. Properly adjusted there should be about an inch of free play at the pedal.
Cool, thanks for the advice, I'll definitely get under there and adjust them before I drive it any distance. Still trying to figure out why it won't restart. But damn that first ride was cool...
Keep it up, you will work out the issues and soon it will be not only more familiar to you, but you will learn what soundss, temps, vibrations, feel, and quirks are normal and what is something to fix. Agree the brakes may be simple as adjustment, try that first. You can also insulate the fuel line going to carb to minimize heat pickup in the line.
I wouldn't worry too much about that. It's common for an engine to "heat soak" right after it's been turned off. Block and head temperatures will increase somewhat as there's no longer any air or coolant circulating around the engine.
Yep, these old cars are a bit more maintenance-needy.... LOL. The owners manual for my '56 Ford had greasing required every 1000 miles, oil change at 2000 (including the oil bath air cleaner), new oil filter every other oil change. I remember a '50 Plymouth my Dad bought for a work car from my godparents. 'Needed new brakes' was the story... Brakes were fine, hadn't ever been adjusted since they owned the car (8 years). Turned out they hadn't done any maintenance on it in all that time, only adding oil when low! This lack did smoke the clutch (also never adjusted), but a thorough service job did wonders.... That thing was almost bullet-proof, but boy, was it ugly....
It was still running when I checked temps with the IR Thermometer. It held steady at 170, I drove it around the block, backed it in my garage, got out and checked it and it was 200-210. I'm not terribly worried just yet since I have to pull and rebuild the water pump anyways because it's noisy and leaking. The original rebuild kit I obtained has these crazy looking packing seals that I'm going to have to read into. Not familiar with them at all, I'll snap a pic when I get home from work tonight. -MK
They look a lot like the one that sits in modern valve for large ball valves for central heating plants. Or old fashion hydraulic tipper (dump beds) pumps. The are put in around the shaft, the big nut is pushing against the one end, and they are forced in to the pump housing and make them mushroom out and makes a tight seal. If you under tightens (sp?) them they will leak a lot. If you over tightens them they will break and leak like a sewer (aka a lot!!) I don't know how to find the right amount, except trial and error, but warned to caution. They are available as a composite material, that is fare better, and ain't widely available. But that do exist. Maybe some of the others may know more of the right way.
Unfortunately the kit didn't come with instructions, and this isn't something I want to screw up. I purchased it from a very reputable Nash parts guy. Normally he rebuilds them, however I requested to buy just the kit and do it myself so I can learn. I could probably ask him about technique.
If it has a grease fitting it should be lubed with water pump grease not regular grease. If you can't get water pump grease use outboard motor waterproof grease. Do not over lube, excess will get into your cooling system and gum up the radiator. 1/2 pump or less at each grease job is fine. Do you have a repair manual? If not I can give you some instructions from mine.
Hilights from my repair manual. -Note the water pump impeller is on the slotted end of the shaft, held in place by a tubular brass rivet. A removable plug in the pump body permits the removal and installation of this rivet. By removing the plug and supporting the shaft through the water outlet hole, the rivet can be driven out with a small punch. Remove the packing nut and take out the shaft. Clean out the packing so the bushing can be removed. -Install a new bushing in the pump and ream it just enough to provide a free turning shaft with no side play. Reinstall the pump parts. - When installing new packing use 3 packing rings, installing one at a time, drawing each one down with the packing nut. After the last ring is installed do not draw the packing nut up tight until the pump is installed , lubricated and allowed to run.
Hey thanks, turns out my Nash service manual says roughly the same thing. This should be interesting...
Well this morning I wanted to run the car and verify the generator was charging. Couldn't even get it started. Pulled a plug and checked for spark and sure enough I had it. Fuel in the glass bowl, but I have two inline filters before that. One visible from the engine bay, one under the car. One in the engine bay was clean but curiously devoid of fuel. Looked under the car and found my problem: Got a bunch of filters from the auto parts store and will have to keep switching them till I get all the funk out. Otherwise I'm dropping the tank. -MK
This is pretty common on old cars and indicates rust in the tank. Because the tern plate coating has worn off, allowing the steel to rust. Best solution is a new tank if one is available, next best is to clean and coat the old tank. If you leave it long enough it will rust through and leak.
Well I still can't get the car started again. It'll cough with some starting fluid, and I have gas at the carb and spark, but she still won't fire back up. I was starting to get frustrated, so I decided to call it a night. We'll try again tomorrow and if it doesn't fire up it looks like I'll be taking the carb back off along with the water pump!
That certainly is a beautiful automobile . Unless I missed it no one made the reference to detergent or non detergent oil, when I was a kid, working in the family general store, we were Texaco dealers and oil in the red cans was non and in the blue Havoline cans it was detergent , you didn't put detergent in what were left of 40s and the early 50s cars . If you were 12 years old, or any age and put detergent oil in these cars the owners tended to get really pissed off. Of course all of the multi grades were detergent oils. In 1973 on my first trip to Florida I had an oil change done at the Pontiac dealer in Clearwater Fla. and questioned the service manager as to why they put straight 30 wt. in my car instead of 10/30. He took me out to the back of the garage area and started up a new Pontiac with few miles on it and it had quite a nice little knock going on, he insisted that that was why you didn't use multi grade in Fla. and I did find that at that time the general concencous of opinion there was the same, 30 wt oil. Anyway I would say that your car was designed to use straight weight non-detergent oil. D
The myths about motor oil is like what snake oil to use to cure the bubonic plague everybody had a different opinion and many died. If you ever opened an engine that used non-detergent oil it usually looked like the le Brea tar pits from end to end. It left no doubt why the engine failed. Sludge traps dirt and metal particles and provides a constant wear on any moving part. Non-detergent must be used in engines with a splash oiling system to prevent foaming as foam can't lubricate. I live in the south and have used multi weight detergent oil in every car and tractor owned ranging 1935-2004. I can't recall how many vehicles I have owned .The only overhaul I have done was on some at purchase.I have also been a gas pump jockey, owned gas stations, service managed dealerships and wrenched over 30 + years. I never used or recommended non-detergent or straight weight motor oils and never had any issue. FYI, most dealerships bought the cheapest bulk oil pumped in a rusty tank left outside they could find, usually being straight 30wt, and charged top dollar for it. It not a surprise why some show had to take place where your oil was changed when you questioned!
Taking the carb off and cleaning it is a good idea. I bet some of that crap you had in the fuel filter made it's way into the carb and is now causing you grief. If it was me before trying to run the car any more i'd drop the tank. You want to get rid of your issue at the source. Good luck. -Chris
The filter above was the first of two in-line filters I installed. The second one is clean. The replacement filter only has a little sediment in it. You're right though, the long term fix is to address the fuel tank, then work my way forward again.
If you in fact have fuel and spark, and your timing is at least close, I'd be curious to know what kind of cranking compression the engine has. Especially a comparison of cold cranking and maybe at operating temperature when it doesn't want to restart. A cranking vacuum test might tell you something as well. Once you get the fuel tank and lines cleaned out, assuming there is a strainer in the tank itself, you might want to eliminate the extra inline filters between the tank and the pump. You may not want the extra flow resistance on the vacuum side of the pump, especially if the old pump is a little weak.
I installed a freshly rebuilt OE mechanical pump which seems to be operating just fine. The plan was to run soft line and double inline filters until I got the car running well and was confident that there wasn't any crud in the tank, then install hardline from back to front. I'll have to check compression...
Well after a busy week at work I was able to get some time to look at the Nash. I realized that I wasn't getting an accelerator pump shot when I hit the throttle which is why the car wouldn't run. Pulled the assembly off the top of the bowl and everything looked good. Put it back together and magically everything works. Car runs wonderfully again with the exception of the leaky and noisy water pump. So now that I have the running issues rectified for now I'll pull the water pump this weekend and try to get it rebuilt. I also pulled the cap off the radiator and verified that the pump was circulating coolant, which it is.
If you can't find a replacement tank, you can clean it and coat it yourself or have a radiator shop do it for you. I cleaned the tank on my 47 Lincoln Zephyr with soapy water, then rinsed it out with acetone. The acetone dries really fast, so you have to be quick when rinsing with it to make sure you get all the remaining rust out. I used Red Kote sealer on mine, you can get it at O'reilly's and other parts houses. It will stand up to alcohol used in most gas today. I've had mine coated nearly two years now with no problems.
Thanks for the advice. The inline filter seems to be clean for the time being. I'll continue to monitor it.
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