Projects Mild custom '51 Pontiac Chieftain

Also, remind me if I forget, I need to attach the antenna ground cable to the common ground point. The wire is just hanging off right now.
I got fed up with wires so went off and had a few days' break; got a bug up my ass about something that wasn't right on the car and had to go fix it.
Also, remember the 60-64 domestic harmony vehicle? That didn't happen, but I did trade in the OT daily against a new vehicle, which has made the wife happy. Particularly as it has 3.85 times the power and 2.15 times the torque the Chief does.

 

I did the antenna ground up.

I pulled the door card off the driver's door. It's horrible. I've been advised to use the dimpled plastic shower sheet from Lowe's-it's the correct thickness, it cuts easily and the damp doesn't affect it.

I removed the handle and dismantled the lock.

The lock itself is the same as the trunk. However, I did not have enough combination pieces in common to key either alike so I'll just have 3 keys.

Cut a key to fit the lock, reassembled it but need a new rubber o-ring to space the position of the button correctly for the lock to engage.
I'll pull the passenger side door card off too, I need to remove the rod for the lock pin and copy it. The driver's side one is missing.

Passenger side jams, needs lubrication but it does lock. Driver's side clunks nicely locked.

Net result is I have a full set of working keys for all the locks on the car now. That makes me happier than I was. Total outlay $9.

Phil

 

What a great find. Lots of love putting her back to life. Grats.

 

Amazing stuff Phil. You have more patience and greater tenacity than I my friend.

 

I did it because I needed keys. Today was a no-car-work day. Tomorrow I may make it to the hardware store and buy the pieces I need.

 

Phil", we don't need "Superman" any more ever since you showed up.

 

I was wrong. I squeezed in half an hour tonight. Went raid the closet for a plastic coat hanger with a metal hanging hook because to my calibrated eyeball it looked about the right diameter and length to make a lock pin rod.


So I heated and bent it up into shape.


Stripped a piece of wire insulation and shoved it over the end to bring the diameter up a bit.


Cleaned up the pin and pushed it on. Unlocked...


...and locked.

I need to glue the plastic to the rod to stop it shifting but that'll work.

Phil

 

I refuse to wear my underwear outside my pants and I really don't have the hair or the physique for it. His job is safe!

 

Next big task in that door is to see why the window doesn't move and why it's cracked. It's etched 2004 so it's been replaced before.
My guess is someone slammed the door a bit hard because the cracks aren't in the same place.
Also why the rear door has broken glass too. That one cracked in the same line so no telling. Maybe someone tried to break in. I'm sure there's easier ways to get in...

 

Most common cause for cracked, broken door glasses on '30s - '50s GM cars and trucks is worn out or completely missing channel. It also occurs when the channel is replaced using screws that aren't countersunk. Any metal touching the glass will do damage sooner or later.

 

The channels are certainly not in good shape. The cracks are in the center of the glass, vertical, both windows.

I'm guessing the lift arm puts stress on the base of the glass in the center, and if the glass gets hung up, heave on the handle and CRAK?

 

Yeah, put the handle properly on and tried to crank it. The channel moves on the forward side and the glad stays put while I can wind the handle half a turn until it gets stuck.

I think I can safely say the window mechanism on this side is fubar.

 

Once you get in there & find what fell apart, it'll be no problem. Everything inside can be repaired.

 

I think the bottom of the window channels are made from rust and thin air.

 

Get the glass shop to make new side windows in tempered glass. They won't crack and are very strong.

Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

It's hard to find places that will do tempered glass that is as thick as the glass on this car. Being laminated it's very thick compared to single pane tempered and would otherwise rattle in the channels.

Phil

 

Today was a crimp,


solder,


insulate kind of day.


Phil

 

Alrighty. Barring the wire for the under-hood lamp and the ignition run correctly to the switch, the wiring in the car is done.

I made a short hoop of 10ga wire and bridged the terminals of the Ammeter.
Now, the current load will be roughly half and half across the wire and Ammeter. It's a (roughly) 40A meter and the alternator is capable of putting out 63A- all of which theoretically could be absorbed by a dead battery so now that had turned the gauge into being able to read 80A (or thereabouts).

I left the lights and fan on for 5 minutes then started the engine and brought the RPM up with the lights and fan off. It moved to read about half deflection to CHG which makes me a lot happier, before it would peg it off the end of the scale. With everything switched on it shows about half deflection to DIS so that's still useable. I do have the no-charge light too which glows when the needle is in the DIS portion of the gauge.

That makes me happier that I'm not going to have a red-hot Ammeter.

8ga now for the parts of wire that will carry over 20A on a regular basis (not a lot of it) so I am good with that. Lights, fan, radio all on is about 30 Amps total so that works for me.

 

That's everything run, now just to tidy it up a little....

Phil

 

Engine compartment is looking a lot better. The big red wire will move away and not go through the firewall, ditto the big black one, that's just because I've got the battery sitting on the floorboard inside temporarily.


Started with this.


Now have this.

Little work to do inside next, but for tonight that's enough.

Phil

 

If you dig through the catalog you can find original or thicker for thinner glass. They are a wholesaler but it's easy to find a place that can get it for you.
http://www.crlaurence.com/crlapps/s...8:19780:20754:20783:20754&ModelID=20784&pom=0

Sent from my SM-G973U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Calling that good enough. Put the radio back in too.
Last thing for the cabin will be to get a new piece of air hose for the passenger side defog and put the glove box back in.

Tach below the radio is temporary.

Phil

 

There we go. I'm happy with that.

Phil

 

Lookin' great Chief! Nice job.

 

Went rummage in the garage for 5 minutes and decided to spray a little Pledge on the runners of the driver's side rear window (based upon the thought it had silicones in) and that has that glass going up and down smoothly.
The felt in the runner is quite heavily worn. It's down to the canvas in a number of places.

Looks like the glass became detached from the sash channel because it was stuck at the top, the winder was wound back up, came in off center and broke the glass.

Phil

 

Just went out to investigate.
Yup, there's what happened. I lubricated the channels on the front passenger door and now that goes up and down. The mechanism in the rear passenger door moves freely, just the glass is stuck.

Phil

 

Just went to my Ammeter to the fuse panel. It states "All fuses 20A except radio 14A", which would have been OK for 6V.

So, I measured:
Glovebox light: 0.4A
Fog lights: n/a
Radio: 3.4A once warmed up
Dash/lighter/instruments: 10A or thereabouts
Heater fan: 8.4A (steady)
Back up lights/brake/turn signals: 9.2A max

So I'm going to redo the fuses accordingly, with 25-30% overhead (to the nearest standard fuse).

That should help protect the wires a bit. Also added some contact cleaner to the fuses which helped brighten things up a little.

Phil

 

I went to the store and bought some proper silicone lubricant today and dosed the window runners up.

A few creaks and clanks from the helper springs but they move up and down smoothly now.



50% done!

Phil

 

Tidied up the oil pressure idiot light wiring, tightened the union on the oil pressure gauge line because I must've forgotten to do it up- it was leaking at an "oil pan empty in 15 miles" rate.

Added a return spring to the carb to take up for a bit of slack in the linkage.

Sat with the car idling and the temp gauge went up a fair bit, higher than I was happy with.



Revving the engine up a bit to get flow and fan going didn't do much.


Went grab my IR thermometer. Head, block, radiator all within 3 degrees of each other. So the gauge is over-reading. I can deal with that, moreover I can fix it.
I calibrated it at about 12 Volts- now it is charging right it reads too high. Voltage regulator time!

Phil

 

Oh boy.

I just pulled this out of the driver's side door.



Yup, someone has attempted to use window putty to hold this glass in.


Started to pick it out but it was getting a little late and hot in the garage so gave up for tonight.
The front window channel is gone. That's why the glass is broken on this side.

*sigh*

All good fun and games. I think. The channel is also not screwed in, the window runner is seemingly still attached at the bottom which is a start. From what I can see the correct rubber grip is still available to hold the glass into the sash channel but the channels themselves aren't in the door correctly. I think I need to get the glass out, channels out and try start over from scratch on this door.

Phil