So some FNG comes on the HAMB and posts about how he just drug an old jalopy out of a barn, and he cant wait to get it running so he can go out for a cruse. Yea, yea... We have all heard this one before... Gotta make it safe before we can drive it. So let's get a discussion going on exactly what it takes to get a car road worthy and reliable. If it's been in hibernation for 30+ years and your just now trailering it home, or that someone else was driving it daily, but was just sold to you... Maybe a couple horror stories or some pictures of the carnage from when you didn't do it right would help as well.
Great thread D!!! Do it right. Wheel cylinders, brake hoses, hard lines, rebuild or replace the master cylinder. Go through and replace worn tie rod ends, king pins, ball joints or whatever. I have brought a few back from hibernation and it is fun. Be smart and enjoy being safe. BloodyKnuckles
Yeah, that's a good point, but in my case the car had been fully gone through. Suspension and brakes had been reworked, engine rebuilt, and I had been all over the car for the last few weeks while the engine was being installed. I honestly was all over the car and had not seen one thing that would lead me to believe the car was not safe.
fuel lines, wires, cooling system, etc. Go over EVERY nut and bolt on the suspension, steering, etc to make sure it's there and torqued properly and has it's cotter pin. Etc. edit: Especially if it's a fresh build! make sure the nut on the steering wheel is tight, make sure it has fluids in all the moving parts (I toasted a rearend in a car I built because of that)
Yah....At the very least make sure the wheels are on tight. I guess just driving it is one way to find out what needs attention.
Yea, that's what inspired me to make this post. I want to put together a detailed "checklist" that I can point people to when they find themselves in posession of a [new-old] automobile that needs a going over before it's road worthy. Kind of like my "Fram filter nightmare story" thread. When someone asks about an oil filter, I can link them directly to that post and give 'em a good education. So I'm wanting to put together something similar on making a car safe to drive.
Many work on making it go first. That's backward to me. I follow (usually )... 1. Rebuild brakes. 2. Emerg. brake or something to prevent from popping out of gear when parked. 3. Steering. 4. Make it go. #4 is no good without 1, 2, and 3. IMO
First thing I did was get new tires and bleed the brakes, check the lines and the master cylinder. Then worked on getting it running!
Had my non-HAMB car sitting in my garage for 11 yrs. and when I got it out to bring it back to life I did the typical drain and flush of all fluids, imcluding brake fluids. Rebuilt the carb, and got a new battery. That pretty much was it, and it was ready for a test drive. This is when the fun started! I took it easy and tried the freshly changed brakes a few times, but they seemed way too hard! I turned around and headed back to the garage to see why the power brake booster wasn't working. After all the work I'd done, it took me awhile staring at the master to realise it never had power brakes! I had owned the car for 25 yrs, so I convinced myself it had power assist, but after 11 years of not driving it I guess my memory was not too good!
I go over my cars every year before the season starts looking for anything amiss checking all bolts, nut's, tires, brakes, leaking fluids etc. I think it is a must for everything mechanical.... because mechanical shit wears out and breaks. Like Murphy's law says "at the worst possible moment"
Good idea and something that as you said, too many people tend to forget to do. Most people get too worried about how the vehicle runs and don't worry enough about how it stops or turns or if the systems that might cause an issue on a test drive are up to snuff. Brakes= including rebuilding or replacing the master cylinder and wheel cylinders. If they have been sitting any length of time most likely they will leak in a short period of time. Check the torque on all of the lug nuts and make sure that they are all there and that the wheels fit the car correctly. Check all of the fuel lines to make sure that none are loose or leaking or that any rubber parts appear defective or suspect. Especially with todays gas that might not agree with old hoses. Check the wiring to see if there are any bare wires or wiring that might cause a problem on the test drive. A bonfire in the wiring under the dash isn't fun on an old car but it happens quite often for various reasons. Go over the suspension and steering and check for worn parts, missing cotter keys and loose nuts or bolts. I've checked the front end of at least one car that had a missing cotter key and loose ball joint nut because someone stuck it together to roll it around and then forgot to go back and finish the job. Check anything that looks like someone might have worked on it since the vehicle was driven last. any chassis or drive train bolt or nut that looks too clean needs your attention to make sure that it is tight. A lot of us have bought and hauled someone elses project home and had something that wasn't right. I bought a Camaro hulk from a friend in the 70's in Texas, towed it home with a tow bar and after selling the body to some dirt track racers pulled the rear end and stuck it in the 48. On the way home from the shop I turned a corner a ways from the house and the left wheel and axle walked out of the housing because someone had had it apart before and had left the C clip out. The C clip was laying in the bottom of the housing. They had put it back together and put grease in it before I bought it.
Replace everything rubber. EDIT: Someone else said this already. Damn! Theres two schools of thought. You can replace stuff 'as needed' aka just before or after something gives, or replace all the wear items in the car. I absolutely wouldn't trust anything in the braking system and I'd replace every bit of it. As far as I'm concerned it's all just core parts. check the gas tank, boil it or replace if necessary. of course replace all rubber hoses/belts make sure the cooling system works and you have a temp gauge It all just kinda depends on you but for me I put in a new gas tank, new braking system, all suspension bushings, wiring, engine/rearend and pretty much anything else that could be unbolted. Hey at least I know who to blame if it breaks.
All rubber replaced fo sure Perhaps a prep sheet like in the back of Carroll Smiths Prepare to Win is a good start
Build the car from the tyres up. I once had a loose front wheel and I mistakenly thought it fwas a bad bottom end engine knock at the time- lucky I pulled over pronto & sussed it B4 damage was done. Also keep up with basics like tyre checks- tyres can get unsafe quickly if you ain't checking daily.
My view is if it's a complete and running (or near-running) car, I want to get it running good first. Inclusive of this is the fuel system. Replacing ALL of the rubber components! Once I hear it run, then I can address the brakes and suspension to make sure it'll stop when that first drive occurs. It will not roll out onto the street until I KNOW it'll start, stop and drive without being a danger to me or anyone else. If I am building a car that doesn't yet have a drivetrain, then obviously the suspension and brakes would be first. It really boils down to what you are starting with and what all it there as to where you are going to start. Hopefully, this is logical to all, but then, ya never know!
About 15 years ago, I picked up a '57 chrysler new yorker that was in amazingly good shape for it's age. The body was perfect [save for 30 years of parking lot dings] and the floors were as solid as they could be. The underside of the car, however, had a nasty layer of scaley rust on everything. Obviously caused by it having spent the previous 10 years sitting in the garage as it's owner grew older and drove it less. At any rate, I did everything right. Went thru the brakes, changed all the fluids, belts, etc. After about 6 months of daily driving it, I had to slam on the brakes one day when some goof-ball pulled out in front of me. One of the hard metal brake lines found it's weak spot under a patch of rust and burst. I didn't know it untill I came upon a red light a minute later. Scared the hell outa me!!!! Fortunately, I was able to take a shortcut thru someones front yard and avoid an accident. Fixed the lines and sold it quick. [tho, now I wish I hadn't] To this day, my first priority when working over a car, especially an older car, is to swap out the single pot M/C for a dual, and go over every inch of brake line with a fine tooth comb!!!
Yeah but who did the work? I wouldn't trust someone I don't know to tell me the brakes had been gone through, I've had to redo brake work before. And speaking of brakes, depending on where you live the original drums might not cut it. I had the stock, non power, drum brakes on an old Ford pickup and had gone through them myself, working as good as the day they left the factory but it would scare the hell out of me to drive it in Tyler or Dallas. But now that I live in western S.D. they would be more than adequate.
Never hurts to give the brakes a look even if you bought it from me, or maybe especially if you bought it from me. Pop the drums off take a look at the shoes and the wheel cylinders check for leaks in the lines etc. That still doesn't cover the master cylinder i guess so i would also think that making your E brake work is also a good diea. next take a look at the lights and the wipers unless it never rains or gets dark where you live. I know a lot of the fellas think that wipers are not a necessary saftey item. Now for the fellas who don't think that wipers are important but think that a neutral switch is probably better check the neutral switch also.
If you're me, you apparently have to make sure the front crossmember is securely bolted to the frame-rails. ('46 Ford business coupe) Somebody was trying to kill me!
I’ll share what happened to me with my first piece of truly vintage tin. Problem number one; BELTS The 1949 Plymouth I bought off of a lot, running, tagged inspected, etc about 4 years ago. I talked to the guy at the lot extensively about the car, and he assured me that it was fine. Had been checked over, freshened up, and he had actually driven it at about 80 mph down the highway. I should have no problem driving it home. Ha! It had a low tire, so we decided to drive it down the road to a convenience store to get some air before making the 5 mile trek home. Car seemed to be doing just fine until we pulled in. Then “smoke” started billowing from under the hood. Jumped out, popped the hood and it wasn’t smoke, it was steam. The damn belt had disintegrated, water pump had stopped turning and the radiator had burst from steam pressure. Call a tow truck. I would like to take a second to interject that this was my first car that was pre 60’s so there was a learning curve. Problem number 2; Electrical So being rather new to the pre 60’s stuff I had never heard of positive ground. Neither apparently had the guy who “freshened up” the Plymouth. Stands to reason as well that he also had no idea it was a 6volt car. So all the times the car was started at the lot, all the times it was started before then, and my initial drive attempt all put too much juice through the coil, starter, regulator, etc. Yeah, all toasted. As soon as I got the car home and started researching heavily I figured it out rather quickly…after everything was cooked and on it’s last leg. Not to mention all the brittle old wiring was beginning to char. Any car past I’d say 65 should have all the wiring gutted and re-run. Problem number 3; Brakes After having sorted out the first two problems I thought progress was going pretty good. Car started up great, ran down the road etc. There was an alleyway behind my place that faced the garage where I used to do test runs as I was completing work. One day, after finishing the 12v conversion I decided to take her for a little spin around the block. Mind you it’s now 6months after I’ve bought the car. I’m cruising along doing about 40 when I try to make the turn…that’s when I notice that I’m not slowing down very much. It’s a miracle that I didn’t flip the damn thing. Eased it back to the house and come to find out one of the pressure hoses had busted. Looked brand new too, but was split in two. Could have been a VERY bad situation. Problem number 4; Fuel. Check your fuel lines AND the gaskets on your carb. If they’re really far gone they can mist. Mist plus spark=fire. Ask me how I know... To most of you guys these things are gonna be no value; it’s common sense. It’s common sense to me too…NOW. To any newb though maybe it will save a dangerous situation, or maybe even a life. My final recommendation; two that project home. Even if it drives and stops, until you’ve had the chance to go over it, don’t risk it. My 65 F100 was a daily driven truck that I picked up from a shop. They had all checked it over and had been driving it. I got it home and immediately drove it through my privacy fence because a brake cylinder blew.
Just make sure your wife/girlfriend ain't in the garage while doing this. as with most posters, whoa first, go second.
The Jalopy Journal
