Projects Finally My '26 Chevy Roadster Build

In the first post in this thread I said I wanted to build this '26 roadster as I might have built an old dirt track '25 Chevy roadster I could not afford to buy in 1963. The two engines that came with it were a worn out race built '25 chevy 4 cylinder and a near new Chevy II four cylinder. The 153 Chevy 4 was gaining popularity as a track racing engine. Chevrolet didn't have HEI for several years after that. Mallory ignition upgrades were the way to go then.and all had points. They had oil lite bushings for the shaft.
It is just the right distributer for this build and if Mallory had not produced one I would have. After all that is the point of the whole deal.

 

No boring distributer stuff today. I bottled the last 6 gallons of prickly pear wine because the next batch is ripening fast. I expect a bit of a smokey ambiance this time.

 

Thinking about the next space saving component assembly, headlights. I have a set of 10" '30 Chevy truck lights I'll convert to more modern bulbs. My question to you all is about paint. I want to do the body and frame the same color (green) with suspension/accessories, wheels black. Should the lights be black? Black would make things easier now because I haven't chosen the green yet. I just want to put them together and set then on a shelf in a smaller box. Hang all other headlight choices on nails in the shed. I hope to finish the distributer tomorrow and stash it. Then the transmission, a fun modification. I have a DRO coming for the mill to help with the piston chop. Then the engine can go together. I have so much extra stuff, not much of it very cool.

 

Black works for me

 

If you are going to have a hood over the engine, I'd guess black would look good. If not, you can always scuff them and repaint.

 

Yes, there will be a hood with sides. The radiator shell will be green too. Black would look good.

 

Black wheels, lights and maybe the windshield frame and top would make for a solid colour scheme.

For some reason Detroit diesel green comes to mind.

 

The body was originally green. I'm going to buff out a spot to see what it's like. I looked up British racing Green but found out it is an idea and not a color, interesting story from 1905.
Kind of thinking of kitchen cabinet green. I've still got a gallon of it.

 

GM used Brewster Green on a number of the old cars and trucks, and they most certain did for the year yours was manufactured. They had a few shades, light, medium and deep. I like the deep best.

I had originally had a liking to Rock Moss Green, in fact I have some that I had mixed for me to use on machines, it's hard to get any quality paint in California anymore...back in those days the colors used black as the base, so the color of the green is often dark, and the Rock Moss Green was like that. Reminds me of the way olive work, those greens had a dark tone to them. When I found out what a bad person Henry Ford was and decided to get a Chevy, I researched the green and found the Brewster Green to be comparative to Rock Moss Green, in the deeper dark tint, and some have a olive look to them which I like also, it's a tad lighter. Google "1926 Chevrolet Brewster Green".

 

The late 26 roadster was painted what they called biscay green. I do not know how close it is to brewster.

 

I did some searching on line, but did not find much. Found a paint color chart site, but the chips stopped around 1930. There were just names for the colors, and on 1926 they were very very early. The sheet that they had called the early 26 "gun metal gray". I know that the early 26 was called "falmouth gray". It did get some old brain cells awake though.



I found this, (roadsters and tourings were same color), it is not quite right. Too bright.

This one of mine is closer. It is similar to forest green. NOT A VERY BEUTIFUL COLOR!!!
Sorry for two of the tourings ---fat finger!

 

Henry Ford? It is pretty easy to villainize someone from the past just by applying today's "values" . Dead people have a hard time telling their side of a complex issue, ask any Confederate soldier. No one was perfect that is what Jesus is all about.

I'll research those colors. I can see how they could have used a black base especially Ford. He probably had a lot left from the Ts and we know he wasted nothing. Think Kingsford charcoal. The roadster looks close to what is left on mine. Maybe I'll drag out a hunk and polish it up. I had a '49 Chevy pickup with original dark green paint. That may be the one. That touring is way too far to the yellow side.

 

I checked a bag of kingsford charcoal, must have been an old one because it is blue. Dad bought a 48 chev pickup new with the dark green paint in 48. Nice color!

 

Ford recycled all of the wood that came into the factories. He even specified the size of crates that parts from parts suppliers could ship in. These were all taken apart and reused for wood in cars and crates for shipping to dealers. Scraps that could not be used went to KingsFORD. It is hard to imagine how much wood would have come into the various plants in a day. It would be interesting to know where all of Chevrolet's wood came from. With plants all over the country I would think some was sourced locally.

 

The myth of Ford using crate wood was debunked a while ago. He used recycled wood in crating parts going to the assembly plants around the country (an interesting story in itself). He had specifications for the wood in his cars, which still survive today. Early on he specified ash, but as production grew, the spec becomes looser, but not so far as recycled wood.
He bragged about his recycling system in his book "Today and Tomorrow" (which can be read online). Other than "tiny wooden forms used in the coil unit assembly", which came from Ford's box plant, there's no record of recycled wood going into the cars.
Chevrolet used Fisher bodies almost exclusively from 1919 on. The Fisher brothers owned large tracts of Michigan timberland, but I suspect they sourced wood locally for body plants in other states.

 

Ford owned a large lumber yard on the Kewanee Penisular in Mi. I think Pequaming, sp.

 

I'll try to find the article but there are a few early Ts that were not restored that had painted words on the inside of the firewalls indicating the wood had come from crates. Fisher did not make the bodies for the open Chevrolet roadsters and touring cars. My roadster was built in Oakland, California according the the vin tag which was still attached to the wooden seat frame.

I couldn't find a spot on the body to buff the paint. It looks like it was painted a lighter green over a dark green but the dark goes away before I get to it. It's almost 100 years old.

 

I expected to finish the distributer today but......... I started searching for the Mallory four cylinder two piece cap. After a few hours I found the bottom half. I found an fresh rebuilt stock GM HEI with the big ugly cap. I even found a big ugly coil in cap for it as well as one without the coil. These are good units good far past the rpm range of this engine just big and ugly. Mallory makes a module for them, same as the sixes and V8s. These are taller than the small cap units so the big cap can clear the engine.
I also found a YC mechanical advance for a Studebaker V8 that has the vacuum advance bore fully machined. Drop in the piston and spring and add a hose fitting good to go. Several other 4 & 6 cylinder distributers showed up. I found several 6 & 8 caps, points and a couple of condensers. I know there is a box out there with several more big Mallory condensers in it along with the top of the cap and the rubber seal. I've been collecting parts for this thing for so long than they have gotten mixed in with everything else

 

You have quite a collection of distributors there!

 

"Collection" is a kind term. Sadly there are more. Headed back out to keep up the search for the other 1/2 of the cap and the big condensers. A Disney tune keeps running through my head "Somewhere Out There......" Too bad that seems to be the only thing running in there.

 

I use as a term for "having more than one needs".

You might need all of them to build 1 good one, that I don't know...

 

No dice finding the missing half of the cap, big condensers, and the Mallory coil. They are in there somewhere and they will turn up. If the don't by the time it runs I can use a V8 cap till I find another one.
I'll whittle the shaft into shape tomorrow and be done with it.

 

Today I made the modifications to the distributer shaft. First I measured and then I measured again. Next I clamped it in the vise and cut the extra off with a cut off wheel burning a big hole in my shirt.


Then I clamped it on the mill and found the center of the shaft and drilled the hole for the gear pin.


I got another grip on it and milled the end for the oil pump. I messed up here and took a little too much off of the first side. Luckily I caught it before I wrecked it. The tab is a little off center but not enough to hurt. Aren't V-blocks cool?


Finally I de-burred it and stuck the modified shaft in the modified body and compared it to one of the ones Mallory shaped. To quote my favorite Greek philosopher Mediocrities, "Good enough!"


I'll do the final cleaning and assembly tomorrow and set it up with a V8 cap box it up and put ALL the extra distributer parts away in one place. On to the headlights or maybe pistons if my DRO arrived today.

 

There is a completed old style Mallory distributer in a box ready to install. Still have to box up the spare parts. The DRO for the mill came. It is not going to be easy to install especially on the Z axis which is the one I really need for the pistons.

 

How is the DRO install going? On the 'Z' are you doing the quill or the knee? I did the knee on mine, don't remember if I got the 'Z' to work or if I gave up before finishing! Will have to take a look to see where I left off. (just know that I haven't used it yet......

 

I took it all out of the box and looked at it, held some of it up to the mill to eyeball, and went in the house and started searching you tube. The Z will be on the quill if I can fit it out of the way. My little Jet doesn't have a knee just a big up and down and a little up and down. It will involve some bracket building and I don't need to be distracted with all of that right now, a great winter project and do the lathe at the same time.
I'll assemble the headlights next and get them in a smaller box.
I need to put some stuff on eBay. I have about 1/2 a pickup load of distributers, caps, rotors, coils, condensers, & ballast resisters. Much of it is in boxes with part numbers I can research. Something sorta' fun to do in the evenings. That would free up a whole cabinet and provide some beer money.

 

The Z on small mills is often just a modified digital caliper.

 

These are exactly that. They are a set of three iGaging units. I was surprised that they came with no mounting instructions at all. No warning about protection from chips and oil. Nothing about cutting them to a better length or making sure they are straight. I'll study for a while before I tear things up.

 

If they're glass they're a bit more difficult to cut down, the magnetic are a piece of cake. Both can be cut, just that they tell you the glass can't be. Google is your friend. What were you expecting with the cheapest scales available on the planet? Good instructions?

 

Yes. These are aluminum. They will be fine for what I do. I wish I'd had them for the distributer shaft. The last one I did on the lathe with an end mill in the chuck and the shaft in the tool holder. Worked well.