VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 1929 Mini Shake Down and Personal Victory

been rebuilding the engine for my 1929 and finally took it out Saturday and did a 3 mile loop for initial shake down and test run. Initial run was to make sure it ran, no major issues, and everything works and stays together.

car ran great, stopped good, and fired back up after shut down. it was about 85 out and the car did not overheat. it did puked a little when i shut it off, but it was full of coolant. so should be fine now, but will keep an d eye on it. also did not notice anymore air in the gano filter on the coolant return line.

found a few bolts i forgot to tighten up, and went around twice checking all bolts, nuts, screws.

did not get time Sunday to do a second test run, so did one tonight when I got home, after dinner of course.

set a personal goal when i got my 1929 running. that goal was to be able to start the car by hand crank, at least once !! i figure i would try tonight and see how that went. followed general guidelines, spin to compression and pull crank up and around, and not try to hold on to it as to break my arm !! i pulled the spark knob as to retard spark per manual, and away we go. i was shocked that it fired on first attempt, actually startled me. engine stalled out quickly. pushed in the spark button, and tried again. fired right up and kept on running.

dont plan on starting the car manually all the time, but wanted to accomplish that goal and know that i can start it manually if /when i desire.

after warm up took it out for shake down/ test run 2. car ran great, accelerated good, and stopped good. once the brakes seat some i will adjust and tweak them. same thing once i get some miles on it go back over and tighten up bolts, nuts, and screws. no noticeable issues or concerns at this point. next trip out i am planning a good 20-30 minute trip around town, stop & go traffic, and maybe a bridge (small one) test it out a little more.

Congratulations from a fellow '29 owner!

🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺💃💃💃💃💃💃💃

Finally !! Great to hear of your successful maiden voyage.

I recall testing my '32's speedometer against my iPhone's "speedometer" on one of my early test drives. The car's speedo showed 10 mph less than the iPhone speed.
Still does. Don't know which is correct.

I don't really care as long as she's moving along under her own power.

Keep 2 hands on the wheel going over the bridge.