VCCA Home Forums VEHICLE PHOTO GALLERIES 1937-1945 Photo Gallery My 41 Special Deluxe history

Here is my 41 Special Deluxe. It was bought new by my great grandparents (see attached receipt and warranty...I thought it was interesting). My great grandmother drove it until the mid 60s (see last registration). It sat unused until the late 70s where it was brought to our home in Galveston and then partially disassembled. My dad always had hope that he could restore it piece by piece. That never happened. Finally in 2003, after being hauled from house to house as my parents downsized, my parents sent it off to get restored. In 2008, the restoration was finally completed. My dad got to drive the car for a year or two before he became too ill. The car transferred to my mother in 2011 after his death and sat in her garage, being driven once or twice a year. In 2018 after visiting my mom and trying to/failing to get the car started, I asked for the car to be shipped to me in Delaware. Since then I've been working with a great group of people here helping me solve my beginner problems.
I appreciate everyone's help.

Can someone look up my serial # 3AH07-71572 and tell me anything about manufacture location, etc.
Also...anyone know what the code OBAC stands for?

3 = St. Louis
AH = '41 Passenger Special Deluxe
07 = July
71572 = sequence number at that plant

OBAC don't know.

The OBAC stands for oil bath air claner. Was a suggested factory option for cars sold it the dust bowl area back then.

Thanks Gene and Rus. Oil bath air cleaner makes sense for Gilmer, TX.

Mechanical
When I got the car in mid-2018, I had fuel problems. I tracked it down to:
crap in the (poly) tank
rusty fuel sender adding more crap to the tank
clogged, undersized fuel filter
crap in the carb bowl

I got all that wrapped up and moved on. I also had a crack in the fuel hose from the tank towards the hard line. Easy fix, but got stranded and needed a tow.

At this point, I was pretty reliable once the car was started recently. I had problems priming the carb after times of non-use. A new fuel pump fixed this up.

Prior to spring 2019, I thought the car was temporary to me (to be rotated to my siblings every few years), sometime in spring 2019...my mom decided to gift the car to me.
I started working on things that might impact changing registration to my home state (Delaware).
I found a few things
crossed wires to a taillight
vacuum wipers not working (sent off and rebuilt...now works like a champ)

I also wanted a radio...so I purchased a 6 tube radio (the C41). That's off getting rebuilt/converted...hopefully back soon. While preparing for this, I discovered my car was wired positive ground. I switched that (regulator - might not have been necessary, but I did and new cables).

The last problem I had was shifting. I had grinding (when hot) from 1st to 2nd. I couldn't find anyone to rebuild it, so I found two donor transmissions, watched some videos, and did it myself. Now it shifts like a dream.

Physical
The restoration was done fair. Photos will show some of the trim pieces not finished correctly (Chevrolet above the grill and the piece below the hood ornament). A fair # of bolts under-hood are clearly "not original".
There are some paint bubbles (usually near holes that trim clips into) that have "burst" and I need to figure out how to deal with
They seemed to run short on trim clips, so some trim pieces are loose.
I've been told my dash is the wrong color
I'm missing the trim piece between the two pieces of windshield glass.
Oddly...the gauge cluster chrome is more rusted than the rest of the dash chrome (unclear where the car sat from the 60s til the 70s when it came to my house as a child)
My driver's side door lock had a bad spring in it

Lastly (for now). The rear of my hood sits high and needs adjusted.

To Do
This spring (2020)....
Adjust the hood (high in the rear) without locking myself out of the engine compartment
I want to go over my brakes. I know left front needs to be adjusted...hopefully that's all it is. I also need to swap out the fluid.
I've started thinking about tires...as my bias-plys are over 14 years old. I'm thinking about the bias look radials.

"I want to go over my brakes. I know the left front needs to be adjusted".....If the front brakes are pulling one way or the other the adjustment would be the least likely.
With hydraulic brakes the hydraulic pressure is equal to all wheels. It is probablably more like grease/brake fluid soaked into the linings or a stuck wheel cylinder piston.

Gene,
I can hear it grind, slip, grind, slip when I press on the brake (just on the front driver side) I want to try to adjust the shoes as a start, maybe I will get lucky. If not, I will in and see what we find

If you can hear noises when you operate the pedal shoe adjustment could be only PART of the problem, remove both drums and inspect everything including cylinder movement as a 1st action (sometimes the adjustment will prevent the drum removal). Gene and I are thinking the same if it pulls 1 way it is either oil, grease or siezed cylinder on the opposite side. In a emergency stop it may spin the steer wheel out of your hands which is not a desired situation.
Tony

Hi Scott,

There is NO System on your care that is more important than your brake system. As such, it is the first system that should be completely inspected before the car is driven, especially if the car has been in storage or you are not completely aware of the history of its condition. The emergency brake system is part of the brake system so likewise should be inspected and be in working condition. Any problem in the system is a warning of impending problems and should be heeded as reason for a complete evaluation of all its components.

Having SEARCHed your past posts non mention your brakes as a concern or being inspected. So I am assuming you have done 2 years of work on your vehicle without a careful inspection of the entire system. While this maybe somewhat typical it is a sure way to lead to an unfortunate incident. Put your big boy pants on and do it, and even consider looking at past posts on the topic for good guidance.

Good luck, MIke

P.S. The 41 front hood has interchangeable front hood hinges. So it is easy to mount the hinges on the wrong sides (been there done that). When done incorrectly the hood can not be adjusted at the fire wall (it will be high). There is a good discussion in your manual on how to adjust the hood.
It is easy to misalign the front hood so that the latch will lock and can not be released. There is no access point to a 41 locked front hood (BEEN THERE DONE THAT) so you will have to remove the tire and the front inner fender and with a long screwdriver and arm reach the latch and fish around it to eventually release it. Lots of good advise in old posts like these:
1946 Hood Release and dealing with hood springs: 1941 Hood Spring Replacement

Send me a PM if you ever want to 41 talk.

Hi Mike,
Sorry for the delay in responding. I took my son camping this weekend and am still thawing out from the 22 degree overnight temps.
Thanks for the guidance on brakes. I know I have been somewhat ignoring them. I overplay that the car was left idle for a long period of time. It was garaged and driven once or twice a year....each time, I think my brother uncovered something new that was wrong (a carb that was clogged or eaten up by ethanol), brakes that sat, and so on from sitting idle. I know not long before I got it...it got a new master cylinder...so it got at least a once-over during that exercise. I'll get in there in the next few weeks and see what's going on and post back if I need some help.

I'll also look at the hood hinges. I thought I looked at them before and they weren't reversed, but got worried about the springs and getting locked out...so I left it alone.

Mike...thanks for the nudge. I am happy to report fresh brakes all around. Rebuilt master, new lines (frozen at front hose),wheel cylinders (frozen bleeders), new shoes and hardware, and turned rotors. Struggled getting lines tight enough so they wouldn’t leak....can’t imagine stainless.

Hi Scott, Glad your brakes system is updated with new components. Hopefully, you got the emergency brakes also working well. I have stainless brake lines on my 41 and had no problems with leaks, thread issues, etc. I paid more for stainless because I thought they might respond better to any corrosion issues from moisture in the brake lines. Probably overkill since I won't be around 60 years from now to judge?

Think about setting up your hood latch so it could be released at the bottom of your radiator? Here is a post to think about: 1941 Hood Release

Here is advice on adjusting your hood:Hood release

Hood spring removal and installation: Hood Spring Replacement

Good Luck, Mike