VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 1928 chevy National ab

I am now the owner of my fathers car, that has been in the barn for 35 years. I would take any information or web sites were I can learn about this car. I also need a few parts and a good place to buy tires. I got the vin off of the front seat 9AB62075. I have been looking at other 28's but have not found one that has three windows on each side. the rear doors open in suicide style. Thanks alot for any information you can provide

Hi davidbaldwin,

Pull up a chair and let's talk about 1928 Chevys. You have found the forum that best provides answers for your car. We are glad you chose to join us. Very soon we will be suggesting you join the VCCA. Many benefits of being a club member.

Welcome also to the owners of 1928 vehicles club.

9 = Norwood
AB = 1928 series
62075 = The sequencial number assigned to the 1928 vehicles. Assembled in late May

Spend some time looking for some more numbers and letters on the car. Perhaps on the firewall and fropm the engine or head.

Cooker has provided me several sets of tires and I have been happy with all of them.

A picture of the car would be fun.

Here is the story on the vehicle... My Father bought the vehicle in 61 when he was 19, he and my grandparents drove it for a few years when the rear end started making a noise and they parked it. That was around the late 60's. They pulled the rear cover off and noticed the pinion gear was stripped and the ring gear was chipped in a few places... Then the years rolled by! At some point, Grandpa bought a ring and pinion set at an auction and sat it on the running board of the car. On rolls 2008 and the 100 year model t party! My grandpa has a 31 A and father had a 27 T roadster but I wont say the "F" word... Anyways, Dad said if i got the National going, I could have it, so everyday I have been working on it. The exhause valves were stuck, so I pulled the head and got them freed up and going to touch them up on our valve grinder, haven't yet though. I got the rear end out and the new ring and pinion cleaned and ready to put on and I have bearings ordered (will be here tomorrow around 9 am) The wood in the problem areas has already been replaced.

Now for some questions! The seal in the thermostat is gone, where can one be purchased or can I rebuild the one I have or can I run without one? When replacing the ring gear, do you just bolt it back on with some no.8 shoulder bolts?

Fisher body corp. Job no. 8150 Body no. N 9383

I think that is it for now! Thanks for the warm welcome!

I am also trying to figure out how to post pics for you also!!

Does it kinda look like this one? This one has different bumpers than you usually see on a 28 also the rims being painted silver is wrong, and I don't have the yellow pinstripping on yet. I just bought two Beugler pin stripping tools at a garage sale.
This is our family car, a 1928 National AB Sedan

[img][IMG]http://pic1.picturetrail.com:80/VOL1180/4341552/9153654/136372660.jpg[/img][/img]

Yes it does. Nice car! When dad bought it, mine was all black and he wanted it green with black fenders so they painted it. I am wondering what the original color of mine was so when I break down the tires, I can get the rims painted. Somethings that I don't have and EVENTUALLY.... want are chevy headlights (one is from and A and the other is from a T) The vehicle has been parked inside, but someone stole the rear bumpers and tail light some time!?!?

Job No 8150 = Five passenger sedan, N = Norwood, 9383 is the sequential number of bodies produced.

Thanks for the information, again. I just thought of another question... The exhaust, is there a place to buy original exhaust or could I just take it to a custom shop and they can make something?

hey dave
go to the filling station for the exhaust.
they have alot of repo parts for your ride.
i had my exhaust made local for my 30.

There is a '28 Sedan in Warsaw, IN. Don't know how far it is from you but he is working on it to get it ready to tour.

Shoulder bolts will work fine. We use a little red loctite on the nuts. Also need to grind the heads of the bolts or nuts a bit to keep from interference.

Warsaw isn't to far. I almost have the head done, worked on it a few hours today. They didn't call about my bearings though. I won't have any time this weekend to work on it anyways. Thanks for the info again! I hadn't found the filling station till now. Looks great!

I am still curious about the thermostat you guys run. The one that is currently in the vehicle has the seal? out of it. I see the ones the filling station are selling look like todays thermostats. What do you think?

I recommend you run a thermostat in your 1928. It would be nice if you could find an original bellows type unit. If you have a correct 1928 water outlet it is made to hold a thermostat. The bracket with the two screws holds the thermostat in place. If you can get a 140 that would be great, a 160 would also be acceptable. The new thermostats for Chevrolet will fit in the correct 1928 water outlet.

I agree with Ray about the use of a thermostat.The original bellows type 1928 thermostat was designed to open at 120 degrees.
I'm currently running a 160 degree bellows type thermostat with only a 2 bladed fan on my '28 truck,and it still runs too cool,even in the summer,or working it with a load.
The motometer only ever makes it half way between the cold to the bottom of the circle on the scale.If I run without a thermostat,the engine just won't perform properly,no matter how hard you push it.

I currently have the original bellows type installed, but it doesn't appear that it is closed and is loose, I am just guessing that there is some type of seal that has gone missing. I will take a closer look today and let you know.

How do you post pictures on here so I can show my car off! :)

I had alittle time so I pulled the thermostat out and found that the top part of it was completely unscrewed from the bellows. I thought that I was sitting good till I realized there was a crack on one of the bellows and it is filled with water.... I can just buy a 160 chevrolet thermostat and it will fit in the original housing?

I haven't had time to finish the head or work on the rear end yet.

One more thing... The clutch pedel is stuck, what is the best way to free it up?

Thanks again guys! Also how do I become a member?

Got some pictures for you..... I got rid of that nest that was under the front seat! :)

Hi David,

I have seen people that started with a lot less than you have to work on.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Check your PM.

You should seriously consider not restoring it and keeping it as a driveable barn find. Does the world need another restored 1928 chev?. But a sound driveable barn find like this with lots of intact archaeology is a treasure. I wish I had one!

Hi:

Most people would look at these photos and simply scratch their heads. We look at these photos and we say simply beautiful. Then (at least in my case) I look at this and say.....I can't wait to get to work on it.

How can I post photos?

Thanks

Don

Thanks guys. My plan is to get it roadworthy and drive it. Growing up we drove the Model A all the time, many trips to town just for fun, thats what I want to make this into for now. The A's body was painted put rough body and original interior with no headliner, but full of memories! Probably eventually work and restore it little by little. I don't want a perfect car that I'm scared to use!

I will be at a camp this weekend and I'm having withdraws from it all ready!

Hey Don, This is how I posted the pictures. I opened an account with photobucket.com and loaded the pictures there, then when you post, there is alittle icon (the third one) that is to enter an image, you click on it and copy and paste the web link that is under the picture on photobucket.com and paste it there.

I know confusing, hope this helps!

David,
Go to this site for a lot of good info.
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/

Thanks Bill! I haven't had a chance to examine that website at depth yet (been to busy reading on this one!) So much to learn. I am so glad I found this forum.

Back to working on the old Chevy!! I bought a battery and the starter works, horn works and one head light works! Need to make a new positive side cable though.

Question, how do I get to the clutch? My clutch is stuck and need to work on that soon.

With the vehicle up and on safe stands, remove every connection to the two brake bars. Now remove the bolts that hold the brake bars and remove them. Remove the U-Joint cover, slide the "ball" towards the rear of the vehicle as far as it will go, and split the U-Joint. Remove the two bolts that mount the parking brake to the side of the transmission. Remove the shift lever by removing the 4 top bolts. Remove the 4 bolts that attach the transmission to the bell housing. Remove the transmission. Remove the two bolts on each side of the engine cross member. Support the back end of the engine and remove all the bolts around the edge of the bellhousing. Remove the bellhousing so you have access to the clutch pressure plate and after removing the pressure plate you can now remove the clutch driven disc.

Thanks David (Info on the photos). I'll get to it tomorrow.

Don

No problem insurance man!

Thanks AntiqueMechanic!

Ok I am having some trouble and need help.... I can't locate the four bolts that hold the transmission to the bell housing. From what I can see, there aren't any. If you look down where the shifter was I can see the ends of a bolt but it is threaded from the bell housing side.

I tried to pull the transmission along with the bell housing but that isn't working out. It moves alittle but I believe that it is stuck on the shaft. I can take some pictures and add them tomorrow if that will help me explain it better.

Insert into the instructions just prior to the sentence that is in bold; Remove the bolts that hold the bell housing, the 4 bolts on the cross member, and remove the transmission, bell housing and the frame cross member as a unit.

Ok, thanks. I went ahead and tried that but is is still stuck. The bell housing is full of mouse nest and it is stuck pretty good. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing something else.

I worked on getting the transmission and bell housing off today... Still no luck. I have pushed pryed and pulled to no luck. ANY IDEAS?

On a good note, I (my grandpa and I) got the ring gear changed and back together and ready to be put under the car... once I win the fight with the transmission that is...

I still haven't touched up the valve seat yet though.

Another question. What is the make up of the rear axles on the outside. Is there rear end oil throughout the whole rear end? Is the felt seal the only thing keeping it out of the hub?

YES, The felt seal is the only stopper. If the axle bearing has been changed it may be a sealed one side or sealed both sides bearing.

If you have removed all the bolts around the edge of the bell housing, it should be removable at that time. It sounds like the clutch may be rusted to the transmission input shaft. I would attempt to drive some wedges around the bell housing if you can get that much of an opening. Although the bell housing is a strong and well built unit, do not forcefully drive the wedges in.

If you can't get the bell housing open enough for the wedges, it may be the guide pins on the bell housing that is causing the problem.

Thanks! I can get the whole thing to move around some, it wants to come off but hasn't made the leap yet! I dumped a half a can of wd-40 on top of the flywheel I hope some of that made it down to the shaft.

I'll keep you posted.

Good, stay with it. If it don't budge, get a bigger hammer.

Couple other questions I have come up with while driving around. Is there anything to put on the wood to help preserve it? I am going to wire wheel the frame and the under side and was wondering what color to paint it? I figured black but should it be glossy or flat?

Thanks for all the help.

Originally a Chromate was used as a surface treatment on the wood after assembly. It is the green tint you see on original wood. There are some modern wood preservatives, the best are not available to individuals. Light coats of wood sealer and paint will do a good job and are not hazardous to the applicator.

Black of a semi-gloss (or flattened high gloss) is most accurate. The modern paints have a higher gloss than those of 50 years ago.

Thanks Chipper. So is all the wood painted then or just the under side?

On another note, I worked on the transmission some today. I got it off of the pegs and can turn it around now. There is quite a bit of play in it but just wont come yet. slowly but surely! I did dig a lot of mouse nest out of the bell house though. I didn't have any more penetrating oil to spray in around the flywheel, I'll have to get some.

Till next time....

Here's how we treated the wooden parts of the Ford body.
First treat the wood with some colourless wood preservative to kill the bacteria.
Let it dry well.
Mix wood tar with turpentine and treat the surfaces with the mixture (turpentine is used to dillute the tar to be brushed easier).
heat the wood with hot air blower (hairblower) so that the tar soaks into the wood matrix and wipe the surplus off with the rag.
Let it dry well
repeat the tar treatment.
Let it dry extremely well.
paint.

After this treatment the wood preserves even in the Finnish climate. Make sure the tar and turpentine are wood based and not any industrial mineral liquids.

Job No 8150 = Five passenger sedan, O 5824 = what? What is the O/

O is Oakland Body plant.

Go here for the same answer:

https://vccachat.org/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/126889#Post126889

:) :grin:

Dave,
For the record, Your headlamps are both from a 1928/29 F**d Model A. The lenses may be different, possibly a 28 fluted one on the passenger side and the later style on the drivers side.
I never have very good luck with WD40 as a penetrant, WD stands for "water displacer". Use PB Blaster or order up some Kroil direct from the manufacturer.
Place my name on the do not restore list, It is Way Cool just like it is. Good Luck.

Mike

Thanks Mike, Funny you talking about the head lights. Dad said that he thought that it had chevy headlights on it when he bought it, but couldn't remember. Well today I was digging through some of our A parts and found the Chevy head lights! One is complete and looks pretty good and the other one is missing the lens and ring. Oh, I also found the tail light assembly, no lens or bezel though.

WD-40, I have used alot of PB so far!

Things are going pretty good so far. Today I got a pretty big order in from the filling station and started putting her back together.

Tomorrow I am going to take the main shaft from the transmission to a shop to see if they can fix it.

In my "down time" I got Grandpas A running and been cruising around in it. I have a new top to on it but he hasn't dragged me away from my chevy long enought for me to put it on yet!

Mike your name will go on the ever growing "do not restore" list. There is no one on the "do restore" list!

Thanks again Mike


David

Wonder why so many of us Old Chevy Nuts are on the Do Not Restore List? We have all made the mistake of taking a good original or older restoration and trying to improve it. Takes a bunch of those green frog skins and then you don't want to drive it 'cause it might get dirty or scratched. They are meant to be driven and enjoyed not worshiped. Just the opinion of a person that has messed with these old Chevys for nearly 40 years and still learning.

I like that way of thinking Chipper! I would like to work on the seats some but just thinking of a price scares me! :eek:

Things are started to get put back together, slowly. I still have a few parts in cleaner and are going to need a quick shot of paint.

I am ready to hear it roar! Still need some tires before a drive though!

Really nice car, David. Nice now and a lot to work with.
Did anyone ever answer your question about how to join the VCCA? At the main https://vccachat.org/ page, before you click on Chevy Chatter II, there is a box with membership info. Last month our 45000th member signed up.

Thanks Sam! Getting closer to my driver everyday! Waiting on the shop to call so I can get my input shaft. Today I installed the rear end and axles back together. :) I need to become a member, that is on my list of things to do!

Are the ignition keys all the same? I don't have a key to my car. Does anyone had an old stock ignition for sale?

When you visit a good lock smith, he should normally be able to make a new and fitting key. Bring the ignition lock and two blanks and I am sure he will fix it.

The ignition key locks the ignition switch and locks the steering shaft. This subject was discussed in detail and with pictures in "School is in Session". There are two brands of keys and several combinations. Best you disable the steering shaft function and use the lever switch.

Which schools in session is that? I thought that I had read them all but I guess not! Thanks

Go to TECH TALK.

I know in tech talk, in Mr. Goodwrench and in schools in session. I was inquiring which school in session does it speak of the issue. The one page, two page, four page or the ten page thread? I thought that I had read them all but I guess that I hadn't.

Thanks for putting up with me Ray :)

Hello David
Here can you see how I fix the ignition lock om my -28

https://vccachat.org/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Main/8474/Number/58566#Post58566

Arvid

Just wanted to let everyone know that everything is going good. Took it out for about a 40 mile trip this afternoon and didn't have any troubles, but got alot of looks!