VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1916-1922 - Model 490 My "new" 1918 Chevrolet 490

Now to really blow you minds. In ~1924 a song "Ray and his little Chevrolet" was published. Several VCCA members have a copy of the sheet music.

I have a copy that is framed and hanging on my wall.

Good Day Ray,

I spoke to Ray the other day, then I went home and rang Ray, but he was on the phone to Ray.

Think I need to have a lie down and have a stiff drink.

Cheers

Ray

Doc Brandon,

That return spring for the brake pedal is also on a '17 490 in original condition that I saw last weekend. It is also the same size and shape and connected to the same bolt on the trans. What are the odds of that? Makes me think it maybe original. I will need to dig up a manual or lube chart and see if the spring is there. Where does it connect on the parking brake pedal?
Thanks,
Gary

Hi guys!. I have owned a 1918 490 touring sedan for about 3 years now. I have been searching online for information on oils and such for a while. I just stumbled upon this forum and WOW I have found most of the information I needed. I am curious what type of coolant you guys are running. I have a reprinted owners manual that states (I think) distilled water and alcohol. It runs and moves, but I have to replace all of my tires and fluids. I am moving and plan on driving it to my new home about 10 miles away. So I have a little work to do changing all of my fluids and my tires(that I got last year for Christmas). Thanks already for the wealth of information.

Gary
I am certain the spring from the parking brake to the transmission (brake return spring) is original equipment. If you look at the photo I took you can see the dedicated spring bracket and retainer pin and cotter pin on the aft side of the brake pedal.


Doc

Hi Nick
Earlier I spoke with Dave (owner of the Canadian Guild Of Automobile Restorers) about the type of coolant to run in the 490. He told the cars were originally designed to run with straight water. In colder climates were freezing temperatures occured, water mixed with alcohol
(half and half) was recommended. He told me that today both the original recommendations would be fine or in the alternative, you could use water and modern glycol antifreeze mixed half and half. Thought I would pass this along and see what others recommend ?
Doc Brandon

Anyone
3 photos attached.
1. right side of the transmission, there is what appears to be an adjustment screw ? Not sure what this is or what I need to do here ?
2. Small hole just in front of transmission. Is this hole a lubricatiion point ? Not sure ?
3. Just to the right of the grease cup there is a part I am unfamiliar with ? What is it ? Function ?






Doc.

If I remember correctly the third item is the stater bendix.

Should be a nice Thanksgiving weekend up here in Ontario Canada with all the Fall colors, so my plan is to make a video tour of my new 490 and upload to YouTube. Will post the YouTube link when I get the video edited. For added excitement I will bring my dog along for the ride to town !
Here is the YouTube link to a 60 second video I made with my LMP1000 Roadster.I do all my own video, editing, sound, graphics and effects. I did this video with a 14 foot camera boom to get the sweeping shots that move over the car. Turn up the sound for best effect.



Will do something more "period appropriate" with the 490.
Since my LMP1000 Roadster is also Chevy powered (LS3-430 HP),... eventually I want to include both the LMP1000R and the 490 together in a video as a tribute to the 100 years of Chevrolet. Will be very kewl !
Stay tuned. Doc Brandon.

Nick,

Hello, and Welcome to the Forum. You will find a ton of information here about your 490. So, just ask. I will be sure to add your 1918 to the running total. These cars just keep popping up one by one.

Doc Brandon,
1. That might be for the speedometer cable? I know the '18 models moved the cable from the left front wheel to the trans.

2. The hole you speak of is in the clutch collar and yes it must be lubed. Bob Kerr said earlier he uses 600W mixed with some engine oil then fill the hole. This mixture I would like to try. Regular oil leaks out for me, meaning my oak plugs are probably gone. Oiling the collar helps keep wear to a minimum.

3. Nick is right. That part you pictured is the starter bendix. There is nothing you need to do there. Perhaps, maybe a drop or two of oil on the bendix shaft should do it.

4. It is kind of hard to see exactly where the spring attaches to the pedal because of the cable that attaches there too.

Cheers,
Gary

Anyone, ...Have started to get the hang of driving my new 490 around the country roads near my home, ...driving the car very gently ! Most of the roads are flat with no steep grades. Shifting from 1st > 2nd > 3rd is no problem, ...I have this down pretty well.. I tried downshifting from 3rd > 2nd, ...the transmission did not seem to like that, ...gear noise ! Is it OK to shift from 3rd > 2nd, or should I not be doing this ? Is there some trick to downshifting from 3rd to 2nd ?

My other concern is approaching an up-grade or down-grade on the road. The grades are not steep but I am worried about having enough power to get up a hill and also having enough braking ability to stay in control going down a grade without the car getting away on me. Any advice ???

About the valve train: I want to adjust the valve lash. After loosening the locking nut and setting the valve lash spec, ...how exactly do I hold the lower lifter still while I tighten the locking nut ? The lower lifter is cylindrical. There doesn't seem to be any way to hold the lifter still ? Any advice here ? Am I missing something ?
Doc Brandon

About the spark plugs: When I acquired the car it had CHAMPION C-16C plugs installed. They were probably in there for 30 years (see photo). They are available. Guys on the forum seem to recommend the AUTOLITE 3077 plug (see photo). Does one work better than the other ? Also the 3077 plug is longer than the Champion plug. Is this an issue ? I am worried that if I install the 3007 plug the piston may hit the plug as it is quite long ? Is this an issue ? Should I try the 3007's and see if they perform better than the shorter Champion plugs ?



Doc Brandon.

Hi Doc,

I think you should be very happy with the 3077 over the C16c. Being a longer reach plug seems to agree with the Chev 4 engine, and since I changed over to them I have had no problems only better running.

Your pistons stop well before the top of the block, so there is no danger of the plug hitting anything.

There are other equivalents to the 3077, but they are the most cost effective.

Just watch out when you are fitting them. If they get tight before they are fully seated, it will mean that you have excessive carbon in the lower threads of the head, and you will need to run a 7/8 plug tap through the threads.

Give them a go Doc, you will not be dissapointed.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

Cheers

Ray

Doc,

You will have no problem with the 3077 plugs. Compression is only about 4.5 to 1. The piston stops a good inch before TDC that is why the long reach plug works so much better. It reaches farther into the fuel/air mixture. You should not have a problem with the threads either because it appears from the photo that the threads do not go any farther than the Champion plug. You will certainly notice better performance with the 3077 plugs.

Cheers,
Gary

Doc,

Sounds like you are doing well on the shifting. As far as the downshifting, I suggest that on a car this old if the trans. does not want to go into a gear do not force it. It will only cause excessive wear or perhaps breakage. Just stop the car and start again. As time goes on you will learn what the car likes and dislikes and proceed accordingly.

On the brakes: Jack up the whole rear end and check the brake adjustment on each wheel, both service brakes and parking brakes. Then adjust for a good fit without too much drag. Do not be surprised if one wheel is doing far more braking than the other, they are out of adjustment. Once adjusted you will notice much better braking action. On stops that require faster stopping you can use both pedals which work much better than just the clutch/brake pedal.

On valve adjustment: I assume you have checked the lash and requires adjusting. You do not have to worry about holding the lifter still. You are adjusting the push rod. You need to hold the push rod still while tightening the locknut. To do this works well with a 90 degree pick. Sears sells a Craftsman small 4 pick set that works great for a variety of things including this. There is a small hole in the push rod that you can use the 90 degree pick or the straight pick (whichever you can get in there to hold the push rod) and then tighten the nut.

Hope this helps,
Gary

On the more "modern Chevrolets", like the 1928, We double-clutch, of course with a non-syncronized gear box you need to match the engine RPMs to the transmission output shaft RPMs for a smooth shift. Since the transmission lower gear will be turning faster than the engine input,.... to down shift from 3rd to 2nd gear you will need to rev up the engine in neutral to allow the shift to mesh properly.

Having a few problems with the car ?
Cannot seem to be able to keep the ignition operating smoothly or consistently. Back fire problems too today.
On close inspection of the distributer I can see there is a lot of wear on most of the moving parts. There is a lot of play in the advance assembly on the center shaft. Also a lot of play in the little advance control arm off the side of the distributer. Cam seems quite worn as well as points. Not sure how well the coil and condensor are. Rotor and distributer cap contacts also not that great. My thinking tells me it would be good to replace these parts, ...only issue is sourcing parts ? How do other 490 owners source out these ignition parts. Not sure what would be best approach.
Will give Gary Wallace at "earlychevyparts" a call.
Any advice would be helpfull ?

Water is dripping out the front of the large packing nut on the water pump. Can the pump be rebuilt or are there sources for these ?
I think I might also want to change the water pump. I think the pump is failing ? ...engine seems to be getting a little too hot.

Doc Brandon.

Gear shifts upwards: Accelerate some, and clutch in. Wait till the engine is running near to idle and shift to next gear. Listen to the noise/sound and you will find what the car wants. Use 600W oil.

Gear shifts downwards: Give a good extra trottle, uncouple gear and start shifting straight after. If you miss it (and we all do specially in the beginning) try to repeat or even stop before you go on. When you see/reach a down hill, change to lower gear some before you reach the steep part. The engine will hold back both using 2nd and specially 1st gear, but use the brakes as well if you feel you get too high speed/out of control.

Uphill: If the road is clear give some extra throttle some before the uphill starts. Change down to 2nd when the speed has gone down to 25 miles.

The driving is quite a bit dependent on how many people you are transporting.

Hi Doc
I think Solans advice is OK when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear, if you do it at low speed, just a couple of mph. For smooth shifting from 2nd to 3d I use another technic than Solan: I do a very quick move with the gear shift, without any stop at the neutral position. Why? Because with the clutch released and the gear i neutral, I've found that the transmission ingoing axel and the secondary axel stops almost immediately. You can see that if you watch the cone, which as I understand has the same speed as the transmission ingoing axel. Since the speed of the outgouing axel depends on the speed of the rear wheels, it is almost impossible to get into 3rd gear, specially if you´ve got some speed. If I don't succed, and the engine rev slows to idle, I engage the clutch, rev up the engine and make a new try.I think that one of the reasons that the transmission ingoing and secondary axels stops so quick is that the transmission oil must have that high viscosity. I use a straight 250 W mineral transmission oil, which is described as a modern substitute for the originally recommended 600 W Steam Cylinder Oil.

Good luck to you!

If your distributor parts are badly worn that could be the problem however if your spark advance lever is retarded you can also get a popping or backfire sound when you try to accelerate. My own 490 is not running yet but that is how my old Hudson behaves.
When buying parts you will probably have a Delco distributor and parts are usually easier to find, however some of the early 490's had Connecticut Ignition so make sure you are searching for the correct parts. The Delco point arm is straight and the Connecticut one is curved with a wheel instead of a rubbing block.
You can tighten the packing nut only enough to stop the leak and/or buy a new split packing. If the shaft where the packing runs is badly worn or pitted or if the shaft is loose you will then need a pump repair kit.

Anyone, .....I am thinking of removing the engine from the car to do a complete overhaul at my shop. If I unbolt the motor mounts (2 per side at the base of the engine and 1 top rear), will the engine separate from the transmission if I slide the block forward and then up ? Does the engine separate from the transmission behind the large heavy fly wheel, ,... or, do I have to remove the engine and transmission as a complete assembly ? What is the easiest way to remove the engine, ...engine alone OR engine and trans together ?

Doc. Brandon..

....oh, and one other thing, ...I understand the engine is rated at 26 HP. Does anyone know what the RPM is at idle and what the maximum RPM is at the 26 HP spec. ? ....basically I need to know the RPM range of the engine ?

Doc. Brandon.

The 1926 engine is advertised as having 26 HP at 2000 RPM. That would be at about 45 MPH.

...2000 RPM sounds about right. I suppose the 26 HP rating was at the output shaft of the engine, ...may be a little less at the rear wheels. Compression was significantly down in the number 1 cylinder.
My engine is probably putting out less than 20 HP. Anyhow, ,...I took the engine out of the car last night and will start refurbishing the engine, water pump, generator, carb, etc in the shop. Engine came out without any difficulty. Much easier to work with on the stand than in the car. That's a mighty heavy flywheel on the back !!! Don't want to drop that thing on your toes. Will get her all cleaned up and looking pretty again.
Doc Brandon.