VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 New (to me) 41 Chevy

just brought a 41 Coupe home and it will need some work to get it back on the road. Engine turns over, by hand and doesn't look to bad, been sitting for over 10 years. Brakes, all the way to floor, checked brake fluid, empty. Needs a dash clock and the only trim I think that is missing is on the bottom of the inside window, a thin strip of trim and what looks like was a two or three piece trim part just below the thin strip and a crank hole cover. Anyone know where I might find these items? I am enjoying reading the posts so far, some very funny and most very informative.

I see that you havent been welcomed to VVCA Chat yet Gary, So welcome , and we hope you continue to enjoy being here.

Hi Gary,

Yeh, ditto to Jack39rdstr's comments. Welcome aboard the car restoration merry go round. Every one enjoys the ride, eventually. I hope your questions are plenty, and you pick up a lot of imformation. You could not have choosen a better site. Hopefully we will see your regular postings.

Cheers

Ray

I will add my welcome too. The folks here have been very good to me and provided many answers over the years.

Welcome Welcome Welcome & Good Luck with your new Purchase! Post a Photo when you have a chance...We'd love to see it ! Kevin

You've hit a homerun finding this forum. Almost any question can be answered about old chevys. You'll be amazed how someone could know these facts. I can't imagine rebuilding any old chevy without this help. Welcome aboard !! Post away, if possible with photos.

To find the strip, garnish moulding and crank hole cover you might have to watch e-bay, but they do sell the medallions that go in the garnish moldings. Good luck with the 41.

Welcome snowball41, you picked a good year' I love all year vintage Chevrolets, but I am partial to 41s.There are many qualified people here to help you out'
Good luck''
Mike
VCCA#27125

SB41,
Welcome aboard!

Check ebay and The Filling Station, IDA's and Chevies of the Forties for parts and stuff.

The brakes are not a problem. You don't really need anything but a emergency brake and/or a piece of rope and a cinder block. (That's what those hillbillies in TN do. Do too! I drove a 41 home from IL to NC without brakes. The engine will do most of the slowing down for you. Also, since you live in OK, you won't have any trouble with hills and mountains. I've been to OK and it is flat as a fritter! Mostly.

But if you're a little quiezy about tooling around town without the hydraulics just do the following (this is "shade tree" mechanics 101):

A. Pull the master cylinder. Use a line wrench so you don't mess up the lines. Disassemble it and put a new kit in. You can use the old parts if you have to but you may get leaks. Just look real good at the cups and if they look good they may be used again. NAPA carries the kits. Figure on between $80-100
for all five kits.

B. Pull the wheel cylinders and clean them up also. You may have to use a large socket to drive the pistons out. Hone the cylinders and put in a new kit or use the old parts. Same about leaks.

C. Blow out the lines.

D. Reassemble the parts. Get new shoes if you need them. They're the same back and front. Turn the drums if they need it. Fill er up with DOT 3 or better. In Cincinnati, they use beer. Thats what they use there. So I've been told.

E. Bleed the system to get all the air out. There is a sequence to it. I start with the left rear, right rear, right front and then left front. That is not the book sequence but someone will weight in and give you the right one.

F. Adjust all wheels until you just lock down to a arm pull on the tire. Then back off 5 clicks. When looking at the wheel cylinder from the rear or front, clockwise tightens and counterclockwise loosens.

As to the engine. Dump a pint of Marvel Mystery oil on the rockers. Take out the plugs and clean them. Get new ones if you can. Check points. Check time. Check for spark. Check for gas. May need to clean the carburetor. Just use raw gas to see if it will fire up. Then clean the carb. Make sure it is outside and have a fire extinguisher handy. Live garden hose too.

You have picked a good year for Chevrolet. The 41 coupe is among the best looking of all Chevrolets. And, all Chevrolets have tough power trains. Yep!

Good luck to you and remember to let us know if you need any help. Our lip service is free and abundant.
Charlie

BTW: Invest in a shop manual. Reprints are about 20 bucks and well worth the price. Also, draw a sketch of how the parts are assembled. Both the brake drums parts and the master cylinder.

BTW2: I sure am so pleased that you chose the 41 rather than any other Chevrolet year. That shows good taste. But don't brag on it too much. The other years Chevrolet owners get right whinny when one praises the 41. They're sorta like Cinderella's sisters. They weren't upset because the slipper didn't fit them. They were upset because they didn't get to ride in the prince's 41 Special Deluxe Coupe. Were too! Big Grin.

Thanks for the welcome and info. I look forward to the sage advice the forum members have. I really like the 41 Special Deluxe Coupe. I filled the master cylinder with fluid and the brakes pumped right up. I will go through the brakes and suspension before driving. I can't wait to start the beast. The ignition switch does not have a key so until I get a key or new switch I may try to hot wire it just to hear it run. I have been having trouble logging in or should I say staying logged in. Killed the cookies, maybe that fixed it.

Snowball41
Looks like you have a head start with a almost complete car, albeit needing a lot of work.
You were lucky with the brakes coming partly to life. I would suggest that you do a full overhaul of the hydraulic system and replace anything that shows wear in the steering as well, brakes and steering are the most important parts of any car.
Good luck and not much work in the restoration.
Tony

Yep,
Looks like you found a really nice car there. Good luck with it.
Charlie

Yes, that is a nice car you have there. If I were starting it for the first time, I would disconnect the feed to the coil and power it with a six volt trickle charger. That way you get a full spark while the starter is drawing a heavy load.

Snowball41...........Welcome to VCCA. I would also encourage you to completely overhaul the brake system. I put all new wheel cylinders brake lines and rebuilt the master cylinder. If you rebuild the master cylinder be sure to check the two small holes (one for the fluid to go out of the cylinder and one for the fluid return) They are inside the master cylinder under the large cap of the cylinder. If the holes are plugged drill them out . It will same you a lot of trouble.
The return hole on mine was plugged . The right front wheel would lock up every time I applied the brakes. I spent hours working on that wheel before I realized it might be the master cylinder. Good luck on your '41. I have to agree with Charlie. You have picked the best. Do it right the first time JIM

Welcome and have fun with your "new" car. There are a lot of guys on here with a lot of experiance and knowledge about old Chevys.

Snowball41, Welcome! Looks like you have a great car to play with. Just a word on the brakes, particularly since the car has sat for for long. I have a '38 and the first thing I did to it was replace the master and wheel cylinders, and put on new shoes and linings. Then someone asked me if I replaced the lines and hoses and I said "No", the ones on the car looked just fine. It was explained to me that original lines were steel and if they sit for a long time with a lot of gunk in them, they start rotting from the inside out and there is no way to tell what condition they are in until you make a hard stop. I was told that once I tried a hard stop, my old lines just might turn into a sprinkler system under the hydraulic pressure created by all of the new parts. That sounded plausible to me so before my car goes on the road, it will have all new lines and hoses in the brake system. Agaain, welcome, and good luck with your new "toy".

Thanks for the advice and recommendations. I will go through the brakes really well as I like the car to stop when I want. The suspension is intact and tight. It appears it was restored probably 15-20 years ago and has just sit in a garage since. The tank looks relatively new and the under carriage is really clean. I will post more pictures as I go about getting the beast back on the road.