VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 knee actions and electrics

Hello, I finally sent my knee actions off to the rebuilder. I have a couple related questions that i felt i should ask; this being my first vintage chevy:
1. the king pin bushings are a nice fit in the axle, the pins themselves have some scoring and play. If i purchase standard bushings and pins there is no need to have them reamed? do the kits normaly contain the ball bearing spacer and shim stock washers?
2. my wheel cylinders have stuck pistons both sides. the shock rebuilder offers brass resleeving, is this considered the best way to go? i expect the master and rear to be in similar condition so i will give them the same treatment after i hear a general consensus. i would think the brass sleeve would be a much longer term repair and i do plan to use this as a daily driver car.
3.I want to add a dash fan to the car, i live in florida so it's essential! I have only been able to source a 12 volt. will a 12 volt fan run on 6 volts/ without harm? my other thought is to add an additional 12 volt alternator, a small battery, and use them for headlites, wipers (electric)and my little fan. has anyone done that out there???

Buy a king pin set.The bushings are full floating (they are not pressed in and free to turn on both sides).Just be sure to get the grease grove on the outside of the bushing lined up with the grease fitting hole.A kit will have the bearings etc.

The brass bushings are a good way to go.You will find that style wheel cylinder will rust up every few years-the brass should prevent this.

The fan would run very slow on 6 volts.I would try to find a 6 volt fan.These were common years ago.Can be found at swap meets etc.Up north we used them for defrosting the windows.

Also, several six volt Trico fans were on eBay a couple of days ago, so check out eBay too!

spttvb,

Yeah. Gene is right. Go with the kit. I replaced the kingpins, etc., on my 40 a year ago and they are still fine after 2,000 miles.

Now, if you are satisfied with your knee action shock rebuild, could you share with us the name of the rebuilder? My 40 still bounces like an over-inflated basketball even after toping off the shocks with hydraulic jack oil. Worked well for a while, but apparently they are shot.

Doc

With the brake cylinder resleeving if possible get stainless steel sleeves. While brass dont rust it is a soft metal and tends to wear rather quickly and leak that way. Stainless may be a little dearer at first but cheaper in the long run.

What site on Ebay are these 6 volt Fans?

Thank You
Jerry Metz

NAPA also carries wheel cylinders for the early cars as they were used for several years.When removing the king pins, be sure to remove the locking pins first. An excellent article on knee action restoration can be found at www.antiqueautoarchive.com under the restoration section.

For a Trico defroster fan, click on this eBay link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=42606&item=2439728035

Thanks for the site Mr. Dog

Jerry Metz

You bet and good luck to you!