VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 Another bent push rod

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the answer to the question I posed above is that EGGE MACHINE COMPANY has 5 in stock and the low price in my opinion is $15 each.
johngarza@egge.com answered my inquiry with the price.

mike lynch

What I found with my intake and head was that the varnish gummed up the chambers where the intake air goes to the valve area. I'd get the valve guides clean and everything would be fine. After running it for a while, the hot motor would melt the varnish and suck it back around the guides and everywhere else. Once the motor cooled, the varnish would cool and get sticky again...You know what's next...Stuck valves again. Mine was really bad. Chambers in the head where the intake air comes into the valves was coated with the stuff that you found on your gas tank sending unit.

My dad, being an old school baby-boomer shade tree mechanic, first thought the valves were not getting enough oil and thought that was why they were sticking. When I read your story about this, it brought back painful memories for me.

Good luck!

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I have been informed that 3 new push rods are on their way north to fix the problem of the bent pushrods, saving any possible problem of trying to straighten the bent ones and having them most likely fail again.

mike lynch

SUCCESS. Thursday Jan 17, I got it running (again).

Along with my good buddy Dick Olson, we finished the following:

Unstuck three valves.
Removed all valve rubber boots on the intakes.
Removed all pushrod keepers at the bottom.
Installed all new brake lines.
Installed a new 3-way brass fitting.
Installed a new 14 gallon gas tank.
Installed new gas gauge sending unit.
Installed 2 new gas lines. 1/4" and 5/16"
Installed 3 new pushrods.

Set all valve adjustments loosely (again).
Took fuel pump apart to clean it (again).
Bleed all of the wheel cylinders (again).

And did some other stuff that we found necessary.

Examples:
Replaced a stripped Metric bolt holding down a brass brake block with an authentic Made-in-USA SAE bolt from 1931.
Replaced two broken brakeline clips.
Replaced four broken brakeline and gasline frame clips.
Swapped the longer front brake cable with the shorter rear one. (don't ask)
Replaced the broken muffler hanger bolt.
Removed the new rubber gas bowl gasket and replaced it with cork.

And then we tried to start it for only the third time since June 2012. Actually since 2001.

ISSUES:
a) Fuel pump NOT working. Took apart. Found brand-new valve (installed in Sept) stuck shut. Gently pushed it open.

b) Had the timing 180 degrees out. (How the h*** does THAT happen?) It's a true mystery.

Then -- SUCCESS. It started.

And it sounded pretty good too. Let it idle for almost an hour.
Sprayed WD-40 inside the valve springs.
Sprayed PB Blaster on top of the valves.
Squirted motor oil along the rocker shaft.
Poured some Sea Foam into the carburetor.
Might have added some Jack Daniels but it was so dang cold outside that I decided to keep that for myself.

It just ran and ran. With temp below 30 degrees and thick frost/ice on the driveway, I didn't attempt to drive it. As it was, the wheels slipped on the driveway just backing out of the garage.

When I put it into gear to drive it back INTO the garage, the brakes grabbed and jerked me violently to the side.
Do ya think that I need to adjust them puppies again? Ha!

OH!! Almost forgot the MOST IMPORTANT THING. While it was outside and idling, I TURNED THE RADIO ON... for the very first time since I purchased the car last June. And... IT WORKED!!!!

It took about 3 minutes to warm up, and then another 3 minutes to stop buzzing, but just as I was going to turn it off, I heard the glorious sounds of KIXI am radio - Oldies in Seattle.

Fantastic. Next time (in summer), I'll try the heater.

Until then....

PHOTO BELOW TAKEN bb DURING A WARMER MONTH (much warmer)

bb? Before Brakes.

Boy oh boy don't we all like progress. You need to feed those gremlins better so they are happier (well maybe not so they go next door instead) and leave your '36 alone for a while. And we call this fun? All that aside, it sure is a kick when something you worked hard on does perform well. Kinda makes it all worth the effort. If it were easy we wouldn't get as much satisfaction in slaying those dragons (gremlins in disguise? or visa-versa).

Now you need to put some stabil fuel stabilizer into the tank and run the car for 1/2 hour once a week to keep everything oiled up.

happy motoring
mike lynch

You didn't mention the biggest finding of the day (month?).

AHHHH The younger generation.
I remember when my son-in-law was young and precious. He was looking at a new car for a family car. I asked about the miles on the odometer, asked if it smoked, asked about the brakes, asked about the steering tightness, the condition of the tires,the A/C and heater. he said "I didn't check any of that stuff, but it has a top shelf cassette stereo and Fm-Am radio!" ...caused me to say "WOW!"

Adjustment will not cause hydraulic brakes to pull. The hydraulic pressure will be equal on all four wheels.
Either there is grease, oil, or brake fluid on the lining or if clean, sand the glaze off the linings and drums. The drums on a 1936 Standard can not e turned on a drum lathe because they are steel.
On my '39 have to sand the right front shoes every couple of years when I first take it out in the Spring.

Gene,
I was referring to the wheel cylinder adjustments. After I replaced the cylinders in July/August, I attempted to adjust them just by turning the wheels until they drag - then backed off two or three clicks.

But, now that I have new brake lines (that AREN'T leaking), it would seem that I'd have to adjust the wheel cylinders again.

Backing it out of the garage, caused a pretty severe grab to one side, when I stepped on the brakes the very first time... and the second....
...and the third

I understand equal hydraulic pressure. What I was assuming was that, Now I need to go back and readjust the wheel cylinders since they are now bled and activated. Is that correct or did I miss some other adjustment step?

--Bill

Always seemed to me that if one wheel was too tight and one too loose, it would cause the tight side to take ahold first causing a pull on that side.

Bill
Now that the brakes have been "centralized" (actually) operated readjustment wont hurt. I would also look at the linings and scuff (sandpaper) the surface of linings and drums. You may find the drum surface may have slight rust on 1 wheel causing it to "grab" or at worst a wheel cylinder not as "free" as it should be.
Tony

All I can say is if it were mine the first thing I would do is pull the drum on the wheel that is locking up and sand the linings and drum.
My 1939 has been sitting for 2 years and did the same thing when I drove it around the block this Fall. I didn't ave time this year but in Spring I will be pulling the R.F drum and sanding the linings as I have done for the last 30 years. I have changed the rake shoes, etc. but the prblem always returns. One year the L.R. locked-up also.

Okay, will do. Note, the rims were off in July/August and cleaned up before I reinstalled them.

Having only "driven" it about 3 car lengths, I can't tell yet WHICH wheel locked up (or grabbed). And I need non-icy roads to test it any further... so it'll be a couple of weeks or so.

My follow-up question was about the cylinder adjustments. I assumed that they were more important and needed to be fine-tuned (again) before I test drove it. Maybe that's not the case.

I hadn't realized the implication with the rims being steel. It looks like Sandpaper and Steel wool are in my future!!!

Thanks!!!!!!

Bill
brake lock up isnt always the fault of the wheel that locks up, it could be the wheel on the other end of the axle isnt operating or has lubricant on it. Look at both wheels on the axle.
Tony

Is it possible you still have just a bit of air in one or more line? 'Seems as if you already had things properly adjusted before replacing one or more of the lines, the adjustment/s should still be OK (?). Replacing the fluid lines should not change the adjustment/s (unless I'm missing something here). But, as I've said before, "I know nothing".

Great comment. "Yes" it most definitely could be possible.. Heck I found a METRIC bolt holding parts together on this "original" car. Ha ha.

And as for Tony's comment -- he's just being "polite" and telling me to get back to BASICS -- and check everything!!!

--and he's right!!!!

But I'm gonna wait now until it gets above 40 degrees out. Much too icy and cold to try to test drive for the very first time -- especially when I live on a hill.


Thanks everyone.
--Bill B

Yes dont just look where you think the problem is look at the whole picture first, been caught taking short cuts before.

If you are waiting for 40deg come down here and you will change your mind. We have had 40 and near 40 celcius (104 f) for the last week or 2, we would settle for 30 max.

Tony

If I think there may be a little light rust on a brake drum, I just drive for a short distance with light pressure on the brake pedal. That seems to scour it off pretty fast. I have notice that on my modern vehicles with disc brakes that in wet weather the discs will show rust in a very short time of setting in the garage. If I get a severe brake grab on an old Chevrolet, I usually find oil or grease contamination on the shoes. Hopefully that is not the problem with a set of brand new shoes on the car! I have had the stuck wheel cylinder problem too.

Mr Mack,
Today's younger folks are looking for the MP3 and "Blue Tooth Connectivity" the heck with the cassette player.
Chris

Seems to me this thread has drifted way off topic, nothing lately about bent push rods. Bill is there any way of dividing a thread after the fact when it has started to drift into a whole new discussion/ brakes, bluetooth, what next Airbags!

Threads can be:

Moved
Merged
Deleted
Locked

Once off-topic, then they need to be stopped fairly promptly. Yes, the divergence to BRAKES was unintentional and could have been "stopped" and "restarted" as a new thread.

Lesson learned.