VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Recommendations for sourcing 1940 parts.

I've put approximately 120 miles on my 40 Master Deluxe, since I bought the car several weeks ago. While the car runs relatively well, there are some issues that require immediate attention including;

Parking brake doesn't work at all, apparently due to old and rusted cables. The FS doesn't have replacements unless I go with their "universal" cables, but not sure if that is a good route or not. Question; has anyone successfully used Lokar or other aftermarket brand cables? I've found some NOS cables but they are very pricey and look suspect to me so I'm looking for suggestions.

Rear main seal is leaking badly! I discovered this after parking the car in the garage after a 60 mile drive. Looks like I have approx 1/2 cup oil on the floor and it is coming out of the weep hole in the bottom of the tin clutch/belhousing cover. My understanding is that I need to replace the 2 piece rope seal in the rear main. Question; Is the Filling Station the best source for rope seal, or are there better rope seal alternatives and or products. Also, do I have to pull the crank out to replace the top seal, or can I get by by partially dropping crank as described on the Stove bolt tech tips for 216 engines.

Engine "stumbles" every once in a while (approx every several minutes)while driving or idling. Not sure if it is carb related or points related, or some other cause at this point. The points don't look that great and I'm considering replacing the points with el. ignition. Question; What are your experiences with upgrading to el. ignition, both good or bad.
The odometer shows 66,000 miles and 216 engine appears to be healthy.

I believe that the Master Brake Cylinder is leaking as the brake pedal slowing sinks to the floor. The rubber boot is missing in front of the Master brake cylinder and it looks wet down there. I'm leary of buying the rebuild kit for something that old. Question: Should I try the rebuild kit from FS, or bite the bullet and do a total replacement?

Thanks in advance for any and all responses..

Bob

Bob,

1. Spray the cables with bubble blaster or WD-40 and let it work in. Try working them back and forth. They may free up. If not, go for NOS brake cables. They appear often on ebay.

2. The rear seal can be a bit-- to redo. I acquese to others on their recommendation on that. Rather than fixing the seep/leak, I recommend getting a drip pan for the area you park the car. Save the fix for when the engine needs more extensive repairs.

3. The stumbling is probably more associated with ignition than fuel or timing. Make sure the wire from coil to distributor is not grounding out now and then. The installation of new plugs, points and condenser is good idea.

4. The MS can be rebuilt. Go by NAPA (or some other parts store) and get yourself a wheel cylinder hone and then a new MS repair kit. They have those also. Take the MS off (you're going to have to do that anyway) There is a key that locks the clutch and brake arm in place. Be careful (use a line wrench) on removing the line so as not to round the keeper off.

When you have the MS off, take the snap ring off the front of it. Clean and hone it out good. Then install the new stuff and cylinder. Wet the cylinder and the cups with some brake fluid and insert the pieces in the same way the old stuff came out. Before your put the new stuff in, make sure the two holes in the reservoir to the cylinder are open. This is critical.f

Piece o'cake and it will work just as good as a brand new one. It could be a brake cylinder leaking also. Same advice.

5. I encourage you to get a 1940 service manual. Best advice of all.

No doubt others here on chatter will offer advice also. We all will be trying to help.

Best,
Charlie

My parking brake cables were rusted up also. When I redid the rear brakes, I disconnected the cables on both ends and squirted them the full length with PB Blaster and let them set over night. Then I pulled from each end with vise grips and got them moving until they moved freely in the housings. I pulled them as far as I could in each direction and coated the cables with white lithium grease and ran them back and forth to work the grease into the housings. Then I sprayed the housings with the lithium and let them set over night before wiping them down.

You can likely buy a master cylinder or a rebuild kit at your local NAPA or CarQuest or similar parts house. I honed out my cylinder and rebuilt it, and it works fine. I also rebuilt all the wheel cylinders and blew out the lines and replaced the rubber hoses at the same time.

The original distributor with new points and condenser will keep the old 216 running fine. You can probably also still get these parts at your local parts houses.

BTW, parts for these old cars are often not in the computers at the parts houses, but they can look them up in their books and find them. Many parts are still in the system.

You can try rebuilding the MS...Take apart and see if perhaps there's to much corrosion to "hone" out ( of course then...a lot depends one how long it has sat with moisture eating at the iron ) Then there's the price of the hone and the "learning curve" on using it...With all that said...You might just want to save the time and perhaps the frustration and pull a new on straight out of the box...It's a lot quicker and you don't risk trying to remember where "things" went...Which I find a problem the older I get...Gook luck...Kevin

I have read that the folks at Inline Tube can make up new cables if they have the old ones with all the ends. I have found that when trying to get old cables limbered up, bending them in an arc and then rotating them helps break the rust bond.

Some like the rear seal made by Best gaskets. It is a new woven material said to be superior to the replacements for the old style. I think this guy Gasket City has a stock of NOS seals. He also is a best gasket dealer.

Not commenting on your car's specifics, it is possible to change both halves with the engine in place if you can get the old top half out. I remove the transmission and drop the crankshaft slightly to create some room for pulling the seal in.

Welcome to the world of owning/driving 70+ year old cars Bob. When you first get one you're a bit lost and looking everywhere for lots of advise. After a while you start to become an "expert" to most of your local peers who know less than you do. Two things are for sure, you never stop learning and you're in the best place for advise. I just noticed you're in Wisconsin. Join the club and come to the Middle West Meet this June @ Lake Geneva.

My thoughts;
Remove present cables and soak in kerosene/oil mix.
Rear main leak. Make sure that it isn't the back of the valve cover leaking and oil running down and catching in the flywheel pan. If it is the rear main the seal is probably rusted to the crankshaft and spinning aroud. FS good sorce for their graphite seal Don't use a parts house seal or a rubber seal. Seal difficult to install (top half).
If 60,000 is the original milage engine was probably overhauled in the last 20.000 miles.Actually milage means next to nothing on a 73 year old car + it was legal in Wisconsin for a dealer to zero the speedometer if desired.
At any rate removing and cleaning the oil pump screen and making sure the rod oiling pipes are "clean" is always a good move.
I would suggest repacing the points and condenser, rotor and possibly the distributor cap.Remove the glass bowl on the fuelpump -remove the screen and clean both.
There again very possible that the M/cyl has already been replaced atleeast once in the last 70+ years. First I would remove and inspect and go from there. If a new one is required try NAPA as the Cyl. fits up through 1952. They can get you a kit in one day also.

Thanks for all the feedback.
I'll take a crack at "unsticking" the parking brake cables and attempt to rebuild the Master Brake cylinder. Also plan on replacing points, condenser, rotor, etc. rather than go with electronic ignition.
I need to track down the source of the oil leak since there is some oil coming from the back of the valve cover. Will post back later.
I do have a service manual for the 40 (it came with the car)
I also joined VCCA and will try to make it to the event in Lake Geneva..

Welcome as a fellow 1940 Chevrolet owner. They are great cars to drive. Mine runs just great and it too has the common problem of a leaky rear main seal. I have been the care-taker of my 1940 coupe for 45 years now.

dtm

If you switch to an electronic ignition, you have to install a new higher power coil. I tried the Pertronix Ignition and it worked well while at idle. When I accelerated, the original coil didn't have enough power to send enough power to the system. I wanted to keep my original style coil so I went back to a points system and have no problems now.

Hope to see you in Lake Geneva....I know what your car looks like at least.
Throw in a set of points. Good for 10 years or 10,000 miles. Just regap them after a few hundred miles.