VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 My 1951 Deluxe Sedan Restoration Journal...

Next it was off to pick Abby up at the sitters. We then went to Home Depot because I needed a couple of bolts to put the grille guard on. She had fun picking out bolts from the bins in the store, and even put most of them back in the right bins! When we got home to assemble the bumper, she told Nana that she was busy bolting!

https://www.facebook.com/bruce.pearce.946/videos/vb.840010230/10157040872655231/?type=3&theater (click the sound on)

I think I may be raising her right!

She took all of the extra bolts I had in a bag and lined them up neatly!



After she went to bed I went out to the garage and bolted the bumper on while listening to the Blue Jays lay a beating on the Kansas City Royals! What a great night!

She almost looks ready to go...

u should be real proud of the chevy and your accomplishments. mike

Thanks Mike... I'll feel a lot better about it once it's on the trailer headed to Tahoe! I made a list of things needed to finish before I leave. There's 29 things on the list, and about 29 days before I leave. Going to be cutting it close!

Really looks nice. Isn't it a great feeling when the project is nearing completion. I was hoping to see the finished car at the Central Meet but I guess that won't happen.
Are you using an enclosed trailer or open ? If open come up with something to protect the front of the car from anything that might get tossed up by the tow vehicle or others in the oncoming lane.

Dick

LOOKING GREAT!

Yesterday I trailered it up to the muffler shop for an exhaust pipe and a front end alignment. They did the alignment today, and are going to tackle the exhaust in the morning.



In the mean time, Abby is waiting in the basement for the interior install to begin...

Looking great!!
Safe trip out to Tahoe, Buddy.
Take 'er slow-you'll get there.

Cheers

It's an exhausting day so far today!







I stopped in to see how it was going. The Grandpa of the guys that own the shop hangs around and keeps his hand in on the jobs he finds interesting. Needless to say, he's been all over my '51! They had nice things to say about the "very professional bodywork". Thanks again to Kerry Anderson... great to see that guys in your field are also impressed. The Grandpa also showed me a little secret from back when... he custom built a sleeve that goes up inside the ceramic exhaust doughnut right below the manifold. He said that it will keep that doughnut from cracking over time, and I'll likely never need to replace it.

When my friend did my exhaust he did the same thing by welding a sleeve in to keep the donut centered.Before that the donut kept burning up because the pipe kept on loosening up and I would end up having a loud exhaust leak.Solved the problem.The Truck and Car shop in California sells that sleeve in their catalog.

On the factory pipes the sleve was an extension of the pipe. The sleve slipped over it and the packing was about an inch from tne end of the pipe so the exhaust never touchec the ASBESTOS packing.

Oh!Oh! Asbestos? Does that mean that Brewster might lose some points at a judging meet?

It's all ok Dad. I licked it. It's definitely asbestos...

The car looks amazing Brew. Very happy for you. I guess when you get back from Lake Tahoe, and find yourself with nothing to do after reading bedtime stories, it's time to start on the 50 convertible, cause we all need a journal to read!

I've spent the last three days working on the interior install. The carpeting came from National Chevy Association. I decided to put down a layer of foil insulation to keep some of the heat and noise out. One thing I've noticed is that without the 200 lbs of undercoating, the car is pretty loud now.

Last week I wasted an afternoon cleaning and painting the bumper jack that has been in the car for as long as I can remember. I made the mistake of assuming it was the original. It turns out that the original had worn notches on it, so Dad threw it up in his barn and put one from either a Plymouth Valiant or a Dodge Aspen in the trunk of the '51. I made the mistake of googling after I did the work instead of before! Anyway, Dad checked the barn and brought me the original Canadian jack. Up here they were green.

Now I've got a project for tomorrow...

Today I printed the photoshopped Donaldson Air Cleaner decal onto decal paper. It took about 5 tries, but I finally got one that didn't come apart. A great big thank you to 1931Roadster (Paul Rozon) for his help in completing this task. I'm going to touch up the edges when it dries.

Looking great be careful with the foil as it doesn't breath and I had moisture sitting in the floor boards. I took mine out and bought an adhesive type of sound barrier (twice) as mine was loud too. I put the upper front door frame moldings on and that helped the noise factor too. Still need to put the inner rubber fender flaps if you will on but I should have done that before the doors and or front fenders on as there is no room to work in there now.

What a way to spend a holiday Monday. It's Civic Day up here, and time to get the '51 ready for Tahoe. There are 10 things on my list, and I'm feeling like I've really accomplished by knocking half of them off by lunch. Especially the bigger items. In reality, I didn't do much of the work.

Paul Rozon (1931roadster on Chat) offered to help me take care of the timing issues. Smart man that he is, he decided to turn it into a VCCA Passport Tour. He brought along his own personal mechanic, George Worren, and his personal light and drink holder, Les Gadjacs. Maggie, Carole, and Beverly came along to visit with Abby and Jane as well.

First up it was the timing issue. The car was set wrong, so we advanced it up and had it running smoothly. There was a bit of valve clatter, so we took the valve cover off and adjusted them up to snuff as well. A quick fix of the valve cover stopped an oil leak as well.

Here's the gang under the hood. Paul is happy to work on clean parts. Note Les's awesome work on the trouble light. He's found trouble!





After we buttoned that up we took it for a 5km run to the Tim Hortons around the corner from my house. Something was drastically wrong. It was missing and snorting. Up went the hood, where we found the #2 plug wire off of the distributer. I think we had Paul in charge of electrical... but I'll have to check with George on that. Until then, he's on probation!

Here's the 3 Chevys at Timmies.


We made Les park on the other side of the lot, as he left his '61 Impala at home in the middle of a transmission swap. Instead, he showed up with this little number...



After lunch we decided to tackle the windshield wipers that weren't working. It turns out the clips with the spring between them was broken, and a grommet at the end of one of the arms needed replacing. I got a nice shot of Paul's good side as he tackled the under dash portion of the repair...



All and all, a great day. I can't go on enough when I say what a great club we have after all of the help and lessons I pick up from hanging out with these guys. Thanks for your help!

After George, Paul, Les and the ladies left, I got to work again. First I installed the upper loop belt for Abby's car seat. My truck had an extra loop in the back, so I removed it and it bolted right to the frame behind the rear seat, with the aid of a great big fat reinforcement plate and washer. Afterwards Jane, Abby, and Auntie Karen (Jane's Sister) went for a ride. The car drove like a dream. I can really tell the difference in the rebuilt front end.

Here's me & Karen...



...and here's Jane & Abby on her first Old Car Ride!



I kid you not, we got into the car and she cried & screamed... because she wanted to "drive and beep beep..." We let her take a turn at the wheel first. I'm not looking forward to the teen age years! Lol!




This evening I went at the door seals, and got one of them done before I ran out of glue. Here's the internet tutorial I used...



One day left. I'm cutting it REALLY close!

Finishing details today...

Abby points out the painted jack and spare...



The Canadian AC oil filter decal, Photoshopped by Paul Rozon.

If you have it judged I can see them taking off points for the air and oil filters. Make sure they know that different units were used in Canada. I am sure there are other things different also.

I can't see losing points on the oil filter. It's an AC and says "Made in Canada" right on it. Should be self explanatory. The air filter may confuse people though, as it is a Donaldson unit, and I'm sure you're not familiar with them down there.

If it were my car I woulld attach a note on the air cleaner noting it is a Canadian car and in Canada GM used different suppliers.
If nothing else talk to Roger, the chief judge, ahead of time so he could mention it a the judges meeting..
He is a nice guy.
Tell him that I mentioned it.

WOW ! What a difference in one year. I am referring to both your car and Abby. Last I saw her was at the Hudson Ohio meet.
Have a safe trip!

Dick

Day # 1031... The car is completed!

I started this project on October 6th 2013. Initially, my plan was to have it painted and assembled for the following year, and eventually trailer it to Lake Tahoe for the 55th anniversary meet. Now, here I am ready to leave at "0:dark30" in the morning for my trek to Nevada, and I finished the car up at 8pm today. What happened?!!

First, there was a bit more metal work done then was initially planned and a few more expenses then budgeted for.

Next, Abby happened. Putting the car on the back burner over the winters was a no-brainer, as I've had more fun raising my daughter as any old cars could provide. The biggest thrill so far has been taking her for her first ride in it yesterday.


A couple huge thank you's... My wife Jane, sorry I've been in the garage so much. Don't tell me how many shoes you bought while I was gone...

My Dad, George (Kaygee)... Thanks for the car, the stories about the car, and teaching me the joy in the lifestyle that comes with the car.

A few special thank you's to all of the important people that contributed their skill, time, knowledge, and experience...

Kerry Anderson...The beautiful paint and body work is the first thing noticed. You're a true craftsman.

George Worron... Thanks for not only the mechanical help, but the free lessons at both your shop and mine.

Paul Rozon... The Photoshop decal making king!There's got to be a business idea in there somewhere! Thanks also for the mechanical help and lessons in timing.

Gerald Romkes... Headliner re-instal, and lots of good interior pointers

The Guys at Cella Auto in Bolton... It's hard to find good honest shops these days that ENJOY working on the old cars. It was my pleasure to bring it over and have your Old Man wrench on it again... Exhaust & front end.

All of that shiny chrome came from Cambridge Custom Chrome... Great product & Service!

All of the guys on Chat that helped out...

Gene, Steve, Wally, Andy, Bruce, Barry, Dads51, who all sent photos and emails to help me, and all of you other guys that followed along in the journal.


Tahoe or Bust!