VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 The Story of a 1926 Chevrolet Superior Series K Touring

Hello everyone,

My name is Brian, I live in a small town in Ohio and I'm 28 years old. I've had my 1926 Touring since July 2017 and I just haven't found the time to share it until now. I believe the car has been maintained and worked on, but has never been restored. Most of the wood is in excellent condition, it's never been painted, the electrical system is somehow working and I've gotten it to run and drive without much effort. Here it is the day we got it home:



My grandfather discovered the car in the Generator and Distributor after we got home from the Mid-America Four Cylinder Tour back in May 2017. After a couple of months of speaking with the owner, I placed a deposit and my father and I drove 600 miles from Piqua, Ohio to Kansas City, Missouri. The car had been kept with a friend's private collection in a climate-controlled warehouse since about 1985 or 1986.

I think that the history of this old Chevy is just as interesting as the car itself. It was found by a gentleman in the Veteran Motor Car Club of America in an open side of a barn near Chilhowee, Missouri. He purchased it for his father just before Easter in 1956. It was rarely driven because he could not decide if it should be restored or not. He wiped it down with an oily rag and left in his basement garage.



The gentleman that I got it from found it in 1980, buried in a pile of boxes, furniture and other items. After getting the car home, he put in a battery and a new set of points in the distributor and the car ran and drove. It was used occasionally for car shows, visiting his children’s friends at school and even letting his young son drive it. Sometime around 1986, the car was allowed to be stored in a friend’s climate controlled warehouse in Kansas City, Missouri where it sat until I found it in July 2017.









I've been working on the car, but there is still a lot to do. The original honeycomb radiator had a couple holes in it and it was full of calcium. I had a brand new honeycomb core installed with the original tanks. I also rebuilt the water pump. I went through the entire fuel system. Cleaned the tank, blew out the lines, rebuilt the Stewart Warner vacuum pump, added a couple inline filters and rebuilt the Carter carburetor. The original coil was a little weak on the high tension side, so a new modern-style 6v coil was added. Plugs and wires were also replaced. Adjusted the valves. I dropped the oil pan to clean and inspect, changed all fluids and lubricated all of the chassis and suspension points.

I cleaned the interior and removed at least two 1920's diseases. I also added some egg crate foam on top of what's left of the seat covers and put Indian blankets over them. To keep the blankets from blowing out, I used a number of female-threaded neodymium magnets. A small screw with a washer goes through the blanket and it sticks to the steel body.





I've already steam cleaned the wheels, but I still need to finish coating them with linseed oil. They are a little dry and therefore loose. The oil will tighten them up. I can also inspect brakes while I'm in there. The tires are from Montgomery Ward. I had never heard of them before, but the older folks that I share the car with have had chuckles after I tell them. I haven't looked for a date on them, but they're decades old. A little cracked on the sidewalls, but the tubes hold air! I will replace them in the spring with Goodyear black walls. The exhaust system is original, I think. It only goes just beyond the transmission. I will replace it with a system that goes to the rear bumper. I still need to check out the steering box and try to tighten it up a bit. I also plan on putting a new wiring harness from Rhode Island Wiring Service in the car before spring.

To help preserve the patina, I covered the entire car (top and bottom) with Gibb's penetrating oil. It lays on really nice and gives the metal a great look. It doesn't have any silicone in it, so if I ever decide to restore this thing, I can strip the oil and paint over it without worrying about failure.





I'll be posting updates as I go. Let me know if you guys have any questions. Thanks for looking!

Wow! Your car looks really, really solid. Great find!

Very nice, I like what you are doing.

Dave

Great looking original car! You did good finding that piece of Chevrolet history.

Brian, Are you going to drive it on the VCCA 4 cylinder Tour in Iowa in June? It sure would be a hoot! to see it in person.

I will be in Iowa with my grandfather and his 1927 Coupe, but I will not be bringing the Superior along. Leaving the car out in the elements will not do it any favors, unfortunately.

Hi Brian,

Since your vehicle is original can you take a photo of your engine compartment (both sides)? A picture is worh a thousand words.

Thanks.......Rob

I spent some time working on the car this past weekend. I managed to get the generator back on after having the internals serviced. The dude at the shop was very confused when I asked him to go through it, but DO NOT clean it.





I have also been in the process of getting the wheels off to inspect, clean and maybe replace the wheel bearings. The rear caps were only finger tight, but the front pair were very tight and I could not remove them with brute strength nor a strap wrench... My father helped me solve this problem by making a dust cap wrench out of black walnut. Worked perfectly.





The grease looks pretty spent. I have some nice stuff from Lubriplate to replace it with. The front wheels spun great, but the bearing could look better; in fact, the passenger side race lost it's bearings when I removed it. Does anyone have any recommendations or advice for getting new bearings? I may end up calling Gary Wallace later today.



Passenger side:

Are you looking to see something specific? I don't have any decent pictures focusing on those areas... However, I have the following pictures that were given to me before I purchased the car.





I may be working on it tonight, let me know what you want to see and I'll do my best to capture that.

I absolutely love this. Can't wait to meet you and the car.

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the pictures, I appreciate your time. I need some more help:

1. Is the firewall painted black or is it body color?

2. Is the top of the vacuum tank painted black?

3. Is the oil filler tube engine color or black?

4. Is the heat pipe from the exhaust to the carb painted?

5. Can you take a picture of the throttle linkage from the bottom of the steering column to the carb? There appears to be a spring where the rod connects to the carb.

6. Can you take a picture of the distributor linkage from the bottom of the steering column to the distributor?

7. Is the brass carburetor fuel bowl painted black or is it just tarnished in your picture?

8. Is there a spring running from your carb to the firewall?

Thanks for the help..........Rob

The original bearing numbers for your front wheels are:

Inner bearing complete: New Departure 909002

Outer bearing complete: New Departure 909001

Cool. I'll take some pictures and give you some answers.




Fantastic! Thanks for the info.

#1 = body color
#2 = all of the vacuum tank is painted black
#3 = engine color
#4 = No
#5 = let's hope someone posts a picture
#6 = " "
#7 = polished not painted
#8 = yes

Note that the engine is equipped with an aftermarket heat exchanger for the passenger compartment. Chevrolet did not provide a heater for the 27 and earlier with the single exhaust head. A heater was provided for the 1928 which is a "dual" exhaust.

Brian,
Ask your grandfather about right front wheel bearings. He is an expert! The story will amuse you.

Oh yeah! I've heard that story. Ha!

If you look closely, you'll notice the nail that's wedged between the manifold shroud and exhaust pipe to keep it from, I assume, making a racket.

I like your pictures very much. My car is a 1926 roadster. I noticed you put a fuel filter before the carburetor. The vacuum tank was my biggest problem so I put the fuel filter before the vacuum tank. Maybe you did too? I know the purest would not like it but so I think I will look for sediment bulb at the next swap meet. My car has been in the family for 62 years. Dad restored but it about 35 years ago but it had sat for 10 years with out running until recently. Good luck with your car.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need any more images.


I have a filter under the car before the vacuum tank and I have another between the tank and the carb. These are temporary and I will be replacing both of them with sediment bowls on the firewall later this year.

Please excuse the double post....

I had a chance to work on the car for a little bit yesterday. I was able to get the front inner wheel bearings out and get all of that old axle grease out of the wheels. I'll going to try to order some new bearings later today.











I applied some Gibb's oil to the many bits and pieces for the radiator shell assembly. I will be assembling them this week and hopefully getting the front end of the car put back together.





I've spent quite a bit of time cleaning the hub cap threads on both the caps and the wheels. They had a lot of dirt, grime and rust in them and for the most part, they're pretty good now. However, I am having issues getting a Springfield wheel puller on more than two or three threads (on the rear wheels). The instructions state to wack with a hammer to knock the wheel loose, but my dealership/service book states to not strike the axles in fear of damaging the differential.

What do you guys use to pull wheels? Any advice for using mine?

Have you cleaned the old bearings and found damage? If not I would clean and inspect and they may be re-usable. Also if you put in new ones I suggest changing both the races and the bearings.

Yeah, the passenger side outer bearing lost all of it's balls when I took it apart. Balls also fell out one of the inner bearings.... I'm just going to replace everything. I'm in there anyways.

I spent some time messing with the Chevy on Saturday.

The radiator and radiator shell were assembled and reinstalled along with new hoses. It finally looks like a car again!













Does anyone know what may be missing from the face of the radiator cap? It looks like a crest or something may have gone there...



I also applied a coat of linseed oil to the front wheels. It laid on so nice too. Looks like polyurethane. I'll be taking the excess of tonight and after a rub with some steel wool, I'll continue to coat them until it stops absorbing.

What a fantastic car! Great work you are doing, preserving the history...

Thanks! It's been a fun experience so far.

I can't wait to drive this thing in about a month!

In my last update from Saturday, I showed how I had laid down a fat coat of linseed oil on the front wheels. I had a chance to check on them last night after work.

You can see that after three days of sitting, most of the oil had been absorbed by the wood. The gaps near the hub have all tightened up!








After wiped the excess oil off with a rag.







At this point, I debated about rubbing the spokes with #0000 steel wool like I had done previously, but I decided to do another coat of oil before doing that.






If anyone is wondering, this is what I'm using on the wheels.



If anyone decides to use linseed oil, I highly recommend doing it in a well ventilated area and be sure to dispose of your brushes and rags appropriately. They can spontaneous combust.

Beautiful!! This is a chore I need to do for my '27 truck. I soaked the wood spokes in linseed oil 20 years ago, so I suspect it is time for another bath.

Another project for this summer.

Cheers, Dean

Work continues on the Chevy.... The pressure to get this driving is starting to build. I'm due to get kicked out of this heated storage space on March 30 and there is still a lot of stuff to do.

I'm just about finished applying linseed oil to the front wheels. I laid a coat on them last Friday after knocking the shine down with #0000 steel wool. I also laid another coat down last night. I plan on letting them sit until Thursday or Friday before wiping them down for the last time. All of the wood grain and and gaps have tightened up nicely and I have not been able to find a loose spoke.


Here is a wheel after wiping off the oil on Saturday.






And one more after applying oil for the last time.




I have spent quite a lot of time with a pick cleaning the threads on the rear wheels. My wheel puller will now thread all the way onto both rear wheels. Does anyone have any advice for removing the wheels? Cranking the crap out of the tool bothers me and I'm afraid of hurting something. Perhaps driving the car in circles with the nut loosened will do the trick??? Any advice here would be super helpful.

I want to get those rear wheels off so that I can give them an oil bath. I can also check out the brakes and replace the rear wheel bearings while I'm in there. Has anyone use sealed bearings for the rear axle?

The rear wheels on my '28 didn't want to come off either. One wheel came off using the regular puller, but, after tightening the puller's bolt, I had to use a 5 pound sledge hammer on it for the wheel to break free from the tapered axle.

The other rear wheel needed some innovation. The hub threads were totally smashed and there was no way to clean them up for the hub puller. So, I improvised and REALLY smacked the new puller with a sledge hammer. Eventually it came off and I replaced the hub.

Below are a couple of pics of the puller setup.

;-) Dean

Awesome. Thank you for the information, Dean!

Hopefully I won't have to go as far as you did to get these darn things off.

It's been a while since my last update... Life gets busy sometimes.

I finished the oil treatment on the front wheels, replaced the wheel bearings and got the front wheels remounted! Getting one of the inner bearing cups out was a real SOB. I had to shave just a little bit of inner hub material off with a chisel in order to get a punch at just the right angle to tap out.






The battery cables that were on the car looked okay, but they are stiff and the insulation is starting to crack and fail. Gary Wallace hooked me up with some replacements.

At this point yesterday, I couldn't find any reason why I shouldn't add water and fuel and see if the rebuilt fuel pump worked. I primed the fuel pump and put a couple gallons of fuel in the main tank. She fired right up after three revolutions. Oil pressure looked strong and the freshened up generator appeared to be charging the system. I varied the RPM a bit for a couple minutes to help fill the oil troughs and double checked for leaks. Everything looked good except for a bit of smoke. No big deal.

After adjusting the clutch linkage a little, I pulled it out of the garage and into the sun. She spent some time with the Buick while I took some pictures and checked the fuel pump. I was also able to drive it up and down the driveway a couple times. I needed that.








If the YouTube video doesn't embed:

Unfortunately, the fuel pump does not appear to be working. I never heard it relieve vacuum and the car slowly ran out of fuel. The inline filter that I added between the main tank and the pump had fuel in it from gravity, but I could not see any fluid movement. I checked for drips and leaks, but saw nothing. I also checked for a vacuum leak, but I'm doubting that because the car idles so nicely. Does anyone have any advice?

Vacuum leaks between the manifold and fuel pump may not significantly affect the idle particularly if you adjusted the carburetor with the leak. At idle you should have a noticeable vacuum on the line from the manifold to tank. If that is the case then plug off the vacuum tank vent with your finger. With vacuum applied to the fuel line from the rear tank there should be flow even if the vacuum pump is not working internally. If gas is not drawn from the tank then blow air back toward the tank and note if there are bubbles generated in the gas tank or hear air blown into the tank. If you only hear air the pickup tube may not be down into the gasoline. If you hear nothing there probably is a plug or restriction in the line. Or your hearing is bad so you need to have someone else listen.

If no vacuum then find out why? Port on manifold plugged? Line plugged? Fitting loose or leaking?

Once you determine you have an open line to the gasoline tank and pickup is below the gas level, you have sufficient vacuum to the fuel pump then the internals of the fuel pump should be evaluated.

If you do all that and still have a problem come back for more sage advise.

Awesome! You're the man, Chipper.

I'll do some more testing and check back here.

My 1926 motor meter has the owners initial on the badge that is attached.

I see you have the same problem with the radiator shell we had. The truck shells are steel if you can find one. We found one and had it chromed.

Have you been into the warerpump? If it overheats you best go in. There is baffle plate in front of the impeller that is usually rusted away. The have them at the Filling Station.

If you tear into the water pump, here's some info about a rebuild that I did recently: Water pump rebuild for a '28 engine

While the water pump is out, it is a good time to stick a long stiff wire (like a coat hanger) into the water jacket to loosen up rust clumps and flush them out. The back end of the engine is particularly prone to getting clogged up and not cooling well.

On the topic of motor meter badges, I had an artist friend of mine paint a copper disc for Lurch.

Love your posts and pics! Dean

That interesting. Can you post a photo or two of your motometer? I'd love to see it.

I have sourced a brand new aluminum radiator shell. The guy is putting the finishing touches on it and I should have it sometime. I'm not rushing him.

The water pump has been rebuilt. It was actually in decent shape before... The car didn't have any water in it for over 30 years.




Thanks for the info!

Okay, so....

I was fooling around with the car last Thursday and after adding a couple gallons of gasoline to the main tank, the fuel pump appeared to work. The glass fuel filter between the pump and the carburetor showed a consistent level of gasoline and the car ran long enough that I convinced myself to take it down the road and back for the first time. However, I never heard it vent to atmosphere even though I had vacuum at the vent. Later that evening when my grandfather was there, it failed to work at all and showed no vacuum at the pump's vent.

- The fuel line from the tank to the pump is clear. I can blow through it and hear bubbles in the main tank.
- The vacuum line from the intake manifold to the pump is clear.
- The engine is creating plenty of vacuum, but I have not measured it.
- I could not find a vacuum leak anywhere.

I disassembled the pump over the weekend and did not notice anything weird. The mechanism appears to be moving fine without any binding or hangups and the gasket looked good too. I added a little bit of Gibb's oil to the moving parts and reassembled. I did not have time to start the car to check to see if it works... I've been working late, but I will have time tomorrow after work to play with the car some more. I'll give an update here afterwards.

Another issue popped up while my grandfather and I were messing with the car the other day. I had a distributor rotor-button failure while I was diagnosing the fuel pump. After fixing it, my grandfather noticed that the distributor was loose and was moving. I tightened the set screw and lock nut, but now the timing advance rod from the steering column is making contact with a bolt head on the starter. This makes the movement of the timing lever on the column clunky and not smooth at all. Has anyone every experienced a similar situation?

I'm guessing that changing the position of the clamp-on stops on the column may change the way that rod is positioned.... I am going to experiment with this a bit. Also, I should be seeing 30-degrees of distributor movement for the advance, right?

Long time, no update. Work has picked up and I'm busier than ever. Anyways...

I moved the car from my winter storage spot to my home garage a few weeks back. When I started the car to drive it onto the trailer, I kept losing ignition. The fault appeared to lie with the points. They would move around so much, that they would become offset and lose the ability to work properly. After getting the car home, I removed the distributor and replaced the (very worn) points. I also thought that this would be a great time to start from scratch and retime the engine. Oh boy, I shouldn't have done that.

After a whole lot of trial and error, my grandfather and I were able to get the timing back where it needs to be. I cannot understand why the engineers thought that setting the timing with an adjustable distributor cam was a good idea, but I guess it is what it is. The spark is very strong now and the car lights right off when asked to start.

With the ignition out of the way, I can now move on to the timing advance rod and getting that into a position and shape that will give me a nice full sweep without binding. That will include a lot of playing with the adjustment on the column and maybe tweaking the rod a bit. Currently, the handle inside the car that controls the timing advance is only moving about half of the total sweep, but it moves the distributor internals to full retard and full advance.

The last of my current, short-term projects includes figuring out why this fuel pump will not pull fuel from the main tank. I rebuilt the whole thing, but it acts like it doesn't have any vacuum. I am going to use a hand-operated vacuum pump to bench test this thing to see if the problem lies with a poor vacuum source from the engine. I've checked for a leak, but I cannot find one. The copper plumbing is (maybe?) original and it may be leaking at a fitting or something. I will figure it out though.

No pictures this time, as I forgot to take some when I was messing with the points. I'll be sure to snap a few as I move forward. If anyone has any advice, I would be very gracious.

Regarding the fuel problem, does your gas tank cap have a vent hole? Maybe it is clogged. If vent air cannot get into the top of the gas tank, the vacuum tank cannot suck gas from the gas tank because an opposing vacuum is created above the gas.

Be careful when trying to bend the distributor retard/advance rods. Especially at the ends where the sever bend is located. I tried bending one recently and it broke because it was very brittle.

On a related topic, I recently changed carburetors on my '27 and one of the throttle rods needed to be longer and twisted 90 degrees. Instead of trying to bend or twist the rod, I cut in in half, threaded the cut ends (10-32), and inserted a threaded connector between the two, with lock nuts and washers to lock the rods in place. So, I made the throttle rod 1/2 inch longer and was able to rotate it easily to fit the new carb arm.

Cheers, Dean

The tank cap does have a vent, but I will remove the cap entirely while I diagnose the issue.

Threading the rod ends together is a great tip. Hopefully I won't have to do that.

Thank you for the advice!

Happy Monday, everyone.

I worked on the old car this weekend and I think I may have figured out why my fuel pump does not work.

To recap:

- I have vacuum to the pump.
- I cannot find any vacuum leaks.
- The fuel line to the pump does not have any cracks or leaks. I can hear bubbles in the main tank when I blow through it and I also used a hand-pump vacuum pump to pull fuel to the pump connection.
- The pickup is submerged and the tank has ~9 gallons of fuel.
- The fuel cap vent is open.
- The pump has new springs and the valves seat and seal when the mechanism is cycled.
- No visible cracks or damage to the tank or tank cap.

New discovery:

When the pump is full of fuel (by priming manually) and when the pump is low on fuel, the vent at the top of the pump is always pulling vacuum. This should not be happening. I think that my pump my be missing a collet, jet or something that goes between the vent and the air vent valve and that is where I am losing vacuum. I have included a picture below pointing out the part.



Does anyone have this piece? Any idea where I can find it?


As a bonus, here are some pictures that I look last night.

Your problem is the "flapper" valve at the bottom of the inside tank. That valve has to seal relatively well to draw fuel from the gasoline tank. There are two valve types. One is die-cast. The other is brass. If die-cast it is probably at least warped if not cracked and crumbling. The brass one is much more stable. However there is a phenolic (micorda) flapper that seals against the flat surface of the metal part of the valve. It is held at an angle so gravity helps to close it. Some of the phenolic flappers are warped. If so it will need to be replaced. There are only a few sheets of plastic that can be used with gasoline with ethanol to make a replacement. I have had to do that on a few. First thing to try it to sand the metal surface flat by sandwiching the rough side of sand paper or crocus cloth away from the phenolic with light pressure on the phenolic. You can test it by sucking on the valve removed from the tank. Try to keep the threaded part of the valve vertical like when the vacuum tank is installed. It may be necessary to wet the valve with gasoline to increase the seal. Filling partly with gas or holding your finger over the vent tube for a while while it tries to pump should do it.

Thank you for the information, Chipper. I just back from the shop.

I took the pump apart and took a good look at the flapper. The brass valve body does have some corrosion where the flapper seats. Not only could I draw air through the valve, but light could be seen through a gap while it's in a resting position.












After a couple steps of sandpaper, it cleaned up okay... Not perfect, but I couldn't draw any air through the flapper when dry. Seemed to seal pretty well.




I reassembled the pump and let it run for a minute or two. The pump never made any noise and the vent tube was still drawing vacuum the whole time. I held my finger over the vent a couple times for a few seconds, but it makes the engine hesitate if held too long.

I forgot to add fuel to the pump... It's late now and I don't want to tick off the neighbors. I'll increase the level tomorrow and let you know what happens.

There is another thing to look for. A member here in the CRR used to run a small business of rebuilding the various style of vacuum tanks. He was one of the suppliers for the refurbished ones offered by Steve at TFS. I was learning some of it when he bacame ill and passed away. You should be able to do this on the eight screw Stewart tank you show pictured. Take the top off of the vacuum tank. While holding it in the vertical position, gently lift the float. It should come up close to the top and the spring mechanism should TOGGLE over and open the vent. As it does you should hear a distinct metallic click. If you do not see and hear the spring toggle work you will need to rework the mechanism. An easier solution might be to replace the whole top of the tank. Parts can be found for these. About a year ago I found one in an antique store for $5. Some parts were missing but the body of the tank was in very nice condition. I used to buy them occaisionally for Mike, the budget ceiling was $20. Not all of them worked but if they had some usable parts it helped. Like Chipper was hinting, these things are so simple that generally it is going to be the flapper, the spring toggle mechanism, or the top gasket. Keep the forum posted because your efforts may help the next person with their project.

When Mike passed on I was asked by Steve to rebuild vacuum tanks for TFS. I have been doing them since. Yes they are simple and very reliable when in good shape. Tops for the 8 screw Stewarts can be very expensive and a bit difficult at times particularly if one is not familiar with how they work and what typically goes wrong. The bottom valve is one particularly challenging part particularly if not in good condition.

The mechanism moves up and down smoothly and that metallic click is present.

So some how something is obviously not working properly. With the mechanism out of the body move the float up and down and try to analyze why it is not sealing the vent. You may end up sending it to Chip to be checked out. Some tanks had a small additional vent hole in the top between the inner lining and the outer tank. When you made your new gasket make sure you did not cover that hole. Other models used the alignment pin as an extra vent hole between the inner and outer tanks. One time I put a temporary piece of clear hose at the tank inlet on the gas side. 12" of 3/8" refridgerator drain hose in a loop works great, it will fit over the inlet ferral and can be sealed with a hose clamp. That way you can see if it is drawing fuel or not. Some people will say it might not be fuel compatible but I have not had any disolve yet. It is not like it is going to be a permanent installation, it is merely another tool to solve a problem. Works on 36 Chev mechanical pumps as well. Still had bubbles and when I moved it to the tank told me the pickup in the tank had rusted through.

It will take more than several seconds to pull enough gasoline from the tank to wet and seal the flapper. If you are getting hesitation when the air flow through the vacuum tank is blocked by your finger then there is another problem. When the vent tube is blocked then vacuum is applied to the inner tank. That applies vacuum to the gas line from the gasoline tank pulling gas into the vacuum tank.

The 8 screw Stewart has a vent that is always open. It vents through the short tube between two screws on the top lip. The passage continues above the valve shown inside the red circle on the illustration and out the "U" shaped tube. That allows the gasoline in the large tank to drain into the carburetor. If the bottom flapper is not sealed well enough to prevent air leakage then the vacuum from the intake manifold will draw air through the open vent past the flapper valve and into the manifold.

An update from last night...

When the float is up, there is flow to both the upper and lower chambers as well as the atmosphere vent. When the float is down, the vent is sealed. Remember, I am missing that check valve that goes under the vent tube.

When the float is up, the vacuum line to the intake has a very, very tiny draw when dry. Seemed well sealed when oil was added. When the float is down, there is flow through the vacuum port.

I am using a cork gasket from Gary Wallace. It is not blocking the alignment pin vent hole in the mounting flange of the tank. I also have a glass in-line filter under the car between the main tank and vacuum pump. I do not see any flow when the engine is running.

I have enough fuel in the pump to allow the engine to run for a while as well as submerge the flapper. I have not been starting the car with an empty pump.

I plan on taking it for a drive after work this evening to give it some time to run and burn fuel... See what happens.

I met up with Gary Shroyer in Anna, Ohio a couple weeks ago to discuss the issues that I have been having with my fuel pump as well to get the vent check valve that I needed. Since then, I have installed a new flapper valve and I have spent some more timing cleaning the internal parts of the pump.

I scored a new plastic flapper from Hal Houghton at Classic Preservation Coalition. It was pricey, but it seals very nicely. I spent some more time sanding the mating surface on the brass flapper housing to make sure all of the corrosion is gone and the flapper can seal well.














I have the pump all back together, but after taking it apart so many times and letting gasoline and sunlight get to it, the cork gasket has shrunk a bit. I put it in place without the cap and with all of the screws installed hoping to stretch it back. I even applied WD40 oil to the cork in an attempt to make it swell. I was able to get it installed with the cap, but I am going to need another one.

I hope to get into the shop this evening after work for a little bit to test. It's been raining in Ohio and I have not been able to test the pump on the road...So I'll probably have to do it stationary in the garage. I'm running out of time, as I am going to Mid-Ohio for the Vintage Grand Prix this weekend and I leave first thing Sunday morning for the VCCA 4 Cylinder Tour in Iowa.

Haase;
If you want a cork gasket to swell; you should soak it in water.

I think any liquid would cause it to swell and I was taught that soaking in the fluid that the gasket is going to seal is best.

I would have used water, but I don't want it to shrink again. I may have to take this thing apart again.... Gasoline made it shrink to begin with.

The ethanol in gasoline will suck the water from the cork gasket causing it to shrink. Generally does not happen until you remove it and leave it out in the air.

Long time, no updates. Since my last post, I've been to the 4 cylinder tour in Altoona, Iowa and a fishing trip to Canada. Unfortunately, I have not had a lot of time to mess with the fuel pump, but I was able to take the car to it's first public event since it was put away in 1986. My grandfather and I attended a car show at our local VFW. The car drove there without any issues and it got quite a lot of attention. A lot of people appreciated the state of the car and insisted that I leave it alone.






I noticed that the check valve on top of the fuel pump is missing it's guts and does not work properly. I suspect that this may have something to do with the pump not working. I used some rubber hose and a plastic vacuum check valve to check this theory, but it still did not pull fuel. I also believe that there may be a vacuum leak somewhere. There just has to be... I will be stopped by my buddy's automotive shop later today to see if he has a smoke machine that I can borrow.

I'll update when I know more.

Major congrats!!

I totally agree with the crowd: your car is WAY COOL the way it is. It would lose a lot of character if you restored it.

Besides, every bit of dirt and grime help tell its story.

Kudos to you and your Grandpa!

Dean

The fuel pump is fixed!

I wonder why this upper tank didn't hold vacuum....








I swapped out the swiss cheese upper tank for a spare that I got from a fellow member while I was in Iowa (Thanks Denny!). I wasn't able to remove the flapper from the spare tank, but it cleaned up well enough to use.

I also installed a replacement check valve in the cap. I was not able to find a brass one that didn't have plastic internals, so this stainless steel one will have to work for now.




I also put the spare rim and tire on the car. One of the Montgomery Ward tires is in pretty bad shape and I don't want to risk that thing coming apart on me. I will be installing new tires at some point, just not yet.








I currently have the steering column partially out of the car. I have a rebuilt column and box that I want to swap in. I'm hoping that I can use the original column tube in an attempt to hide the rebuilt (and freshly painted) assembly. I need to borrow a puller to get the pitman arm and steering wheel off.

I have a Tilk-Lok fatman steering wheel that I scored from a local guy who attends Hershey every year. I want to get it installed while I'm juggling steering columns. It will probably need an adapter, but I need to measure.

I am glad that rusty old vacuumn tank had parts good enough for you to use.

Denny

I can't thank you enough, Denny. The upper tank certainly was useful.

Beautiful Car! I just picked up a 26’ Two Door Sedan.. I need to replace the wood in it.. any idea who makes a kit for these Superiors?

Not sure who does 1926 wood if anybody. Be prepared to do it yourself.

I just stumbled onto this story from an “outside” link, was fascinated, joined the forum and now replying from “inside”.
I owned a 1926 Chev 4 dr Superior from 1965 to about 2000,
My car was pretty much as original when I bought it from the same dealership that first sold it in 1926/7.
My wheels and fuel pump never caused problems, I ran it most every year I owned it, it always started and drove well.
My major problem was engine overheating.
The body on my car was in fair original condition, Like an earlier comment suggested, last time I had it at a show parade the parade announcer “raved” about how good it was to see the car “as is” and un-restored to new, saying it looked like cars used to look when used by the original owners.
I sold the car - I believe it’s still with a fellow who appreciates its “as is” look - showing in local parades.

Great story Aggie. I have a 1925 Superior K Touring that a lot of our members think that I should not restore. My dad started the Chevy dealership here in town in 1948. The first convertible he sold that year, was to a lady who had bought the 25 new. It has been in our family since the. It has suffered a lot back the because it was stored in a leaky shed. but it is all original.

That is an early 1925 Touring. It appears to be in remarkable shape. I too agree that it should not be restored, but do only what is necessary to make it operational. Immediately, it should be photographed and placed on a CD so others can see what original really is. I for one would like a copy of the CD.

Ray my dad always called it a 24 1/2 Chevrolet

Been a while since I've posted anything here. I do have some excited news though.

Haase, I have just read the story in G&D. Great story and I bet your grandfather is smiling down on you. The memories of being so close to your grandfather are precious. Some day I hope that I can get my 25 running good enough to go on a tour with you!

Thank you!

He stopped by my place last night to congratulate me. The only reason he's smiling down on me is because he's taller than me! Ha

Those are great looking pictures! What a fun looking car. I'm glad you've just preserved the patina and drive it like that.

Time for new shoes!

Since purchasing the ”˜26, I have been running on the same set of Trail Blazer tires that have been on the car for decades. Rolling around on borrowed time is a bit of an understatement…However, having those old tires mounted is very convenient when I go to show the car in any “unrestored” categories. So, I decided to get a second set of rims that are dedicated to new tires, tubes, ect.

I found a gentleman named Steve Hood who operates Vintage Rims Australia. He builds and provides new wheels and rims for vintage automobiles and motorcycles. If you’re in need of replacement rims, I highly recommend sending Steve an email. He was incredibly easy to work with and he quickly shipped 5 rims from Melbourne to Ohio.









It’s very likely that I will never have to buy tires for this car again in my lifetime. So, it seemed to make sense to get the highest-quality tires and tubes available. I picked up a set of tubes from Bratton’s Antique Auto Parts, flaps from Coker Tire, and Goodyear tires from Kelsey Tire. I’ve read that many tires that are available are formed in old molds and are commonly not round… I read on this forum that Mr. Kelsey had brand new tooling made to produce these tires in Akron, Ohio, plus I really like the tread design. Works for me.





Once everything was home, I grabbed my Grandad’s Elite Manufacturing Reliable no 500 rim tool and got to work. The tires, tubes and flaps were all liberally covered in baby powder and assembled. I used a little bit of soapy water to make it easier to get the valve stem in the correct position before setting the dowel pin on the rims. This whole process was much easier than I thought it would be. What a relief!



My next challenge was making my brand new rims rusty. Crazy, I know, right? I had the option to have the rims zinc plated and I considered painting them, but I decided it was best to put some patina on the rims to match the car. After washing them with dish soap and water, I placed them behind a barn to sit.





After 5 days, not much happened… I think I need another 90 years. Ha



To speed things up, I sprayed a mixture of phosphoric acid and water on the rims two days ago. I am going to check on them later this afternoon and I’ll post an update with some pictures.

Thanks for looking!

Good idea to have two sets of shoes for baby!

I think Phosphoric acid is used to dissolve rust and prevent further rusting. Others should comment on this.

When I need to accellerate the rusty process, I squirt a 50/50 mixture of Hydrogen Peroxide and White Vinegar. After a few days, it looks quite old (and good!).

Cheers, Dean

Yes phosphoric will remove rust. Let your dog pee on it! Ever look closely at the base of fire hydrants?

There's a large city-owned building in San Jose, CA where one outside huge wall was left as bare steel (Corten) and to make it rust quickly and uniformly (when the place was built), they brushed horse urine on the whole thing (true story).

I hope they paid the 'painter' a lot of money for that job. Sometimes, work really stinks!

;-) Dean

The new rims look very nice. Have you tried to actually mount them on your discs. One thing that seems to not be present is the flat spots that line up with the Jaxon mounting lugs. I see a ramp type area - is that what replaces those flats on the new rims? Thanks - Art

The rims that Steve hood makes don't have the 4 flats pressed into them from the inside to locate them on the felloe,but have a raised ridge around the entire internal circumference that sits snugly on the outer lip of the wheel felloe,that is visible in the photos.I had a set of 20" rims made exactly the same for both my '27 & '29 Oldsmobiles and they are a perfect fit,and the wheels on my '29 never even needed balancing.

That explains this, I guess. Ha




I'll give the hydrogen peroxide, vinegar and salt a try.