VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 wood wheels

Were the wooden wheels ever left unpainted- the wood is so beautiful? If they were not: what color should they be? I presently have black wheels but the car will be yellow. thanks!

The spokes on your 490 should be painted black. 1928 was the only year to have natural wood spokes.

Don't believe I ever saw a yellow 1919 490, either. Just curious - if you're painting the car yellow, why do you care about making the wheels "correct" ?

First of all guys, go easy on me- I'm new to this restoring game.. and I must admit I have not done very much research into the car: #1 A15893 is stamped on the 490 plate... I always liked the pale yellow color (cover G&D Mar '83 {a'26Touring})with the brown fenders and since the car was rust color (because it is rust), I didn't know if those number might say what color the car was- hence the yellow. And the painting of the car is so far down the restoration road, I have to embarrassedly admit, I didn't know...but I DO want to do it right- if it has to be black to be right then it shall be black. Consider the yellow idea Thanks!!

Hi Again 1919490,

You just struck a nerve. The cover car (1926 Touring) belonged to a VCCA member who is now deceased. The car was assembled from a pile, which contained many years. The color is NOT correct and the owner knew it and did not advertise it as correct. My grumble is, that when something like that is published on the front cover of our flagstaff magazine without a disclaimer, everyone jumps to the same conclusion. It's on the cover so it MUST be right.

Now if you check inside the front cover of the G&D there is a disclaimer that all cars featured are NOT 100% correct. HOW MANY PEOPLE READ THE SMALL (FINE) PRINT?

Before I step down from my box, I echo the position of ChevyGuru, if you are not RESTORING the car what difference does it make about the color of the engine, the color of the body, the size of the engine, the width of the Mustang front end, the height of the Jag rear end or the ratio of the gears and I could continue. And foremost, don't tell me you are RESTORING the car. Now, before I am hung at dusk, it is YOUR car and you may do anything with it you please as long as it is legal, but call a spade a spade, the car is being MODIFIED AND not RESTORED.

I'm sorry. I AM "restoring" the car, not "modifying" it- I am sorry. I am NOT trying to re-write history,I want the car the way it came from the factory. I am asking- no, begging for guidence. I want the car to be exactly right and sincerely ask for your forgiveness. I want to be on the cover of G&D without any fine print disclaimer. I am sorry. Perhaps since I am such an idiot I should have bought a F**D. I guess it is harder to break into .this crowd than I told RichN1054 He is looking for an old chevy to work on...hey, Rich- want a 1919 490 Touring?

Well, 1919490, no need to apologize here! First of all, welcome aboard! and you ARE welcome! A 1919 490 is certainly a rare and desirable car, and I'm sure I speak for most if not all of us here, when I say that we are delighted to hear that you intend to restore it correctly.

And there is really no need to apologize. Every single person who ever restored their first car started in a pretty complete state of ignorance. Like any other endeavor, when you have never previously done it, you have no way of knowing where to start, the right questions to ask, etc.

You have (truly) come to the right place, this Club, and this website are probably the best resource there is to help a person restore a Chevy, and the older the better - and the more help you will need.

I completed the restoration of a 1925 several months ago, and am pleased to report that it has fared very well in competion, has already won its 'Senior First' in national VCCA competion.

BUT, when I bought it, it was a collection of boxes of rusty, broken, nasty (and frequently incorrect), parts. I could never have successfully put it together without the help of the guys in this forum, and the help and parts sources that developed here, and from the Generator and Distributor.

I was completely dumb. I didn't know what was right, what was wrong, or anything else. I did exactly what you are doing - I started asking questions. Lots and lots of questions! Now, I know a huge amount of information about 1925's, at least. And I even had the avantage of having restored other Chevys, just never one quite that old, nor a 4 cylinder.

Your confusion from seeing the cover car that was yellow is understandable. And don't let AntiqueMechanic scare you away - he is ranting at the inaccuracies of that 1983 cover car - not you. He is a maybe a little scary, and possibly a little gruff from time to time, and yells and snorts a lot, but you will come to love him dearly - I did! He is an incredible source of knowledge (and parts!) on these early 4 cylinders (he has a 1918 that he hides at home that he has been threatening to restore for years.)

It so happens that he is the Tech Advisor for 1925, and I was emailing him questions literally 2 or 3 times a day, for most of a year. He always answered within a day, with great detail (and patience!), frequently with pictures. I could not have restored my car without him, and owe him a great debt for all that help.

Well, enough. Bottom line - there is no question too dumb, and you have come to the right place to ask them all.

To specifically address the color of the 490, I would assume it is supposed to be all black, but I am not certain of that by any means. Just a few years earlier, and a few years later, several different colors were offered, usually dpending on which body style the car was, and frequently varying year to year.

This is why I love the VCCA!!! After I Thanks! David

Being polite and tactful when posting a reply to a new member (especially one who is asking for help), regardless of what type of car he has, greatly promotes and enhances the "PR" of both Chevy Chatter and the VCCA as well. Doing the opposite detracts from the club, and it's membership as a whole, and it reflects upon all of us!

:( :(

Okay David, you have convinced me. Now let’s go to work.

First you will need some tools. You need an Owner’s Manual, Repair Manual, Parts Book, a notebook and perhaps most important of all, a Digital Camera. The books are all available as repos from several vendors and are perfect to take into the shop. As you go along you can pick up copies of the originals for your file and display.

Next you need to contact and obtain a catalog from the following vendors:

The Filling Station: www.fillingstation.com
Gary Wallace: chev4cyl@charter.net
Stanley’s Parts: stanleys@ev1.net

Contact Chevrolet for a restoration pack: You will need the serial number you posted in an earlier message and call: 1-800-222-1020 or: www.chevrolet.com/.

You may find it informative to browse: HERE

And when you get stumped: return to the Chevy Chat with your dilemma.

Good luck on you venture.

Hi, we have a 1919 490 the wheels are not painted the car is dark green with black fenders aprons and the top interior are black also nickel plating on the parts that should be plated. We are the second owner and the car has 13000 miles on the drive train, the car is pictured in the book The Coming of Age Printed by Evergreen Press and author is Ray Miller. we like our 490 the way it is, we were told that 490 cars were offered in dark blue dark green and black, but no one has the paper work to show that was realy offered.AND no one is alive that worked on the 490 assemble line to say that,that is right or wrong. :) :) Good luck on your RESTORATION

Just peeking --- Welcome 1919490.

Just think, in a couple of years, you'll be the gruff expert on 1919's!!
:cool2:

1919490 WELCOME

I say let the man do with his car the way he likes. He will probably have more fun with it if he likes it.

First all, thanks to everybody for their welcomes and support. I sincerely am touched. Second, AntiqueMechanic and I are all squared up and ready to work together to get this project under way. (We've been exchanging private emails). Thirdly- goosh, let's get this 490 back on the road, eh?
I love the VCCA

An honest seller. Nowhere in his description does he say RESTORED.
27Chevy

He! He! I wonder if his wiper motor is original?