Vintage Car Thread - Discussion and Parts Requests

[LizzieMaine]

Even though I know, (using your phrase) when you become dictator, I will be taken out and shot or, at minimum, imprisoned on some desolate work island...

Nonsense, we'll have you reeducated and riding out in the healthy sunshine on an ice wagon in no time.

 

[2jakes]

Nonsense, we'll have you reeducated and riding out in the healthy sunshine on an ice wagon in no time.

Some advice from Hynkle, dictator of Tomania.

Based on your track record, you already know this & the positive response from the people...
I do believe you're going to do just fine.
First order of the day... some tea for the migraines perhaps? :ranger:

 

[jamespowers]

 

[Fading Fast]

Nonsense, we'll have you reeducated and riding out in the healthy sunshine on an ice wagon in no time.

It's funny, there is something I've always liked about the concept of the ice business. I can remember my Dad and Grandmother telling me about their icebox and the ice man delivering. That led me to reading about the business - the ice houses, the blankets of straw in the summer, cutting full sheets of ice from frozen rivers, etc. - and there is something romantic (which I know is just me creating it in my head) about the entire concept that I like.

We are trying to restore a 1927 apartment and looked into having an old icebox made into a refrigerator - way, way, way too expensive - but thought it was a fun concept.

 

[Stanley Doble]

I was told the rule of thumb with setting fan belt tension was just to let the weight of the generator itself determine the point where you tighten up, and not to pull it any tighter than that. Hopefully that's accurate.

From my old repair manuals, the belt should be tight but not too tight. The rule was you should be able to deflect it 3/4" with light thumb pressure in the middle of its run.

The reason being, not to wear out the bronze bearings.

Alternators with roller bearings can be much tighter.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And yet the fun continues. This morning I started hearing a metallic clunkity-clunk rattle that seems to have to do with the clutch. Almost the sound of two metal rods being scraped along each other, but it continues once the clutch is engaged. It does not happen when the car is in neutral, but when I let the clutch in it starts up. It comes and goes -- I drove thirteen miles this morning before hearing it, but now it seems to be a regular feature.

Clutch bearing shot? Broken spring? Fork come loose? Gremlins?

 

[Big Man]

And yet the fun continues. This morning I started hearing a metallic clunkity-clunk rattle that seems to have to do with the clutch. Almost the sound of two metal rods being scraped along each other, but it continues once the clutch is engaged. It does not happen when the car is in neutral, but when I let the clutch in it starts up. It comes and goes -- I drove thirteen miles this morning before hearing it, but now it seems to be a regular feature.

Clutch bearing shot? Broken spring? Fork come loose? Gremlins?

Gremlins.

 

[jamespowers]

Gremlins.

Hmmmmm.... Could be.

 

[Big Man]

Speaking of having to work on vintage cars and things seeming to be constantly breaking down ...

My Dad saved all his tax records from the time he started working as a school principal in 1949 until his retirement in 1979. These records were carefully stored away, year after year, in a large dresser in his old room here at the old homeplace where I now live. In these records are all kinds of receipts. Believe me, he saved EVERYTHING. Want to know how much the phone bill was in June, 1952 and who he made long distance calls to? I can tell you. Want to know how much was spent on dry cleaning in August, 1949? I can tell you. But (in keeping with this thread), some of the most interesting things are the receipts for service and repairs to his cars over the years.

For a number of years, my Dad liked to trade cars about every three years. He liked a new car - and a big car. The cars he had that would fit into our description of "vintage" were: a '49 Chevy, a '51 Chevy, a '53 Olds 88, a '55 Olds 98 (I remember that car and the ones following), a '60 Buick Station Wagon (he said it was a "lemon"), a '62 Olds Station Wagon, a '66 Olds Station Wagon (another "lemon"), and a '67 Olds Vista-Cruiser Station Wagon in seafoam green (the color was better than it sounded).

From the records he saved, there was always something being done to these vehicles. Tune-ups every couple months, checking various "rattles" and "vibrations." Fixing this and that on all of them. I guess what I'm getting at is keeping a "vintage" car running smooth, be it new in the 1950s or 1960s or one today that's 50 or 60 years old, is an on-going thing. One thing I'll give a "modern" car credit for is the lack of routine maintenance needed. Of course on the flip side, when a "vintage" car needs repairs things can be fixed, but with a "modern" car things have to be replaced (and at a very big cost).

Anyway, looking over all those old service record receipts is interesting and gives a good insight into some things we take for granted today.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I find that when something fails on my Toyota, it's very often catastrophic -- as in, not going anywhere until it's fixed and when it's fixed you're looking at a very large bill.

With the Plodge, there's a lot of irritating little nickel-and-dime problems, but the only time it left me completely immobilized was when one of the rear axles snapped in two, something which a veteran antique-car mechanic told me he'd never before seen on any 1930s-40s Chrysler product. Most of the time I've been able to nurse it home.

I've said before, but it bears repeating -- when driving an old car, your ears are just as important as your eyes. You get to learn the "normal" squeaks and creaks and clunks, so that when a noise that's out of the ordinary breaks out, you'll immediately notice it, and usually you can deal with it before a catastrophic failure.

 

[Stanley Doble]

And yet the fun continues. This morning I started hearing a metallic clunkity-clunk rattle that seems to have to do with the clutch. Almost the sound of two metal rods being scraped along each other, but it continues once the clutch is engaged. It does not happen when the car is in neutral, but when I let the clutch in it starts up. It comes and goes -- I drove thirteen miles this morning before hearing it, but now it seems to be a regular feature.

Clutch bearing shot? Broken spring? Fork come loose? Gremlins?

Hard to diagnose a noise without seeing the car but from your description it only happens when the car is in gear and moving. This points to something loose in the handbrake, rear brakes, a loose wheel, possibly even front wheel or front brake.

 

[1930artdeco]

Big man, by the time of the 50's onward detroits cars had started to Lag on quality. I agree with Lizzymaine in that your ears are very important to your cars well being. But usually once the problem is fixed right it usually does not come back.

Mike

 

[LizzieMaine]

The clanking is back to intermittent -- I drove about a mile to the grocery store and back with just an occasional clunk. There also seems to be a soft hissy sound when the clutch is depressed -- this is above and beyond the wind noise you get when the floor seal on the pedal opens, you can notice it when the car isn't moving.

There is also an occasional sound, which seems associated with the clunk, that's similar to loose washers jingling on a bolt. The radiator had been off this week to deal with the pulley issues, so my first thought was that a bolt didn't get tightened back down somewhere along the line -- I've gone around and given an extra twist to every bolt in sight, but didn't find any that looked loose enough to cause a rattle.

I've been planning to take it in to get the tie rods replaced soon, and already have replacements sitting in a box in my trunk, but I don't think worn tie rods would cause such a noise? The hissing, especially, is odd.

 

[2jakes]

The clanking is back to intermittent -- I drove about a mile to the grocery store and back with just an occasional clunk. There also seems to be a soft hissy sound when the clutch is depressed -- this is above and beyond the wind noise you get when the floor seal on the pedal opens, you can notice it when the car isn't moving.

There is also an occasional sound, which seems associated with the clunk, that's similar to loose washers jingling on a bolt. The radiator had been off this week to deal with the pulley issues, so my first thought was that a bolt didn't get tightened back down somewhere along the line -- I've gone around and given an extra twist to every bolt in sight, but didn't find any that looked loose enough to cause a rattle.

I've been planning to take it in to get the tie rods replaced soon, and already have replacements sitting in a box in my trunk, but I don't think worn tie rods would cause such a noise? The hissing, especially, is odd.

"Sounds you normally don't hear from your car that makes you wonder" [huh]



https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...I23aGFJXmlRpQf7sQ&sig2=mczfGiAD9JtYsxSuBlfSdA

 

[LizzieMaine]

My best friend is deaf, and is constantly having car troubles. Hearing the sounds really does make a big difference.

Meanwhile, I seem to be narrowing things down a bit. Having tightened every possible bolt, the jingling noise is still there, but only when the car is recovering from running over a manhole cover or a pothole. The clanking sound seems to be triggered by the clutch -- it sometimes continues after the clutch is engaged, but when it isn't there, it is only triggered by the use of the clutch. Sometimes the jingling will accompany this, sometimes not.

Meanwhile, I also noticed that my left inner tie rod is absolutely drenched in gear oil -- apparently my steering box is leakier than I realized. I have refilled it, per the recommendation of the p15-d24 folks, with John Deere Corn Head Grease, a product which is supposed to sit like a grease when parts are still, and flow like gear oil when parts are in motion. It's a runny, sickly-green product you find at your local farm supply store, and seems to be the standard fix-it for steering boxes that won't hold regular 90w-140 oil. We shall see.

 

[2jakes]

My best friend is deaf, and is constantly having car troubles. Hearing the sounds really does make a big difference.

Meanwhile, I seem to be narrowing things down a bit. Having tightened every possible bolt, the jingling noise is still there, but only when the car is recovering from running over a manhole cover or a pothole. The clanking sound seems to be triggered by the clutch -- it sometimes continues after the clutch is engaged, but when it isn't there, it is only triggered by the use of the clutch. Sometimes the jingling will accompany this, sometimes not.

Meanwhile, I also noticed that my left inner tie rod is absolutely drenched in gear oil -- apparently my steering box is leakier than I realized. I have refilled it, per the recommendation of the p15-d24 folks, with John Deere Corn Head Grease, a product which is supposed to sit like a grease when parts are still, and flow like gear oil when parts are in motion. It's a runny, sickly-green product you find at your local farm supply store, and seems to be the standard fix-it for steering boxes that won't hold regular 90w-140 oil. We shall see.

If you hit a pot-hole, chances are you may have a snapped coil spring. This can break at the bottom & result in
a "jingling" sound when going over bumps.

 

[noonblueapples]

Clutch thowout bearing can be suspect for noises that occur when clutching and go away soon after you remove foot from pedal

 

[Talbot]

Yep. Thrust bearings can hiss if they are on the way out. Does the hissing change as you work the clutch pedal?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Yep. It's hard to distinguish from wind noise rushing thru the pedal hole, but never having listened to loud rock music, my upper-range hearing is still extremely good, and I'm pretty sure that what I'm hearing is coming from the clutch. When I did a test drive around the block yesterday, I heard something that sounded like it was moving from a hiss to a chirp, which definitely sounds clutchy to me.

I got under the car yesterday and did a good close look around, and it's beginning to look like what's happened is that the rubber motor mounts have squashed and deformed just enough to throw the engine and transmission out of alignment. I don't have any tool to measure this, but it would explain the judder I'm getting when moving off in first gear, and I'm told this sort of thing would also reasonably explain the failure of the throwout bearing after just 8000 miles.

I've ordered new motor mounts, a new bearing, and a new pilot bushing. I'm concerned with what the clutch disc and pressure plate will look like, when they come off, but first things first.

 

[Stanley Doble]

A throw out bearing should last almost indefinitely. Did they grease it when they put it in? Same with the pilot bearing. Soft motor mounts will cause a shuddery takeoff. If they are the originals no doubt they are shot.

A common source of noise is the muffler or exhaust hitting something. They move around quite a bit when under way. You have to grab the tail pipe and shake it around and see if it hits anything. Sometimes moving the hanger over by less than 1/2" will cure an annoying rattle.