December 19, 2009 -- Day 10

So it's been a while since our last post.  We had started the media blasting of the frame but my poor little compressor was having a hard time keeping up.  The compressor was working non-stop tryng to pump out the required CFM to run our media blaster.  My poor little compressor can only pump out 5.6 CFM at 90 psi.  We were either going to run our compressor until it exploded or we needed to get another more powerful one.  Bummer, an excuse to buy some more cool tools!

The old compressor.

The new compressor.

While shopping on Craigslist we found the answer.  One "slightly" used Delta 80 gallon air compressor.  Well so we thought.  Ahhh the fun and excitement of buying used tools on Craigslist.

Well it turned out that the compressor we got for such a steal needed a little more work than we thought.  We replaced the pressure switch and the check valve for the tank like we thought.  But that's when the real fun started.  Since the check valve was not working right it caused the entire pump assembly to go south.  The compressor was blowing oil through the pump and into the tank.  It turns out the crank shaft was broken and the pump needed to be replaced.  Apparently this was all caused by a faulty check valve allowing moisture to get back into the pump when it was shut off.  We took it into the nice folks at the Delta service center and they helped us replace all the parts to make it as good as new.

After some time at the shop they finally got all the parts together to make our compressor work again.  Good as new!  We are back in business.  They originally said it would be out until February waiting on parts.  Thank goodness they found them early.

Durring this down time we were able to find a few parts we needed for the project.  One of the great finds on eBay was this original 1936 Oldsmobile gas tank.  Like everything else it needs a little work but the price was right.  The tank that came with this car was not the original.

My son Charlie got to work media blasting with our cabinet.  It turns out he really enjoys restoring these old parts for this car, and he is quite good at it.

Here is a great example of what Charlie can do with 90 psi. and some sand in a blasting cabinet.

Great work Charlie!

This is the license plate bracket.

Wow, looks good as new!

More great work done by Charlie.

Who needs a rotiserie anyway.  Just turn the frame on its side.  (We won't be able to do this with the body but we are not working on that part yet.)

The new compressor provides 20.2 CFM at 90 psi. so it really powers through the rust and grime on the bottom of the frame.  Our compressor was running the media blaster and the blasting cabinet at the same time with out any problem.  Wow what a difference that made!

Some more progress (the part that looks white is what has already been blasted.)

  Marc cleans up the rust from bottom of the frame here while I hold the light.  (This was at about 11pm because we never work during normal hours!)

I can't let him have all the fun, so Marc took over the light.  And no, that is not snow I am standing in.  Our white Christmas is made from 300 pounds of sand!  It takes a lot of media to get 73 years of rust and grime off of this thing.

The winter weather in Phoenix is the best time for this part anyway.  Not too hot!  The temp was around 72 degrees or so.  We got most of the bottom finished but decided to call it quits around midnight.  Media blasting can be quite loud and I don't want to keep the neighbors up just because we are. (Even if they were up singing bad karaoke in the middle of the night the past two nights!)

Well with the holidays coming and all the time to be spent with friends and family we will take another short break from our project.  Merry Christmas to all of our fans.  We will be back to work shortly after the new year.

October 17, 2009 -- Day 9

After being forced to take a few weeks off from the project, we're back at it again!

While pulling the brakes apart, we found we were missing the parking brake control arm on the left side.  So we went to our parts warehouse (the parts car on our back porch) and stole some needed spares.

This is the "gray ghost", our parts car that lives on the back porch.  Jenn really loves that!!

Robbing some parts off the gray ghost for the brakes.

We decided to move on to tearing down the engine.  We removed the oil pan from the bottom of the motor after we turned the engine upside down.

(Thanks Jack for supplying the worlds greatest engine stand!)

My parents, Charlie and Lorna, even stopped by to check out the project.  A big thanks to my dad for suggesting an alternate method to remove a giant bolt rather than buying a $25 socket.  I have a lot of tools but who has a 1 and 3'4" socket to remove the main pulley bolt?  Nothing a strap wrench to hold the harmonic balancer and a pipe wrench can't handle

We removed the harmonic balancer and the main pulley and then the timing chain cover.

Now that is a timing chain!  They don't make them like that anymore.

After removing the timing chain the forward engine seal needed some persuasion to break loose.

As you may have noticed I have a piece of tape across my chest.  Jenn likes to help label everything, including me, in case I forget.

Timing chain removed!

Marc and Elaine pulling cotter pins.  Every bolt in this engine has a castle nut with a cotter pin on it, even though they are all torqued as well.  Talk about overkill.  I guess that is why this engine was still running 73 years later.

"Delivering" a piston...that was the joke anyway (I think it had something to do with the positioning and the gloves...!)

"Congratulations, Mr. Dunn!  It's a...piston?"

HI ELAINE!!  Elaine is looking up, well actually down through the cylinder after the piston was removed, from the top of the engine that was now the bottom after we turned it over??? Which way is up again?

The old crank looks to be in great shape and so do the bearings.

The main bolts that hold the crank in were torqued (and cotter pinned) so tight we couldn't get them off even with a normal breaker bar.

Now that is a breaker bar!  Actually it is a 4 foot length of pipe on top of my 1/2" drive breaker.  Yes in this case bigger is better, and a whole lot easier!

Do not try this at home with out parental supervision.

(Yes mine were there)

Empty!
All the pistons the crank and bearings are removed.  Now all that is left is the cam shaft and valves.  One small problem, we don't have, nor does any tool store around, have a spring compressor for these old engines.  I guess we will have to see if the local tool supply guy and supplier of our project, (Jack) has one somewhere at his house.

One really heavy crank!

All the pistons in a little row.  It looks just like the delivery room.  How cute they all are.  I wonder if any of them will grow up to be an engine someday?  I guess we will have to wait and see.

(only if we can remember how to put this crazy thing back together)

Sept 19, 2009 -- Day 8

Today was supposed to just be a reorganization, cleaning, and sorting day, but we ended up tearing the engine all apart.  We just needed a day off from sandblasting!!!  We just ended up getting dirty...

Trying to remove the clutch. NOTE -- undo bolt on back of pivot mechanism for clutch fork to remove clutch! Do not pry with a screwdriver!  (No clutches were harmed in the disassembly of this vehicle!)

Removing the fuel pump

YUCK. 73 years of dust, dirt, grease, and oil....(how DOES it still run?!)

This is going to get messy.

Screwdrivers make great sludge removers! (Or anti-rust protection remover!)

Moving the engine from the hoist to the stand.

And it's on!

Top of the engine (what's under the head)

THE AFTERMATH

(We ended our night at approximately 4:00am yet again.  We did not have any desire to clean up, so Jenn and I tackled it the next day. And it's a good thing we waited because it was a several hour job!)

This mess is what was all over the floor!  You can see why it would take so long...YUCK!

We got the garages cleaned up and reorganized and the engine, tranny and fuel pump mostly cleaned up.  The block is going to be sent out and professionally cleaned and machined while we take care of the rest on our own.

Sept 18, 2009 -- Day 7

Sandblasting, sandblasting, and more sandblasting!  Oh, and parts washing, too.

In the sandblasing shantytown on the side of the house, getting ready to get back to work.

This is a great shot of the before and after sandblasting.

This side had been blasted, but nothing on the inside has.

Why work with only one compressor, when you can have two connected?!

Jenn worked on removing and grease, oil, and dirt from the clutch pedal which was also a slow process.

A reminder of what that clutch actuator looked like before a good cleaning...

And what it looks like now thanks to Marc's good ol' fashioned elbow grease AND Ozzy Juice!

(note:  do not trust the guys at Harbor Freight when they give you Industrial Degreaser to use in the parts washer saying that it will take grease off anything, because it also takes paint off of parts washers!!!!  We found Ozzy Juice and Napa Auto parts which is biodegradable and non-toxic and works even better than that other stuff!)

If you look hard you can see us in the garage, but it's pretty stacked with junk!

Another day, another bag of sand gone.  It's starting to look like a sandbox in the side yard.  Pictures of that to come later!