project 1951 Pontiac Chieftain

[tooSavvy]

Oh dear. I have incurred the wrath of the Pontiac club by painting my engine the wrong shade of green.

Phil

Meh.... Send the the piccie of Lake Pipes & "... could be worse!"

[PhilA]

Apparently for the year and the plant it was made at, it should be the same green as in the picture above of the engine with the zoomie pipes.

 

They changed the color almost arbitrarily, it seems.

 

Phil

[320touring]

Fuck em:)

[MorrisItalSLX]

Paint it pink with yellow sunflowers just to annoy the, suspected bearded, purists.

[cort1977]

For goodness sake, they should be pleased that the car is owned by someone making such a good job of it.  As ever, much better to have it on the road being enjoyed and inspiring the next generation of enthusiasts than mouldering in a shed whilst the owner worries about the right shade of green.

[tooSavvy]

^^ I have had 1 '+vote' for choosing red vac pipe for my "blingfest"...

 

 

One in the eye for the Boring Bloo school....

 

Up Theirs!!

 

[Junkman]

Sadly the valve count is the only one that's correct.

[PhilA]

For goodness sake, they should be pleased that the car is owned by someone making such a good job of it.  As ever, much better to have it on the road being enjoyed and inspiring the next generation of enthusiasts than mouldering in a shed whilst the owner worries about the right shade of green.

That's kinda where I am with it, too.

 

I'll take it to the scrapyard, have it fragged and sent on the slow boat to China to become paperclips if I so see fit. It's my car.

 

 

Phil

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

That's kinda where I am with it, too.

 

I'll take it to the scrapyard, have it fragged and sent on the slow boat to China to become paperclips if I so see fit. It's my car.

 

 

Phil

 

Too Bloody True!

[hairnet]

is it gonna get used - yes

 

does it matter what paint goes on anything? - no

 

no gonna be concours is it ffs

 

fk them

 

post pics of ford woodys on their page

[busmansholiday]

Always remember Junkman's classic phrase; Do not paint !

[PhilA]

Well, I would like this Not To Rust, so I Shall Paint.

 

I could have painted it Disney Go Away Green.

 

Phil

[PhilA]

It had been suggested that I check the water redistribution tube that goes from the water pump outlet all the way past the valves for cooling, then to the rest of the engine.

 

It's a brass contraption and falls apart. I am happy to report that it's in good shape.

 

 

In this (rather terrible) factory service manual diagram you can just see the enthusiastic squirt of water from the tube:

 

From http://pontiac.oldcarmanualproject.com/manuals/1949/1949%20Pontiac%20Shop%20Manual/09-Engine%20Cooling%20and%20Oiling/page1.html

 

I also did a Squire Dawson and bought a roll of 1/64" gasket paper. I'm going to buy a roll of cork and another of composite because it's cheaper than buying precut gaskets.

 

Phil

[tooSavvy]

..I'm going to buy a roll of cork and another of composite because it's cheaper than buying precut gaskets..

 

Supplying your own craft knife & post-cut fingers?

[PhilA]

I ordered a spare spark plug to replace the Autolite oddity amongst the Delcos.

 

They changed the size of the things. This one is smaller... I may order 7 more else that'll break my OCD.

 

Traced the water pump gasket.

 

Cut it out. Then measured the thickness of the paper properly and realized it needs to be 1/32" thick not 1/64". Shall try again.

 

Finished painting the head. That's now drying, hopefully no flies decide to land in the fresh paint.

 

Phil

[Junkman]

Always remember Junkman's classic phrase; Do not paint !

I'm with Phil there.

Its natural beauty has long since been destroyed by brush and spray gun, so I'd paint the living shit out of it.

I'm still not decided whether I like the non authentic colour thingy, though.

Thanks God fuck my opinion isn't important here.

[PhilA]

Well, I know you owned one and I'm not sure if it still had its original color but the paint on the timing cover is the original shade on this example:

 

 

Compare to my choice and I believe your pessimism may be quenched slightly.

 

Phil

[Junkman]

You did a good job approximating it.

I'd also try to match it instead of shelling out on some authentic resto stuff from Bill Hirsch.

 

http://www.hirschauto.com/ENGINE-ENAMEL/productinfo/EE-QUART/PON%20BL%20GRN/

[Squire_Dawson]

Good work. It looks much better painted and as the engine is out, why not. I would cut another gasket and use them together equals correct thickness.

[PhilA]

I was considering it, but I'll pick up the correct thickness stuff, in composite. That's the correct type for it. It's also a little more forgiving of surfaces that aren't 100% smooth.

 

Phil

[PhilA]

You did a good job approximating it.

I'd also try to match it instead of shelling out on some authentic resto stuff from Bill Hirsch.

 

http://www.hirschauto.com/ENGINE-ENAMEL/productinfo/EE-QUART/PON%20BL%20GRN/

I was considering that, but it's going to be next time round. I want to get the body painted in the correct shade of blue, to do that I want to pull the body off and do it right, as there is not an insignificant amount of rust repair needed on the body.

That point would be where it starts getting the absolute correct hues- chassis, engine, gearbox, body, dashboard.

 

Right now I want to get it mechanically and electrically safe so I can start driving it about.

 

Phil

[Junkman]

Incidentally mine was rotten as a pear. Kansas car. But the frame was sound, so I didn't care.

I also had to rebuild the gearbox. Otherwise it was mechanically sound and the brakes were better than the ones on my Exner era Imperials, which feel twice as rapid.

[PhilA]

Yeah, the frames are definitely made from better metal than Fisher was using.

 

The brakes on mine are good, though they do need a bit of adjustment because the pedal travel is excessive.

 

Mine is bad along the passenger side sill, A pillars are both bad and the base of the C pillars in front of the rear wheels- all the places mud collects and stays damp.

 

The air here is so moist that any unprotected steel looks Italian within a few months- my old engine lifting chain pictured a few pages back was galvanized and now looks like it's been sat in salt water at the docks for decades.

 

We don't get the gentle patina like you do out west, here the rust bites in hard, but usually top down. It's odd to find a vehicle here where the underside has gone before the top. This car spent a lot of its life inland.

 

Phil

[Squire_Dawson]

Will you fit the water pump gasket dry, or put something on it? I'm tempted to put a little jointing compound on when I do mine.

[PhilA]

I have some sealant left over from when I did the Renault that's in good condition still (expensive, good stuff). I'm going to use a light smear of that. It's a funny RTV style compound.

 

Phil

[Sir Snipes]

Yeah, the frames are definitely made from better metal than Fisher was using.

 

The brakes on mine are good, though they do need a bit of adjustment because the pedal travel is excessive.

 

Mine is bad along the passenger side sill, A pillars are both bad and the base of the C pillars in front of the rear wheels- all the places mud collects and stays damp.

 

The air here is so moist that any unprotected steel looks Italian within a few months- my old engine lifting chain pictured a few pages back was galvanized and now looks like it's been sat in salt water at the docks for decades.

 

We don't get the gentle patina like you do out west, here the rust bites in hard, but usually top down. It's odd to find a vehicle here where the underside has gone before the top. This car spent a lot of its life inland.

 

Phil

Sills? Surely you mean rockers?

[PhilA]

I was trying to be nice. If I had said my rockers were rusty, some smartypants would have been along to point out I have a sidevalve engine.

 

Phil

[Squire_Dawson]

I have some sealant left over from when I did the Renault that's in good condition still (expensive, good stuff). I'm going to use a light smear of that. It's a funny RTV style compound.

 

Phil

 

RTV?

 

A coating of grease is another option, the trouble is that makes 3 choices I must decide from, my theory is grease will aid future removal but jointing compound should give a better seal. Keep us updated.

[PhilA]

RTV?

 

A coating of grease is another option, the trouble is that makes 3 choices I must decide from, my theory is grease will aid future removal but jointing compound should give a better seal. Keep us updated.

With composite gaskets on a moderately small surface area like thermostat housing, RTV works well in my experience because:

 

1) if you pull those apart they've crushed to match the surface and leak if you use them again

2) with rtv they tear, no matter what. But, the surface can be cleaned with a blade and a new gasket applied

 

The thermostat is easy to work on. The water pump is awkward because of the proximity to the radiator.

 

I'll go with RTV because I just want to put it on and not have to worry.

 

 

Phil

[PhilA]

In the spirit of Autoshite, I have cleaned up the head gasket. It's in good shape. Plus I'm kinda skint right now. Bonus points for cleaning it with a Mister Muscle Magic Eraser.

 

Also, because head gasket is a 15 minute job with the engine in the car...

 

Phil