1951 Pontiac Chieftain

[grizz]

Feb 3, 2019 4:52:18 GMT PhilA said:

Pushed the car out of the garage, jacked it up and pulled the driver's side wheel off for access.


Much cleaner than it was. That also took some of the old underseal off.


Pushed it back in after cleaning the garage floor, wiped it down and set the big drum fan on it to dry it off.


This was the point my pressure washer quit running. Spent 40 minutes pulling the tank, carburetor and petcock apart to clean it all out before getting it going again and cleaning up.

Going to see if I can get the front grille and such off tomorrow. The wheel is all mashed up where some moron was tightening one stud so much it sheared- backwards threads on old GM stuff.

Phil

Sucks when a tool quits in the middle of a job.

Like the clean look too.

My Blazer and C10 both did produce piles of dirt.

[PhilA]

Well, it was running ok and I loaned it to somebody. It came back not running well. The filter in the petcock was full of sandy crud and the carburetor was blocked up with fine black dirt.

I have no idea what was in there because I gave a can of fuel with it that I knew was good.
Nevertheless, it runs much better now it's all cleaned out. Passenger side needs to be done also but being as the thing died I ran out of time. Lots of pale yellow Mississippi Midlands dirt (same color as the cement) washed out from up underneath too. A little bit of Alabama red clay too that you can see there so it looks like the car's been moderately local since it was last thoroughly cleaned, at least.

Phil

[PhilA]

I now have a crane.

Phil

[PhilA]

Not a lot of progress made lately, house and other things have been taking all my spare time.
I did check to see how well the crane fits.


It reaches back really quite well.

However, in trying to take the jack back down, the handle broke. Looks like it was welded then ground back too much.


Fired off an email to the company I got it from, waiting to hear back if they'll honor the warranty.

I'm also thinking about engine slings rather than chains. I went down to the mother in law's where I had hung my engine chain up from the roof (I used a ratchet winch to remove the engine from the Renault a few years ago).


I don't think I'll be using that again then. Gotta love southern humidity...


Phil

[jamesd1972]

Slings are cheap and you can wrap them round stuff with less damage. We paid <$5 for 1m certified 1 tonne slings from the local access / lifting wholesale place. A couple of shackles and the job’s a goodun.
James

This sort of thing round ones are softer and easier to thread.
www.liftinggear-shop.co.uk/product/4375/round-sling-1-ton.html
A bit longer might work better but when they are this cheap £20 gets you all the different ones you want !

[PhilA]

Used to use seatbelt webbing

[PhilA]

This morning started out cold so I lit up my kerosene lantern for light and warmth. Started undoing the sheet metal screws that hold the grille on.


Made an executive decision to drill the rivets out of the stiffener bar.


All but the crossbeam removed.


Managed to remove the jammed fitting for the vacuum line from the carburetor to the distributor.


Manifolds could then come off.


That and all the linkages for the throttle and gears.



This is where I left off this morning. Weather's taking a turn for the worse and I'm now at the point where I need to jack the back end up and remove the propshaft. The handle of my jack broke- badly welded on- so I'm now waiting for that to come in so I can get that off, the engine cradle at the back loosened, it all raised up some then I should be able to lift the engine and gearbox out.

Phil

[PhilA]

I wanted to see if I could create any more room under the back of the car to get it jacked up once the handle for my jack arrives.


Yo ho ho and up she rises


Air ride in the morning


Put 60psi into the rear shocks. They're mounted at a significant angle so a lot of pressure doesn't really make the car come up much- makes the rear suspension a lot more firm though.


Lots of spiders. Exhaust has seen better days. Overall underneath is in pretty good shape though.


Finally you can see, the chassis has been notched to allow the suspension not to bottom out. That needs to be rubbed back and protected.

Phil

[darrenh]

i just use a tow strop and bow shackles for lifting !

[PhilA]

If which I have neither. H-F have 3 ton lifting strops but you can't easily shorten them and they can slip. I'll see what they have in terms of chains, I can't find the lifting eye for the good chain I have.

Phil

[dikkehemaworst]

Bookmarked

[PhilA]

A package arrived in the mail.


Which means my shop jack is restored to full working operation.

Hopefully this weekend I can remove propshaft and make some progress.

Phil

[PhilA]

Started out today with one thing in mind, and set about doing it. Pulled the front engine mount bolts out and cleaned them up.


Removed the crossbrace to give me the room I needed.


Pretty clean underneath, all things considered.


...that is, apart from the spiderwebs.


Cleaned up the underside a bit because there was a lot of webs and I didn't fancy having a Regrettable Example land on me when I was prostrate underneath the vehicle.


Marked the propshaft for position. Not that it really matters in this instance, but still.


And pulled the propshaft out off the splines of the gearbox.


Got the load leveler hooked up and the crane in place.


Took the load off the engine mounts and undid the rear mounts and slackened off the cradle.


And up and out!


Gearbox doesn't seal without the propshaft in. Oops.


Biiiiig engine. Tiny grbx.

That's it for tonight. I need to drain it all down before taking it apart.

Phil

[totti]

Great!
What a huge block!I work on a 49' Ford with the 226 cid six at work....and it look nearly the same.Only shorter....but the suspension and the layout of all parts are very similar.

I love cars from the 40'....

I'm curious how it looks in the oilpan.....

Greet from Germany....

[blackpopracing]

Plastic bag over the end of gearbox with an elastic band next time

[georgeb]

Feb 17, 2019 9:16:38 GMT blackpopracing said:

Plastic bag over the end of gearbox with an elastic band next time

Don't you just love hindsight?

Anyway, no matter how you look at this, the Pontiac has PRESENCE.

[PhilA]

Got the brake freed off, pushed the car or of the garage. Kitty litter has soaked up 99% of the ATF so that's good. Cleared that all away.

Now I need to start reading up on the gearbox overhaul guide.

Phil

[jamesd1972]

Coke is meant to help with the remaining 1%.
Better ATF than manual box oil, now that makes a mess.
Does the engine need much doing while it’s out or is it just the gearbox that needs some love ?
James

[PhilA]

The gearbox was painted when it was out last time.

Engine looks to have had a bit of work done, but pulling the head bolts to put the lifting chains shows they are fairly heavily corroded so I think I'll pull them off and inspect inside- cracked bores and such.

Overall the engine ran pretty well with good oil pressure so I'm not going to fuss with it too much.

The gearbox didn't slip but it didn't change gear correctly, meaning all the pressures are off- looking at how the tailshaft was leaking, all the valve seals are likely shot.

To pull it apart and rebuild isn't too much trouble. It's just all big, bulky, heavy. There's some adjustment to be done when it's back on the car also.

Phil

[PhilA]

Tonight I had a little time in the garage. Decided to have a bit of an inspection.


I don't think a single one of those bolts were done up to the correct torque. Well, incorrect. They may have been, but they weren't put in clean, so goodness knows what muck was in the threads to give odd readings.


Big collection of bolts. I'll be ordering replacements, some of them are corroded beyond what I'm happy with.


The head came off without any fuss at all. Initial inspection shows it's been running reasonably well, don't see any particular signs of distress.


Looks like a moderately recent gasket, too.


Deck is in good shape by the looks of it. I'll clean it up and put a straight edge to it later.


Rebuilt for sure. All the pistons are stamped forty thou' over. Six of the pots are kinda mirrored worn but not badly scored.


Two have hone marks, I'm guessing the engine work wasn't that many miles ago.


I bought a very faded and dusty can of protection oily spray stuff (similar to LPS-4).


Liberally coated everything in it to stop it from flash rusting. It's really very humid here today and that's not showing any signs of changing. Better safe than sorry.

So, overall I think all that needs doing is the tappets reset, new head bolts, thermostat and a general tune up for the engine to be ok. Then on to the gearbox!

Phil