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So after about 2 years of searching and saving I was finally able to get the car of my dreams. I have wanted a 49-54 chevy 4 door for about 4 years now. I have been looking off and on the whole time. I didn't want to spend a ton of money as I couldn't afford it but also I would like something that is roughly stock to start with. I went to look at a 54' in San Antonio it was mostly there but had been outside and not running for roughly 20+ years. That deal fell through and in my depression the 49' showed up on craigslist much closer to me and it was much more what I was after. It was the earlier year which I like more, and more importantly it had a newish interior. After speaking with the owner it turned out that he drag races a 54' 2 door in inline 6 club. He had lots of really cool pictures of his dads 52' 2 door from the early 60's when they were racing in Pomona and Bakersfield. He was a really interesting guy, and was super into getting the car to someone who had a interest in taking care of it and not chopping it up. A little history about the car. It was originally owned by a elderly man and came from California. He had the idea of restoring it, it seems but he was only able to get the interior started and the car painted before he passed away. At that point it was given to his grandson who attempted to drive it for a bit but had no real interest in it. He decided to sell it to Dan the guy I bought it from since he knew that he liked older chevys. Dan purchased the car in 1996 and daily drove the car more or less for about 4 or 5 years until he got married. The woman he married had several small children so he parked it at that point since they were to small to be able to ride in the car. It sat undriven for roughly 16 years that point until he moved to Austin as of a couple of years ago. He decided that point he wasn't going to do anything with it and put it up for sale. My plans are really just to get it running, finish redoing the interior, and lower it. I think eventually I will think about putting a small block motor in it but that will be later down the line. Most likely I will take the motor out of my truck and replace it with a LS motor and put the trucks motor in the car. Anyways enough words, onto pictures!     You can see my 67' C10 in the background here. It is lowered 5" in the rear and 3" in the front all done with new springs.    Here I hit the hood with some wax to see how the paint would come out. It made a huge difference so Im going to get a buffer and some polish and clean up the paint.   Dan also gave me a exterior sun visor that he got out another 49-54 chevy that he left in the trunk. As best I can tell this one should clip onto the drip rails on the side then grab onto the center post in the windshield. I attempted to lay it out on the car but it doesn't appear to fit. If anyone has any idea what it is that would be super helpful. It appears to be a stock ish one but I am unsure as there are no manufacturer markings on it that I can find.  
Valt fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Jul 27, 2016 |
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Jul 27, 2016 03:28
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I like how simple the car looks and how everything just flows together nicely. Great find.
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Jul 27, 2016 04:01
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You want to motorswap a nearly 70 year old car in THAT original condition??? Your car and all that but in all honestly that's one of the best restoration targets I have seen in years. It barely looks like it needs more than cleaning, given it looks amazingly straight and also ridiculously low in rust. Dunno, I just find original condition old vehicles much more remarkable than modded ones (and that one is quite remarkable). Usually the value reflects that it's the originals that command the best prices in the long run.
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Jul 27, 2016 04:44
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CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:You want to motorswap a nearly 70 year old car in THAT original condition??? Your car and all that but in all honestly that's one of the best restoration targets I have seen in years. It barely looks like it needs more than cleaning, given it looks amazingly straight and also ridiculously low in rust. It is neat and all that but the straight sixes are not some super special motor. They were used in roughly every chevy / GMC vehicle for like 20 + years. In fact my truck originally had a motor that was not at all that different from the one that is in the car. Putting a SBC in the car would not require much if any modifications to the car anyways. So if I wanted I could always go back to the original motor. Also these kinds of cars are not that super rare in Texas as it is. But I do understand where you are coming from, I would just like to be able to have more power plus I like the V8 sound.
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Jul 27, 2016 04:48
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Again, your car and all but it's just so clean. I'd leave it alone and just drive it while you lsa swap your truck. It's just too pretty
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Jul 27, 2016 05:47
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It's glorious. Also have you ever posted up photos of the truck? That looks like something I could get into...
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Jul 27, 2016 13:45
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if you're gonna swap it, put an Atlas inline six in it. Beautiful car dude.
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Jul 27, 2016 13:50
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88h88 posted:It's glorious. Also have you ever posted up photos of the truck? That looks like something I could get into... I have before yah but its been a while. Its a old ranch truck with a three ball hitch.    
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Jul 27, 2016 14:05
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Dear lord that thing is cool. 
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Jul 27, 2016 15:39
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This is what the truck sounds like on the inside. https://youtu.be/phPpGjpKGlg
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Jul 27, 2016 16:23
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See as a kid growing up in the 80s watching all sorts of US TV shows featuring cars that noise right there speaks to my heart. I need to have something like that before I die, it is just immensely cool.
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Jul 27, 2016 16:26
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CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:You want to motorswap a nearly 70 year old car in THAT original condition??? Your car and all that but in all honestly that's one of the best restoration targets I have seen in years. It barely looks like it needs more than cleaning, given it looks amazingly straight and also ridiculously low in rust.
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Jul 27, 2016 18:44
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There's shop manuals for it here - http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/
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Jul 27, 2016 19:06
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rocket_350 posted:There's shop manuals for it here - And here's GM's Vehicle Information Kit on '49 Chevies: https://gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits/Chevrolet/1949-Chevrolet.pdf
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Jul 27, 2016 19:27
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There sure are a lot of different body styles listed in that document. I've always kind of wanted the fastback version -
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Jul 28, 2016 06:33
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So I'm getting a battery and new plugs this afternoon and trying to see if it will start. I am hopeful it will, however I am unsure how I am going to get the old gas out of the tank. I might need to get a safety siphon. https://www.amazon.com/Safety-Siphon-Safe-Multi-Purpose-Priming/dp/B000BG1X54
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Jul 28, 2016 17:35
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Make sure you've got the correct voltage battery, most if not all cars back then ran 6 volt systems. You might have gotten lucky on the fuel depending where you live and exactly when it was last driven. The main issue with old gas is the ethanol separating, then absorbing moisture from the air, which rusts your fuel tank out. However, even California didn't ban MTBE, the anti-knock additive that ethanol replaced, until 2003, so you might have the older formulation, in which case just filling the tank and diluting the old stuff would be enough. Do you have an accessible, inline fuel filter (ie not in the tank)? If so, I'd try and run it for a little bit, then check the filter for rust; if it's clean, you're probably okay. Sweet car, and that truck is glorious.
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Jul 28, 2016 17:58
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Enourmo posted:Make sure you've got the correct voltage battery, most if not all cars back then ran 6 volt systems. Yes the car is 6 volt and I bought a 6 volt battery. I am just going to hit it with starter fluid and pour some gas in the carb to see if it even tries to start. These cars have sort of weird glass filter that is near the carb. But it also has a newer inline filter right by the carb. I am going to take the fuel line off at first to confirm I have good gas in the carb though. I actually have no idea how much gas is in the tank, hopefully the fuel gauge works.
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Jul 28, 2016 18:04
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Well after putting a battery and new plugs in, it does crank. I was able to find out that the tank was mostly empty thankfully so I pulled the fuel line off the carb and threw some gas in it. After a little bit of cranking it started pumping fuel. However I am not getting any spark (this was confirmed by pulling one of the plugs and having it sit on the valve cover). I grabbed a new coil since I pulled the cap and it seemed fairly good looking. But still no spark at all, I did notice that when I pulled the cap the points may have been to lose. But even after adjusting them I was getting nothing. At this point I am really going to need a second hand with it as its hard to tell what is going on just by myself. I am going to grab a new set of points and a condenser because its cheap and why not but I am not confident that will fix it.
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Jul 29, 2016 12:15
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Check to make sure you're getting voltage to the coil. Points are ancient voodoo and replacing them is probably a good idea.
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Jul 29, 2016 16:18
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Enourmo posted:Check to make sure you're getting voltage to the coil. Yah I went and got batteries for my multimeter last night. The coil is definitely getting power as I saw the points spark when I was messing with it last night. All the points are doing is interrupting ground here so if they spark the coil has power.
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Jul 29, 2016 16:30
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InitialDave posted:Yeah, to modify that car in any way that isn't just bolt-in and completely removable would be criminal. Find a ratty one if you want to do stuff like that. BUUUUUUUULL SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT It's a car, gently caress it up however you want to. Get a coin collection if you want to keep something cherry.
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Jul 29, 2016 17:32
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Valt posted:Yah I went and got batteries for my multimeter last night. The coil is definitely getting power as I saw the points spark when I was messing with it last night. All the points are doing is interrupting ground here so if they spark the coil has power. Sounds like you need to pull, clean and regap the plugs and maybe change the plug wires and you should be in business. Have you tried a spritz of starter fluid into the carb? If fuel was allowed to sit in the carb it might be getting fuel but clogged up and blocked internally. I love old cars for the simplicity of them.
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Jul 29, 2016 18:22
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Veeb0rg posted:Sounds like you need to pull, clean and regap the plugs and maybe change the plug wires and you should be in business. Have you tried a spritz of starter fluid into the carb? If fuel was allowed to sit in the carb it might be getting fuel but clogged up and blocked internally. I love old cars for the simplicity of them. I currently have no spark. As a general rule plug wires wouldn't cause no spark unless they were ancient which these aren't. Also gapping plugs is not super necessary and would not cause no spark and could tested without a plug. I am getting a new distributor cap as well just to rule it out. Edit: I should also note here that my plugs are brand new. Valt fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Jul 29, 2016 |
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Jul 29, 2016 18:28
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Great loving car. Good luck with whatever you do with it.
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Jul 29, 2016 19:06
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nthing awesome car. Congrats. How hard would it be to convert something like that to electronic ignition? Is it 12V?
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Jul 29, 2016 19:13
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slidebite posted:nthing awesome car. Congrats. It's 6V, but Pertronix makes a kit for those anyway. That's a positive-ground car, right?
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Jul 29, 2016 20:53
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There's a '48 Fleetmaster being worked on right now in a GRM thread as well. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/restoration-48-chevy-fleetmaster-part-1/119707/page1/ It's pretty hogged though.
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Jul 29, 2016 21:01
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So even after changing cap, points and condenser I'm still getting no life. I confirmed I got spark at the plugs, and confirmed that the rockers are moving. So just for shits and giggles I pulled and a plug and shot some starter fluid in it and tried it. Low and behold it tried to fire and that cylinder came to life. Of course directly after that my battery was to weak to turn the motor over. So I am waiting on autozone to charge it.
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Jul 30, 2016 02:39
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Sounds like it's probably time for a carb rebuild, yeah.
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Jul 30, 2016 02:43
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Enourmo posted:Sounds like it's probably time for a carb rebuild, yeah. I think more then anything it's a motor that hasn't started in 16 years and the volt system just doesn't have enough umph to get it going. It could also possibly have some stale gas in the carb.
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Jul 30, 2016 02:44
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https://youtu.be/ijBd6xv5BUM I got it running! I think the carb needs going over as it won't start without a lot of help from starting fluid.
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Jul 30, 2016 04:53
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Maybe auto carbs are different but leaving bike carbs undrained for only a few months can clog them up, even with no poo poo in the fuel system. A careful strip and clean will probably help no end.
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Jul 30, 2016 06:52
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Saga posted:Maybe auto carbs are different but leaving bike carbs undrained for only a few months can clog them up, even with no poo poo in the fuel system. A careful strip and clean will probably help no end. A couple of things here, one I don't know if there was gas in the carb when it got parked. Secondly it has been not running for 16 years. Car carbs are no different then bike carbs in the way they function as a carb is a carb. The basic principle is the same.
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Jul 30, 2016 14:23
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don't listen to the haters, hack that bitch up and do smokey burnouts
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Jul 30, 2016 15:34
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Got it running and drove to work today. I think it was mostly the old gas that was causing me issues.
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Jul 30, 2016 19:47
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Valt posted:Got it running and drove to work today. I think it was mostly the old gas that was causing me issues. gently caress YEAH GREAT WORK DUDE
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Jul 30, 2016 23:28
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loving excellent! Gonna post any driving videos?
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Jul 30, 2016 23:37
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Enourmo posted:loving excellent! Gonna post any driving videos? Kind of hard to take video and drive the silly thing but here you go. https://youtu.be/4DQ_ptg2ANY
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Jul 31, 2016 02:33
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So I have been driving it around for quite a bit now and some things that I have noticed. The car drives way better then my truck steering is much tighter, and there is actually very few rattles at all. We will see if that continues with it lowered, I'm imagining it will actually be fine then as well. It is certainly very underpowered, but that is how the truck was originally when I got it as well. It can get out of its own way but it could certainly use another 100 horsepower to be me normal. I still need to work on the brakes to see if I can get them working better, they are certainly better today then they were yesterday but they can be a lot better. I'm also going to see if I can mount the visor today as well.
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Jul 31, 2016 19:58
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