[Fot] Old Cars

Sat May 23 06:36:31 MDT 2020

If I may, I have lots of time under the hood of vehicles of this vintage.  As new it probably did not use detergent motor oil,  and a straight 30 in summer would be the correct grade.  Over time there is no way to know what was dumped in that crankcase, so a non detergent oil would be a safe bet.  If the car came with service records it may shed some light on things. Also, do remember that the rods are splash oiled on a Chevy six of that era, so drive her gently.  Full pressure oiling did not happen till 1953 or 1954 ish.  If you ever have the engine rebuilt, then a good modern multi grade oil, with high levels of ZDDP, is the way to go, just like our racing TRs.

As to the gear box, diff, and steering box.  Any good non synthetic gear lube of the appropriate grade will be just fine.  Most modern gear oils are 85w90, and that’s OK.  The steering box is always an issue as usually, if they are original, they are pretty much guaranteed to leak around every place they can leak, and hence will not hold liquid lubes for long, without a rebuild.  The “All Purpose” thing is curious.  It’s possible that they either mean gear oil or grease.  I know one of the “work arounds” that old timers, and some not so old timers use on early Fords if the box wont hold gear lube, is to pack it with wheel bearing grease.  It’s still a frequent practice, as getting the steering gear out of these older machines is fiddly at best and downright difficult in most cases.

A word about those old drum brakes.  If you have a really good brake shop near you, make sure to have the drums trued and have the new shoes arced (matched) to the drums. This will save many headaches in getting the thing to stop without pulling you into the ditch or oncoming traffic.  Also on the subject of brakes, if you are going to put in new wheel cylinders, no matter who you get them from, they all come from China, disassemble them and make sure that the seals are proper lubed with a brake assembly lube, and make sure that the hydraulic line port and the bleeder port are actually drilled all the way through.  Really, this is a thing.  I have had several wheel cylinders from big name “reputable” manufacturers that have not had the ports properly drilled through the casting, or had the bleeder screw seating surface not be concentric with the threads for the screw.  It’s much easier to check them first, than after you have them on the car and all the shoes/linkages attached.

Have fun with her, I love the 40’s domestic cars a lot.

Terry Stetler

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From: Bill Tobin via Fot<mailto:fot at autox.team.net>
Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2020 7:47 AM
To: fot at autox.team.net<mailto:fot at autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: [Fot] Old Cars

Great car. a friend has one similar; it's taken 3 generations of babies home from the maternity hospital!

As for oil: something this old may require non detergent oil. My old tractors use it. I'm not sure when multi grade detergent oils came out. Probably one of our bunch would know. Or I can contact a local oil rep and find out.

I'd probably stick with 30w in the summer. And park it in the winter!

Great car. Enjoy it. And bear in mind: it won't handle like the white car in the background!

Cheers Bill
On 5/22/2020 11:02 PM, Scott Janzen via Fot wrote:
Ok, so this is not a Triumph story, but I recently got a 1947 Chevy Fleetmaster in my garage (which means I bought it a year ago, but it’s been sitting in the owner’s garage until now).  It’s the oldest vehicle I’ve ever owned, by two years (had a ’49 ford pickup once) and I love working on it.  It’s so simple, and plenty of space to get at everything.  Plus, this came from the family of the original owner, has been garaged all its life, and while far from pristine, it’s not rusty.  Garaged all its life.  I haven’t stripped or sheered a bolt yet.

So, the highlights - the engine has no oil filter. Just change the oil every 2000 miles, more on dirt roads (says the manual).  Lever shocks all around.  Vacuum wipers, no turn signals (not sure about brake lights), manually engaged starter solenoid through a floor button.  Front wheel bearings are ball bearings!!!.  4.5”x16” wheels, skinny bias plies (with a date code of 1984, definitely due to replace those if I ever go over 25 mph).  Right now the brakes are apart, shocks need to go to White Post for a rebuild, gas tank and radiator at the local shop.

Here’s a question - the manual calls for straight 20w oil for the engine, 30 in the winter.  Should I run 20w, or 10-30?
Gear oils - straight 90W is what’s called for.  What’s a good non-synthetic?  Steering gear calls for “All Purpose” lubricant - WTH?

Having fun in the garage these days!!!

[cid:image001.jpg at 01D630D9.22A985E0][cid:image002.jpg at 01D630D9.22A985E0]

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