1939 Cadillac 6127 Coupé Project

[hudson29]

Thanks Harry. I'm sure lots of folks will need to replace the stock coil or hot wire from the ignition switch as I did and it does help to see what it looks like.

BTW, the original wiring was for the hot wire from the switch to go to the negative terminal of the coil. The Pertronix changes that slightly. Now the wire from the switch goes into the Pertronix unit and from there to the coil. No ground is needed as it is a two wire system.

Vintage Paul

[harvey b]

I had to replace my ignition switch one time,when I took the cap off of the coil top,the wire was frayed as yours was,what I did was put a piece of heat shrink tubing in the metal sleeve and it has helped to insulate the wire in there.my car still has its original coil in place.Have you tried to use the little hat for your coil,it would look sort of original there?.When I do my pertronix conversion I am going to try and use it for appearance sakes only.  Harveyb

[las39]

Thanks Harry. I'm sure lots of folks will need to replace the stock coil or hot wire from the ignition switch as I did and it does help to see what it looks like.

BTW, the original wiring was for the hot wire from the switch to go to the negative terminal of the coil. The Pertronix changes that slightly. Now the wire from the switch goes into the Pertronix unit and from there to the coil. No ground is needed as it is a two wire system.

Vintage Paul

On my similar system, if the pickup is not grounded ( two screws), it wont work.

[joeceretti]

On mine, I used a dremel to very very slowly cut off the outer armor. Then I soldered a new wire and used heat shrink tubing to protect it. Cut the armor a bit shorter so it wouldn't bind on the heat shrink and then using some conduit lubricant I reinserted the wire back into the armored sleeve. This way I could preserve the look. Then I found a few coils from different sources. The one I use is actually a 12v from a Chevy but it seems to work fine. Still searching for a 6v.

Here's a shot of it earlier in my reassembly.

[hudson29]

Have you tried to use the little hat for your coil,it would look sort of original there?.When I do my pertronix conversion I am going to try and use it for appearance sakes only.  Harveyb

What a great idea, I never even thought of it. If it would fit on top it might help it look more original.

Vintage Paul

[hudson29]

On my similar system, if the pickup is not grounded ( two screws), it wont work.

I'm sure no electrical genius, but I had assumed that two wires completed the electrical path without the need for a ground. When I removed the pigtail it made no difference and the instructions, which were extremely brief, made no mention of the need for a good ground. Mebbee I should put the pigtail back on just to be sure?

Vintage Paul

[hudson29]

On mine, I used a dremel to very very slowly cut off the outer armor. Then I soldered a new wire and used heat shrink tubing to protect it. Cut the armor a bit shorter so it wouldn't bind on the heat shrink and then using some conduit lubricant I reinserted the wire back into the armored sleeve. This way I could preserve the look. Then I found a few coils from different sources. The one I use is actually a 12v from a Chevy but it seems to work fine. Still searching for a 6v.

I like the original look you have achieved. Let's hope it runs sweetly!

Vintage Paul

[hudson29]

IGNITION PROJECT FINISHED

It was time to try to start the motor. I had set the distributor down in the same place it had been in when it came out so if the Pertronix was somewhere near where the points had been, it ought to start. I gave it some gas in the float bowl to prime it and hit the starter switch. After a bit of cranking the motor fired and sounded sweet - for a few seconds - then silence. What happened? I checked things out under the hood. It all looked pretty good so I tried more cranking. No soap! It was time to stop for the day as other events demanded my attention.

Another look under the hood the next day revealed that the coil wire had popped of the coil! The coil wire was old, the one I had on there from 10 or 15 years ago. I had ordered 20' of spark plug wire and that had been just enough to make up the plug wires but there was not enough to make a new coil wire so I had reinstalled the old one while Restoration Supplied sent out another 5' of ignition wire.

After carefully reinstalling the coil wire, the motor fired right up just like it was supposed to.

This is a 6v car but my timing light is 12v. This is not really a problem as I have an old 12v motorcycle battery that is perfect for this use. There is one difficulty in timing this car. The marks on my pulley do not match the marks shown in the book! The book shows I|6 | G|A. My car was missing the critical last vertical mark that the timing was supposed to be set to.

Fifteen years ago when I last did this I set the timing to the middle vertical mark. The car seemed to run OK. This time I thought I would experiment with the setting. With the vacuum advance line disconnected the timing was set for the gap where the mark should have been between the G & the A.

The motor instantly picked up! Having established that the motor ran sweetly in that spot, I tried several other locations, the motor slowed in every other spot. OK, I set the timing where the missing mark should have been. Just to see what would happen, I connected the vacuum advance line and sure enough, the timing mark moved just like it should do.

One oddity occurred in here someplace. While watching the motor running I noticed that the dizzy cap was wobbling! After stopping the motor, the cap was removed and checked for signs of damage. Everything looked fine. Why was the cap wobbling? The magnetic center bit was pulled off and the cap mounted solidly. There were two bits of this center magnetic job. The hexagonal piece fit nice and snug. The circular top looked like it was only a distance piece and the dizzy cap did feel a bit loose with that on.

So, the top distance piece was removed and the cap replaced, the motor started and the wobble was gone! The removed top distance piece is shown below.

Next was a test drive and the motor has more power and runs smoother than ever before. It also runs cooler, something very important on this car which has always run hot. The old two mode running where it sometimes turned nasty was gone. Its sweet all the time. I have had to set the idle down several times as the motor is now rock solid at idle and I have little fear that it will stall.

Did the Pertronix/Flamethrower coil make a real difference? I'm not sure. I changed other things at the same time. The plugs, wires, cap & rotor were all changed out and the timing was set in a different location. A good solid new ignition wire from the switch had to have helped as well. One thing about the Pertronix it will not need attention. No more points to gap or condenser to fail.

I'm very pleased with the outcome of this project. Getting the carbie sorted will be easier now.

Vintage Paul

[hudson29]

STEERING WHEEL PROJECT Part 2

When Good Primer Goes Bad

or

Attack of the Crack Monster

After several coats of Bondo with sanding between each coat it was time for a coat of primer to see where we were at. I had a rattle can of a building primer that had been purchased some years ago for a project that went some other way and I thought it might be perfect to help fill minor imperfections on this steering wheel rim. A liberal coat was applied and the project was set aside to dry until the following weekend.

The primer revealed plenty of spots that needed more work so it was back to the mouse sander. Sadly, even after a week, this primer was still soft and quickly loaded the sand paper. By the time I had it sanded back off, I had used up many of the little triangular sanding pads on hand. I'll not use THAT primer again!

Next was more Bondo and sanding. Here and there a small crack appeared that had somehow gone unnoticed before. No worries, it just means more time, this is a labor of love not a race to the finish - right?

After several more of these sessions it was time for more primer. This time I used Krylon Ruddy Red which I have used many times in the past with great success. It was hot that day so I left the steering wheel out in the sun to dry. That day was very hot, 93° and sure enough, the primer was dry. To my disgust, the rim was also full of small cracks!!!

I'm not 100% sure where the cracks were coming from, but I speculate that the original material the rim was constructed from is still coming apart. The new materials are probably fine but they can only join to material that is slowly turning to cottage cheese. There is no way I can "fix" this sort of problem.

This development had me in a purple funk for awhile but it was time to remember the original goal had been to make the rim solid so it could be covered with a custom leather cover. Given this return to the original focus, I decided to stop trying to fill the cracks and refine the shape any further.

#0000 steel wool was used to smooth the primer and it was time to shoot the color, a rattle can of Krylon in Almond color. Masking the wire spokes took quite a long time after which several coats of color were shot, the last being a good heavy wet coat.

The masking was removed and the paint looked terrific, nice and glossy, good and hard. This paint might well have worked well even without a cover. A No. 11 Exacto blade was used to scrape the wire spokes where the masking had been imperfect. To finish up, some of the Krylon Almond was decanted into the cap and a sharp brush was used to touch up the bosses of the rim where the wire spokes connected. But for the cracks, this steering wheel rim was looking like new!

The wheel was now ready for my pal Dan and his leather working skills.

Vintage Paul

[hudson29]

STEERING WHEEL PROJECT Part 3

The Masking Tape Lifted the @*^%!)*& Paint !!!

While Dan had the wheel for its new leather cover, I had plenty to do to get the column ready for use. The column had checked paint that was rough and peeling in places so it was time to do something about it. Looking the situation over, it didn't seem possible to do a good job on the column itself without taking it all to bits which was a bigger job than I wanted to get involved with so I decided to just do the top part that contains the gearshift housing and was highly visible.

I masked the column and the rest of the interior and got out the mouse sander to have at the housing. The old paint came off easily turning to a messy powder. I'm glad the interior was masked off, it saved a huge cleanup job!

Once all was smooth, it got a coat of the same Krylon primer used on the steering wheel. This primer dries very quickly and just an hour later #0000 steel wool was used to smooth out the finish. It looked pretty good.

The paint selected was the same that I had already used on the horn push surround and intend to use on the steering wheel hub when it comes back. It is Krylon Leather Brown. Several coats were shot on the column top part. It went on smooth and dried quickly. I like this paint.

The masking was removed from the column and with it came some of the paint. @*^%!)*& !!!

After some crying in my beer, I decided that a brush paint job would be better than what I have now so the sand paper came out and the column made as smooth as it could be without taking everything to bits.

I had an old can of Seal Brown that looked like a pretty good match for the Leather Brown already used on the top part. A quick clean with a lacquer thinner soaked rag removed the dust and I had at it with a brush. This paint also dried pretty well and a second coat rendered a reasonably passable job. The color turned out to be slightly lighter and more golden than the Leather Brown but it is close enough to overlook the difference.

Vintage Paul

[hudson29]

STEERING WHEEL PROJECT Part 4

The Wheel Comes Back!

Dan brought the wheel over with its new cover Saturday afternoon. It came out a lot darker than I had hoped, but is still within the color palette for the interior. The dark brown color can be found in the instrument panel woodgrain.

The cover is made from several pieces of leather and has a very nice smooth finish. It is a tough leather that should add to the strength of the wheel. I'm very pleased with it!

The wheel still needed its hub painted so the masking tape came out again and primer was shot. The wheel was left overnight as the weather had turned quite blustery and a good paint job was unlikely.

The next morning was calm and after the smoothing with #0000 steel wool the hub was shot with the same Krylon Leather Brown that the top of the column was. A bit of fluff landed in the wet paint but you have to look hard to find it. Forget about it!

The masking was peeled off and the Exacto blade used to scrape the wire spoke ends of errant paint. Some of the brown paint was decanted and used with a fine brush to touch up. The finished steering wheel was looking fine!

Installation was quick. The wheel went on and the electrical system powered up for a horn test. It did not work. Possibly some of the new paint on the steering wheel hub might be keeping the horn contacts from working. I'll look into that this next weekend.

It was too late for a test drive but the newly rebuilt wheel looks great in the car and feels like it will be a big step up in driving. Dan should be proud if his efforts.

The last picture below is to show where this project started.

Vintage Paul

[joeceretti]

I haven't had time to read this until now. I can appreciate the amount of work it takes to do even these little things. It looks great! Kudos on getting running nicely!

[hudson29]

My last report left off without a test drive to see how the steering wheel with its new leather cover would feel. I have to say that it is a huge improvement! The wheel is easy to grip and feels great even during hot drives with sweaty hands. Two notes, I never did take the wheel back off to check on the horn problem and when I put the wheel back on the column I put it on to the right to correct for the offset to the left that it had before. Sadly for me, I had already parked the car with the offset compensated for and now the wheel is cocked to the right. When it comes back off for the horn issue I'll have another go at centalizing the wheel.

I took the Caddie on a tour last June with some old car cronies to the local beach areas of the South Bay & Los Angeles. The tour leader didn't miss a red light, stop sign or one traffic clogged street the whole day. The car took all of this without complaint, the ignition never faltered and the motor stayed cool despite long slogs in hot weather rarely out of first or second gear. The trip back on the freeway was a breeze.

It was July by now and time to put the car up to await the return of cooler weather. The car doesn't seem to mind the heat but I sure do!

The next tour in was out to the local mountain Foothills with another group of old car cronies. This time it was mostly Model Ts and we drove at Model T speeds including up steep hills. Once again the mighty Caddie V-8 took all of this without complaint or temperament. It never got hot and rarely demanded a downshift.

This was October and the Model T project had gotten hot again so I have been spending my time with that project. The Caddie has been waiting for me to get back to it all winter. The good news is that the Model T has been coming along well and I have been driving it and getting it sorted out for the last several weeks just as I did with the Caddie last winter.

In a couple of weeks it will be time to get the Cadillac out and get it ready for the Lakewood CLS SoCal show in February. The horn is still an issue and it will be time to work on the 1940 carb on the workbench that should be the perfect companion to the vacuum advance dizzy already on the car. The current carb is a later square Stromberg that is giving a HUGE flat spot right off of idle when the load pedal is pushed which requires a special driving technique. Other work will include adjusting the clutch which engages right on the floor and a rattle hunt on the undercarriage.

On the horizon is replacement of the interior plastic bits hopefully later this summer and a rebuild of the radio hopefully with the modification to play MP-3 files. What good is a radio that plays modern music? I want to hear Benny Goodman and Jack Benny!

BTW - I still need a choke cable with the slides so the fellow that makes up the dashboard plastic can make a new cable for this car. Has anyone got one they can spare?

There is always plenty to do!

Vintage Paul

[hudson29]

The part I need right now is a throttle cable with its slides. All of mine is gone replaced by a generic choke cable. I have just ordered all of the plastic bits and the throttle cable is needed ASAP. Has anyone got a spare or an idea where to look for one?

Vintage Paul

[joeceretti]

Generic choke cable on mine. I used a dremel to cut off the ugly plastic/chromed knob and glued my knob on. Also, greased the inner cable up so it slid freely and then crimped the inner wire little by little to get just the right amount of resistance. I am still looking for the right cable but not overly hopeful.

[hudson29]

I have not seen what the assembly is supposed to look like. Did yours have sliders?

Here is what I have now:


Vintage Paul

[joeceretti]

Not only was the knob and cable missing but someone had pulled the linkage off the carb. There was a cable on mine but it was hooked up to a manual choke. It took me many months to get it where it is now. The automatic choke/heat stove works great and the correct carb throttle linkage is in place with my home modified cable. It all works good.

[hudson29]

Thanks to Chuck Patton I now have the throttle slide metal part and can get the new plastic bit cast on to it. Still needed is the metal part of the cigar lighter. Anyone have one of these they can spare?

I drove the car over to the SoCal chapter meeting in Lakewood a couple of weeks ago and met Chuck Patton in person there. He was out here escaping winter and enjoying the field of dreams that our chapter provided and I met him quite by accident. It was certainly a pleasure!

One of the next projects will be to remove the radio and send it off for repair and to have the "wheels" recast with new plastic portions. I would also like to have an iPhone connection installed so i can listen to Jack Benny, Benny Goodman and other 1939 era broadcasts.

Any tips on getting this radio out without damage? I'm too old & fat to find working under the dash very easy . . .

Vintage Paul

[oldcarguy]

I know I'm late getting started, but I just purchased a '39 series 61 coupe. I'm not as fortunate as you, my coupe needs floor pans and some work in the trunk floor! On the bright side, the engine runs pretty good, considering it sat for many years...New points, fresh gas from a can directly to the carb and BAM, it started right up! Now, a clean tank and oil/filter change, new plugs and she purrs.
My steering wheel needs work, but in better shape than what you started with. Nice job on your wheel.
Here is what I would like to do.[get done] wheel restoration [may give it a try myself]-floor pans-new interior.
I live in southern Tenn and I don't have or know of places that do some of these things, so if you have any info, tips, help of any kind, let me know. Suppliers, resto services, etc.
Thanks very much
Don