1939 Cadillac Convertible Sedan #23 of 36 Built

[harvey b]

On my 37 it was easy to adjust it,just kept moving it a little bit each time until it felt right,dont remember it being hard or crowded down there,just make sure the big nut can turn freely on the shaft so you dont need a wrench to turn it.I have a set of really short wrenches that work good in confined areas like that.I thinh there are 2 spring on the shaft,one to keep pressure on the front direction and one for the rear direction,been a while since i looked under there.My car has the top side shifter,that may be why i have more room?,mo levers on the side to get in the way with?.Car looks great,hope you can find a roof for it. Harveyb

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

Mike, It looks like if you disconnect the adjusting rod clevis which should relieve the pressure on the pressure plate then with the clutch pedal all the way up you should be able to move the fork with the throw out  then adjust the rod to the proper length until it is in spec. Hopefully no BFHs needed.
Harry

Yes Harry....I did it your way and it worked...your way allowed me not to fight the heavy duty pressure plate springs while I try and get that clevis pin back in....I now have that 1" free play I needed....

Car now goes forward and reverse nicely....

Next is the shift linkage adjustments....I can't get out of the low/reverse gears and go to the high gears.....but on a high note the brakes are working great!....at least in the shop....5-6 feet forward and 5-6 feet backwards....so far so good....Thanks Harry!...PS Harry what's a BFHs?....Battle Field Heros?...haha

On my 37 it was easy to adjust it,just kept moving it a little bit each time until it felt right,don't remember it being hard or crowded down there,just make sure the big nut can turn freely on the shaft so you don't need a wrench to turn it.I have a set of really short wrenches that work good in confined areas like that.I think there are 2 spring on the shaft,one to keep pressure on the front direction and one for the rear direction,been a while since i looked under there.My car has the top side shifter,that may be why i have more room?,mo levers on the side to get in the way with? Car looks great,hope you can find a roof for it. Harvey

This 39 is very tight where the adjustment has to happen.....yep the shift arms on the transmission are in the way....so trying to get a drop light in there and getting the right adjustment then lining up the holes so the that pin can go back in....and I'm lucky because I'm stand up on my 2 feet under the car lift....I can't imagine lying on my back doing this....

Once I got it to where I wanted I spun that big jam nut into place to hold it all in place....Thanks, Harvey 

Mike

[harry s]

Mike, If the first and reverse positions fully  engage put the shifter in neutral then unhook the 2nd/3rd shift rod at the trans with the trans lever in neutral. You should be able to move the column lever up or down until the shift lever lifts in neutral. This would be point where the lever drops when shifting from  first to second. Adjust the shift rod from column to trans to retain this position. There is a special tool which hooks to the lower end of the shifting shafts but isn't totally necessary if you keep tweeking until smooth. BTW, I'll give a hint on the BFH, B is for big and H is for hammer. Always good to have one handy in case of need to let off steam.     Harry

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

Thanks Harry,

I want to start by thanking you and everybody else for all the advice & tips you have given me over the years!....Very big help !!

Harry I did the shifter adjustments you said to do....it's still a little ragged going from 1st to 2nd....If I double clutch as I'm shifting that change seems to go better 9 out of 10 times....sometimes it still jams in between...

Should I live with that?....will it get better as I get it on the road?.....Do you think I should put the throw-out bearing more into the pressure fingers on the clutch?...right now the throw out bearing is just touching those fingers....

I'm now just testing by running the car on the lift and going thru the gears....Today I put 6 miles on the car on the lift!...brakes are working good....

Car ran pretty good, nice power, got her up to 60 mph.....not over heating....It was fun sitting behind the wheel and working the car like I was on the road..

That's the question... is it still linkage?...clutch adjustment?...trans is supposedly rebuilt....when it shifts good thru the gears and then back down it feels really smooth most of the time...

Mike

[novetti]

Hi Mike,

While its a great test, I bet will behave slightly different while under load. Maybe I would look around the block to see if the shifting is the same (or worse/better) prior adjusting.

[harry s]

Mike, You may need a little fine tuning on the shift linkage adjustment. John Washburn did an article about the special tool and how it worked. I could not find it here. If I recall the tool fits over a small button like knub at the end of the shifting column and aligns the hi/lo shaft with rev/1st one. I think I also remember John had someone make a limited run of the tools. Hopefully it is an adjustment tweak and not wear.        Harry

[Brad Ipsen CLC #737]

Mike,

Did you get the 1940 Manufacturing Information from me.  It has a lengthy and somewhat complicated write up adjusting the shifting system.  Their goal at the factory was to preassemble it all and it would all be correct so it doesn't completely apply to our world but it is worth a read.

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

Hi Mike,
While its a great test, I bet will behave slightly different while under load. Maybe I would look around the block to see if the shifting is the same (or worse/better) prior adjusting

That was a good Idea Julio and today I got the car outside and took it to my next door neighbors yard where I could run a test and not endanger the public.....there I'm able to drive in big oval circles....

I did the test and the car just wouldn't go into 2nd gear but when it did the car pulled forward nicely with power and third felt just as strong ....the brakes worked better than expected

Shifting linkage adjustment is really needed,

Mike, You may need a little fine tuning on the shift linkage adjustment. John Washburn did an article about the special tool and how it worked. I could not find it here. If I recall the tool fits over a small button like knub at the end of the shifting column and aligns the hi/lo shaft with rev/1st one. I think I also remember John had someone make a limited run of the tools. Hopefully it is an adjustment tweak and not wear.        Harry

Harry I found that old thread about John Washburn's J-1204 tool.....It looks like John had a run of those tool produced....I wonder if anybody is in charge yet of going thru the enormous amount of tools and stuff John had hidden in his garage....

My go to tool guy I found on eBay doesn't have this tool and he has some weird tools....

I took some pictures of the shop manuals shift linkage adjustment section and I also took some of my small button at the base of the shift column post....that J-1204 would be used here to align the 2 levers??

http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=130976.msg269530#msg269530

Mike,

Did you get the 1940 Manufacturing Information from me.  It has a lengthy and somewhat complicated write up adjusting the shifting system.  Their goal at the factory was to pre-assemble it all and it would all be correct so it doesn't completely apply to our world but it is worth a read.

Yes Brad I've been in and out of that manual since you sent it to me....I've used it for the exhaust, trans installation, clutch, etc....The section on the shifting linkage is dense and without alot of pictures and while reading it you have to stay with it to try and understand what's going on....I'm going to try again tomorrow....it'll sink in sooner or later....

In the last picture, I took some time to get organized....tripping over parts and pieces of the parts car got old....I set up another section of that Home Depot type racking and put fenders, the hood and other parts up and out of the way....I can see my forklift service lift again!... It's been missing for over a year....

Mike

[harry s]

Mike, It is a little hard to tell from the pictures but it looks like your steering column is articulated. On the '41s (at least) the steering column is straight to the steering gear box and the shift shafts follow it part of the way down to where they attach directly to the steering column. It does look like you have the button for the magic tool to attach to. It sounds like the adjustment of the shifting lever connectors are a little off preventing a smooth shift from first to second. Does the shift lever lift smoothly up and down when in neutral? If so try keeping the lifting pressure up when in first then let fall through neutral then up to second (keeping a strict H pattern). I'm assuming no problems from second to third. I bet it felt good to move around outside the garage.
Harry

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

Harry, I took this picture just for you today....it's the articulating steering column....reminds me of when, in our younger days, trying to shoe horn that big block into that Chevy Vega.....

I went back and re-read that old post about John Washburn's J-1204 tool....somebody said if you didn't have that tool work a small C clamp in there to squeeze the 2nd / 3rd shift lever closer to the bracket on the shift column....I tried that.....see pictures...that good old Johnny is still helping!!

The first picture after the steering column one, is where that lever started on the shaft.....hard to believe that the small space the lever has to move would make any difference at all....

I loosened the bolt holding the lever in place and opened up the space and shot some PB Blaster in there....then I worked the C clamp in there to squeeze it back pretty tight to the bracket.....I then put the car off the floor about a foot and started the engine to run through the gears....the gears now have a definite click as you go from reverse to 1st then to 2nd and then to third.....Harry you could really feel the H pattern and it didn't bind or get jammed up!!....not any real slop in the shifter handle like before...

That test was on the lift....we'll see with how it goes with another live road test....I'm a little more optimistic about the results now though....The shifting just felt a lot better....

Thanks, Harry!

Mike

[harry s]

Mike, Glad you found the info John W posted. The C clamp is a good substitute for the magic tool. With the adjustment and PB Blaster bath you should be good to go. My '37 75 Series has an articulated steering column which allows for a V-12. Maybe that set up on yours would allow for the V-16. I'm not sure what other differences there is between the 8 and 16.     Harry

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

Really good day with the car today.....got the car out and took it around the block a couple of times....to test shifting problems...

I can't believe that the C-clamp adjustment would make such a big difference in the shifting!.....Click...Click...Click....she shifted like a dream!....1st...2nd...3rd and back again!

That C-clamp moved that shift lever maybe an eighth of an inch and that made all the difference....wow!

Real nice pulling power in all gears....

Lots of thumbs up as I took this big boat up and down the Boulevard....no windshield in the car so I had to put the ball cap on backwards to keep it on my follicly challenged head....

When done I put the car closer to an outside door so it's easier to get on the road again so more testing can be done....

Fuel gauge wasn't working so, I have to look at that....

I have a leak coming from a weep hole on the bottom of the water pump....not alot but annoying....I'm sure it's an older rebuild and a seal has dried out....     Is this crazy talk but....can I get away with putting some kind of a radiator leak fix stuff into the radiator to plug this leak??

Mike

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

I started to chase that fuel gauge problem of it not working....

I tested the gauge....I tested the wiring to the gauge...to the sending unit...maybe the dash ground or the tank ground was bad.....

I came to the conclusion the the sending unit is bad.....I went thru my credit card receipts, Pay-Pal, eBay....trying to figure out where I bought this thing that turns out to be junk....It looks like I didn't purchase it or I could find where I got it....

I hate this part of pulling the sending unit....draining at least 15 gallons of gas...yuck!....tank has a drain plug thank goodness....

Pulled the sending unit and I can see why it's no good....it looks original...80 years old....tested it outside the tank....it's shot....

My mistake...and I hope everybody learns from my numerous mistakes....the tank was in the trunk of the parts car and it was solid and it looked new...the sending unit must have been already installed in the tank....so I assumed it was good because why put a bad sender into a new tank?.....

Lesson learned...when a project car comes in never assume anything!!....testing up front saves alot of time on the other end....that master cylinder bit me the same way...

Pictures below are the pulled sending unit still with the lunch time wine bottle corks attached from the factory.....also a little test bench I set up to test the sender and a sender I had on the shelf...this new one is too small and it doesn't have the same sweep as the stock one so I have a new one coming in....

A few steps forward and one back....we'll get there eventually....

Mike

[Tom Boehm]

Hello Mike, Congratulations on your successful first trial drive!  Car turned out beautiful. I like the color. It is not commonly seen on prewar Cadillacs.

[CadillacGlasses]

Congrats on your maiden voyage! These posts have been so cool to catch up and follow along. Looking forward to seeing how you iron out all these bugs in testing! I might have a similar issue with the tank/sending unit on my project '49 that appears clean on the outside but unknown on the inside... thank you for sharing your learnings!

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

Good news, I found the convertible top frame for the 1939 Series 75 Convertible sedan!!!

Bad news, it's on another car....a 1938 Series 75 Convertible Sedan....This car is too nice to pull apart and copy the top frame so the search goes on for a real project or just the top frame for the 1939....

Cadillac made 58 of these in 1938 and this one is #14.....this car needs some cleaning up but is in pretty good shape....She's got some scrapes, bumps and bruises but we can work with it....runs real nice but the shifter linkage just won't adjust for smooth transition from 1st to 2nd....

I'm cleaning up the leather interior and I'll buff up the paint and clean the top.....she'll be alright....

Mike

[Tom Boehm]

Hello Mike, Are you saying you found the original top frame that was taken off your 1939 75? Someone removed it from your '39 to install on a 1938?

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

Hello Mike, Are you saying you found the original top frame that was taken off your 1939 75? Someone removed it from your '39 to install on a 1938?

I should have been more clear....I've been looking for a series 75 Top Frame for the 1939 car.....the 1938-1940 top frames are the same or very close to what I need.....

So I found a compatible top frame but, it's on another car this 1938 car....

This new car is too nice to tear apart and copy the top frame or swap it onto the 39.....I'm going to clean-up this 38 and drive it...

So my search goes on for somebodies stalled project or an un-saveable car that has the top frame I need.....

Mike

[James Landi]

Mike,

You may well curate a small fleet of survivors, and they will become ever more relevant (valuable) as you manage to corner "the market."  They are unusually attractive, so that in the future, when you have four or five of these, as well as sufficient spare parts, you'll be the go-to guy on the planet.   A  Lovely and unexpected "find."   Looking forward to seeing more pictures of your new family member.   Happy day,  James