New '41 Series 63 Sedan owner

[rustytractor]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum so be gentle please !

I live in London, England and have owned my pale blue 1953 Series 62 Convertible for 23 years - not a 100 point car by any means but a pleasure to own and drive nevertheless.

I know the '53 inside and out but I'm less familiar with the technical side of my most recent acuisition (detailed below) so could do with some guidance and advice should anyone feel so inclined to assist.

A few weeks ago I swapped one of my classic car for a 1941 Series 63 Sedan in what can only be described as stunning condition having been the subject of a full body-off renovation a few years back. Sure, it can be faulted but it's absolutely beautiful needing only a few minor bits and pieces to make pretty much perfect. 

These areas are:-

Exhaust manifold gasket blow
Trunk handle doesn't lock due to the pawl being filed down (presumably done while rechroming)
Dash lights don't work
Clock doesn't work
Radio lights up but no sound
Fog lamp fuse blows (not straight away though)
some of the side glass is delaminating
stone chip on passenger side windscreen
Vacuum wipers slow/new wiper blades required
Vacuum windscreen washers not squirting (vacuum is heard when button pushed)

As far as I recall that's it. I haven't had time to look at any of these issue yet, hopefully they won't be too hard to fix but I won't have workshop space for another week or so and will start to address the jobs at that time.

Obviously the electrical issues are more prevelant and with any luck will prove to be relatively straight forward but any pointers on any of the above would be much appreciated.

Specific questions are:
Once removed from the car, how is the trunk hadle disassembled ? If I can remove the pawl I can either purchase one (if they're available) or make up a block and weld it to the remaining part to rebuild it back to standard size. I've looked and can't see an easy way to get the assembly apart.

Is it possible to replace the windscreen wiper rubbers or do I have to locate complete wiper blade assemblies ?

If anyone could recommend a supplier for either of these parts please let me know.

One other query I have relates to rear wheel covers (spats) - my car doesn't have them and I wasn't certain if they were an option or standard fit for these cars.

I'll upload a couple of photos but I'm doing this on an iPad and all pix seem to have the same file name so the second one overwrites the first etc hence only only can be uploaded per post.

Thanks,

Russell

[rustytractor]

Picture #1

[rustytractor]

Picture #2

[rustytractor]

Picture #3

[rustytractor]

Picture #4

[rustytractor]

Picture #5

[rustytractor]

Picture #6

[rustytractor]

Picture #7

[rustytractor]

Picture #8

[rustytractor]

Picture #9

[rustytractor]

Picture #10

[rustytractor]

Picture #11

[rustytractor]

Picture #12

[rustytractor]

Funny now, not so funny then !!!

Bad luck really but a battery cable had been rubbing for years and decided to short out and start to spark and smoke 5 miles after I bought it.

Not the previous owners fault as he had no idea that the problem existed.

We had no tools with us (rookie mistake but this swap happened pretty suddenly) so the breakdown service were called and made up a new temporary lead so we could continue the 90 mile drive home - which was then problem free.

p.s - I was the handsome one taking the photo, NOT the ugly one IN the photo !

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

We would have known you anywhere...    I have windshield wiper replacements. I'll write later today. Barry Wheeler, Past President.

[joeceretti]

An absolutely beautiful car. Can you take some pictures of the routing and clamps on your heater hoses? Mine are just flopping around.

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

Joe, his hoses will not do you much good. Contact Doug Houston in MI as he has your car and is probably the world's leading expert on the 1938 60S.

[joeceretti]

Thanks Barry, will do that right now.

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

Russell, as I said, I should have a couple of new replacements for your wiper blades. I can pack a couple in the morning and see how much it costs to go to England. As for the parts themselves, I ask fifteen dollars the pair.

Were I you, I'd probably leave the trunk/boot handle alone as you probably won't leave the car alone enough to worry about someone getting in it. To get the handle off, undo the nut visible on the end of it inside the trunk. (I believe).

Window damage and delaminating, I'd leave alone so you don't have to take the upholstery off the doors. Of course, there are experts that can do this for you, but I'd weigh the benefits before taking the car apart too much. There is a reprint of the 1941 GM body manual that will lay out how to replace windows. You can get these from eBay. type in 1941 Cadillac literature.

Someone will probably help you out on priming the windshield washer. Fog lamp short, I'd have someone check the whole wiring back to the switch as they are pretty simple. I have a set of fog lamps that will arrive Monday that I might be able to give you some pictures of the individual pieces.

I had a member in England of the 1941 Chapter that had a car this color that may have been whom you obtained the car from. I don't still have his name, but the odds of having two such similar cars in the United Kingdom are slim. I have had a 1941 Cadillac of some kind or another since 1958. They are a beautiful car.

Use my e-mail instead of a PM. fltd6019@embarqmail.com  That is a Q not a G.         

Best of luck with it. Barry.

[rustytractor]

Russell, as I said, I should have a couple of new replacements for your wiper blades. I can pack a couple in the morning and see how much it costs to go to England. As for the parts themselves, I ask fifteen dollars the pair.

Were I you, I'd probably leave the trunk/boot handle alone as you probably won't leave the car alone enough to worry about someone getting in it. To get the handle off, undo the nut visible on the end of it inside the trunk. (I believe).

Window damage and delaminating, I'd leave alone so you don't have to take the upholstery off the doors. Of course, there are experts that can do this for you, but I'd weigh the benefits before taking the car apart too much. There is a reprint of the 1941 GM body manual that will lay out how to replace windows. You can get these from eBay. type in 1941 Cadillac literature.

Someone will probably help you out on priming the windshield washer. Fog lamp short, I'd have someone check the whole wiring back to the switch as they are pretty simple. I have a set of fog lamps that will arrive Monday that I might be able to give you some pictures of the individual pieces.

I had a member in England of the 1941 Chapter that had a car this color that may have been whom you obtained the car from. I don't still have his name, but the odds of having two such similar cars in the United Kingdom are slim. I have had a 1941 Cadillac of some kind or another since 1958. They are a beautiful car.

Use my e-mail instead of a PM. fltd6019@embarqmail.com  That is a Q not a G.         

Best of luck with it. Barry.

Hi Barry,

Your kind offer of windscreen wiper blades is very gratefully accepted - email me the total to rustytractor@hotmail.co.uk along with your bank details and I'll transfer the money directly into your account.

Today I fixed the dash lights - it was a bad connection in the light switch so easily fixed but one bulb has blown so do you also have some 6v dash bulbs (4 would give me some spares) plus two (one plus a spare) for the dome light as this has also blown. This bulb has "GE 88" stamped on it, has twin contacts and parallel locating pins. 6v bulbs are a bit hard to find in the UK so if you have that'd be great.

Removing the trunk handle is very simple, it's disassembling the lock from the handle that I could do with some help with. You're probably right about leaving it as it is but unfortunately my nature won't allow this (more's the pity !!)

I looked at the fog lamps today and noticed that one is significantly brighter than the other so I checked and cleaned up the earth connection on the bad one but it made no difference. Good news is the fuse didn't blow again - I'll remove both lamps at some point and see where the fault lies.

Glass doesn't worry me at the moment - maybe I'll address this next year.

The car was restored by an elderly gentleman called John (I believe) who sold the car 5 years ago to a guy called Kevin Rowlands with whom I did a swap for my 1970 502 Chevelle (crazy, crazy car - so fast it was ridiculous !!)

Thanks for the help and for the positive comments received from forum members on the car so far - I feel very lucky to have become it's keeper for the future.