Strange goodbye.

The decision was made to sell my 1952 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe. It was not an easy decision...

My entire life has changed. This year has seen the death of 5 friends. A couple of the guys were like brothers to me. Old friends, cherished friends. I also lost a job that I loved.7 years with the same company, great people, satisfying work.

My marriage ended this summer.

To pay off some debt and simplify my life, the 52 had to go. So many of my hopes and dreams were tied up in that sedan. The 250 inline 6 was just a beautiful boat anchor. A shiny black with finned aluminum gorgeous waste. I had grown to hate the car.

I posted Craigslist ads. I posted it on the HAMB. I paid for an Autotrader ad. Lots of lookers. I even had a couple of guys drive down from San Bernardino to check it out. No buyers.

I dropped the price from the original asking $8,500 a few times. I had originally purchased the car for $6,000. Including the price of the engine, I probably had $14,000 tied up in the damned thing.

A guy called me interested in the car. He seemed excited, but after all the other callers that seemed excited, I was skeptical.

They showed up after the sun had set wanting to see my 52. In a cab. Their cab. 2 Arab guys, cabbies... from Ensenada!

Adidas, flared jeans, polo shirts, chest hair, bad sunglasses. “Joe, my friend...”

They asked all the wrong questions. As I told them about the car, trying to be honest, I told them that it would lose oil pressure after 20 minutes. “So, after 20 minutes, all the oil comes out?”.. “You say that’s its OK to drive for 20 minutes.. how about we drive it for 20 minutes, stop for a while and then drive for another 20 minutes?”.. “What happens if you drive it longer than 20 minutes?”

I had no idea what these guys were doing buying the car. I’m still a little curious if they made it back to Mexico.

I had dropped my price to $6,500. That was my low, final number. They had $6,200 in cash.

“Fuck it, give me the 62.”

(Thinking about it later - that $200 represented alot)

The boys were out playing in the car for the final time. The guys from Mexico and I were in the kitchen counting the cash... I was really stuck in my head over the entire experience, it took me 4 times to get the count right.

They drove off, my sons and I in the driveway, waving goodbye to the Chevy. We went back inside, I found an envelope for the cash and placed it on a shelf. It was hard to believe that it was finally gone, what a huge relief. I opened the garage door and stared at the space that it had occupied.

Joey had curled up in the corner of the couch, pillow over his head and I heard him start sobbing. We talked for a while, I explained that the car had broken my heart, that after all the emotion and dreams that I had invested in that car, at the end it was just not right. That it had gone so wrong and I had fallen out of love with it.

“I really wanted to ride in that car, just once”

I reassured him that there would be other cars, that we still had the Apache, that one day we would build a hot rod together. I pulled him into my arms and I held my son for a while. We both shed a couple of tears, him for the loss of the car, me for the hurt that the loss of the car has caused him.

One day, Joey and I will build a hot rod... and I’m sure that I’ll write about it.

It’s Hard to Change Direction When You Are Falling Off A Cliff

November. I’m driving south on 5 near Sea World Dr. during the afternoon rush hour. Happy as can be, not a care in the world except the itch on my arm from the flu shot I just endured. Then I realize my ’59 Apache is making a strange noise.

- Then a sound like I dropped a still running drill on the floor. Wirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Forward momentum stops and it’s time to get over to the shoulder – fast. I figured I messed up my transmission. No worries, I have a spare on the floor in the garage. AAA hooks me up with a tow to Car Connection in Barrio Logan.

It’s not the transmission, the engine is seized. The pickup had been running so well, too. I had just had the head, carb and distributer rebuilt. Oh, well.

The fix was to have the bottom of the motor rebuilt. I picked up a good rebuilder 235 from my buddy Mark at work and the guys at Car Connection sent it to the machine shop. Thankfully I was able to borrow a vehicle from work to drive.

A couple days later I had Louie (from Car Connection) stop by my house and look at my 1952 Styleline Deluxe. There was a list of small things a page long that needed to be finished before it was roadworthy and I was tired of looking at it in the garage. Louie gave me a price of around $700 to get the list knocked out. I figured that I might as well get both the sedan and the pickup on the road, so the ‘52 Styleline was on a tow truck to Car Connection as well.

The list:
Finish the under-dash wiring, figure out the throttle assembly, reseat the coil spring on the drivers side, install a transmission dipstick, setup the kickdown cable for the transmission, fill the car with fluids, put hoses on the radiator and 10 or 15 other little things.

This is where the fun starts.

In the space of 3 weeks (including the down time due to December madness) they had everything ready to rock – at least that’s what we thought. The 52 was ready to fire!

At least it was ready until Louie’s dad asked the question “Have you hooked up all the cables for the 700r4?” It turns out (unknown to Louie and me) that the 700r4 has what is called a Throttle Valve cable that attaches to the throttle assembly. It has to move at pretty much precisely the same amount as the throttle. With all the custom stuff attached to my carbs, there was no way to get the TV cable setup… and the 700r4 was not the right transmission for a 250 inline 6 anyways.

The search was on for a TH350 transmission. It was going to cost less than working out the crazy geometry of the throttle, the kickdown and the TV cable all attached to a custom throttle rod.

The sky opened up and the angry god of thunder sent more rain on San Diego that has been seen in years. Buckets. My neighbor started building an ark.

Craigslist was a bust for a TH350, so we were relying on getting one from a source that Car Connection had had success with in the past. The only problem was that his wrecking yard was not paved and all the rain had turned it into soup. Two weeks of waiting.

We finally got lucky. They had a good transmission and it was a perfect match sizewise for the 700r4 that was being pulled… even better, they guy was willing to take that 700 in trade! The fresh TH350 was in and bolted up, the dipstick tube, the kickdown and the throttle had been figured out and it was time to turn the key.

FAIL.

It's so disheartening when I roll over the list of parts that failed in my mind:
The cool Mallory dual points distributer was bad – it was replaced with a stock one.
The fuel pump was thought to be bad, so we replaced it. The next one was bad, too. It turns out that the cam lobe that drives the fuel pump was the problem. Electric fuel pump swapped in (clack-clack-clack-clack).
The rear carburetor had a bad seat, so as it idled it would flood. The guys I got the motor from sent me the parts to correct the problem.
The stock intake that was milled to accept the 2 glassbowl Holley carbs was not correctly engineered. Only cylinder 1 and 6 were getting any fuel. Also, the carb mounting points were not right. There simply was not enough meat to properly seal the carb to the intake, air was getting in. Also, it had a vacuum leak.

The throttle assembly was bolted into the head where the valve cover bolts were supposed to be. At the top of each bolt was a heim joint that the rod went through. If you properly tightened the bolts so that the valve cover would not leak, the throttle rod would bind and not actuate.

The chrome aftermarket valve cover was hitting one of the rockers. I was lucky enough to have a stock one laying around the garage.

The re-cored radiator leaks.

The starter was bad, Carquest replaced it without a problem.

The motor mounts were set up so that there was no give. Might as well have just welded that 250 to the frame. The whole car vibrates badly when it’s on.

The solution to the intake – carb – throttle problem was to abandon that entire setup, find a stock intake and buy a 2bbl Holley carb and an adapter to run it. Goodbye killer looking glass-bowl Holleys. Even this solution was not without hangups. The first 2bbl I received was bad, but I was promptly shipped another one and it’s a runner.

The real kicker was that the rear main seal had failed and the damned thing was leaking a lot of oil. On pulling the oil pan we discovered that the inside of the block was full of metal bits and the crank bearings were all gouged up.

The original $700 that this job was supposed to cost ballooned to over $3000. Because of all the trial and error, many of the tasks had to be done twice if not 3 times.

My beautiful 1952 Styleline Deluxe 2 door sedan runs… for 15 minutes. Then the oil pressure drops to doughnut and needs to be turned off. I got this dressed up 250 L6 as half of the purchase price when I sold my ’63 Plymouth Valiant. Turns out it was just a glossy black and finned aluminum anchor. I really don’t fault the guys that I got it from. The real pain point is that they did not run it before they sent it. All the issues would have become evident and resolved.

More time, more money. I’m going to have to find another 250 to have rebuilt. I also still don’t have my Apache back. There was a problem finding a cam for that 235. The motor is back together now and I should have it on the road soon, no drama with this build.

One bright note. I got to drive it. Its been a year and a half since I last cruised around in my car. Henry helped me wash it and I even took the wife to dinner! (short trips). Fuck I love that car.

Paint and chrome won't get you home.

Technical: How to lube a speedometer.

Originally posted July 21, 2010

I read a few articles and decided to give it a shot.. I have taken gauges apart before, but this is the first time I have attempted to lube a speedometer.

From what I read, it seemed easy so here we go...

NOTE: Don't touch the numbers or the gauge face!! Over the years the paint will have become powdery and will smear. The oil from your fingers will mar the black and once you try to clean it you are f-ed. I'm not kidding. I learned this the hard way. The numbers on the odometer dials will also smear.

The work being performed is on the gauge from my 52 Chevrolet Styleline, but it should be similar on most speedos. It had been making racket and jumping all over the place so I had disconnected the cable a long time ago. I'm in the middle of a re-wire on the car, so this is a good time to fix the problem.

1 Disassemble the gauge. Take your time, don't pry too hard. I used a flat screwdriver to gently bend the stainless where it had been bent over to keep the bezel attached to the housing. No pix of the disassembly, it's pretty self evident.

2 Locate the brass plug. It will look like a tiny freeze plug.

3 I taped up a small drill. Using firm hand pressure, twist the drill into the brass until you have a hole.

(had the camera set to "blur")

4 It shouldn't take long to make the hole. Just keep twisting and using firm pressure. I did it by hand because I was worried that a drill or dremmel would tag the speedo shaft.

5 Work a small screw into the hole you just made.

Once it's in there, carefully work the plug out. I used pliers.

6 There is a felt wick under the brass plug, work that out. I used my drill.

7 Put a few (like 4) drops of a good, light lube into the hole. Give the shaft a spin or two. I used some stuff that my wife bought for her sewing machine because I couldn't find the Marvel Mystery Oil. 2 in 1 oil would be good too.

(again with the camera set to "blur")

8 Replace the felt wick and add a few more drops of oil.

9 You have to fill the hole in the tiny freeze plug. I mixed up some JB Weld and filled it to the top.

10 Wait 24 Hours for the epoxy to dry. While you are waiting, defile your wifes sink cleaning out 58 years of crunchy yuck from the bezel.

REASSEMBLY:

1 Here is the lube plug filled with dried JB Weld.

2 Re-attach the gauge to the housing.

3 The glass on my gauge was able to move pretty freely and would rattle before I disassembled it. I used a couple of rolls of hockey tape to secure the glass.

4 Insert the glass and ring back into the bezel. With firm pressure, re-bend the stainless around the housing in the places that it was originally bent to hold the whole thing together.

1. There you have it.

Spaghetti!

Originally posted July 6, 2010

My 1952 Styleline Deluxe spent the winter and spring sleeping in the garage under a layer of dust. The only time it got any attention was when I needed to get out of the house to actually hear a phone call over the din created by my small sons. I’d sit in the passenger seat, barely paying attention to the caller, dreaming of the day that I’d be able to cruise my ’52 again.

The to-do list:

• Wiring: install the complete Rebel Wire harness. The car was 6 volt, the new engine was 12 volt so it needed all new electrical.

• Exhaust: the fresh 250 Chevy engine from a ’72 Pickup has a split exhaust manifold; the car needs exhaust pipes to match. I figure that one straight pipe and 1 with a 24” glass pack should sound killer. My buddy David at Chappelle’s Customs will be taking care of that job. He is also going to install a hidden trailer hitch (but he doesn’t know it yet).

• Throttle assembly: there is nothing currently mating the gas petal to the pair of glass bowl Holly carbs. In the past I used a b-body Mopar gas petal assembly, the same setup should work nicely on my ’52.

• Small bits: The transmission needs a kickdown, the pan bolts tightened, and a bunch of ATF. There are a few things that are needed to finish the brakes. The starter needs to be installed. I need to get the flex-fan and spacer bolted up. The 250 needs oil and to be fired for the first time. There are more small items on the list…

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Karl and I talked about him helping me with the wiring. I kicked around the idea of taking it over the Broadway Auto Electric; they have done good work for me in the past. When Karl offered to do the work for a few carne asada tacos I figured it was a deal that was too good to pass up. I told him that I wouldn’t let him work for tacos, though.

The first Saturday that Karl and I both had free, we were at it. All the old, crunchy, cloth wrapped wires were pulled out. Up under the dash by the gauges, Karl found this desiccated beetle that must have crawled up there and died when the car spent all that time digging for mummies in Egypt. I saved it somewhere in the kitchen; I wonder if my wife has found it yet.

We hit Nando’s taco shop, then were back at it. The old, Delco-Remy voltage regulator was removed from the firewall and the new fuse-block mounted on the inside of the car. Everything mounted up nicely, when you look into the engine compartment, if you didn’t know any better, you would think it was all stock. Karl mounted up the cool new turn signal setup that I got at The Early Ford Store.

The rest of the afternoon was spent pulling wires to the proper install spots on the sedan. We tried to get the wiring for the rear end to go through the stock run in the headliner, but decided to not F it all up and just run them under the car.

For a month or so my ’52 sat in the garage looking like one ladle of marinara short of spaghetti dinner. Karl had been out of work when we started. He found a job, so we had to put the next work session off until he had some time.

July 3rd we hit it again. The gauges were out and Karl started to re-wire all the light sockets. He setup a soldering station on my work bench and went to it. Man, does he do good work! Every piece of old wire had to be removed, the connectors cleaned, then the new wire was soldered in. A little heat shrink tubing and on to the next part.

While he was working, I got busy painting parts and installing the grill, mounting the coil to the firewall and a few other odd things that needed to be done.

Our wives ran out to grab lunch and I watched the boys ride scooters in the front yard while Karl continued to solder away.

We made plans to work again on Monday and Karl took off.

I took some time to wipe the thick later of dirt off my car. Mario’s garage is always full of dust from grinding, welding and bodywork. My garage is just dusty from the big field behind the house. I had not cleaned my sedan since November!

Using a wet washrag, I slowly cleaned one section at a time, careful not to grind the paint too badly with the layer of abrasives that were resting there. There was a beautiful 1952 Styleline Deluxe under the filth! It sure was good to see my car again.

I finished cleaning the garage just in time to make dinner.

The 4th of July was uneventful, I ended up with the bad burrito blues.

On Monday the 5th, Karl hit it pretty hard. He was able to get most of the under-dash wiring finished, the gauges were finished and the turn signals were wired up. I took the cover for the old voltage regulator, cleaned it up and drilled a big hole in the bottom. The horn and headlights will be run off relays and the cover will make a great hiding spot for the ugly, new technology. I also painted the new Hella 12 volt horns. I can’t believe that they thought bright red plastic was a good idea.

After searching all over my garage, I called Mario and asked him to look one more time for the missing bag of bolts that I needed to re-install my bumper and grill. We had pulled them back in December to remove the stock 216 engine and they had been misplaced. 2 hours later, he sent me a text – He had the bolts and screws!!

A few trips to the parts store and 1 to Home Depot for more solder were the only other events of the day.

Maybe one more work session and the wiring will be complete!

Sheep to the slaughter

Originally posted May 11, 2010

The summer was over. I had the cash in hand from the sale of my ’29 project and Mario’s garage was ready.

The Styleline made its last trip powered by that 58 year old 216. Sheep to the slaughter.

The day that it was backed into the garage at Mario’s, we had the grill and bumperettes off. The radiator was next.

Here’s the plan:

• Remove the entire original drivetrain.

• Build new motor mounts for the hopped up 250 that will be going in.

• Build a new transmission crossmember for the 700r4.

• Mount up the 4X4 S10 rear end.

• Lower the car with custom fabbed blocks and cut coils. The car will be level, no rake. Tops of the white on the tires lined up with the lip of the fender opening.

• Take the Radiator to Eskimo in El Cajon to be re-cored and have the mounting flanges flipped so the longer 250 will fit.

• Use the stock 3 speed shifter assembly, minus 1 shift rod, to shift the automatic transmission.

• Mount a transmission cooler to the frame rail.

• Repair a hole in the transmission pan.

Once the engine was out I spent some quality time prepping and painting the engine compartment satin black… That and drinking a couple of beers at Mario’s.

Mario has the perfect pad for working on your car, hanging out and having fun. The three car, detached garage is well stocked with tools and the fridge is always full of Tecate. All that and Mario is a hell of a good fabricator and sheetmetal man. Guys are always stopping by to give a hand.

The best part is that it’s only 3 minutes from my house.

Mario worked his magic on my car, the hand fabricated motor mounts and lowering blocks are a work of art.

Mario finished his part of the build and the ’52 is now back in my garage.

While I waited for funds, time and for me to make up my damn mind on how to proceed, I got the itch and bought a major distraction to the ’52 project. My 1959 Apache is a different story, though. Let’s just say that the Styleline has been stuck in the garage all winter and spring while I dream different dreams.

Out Of Order Update: 1959 Apache... sidetracked!

Originally posted January 5, 2010

I was responsible. I had a perfectly nice 2000 Nissan Xterra. Airbags, AC, backseat for the boy. Almost new tires, nice paint. It even had a Sony stereo that played MP3s.

No way could I keep it. My 52 Styleline was off the road and I couldn't stand it!

The Nissan was far too pedestrian... and reliable. No fun there!

Craiglist and a month of trying and goodbye to the Xterra. Way less than I wanted, but now I could start looking for an old pickup. I was looking for a 60 to 66 Chevrolet C10, but I was striking out.

Then I found it. The 1959 Chevrolet Apache 1/2 ton Stepside Pickup. It had the spare mounted over the driver side rear fender and everything.

He wanted $500 too much (actually $1500 too much, we had planned on putting some of the $$ from the sale of the Xterra into the bank and into the '52). I offered the guy a painting that I had just done to sweeten the deal.

wait... wait..

A week and a half later I was on my way to LA to checkout the truck...

And a week after that it was on it's way to the shop for a thousand dollar brakejob. (bearings, hoses, drums turned, shoes, wheel cylinders, master cylinder)

still smiling, though.

Random Pictures Of My Styleline

Originally posted December 8th, 2009

Picture taken by my friend Jason with his pinhole camera. 1 min. exposure time from about 3 feet away:

After cutting 2 coils from the front springs and installing homemade 4" lowering blocks out back:

The day I picked the Chevy up in Long Beach:

Art picture taken with my camera phone while driving around at night:

The old engine and transmission.. 57 years as the powerplant:

Parked next to my friend Jack:

Picture taken lastnight. It's home to get all new wiring: