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Messages - westaus29

#1
General Discussion / Re: 29 Build Thread
November 02, 2016, 09:27:53 AM
Hi Chet, when I first started working on my 29U I used more enthusiasm than skill and rapidly learned that the steering column is soft steel and easily damaged, so had to go find another one. My steering wheel boss is aluminium which binds to the shaft. Heat and penetrating oil could help but is difficult to apply and control where it is needed. When I stripped my 38 for derusting a couple of years ago I built a puller to remove the easily damaged plastic wheel and have found that it works well on the 29U wheel. It is made from two pieces of 4 x 2 pine clamped together with a 1-5/8 inch hole drilled thru the middle, and some 1/4 steel plate for strength, with a cheap, lightweight steering wheel puller for muscle. The pine is first clamped around the column under the wheel with two reinforcing plates, then the puller body is placed under the third plate and its screw is inserted thru the plate into the puller body. This upper puller assembly is then loosely bolted to the pine. Loosen the steering wheel nut level with top of shaft, insert a suitable bolt with washer in the end of the shaft to protect it, tighten the upper assembly down then progressively tighten the puller screw and apply a light hammer to the screw and it should come free with lots of penetrating oil, patience and persistence.
Pictures are attached.
#2
General Discussion / Re: brake lines
October 04, 2016, 11:08:10 AM
Hi Ian,

Annealing makes the tubing malleable and prevents cracking, most important when forming the flares and helps with bends too. Yes we got the copper tube from Tradelink and used a standard plumber's flaring tool and mini tubing cutter. If you go for full registration it pays to ask around and find an examiner who knows old cars otherwise they can make things difficult.

regards Jim
#3
General Discussion / Re: brake lines
October 03, 2016, 10:38:03 AM
The original brake lines are copper and single flared, and most of the fittings are brass. My 29 Plymouth was restored from a wreck about 20 years ago and we decided to keep the brake system original as it has historical interest. I enlisted the help of a mate who was a qualified plumber. We used standard copper tubing and all the connections were first annealed then single flared. I think if you tried to double flare then the tubing may split due to work hardening. I also suspect it would not be a good fit in the original fittings. The pipes were also annealed after bending and were well supported on the chassis using the original mounting points with new clamps. The car was approved for concessional license without any problems and there have been no reliability issues.

If you want a modern alternative to copper, there is copper-nickel brake tubing which looks similar and is legal in Aus. In this case you may need to use steel brake line fittings from a later model mopar such as 1936-1938 Plymouth which uses standard bundy tubing double flared with almost identical brake cylinder castings.

regards Jim

There is some aussi information here which may be of interest: www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/technical.../110334-legality-cu-brake-lines.html
#4
General Discussion / Re: Wheel size and model year.
September 02, 2013, 08:13:52 AM
hi Chet,

I went thru the same dilemma a few years ago with my 29U tourer. My car had 20 inch rims but they were very battered, bent, and split and 20 inch Mopar rims are very scarce around here. I obtained a great set of rims for a song at a swap meet, then found they were 19 inch. After a bit of research I discovered that the 29U did switch to 19 inch rims later in the production run, in Aug 1929 after car serial no Y076LE. The details are in a great article by Jim Benjaminson in The Plymouth Bulletin of Jan-Feb 1982, available on DVD.

I decided not to change so welded up the 20 inch rims and bashed them into shape, and had a local shop run some extra beads of weld around inside my spare rim as it was pretty thin. That was in 1999 and they are still going strong tho I wouldnt attempt a land speed record on them.

I gave the 19 inch rims to a Desoto owner for nothing. A few years later I realised that 20 inch tyres are about double the cost of 19 inch over here, so am left wondering if I made the right decision.
I still havent found any better 20 inch rims.

regards
Jim
#5
General Discussion / Re: Bendix Drive spring
August 01, 2013, 10:30:50 AM
good to hear you sorted it out ok. My starter drive has 10 teeth by the way!
regards
Jim
#6
General Discussion / Re: Bendix Drive spring
July 29, 2013, 08:18:24 PM
hi Gary,

they do look identical but the Ford model A spring is wound left hand and the Plymouth is right hand. The A model starter drives from gearbox side of flywheel hence turns in opposite direction to Plymouth. I have seen model A springs advertised as being suitable for Plymouth 28-29 so you have to be wary and check the photos. The RH springs are usually dearer than the A model.

A few years ago I was on rally in Tasmania and the Bendix spring broke. After seeing me crank-starting the Plymouth a fellow entrant with a 29 Chev gave me his spare Bendix spring from under his front seat. It fitted exactly. I bought two last year on ebay for $12.50 ea plus postage, see photo of box attached, part no SP104R / SS4R. I have also attached a photo of my rather dejected spare Bendix drive, with RH spring and 10 tooth pinion.

The spring and drive are advertised as 1925-1934 Chevrolet Bendix Drive Spring on http://www.marxparts.com/repro%20chevy_starter.htm, look a bit expensive and havent used that supplier myself. I would check a few more suppliers of Chev stuff.

regards Jim
#7
Seeing as I have the 29 Plymouth in pieces with engine half rebuilt, I decided to do a couple of jobs that have been on the to do list, namely the gearbox rear seal and the diff pinion seal. I originally replaced them in 1979 and they sat for over ten years before hitting the road, so I guess they have given good service.

NOTE I HAVE EDITED THIS PARAGRAPH!! The gearbox seal was simple .. off the shelf neoprene seal, but not so simple as I first thought! Its a metric size 38*62*7 mm, not imperial. I should have realised, as I do remember that the gearbox bearings were hard to find in 1979 until I realised they are metric. Seems strange for a car made in USA but my bearing man tells me it is quite common??

The diff seal is a large composite riveted unit which is still available at a price, but it is much cheaper to rebuild it. First drill out the six rivets with a 5/32 inch drill. Disassemble and clean, keeping only the outer housing and the seal retaining plate. Purchase a neoprene seal ID 1-9/16 inch, OD 2-1/4 inch,  thickness 3/8 inch. Cut a 1/8 inch thick neoprene cork gasket spacer to hold the seal central in the housing. Put a thin layer of silicone sealant on the inside face of the housing, then place the cork seal in the housing with the neoprene seal located centrally inside it, put another layer of silicone on the cork, then place the retaining plate over the neoprene seal. Pop-rivet the assembly using 5/32 inch rivets, and wipe off excess silicone, then leave 24 hr to cure. Give it a coat of gloss black and it will look like a bought one.

The four pics below show firstly the four pieces to be assembled, then cork inserted, then seal inserted, and finally retainer put in place.

Happy motoring!

Jim


#8
General Discussion / Re: distributor bracket
May 08, 2013, 08:50:27 AM
the Maxwell and Plymouth 28Q have the same casting, but the 29U is sort of mirror image. When you bolt a 28Q casting on a 29U tming cover the distributor would point down instead of up, as I found out when I was putting mine together the first time! I havent seen another model car with the same casting.
regards
Jim
#9
General Discussion / Re: Catastrophic oil pump failure
February 21, 2013, 09:17:59 AM
Hi Tony,
Good to hear you've tried out the new brake fluid reservoir .. I've seen lots of variations on 29 Plymouths, including a glass container with French logo.
My block is still at reconditioner's being rebored and valves faced. I havent chased it up as have been busy cutting rust out of my 38 Plymouth and helping a mate with 29 Buick spring bushes. I much prefer Chrysler engineering, they stick to standard sizes, simple design.
I have been keeping an interested eye on your 34 Dodge rebuild. You are sure game to try anything, and a real fast worker! Dont neglect the old Plymouth tho .. there arent too many of your model over here.
I am coming over to Melbourne in March to vist mum and may give you a call.
All the best Jim
#10
General Discussion / Re: Catastrophic oil pump failure
January 31, 2013, 09:43:19 AM
I agree that the fracture pics indicate that the crack was there for a while. Too many things on the go, I guess

Re oil pressure, the manual says 35-40 psi is normal .. I was reading the dash gauge, not sure if accurate. A mate's 1927 4 cyl Chrysler has similar pump and similar operating pressure to mine. Most other cars of that era run much lower pressure, which maybe says something about Chrysler engineering, except the 27 model still has the Maxwell engine. The 4 cyl Plymouth does have an adjustable oil pressure relief valve but I cant remember how I set it up originally in 1999, suspect I cleaned the black treacle out then put it back to original number of turns.

Jim
#11
General Discussion / Re: Catastrophic oil pump failure
January 30, 2013, 07:48:39 AM
A few more pics

Where the shaft sheared

Hole 1 outside block

Hole 2 inside

Hole 3 outside

I guess an expert could repair the cracks, and I am not throwing the block away as am pretty sure it is the original and is standard bore.

The rest of the motor was in good shape meaning that the reconditioner in 1999 (me) did a reasonable job.
#12
General Discussion / Catastrophic oil pump failure
January 30, 2013, 07:40:43 AM
Last September we went on a three day rally with local club members to Collie, a coal mining town in the hills south of Perth WA, about 100 km from home, driving our trusty 29 Plymouth tourer. On the second day we had just finished a circuit round the local speedway track, headed off back to town at 35 mph, checked oil pressure fine at 40 psi, then all of a sudden bang and clatter, clutch in and coasted to halt, engine still running, no oil pressure. No sign of external damage at first, due to bright sun and black engine block, but eventually saw oil where it should not be on outside of block, felt a jagged crack, oh b@#$%^. Local member stopped, we explained problem, and off he went for trailer. So we had lunch on side of road, took Plymouth 100 km back home behind a struggling Valiant 6, DROVE the Plymouth into the shed, then came back in time for dinner celebrations.

It wasnt a good time for this to happen as I had just started stripping Jill's 7 passenger 38 Plymouth for body-off restoration. It is hard to believe how many parts came off it! I have a 5 car bay shed and in desperation had to install a mezzanine floor down one end for the extra bits like seats, windows and running boards. For various reasons the sand blasting of the 38 body and chassis took till Christmas so have only now started on the poor 29.

Basically what happened to the 29 was that the oil pump shaft sheared just below the vanes. The shaft and gear then dropped into the sump and bounced around for a while, knocking a few cracks in the block here and there, in the process bending a rod and punching one bolt 1 cm thru the big end so that the nut was more than loose, and gouging holes in the crank. The camshaft had a few chunks taken out, the gear was damaged and the shaft was bent. The oil pump body was also split. What a mess. I suspect the crack may have been developing for some time, as had been getting some occasional loud noises from oil pump at startup and kept meaning to pull it out and have a look. A warning for you all!

Luckily I have a few spare blocks, so picked one with similar engine number and send it down for cleaning and checking. It looked ok and was 20 thou oversize so ordered new 40 thou pistons and rings from Egge at their Christmas special price. Next was the crank. My best spare crank was too worn so chose to try and recover the original. It didnt appear to be bent, so have cleaned up dings and carefully dressed down a few spots where big end side faces were bulging slightly due to hammering they took. The crank has now gone for crack testing and balancing, together with flywheel and pressure plate, a job I couldnt afford back in 1999 when still had kids at uni. Pistons have arrived and block is being bored. A selection of valves is being refaced. By the way, the exhaust valves were badly pitted. I am going to make sure I use Flashlube additive regularly in future. Luckily I have a spare camshaft in decent shape so dont have to fix the old one.

So now it is back to the 38. First job is to make some stands for the very large and heavy chassis. On the way to sand-blasters we were stopped by police. "What are you doing with a truck chassis on a car trailer" they asked - the back wheels were hanging offf the rear of the trailer - must try and find a 7 passenger trailer!

I have attached a few pics, I hope, as first attempt at this.

The car with bonnet half removed - much easier to take side panels off first, less risk of damage.

The oil pump before removal - no sign of what lies behind

The bent crank and bits of the oil pump

The damaged big end bolt

The damaged pump body

I'll try and add the rest to a second post, suspect I am not doing this right

Where the shaft sheared

Hole 1 outside block

Hole 1 inside

Hole 2 inside

Hole 3 outside
#13
General Discussion / Rust treatment that works - Fertan
December 06, 2011, 09:03:49 AM
Even after youve cut out all the rust from your panels and replaced it with new metal, there will still be areas you couldnt get to, such as the rolled joint on the front mudguards, folded edges of door panels, back side of welds, rivetted chassis joints, etc.
In 20 years of restoring Plymouths, by far the best product Ive used to provide a stable base for painting is Fertan, a brown sweet smelling liquid that stains fingers permanently black, contains tannins, zinc and phosphate, and stabilises rust. The treated surface will stay rust-free for months, but my advice is to rinse off as recommended then put a moisture resistant layer of paint on it, not just a primer, as soon as practical. My 29 Tourer has been painted for over 10 yrs, is used in all weather and shows no sign of rust in treated areas. It was a basket case when I started. Fertan is widely used by car restorers in Aus and UK, not sure how readily available in USA.
There is some info on www.fertanamerica.com. It isnt cheap (about $50/litre in Aus) so needs to be applied sparingly by small brush, dont end up with half of it on the floor or yourself. It penetrates really well, can be diluted with water if hot weather causes it to dry too quick or you need extra penetration, and needs 24-48 hrs to complete reaction.
It appears you can order thru the USA website, would be interested in knowing if current, prices look cheaper than Aus. In Australia it is made by Chemtech and used to be available at Repco but no more. Chemtech says it is available at Bursons and Mitre10 in Vic, and Coventrys and Mitre10 in WA. It is also advertised by Whitworths Marine. I usually buy 500ml and it lasts several years.

Jim