The Chevy

[TC Chris]

I thought I had a thread on the Chevy but it must have disappeared when the site changed.

The car has been sitting in a pole barn at the transmission shop for two months or more, waiting for the guy to get the vac. modulator issue sorted out. He kept assuring me that he'd get to it tomorrow, or next week, or soon, for sure. Finally this past week I called him and said "I need to get it into storage. I'm coming to get it Friday." He agreed. So I called today and he said he was just about to leave and had his young kids there, getting antsy. But he said he'd move it out so I could pick it up. Half an hour later he called and said the starter wasn't working. @#&^%!!!!! He promised to call me tomorrow so I can get it towed. I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for his call. The guy is not a model of reliability.

The guy who rebuilt the engine sold his shop and has gone mobile. My plan is to get the car towed to my storage site and get the engine guy to do a mobile starter diagnosis or replacement. All I can say is Aargh!!!!! I hate problems in the dark season. Especially when I live 145 miles away from the problem.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

I'm sorry you are having an issue. Old cars are like old people. They develop aches and pains seemingly overnight. I'm having an issue with the turn signals on the Buick. Since Art passed, there is nobody I know who wants to mess with dropping the steering column, taking off the lower panel, then snaking a cable down thru the steering column, then adjusting the turn signal switch so the turn signals work, both stop lights work and then go off when appropriate, and the cornering lights work. Shops either don't work on "stuff made before my techs were born" or they only work on street rods. I can only imagine if I was 140 miles away from the car. The transmission guy didn't do you any favors. He only did part of the job, then threw you to the wolves. I'd see if I could find a good lawyer who might write him a letter.......

Starters don't typically just suddenly "not work". They usually give some indication of wonkiness before they go totally kaput. In your part of the country, I'd suggest maybe a poor/corroded connection might be something to consider. Or maybe a flat battery. I sure wish you the best with this, Chris. I hope you get it sorted and get the Chevy in its winter berth safe and sound.

[TC Chris]

Starters don't typically just suddenly "not work". They usually give some indication of wonkiness before they go totally kaput. In your part of the country, I'd suggest maybe a poor/corroded connection might be something to consider. Or maybe a flat battery. I sure wish you the best with this, Chris. I hope you get it sorted and get the Chevy in its winter berth safe and sound.

He said it was cranking and then when he tried again it was just nothing. Says battery is OK, lights work. His Dad tried to start it once by cranking continuously. Ouch. Never do that. Those are not continuous-duty motors. I wonder if he tried that too and burned it up. Or could be a bad connection or a bad ignition switch or etc. Problem is, it's locked up in a pole barn. I will try to pull it out of the pole barn (probably have to tow it with my truck &tow strap) then get a flatbed to haul it. What a pain. My plan is , get it outta there!!! Then plan the diagnosis.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

Can you tow it then store it without it running? That might lower the temperature of the situation for the short term and give you time to plan and regroup, with the car in safe storage. I'd still put money on a connection somewhere, probably a battery terminal connection. The lights take 20 amps while the starter draws 200 amps. You can have a high-resistance connection that allows the lights to work, but the starter won't. I know we are armchair quarterbacking on here, so the best we can do is wish you well that it gets sorted soon.

[TC Chris]

Can you tow it then store it without it running? That might lower the temperature of the situation for the short term and give you time to plan and regroup, with the car in safe storage. I'd still put money on a connection somewhere, probably a battery terminal connection. The lights take 20 amps while the starter draws 200 amps. You can have a high-resistance connection that allows the lights to work, but the starter won't. I know we are armchair quarterbacking on here, so the best we can do is wish you well that it gets sorted soon.

Yeah, my plan is to tow it to the storage site and then take a deep breath. I just want it back, away from that guy who kept promising and not delivering. Word is that the guy who rebuilt the engine now has a mobile business from a well-equipped truck. Figure I'd get him to schedule a time with the storage guy and have a look. All the cabling, at least the high-current part, was new and it certainly hasn't been exposed to salt or even to much moisture. Could be the ignition switch. We'll see. I just want it outta there. Once the starter functions I can look for a competent trans. shop.

Chris Campbell

[TC Chris]

One more thing. If the trans. guy does not call me tomorrow to let me get it towed, I'll have to take a weekday off work and drive down to where the car is. It will be an annoyance but worth it to get my car back and under my own control.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

Sounds like a workable plan that should yield at least peace of mind. That will give you time to find a new transmission guy......

I find it hard to believe it is so hard to get a Powerglide rebuilt. Of course, I also find it hard to believe it is so hard to get the turn signals fixed on a Buick. AC does not make an oil filter for my Buick and Firestone doesn't make the right size whitewall tires anymore, so there's that.......

I have a friend who has a '41 Ford that I put a new Dennis Carpenter engine in probably 25 years ago. Other than not liking Phoenix summers, it has been a stalwart of dependability. No flathead Ford V-8 likes Phoenix summers, but I digress. The old 255 has started stalling intermittently and refuses to start. He has it towed to a shop, it starts right up, then they "can't find anything wrong with it". He had the thing towed for a reason, not because he was BFF's with the tow truck guy. It had a new ignition system, a new dual voltage, dual polarity ignition system and a new wiring harness underhood when we did the engine. It has 12-volt ignition with an Ignitor, a truck radiator, a 6-blade truck fan with shroud. Dual exhausts, Offenhauser heads, two deuces, Offy intake. Sweetest running flathead you can imagine. But, it still has its original Achilles' Heel. The fuel pump. Flathead Fords are THE vaporlock king of all things automotive. The fuel pump is the one we put on new when we did the engine. I'm saying it is going wonky. I have advised that he carry a small jug of gas and have the air cleaner easy to remove quickly. When it dies, put a tablespoon full of gas down the carb. If it runs, or if it even fires and tries to run, we have our answer. IF not, we need to look at the ignition/electrical system. The old divide and conquer troubleshooting methods we use in electronics. Be sure to keep us up to speed with progress on your Chevy. Probably something simple. You can't kill one of those old Chevys. Good luck......

[TC Chris]

I have a friend who has a '41 Ford that I put a new Dennis Carpenter engine in probably 25 years ago. Other than not liking Phoenix summers, it has been a stalwart of dependability. No flathead Ford V-8 likes Phoenix summers, but I digress.

I'm a big Check Berry fan. Somebody pointed out that his lyrics were often very accurate. Like "Maybellene." Quoting, on the subject of Ford V-8s and their cooling challenges:

As I was motorvatin' over the hill
I saw Maybellene in a Coupe de Ville
A Cadillac a-rollin' on the open road
Nothin' will outrun my V8 Ford
The Cadillac doin' about ninety-five
She's bumper to bumper, rollin' side by side


The Cadillac pulled up to a hundred and four
The Ford got hot and wouldn't do no more
It then got cloudy and started to rain
I tooted my horn for the passin' lane
The rainwater blowin' all under my hood
I know that I was doin' my motor good


The motor cooled down, the heat went down
And that's when I heard that highway sound
The Cadillac a-sittin' like a ton of lead
A hundred and ten half a mile ahead
The Cadillac lookin' like it's sittin' still
And I caught Mabellene at the top of the hill

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

This one has not been run hard. We put a 255 engine in it, which is technically a Mercury engine, or a Ford truck engine. The original was a 221 cid, 85 horsepower, 21-stud V-8. I think the 255 was something like 110 horsepower. I talked him in to the Offy heads and intake. That thing sure sounds sweet idling. He found some genuine Smithy mufflers somewhere, maybe somebody repops them? If he's had it to 70, I'd be shocked. IT is running on repop Firestone "may pops" that aren't really safe going that fast. He won't hear of radials. Says he's driven it almost 65 years on Firestone tires.....

[TC Chris]

The transmission shop guy called at 2:15 p.m. He was going to try to start the car. I got there and it was sitting outside the shop. He said he tapped on the starter and i worked. I'm wondering if that was just an excuse. The starter was new (rebuilt?) <1,000 miles ago when the engine was done. It started for me and I drove to the storage building. So whew, car is retrieved and safe.

The storage owner had cleaned my drip pan (it was shining) and provided an extension cord (thought I had one in the trunk) and a cover( I got distracted from buying one). The Chevy is parked between my '65 Olds and my high-school locker partner's Barracuda. The building owner has been rotating pans of charcoal through the Olds because he was concerned about the moldy odor inside. And he put a cover on it. What a nice guy. He hopped out to open the building for me today, and it turns out it was toward the end of the U-M/Ohio State game (he did not mention it; I found out when his buddy called at the game end to offer condolences).

The transmission, by the way, is still blowing shifts. Maybe the better word is "flaring" as it goes 1-2. There' s a trans. shop just down the street from storage. The storage guy sold him the building. I'm gonna try "Dale told me to call you" and see if he'll give it a try next spring.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

I'm glad to hear the Chevy is in storage and is safe. That will give you peace of mind, at least. You can regroup and live to fight another day. Having another set of eyes on the transmission situation will not hurt a thing. Good luck with that. Thanks for keeping us updated.

[William]

Chris, it's good news that your Chevy is tucked away for its long winters nap. And it never hurts to know a guy who knows a guy and by dropping the name of that guy you get your foot in the door.

Bill