1957 country sedan build

She lives!!!!!! Not everything works electrically yet-no surprise there. So I am going to start hunting and killing gremlins now.

 

I love that picture!

 

lite at the end of the tunnel lol

 

Yes there is light now-I figured out the lights and they all work as they should! Now off to another circuit or two tomorrow! If I can do a circuit a day I will be cruising along and finished in no time flat. But then again this is Betty and she is a total B%%^&. She does he best to slow me down and throw curve balls at me. But I am more stubborn that she is or ever will be!

 

Update, got all of the turn signals working correctly now. The switch was so corroded I had to hit it with a cleaner, twice and run it back and forth a few times. Onto the engine bay and the ignition circuit as that I think I can test without the motor running. I am not sure about the charging system, that I think is just a continuity check as the engine isn't running yet.

 

The distributor can verify if your points and coil work when removed from the engine. Just run a ground jumper from the dizzy body to batt NEG. You can also run a power jumper from the batt POS to coil POS to power it up (disconnect the harness POS connection first). Have the coil wire connected to a spark tester, power up, and spin the dizzy CCW; the tester should snap with the power discharges. Later on, you can do a voltage drop test, once everything is correctly assembled, to see if the points and condenser are good and usable. Don't forget, roll the engine to TDC so the rotor points at #1, mark rotor-to-body, and body-to-engine match marks (I use Wite-Out) so that you get the dizzy back in the basic position.

 

UPDATE: well the drive shaft is in, wiring is 98% complete (waiting on the engine portion to fire it up), dash is in and just need to adjust the heater box, one tranny line needs to be shortened, The carb is about to go one as well. Does anyone know where I can get the adapter for a vacuum line that goes into the side of an autolite 4100 carb? I cannot find one. Then I have to bench bleed the MC and reinstall and then bleed the brakes again-ugh.

 

That's quite the list! Sounds like just a bunch of loose ends though.

 

Can you snap a closeup photo? Those carbs had two or three different ways to hook up the main vacuum (I'm guessing you're referring to the 1/4" vacuum port for the brake booster on the back?

 

Small update:

So the drive shaft is in and boy what a discussion I created with it. I am thinking it is an early 9" where a worker used a left over 56 bat wing u joint yoke in it. How he managed to do it I have no idea but it is there and will stay put for a bit until a can change it over to a spicer type that a 57 should have.

The gauges had to go back to the shop for some minor tweaking and Rusty at Speedometer service was super helper with walking through things only to find out it needed the tweaking-will recommend him highly in the future for anyone needing service on their speedo.

The tranny is all sealed up, I had to fight with the cooling tubes by bending and tweaking them but I got them to fit-finally. And I added the 5 qts of Type F tranny fluid per the manual and am letting it set until I can start her up and add more.

The carb is on I just need to figure out the linkages to the throttle and tranny now. The MC is going to get rebuilt as I cannot get it to hold pressure and when I push on the pedal I hear some gurgling type noise, so I think it is leaking past a seal.

The tank is back in after verifying the fuel gauge works mostly correctly. I guess as mostly correctly a 50's gas gauge will work. I just need to ground it to the frame now.

The heater core is hooked up and the hot water valve in the engine compartment work around seems to work just fine. I will see what happens when I add water to it.

That is all for now, will keep plugging away faster now.

Mike

 

Twinkie-I found a brake line at a local shop that actually fit and it is NiCop so I can bend it. I am hoping it seals up. It is the Distributor vacuum port on the pass side at the base just in front of the choke. I will see if I can add a pict. of it.

 

That base front *should* be the exact same as a 2100 2-bbl. But, if it has a hard line compression fitting, like a '50s Rochester carb, I believe it would be a 1/8" fitting. Otherwise, that corner should have a vacuum line nipple. If the dizzy has a hard line, you likely could find a nipple to install on it to run a rubber vac hose. Try NAPA for it.

 

Twinkie, here is the port I was referring to. Sounds like it should be the same as a 2100. Just makes sense for production reasons. I tried NAPA and they didn’t have anything. Maybe I will try a different one to see if they have something.

 

Found I have a Frankenstein 9”. So it will need some work done to it. Like a new pinion seal and yoke. Not all that bad really. But on the up side I found I have instead of the factory 3.56 it has 3.00 gearing.

 

A ha, the plot thickens. That's supposed to have a nipple installed. Do you know of anyone near you that works on carburetors? They might have the specific nipple in a parts carb. Or, head to a hobby shop that carries brass tubing stock, find a tube that fits, and cut a piece that will fit snugly in the hole, use JB Weld to cement it in.