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I put a lot of this in an introduction thread I started but since this will be an ongoing project and I'll appreciate some technical assistance along the way, I thought it a good idea to start up something in this forum. I figure so long as I put my stupid ideas out for all the world to see I stand to save some money aggravation by voicing really bad ideas before they become really bad experiences. Also, all of the pictures I have can be found at http://www.dickeysgarage.com/images/hearse if anyone is curious.
So anyway, the car in question is my 58 hearse that I had delivered to the front yard last Friday. Before I took a chainsaw and cut out about 15 saplings that had grown around and through the mobile, this car had been sitting in the same spot at the edge of some woods for 23 years. Saturday I couldn't do much because of rain but Sunday I went to Autozone and bought all new plugs, wires, points, condenser, rotor button, and even picked up a new fuel pump so as to bypass any fuel delivery issues that such storage often entails. Monday evening I had the engine turning over by hand without issue and confirmed the starter would also behave properly. Tuesday evening I had installed a q-jet from the shelf in place of the Carter AFB and was able to fire up the engine but because I was missing some bolts there was a nasty vacuum leak that kept me from trying to get it to idle. Wednesday I sorted out the leak as well as set the idle and ignition timing. Six degrees btdc for easy starting at the moment, will advance to the requisite 10 after I've gone through the engine. Still need to set the dwell for proper ignition longevity but was more concerned with getting it into my garage so I could work regardless of time or weather. I also topped up the coolant system and transmission fluid.
That brings this post up to speed with today (yesterday as of an hour ago I suppose).
Today I did some cleanup on the interior and made sure the transmission would engage in drive as well as reverse. Once confirmed I very gently coaxed the beast around the driveway and into the shop. This was necessary because the brakes are completely gone. The pedal is rock solid and the only thing slowing the car down was the two rear tires which are completely flat. Wasn't too bad though I'll admit the hydramatic's multiplication in first gear did force me to bump the car to neutral when I needed to come to a dead stop.
Not much room to say the least. First order of business is some brakes. Now that the thing is indoors on a solid surface with ample lights and outlets nearby, I can get stuff done a bit easier. I do have to admit to a certain nostalgia from this past week though. It reminded me of being 18 again after just moving to my own place with nothing resembling a garage and a 55 Belair as my only transportation.
Anyway, so I've got a horizontal mount master cylinder that I believe I can temporarily attach to the firewall in place of the booster/cylinder that is currently there. I figure I can block off the line feeding the rear drums and just concentrate on the fronts for the time being. I'm not taking the car on the road in such condition but I absolutely need a pedal that will let me stop once I get some inflatable tires on the back wheels. Hopefully the drums themselves aren't in too bad of shape and I can get by until I have all the details I need for the disc brake conversion. Once I have brakes, I can shuffle the car around a little easier and get it up on my lift and begin the real work.
So anyway, the car in question is my 58 hearse that I had delivered to the front yard last Friday. Before I took a chainsaw and cut out about 15 saplings that had grown around and through the mobile, this car had been sitting in the same spot at the edge of some woods for 23 years. Saturday I couldn't do much because of rain but Sunday I went to Autozone and bought all new plugs, wires, points, condenser, rotor button, and even picked up a new fuel pump so as to bypass any fuel delivery issues that such storage often entails. Monday evening I had the engine turning over by hand without issue and confirmed the starter would also behave properly. Tuesday evening I had installed a q-jet from the shelf in place of the Carter AFB and was able to fire up the engine but because I was missing some bolts there was a nasty vacuum leak that kept me from trying to get it to idle. Wednesday I sorted out the leak as well as set the idle and ignition timing. Six degrees btdc for easy starting at the moment, will advance to the requisite 10 after I've gone through the engine. Still need to set the dwell for proper ignition longevity but was more concerned with getting it into my garage so I could work regardless of time or weather. I also topped up the coolant system and transmission fluid.
That brings this post up to speed with today (yesterday as of an hour ago I suppose).
Today I did some cleanup on the interior and made sure the transmission would engage in drive as well as reverse. Once confirmed I very gently coaxed the beast around the driveway and into the shop. This was necessary because the brakes are completely gone. The pedal is rock solid and the only thing slowing the car down was the two rear tires which are completely flat. Wasn't too bad though I'll admit the hydramatic's multiplication in first gear did force me to bump the car to neutral when I needed to come to a dead stop.
Not much room to say the least. First order of business is some brakes. Now that the thing is indoors on a solid surface with ample lights and outlets nearby, I can get stuff done a bit easier. I do have to admit to a certain nostalgia from this past week though. It reminded me of being 18 again after just moving to my own place with nothing resembling a garage and a 55 Belair as my only transportation.
Anyway, so I've got a horizontal mount master cylinder that I believe I can temporarily attach to the firewall in place of the booster/cylinder that is currently there. I figure I can block off the line feeding the rear drums and just concentrate on the fronts for the time being. I'm not taking the car on the road in such condition but I absolutely need a pedal that will let me stop once I get some inflatable tires on the back wheels. Hopefully the drums themselves aren't in too bad of shape and I can get by until I have all the details I need for the disc brake conversion. Once I have brakes, I can shuffle the car around a little easier and get it up on my lift and begin the real work.
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