'36 Chevy Sedan "The PackRat Rod"

[Old Iron]

What about a divider?

 

[RimSpoke]

^^ ' hadn't even thought of it! Great idea!

There's even a division of sorts in the glass lens. The divider could be put in in such a way that it looks natural/stock.

 

[RimSpoke]

A shot of the changes from the inside:

and the outside:

 

[RimSpoke]

The high-/ low-beam switch didn't work and looked like this:

and like this when we opened it, presumably after being exposed to the elements and
various engine liquid releases over the years:

Evidently, it must have got stuck at some time and the operator tried to mash it into
submission because the pin that moves the rotating assembly was bent to the point
that it couldn't move anything.

To say my younger son (14) was determined to make it work would be an understatement:

and he ultimately got it working. The only problem is the interior return spring crumbled
to bits and the one I ran out and got was too strong to let the switch go through its
full range of motion. I'll look for another one during the week.

 

[RimSpoke]

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch

My older son (15) checked the operation of the vacuum operated wiper motor by
starting my daily driver and pulling one of the lines off to have a source to work
from. I just wish I knew where he gets this stuff from.

Anyway, with good operation proved he proceeded to clean the motor and then
install it:

You can also make-out the homespun blinker switch mount in the image above.
It uses a regular DPTP toggle on the end for blinkers and a push-button underneath
for 4-way flashers.


From there he moved on to headlight wiring harness before we broke for a
late lunch / early dinner:

 

[jfg455]

My older son (15) checked the operation of the vacuum operated wiper motor by
starting my daily driver and pulling one of the lines off to have a source to work
from. I just wish I knew where he gets this stuff from.

By the sounds of it he has the natural mechanical ability to be an excellent technician or engineer. If he came up with the idea of using a known good vacuum source all on his own then watch out! He will probably build some crazy good stuff in his life time! [cl

 

[Old Iron]

Nothing like a family project [cl

 

[RimSpoke]

 

[smallfoot]

Great that the boys take that kind of interest! Cool way before their time....

 

[DozerII]

Awesome to have your sons working with you on your build.

 

[RimSpoke]

I made some 12V to 6V regulators to power the stock fuel gauge and clock:

and cut some body mount pads from a piece of discarded coal-fired power plant
conveyor belt:

The pad set will probably do more to alleviate the squeaks and rattles that
would occur between the body and frame than they will to add any cushion
to the ride. Their presence will not be noticed, but their absence more-than-likely
would.

As installed:

The rectangular pad goes between the body and frame and the body sits on
it. The small round pad goes on the underside of the mounting tab between
the frame and the washer. Without the lower pad underneath the frame, the
body mounting bolt would just squish the upper pad and not allow for any
upward flex.

 

[RimSpoke]

And this evening, in need of at least a third hand, I benefited from some very-welcomed
help assembling the turn-signal / 4-way switch set-up I've been fabricating:

And then he took over

It is now ready to get mounted to the column and wired in:

 

[RimSpoke]

The hold-down lock for the radiator cap on more modern cars is rolled to the
outside of the neck. On this '36 it's on the inside and the aftermarket wants
$35 - $50 for a replacement cap. I'm sure I could have scavenged around and
found something that works, but I had a different thought in mind.

With a holesaw plug left over from making the motor mounts (yes, I save such
things ); a scrap of the same conveyor belt I used for the body mounts; a
small rectangle cut from some scrap steel; and some hardware, we're good to go:

The slot in the top of the threads indicates the orientation of the hold-down
when the cap is installed:

Here's a picture of the first installation. Afterwards, I cut the seal (conveyor
belt) down by half for a little more hood clearance, and RTV'd it to the metal
top. Lacking any copper paint, I shot it with some gold in honor of what the
aftermarket wants for one.

The only place it could possibly leak would be through the bolt/stem, in which
case I'll add an o-ring, but I'm thinking it won't. The seal around the bolt is
already pretty-tight. I'll let you know the next time I run it.

I also installed a late(er) model light switch in its original, center hole but it
interfered with the wiper motor behind the dash so I moved it over a hole to
the right. The goofy, chromed plastic knob didn't exactly fit the look so I cut
it off in favor of epoxying on the original from the '36:

And with all of that out of the way it was time to turn to cutting-down the vent windows:

This coming January will be 5 years in the works. Getting to the glass makes
me feel like we're getting close. Here's where I left off for the night, fitting the lower part of the frame:

 

[I-R-POPS]

Looking good Rimspoke! I like to see people make things that will work.

Yikes on the 5 years... I don't have that kind of patience. Stay after it.

 

[lowbudget50]

Very nice, i also re used old belting for my body mounts. Keep up the good work!

 

[Old Iron]

[cl [P
Stay after it, my 33 took 4 years and 3 hot rods in front of it for OP.

 

[Willowbilly3]

I used the same method for my body and my engine mounts. I think the belting I used was about 3/8. Hole saw in a drill press is a lot easier than free hand for those wanting to try this.

 

[RimSpoke]

Very nice, i also re used old belting for my body mounts.

I used the same method for my body and my engine mounts.

Great minds think alike!

[cl [P
Stay after it, my 33 took 4 years and 3 hot rods in front of it for OP.

Thanks for the encouragement. I won't say I haven't worked on other things over that time either, but it has been the constant. Time to get it rolling.

 

[RimSpoke]

' spent a little time after work this evening finishing the drivers side vent/wing window:

 

[RimSpoke]

Vent/Wing window frame and mechanism installed along with the front window runner:

There may not be glass in it yet, but at least I'm to the point where I can start making patterns: