Startup

I was doing my weekly cleanup of the Voltie and decided I wanted to do it and Bob's ActiveE in the garage. Gave me a good reason to start The Chief up. It's been awhile. I just pulled it out and onto the back grass. I can't see that the work I did on the steering had much effect on the turning radius, but since I need an alignment to be sure, I guess I better withhold judgement.

Second New Wheel

Got the other front wheel and tire mounted at Pep Boys today and with that installed on the car, The Chief came down off the jacks. I then took the two wheels and tires what had been on the front with spacers, and put them on the back. No spacers needed there, but won't be able to "rotate" the tires. As far as I'm concerned, that's not really a problem. And I can keep a spare with a spacer in the trunk for use on either front or rear.

Putting the rear tires on was a problem, just like it was on the '58 Cad. The tires don't want to go up in the wheel wells past the drums, but once the sidewall clears the drum, everything fits. Even the skirts fit with the new tires but I found that I may actually prefer the skirts off instead.

Here are some pictures...

Hoses Clamped

I never had tied off the power steering hoses to prevent them from contacting the exhaust manifold so today I took care of that.

I also needed to straighten the slightly crooked front license plate mount and today seemed like a good day to tackle that too. I had added an addition to the factory mount awhile back, so that the plate was more in the middle of the bumper. Took the whole thing apart, ground the mounting bolts for the addition down so they don't hit the bumper anymore, and loctited the factory screws and square nuts that hold the factory mount to the bumper.

First New Wheel

It's Sunday and my favorite tire shop is closed, but I wanted to get at least one new wheel and tire mounted up. So I decided to try my luck at Pep Boys on Lankershim. Honestly, I think it was a very decent experience. While I've always felt that the boys at my usual shop are the only ones I'd trust with odd wheels like a '70s Eldorado, I figured these are very standard truck wheels, so there should be no problem. They were friendly, had no problem doing a mount and balance as a walk-in, and did a nice job of washing up the blue protectant... unlike my old regular shop. They charged me around $20 which is a bit higher than my usual place but not by much. And the wait seemed a bit longish, but was still reasonable since it was fairly busy. I was home in about an hour. Overall no complaints. They asked if I wanted the clip-on or stick-on weights before doing the balance, which was nice. I like the clip-on ones. I noticed there were weights on both the inner and outer wheel lip, so it would appear they did a thorough balance.

I got the wheel mounted on the car and the cover on without issue. The new Cragar lug nuts seem *much* better than the ones I had gotten earlier (at Pep Boys). Wheel cover fits nice and snug and with it in place it doesn't look like I have truck wheels on a car. Except for the fact that these wheels are black where the factory wheels were argent, I think it looks very stock.

No spacers needed! Looks like plenty of clearance. 

A bit ugly without a cover, but nice powdercoat black protection.

The cover fits perfectly.

Interesting difference in stance.
The passenger side wheel has a spacer, but
still doesn't come out as far to the fender. 

Steering Tweak Continues

Second new wheel came Thursday and today I put one wheel and one tire into the back end of the Volt to take somewhere for mounting tomorrow. Sunday my regular place is closed, but may be Pep Boys can handle it.

Meanwhile I have the steering rack and cradle all bolted back in. The driver's side has a lot of shims... I think I may consider making a set of spacers that would be more... what? Reliable? Stable? Permanent? Maybe. For now, I haven't decided for sure that this arrangement is staying. So, maybe after it is aligned again and I see if it performs the way I want it to, I'll consider improvements.

I also need to clamp the power steering hoses to keep them clear of the exhaust manifold on the driver's side. I ordered some 1/2" Rubber Cushioned Loop Clamps from Amazon and those will come early next week. Since I'll have to get both new tires mounted to both new wheels before I can do any driving anyway, I guess there's no hurry.

No Lien!

Got my California title back from DMV today. No more lien holder listed on it. It's all mine and the state knows it. Should get Bob added as an "or" owner sometime but he wasn't available when I went over to AAA to get this done.

Wheel Find!

Hey! I found a wheel that works! This is a Cragar 3975750 - Cragar Black Soft 8 397 Series Wheel. Scarebird says their kit requires 1972-85 GM 1/2 ton truck or equivalent rims, usually 15 x 7". I've been trying to reconstruct how I found this wheel and I think I found it at Discount Tire by searching on a "1985 CHEVROLET K-BLAZER 235/75R15 2WD". Once I had a part with specs, I went over to Jegs and looked it up.

They will accept the stock deluxe wheel covers but NOT the poverty hubcaps that I don't have. It's OK, I think if I didn't have the deluxe covers I'd get something in chrome and call it good.

I've ordered a second wheel so I'll have two for the front. I'll try using the other two previously mounted tires on the back. Maybe eventually I'll get 4 + spare as a full set.

Meanwhile I've started putting the steering rack cradle back together. I need a big wrought washer for one bolt on the left side. I had to use spacers to take up the slop of shifting the cradle to the right. Just by eye, the cradle looks much closer to level now. I think I'll be happier.

Wheel Spacers

Awhile back I had to put spacers on the front wheels to clear the calipers after I found that they were banging on the inside edges of the wheel once I got the car's weight on them. I'm using BilletSpecialties WSG5L375. But while I've never liked the idea of spacers, I can't seem to find an alternative. If I buy a wheel with an offset that loads the bearing to one side, it has the same negative effect as the spacer. It does reduce the possibility of putting strain on the lugs and potential loosening, but Locktite would pretty much fix that too.

I'm also frustrated with wheel sales web site that have crappy fitment guides. The rotors for this car come from a 1995-99 Chevy WT1500 (same as C1500?) and when you can find either a C1500 or a WT1500 listed, they seem to insist there is nothing smaller than a 16" rim available. Not going to work with my new 15" tires. I found a used stock steel wheel on eBay... for $65 plus $30 for shipping. Not! I'm not even sure the wheel will work since the rotor is for that vehicle but the caliper is for a 1969-78 Eldorado. Not going to bother even thinking about Eldo wheels. (Even though I have a pair.)

I suppose if there were any serious interest, I could find a shop that sells wheels and ask them to come up with something that would work. But that would pretty much mean I'd have to use custom mag-type wheels. A classic Cragar would be OK with me, but I really just like the stock deluxe hubcaps.

260-3975750

Soft 8 397 Series Wheel Size: 15'' x 7'' Bolt Circle: 5 x 5'' Rear Spacing: 4'' Offset: 0mm View this item

$51.99  Ships 01/09/12

Steering Revisited

Got motivated to continue... at least for today... the rework of the steering cradle. I've been thinking about if I even want to keep the rack setup and I pulled the Saginaw box out to do a little eyeballing. I think I will continue with the rack for now. I noticed that I can't use the right-angle exhaust elbow for the left side of the dual exhaust because it points right to where the lines come into the rack. I can only use it if I switch to using the Saginaw box. I got the cradle pulled loose to where I could get to the end that needs re-drilled. Kinda nutty how many holes I've put in that thing. But might do some reinforcing when I get the angles sorted out. Drilling done, ready to put it back together.

Title Released

Awhile back I paid off the loan on this car and they sent me the released title. I took it over to AAA today and submitted it for a new title sans lien holder since I had to get some notarizations done anyway. Should arrive in a couple of weeks.

Front Wheel Bearings

Today I took a shot at tightening the two front wheel bearings. They were indeed too loose, especially the right side. I thought I might have to take the outer bearing apart and cut down the sleeve insert that came with the disc brake kit, but I just needed to tighten them very tight and them back them off a bit. The right may still be a bit tight, but I will let it ride for now.

Started to measure for the adjustment to the rack so it will end up more or less level and centered. It needs to come over to the right about 1/2-3/4 inch so I will need to shim the left side out. I'm still not sure how I want to proceed with the worm gear steering, but it's here if I want to go to it. I'll adjust this and see  how I feel about it.

Steering Redux?

So I need to do some fixup work on the steering, since I did not get the rack mounted level. Starting to think about doing that now. The weather is still too hot but it seems like I've gotten lazy and I want to get back into the cars. The rack and pinion system is nice in some ways but I am unhappy with it in others... for example, the rack seems to fight back just a tad when you turn the wheel very suddenly. Almost like the fluid on the one side of the ram can't get out of the way of the pressurized side of the ram fast enough. I can't say I've ever experienced that on the '49er's rack. Then there is the issue of turning radius... or the lack of it since the rack went in. With the '49er, the kit came with replacement steering arms. This rack was supposed to not need them, but that would have been while using the rack on the car it was designed for, which is not this Pontiac.

Thinking I might want to return to a conventional worm gear box... I just happen to have the one I started to prep for this car sitting out in the back garage. I'd need a set of tie rod ends and maybe an idler arm... or maybe not. I'd have to look over the original parts to see if they are at all worn or damaged. The car is low mileage but these parts are not expensive, so maybe I should just replace them anyway. Either way, I would retain the Flaming River pump and steering column. I can just sell the rack and it's cradle, or park it on a shelf.

Hmmmm...

Radiator Picked Up & Put In

Well, I think I'm kinda impressed with Burbank Radiator, only cost be $150 to have them rod out the tubes, re-solder the tanks and put a new overflow tube on it. They sprayed a little fresh paint on it and pointed out how the original radiators have the year stamped on the tank. Hadn't noticed that before! I got a new 7lb cap from CPR and I'll be leaving the recovery bottle off.

Bolting the unit back in place was easy. I used a new piece of heater hose to connect the bottom of the radiator to the heater return. Hoses and fan shroud all in back in place. Filled with 3-1/2 gallons of Prestone and voila! No leaks. Good as new and cheap too. Doesn't get any better than that.

Radiator Drop-off

Dropped the radiator off at Burbank Radiator this morning. I was expecting the guy to just write up a re-core for me. But instead, he showed me how this type of radiator is constructed and advised me that it would be better if he rebuilt it with the existing core if it was still sound. He would just rod it out and resolder it, then pressure test it. He will also replace the overflow tube. I had said I wanted to have the tube modified to use a recovery tank but he said this is not advised for this type of radiator. He says it's a low-pressure design and using a closed system tank will cause the upper radiator tank to swell and the solder seams to stress beyond the design limits.

So I went Googling for some more information and I found a link to the H.A.M.B. that pretty much explained what the Rad shop guy was telling me. The older un-reinforced tanks are designed for low pressure... 7 pounds or so. The tank's inlet and cap have to be designed for recovery and that generally means a higher pressure cap if you want recovery to work properly. Otherwise it will not really pull the coolant back in and you're kinda wasting your time, not to mention stressing the system needlessly.

So, score one point for the Radiator Man... His name is Steve and he seems AOK to me so far.

Radiator Removal

Drained the cooling system... again. This car gets it's coolant changed every 50 feet. Man, I don't recall where this rad cap came from but it looks super cheesy so I ordered a new one from CPP.

SKU: C850795R
Product: Cap, Radiator, RC1, 1951-56 All exc AC
Quantity: 1
Unitprice: $11.50
Total For Item(s): $11.50

Subtotal: $11.50
Shipping: Not Include in Price
Total Tax: $0.83
Total Cost: $12.33 + shipping

The three bolts on each side of the radiator proved to be fun. The driver's side especially, since there is very little room with the battery and the new power steering pump. 

Started Up...

...And found the radiator is leaking, either from the cap or the overflow tube... not good! Well I've been thinking I needed to get the rad redone anyway. It's original and while it wasn't leaking before, it looked dicey.

I checked my local web pages (Google) and found a link to this place in Burbank that has good feedback.

Will check them out next week. Maybe I'll pull the radiator tomorrow. Not feeling it today.

Price Check

Yes, I'm checking prices on all my cars in case I need to liquidate. I think this would be the very last car I would sell if I had to get rid of any. But here it is:

So it's good to know even at average, which this car is not, it is still worth more than I paid for it. :-)

Tyerman's

Alright, I made it to Tyerman's today, finally! I have to say, I am still not 100% comfortable driving this car, and the ride to Tyerman's didn't help. If I hit the brakes hard the right wheel kept screeching like it was going to lock up and the steering is just plain weird feeling to me. All that keeps going through my mind is that I made a terrible mistake doing these things to this car and I should never have started them. But Bob says I always act this way after I've made major changes and before they're all adjusted and I've gotten used to them. Fact is, the ride home with the steering nicely aligned was much better and the screechy right wheel was not really noticable anymore.

But, there really are a couple of issues to attend to. The guy at Tyerman's pointed out that the wheel bearing on the right (and he didn't mention the left but it might be the same) is loose so even with the nut pretty tight, the bearing doesn't snug down like it should. Recall that the outer bearings for this setup are for a 1971-76 Riviera and that to make them fit the Pontiac, the Scarebird kit includes a machined ring that fits into the bearing center.

It may just be that I need to tighten the spindle nut down really, really hard to fully seat that sleeve, then back it off to a comfortable snugness so the bearing doesn't heat. Maybe I didn't do that when I assembled the rotors. I can't remember and I do remember thinking myself that the bearings seemed loose. If that doesn't do the trick, I can contact Scarebird for advice.

The other issue the mechanic found... and I am really embarrased about this one... is that the rack is not mounted level! It is down about a half to three-quarter inch on the right side and while it is functional, it's not right. Recall that this is the side where I had to re-drill the mounting holes to fit the Pontiac idler arm bolt pattern. And I realise now that part of the problem is I measured but I measured from the floor to the rack bottom when the car was on jacks and the jacks were obviously not even. I remember thinking that the thing looked a bit off... but at the shop, being down in their pit, it's very freakin obvious how crooked it is. So... the simplest thing to do is to remove the rack bracket and redrill the holes lower on the right plate. Now, maybe one hole will be one of the ones I didn't think I could use originally... I will have to look once I have the bracket off. I think the rack can stay in the car, and only the lollipop bearing bracket will need to be disconnected.

There is no big hurry to do the rack adjustment, other than my pride and wanting it done right. But the bearing should get attention real soon as it could cause abnormal stress and wear on the spindle.

One step forward, two steps back.

False Start

I was going to go over to Tyerman's for an alignment today, but when I pulled the car out of the driveway and began driving, I heard some strange klunking noises from the front wheels, particularly when braking. OK, I know what that is... these calipers are just not fitting inside the wheels properly. I had tried grinding on the calipers a bit and they cleared when I was turning the wheels by hand, but now with the weight of the car and pressure applied to the caliper, it's banging into the four tabs of the wheel center where they attach to the rim.

The good news is I had already ordered a set of spacers from Summit Racing and they've been sitting here waiting for a need to arise. I originally planned them for the '49er. Made by BilletSpecialties they are part number WSG5L375. You guessed it: Wheel Spacer, 5 lug, .375 thick. Done. But now it's 3 PM and I don't feel like trying to get over to Tyerman's this late in the day. I roll up the sidewalk out front at 5 PM. ;-) Another day!

But now that I have it back up on jacks to do the spacers, I got to thinking I wanted to re-visit the steering wheel to rack linkage again. It's not as smooth as it should be which tells me at least one of the joints is being angled too hard. I want to see if I can remedy that. I tore it apart and reworked it. Much smoother now. [Rerouted the starter cable as well.]

Lube Job

I had ordered some shorter steering arms in an attempt to get some turning radius back, but the Chevy ones won't work and I just decided I don't care enough about it right now to keep the car up on the jacks any longer. So I hooked up my new pneumatic grease gun and greased all the joints on the front suspension and steering, including the new tie rod ends, did some grinding on the calipers for a bit of extra wheel clearance, and bolted on the front wheels with the new tires on them. Then I pulled the car out of the garage and put the glove box door back on and attached the little panel for the shift indicator. I vacuumed the carpet and found there is a worsening tear in the seat on the passenger side. :-(

Need to take a day off to go over to Tyerman's for an alignment now.