1937 Dodge, Ol Bessy Is Coming Home!

[Sharps40]

Well, if this is the dash gauge cluster that Ol Bessy is to live with for the next 80 years.....I think she'll be happy. 

 

Its coming together.  Couldn't wait for a 3 3/8 hole saw to arrive and was concerned the torque would crack or break the burl, so scribed the lines in pencil and found the centers and drilled and used the scroll saw.  Next steps will be to final sand the finish back to the surface to shave off the whiskers and then really get busy with the final finish.  But for now......

 

The face of the dash insert and the pattern now hollowed out to serve as the back spacer bring the insert to the final thickness and just right for the depth of the bucket.

 

 

The first parts installed are in tribute to the old.  "FLOATING POWER" up top and NOS Case IH green bulb directional turn signal lamps.

 

 

And for the 21st Century, programmable electronic speedometer and gauge/warning cluster.

 

 

About half way done with this project now, so a first look at where the entire project is going.

 

 

 

Now, to locate upper dash light sockets and blue light bulbs for the high beam indicator and backlight this dash in soft blue when the brights are on.

[Sharps40]

More work on the gauge cluster today.  The backer is fastened to the burl panel and its sitting with several coats of clear on it hardening overnight.  Will sand and do some more filling and finishing of the burl tomorrow.  Think I'll go to the range too....bout time to get back into muzzleloading, deer season is coming.

 

But the paint and clear is on the gauge bucket and inner trim panel.  Looking good and I just need to measure and go light socket shopping now.  Maybe get to final assembly on Sat or Sun.

 

[Sharps40]

Old cars have terrible grounding pathways.  Rust and now new paint and multiple joints from body to frame, etc.  So, a piece of dovetail stock from the rifle bench.  Just mild steel but its better quality than cold rolled, drills cleaner and takes a smooth strong thread. 

 

These will be the grounding points to connect gauge and instrument cluster lamps directly to the electrical system without going through the many old fasteners that route from gauge bucket to dash to body to frame.  Should make for a long lived and low maintenance connection.

 

I'll mount this to the back of the gauge bucket later....for now, first leveling of the finish on the burl was accomplished this morning and waiting for the 40eleventh coat to dry for more leveling and perhaps final rub out back to satin gloss.

 

 

[Sharps40]

About 8 coats of wiping poly were rubbed into the burl and the edges to seal the wood, each cut back to the surface with 0000 steel wool.  Then 6 coats of clear acrylic enamel were sprayed and about every second coat leveled with 0000 steel wool.  Final workout was to bring the shine back up and level the surface with terry and fff gunstock finishing compound.

Gauges and turn signal indicators went in easy peasy along with the FLOATING POWER badge up top.

 

 

Once the brackets holding the gauges in place were snugged down a bit of additional clearance on the rear of the bucket was needed to make room for them and here finally, they slid home for the next 80 years.

 

 

Here the grounding buss is installed, the gauge panel secured to the bucket with brass screws and I'm starting the process of folding the chromed brass face trim back over the lip of the bucket.

 

 

 

In the next photos you can see the upper window that will allow for the blue lights I'll be installing as hi beam indicators above the gauge panel to reflect off the tops of the chrome gauge bezels.  Might go shopping for the sockets today.  Small bulbs will do I'm sure.

 

 

 

 

Almost done......some wiring, blue lights and a gauge cluster to dash gasket to make up yet.

[Sharps40]

Dad,

 

At this point the gauge cluster is essentially done.  Just have to make up a pair of horseshoe clips for the two hi beam indicator backlights, install the blue covers on the hi beam backlight bulbs and make a gasket to go between the cluster and the back side of the dash.

 

The Ford/GM 1972 to 1995 license plate/side marker sockets work nicely for the high beam backlights on the top of the cluster and will locate behind the dash.  Once I put the blue covers on them, they will be ready to wire together into the hi beam side of the selector switch.  Both will glow on hi beam and will reflect blue light off the tops of the gauge bezels and lend an overall blue cast to the entire cluster in the evenings. 

 

I've run incandescent bulbs on everything.  No sense messing with led's, don't know nothing about them and in any event, the incandescent will work with about any dimmer switch on the market...not all the led's will do that.

 

I've installed a common buss for grounding and routed all lamp and gauge grounds through it to a master ground wire.  We won't have poor conductivity due to multiple joints between gauge bucket/dash and frame.

 

I have all the electronic senders and a fuel tank sender. 

 

All we'll need is the standard GM pulse generator that should come with the overdrive transmission....if not, a pulse generator is only $35 or so and I'll get one later.

 

I also have all the wiring diagrams/identifications for the gauge harnesses for Eddie when we get to wiring. 

 

Finally, since the speedometer is programmable, it has a one touch selector button, we'll have Eddie place it in a small hole under the dash so this little but glaring red button is out of sight but still accessible. 

 

Speedometer goes to 140 MPH.  GoodWife says I'm not allowed to try to burry the needle.....so, that'll be your job on its first run. Please see if Jim can arrange to clear off a nice straight stretch in front of the shop so we can give it a whirl.

 

Rich.

 

 

 

 

[Sharps40]

I think part of (a bunch of ) the fun of hot rodding a 79 year old car is figuring out what parts from other cars (and for the dash, tractors) will do the job.

 

For example, the old backlit dash bucket, had 3/4" diameter sockets for the lights.  In converting them to hi beam lights, 72 to 95 Ford/GM side marker sockets were used....they go in a 1/2 in hole.  So, retention.  Easy peasy....a couple of modern (and blue, the propa color for Ol Bessy) oil cooler line clips work just fine to secure the more modern 194 sockets in the ancient lamp loops.

 

And.....Ol Bessy got her pasties.....blue covers for the 194 bulbs that will indicate hi beams are on.  Blue bulbs are available but, with covers, I can shop local instead of the innerweb if I ever need a new hi beam bulb.

 

So, hi beam indication moved from center of the dash (originally the light switch lit up for hi beam) to the actual gauge cluster.  Here, her new underwire supports and pasties in place.

 

 

Breaking out the old and trusty 6v/12v 2amp/6amp battery charger, its time for a test run.  Soft blue on the gauge cluster and I'm happy!

 

 

And with a bit of a reflector over the high beam indicator bulbs, the stainless bezels turn blue and even the white towel the cluster is sitting on is turned blue.  Cool.

 

 

And if I'm really lucky, these will be mine tonight at 11 PM.  Not plastic.  Not modern.  Original, NOS glass blue dot and glass lens for out back lighting and still in their original packaging!  Crossin my fingers and toes that I get these Lynxeyes, I didn't relish grinding holes in the original glass lenses to install blue dots on my own.

 

[Sharps40]

Woo Hoo!  Turn Signals, Green Ones.  Camera eye view is brighter but to my eye, its a beautiful bright green with a black directional arrow floating in the middle. 

But, either way, bright enough that even a forgetful driver won't be going around the world to the left!

Left Turn...

Right Turn...

[Niel Hoback]

Yer ahavin' too much fun fer one guy.

[Sharps40]

Hoping to see suspension on it in July or Aug! Getting excited.

[Sharps40]

Good news....LynxEyes are mine!...well, they're Ol Bessy's anyway.

[Sharps40]

From Dad....

On Tuesday, June 14

Richard: They are beautiful---I always wanted the blue dots in there, but with the 6 volt system, it didn't matter much what color.

I stopped down today---nothing new done. Spoke to one of the guys---said they are 'catching up', and there is a Corvette that is in front of us.

I also mentioned to Jim (he commented that the dash panel looks great). I told him this is the second one--we can't find the other one you did. He mentioned that there are still probably parts on the lower level that belong to the Dodge. Next time you are up, we'll have to take a look on the first floor where the Dodge was for so long, and see what we can find.

Keep them shining. Brake lights that is.

[Sharps40]

Dad,

 

Think about it.

 

The car is 79. 

 

The tail light lenses are up to 79 years old too.

 

They got made for the car.

 

They sat on many shelves.

 

One box was lost but the lens never damaged or broken.

 

The other sat in its box safely waiting.

 

They probably moved around a lot.

 

They got shipped to someone on ebay.

 

I bought them and they got shipped to me.

 

The car was built and drove and sold until you bought it in 1957.

 

You gave it to me.

 

I drove it daily for 15 years.

 

A drunk hit the car.

 

I "Sold" it (kinda) to Jim and it sat for 23 years.

 

And now in 2016 we find out that in all them years you wanted blue dot tail light lenses.

 

Never seen these for sale before, ever...not even in all the many summers we went to Hershey looking for parts and supplies.....

 

Well, now you got em!  Pristine originals.

 

Rich

 

 

 

 

[Sharps40]

Email to Dad, 21 July 2016  (PS Three years to full retirement, less if the economy tanks and we get early outs in 2017!  Yep, I'm counting down!)

Dad,

Picked up a spare center grill for the dodge, cheep.  Which ever one is better gets installed.  As needed, I'll take the lesser of the two and shorten it up/convert it into the crank hole cover for the lower center of the grill.

Rich.

[Sharps40]

Dad was down and visited the shop.  Got a chance to talk with the boss and the painter before moving forward.  Mighta been a bit of confusion on the painters part.  Very meticulous fellow, quite a painter.  Hadn't moved forward because the car weren't ready.  Boss explaned and Dad confirmed....we plan to drive it.  Concours restorations are false representations of the vehicle in its original form as none ever came out of Detroit with bodies as straight or gaps measured to the thousands of an inch, paint polished to snot smooth and ultratittium booby gloss shine.....etc.  So, as Dad said, don't skim coat the battery box and don't perfectly straighten the car floor along the drive tunnel or smooth the frame or even take the door gaps beyond what would be expected on a new car or better a driver car.  He explaned we plan to haul dead deer in the trunk with muddy boots stepping on the running boards and sweaty stinky bloody gloves tossed in the back seat while driving down the dirt roads coming out of the woods.....i.e. we plan to use the car.....

I think the painter is getting ready now for the final prime so we can do suspension/motor and then final paint.  Dad seems satisfied that he clearly understands we'll be using Bessy, not looking at her under a $2000 fancy tarp in a climate controlled car bedroom!

[Sharps40]

Dad and I went down to see Ol Bessy on Friday morning.

When we walked in they had just completed shooting epoxy on all the doors/fenders, hood, grill shell and trunk and then moved them out of the booth.

http://i.imgur.com/UWUXnyV.jpg[/img]

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The car had been final stripped and rolled into the booth about an hour before we arrived.  I was able to snap a few photos.

http://i.imgur.com/rRMJwmU.jpg[/img]

http://i.imgur.com/bQdOnu1.jpg[/img]

http://i.imgur.com/GsyFPOF.jpg[/img]

http://i.imgur.com/66F9qzm.jpg[/img]

[Sharps40]

Went down and talked with Jim about the schedule, costs, drive line, paint, suspension.....

 

Came back up an hour later to start going through all the parts and getting the trim sorted out for polishing and....

 

She was fully epoxied!  The body work is officially DONE!

 

Next step is over to the mech side for suspension and drive line!

 

http://i.imgur.com/tBL46p0.jpg[/img]

 

http://i.imgur.com/GIwAioB.jpg[/img]

 

http://i.imgur.com/n5CLRC8.jpg[/img]

 

http://i.imgur.com/0wLpTFk.jpg[/img]

 

http://i.imgur.com/TiSXGBt.jpg[/img]

[Sharps40]

Space...ar...roke....letters...too...............so...21...years...ack...dad...saved....car...a.d...parts.......Wise....dad!

Full...set...of...trim...for...essy.

[Branded]

Th... us... hi. he..

[Sharps40]

keys

messed

up

Started...polish.

Hood.....strip.....

Ram....started...

 

Edited January 9, 2017 by Sharps40

[Branded]

Just picking on you.

[Sharps40]

May not look like much but all the screws came out.  No broken trim.  A few heads drilled and twisted out with a grabit but every one of the fragile 80 year old pot metal d-ring screws that surround the steel and stainless grill louvers came out with no damage to heads, threads or retention clips.  Wew!  Thank you PB blaster!  (and dry Raleigh parts car!!)

This is antique gold.  80 years old.  of all the pieces shown I can get all but the D-rings at a reasonable price (well, expensive reasonable) but the only set of d-rings for sale nation wide over the last 10 months are NOS and priced over $2500!

So....to the recovery.  Two hours careful work and I've now got a full set of trim, stainless and chromed potmetal, to start polishing and restoring.  Straightened the D-rings and the grill tonight on removal.  Just waitin for buffing supplies to arrive....lowes and TSC no longer carry that stuff....so, had to go to Amazon.

I see many hours of work ahead on the grill louvers.  I'm gonna spend most of it watching the rust float off the metal in a bath of steel cleaner for firearms.  Gentle, no attack on the base steel and not much more than a few hours soak ought to have the carbon steel bits ready for a final wash, dry and prime......modern chemistry is way good.

This will be spare trim for the headlight stands.  I already have a full set from the original car.

The grill sides.  Straightened em before the photo....very light bend was all that was needed.  I have a better center piece so after straightning this one, I'll likely cut it down and use the lower section to fill the hole where the crank hole cover was lost long ago.

The pot metal d-rings.  Got them straightened while still screwed to the grill shell, they just has a very gentle bend....probably somebody tapped something with the nose of the car once.  Then took them off.   Probably get a polish and perhaps a clear coat.

Some more gold....every screw and clip from the pot metal d-rings was recovered.  I'll de rust them in solution and use again.  Every thread in both d-rings is perfect.  With care, this set can go back onto Old Bessy's nose with original hardware and stay there for another 80 years.

[Sharps40]

Cleaning up the pair of Ram hood ornaments.  Old Bessy's original Ram in the background, heavily pitted.  The ram from the Raleigh parts car bought in 1991 in the foreground, less pitted.

I may have discovered a top coat that will make one or both look fine, fill the pitts against further weathering and leave the surface feel dead smooth.

Locktight, Ultragel super glue.  I use it on grips as a finish.  tuff as nails and solvent and heat resistant and sticks to about anything.

Here the parts car ram has been cleaned only.  Less pitting but still some holes to fill.  The chrome is thin at 80 so it got a buff at 3000 rpm with a loose muslin wheel with a brass polishing compound followed by red rouge.  It looks grand as can be for 80....another good reason to buy cars and parts from the south and south west....less rot.

Here is Old Bessy's ram, polished with 0000 steel wool only.  Much more heavily pitted on this original Maryland Car and part.

Here is the tail of Old Bessy's ram.  Looks ruff up close.  But its had three coats of ultra gel super glue, each dry coat cut back with 0000 steel wool.  Final finish was a vigorous buffing with the loose muslin wheel and red rouge.  Its smooth as a baby's backside.  Shines like a diamond in a goats backside.  And a test with 0000 wool indicates that the heat and action of buffing did not remove the super glue top coat....merely polished it dead smooth and leveled out the pits.  So, a very tenacious top coat that I could coat the entire chromed piece with to make it shine and feel much smoother.  And, I'm sure, sealing up the surface does for the zinc casting what it does for wood gun grips, seals it against future rot from the elements.

I'll have to glue up the entire surface of Old Bessy's ram and level and buff it out and we'll see what happens.  But for now, I think the Raleigh parts car Ram may be the one that gets put pack on Old Bessy's hood after paint.  Its in a bit better shape after 80 years.

[Sharps40]

One complete set of stainless trim (Old Bessy's original) is cleaned and polished.  Fully 70% of the brightwork on this car is on the hood.

Another set from the Raleigh parts car to remove and polish.  Then I'll select the best bits for Old Bessy and likely sell or trade the rest.

Laid out in the order the parts go on the hood and gull wings, drivers eye view.

Same order, looking from the front of the car to the windshield.

A few up close.  Not to shabby for 80 years old.

[Sharps40]

Fortunately, almost all of Old Bessy's exterior bright work is stainless steel, even the grill teeth and bumper bolts are capped in stainless steel.  Chrome outside is limited to bumpers, bumperettes, hood ornament, door and hood handles, grill surround, trunk handle and trunk hinges. 

But....Old Bessy is now ready for full dress.  Finished the body stainless.  4 bumper bolts found to go with the 4 from the Plymouth parts car, so both bumpers will be capped properly.  The rear quarter trim, the back door trim and the front door trim.  All polished and in good nick.  I was missing one short section of rear door trim....so, I cut and crimped a longer section of spare front door trim to make one from scratch.  Thank heavens Ma Dodge used stainless trim, ya can't crimp chrome!  

Left over to sell is a full 9 piece set of stainless for the hood and a full set of front door trim. 

[Sharps40]

Did some more experimenting on some scraps of pitted plated potmetal.

 

Its about impossible to flow any kind of paint into the pits.  there is always an air bubble.

 

As for the superglue finish.  Three thin coats seems to fill most pits and produces a fine smooth finish when buffed.

 

Red rouge on a medium muslin wheel at 3000 rpm with plenty of force and bringing the part up to ouch temperature won't remove all the superglue finish or even, seemingly, burn it off.  It does a wonderful job smoothing the superglue finish like glass and bringing up a very nice shine.

 

Neither will white (stainless coloring compound) nor orange (brass cutting compound) reliably remove the finish.  In fact, where it breaks through the finish, and with much difficulty, it removes the chrome exposing the copper much faster than it removes the superglue finish. 

 

Car starting fluid will soften the finish so that it becomes moderately difficult to remove with 0000 steel wool but as soon as the fluid flashes off, the finish hardens again.  Its then easier to flake/peel the finish with a thumbnail.

 

About the only reliable way I found to remove the superglue finish is to bring it to Really Ouch temperature with a heat gun and then work the glue off with a brass scraper or thumbnail if you can stand the heat.

 

Seems pretty durable.