Monthly Archives: June 2011

ONE PAGE MINI SHOP MANUAL

Speaking of spark plugs, have you ever been engrossed in cleaning them and when it came time to set their gaps could not for the life of you remember how many thousandths of an inch was correct? A ’49 shop manual has all this sort of information, but that means getting out the manual and turning pages with your greasy hands until you come to the right place. Why not have all your ‘49’s specs and similar info set forth on one or two pages you can quickly refer to? I recently came upon the following sheet which has most of everything you need to know in the way of specifications when working on a ’49 and it is now posted on a wall in my garage. Cut it out and hang it up if you think you’ll find it useful too

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TECH TIP 49 CADILLAC SPARK PLUGS

Early ’49 Cadillacs used AC 48 spark plugs, a very “hot” plug. The difference between hot and cold spark plugs is how quickly the plug body dissipates heat. Hot spark plugs dissipate heat slowly, keeping its temperature higher, which allows the plug to burn off harmful carbon deposits quickly. They are used in cars that are usually driven slowly and in stop and go traffic, whose motors frequently don’t get fully warmed up. When designating the spark plug for the new ‘49, Cadillac engineers thought most of them would be used under such conditions, but apparently this turned out not to be the case as the following 1949 Cadillac factory “Serviceman’s Supplement” explains:

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So, to be absolutely authentic either AC 48 or 46-5 spark plugs can be used in early motors, but only 46-5s should be used in motors from number 31,613. Nonetheless, NOS AC 48 plugs seem to be more easily found today. Also, your motor may need a hotter plug anyway if you don’t drive much at high speeds, so you may want to stick with them. And, between us ‘49ers, how many cars show judges would know this obscure factoid anyway?

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GETTING YOUR BRAKES’ HYDRAULIC SYSTEM IN SHAPE OR STOPPING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN GOING

by Art Gardner

Many of you are aware of the tendency these days to “update” the car’s brakes with disk brakes in an effort to make the car safer. In my opinion, the biggest danger with the original 1949 Cadillac brakes is the lack of a second circuit, not raw stopping power. Up through 1961, I think, the brakes were all single circuit. Certainly in 1949 they were single circuit. That means that if you pop a line or hose or wheel cylinder anywhere on the car, you will lose ALL brakes all at once. Dual circuit brakes, which I think started with the 1962 Cads, eliminate that risk and leave you with either front or rear brakes in the event of a calamity. Many people will say, but “hey, I have never had a problem, so why change anything.” But when you do have a problem, this is a BIG problem.

So, the most important thing, in my opinion is to make sure the original parts are PERFECT, especially the metal lines. Brake fluid is hydrophilic, meaning it attracts moisture (right out of the air). The water that gets in the lines in this way rusts the metal lines from the inside out. They can look perfectly normal in a visual inspection, but be rusting away on the inside. One day a pinhole pops though and you lose all brake pressure. This happens more regularly than you might think, which is why the government eventually outlawed single circuit brakes. This fluid-borne rust is also how your wheel cylinders and master cylinder get pitted. The fix is to replace the plain metal lines with stainless steel lines. Put on all new hoses. Sleeve the wheel cylinders and the master cylinder with brass or stainless steel. Flush out the brake fluid and replace it with new fluid every 2-3 years. Do that and the original drum brakes should be safe for a long time!

If you want to make them even safer, you can put in a dual circuit master cylinder. It takes some extra work and plumbing, but to me it is worth it for the additional peace of mind. This is what I did with my last ‘49 6107 Club Coupe and am doing it to my new ‘49 coupe. I developed a nice kit for installing such in the original mounting place on the frame, so everything looks great and works correctly. I haven’t worked out how to do this on my 1956 Series 60 Fleetwood, but I am still noodling on it (as there is precious little room at the front of the 56 power brake booster for a dual circuit master).

I tried a disk brake “kit” on my last 49 and it was a disaster. I never did get it to work right, so I gave up and went back to the reliable drum brakes (augmented by my dual circuit master kit using a modern Wilwood dual circuit master).

I drive my old Cadillac’s as daily transportation. Right now, I use the ’49 fastback in the cold months (it is black and has no air conditioning) and use the ’56 60S in the warm months (its factory air works great). So I am relying on my good old drum brakes every day to stop my cars and keep me safe.

If you use the car only occasionally, such as for club events a few times per year, you might feel less motivated to be so finicky about brakes and might be tempted to do the minimum, instead of the maximum, in restoring the brakes. I can understand that tendency. But keep in mind that, as the song says, rust never sleeps and the corrosion inside the lines and the cylinders continues whether you use the car or not. So you can still have a safety issue with the brakes, even if you only use the car a few times per year.

If you keep the single master, but make the entire system perfect, you should be okay. A dual circuit master is a nice peace of mind as an extra safety measure, but you should be okay without it if everything else is right.

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DROOPING DRIVERS DOOR HANDLE REDUX

We’ve touched upon this problem in past issues of the Times, but there’s always new information coming to hand. Drooping door handles, particularly that of the driver’s door which gets more use, is an annoying problem on ’48 and ’49 Cadillacs. Referring to the photo on the next page of a front latch, it is caused by the door handle’s square steel shaft that goes inside the door to enter the square opening in a softer pot metal piece in the latch called the tumbler, indicated by Arrow A.
Over the years, constant use causes the square opening in the tumbler to become partially rounded, resulting in the weight of the handle causing it to droop. (Arrow B points to the hole in the tumbler for the door handle set screw and Arrow C to the lock plate controlled by the outside key lock.)
There are several fixes, as set forth in the next paragraph, all of which, unfortunately, require removing the door panels and getting into the innards of the door. Though this is a lengthy job, as lots of screws must be unscrewed and lots of parts removed, unless you have to deal with taking apart the door latch itself it is not technically difficult. (The larger arrows in the photo point to two difficult-to-deal-with springs in the mechanism that must be removed and replaced when taking apart the latch.) Note that convertibles and Coupe de Villes have different door latches than club coupes and sedans. The above photo comes from the 1948 Fisher “C” Body Manual for Cadillacs and Oldsmobile 98s, which has excellent, well written, illustrated step-by-step procedures for doing this type of work. They can usually be found on Ebay and I suggest you buy one.

1. The best fix is to find another door latch in better or new condition. This way you avoid taking apart the latch which, as mentioned above, can be tricky. I once lucked out at a flea market and found a brand new ’49 Buick driver’s door latch for a club coupe (such as mine) or a sedan. 1949 Buick Supers and Roadmasters as well as ’48 and 49 Oldsmobile 98s used the same door latch as ’48 and 49 Cads. In my experience Buick and Olds parts frequently sell for less than the identical Cadillac parts, so you can try dealers that sell stuff for those cars. I was recently told that in the 1948 version of the latch the tumbler is made of bronze, which is much more durable than the’49 pot metal tumbler.

2. If the car is a convertible or Coupe de Ville, ’49er Ron Brooks of Twin Lake MI makes a sturdier tumbler to replace the original pot metal tumbler, which he sells for $125 or so. His phone number is 231-821-2812.

3. For other models of ’48 or ’49 Cadillac, All Cadillacs of the ‘40s and ‘50s www.allcads.com sells a sturdier replacement tumbler for $50 or so.

While both of the above are excellent replacement parts which are far superior to the original part, as mentioned above removing the latch from the door then installing the new part is not easy and requires much patience.

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IT WORKS FOR ME 8 VOLTS SOLVES THE 6 VOLT STARTING PROBLEMS

After reading the article in the March ’11 Times on 6 volt battery problems, I thought I’d share with everyone how I solved the problem. I put in an 8 volt battery. Everything stays the same. The voltage regulator is re-set to 8.6 volts, which is enough to do the job. All the bulbs are ok and when I tell her to start it sounds just like a 12 volt system. I had the same problem on a 1948 Lincoln V12 which 8 volts fixed. I’m sure there will be much controversy, but it works for me

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GET YOUR 49 OUT FOR SPRING

Greetings and salutations, my fellow ‘49ers. Supposedly, spring has sprung although we’ve only had about 5 decent days so far here in the Northeast. It’s time to get your vintage Cadillac(s) out of mothballs and ready for another season of cruise nights and car shows. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the many well-wishers who emailed me congratulations on my new “position” and offering words of encouragement. That was very thoughtful of you and much appreciated.

I recently received a call from our friend and benefactor, Ed Cholakian, who owns All Cadillacs of the ‘40s and ‘50s. We had a pleasant chat and Ed extended his best wishes to our chapter on its 10th anniversary. Ed has been very generous in the past, supporting the ‘49ers financially, and instructed me to contact him if we need anything. Unbeknownst to me, Ed is also an official distributor for Lynn Steele rubber products and has benevolently offered to extend a 20% discount to all members of the ‘49ers. So, if you need any Steele products, please purchase them through Ed. Thanks, Ed.

About a month ago I added yet another ’49 Cadillac to the “stable”. This one’s a model 7533X 9-passenger Imperial Business Sedan, a.k.a. a limo. I named her The Countess. I plan to pen a “Pride and Joy” article on her in a future ’49 Times.
The other two members of the “royal family” are The Duchess, a ’49 Club Coupe, and The Baroness, a ’49 model 6269 sedan.

With Jay’s blessing, I’ve decided to add a couple of new features to our newsletter. One is “Welcome New Members”, fashioned after a feature that appears in each issue of The Self-Starter. The second, also starting this issue, is called “Birth Announcements”, which will welcome members’ newest acquisitions. Please email me if you recently purchased a ’48-49 Cadillac! Be sure to provide the year and model, the name of the new “baby” if you name them as I do, and any other interesting factoids about the vehicle.

Also in the works is a series of informational articles on the Hydro-lectric system which will start with the next issue of the ‘49 Times. The series will begin with a general overview and operating principles of this system and will gradually deal with technical aspects, such as testing and trouble-shooting. Once again, I urge members to please submit items of interest for possible inclusion in future issues of the ’49 Times, such as Tech Tips, stories and pics of your Pride and Joy, and anything else relevant to our passion. We need your help; we can’t do all this alone.

Finally, I spoke with Nancy Book who, along with her husband Mike, is involved with the running of the CLC Grand National to be held in Dublin (near Columbus), Ohio August 10-13, 2011. We now have a conference room reserved for a ‘49ers chapter meeting the afternoon of the judged car show, Saturday, August 13th, from 3 to 4 pm. Details of what room we’ll be in will be available at the registration desk and will also be posted on the CLC bulletin board. We need a volunteer or two to make a brief presentation, such as a tech session, “show and tell” or anything else you feel would be of interest to the ’49ers. Please make every effort to attend this chapter meeting, even if it’s just to stop in and say “hello”.

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