Tuesday, May 13, 2014

P59 Update #2



April 19th. After the snow had melted and the ground had firmed, it was no trick to get the car out to the Lodge, however getting it off the trailer was another matter. On the plus side, bruises eventually heal.



While rusty, the car showed a lot of potential. The dash was mint, the seats were soft and in good shape, the carpet wasn’t torn away. Yet it was obvious the mice had had their way with the headliner and the ashtrays full of firewall insulation told a similar tale. We won’t discuss the smell. One taillight worked, the radio was clear as a bell(!), dash lights were inop but the wiring was in good shape. Those things could wait. The first order of business was seeing if we could get the engine to start. So began the first of many expenditures. New plugs and wires were ordered and a new point set as well. While we knew the engine would turn freely via the battery (!) getting it to start would be another matter.

April 25th: An oil pressure gauge was setup under hood and new oil and fuel filters were bought and installed for the test. A 5 gallon can of non-ethanol was plumbed up and the work began. We had some initial trouble getting the 389 to roar to life. We knew we had fuel, but no spark. It appeared someone else may have had similar trouble as the coil resistor had been bypassed, but there was no reason it shouldn’t at least sputter with new points. After some head-scratching and electrical continuity testing, we determined the new points were inop! We tried a second set and still had an intermittent closed-circuit when the points were together. Now, these weren’t the cheapest of points, but they weren’t the gilded 30 dollar sets, either. Finally, I grabbed a set I had on the shelf (GP brand) for the ’59 Cad and the motor came to life with ease. So, word to the wise, just because they’re new, don’t assume they’ll work. Will I eventually go breakerless? Maybe. But first we need to prove out the transmission.



And so the engine ran great. Good oil pressure, a sticky lifter that cleared itself, quick revving and smooth sounding. All was well except a weeping water pump. Hey, you can’t expect everything to go perfectly. With that green light, we proceeded to pull the brake drums. The fronts looked decent but the rears were heavily gouged. No problem! How tough could it be to find some drums?

April 26th: Big Money #2. The waterpump was ordered. Herein lies a tale. This car uses, what is referred to as, a Counter Clockwise pump. Here’s a good primer on the subject: http://www.pontiacsafari.com/EngineCooling/ Don’t trust any websites or parts stores until you’ve confirmed the pump you have because most sources are incorrect. You can’t go off casting numbers, either, because it’s the impeller shape that’s different, not the body. Physical rotation is unchanged, too. Luckily, I did this before ordering. The CCW pump is around 2-3x the price of the CCW pump but if you watch ebay, you might catch a deal.
 
CCW Pump Fin Direction
Meanwhile…. I had been on the hunt for an air cleaner housing. For whatever reason, this was the one part the car was missing. I could either buy a cheapo Chinese chrome job that may or may not fit and rust out in short order, or I could hold out for a GM unit that would fit the 2GC. Nice ones were going for good money on that popular auction site, but I managed to snag one on the cheap, intended for a mid-60s Buick after confirming the bore size with the seller. While that was in transit, I found a guy that would sandblast the rims for 10 bucks a piece. If you’ve ever spent time leaning over a bead blast cabinet, you know you can’t beat that deal. However before blasting, I needed to confirm the wheel paint color and get an aerosol can mixed up. That would prove to be a challenge.

April 28: For only a few dollars, the local ag supply box store (with full tire department) would strip the cracked bias plies off the 14” rims. Stopped by after work and dropped them off. 24 hours later they were ready.

April 30: Dropped off the rims for blasting. I also attempted to match the color locally and determined the car’s paint code was Gulfstream Blue. Neither Dulux, Lucite or PPG reference numbers would work in the paint supplier’s system. Though in retrospect, fresh paint wouldn’t have matched the faded body anyhow.

May 1: Hey, check out these rims! And look at that, the air cleaner fits. With rain imminent, I pressed forward after work and got them primed, sealed and stored indoors to avoid flash rust. 




May 2: More parts ordered from Rockauto. This time shocks all around, a timing set (might as well while the waterpump is being changed), new fuel pump (more preventative maintenance) and misc cooling system parts.

Weekend of May 3-4: Time to get a few things straightened out with the interior. One, got the dash pulled and the radio removed for a recap. Two, figured out how to remove the headlight switch to fix the rheostat issue affecting no dash lights at night (with switch plunger pulled all the way out, reach up behind the dash and depress the small release button built into the switch housing. The entire shaft will come out from the front and the retaining nut can be unthreaded). These rheostats are connected via pressure to two electrical tabs in the switch body. Corrosion overtakes the entire rheostat coil and in the end it’s a lost cause. Since these oldies aren’t the brightest anyhow, I like to bypass the rheostat and eliminate the source of the problem. Few people have ever complained about a 55 year old dash being too bright.


#57 bulbs are used everywhere in cars of this era. You can either pay $4.99 for a pack of two at your FLAPS, or buy them online, four for a buck.

That's more like it!

Radio Recap: The Catalina is equipped with a Super Delux radio with front and rear speaker and an external combination fader/tone control. The fact that the radio is working and the speakers are completely intact might be the biggest surprise of all. To keep the radio going for years to come I decided a recap was in order. I had replacements on hand for the paper caps on the main board, but the oddball electrolytics would have to be ordered. Mouser to the rescue!

Drum City: In parallel with the rim blasting efforts, I took the drums to a local shop that has the capability to turn them on a lathe and true them up. While the clerk put in a good effort measuring them on my tailgate, I was lucky that he misread the dimensions of the front pair. To drive home the point of how big a chore this was going to be, he checked his books for new replacements and not a single number was listed.

Now, the Catalina uses 2”x11” drums in the rear while the wagons and HD cars get 2-1/2” x 11”.  The latter appear to be available quite a few places. The former, not so much. After more fruitless searching, I took the old drums to a FLAPS that could turn them. This time I took the measurements and found the fronts had never been turned, but the rears were at their limits. But again a problem- the machine had recently been repaired and the staff didn’t trust it to turn a set of unobtainium drums. I was advised to take a trip across town to their other franchise where the machine was in good working order. This time I got a lecture that they shouldn’t even turn the drums because, despite my providing the max dimensions, they couldn’t find a reference in their computer. The silver lining was that they wouldn’t touch them until I pulled the bearings, and a check on bearing prices was enough to convince me to run the front drums as-is.

Questionable Materials.


 I drove across town, bought shoes in stock at Autozone, and went home.





Friday, May 9, 2014

Project: P-59


Since not a lot of blogging has been taking place lately, and since I have no dedicated internet connection at home to support creating and modifying html pages, I thought, what better place than here to chronicle the resurrection of a 1959 Pontiac. So, here we go.

It was a cold and snowy January day when my buddy Ben sent me a craigslist link to an interesting car with a very decent price and located within an afternoon’s drive of CF. I shot the seller a message and heard back that same day (Jan 10, 2014) that the car was still available, so now the only question remained, when could we go see it? Menomonie, WI is about a 4 hour drive, and in my mind it wouldn’t make sense to pull a trailer for 8 hours if the car was junk.

With some pretty decent weather, we took the Sonic up to inspect the car. I think we were both a little shocked, Ben more so, when I pulled out cash and made the deal while he was snapping pics. The interior was in surprisingly good condition, the tires were holding air, the paint combo was terrific, and the engine spun freely. Even the radio fired up. Yes, the body had its share of pinhole rust, but I could live with that. It wouldn’t make sense to take a 4-door Catalina and pour thousands into bodywork and paint given the other examples out there. But in its current state, it’d make a great driver. All it needed was brakes…fuel line…a running engine…suspension parts….tires….



With the deal made, the next step was getting the car home. This was easier said, than done. After finally landing a date that worked, and after getting Ben’s dad’s trailer free (long story), we attempted to make our way (Jan 25, 2014). This didn’t go so hot. The 1993 Chevy pickup performed admirably for its first time out, but the weather slayed us. The roads had glazed with ice from the high crosswinds and it would only get worse the further north we drove. After an hour or so north, with cars getting fewer and fewer, and with the ice so bad we couldn’t break 35MPH without fishtailing, we decided to call it off and reschedule.


Feb 1st, and we were finally successful. Other than some very rough road that just about threw us out of the truck, some very tight loading work to clear the trailer fenders, and the disappointment of finding Skoogs closed, the trip was otherwise uneventful.


However, I was now presented with a new problem. As our lane was impassable, the car would have to sit at the parents place in town until spring. Fine.


 

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Thanks for the Memory



After puttering off and on with my relay computer design over the last several years, and scrapping two major revisions, I’m finally at the point where the design is 98% frozen. Controls have been identified, dimensions documented, instruction set semi-frozen and internal timing coded. The challenge is that you have no idea how the machine will eventually be used. Unlike a toaster oven where your bases are covered with a thermostat and a power switch, this computer must be flexible enough to handle a variety of different tasks, yet have the necessary controls and features to allow simple, straightforward use. About all that can be done is to simulate such varied use as though the computer did exist, writing programs and working through different interaction scenarios to make sure my bases are covered.

Interestingly, the machine will have two different memory systems. A high-speed solid state memory of 4096 words (4k) and an electromechanical relay-based system originally targeted to be 128 words. And herein lies the rub.

A ‘word’ (or byte in today’s parlance) is 8-bits. The ‘straightforward’ method of design requires 8 relays to store the 8 bits, plus 8 relays (or two, 4-pole relays) to act as switches to gate the word onto/off of the data bus. Additionally, you need a relay to ‘reset’ the word when it’s loading data from the bus. Total: 11 relays x 128 words = 1408 relays.

Due to size limitations of where the memory will be placed in the machine, I only have enough room for 96 words. Still a lot of relays, but I actually have them all on hand. Recently I developed a new method of storage and addressing using bi-stable latching relays and some clever diode logic. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages- consider this:

Pros:
Only 8 relays required per word vs 11, and no 4-pole relays required. That’s a 30% reduction.
Power consumption is ZERO vs 30 Amps with full memory!
Retains its data even when power is off.
Can be read and written to simultaneously with separate busses should the computer support it.
Reduced footprint means 128 words in square area of 96.

Cons:
Approx $1 a piece in quantity; I have none.
I already have the necessary parts for the std mem design.

So yeah, the latter is a more elegant design, but because I’m sick and tired of spending money, I suppose the original shall have to do.