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I haven't had much time to test the car more, but I did start to put the fenders back on. Man, dealing with the prewar cars is a whole different beast. Lining up the massive fenders is not easy, and there are a crazy amount of bolts. Not even sure how to get some of them in.

Lots to do still before it's back together.

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Temporary long bolts and some extra vise grips on the running board fender joints helps. As always, get everything started before doing your final tightening. Oh, and make sure all fasteners and cage nuts are cleaned out with a tap/die too and a little lube on the threads to allow as easy as possible to start the bolts and avoid any chance of cross threading. I found that one person pushing on the fender into the cowl area helps get those nasty ones under the fender started, then to start the tightening at the front with the headlight escutcheons to draw the fenders down at the front. I added the hood at the end but left the grill shell loose so I could get the final fitment as good as possible before adding the rad side fasteners as they got tightened last.
Hope it ends up really well for you.
Bob J.

P.S. I think over and over again as I have worked on mine...They did this on an assembly line? They must have had many hands on top and bottom and there is hardly any tolerance or places for adjustment. They must have driven their workers and suppliers crazy!

I think they recommended removing the fenders, radiator, and radiator harness and shell as a unit to perform some service work, such as replacing a front crank seal or timing chain.

I'm guessing that they assembled the fenders, harness, radiator, and shell on a jig at the factory, then hung the whole thing on the car.

The procedure for removing the assembley for certain service work is described in the shop manual.

That makes a lot of sense.
Need a bigger shop than mine!
Bob J.

Thanks guys. I've mostly finished buttoning up the passenger side, and it's okay. Not perfect. I'll hopefully get the driver's side on this week. These tips will hopefully help this next side to go better.

I'm amazed that the whole front clip assembly doesn't bend or flex when it's taken off. The fenders on this super are huge.

-Kevin

Well, still having fuel issues. I did a test drive last week and it seemed to be okay. Drove it today and died within a couple hundred yards. It was a struggle to get it back but eventually was able to get it running enough to get it back in the shop. Definitely starving for fuel.

Not sure where my problem lies. Rebuilt fuel pump tested fine before. New-ish fuel filter placed before the carb. Removed existing fuel filter before the fuel tank.

What tests can I run to check fuel pressure after the pump? Something is not right.

-Kevin

Recheck your filters. If there is debris in thr tank, a short drive can slosh it around enough to break it free and clog your filter. Idling in the garage, it would run fine.

Also, on my 54, I had an acceleration pump on my carb go bad. It would idle forever, put it in drive and give it some gas and it would die.

Likely not an issue and Kev is right about the tank sediment. However if you want to test for pump pressure most vacuum gauges also have a pressure side that you can put on the fuel line to see what your pump is pushing out. Less than 2 is poor, normal is above 2 and up to 4 lbs.
Bob J.

Thanks Kev and Bob. My first thought was fuel filter clogged. It's a metal unit so I have no idea what it looks like on the inside. I worry about the clear plastic ones being so close to the manifolds, but maybe they are okay? It would be nice to see how the filter looks on the inside.

There is an electric fuel pump near the fuel tank. I've read that they have a filter/screen internally....maybe it's clogged? I'll pull it tonight and see.

I'm not sure it's a carb issue because after it died it struggled to stay running at idle afterwards. It would start after a minute, then struggle at idle and die. And I had the car up to 40 mph before it started to die, so not sure the accelerator pump would be the problem.

I have a borrowed borescope that I'm using to look inside the tank. It's hard to get it in and see what's going on, but looks like possible surface rust.

-Kevin

-Kevin