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In both cars there have been many times I've pretty much had my legs over the back of the seat while being head down under the dash.

It's a yoga pose I call "upward facing idiot".

Quote:

Such a fun position

Thanks everyone. The seat is on hold. I have found that removing the bottom seat cushion helps with getting to the dash wiring. I’ve also found that a blanket padding the corners of the frame helps.

I did get around to in to taking a closer look at the floor pan just in front of the rear seat. I knew it was rusted through, but hadn’t actually looked. I don’t think rust encapsulation is going to do the trick!

Looks like a new floor pan is in order!








I did doctor up the front seat a bit. Mostly just reinforced the 60 year old duct tape.

Regarding the floor pan being rusted through, my dad had told me that he always had a problem with the roof leaking and when it rained, the floor in that area would get wet. I believe the water from the roof found its way to this area, which does seem to be the lowest area, and then the rust progressed. Fortunately, in the time Dad had the car (since November 1960), it spent all but five years in the garage and out of the weather.

I’ll definitely need to do some close inspection when it’s time to take all the upholstery out, but everything I’ve seen so far seems to be very solid, including all the wood in the roof. I currently have the top off the car and have been able to look at the roof wood closely.

All things considered, I still consider myself pretty lucky as the floor pan appears to be the only significant rust. Although, I suspect I may find more on the passenger side running board as there is a significant bump in the rubber . I suspect that is due to rust underneath. But, looking from under the car, the there is no sign of rust. But, then again, everything has a serious layer of undercoating on it so I won’t know until the running boards come off. That’s still down the road a bit.

I got the “new” (and correct) generator installed along with the appropriate regulator. It sure would have been nice if Autolite labled the terminals on the regulator. I found a NOS that was still sealed. I had to remove the seal and tracing the wiring to make sure I had the terminals correct.

Everything is working great and no more erratic bouncing of the ammeter.

I did have an unexpected issue…Back when someone put in the Chrysler/autolite 2-brush generator, the mounting was a bit different. They had to use a stack of washers to take up some space at the lower mounts. Then, the top mount hole was in a different place so they had to modify a different mount/belt adjustment arm. I found a way to make what I have work temporarily (flipped it over), but Flackmaster is checking to see if he has the correct mounting arm for me.

Here is what I have.



You can see it had been cut to make work with the Chrysler generator.



I had to flip it over to make it work. It happens to get me at a good point in terms of belt adjustment, but I cannot go tighter (don;’t need to) and I have to completely remove the bolt to pivot the generator if I need to remove the belt.

I decided to start on re-furbishing the heater/defroster. Both motors work well, but a lot of clean up and repainting is needed. For the core, there are definitely signs of leakage. Even though my car is a ‘37, it has had a ‘38=‘39 deluxe heater in it since at least 1960. It’s very possible that it is original as it may have been a dealer installed option and my car was delivered very late in the ‘37 model year. But, there is no way to know for sure. I will keep this heater as I want the car to still be “Dad’s car”.

It’s a bit pricy, but I decided to buy a new core from Brassworks. They sell the correct version for what I have (H-82). In the end, i decided that if I’m going to spend the money for a nice interior, the last thing I want to worry about is the heater springing a leak. For me, it’s a just a matter of piece-of-mind.

Starting point



The trim pieces are decent, but need some TLC



They cleaned up quite nicely




Progress on removing loose paint and rust.







These photos shows where there has clearly been a leak.

Don,

You have the correct heater. The one shown is labelled as a senior deluxe (those horizontal trim pieces that go on the doors are the giveaway), which is accurate for the "stepped up" 138CD...the 138CD falls upward of the standard 120 "junior" designation into the senior category...a truly unique beast that lives between the junior and senior worlds.

You have the auxiliary single (vs dual) defroster outlet on that defroster fan...again, a priced option for your vehicle. Dual defrost was a priced option for 1937 senior deluxe (typically Super8 or twelve) with two clamshell defroster deflectors up on the dash.

This full-up senior deluxe was offered as a priced option in model year 1937, but became more popular in 1938-1939, which corroborates your observations of its configuration.

So, in short, your heater configuration is correct for your model. If you want a credentialed discussion, Bob Supina has the backstory for 1937, but I wanted to give you the "Cliff Notes" (dated myself as a geezer) version.

I am restoring 3 full senior deluxe heaters with dual defrost currently...I will retain 1 for my vehicle, but the other two are emerging soon if you run into issues with yours.

Do you have the defrost duct underdash sheet metal adapter that connects the round flexible defrost duct pipe (coming from the defrost motor) to the bottom of the pot metal clamshell on the dash? If so, I'd like to get some photos/dimensions...no one has these and I am contemplating fabricating some faithful repros...should fit both junior and seniors.

Cheers...Dan M.

Dan - thanks for the background information on the heater. That’s very interesting. Learning the history of the car is a huge part of the fun for me. One thing I’m trying to find is a rumor that my car originally belonged to either Bryce B Smith or the city of Kansas City, MO. The guy my dad bought the car from had told him that he bought it from Bryce B Smith’s estate.

Bryce B Smith was the mayor of Kansas City, MO from 1930 to 1939. Dad was also approached back around 1961 by an older gentleman who started asking about the car. Dad says he claimed to have been Bryce B Smith’s chauffeur and that Dad’s car was the one he drove. Now, he also told Dad that he drove FDR in that car, but I have conclusively proven that part of the story to be false. FDR was in Kansas City, but he was there in 1936. This car wasn’t around quite yet. Anyway, it’s fun searching. I have confirmed that Bryce Smith did in fact have two chauffeurs. One who was a personal employee, and one who was employed by Kansas City.

It’s not a great photo, but before I contort myself more to gather more information, is this the part you are needing information for?

Don: Yes, that black sheet metal diffuser is the one...private message me and we can discuss.

Thanks. Dan

Worked on the heater a bit more. I have the motors stripped, primed and re-painted and I have the cover stripped and primed. I’m waiting on the wrinkle paint for the cover. Thanks again, Dan for pointing me to the paint.