Feature Car January 2 - February 18, 2002
Most old car enthusiasts have dreamed of owning a particular
style or make of automobile. Vancouver
Chapter Member Bruce Watson tells us how his wish became a reality.
Jim Macdonald
Owned by Bruce Watson
Vancouver Chapter
There is nothing to compare with the acquisition of a newly purchased
vintage car. Especially when it is a classic
I purchased my 1938 Cadillac 60 Special from Van Kam Freightlines on
Oct. 28th, 1999. The car
appeared to have been stored for quite some time and driven in the
occasional parade etc. over the years. The history of the car is very limited
and in time I hope to find everything out about it. The journey to take the car to its new home began very early
on a clear warm October morning, disturbed only be the huge cloud of blue smoke
that my car emitted when I had to accelerate and cause my follower to lose sight
of me and my NEW CAR. Even though it was very embarrassing driving in this mist
of blue, the car performed well and I had it safely in it’s new home, my
garage, within the hour. My main task for the winter was to fix small problems
and have the engine work started in the fall of year 2000. Even though I knew it
would be quite a pollutant I just had to take my NEW CAR around the block I
wanted to drive it and to keep it mobile. And I did. I got about two blocks and
the car came to a shuttering stop and would not start. I locked it up and ran
back home for some gas thinking that perhaps the gas gauge might not be reading
correctly and it was out of gas. With five gallons of gas I tried once again to
continue my short drive around the block. An hour and a half later my car was
back in the garage thanks to the towing of the BCAA.
THE FUN BEGINS.
The first problem to be attended to was to source the reason it would no
longer run. I found the gaslines and pump were full of rust from the gas tank.
This was not one of the small problems I had anticipated working on. By myself,
in a regular garage making my body turn into curls not thought possible, I
dropped the gas tank from the chassis and removed it from the car. Pretty big
mess. Nor-est Radiators restored the gas tank to better than new and I happily
took it back home and reinstalled it. The installation was much easier than the
removal had been. With this unanticipated big repair done, the car was now fine
and I returned to finishing those small problems over the summer months. In
October, back on schedule, it was time to take the car to have the engine work
done. The engine was quickly disassembled and sent to Shadblolt’s for
machining.
The Good News; the engine is the original one and all serial numbers
match. The Bad News; three of the
cylinders had to be sleeved as cracks were found in the cylinder walls. With old
cars I am never surprised by the unexpected. The renewal project continued to be
more costly when
it was discovered that some of the valves seats were in rough shape and one of the Heads was showing signs of corrosion. After extensive machining the engine was ready for new Pistons, Rods, Bearing etc. etc. Meanwhile back at the mechanic’s it was necessary to replace the Master Cylinder as it was pitted beyond repair. The car engine repairs were finished in December and with a beam on my face and no more savings left I drove my car back home. The drive home was great and the car has turned my drab little garage into a purposeful place once again. Other than a few around the block trips to add some miles, the Boxing Day 2000 event was the first long run. Throwing a hub cap, which was retrieved, was the only problem we encountered on our first run since purchasing the Caddie In the New Year I will begin once again on the continuous smaller projects. This treasure needs a heater and controls and I will have to either locate a second hand steering wheel in good shape or have the original one repaired and then find a new temperature gauge. A small amount of bodywork and painting will complete the project. Right!
Bruce
at Langley Cruise-in 2001
Bruce Watson
Vancouver Chapter
