@TheFairbanks
YO
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Here's a better clip of the engine running before we loaded it onto the trailer. Makes the noises it should, which is fun.
But don't let that get your hopes up.
Dave, this is very cool! I'm a big fan of the victoria body style. Looking forward to your progress. You will encounter all of the typical issues with one of these cars I'm sure. Stick with it!!!
Onwards and downwards to part two of this tale of dispair. Remember, I bought this car to drive and tinker, not to strip and rebuild. That's a key ingredient to this recipe.
Ok, where were we? Oh right, the maiden voyage around the block that was a complete disaster.
Well, once the one brake shoe was subjected to Thanos' finger snap, it was decided I should maybe go over the car just a bit deeper than originally planned. At this point we began to uncover all the goblins.
Let's start with those brakes, shall we? First of all, the pedal wouldn't return because the spring pulled an Amelia Earhart and just disappeared. The master cylinder was also filled with more rust than fluid, so there's that.
The wood wheels were decrepit. Several studs for the hub/brake drum were broken or missing. Radiator was Swiss cheese. Fuel pump was cracked. The conversion to 12v was done by a grade 2 class. Oil filter return port was just...open to the world. Carb was leaking. Steering box was loose. The brake line was sealed to a cylinder using a penny with a hole drilled through it (not up to the Peerless standard...maybe should have been a loonie, at least). Wiring was not covered, some missing. Fuel system more closely resembled bubblegum than anything else.
Here's where it gets scary.
Remember the whole, found in pieces and put together to be sold? Well, the car is held together by 30% of the fasteners it should. Started with the fenders and bumpers missing more than a handful of bolts, and has since grown to the body being united with the frame using nine total Home Depot bargain bin bolts. A Model A has nine down each side (or at least that's what I think I counted in diagrams).
This revelation was the moment I realized nothing that had been done to this car previously can be trusted.
"Runs and drives well."
Sadness hit. This car was further away from a cruise night than my Willys, which I sold for that very reason. Just too damn busy for this level of work at the moment.
But this is a Peerless. I'm never going to see another one of these locally. I'm the only one. And that, apparently, carries some weight because I haven't listed this bucket of, well, not bolts because it's missing them all. Have I considered it? Oh, without a doubt. But but because of what it is, I've sorta bought into it.
Up next: Part Three - What's missing and how I got lucky...with parts.
A tale told many times. Do as little as possible with each step. Resist the urge to pull most of the car apart at once. Would love to see each incremental project one a time. Those are always so informative and instructive to the next poor fool.
On a Peerless, you could go to car shows for decades and not run in to one. So a car worthy of the attention that this one will require.
This is really cool. I'm looking forward to watching your progress.
If I asked you how many bolts should be holding the body to the frame, what would you guess?
While I cannot find an exact diagram that depicts all the mating points, I can tell you that it's probably more than seven.
Yup - a handful plus one. That's all that was preventing the body of the car from becoming its own Jetsons flying automobile. Better yet, it was the lowest grade of Home Depot steel money could buy.
It wasn't even even, Steven. More down the one side than the other.
It's like the Bat signal is going off, letting me know not a single thing on this car can be trusted. At this rate, the transmission was rebuilt with Lego and they filled the gas tank with Mustard to try and get things running.
Each step towards progress feels like ten steps towards the cliff. Isn't it ironic, don't ya think? (Alannis shout-out).
But, at least I finally got my sandblaster plumbed. Maybe I can clean off the new wheels to find out the spokes are actually spaghetti noodles.