The purpose of this Blog

This blog is to detail my 50 years (1973 - 2023) with a 1928 Chevrolet tourer, affectionately called "The Red Chev".

The acquisition, restoration, improvements and my experiences over the years are covered in as much detail as I can remember.

Some of the later postings include car club outings and other vintage car items that I hope will be of interest to people.

If you have the time, scroll back to where it all began in 1973 and follow the journey so far.

Thanks for dropping by.

Regards Ray Dean


See my new section "The Red Chev - Repairs, Improvements, Maintenance and Technical Details" located on the left hand side of the screen.




Pages

Monday, September 29, 2014

The "Blue Chev" or "Stan" is home at last.

After a once over by a mechanic, all oils replaced, and the radiator repaired, Patrick drove his new toy, a 1925 Chev tourer home last Saturday, a trip of some 6o k's, sitting on 45 mph most of the way.

Pleased to hear all went well.

The next day Patrick did Bunnings, Woollies, Coles and had a dozen kids (strangers) sitting in her to have their pictures taken. 

Patrick says the names "Stan" and "The Blue Chev" have been mentioned a few times..


Sunday, September 28, 2014

Wooden Wheel Repair for Chris's Green 1926 Chev ( Updated 10th October 2014)

If you have been following Chris's makeover and repair of the rear wheels for his Chev, scroll down to "Update 10th October"

If your reading this for the first time, its a great read from top to bottom



The original posting can be viewed at
http://my28chev.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/wooden-wheel-repair-for-chriss-1926.html

Update no 1 (28th September 2014)

The biggest problem we encountered was some very poor quality work done by a previous owner that rendered one wheel borderline to keep or replace. Very pleased to say that Chris has progressed well and is now on the home stretch to having two rear wheels "as tight as a drum" and more importantly, safe.

The following pictures Chris sent today show wheels in a lot better condition than they were about 2 weeks back.

A previous repairer had chiseled a portion of the rear of the spokes where they fit onto the hub and driven a partial sleeve in-between. This had not worked and was potentially dangerous as the front half of the spokes were not supported on the hub.

We ran a hole saw through the center of the hub to ensure the hole was as even as possible, and Chris turned up a sleeve that would be a press fit into the spokes and the hub.


It may sound a funny statement but in this photo the wheel looks very tight, sanded and ready for repainting.


The following pictures shows the amount of shims (evenly placed) that were required to firm up the wheel. There is a shim between every spoke, and this was required by the spokes either being reproductions that have shrunk, or what I suspect being they were shaved previously to refit the wheel together. Prior to the wheel being stripped down, the center had twisted by shims not evenly placed.

 
This is always the good part, repainting!


One wheel well on the way to being ready for action. More important, SAFE.


Moral of the story ...... If you choose to use Gorilla glue, use rubber gloves and don't get it on your hands. Chris and I discovered it takes a week to wear off, there is no way to get it of your skin.

Update No 2 (10th October 2014)

I called by Chris's place today, very impressed with developments. The wooden spokes now have a great metallic sound when hit with a hammer, and they even look tight.

Chris has put a lot of work into the repair and I am sure that he could pass on the process to another person.......... that's a key point.

The latest pictures are as follows:













Friday, September 26, 2014

Safety Measures - Not required here - Nothing ever happens to us???


We have come a long way since then, and this is still not the latest and greatest.
 

Even Porsche look very primitive with a wooden bench and scattered tools at Lemans

 
 
 

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Collection of every Chevy Convertible built between 1913 and 1975



This video by www.LegendaryCollectorCars.com is of the Dennis Albaugh Private Collection of every Chevy Convertible built between 1913 and 1975. The collection is located in Ankeny Iowa but is not open to the public. It contains not only every convetible but numerous other very rare and important Chevrolets including Yenkos, Copos, and even a Holden!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

A Few More Vintage Photos from Patrick Ryan

Patrick sent me some more images of my dad and his siblings with the Chev of the day




Now this will test a few Chev experts
This is Patrick's mum and dad when they got engaged in 1956
 This appears to be a Chev, but do you know what model it may be?
 
(Comment from Ray- Have not got a clue)
 
According to Kevin from Dapto, it's a 1927 Oldsmobile tourer

 

If you have any old pictures of you family and friends involving a vintage car and would like them posted with or without a story, send them to me, more than happy to post them

Monday, September 22, 2014

Another Aussie Chev - Patrick Ryan' 1925 Chev Tourer

 

 I received an email today from Patrick in New South Wales with some great pictures of his new pride and joy, and the following is his story........so far

 

Here is a pic of my dad, and his dad, with the old farm 28 Chev (my dad always called it)

I  have recently purchased a 1925 Chev Superior K Touring.

The Chev was purchased rom a local fellow, who has had it for over 20 years I understand, and had it fully restored in 2000, but had only done 30 miles since, and was last registered in 2004.

Apparently, I am now the 3rd owner, as the current owner and restorer purchased it from the original owners family. This is all hearsay at the moment, so I am not sure what is true or not.

I am also a Mechanical Engineer, worked my way up through, International trucks, then IVECO trucks, moved to IVECO factory as a Regional Service Manager,

Then as Regional Sales Manager. I then moved to Eaton Truck Components where I looked after the Eaton Road Ranger product for over 5 years before I have ended up here at Volvo Group, as Sales Support Manger for the UD brand.

All the while, I have never stopped working at home, on cars (mainly kids love jobs) on anything with an engine. Plus a range of 1950’s Victa’s.

I had a boat that I sold after not using it for a couple of years, and thought I would buy an old car to work on, preferably a WW2 Jeep.

A hot rodder (I’m not interested in anything but originality myself Ray) mate of mine saw this as it was uncovered after 10 years in the corner of the panel shop he frequents, in Mascot.

The only problem was it has not turned a wheel, or had been started since 2004

He said, forget the Jeep, look at this!

I fell in love immediately.

I will be taking delivery of it next Saturday 27th September as the owner had an old mechanic go over it from top to bottom.

This included:

Removing the head and fixing one seized valve

Draining and replacing all oils and fluids.

Getting the original Stewart warner vacuum fuel system up and working (working well now)

Complete tune up and checks of the original 6V system

Checking every nut and bolt

Removing the L/H king pin as she wouldn’t accept grease and a bit of wet & dry and now perfect.

After a good drive, I reported the Moto Meter was showing a bit hot, and I discovered the original honeycomb radiator was hot at the top and cool at the bottom.

I diagnosed a potential blocked, or at least partially blocked radiator. This is being done as we speak.

This has put delivery back 1 week, but all for the best.

We had to remove the original Alemite T type grease nipples, fit a BSP nipple, grease the item then replace. (cant buy an Alemite T type coupling)

All good.

After doing a lot of homework on this car, I can so far tell, she is 100% faithful in her restoration, she still even has her original coil.

Here are some other (poor iphone images) pics I have taken during my few visits to the mechanic.

 

Strange key, which I have no idea where it came from, nor does the owner.



 

Below is a small video of the first start up since 2004, and having the head re fitted

 

 

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Wooden Wheel Repair for Chris's 1926 Chev Tourer

Beautiful day to run the Red Chev over to Narre Warren to give Chris a hand to repair the rear wheels on his 26 Chev Tourer, nice car.




Both the rear wheels had loose spokes, and an attempted earlier repair by a previous owner had made the condition worse.

The first job was to remove the hubs from both wheels, remove the old shims that had been  incorrectly spaced and were twisting the spokes out of position.

The area of the spokes that contacts the hubs and brake drums was sanded and treated with          Chair -Loc to expand and fill the grain.

By the end of the day both wheels were shimmed, drilled, re-dowelled, glued and were as tight as a drum, making a metallic ringing sound when tapped with a hammer.

The re-dowelling process was identical to what I did on the Red Chev in 2010 , pictures below









Chris has still to machine up a sleeve for one wheel to correct a previous owners attempt repair, fit new high tensile bolts to attach the brake drums to the hubs and the job is done.

Chris's 26 Chev will very soon be back on the road just in time for summer.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

1926 Stake Bed Truck (look at the detail)

Found this on Ebay

Stake bed trucks are not top of my favorite Chevs, but you cant help but admire the detail that has gone into the restoration.

Wood work of the highest standard here.