THE STEERING COLUMN

Now, back to my information to the layperson.

A week or so ago I talked about what needs to be done to a Brass-era car to make it road-worthy for serious touring. 

Now, what do I do to the car each day as far as daily maintenance? 

The first thing I do is walk around the car and give it a good visual inspection to see that the tires are up, there is no sign of loose lug nuts (wheel nuts) or anything else that might be out of the ordinary.  I do a visual inspection on each side of the engine to see that the fan belt is tight, that there are no signs of unusual oil, water, or gas leaks.  I look to see if anything might be loose, etc.  Each day I lubricate the car - grease all the fittings, fill all the oil cups with oil, check and add oil to the engine, check to see that there is sufficient water in the radiator, check the fuel level which requires removing the passenger's seat cushion and inserting a measuring stick into the tank.  The fuel in the tank is transferred to the carburetor solely by gravity flow so it is not a good idea to let the fuel level get too low in the tank or else the fuel in the tank will not have sufficient weight to push the fuel into the carburetor.  I never let it get below three gallons in the tank.  I look under the car to see where gas, oil or water may be dripping.  Water dripping from the water pump likely indicates that the packing nuts need to be tightened a little.  Gas dripping may indicate that the carburetor float is stuck.  The remedy for that is usually tapping on the side of the carburetor with a wrench.  It is a little like jiggling the handle on a toilet to keep it from running.  It is normal for these cars to leak some oil - the engine, transmission, rear axle, etc. didn't have oil seals in those days.  Experience tells me about how much dripping is normal.  Excess amounts require further investigation.  

Every couple of weeks, I check the air pressure in the tires with a gauge.  There should be about 60 pounds of air pressure.  About every 3,000 miles, I'll check the oil level in the transmission and the rear axle.  On a trip like this one, I'll be changing the oil about every 1,000 miles.  These engines don't have oil filters so it is important to change oil often.  I use straight 30 weight oil containing high levels of zinc for proper lubrication.  I add a dash of Marvel Mystery Oil to each tank of gas.  I also add an additive called Ethanol Shield to counteract the effects of ethanol fuel.  Most people who work on cars and old cars, especially, will tell you that ethanol is garbage.  I use ethanol-free gas whenever I can find it.   

Next time we'll talk about what is involved in starting the car.