My 38 Project.

JP38

JP38

Junior Member
My wife passed this to me from her deceased father. Has been sitting for 15 years, was running when parked in garage prior to his passing. Where do I start to get her back on the road?
 

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IMO
First I would pull the coil off and send that to Skip Haney 29436 Taralane Dr
Punta Gorda FL 33982 and have Skip rework your coil. Next I would pull the distributor and fuel pump and send them to Michael Driskell at Third Gen Automotive in Mc Minville TN and have him go through both of those and set the distributor dead nuts and Ethanol compatible fuel pump and get a brand new condenser from him as well. Third Gen Auto 2600 Old Nashville Hwy Mc Minnville TN 37110. Next I would send your carburetor to Uncle Max (Normally I use CharlieNY but he is dealing with personal issues and is taking a hiatus at this time) so I do not have his contact info...other will also chime in with carburetor advise I am sure...once those four are done and you get them back, they will ALL be plug and play items, hook your battery up and you should be running fine and free!!!! Maybe while you are waiting for those things to get back you might flush the radiator and engine and renew your coolant and check the fuel lines and make sure those are clear and clean, maybe get you a new rubber fuel supply line(Third Gen as well) from the firewall to the fuel pump and make sure that is also ethanol compatible and insurance that you know in the future that will not cause any issues.
 
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While you are working to get it to run, be thinking about getting it to stop. The stock 38 had cable operated brakes, which are pretty good if properly maintaned and adjusted. But sitting for 15 years has likely caused lubricants to harden and things to stiffen. I suggest getting some references on cable brake maintenance and go through the whole system, including refreshing the front and rear wheel bearing grease.
 
brakes and gas are the two things that suffer when a car is left setting. Check the inside of the gas tank for sour gas and if the brakes have been changed to hyd, plan on going thru the wheel cyl and master cyl.
 
Clean points , check gas in tank if so drain , remove carb or at the least remove the top and get a can of carb clean and clean residue on bottom of carb add gas to carb with top off . Dry with a clean rag all the gas and residue you just sprayed and added gas to . Add more gas and reassemble top of carb . Remove furl filter or screen clean and replace glass bowl gaslet ( cork ) remove fuel line from fuel pump to tank line . With gas removed from tank , blow compressed air into line that goes back to tank , be careful of blow back , listen for a clear line . Add a gallon or so of fressh gas to tank and reassemble line to fuel pump , check oil , check for voltage at distributor. Check for spark after you clean points . If everything goes right you should have spark and at least a pop . More in a few min
 
Now , if pop youare going to need proper fuel . Fuel pump may or may not begin to work , if not you can go electric to evaluate the other mechanical possibilities or rebuild your current fuel pump or buy one already done , not that expensive or hard . After your choice add more 2-3 gallons of gas , a can of starting fluid really helps here . Spray some down the carb , throttle 1/4 open , and with key on and switch on , crank car . If started it’ll probably run rough , but very important, confirm oil pressure. Of course this is after all fluid checks , water and oil mostly . If running let idle 2-3 min , not more yet . Shut off recheck fluids and check each radiator hose for equal warmth . If same check oil again and check for color meaning no peanut butter color #= oil and water mix = no good . If black or clean and it ran change oil now . After new oil restart and allow to run about 5 min . Repeat all fluid checks and oil pressure and temp . More soon as
 
I would be suspect of the fuel tank and any fuel that may still be in it. I would use a temporary fuel source (boat tank, etc.) for initial start-up, bypassing the regular tank and lines. I would expect the tank will have to be removed and cleaned. I had a low mile Fiero that sat unused for just about as long and there was nothing but crap in the tank (it had been full when stored).

You can save a lot of problems down the road by being careful at the beginning. Good Luck.
 
If running rough , before you restart again , pull spark plugs . Check condition, check gap . If some plugs look wet , switch them to ones looking better , also check the temp of the plugs , just by feeling in your hand . Of course this is after a short 5 min run . By switching them you should eliminate if its a plug/ wire issue or compression. At this point if running or barrel running with decent oil pressure, remove plugs again and open throttle and take a compression test . This could of been done first but usually a little cranking will / should loosen stuff up . If it hasn’t loosened anything up its time to soak the parts by squirting marvel mystery oil into cyls and down carb throat to hopefully get to some valves . I know this is a bit long but no sense in doing teardown or expensive parts replacement if not needed . It looks like its previous caretaker gave it good care and kept it in great shape . Unless he stopped driving it because of an unknown mechanical problem , getting it going should be straight foward. Good luck . I hope this rambling makes sense .
Gary
 
Beautiful truck! Looks like it has a few 39 parts...granted I'm not an expert by any means :D I just happened to purchase a 38 a couple of weeks ago only to sale it when I found a 39 that I couldn't pass up. The 38 had the fiberboard door panels and the window crank was facing the bench seat instead of being on top of the dash. Also the 38 had the ashtray in the center between the choke and throttle. A few other small differences like the V8 emblem at the top of the grill on the 38 vs not on the 39 but can't tell looking at your pics. Regardless, absolutely beautiful truck!
 
thank you all, great start... I appreciate the information, gives me a direction to go and a little more in site to the truck. Hopefully will have some new pics once she is on the ground moving on her own...
 
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