Inspected, then replaced the fluids in every part of the car that requires fluid, including gasoline; checked the plugs and mag; primed the carburetor, then the engine; oiled the valvetrain and jacked the rear off the ground.
The old racer took about five or six good turns, then came to life. Wow! I am amazed at how well the car runs!
The car has an oil pump where the generator would be, but the valvetrain of the Rajo Model C OHV head must be manually oiled.
QUESTION: How often should the valvetrain be oiled while the car's being driven?
Thanks, in advance, for any information.
Early Chevrolets with overhead valves didn't have a rocker cover. You just used your oil can and occasionally oiled the rockers.
Overhead setups like yours with a rocker cover usually had a felt pad that had been soaked in oil laying on top of the rockers.
Heard that you oiled it every day or 12 hours whichever comes first.
Maybe i should google it?
Hi David
I oil them each time I use the car. Works for me
I'm not that into maintenance rituals on a daily beater. I drilled out the two grease cups, and squirt motor oil down there once in a great while. I sealed the engine as much as I could and installed the PCV to suck oily air up there. Seems to work. Early Chevy parts houses have the pads.
You need to add that picture to your profile.
She's a beauty.
Roof instructions say to oil valves every day. A little more often if you are driving a lot of miles would be better.
When was this built? It looks like an old original somehow.
Great picture
Rich
I remember reading some place that the Cherolet valves should be oiled every 300 miles. There were little puddles cast in the head under each rocker arm to hold enough oil to lube the rockers for a while.
'25 was the two piece rocker cover. '24 and older had none. I think '26 had a one piece cover.
If it was mine I would oil it every time the engine was stopped, and again prior to starting. Great car, for goodness sakes don't change a thing. It is perfect right now.
I have a heavy felt pad on my Fronty, it's 5/8 - 3/4 thick. It's quite dense and was white when new. I soaked it well and then I add about a cup of oil to it about every 400 - 500 miles. It's been happy for several years that way. Everything seems nicely moist with oil when I pull the cover to add more oil. The Chevy felts that I've seen are much thinner and would likely want attention more often.
Walt
I pretty much go by Walt's schedule, maybe a little more often when it is really hot out. I do use synthetic on the rockers....sure can't hurt, and the amount used doesn't cost that much. I can't see the advantage using synthetic in the crankcase, because of the combination of leakage and frequent oil changes due to lack of filtration, it just doesn't pencil out. JMHO
Thanks for the advice, everybody. This was not what I was planning to get for a first 'T', but it was unlikely I'd ever get the chance to obtain another relic like this one.
I bought the car to drive, and to learn. Regrettably, some changes must be made to make it legal. And I can always put everything back the way I found it.
Royce, believe it or not Alabama law requires the car to have two headlights, one brake light and one taillight, in combination or separate. My home region is notorious for wildlife, huge bugs and large swarms, so it would be nice to have a wind screen. No point in having a car if you can't drive it IMHO.
Richard, the latest the car was built was 1950. Even the oil smelled like it was from 1950. It came from an estate of a substantial West Coast collector who could build his own cars. The family said the head/block was rebuilt about 5 hours ago. Apparently everything they said was spot-on.