1959 Chevy Impala Sport Coupe project

['59Imp]

So as I mentioned in my last thread, I was going to start a new thread of my progress on my '59 Impala.






So here is my progress that I have made so far on the car...
I have done just recently to the car is I put a new clutch fan in the car as the old one was making a loud growling sound. She runs a whole lot quieter now since the new clutch fan is installed.
Also recently done to the car is I installed a tachometer in the car on the steering column. It is a small chrome tach and it looks good on the chrome steering column and the size of the tach matches the size of the other dash gauges (except the larger speedometer gauge). She runs around 800 rpm when idling.

What is next on the list of what to do to the car is when I put the 3-speed automatic transmission into gear when the car is running, the transmission has a real bad leak coming from somewhere so it leaks the red automatic transmission fluid all over the place. I saw it when I was backing her up into the driveway and I saw in front of me that she was leaving a nice long trail of automatic transmission fluid.
So now sometime I have to jack her up and see where on Earth that leak is coming from so that I can fix it. My guess it's a split line somewhere...

More things wrong that need fixing is I have evil electrical gremlins...
Here I will go into detail of all things wrong:
Parking lights work only when THEY want to.
Tailights: driver's side is brighter than passenger side. It appears that on drivers side it is the brake light on.
Turn signals work only when THEY want to. When they do decide to work the timing of the front and rear signals is off. Both signals are not flashing at the same time. Goes like this: front flashes and rear does not then the rear flashes and the front is not. Front signals don't work AT ALL with the headlights on.
Brake lights don't work when I hit the brake.
At least the headlights work like they should!

 

[Jim Sullivan]

It sounds to me like you have ground issues. I would start by checking and cleaning all of the ground connections. The light sockets ground through the light housings, so make sure the contacts on the sockets and the light housings are clean.

 

[bobs409]

 

['59Imp]

It sounds to me like you have ground issues. I would start by checking and cleaning all of the ground connections. The light sockets ground through the light housings, so make sure the contacts on the sockets and the light housings are clean.

I agree with you.
I am currently working on cleaning the grounds...
I am cleaning the light sockets with a wire brush to clean all that corrosion/rust out of them.
They were really bad with corrosion so I believe that is where my problem was coming from.
As I am cleaning the grounds, I am also putting in new light bulbs. I got the 2 front signals done, now I need to work on the taillights.
The taillights is turning out to be more of a challenge than the front signals.
Tailights- I am not sure on how to remove the taillight bezels to get into the light bulbs so I am going to get a assembly/shop manual to help out with that so I don't screw nothing up.
As I am cleaning the grounds (about halfway done) I see that the problem is starting to clear up and get better so hopefully it wont be too long before I can take her out on the road.

 

[Jim Sullivan]

Jackie,

The tail light sockets just pull out of the tail light housings. They are held in by the metal grounding tabs(which are slightly spring loaded) on the socket. Every once in a while I have to remove and reinstall a light socket to get a good connection on my four door. Just one of those things on our cars.

 

['59Imp]

I am doing a little bit of odds and ends on the car while waiting to get the assembly/shop manuals so I can do more work on the car without screwing nothing up.
What I am doing is working on cleaning the car...
I am cleaning all the chrome/stainless up to make it nice and shiny. I find out fine grade steel wool works out quite even nicely. Then I use auto wax over that to make it even more shiny.
Its funny- you also discover problems with your car while cleaning your car.
What I found out is the front fender chrome/stainless is very loose and for some reason the previous owners had moved it too much forward. So I need to figure out how to move it back to where it should be and tighten it up. Hopefully the assembly/shop manuals will help out with this...

Also I was cleaning the chrome on the interior including the chrome around the windows.
More problems I found out on the interior:
All side window tracks are loose- most likely be a bad rattle when I do actually take her out on the road. Hopefully the manuals will help out with this problem.

Wing windows- I am not sure if this is a problem or not... When the door is closed and I try to open the wing window, I need to open the door to open it because the wing window hits on the pillar. Same thing goes for trying to close the wing window.

Dome light on passenger side liked to constantly fall down when I shut the door. I already fixed that by using a bit of clear tape to hold it up, appears to be working out so far. By the way- both dome lights work so that's nice. One less thing that needs to be fixed.

 

['59Imp]

Jackie,

The tail light sockets just pull out of the tail light housings. They are held in by the metal grounding tabs(which are slightly spring loaded) on the socket. Every once in a while I have to remove and reinstall a light socket to get a good connection on my four door. Just one of those things on our cars.

Sorry but that didn't help too much...
When I try to remove the tail light:
I unscrew the screws/bolts on the back of the taillight inside the trunk.
So got it unscrewed and try to remove the taillight bezel and the whole thing tries to come out: taillight bezel/lens and the housing that you see on the inside of the trunk.
So I didn't want to screw nothing up by trying to pull the 2 apart so I just put the whole thing back where it went and I quit.

 

[tripower]

Sorry but that didn't help too much...
When I try to remove the tail light:
I unscrew the screws/bolts on the back of the taillight inside the trunk.
So got it unscrewed and try to remove the taillight bezel and the whole thing tries to come out: taillight bezel/lens and the housing that you see on the inside of the trunk.
So I didn't want to screw nothing up by trying to pull the 2 apart so I just put the whole thing back where it went and I quit.

If you have a way of taking a picture of the tail light from inside the trunk we can help instruct you. Keep up with the progress...

 

[DonSSDD]

The trim on the outside of your car is anodized aluminum and stainless steel, the only stuff chrome are the bumpers and door handles.

The outside bezel on the taillights is held on with screws, but you don't need to remove that to change the bulbs, the sockets should pull out from the back. I assume the bolts/nuts you removed lets you remove the whole assembly (my 59 was an El Camino so taillights were inside the tailgate). The sockets for the bulbs sometimes rust a bit and the surface will also get rust where it pushes into the light assembly (that connection is where the bulbs get ground). Clean those areas off and see what happens.

Post pics of your loose fender trim and your wing windows and we may help. Your loose side windows likely means your "fuzzies" are worn down and will need replacing. There is felt in the tracks plus felt/fuzzies/rubber/stainless on the door (inside and outside) which the glass slides up and down against. Replacing that requires removing the inside door panel and glass, then realigning all that when reinstalling. I wouldn't put that at the top of the list of things to do yet since your current objective is to get the car on the road.

Keep moving forward and post lots of pics. You are doing great IMHO.

Don

 

[Obnxs1]

The bulb sockets should just pull out from inside the trunk. They may be a little stiff, I know they are on mine, so it may take a little more muscle to get them out than what you'd think.

 

['59Imp]

The trim on the outside of your car is anodized aluminum and stainless steel, the only stuff chrome are the bumpers and door handles.

The outside bezel on the taillights is held on with screws, but you don't need to remove that to change the bulbs, the sockets should pull out from the back. I assume the bolts/nuts you removed lets you remove the whole assembly (my 59 was an El Camino so taillights were inside the tailgate). The sockets for the bulbs sometimes rust a bit and the surface will also get rust where it pushes into the light assembly (that connection is where the bulbs get ground). Clean those areas off and see what happens.

Post pics of your loose fender trim and your wing windows and we may help. Your loose side windows likely means your "fuzzies" are worn down and will need replacing. There is felt in the tracks plus felt/fuzzies/rubber/stainless on the door (inside and outside) which the glass slides up and down against. Replacing that requires removing the inside door panel and glass, then realigning all that when reinstalling. I wouldn't put that at the top of the list of things to do yet since your current objective is to get the car on the road.

Keep moving forward and post lots of pics. You are doing great IMHO.

Don

Thanks Don, that helped me out.
And you are right from what you assumed. The bolts/nuts I removed lets me remove the whole assembly.
I will try again at this problem with my taillights- this time removing the light sockets from inside the trunk... Hopefully it works this time.

 

['59Imp]

The bulb sockets should just pull out from inside the trunk. They may be a little stiff, I know they are on mine, so it may take a little more muscle to get them out than what you'd think.

Thanks, that helped me out.
So since they are difficult to get out- will they go back in OK? I just don't want to find when I do actually get the bulb sockets out that then they wont go back in... That has happened to me before with a different car...

 

[Nuts]

Sounds like you are making g real progress even if you can't see it ! Keep it up a d you will be ready for our cruise in at Eds 50 Cafe on the 17th. Would like to meet you bad see the car ?

Bill

 

[Obnxs1]

Thanks, that helped me out.
So since they are difficult to get out- will they go back in OK? I just don't want to find when I do actually get the bulb sockets out that then they wont go back in... That has happened to me before with a different car...

They're not easy but they will go back in. They basically have a ring of metal strips around them that have a bend in them to hold them tight. You pretty much have to line them up straight with the hole and push straight in.

 

['59Imp]

Sounds like you are making g real progress even if you can't see it ! Keep it up a d you will be ready for our cruise in at Eds 50 Cafe on the 17th. Would like to meet you bad see the car ?

Bill

I think I heard about that cruise at Ed's 50's Café before. The last car show I went to recently was Kuna Days Lions Club Car Show at Kuna's city park. In a few of the cars' seats I saw laying there a paper that said something about a cruise at some 50's café...
I saw a lot of nice cars thereat the Kina car show, including the car I liked best, a shiny black '59 Impala. This was actually the car show that got me really interested in owning one of these beautiful cars. So soon after, me and my dad bought a '59 Impala that all of you know of (photo of car on left).

But I don't really know about taking the car down to Boise... 1st off, my dad is working a lot so I don't know if we would be able to go down to Boise. Also, before we take her on the freeway going 80 we wanted to check a lot of stuff out before then...

I think here in Mountain Home there will be the 4th of July car show in Carl Miller Park. At least we did this 4th of July. If there is the 4th of July car show next year I think we will enter the '59 in it...
I am not sure if there will be the car show next year though because the car show is put on by locals and there is no notices around town of the upcoming car show- I just go down to the park and see the car show there...

 

['59Imp]

They're not easy but they will go back in. They basically have a ring of metal strips around them that have a bend in them to hold them tight. You pretty much have to line them up straight with the hole and push straight in.

Ok well a lot of stuff I am finding out on this car isn't easy...
So I think I can manage to put them back in...
Thanks for telling me how to do it...

 

[Nuts]

We were at the Kuna show this year also. There are a couple of shows in MH each year, we have made some in the past but not this year. Will look forward to meeting you and the car soon.

Bill

 

['59Imp]

We were at the Kuna show this year also. There are a couple of shows in MH each year, we have made some in the past but not this year. Will look forward to meeting you and the car soon.

Bill

So you went to the Kuna show also? That is cool. Did you enter any cars in it?

 

[Nuts]

So you went to the Kuna show also? That is cool. Did you enter any cars in it?

Yes Ms Bela was there just across from the black 59 as I remember. We make it out to quite a few shows each summer.

Bill

 

['59Imp]

Yes Ms Bela was there just across from the black 59 as I remember. We make it out to quite a few shows each summer.

Bill

I went to see just about all of the cars that were in the show. So I am pretty sure I saw your car as well then. You have a nice car!