New Dog Hauler - '55 Commander Conestoga

[ndynis]

Very nice! I'm sure that your dog (sorry, I have forgotten her name) will enjoy that nice, good traction carpet!
Nick

[mbstude]

It looks nicer, but I would have stayed with the practical rubber mats and cleaned them up (maybe re-coloring). Then it is your wagon and not mine, so do as you wish (unless the plan is to prep for sale).

I talked to Will Sanders before I did the carpeting and while he didn’t have any of the correct material, he said he’s pretty sure that GM used the same linoleum decking in their wagons of the same era. A little research led me to find out that Ford used it as well as IH in their later Travelalls. It’s available for big bucks from Chevy suppliers and some places offer it in vinyl. Either way, I wanted matching carpet instead. The dog and a suitcase will be the only things that ever ride back there, so I wasn’t too worried with extra durability.

Very nice! I'm sure that your dog (sorry, I have forgotten her name) will enjoy that nice, good traction carpet!
Nick

That was part of the idea. She’d be playing slip and slide otherwise.

[Captain Billy]

It's turning out very nice,
Enjoyed my short visit in December, but I have to ask...."where did you find that paved road (in post 42)"

Bill

[mbstude]

Another weekend update. As far as I'm concerned... The interior is as finished as I'm gonna get it.

I installed new windlace, and NOS padded sun visors that were dyed to match. I finished dying the door panels. I removed all of the side panels from the cargo area and dyed them as well.

A few more mechanical bugs to tackle, and then the car will be ready for a license plate.

[ndynis]

Great job on "refreshing" the wagon! Anyone would be proud to drive that around. Have you let your "passenger" try it out yet? How does she like it? She is bound to appreciate the non-skip carpet in the back. How about a picture of her in the wagon?
Thanks for posting your adventure and allowing us to share it.
Nick

[Stude Shoo-wop!]

Well, mbstude, it looks like you're just about done with this little project! Get those mechanical wrinkles ironed out and cruise about with your dog. I know I will be doing the same with Lassie (my 5 year old Goldendoodle) and the GT Hawk. Maybe we'll run into each other at a stoplight someday!

[Jerry Forrester]

Maybe we'll run into each other at a stoplight someday!

Let's hope not.

[Buzzard]

Not literally I hope!

[Stude Shoo-wop!]

What? Of course not literally! Just being facetious is all...

[mbstude]

This weekend I replaced the shock absorbers, installed a new muffler since the original was rusted out, and drained/refilled the transmission and torque converter and cleaned the filter. After running the car for a while, the generator bearings started squealing. Something else to fix.

[1952Commander]

I have always liked station wagons. What a beautiful starting point! Thanks for sharing the pictures.

[mbstude]

A small weekend update.. Had some other things going on so I didn't get much accomplished on the car.

I took apart the generator and replaced the bearing, brushes, etc. Installed it back on the car and I still had the squeal. I removed the fan belt and started the car.. Still there. Removed the fuel pump and started the car.. Still there. Finally it dawned on me; the dummy who put in new valve stem seals (and disassembled and cleaned the rocker assemblies) probably put the shafts in backwards and the squeal is the rocker arms starving for oil.. So that's next on the fix-it list. A dumb mistake on my part, but at least now I know the generator is good to go.

[Noxnabaker]

I had a pushrod going through a rocker in a s.b. MoPar once, never touched the engine before that. (the ex owner was a really macho guy who "sure knew his busines")
I was alone when it happened in quite high speed & it took me some time until I finaly lifted a valvecover... Yep: rockershaft upsidedown!

[mbstude]

This past weekend, I pulled the valve covers and discovered I had the left side rocker shaft backwards. I corrected that, and no more engine squeak. I had a good friend with a Sun machine rebuild a Delco Window distributor, and that was installed, and I finished up a few other small loose ends.

There's still a few things to fix (heater, wiper, speedometer, etc), but nothing major to keep me from driving the car. This morning, Stephen and I loaded it up on his trailer and took it to the local tag agency for registration and VIN verification. I got a shiny new license plate and decided to drive the car home tonight.

So far, so good!

[ndynis]

Congratulations Matt! Mighty good lookin' car!