'37 Terraplane oil pan and trough

Hudsonrules

:)I am trying to get my newly aquired '37 Terraplane on the road. I adjusted the clutch,now it moves! Next will be bleed the brakes and check them out. Do the rear drums come off with a puller like on a step down? There is a oil leak at the rear of the pan, so I will replace the gasket,while in there, how is the dipper trough removed? and the oil wicking by the rear main, how best to remove and replace it. This is a nice origional '37, paint is thin,car is pretty straight and a good interior. Actually looks great and has garnered a lot of attention on my street since sunday,makes me want to get it out and drive it. Thanks in advance for any and all advice and help. Arnie M.

Uncle Josh

Get yourself a book that covers this animal.



Yes, rear axles are tapered like the stepdowns



The front and I think the rear brakes has an eccentric adjuster for the secondary (rearmost) shoe. Loosen the locknut 1 turn. Rotate the eccentric in the direction of wheel rotation until there is a heavy drag on the drum. Then rotate the eccentric in the opposite direction until the drum is free of drag. Holding the adjuster with one wrench, tighten the nut with another.



Then adjust the expander at the bottom until there is a heavy drag on the drum and back off about 20 notches.



If you need new shoes, either have those relined, or Auto Zone and Advance lists 46/47 shoes which are the same except they don't have the hole for the eccentric adjuster spring. I drilled one for the secondary shoes and they work great.



The dipper trough is sandwiched between the main pan and the block. There are 2 gaskets. Make sure the oil path from the rear main back to the pan is clear., ie no debris, and not blocked by the gaskets. The little flapper at the bottom is to prevent backsplashing but the pin that holds it on can catch debris.



Don't forget the 'O' ring at the oil pickup when re-assembling.



Either pour a quart of oil in the dipper pan and keep it right side up when re-assembling, or add the oil thru the fuel-pump hole, which will fill the dipper pan before running into the main pan. After putting a quart or so in, tilt the front of the engine up a little to facilitate filling the rear dippers. Good idea to rotate the engine by hand until the pump picks up and is supplying oil to the dipper pans before starting.



There is no rear main seal. However, I suppose you could remove and replace the rope pounded vertically into the rear main If this was Kelly's car, I doubt if this is defective. Most likely, the drain is plugged, although there are cork gaskets at the sheet metal covers between the flywheel and the block, but that's a major job.