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Car show yesterday in Port Orchard Washington. I won a fifty dollar prise but not for my car but for entrance ticket! Not bad and had a fun day with my old Dodge! Breaks are to tight now but a fellow friend stated I could just burn them in but I think I will just reduce the major adjustment. Jon

Another in the stable. Daily driver...except in winter.

Just a thought you might want to check the little wire inside the distributor to see if it has a broken place in it. I had this problem before when I wasn't getting any spark to the plugs. Just a thought

Evening everyone, new guy here, been watching and reading here for a while, but didn't think I should join until I got another vintage mopar again. Well that day came a few weeks ago! I now have a 65 year old mistress that is gonna start taking my money... I now have in my driveway a 1952 Dodge business coupe, she runs and drives, but needs quarters and rockers. The floors and trunk are in great shape. And this is something that scares me a little, but I want to do as much work to her as possible.... I need to rebuild the front suspension, I have been reading about other members rebuilding theirs, it does not look too easy, but I think if I take my time I can do it. Any tips would be GREATLY APPRECIATED. I am looking forward to getting to know the members on here and trading stories...

Not all cars but here ya go.

Put it on finger tight. Spin the wheel tire assembly. With the wrench, tighten the nut until the wheel begins to slow down or resistance to free spinning is noticed. Loosen the nut sufficient ly that the cottert pin can be put in and seated. Grasp the top and bottom of the tire and wiggle in and out on the vertical axis. If any looseness is felt, remove the cotter and tighten one notch.

update for all you 2017 BBQ goers (and others interested ) got it running again Thursday night! (still need to fine tune a little) Saturday took it for a test drive to a local car show...... what a blast! thank you everyone who helped work on it at the "Q" and via PM and phone.

So somewhere on this forum was a photo of a old lathe, and it reminded me of Grandpas old lathe that he used all the time. Any ways I wanted to post a pic of it, he installed a chevy 3 speed transmission on it, so he could adjust the speed better. Basically put the transmission where the motor goes, made a bracket and moved the motor on top of it. I also took a few photos of the garage, I have never ever in all my life seen it this clean, I cleaned it two weeks ago, it will be messed up again soon.

Let em click, better a bit loose and noisey than quiet and too tight.

the big push today are not your standard auto plugs....you got to have an exotic name and material composition.....they work well with high compression engine...not so much for these older low compression puppies...do a bit of reading...one thing to always check..ensure whatever plug you use is for your engine and I mean thread count...to extend beyond is asking for trouble...even more so with aluminum heads.....

The mechanic didn't really get into the engine so I really don't think he did anything to cause the problem but it seems pretty suspicious . And yes i screwed up & paid him with cashiers checks but i didn't pay him the last $300 until I knew the engine was 100%. He came over & listened to the engine and he thinks its a loose connecting rod. I'm going to tear into it as soon as I finish installing the rebuilt 217 in my 48 Plymouth. I have a local machine shop that can do the work, but he's 73 and very slow, it took him 6 months to finish my 48 217 engine. So I'm going to start by calling Automotive Machine and Supply in Cleburne. Thanks guys for all your feedback. Yes, this is the second time this engine has been gone thru in it's 29000 miles life span. First mechanic was an idiot too. It set in a barn for 20+ years too. In my area we did not have decent old school mechanics. I wouldn't think the 326 was crappy I guess if I could find a trustworthy mechanic to get it 100%. I want to be able to get in this thing & drive anywhere. I'm not scared to get my hands dirty & I think I can do it but thanks to my job I don't have alot of spare time to work on it, but I have the money to get it done right so I can enjoy it when I do get time off. Problem is finding that right person to do the work. Thanks guys! Mike

stored out of doors...more than not would be a sticky wicket......stored indoors under lock and key they could argue you relinquished your control and thus void your out for lack of attention...again. could well be another sticky wicket....stored inside a facility undergoing repairs where getting it back home every evening is not possible...am sure there are provisions....I hate to be the poor souls testing their policy at this time....this could spike all us in a bad way as rates go up to compensate the loses. I can see that happening now...

you can get away with that if you not in the box...

Very funny guys. Our friend's Mopar might be dying and here we are cracking jokes in his time of need. I always preferred to laugh at funerals. So, keep up the good work.

I'm out....

Maybe a blown headgasket. rich hartung

IIRC,the Nazi's developed water injection for their fighters shortly before WW-2. They had build fighters with piston engines that would fly so high the thin air would choke them down,so they came up with the idea of using water injection to pump water/oyxgen into the cylinders to increase the power. I remember there was more than one outfit offering kits for modern cars when I was living in Denver in the mid-70's. By then the EPA regs had choked the cars down so much there were people buying new 6 cylinder Darts and getting 6 mpg with no power. I was working at a Chrysler dealership at the time,and between the low compression and the "Lean Burn",even little old ladies that had been buying Dodges all their lives would be talking nasty to you because you couldn't fix their cars. You can imagine what happened when you added that problem to Denver's mile high elevation. The water injection was a huge help,and it was about the only thing that could help at that time without the enviro-nazi's jumping all over you.

as for the front suspension...are you going disc brakes, relocated shocks and possible upgrade to R&P....are you in the frame of mind to leave stock ride height over that of lowering a tad for a difference stance say raked a bit with lower front or lowered all around. It is at this time you need to know you final goal here also. Think of the big picture and again of how things interact. Some of these mentioned features make all the difference in riding and stopping characteristics. Anyway, I have said enough on this, I cannot ever stress the importance of building your car on paper first and STICK with the original build concept to keep it flowing and less costly in the long run. Only you know how you wish the car to drive and perform. Good luck

far from trying to sound nasty, but a frame up with modern components will not a restoration be....however upgrading is very common in building a car to suit your needs and a route many folks take. However, in doing this, you have to look at the car as a whole, you need to know how each section of the vehicle interacts and or couples together in order to make a smooth and clean transition. Else, you will be backing up left and right, making mods that may and likely will cost time and money to overcome because you left out a simple assuming aspect of the build. If retaining a bit of the old and incorporate a bit of the new you have to find the correct parts to marry the two properly and safely to ensure a long MTBF. Unfortunately it is not as simple as grab this and that and just bolt together. Most magazines never tell you about the 20-30 back shops handling this and that in their projects with unlimited money to throw about and they never tell you their mistakes I assure you. If you have the factory repair manual, read it, study the build of the car, get to know the components and where mounted and how they work. If you have a donor car for the newer components, you should also be familiar with the mounting/connecting requirements there also. Reading up and familiarization and building your car on paper prior to any cuts or purchase of components will save you greatly in the long run.

Single stage urethane, color matched at the body shop supply house PPG

@thebeebe5, that photo with all the transmission parts frightens me. My nightmare would be being presented with that table and being told that I couldn't leave until it is all back together and working. Ha

Mike, just posted a bit more on the Hamb thread.......regards, andyd

Just remember that old saying about 90% of carb fuel problems are cured by fixing the ignition, and 90% of ignition problems are fixed by repairing the carburetor. Did you check for vacuum leaks after the carb was reinstalled? Other than the throttle shaft, and accelerator pump plunger, what is there on a carb that wears out?

Well, if you're ever in the Bloomsburg, PA area, stop in and say Hi. I'll be glad to show you the old gal. Wayne

That is really awesome @oldguy48. I'd love to see that car up close -- like in my driveway

I believe 15W-40 oil is thicker, slower moving oil than 10W-30. It would make sense that you will possibly see slightly more oil pressure on the gage. Even when fully warmed up, it will stay thicker.

Got a few more things lined up. Wheels and a 51-52 dodge speedometer. The 53-54 one mentioned a few pages back won't fit between the gauge pods.

hey....I got one of them there things also.....!

OK great, Thank you. I had a machinist friend make covers for the rusty rivets on the bows and I think it will really look great

Yes....the panel on the driver's side has a Ford style solenoid that is activated when the starter button is pushed. And the solenoid that's mounted on the starter is wired to the main starter terminal. That way, the heavy gauge wire from the trunk to the starter is only live when starting the engine. Wayne

Our local volunteer fire department has an annual car show. I missed it last year, but I was able to take my B-4-B to it this year (won Best Original Truck class). I am not into the trophies, but I was on Cloud 9 when the man I bought the truck from 42 years ago stopped by the truck to visit for a couple of hours. I had tried to buy the truck (parked, bed off, not running for at least 5 years) from his father - the original owner (Gilbert Toepfer - pronounced "Teffer"), but he would not sell. When Mr. Toepfer passed away, his son Marvin called my folks and asked if I wanted to buy the truck from his dad's estate - $100 back in 1975. Marvin is on the right, I am the one in need of a wide-angle lens on the left. He is now 81 yrs young and still quite sharp. We talked all things "old Dodge truck" and our hometown. It made his day as much as it did my son's and mine. Marvin told me that he never remembered the truck looking this nice since it was always a work truck. Because of its work status, he's pretty sure that no "back in the day" photos exist of it (but he will look). BTW, the man in the lawn chair on the left was showing his 1971 Barracuda (not a 'Cuda) convertible. He is the original owner. He joked that my truck was bringing the folks in, then they would look at his Barracuda to be polite. His car actually took top place at the show.

hope you don't mind me recycling the thread Bob. we made it also to a local car show yesterday put on by the "Cascade Plymouth Club" we were the lone Pilothouse. and talk about coincidence, shortly after arriving the PO husband, that sold us the tuck last year, called his wife and said "you'll never guess what I am looking at" MADE MY DAY!

there are formulas you can get online that will show you how to effectively measure you pulley diameters, the center to center distance of the two and arrive at your belt need..of course this will entail a bit of effort on your part...but it beats guessing all the time.... for those who are proactive........ http://sudenga.com/practical-applications/figuring-belt-lengths-and-distance-between-pulleys for those who are not....411, operator give the number of the closest big box automotive store

The big annual, local car show was yesterday and today. I have been putting off repairs, for fear of having to sit out the show. Thursday night I was like a kid on Christmas Eve. The weekend events began on Friday at 5 pm where I headed down to register for the poker run. My wife and mother-in-law came along. We had a lot of fun. We followed instructions to 18 different stops around our city where we drew cards from a deck. Prizes were awarded for the best poker hands. We ended up with Flush of hearts, ace high. Not enough to win anything, but we sure had fun. Several stops were at Senior Villages. The old folks loved seeing the old cars. My 53 was a hit. Lots of waves smiles and horn honing ensued. It was a hot night. Lots of stop and go traffic. If you've been to Kamloops you know we are surrounded by considerable hills in all directions. The old L6 held up well. I thought I might overheat climbing up the big hills, starting from a red light at the bottom. I think were close, but we did not overheat. I was able to get my speeds up again and she cooled down quickly. I have never overheated yet, so I am not sure where that happens on the temp gauge. Lots of other cars did overheat. Newer cars than mine did. I was a proud man, with my big old Chrysler puling them big hills. At one stop, there was a gas station near by. My wife grabbed a poker card while I put in $30 gas. Sitting there getting gas, I am pretty sure I had fuel vaporizing in the fuel line while sitting. After the fuel up I was fuel starved for a bit, attempting to climb yet another hill. I came to a stop after the engine stalled. No traffic, so I rolled backwards, pulled a reverse u-turn and glided back down the hill. Started the car, and burned through any fuel vapour. Got to the bottom, turned around and pulled that hill no problem. I think I will get a longer fuel line and move it farther away from the manifolds. Maybe also wrap it in some heat insulation. We had fun and put about 60 miles on the car maybe that night. Sat morning, today, I met with the local ACAA Vintage Car Club at 7am. We gathered to enter the car show all together. We paraded in to a full reserved bock in the downtown core. That was exciting. A 1931 plymouth was behind me, and a 1941 Dodge in front. Here we are heading into town. I was pretty jacked up. The blue 1941 Dodge was a nice car. Canadian built with a 218. The owner is 87. I am told he will forget more about L6 Mopar engines than I will probably ever learn. We had a great chat. He restored his '41, back in the 1983. He has since towed a RV trailer all the way across Canada and back to BC two times. He had pics of this rear tires dipping in the Pacific ocean in Victoria BC, and his front tires dipping in the Atlantic ocean in St. John's Newfoundland. He told me one trip, return was about 12,500 KM (7,767 miles). I was impressed to hear, he'd done it twice in the same car over the years. I picked his brain a bit about the car. I really enjoyed the gentleman's company. I look forward to spending more time with him at future car club events. I asked him how long his points and condenser lasted on the trip across Canada and back. He said he had no problem. He had spares but never used them. No problems with ignition system during either trip. I was again pretty impressed. He said his buddies are doing the same cross Canada tour again now. He's be there with them but at 87 he decided to pass this time around. Maybe I should volunteer to drive him across the continent and back in his car? Wouldn't that be great? Engine compartment 1941 Dodge: Here is my '53 next to an unrestored 1931 Plymouth. It was painted a couple years ago, but that's it. Owner told me it was originally from Chicago. He said he thinks the car was owned by some type of Gangster or other. He has found three custom hidden areas for hiding things in various locations in the car. One under the dash he is pretty sure was for a hand gun. Could be an embellished story. Who knows? Sounds neat and believable though. Not a bad place to spend the day, tucked in with some great company. The streets were packed all day. I met tons of new friends and many, many people loved my big old '53. Again, I was the only 50's and older Chrysler at the show. I did see a 1960-something Chrysler Windsor at the show. Totally different car. One guy said "Wow, this is rare. You never see these old Windsors any more it seems." One guy offered to buy it. Many had their photos taken with it. I was in heaven all day talking about all the neat little things about my car. I must have educated 10 or more people in the workings of a Fluid Torque Drive transmission. The creme car with wood spokes was a 1920-something Studebaker. Two rear mechanical brakes only. External round brake straps around a drum. Dicey! If I had to give up my Chrsyler today, I would still be very happy. In such a short time I have enjoyed many great experiences with it. It has brought so much joy to me and my family. I have met so many great people, through my car. I had no idea. Vintage cars are so rewarding to work on, and so much fun to own. Everyone here knows that! I can't think of many times where I have struck up wonderful conversations with 100 total-strangers, in one day. A simple car conversation turns into great stories about their Dad, Grandpa or Uncle who bought one new in the 1950's. So interesting. Good times!

On our way to the restaurant the odometer hit 66,666.6 miles. I felt compelled to snap a pic as I was slowing down for a stoplight. 4,500+ miles on the rebuild now. Running good. I was impressed with our short run on the Interstate, which for about 7 miles I ran it 65mph. I would never have guessed the car would run that smooth at that speed. I've run it 70mph before on that stretch as well. Its very smooth, and I didn't have to fight it at all. Doesn't seem like we were going too fast or anything. It drives straight down the road and doesn't wander or anything. Amazing to experience it.

Later, wifey and I went out to eat. Here's a shot right before we left home.

The Meadowbrook. There was finally a good number of other 1950s Mopars at the show. I was getting used to being the only one LOL.

Saturday, Aug. 12 Another shot of the Plymouth. I just love these pre-war cars. The interior had some fantastic patina, including the signature musty smell.

Saturday, Aug. 12 There was a good handful of awesome Mopars at the show, one being this 41 Plymouth. Looked like it had possibly one repaint from decades ago, otherwise it appeared completely original, including the interior and even the rubber on the running boards.

Champion spark plugs have given me more trouble than any other brand. For the Mopar flathead 6, I like Autolite 295.

Reg,IMHO the old maxim that states 'If it ain't broken don't try to fix it" applies. If you look hard enough for something that is just a hair away from perfection,you will find it. This stuff is mechanical and complex. There will always be something somewhere that isn't at peak perfection,but still performs so well it isn't worth "fixing". MY opinion only,and worth every dime you paid for it.

This ain't rocket science, any good machine shop can take care of what sounds like a routine rebuild and parts for this engine are readily available. If you don't know or trust a local machinist try Automotive Machine and Supply in Cleburne. Like any real machinist Tom is a perfectionist and as honest as you'll find. https://www.automotivemachine.com

Did you see my reply on the HAMB a couple of hours ago?............apparently not.......lol.........My 1940 Dodge has a 313 Poly bored 80thou to give the same, 325 capacity.................as I mention there I rebuilt mine and I'm no mechanic, I'm 10000 miles away so I can't physically help but have given some suggestions ..........as PT23 mentions have you discussed the parentage of your mechanic yet?.....sounds like it could be enema time for him..............lol.............what did he actually do?...........regards and welcome to the forum, check my HAMB reply anyway............btw the Chrysler Power Magazine guys are based in Texas and would be worth checking for leads for engine builders that know these engines.......... Andy Douglas

Well magic number was 3 that's how many times I had to put rubbing compound on. Now it looks like this.

D25 gravel pans are smooth and the bumpers wrap around further than on the P15. The bumper irons are different too... If you look closely, you'll see an extra pair of bumper bolts visible at the front. As the blue car is in Canada, perhaps the bumpers were swapped at some time, using parts that were available locally? For reference, here are a couple of pictures of a D25 coupe, here in the UK...

ah....shop manual is just the design engineers' idea of how things should work

Hello Everyone, I am pleased to be reporting back that my car troubles have been solved! I am so happy with how my engine runs now, hot or cold it's a pleasure to drive. I ran into a very knowledgeable gentleman at a car show (Jeff). I explained my symptoms and he instantly diagnosed, didn't even have to see the car. Recall in my earlier post that I had attempted to check the timing with a timing light and never got any sensible readings. This is because I was using the Pertronix ignitor, In addition to the Pertronix sensing the magnet wheel that gets installed on the distributor shaft, it also picks up interference from the EMF that is put out by the spark plug wires. All that "noise" sets the Pertronix off at random times, indeed that was what I was seeing with the timing light! I brought my distributor to Jeff at advanceddistributors.com and he re-built it and installed a set of iginiton points, he also re-curved it to be compatible with modern fuel. My initial timing is now set to 14 degrees BTDC as he suggested. The difference was dramatic, the car starts almost instantly now, previously I had to crank for 10 - 15 seconds to get it running, The engine revs much quicker and the car will sustain 50 - 60 mph. I can let the clutch out from a stop at idle and not kill the engine. I've had this car for 7 years, and it's like I'm driving it for the first time, I never knew that this was how it's supposed to feel, I had no prior experience with cars from this era. I hope this post helps someone else!

Can't imaging why he wouldn't want this next to his high dollar trailer queen. I'm still kicking myself for not taking more/better pictures when I got a chance to see it in person. i believe I downloaded these from one of your posts a while back. Merle

1941 Buick 46S my childhood neighbor gave me the car. It was parked in 1956 when his grandfather blew the 2nd engine. My neighbor started fixing the car in the 19 70's, had a 1950 straight 8 rebuilt and never quite finished installing it. Eventually it got pushed back in the shed till I finally convinced him this summer to let me inherit it early. Hopefully I'll have it road ready in time for next year's driving season.

Another of my rides...is a 1950 Town and Country 8 cylinder "still in the wood crate" hardtop to go with my 1950 NewYorker all steel 8 cylinder hardtop. Both low production Chryslers.