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I am really getting into this car. I recently purchased this 1948 P15. While we still have approximately 2 to 3 months of winter to go I decided to spend some time just touching up some details. I have so far replaced all of the old rubber and carpets with new rubber flooring throughout. I've also taken the time to repair any paint flaws and am getting ready to replace the windshield glasses and seal. But this past couple of days I have been doing some cleani g, painting and pushing under the bonnet. When I got the car I noticed the rad had a bit of brass color poking out under some cruddy black paint. so I started with some stripper and revealed a beautiful big brass radiator. I sanded and then polished it to a shine.I also tore apart the horns and repainted them along with some other parts. so far, so good. I really like the way it's coming out. I would post more pics but I'm having a hard time resizing my pics in order to upload them.

I would think a darker color of wood graining would work. Here's a photo of my hydrodipped dash.

What was the cause of bad storms 100 years ago????????

The machinest that did my engine told me based on his 40 + years of experience including working with Don Gartlits in his flathead 8 days, that a cruising rpm of 80 to 85% of peak hours rpm was sustainable in continuous operation assuming stable operating operating temps between 170 and 190;degrees with minimum of 35 psi of oil pressure with oil in good condition. He also said brief exposure to rpms over peak rpms wouldn't do harm, but in stock condition wouldn't produce enough more power to justify, owing to frictional losses inherent to long stroke engine design. Before my of install my overdrive my tires and 4:11 rear end setup gave me 62 mph at 3280 rpm. We put many thousands miles at that speed or slightly higher with no apparent internal stress. Oil pressure is still the same as it was when rebuilt 40000 miles ago. Your results mat vary...

There are brackets welded to top of the radiator to attach those metal fins. I recently replaced my original radiator with an aluminum model....so now no place to attach the fins. However a welding shop can make attaching pieces if a person wants to go to the trouble and expense. Seems as if my new rad heats up more quickly than the original.......wonder if the fins would direct a bit more air through it.

There is a template in the downloads section. It seems their installation was sparodic. Some got, others didn't. Curiously, they were stapled on (mine were). Yours don't seem to have the witness punctures so maybe yours was not so equipped. They supposedly seal against the underside of the hood to direct all air through the radiator. Check the hood for any sighs of rub marks. The template works for both sides one one way and the other side flipped. I replaced mine with some rubberized canvass that was kicking around. The originals were the rubber about as thick as an inner tube.

Wow! I never would have guessed that. Now the question is - where in the heck would I find something like that??? I guess fab something? Maybe some fairly stiff rubber cut to fit and then screwed to the metal strips? The metal strips do not have holes in them for the "wind deflectors", so I guess the originals press fitted to the metal strips. Does anybody have a picture of what they should look like? Thanks!!!

March 5, 2019: Drove Meadowbrook to work since my brand new truck is not reliable, that's the very truth. there's something to be said about the simplicity of these old cars. Zero degrees F, no problems. The only issue I had was I lost the driver side headlight ring somewhere on the way to work. I'll have to hunt around for a replacement. Pic 1: at work Pic 2: warming up in the driveway at home

Given the choice of owning either, I'd take the old one, hands down. The D50 does absolutely nothing for me.

Not mine, but I saw it yesterday while I was out and about in far northern Wisconsin. I posted it on the Pilot House Facebook page and the owner spoke up. He was also in that group. Are you here too? I believe he said its a B1KA. The rest of it is in the shop for repairs.

Small update - I'm hoping the weather warms up enough to get into the shop soon - there is plenty to do. New fuel tank showed up - need to install it and an electric fuel pump and filter. New headlights with built in daytime running lights and turn signals still need to be installed. Need to install the heater Need to loom up the wiring under the hood. I did however get the rear brakes squared away and the new parking brake installed. Apparently I never posted any pictures because I failed to take them..... I will do that when I am doing the gas tank and associated parts.

Yup. I just unplug them and thread a big 6 point wrench on there then add heat and sometimes a second wrench hooked to the open end for leverage. If that doesn’t get it usually by then the whole pipe is wrinkling and you’re better off throwing a new length with a new bung but that’s on oem stuff with salt and a million heat cycles. My personal junk gets a little antisieze!

My mind is reeling for a response, Don't do anything! Are you in Sweden? Build a rat rod with your parts. Leave the car alone and drive it a bit, anyway, before you ruin it. I'll stop, NOW.

Agreed

This is the life expectancy of your engine you are risking, if you are not confident enough in your abilities to find TDC Compression Stroke with it buttoned up remove both the head and timing chain cover and set it properly......this way you can "see" everything. If your are indeed at TDC and your marks line up on timing gears but your dizzy doesn't point 7 o'clock then you must pull it and try 180 test, if that still won't line up you must Clock the oil pump to ensure the dizzy points 7 o'clock presto everything is good. Button up and move to the next agenda.....all that peace of mind for the cost of a few gaskets and a little sweat equity.........

My understanding is that the engines were run at 3600 against a load. That these engines were pulled at random from the engine assembly line. Never heard what happened to the test engines when the test was completed.

I stand corrected- it is the steering knuckle support - Thanks Plymouthy Adams...that search term turns up a lot more eBay offers. It really helps to use the right terminology!

Glenn; I had the same concern you had about the flow when I set mine up. Not sure I ever found anything on it. I just went ahead and used the fitting on top of my water pump to tie the other end of the system in. The real world answer is it works just fine. Used it this morning in defroster mode. While it doesn't get too warm the first few minute it does do it's job. Takes between 5 and 10 minutes to start putting out some noticeable heat. After that I usually have to turn off the fan. Also I don't think you will see much heat when that cable operated valve is closed. At least I don't. Hth; Jeff

Exactly! Unfortunately these severe storms have been popping up every March, for thousands of years. Its just that no one was around to record it on Facebook, or cable news. ?

thanks Reg that really helps!, i'm running one of the 25'' blocks also although i haven't been able to id it i was told the original owner swapped the engine for a desoto engine at some point, if i remember right the first letters stamped on the block are CAL witch i could find no info on. Heres one more photo Ed you can see a few other things i'm working on on Instagram @mar_lemos

here it is: stupid photobucket crap still haunting me...

if you go to the parts book and look it up you'll see a (bad IMO) picture of a small "Y" valve. I'll see if I can find the post I did on trying to repair one so you can see what it looked like better. These are RARE in working order and I paid a hefty sum for the one(s) I have obtained.

My 1938 Dodge Brothers RC half ton. Picture taken about 20 years ago. It's seen a lot of work since then. Pete

Gets parked most of the winter. But drive it as much as I can manage the rest of the year. Hits 75 mph almost every drive.