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Showing content with the highest reputation on 03/15/2019 in all areas

  1. Hey y’all, new here. I just recently recovered a 1947 Plymouth business coupe that was stolen from me in 1999. I found it on Craigslist listed for sale without a title, most amazingly, I still had the damned title. I contacted the seller & set up an appointment to see it, after confirming that it was the same car, I informed the seller that I had the title to it & upon seeing that the VIN# matched, he let me have it back (with an agreed $200 for his towing expenditures.).
    2 points
  2. Just thought I would show a before and after picture of my center dash Plymouth emblem. Since I got my car a couple of months ago I have been attacking every little detail that I can address without going overboard financially. I've been loathing the appearance of the dash emblem as it was just awful looking while basically being a very prominent feature of the dash. Your eyes are kind of drawn to it. So tonight I fixed it. Or at least I feel I made it look better. I might start posting a few before and after pictures in this thread as I myself find that to be thoroughly entertaining and interesting. Please feel free to post your own as I would love to see them.
    2 points
  3. Not ruined....Viper V10 P-15
    2 points
  4. Give it a shot....If nothing else a good learning experience. Wish my run around beater was a truck, but for $600 and a clean title, the little PT Cruiser "$hit Shaker" gets the job done for me as a commuter. Wifey took over my Jeep..... funny how that works.
    2 points
  5. Your coil is wired correctly for a Negative ground system. Since you stated your car has been converted to a 12v system I would venture a guess that it was also converted to Negative Ground. The red wire screwed to the body of the distributor was likely added to ensure that the distributor has a good ground, as you state that this wire goes to the Negative post of the battery. That is assuming that the screw mentioned is screwed into the housing and not the screw/stud that is normally connected through an insulator where the coil wire normally connects. Is the original insulated terminal still in the distributor housing? The coil wire should be connected to that, and the inside would have a small wire going to the points.
    1 point
  6. yes it's an 89 mustang with the 5 liter 302 High Output engine. they call that era of mustang's and some similar Ford cars "foxbody". I sure can post the paint. I will be in my garage tonight getting ready to have my Plymouth appraised tomorrow so I will get a pic of it then.
    1 point
  7. Need more info: Is the throwout bearing now on the front bearing retainer of the trans? Or just stuffed in there. I have a 58 clutch housing destined for my 56 rework and can take a look later at the design/install.
    1 point
  8. Looking at your pictures and not knowing firsthand of the details of the paint recall you mention, I suggest the the problem was not with the primer, but the adhesion of the color base coat to the primer. If the primer failed I'd expect to see bare, rusty steel, and I think I just see primer. I would recommend you sand and feather the loose and peeling areas to factory primer, wipe it down with Prep sol, and scuff the whole truck and wipe it down again. Then start with the primer you intend to use on your pilot house. My point is, learning how to spray paint is less than half the experience you need - paint hides nothing; you need to practice prep work, too, if you care about how your "good" truck turns out. I've been hobby painting for more than 50 years and I am still (un)pleasantly surprised by what ham-handed prep work shows through the color.
    1 point
  9. anyone who paints a car all the same color clearly has no imagination...lol.....the fact the SBC is in there tells you he has mother issues also....where is Sigmond when you need him most....
    1 point
  10. Since you are only looking to learn how to paint, not do a job to last for the ages,I certainly would go ahead and do the job as you plan. I used to use Acrylic Enamel when I painted cars about 30 years ago and achieved fairly good success.
    1 point
  11. The trans should up shift without any electronics hooked up. Downshifting won’t happen. I’m not sure from the picture what’s missing. Carb should be stromberg bxves. Try starting off in high gear and let off gas to see if it upshifts. If so you should be okay driving it, you’ll just need to push the clutch in when you stop.
    1 point
  12. Raffle is over. Thank you stylesadamson! You've got a PM.
    1 point
  13. Now if you put the spark plug ahead of those, I'll bet those would make a swirl effect to the flames shooting out back!
    1 point
  14. They're not a whole lot different from standard truck manifolds, but the intake is a tiny bit bigger and the exhaust is a huge 2.5" 4 bolt dump. Would be very good for a turbo... Here's a picture from when I finished the motor
    1 point
  15. You can fix the seat track yourself, if you have the balls. I repaired one of my seat tracks ages ago. I got the balls from a junk seat track. Somewhere in antiquity is the thread on how I fixed the track, and how to get the balls in and out. Maybe someone can find ithe thread, while the other Don makes some juvenile comment about balls. Mind you, I am a connesseur of juvenile comments, being quite good at it myself.
    1 point
  16. I've pushed my license pl'hate' under my bumper and will slide it out only prior to the cuffs being slapped on me.True story; When I was 16, I replaced my '65' Comet rear bumper with a painted pan and did not want to ruin the 'look' with a plate. I fabricated a bracket for the plate inside my rear window along with flashlight illumination. A few nights later, the 'law' takes notice! I'm dodging a cop's spotlight but he's just far enough away where I try to lose him around suburban streets. Every corner I hightail around, he's close behind with that damn blinding spotlight in my rearview mirror. Defeated, I pull over and expect the worst. No cop, only my own flashlight that had come loose from the bracket and was slapping around my rear window at every corner. Went legal the next morning.
    1 point
  17. If I understand what you are trying to say, you are not wrong. Throwout bearing goes onto the fork, which is positioned so that the main shaft goes through the bearing and then into the flywheel. Bearing then is resting on the pressure plate and then when the clutch pedal is pushed the bearing then compresses the pressure plate and disengages the clutch. Basic diagram: https://www.quadratec.com/jeep_knowledgebase/article-64.htm For a jeep but basically the same for most all single disc simple automotive clutches
    1 point
  18. I've had a 318 Poly V8 in my 1940 Dodge since 1973, the front suspension is basically the stock style although I have used 41-54 upper A arms and mid 50's Frod coil springs, I have 11" vented disc brakes, a rack & pinion, relocated upper shocks and a 1" thick sway bar........car drives and handles well...........these mopar front suspensions are basically the same overall design thru to 1956, however they are more than capable of handling the weight of a big block engine so just upgrade the springs, shocks and brakes...depending on how the engine is mounted and located will decide whether a change of steering is required, when I installed my engine there wasn't the options and info available back then and I used the rack from an Austin 1800, cavalier racks are available now and also other steering options ...........a frame swap or front end graft is from my perspective, the last card in the deck, as there really isn't any need to do it and a well thought out upgrade of whats there will give you what you need with a positive nod from fellow Mopar fans and enthusiasts.........regards from Oz...............Andy Douglas
    1 point
  19. I am starting on my 56 engine/TK 5 speed/37 Coupe project. I should start another thread, I guess. I used the 56 for test fitting my last project. The most tricky part was boring the trans cover (yellow) to fit into one of my 36/37/38 bell housings, and finding a pilot bearing. I got lucky and found I could press two pilot bearings together to fit the TK 5 speed to the 218....
    1 point
  20. Guys,thanks for the concern. I have been out of contact because I now have stage 4 lymphatic cancer,and between visiting every doctor and hospital in the western world and the confusion from the chemo and other drugs,my normal state these days is one of confusion and tired. The good news is that I have lost 30+ lbs so far,and can now bend over again without blacking out. Which would be handy if I could remember why I was bending over. Taking chemo twice a month for 6 months,and the doc says they can kill it. No guarantees,but they seem confident. No big surprise since I was medievaced from VN in Dec of 69 with pus-filled sores all over my torso,and a permanent medical profile that got me removed from Special Forces and assigned to a non-SF and non-airborne assignment. I didn't like the regular army any more than the regular army liked me,so like a fool I got out and refused the medical discharge I was offered because I figured I would get better and be able to enlist again. I was wrong. Anyhow,I now have occasional days when I feel pretty good,and that's about the best than can be said for it other than the fact everybody tells me they can cure me of it.. Looks like it's going to be a long 6 months,though. Being in my 70's probably doesn't help. One Mopar question. I am having trouble getting in email contact with the Dodge Boys in Montana about a finned aluminum Edgy head I bought for a 251 Mopar flat 6. I received the 230 head I bought the same day a couple of months ago,but not the 251 head. Due to recent medical problems I mostly forgot about it and let it slip through the cracks. Now that I am a little better,I need to find out when/if I am ever going to receive the head. Anyone else getting any responses from them?
    1 point
  21. Supertraps were the for runner of the fart can on tuner cars they also made them fr performance motor cyces.
    1 point
  22. Just to document what folks will need to do in California, to get a title when the title is lost/missing and there's no old registration or record in the DMV system and all you have is a Bill of sale: The documents you will need are: 1. Bill Of Sale from the seller (REG 135) 2. Statement Of Facts (REG 256) 3. Vin/Serial Number Verification (REG 31) 4. Title Application (REG 343) 5. Non Planned Operation (REG 102) 6. Weight Certificate from a Certified Public Weighmaster
    1 point
  23. When the engine is cold the bypass is open which prevents water from flowing up into the radiator. This allows the engine to warm up more quickly. When the coolant gets to about 160 deg F, the bypass starts to close and the thermostat begins to allow flow to the radiator. Greg g was right when he said that running without a thermostat will cause the engine to run hotter because an open bypass means less coolant flow to the radiator and more coolant flow circulating around uncooled inside the block. This old Chrysler Master Tech video gives a nice clear explanation of the flathead 6 cooling system and talks about all these things. These old videos are a great resource. There's a bunch of them on YouTube.
    1 point
  24. A friend just sent me this link.
    1 point
  25. Maybe the car senses you're going to sell her and is doing everything to remain in your family or,....is making you miserable to get even for you intended abandonment. Finally, check the tank and filter for debris. I had a similar issue and a piece of gunk would occasionally float over the gas pickup. I've also had a defective electric fuel pump that made noise (seemed to run) but had no pressure, didn't pump any fuel.
    1 point
  26. It would be nice if it came in a metal can instead of plastic. I does look better installed than it did in the box. I still have to wire its light ? I forgot to mention it made the truck 10 mph faster!
    1 point
  27. Thermostats It is impossible to operate an internal combustion engine without generating condensation in the crankcase. It is just a fact of life. If the moisture is removed, it presents no problem. If it is not removed, the result is an eventual buildup of sludge. The only way by which the moisture of condensation can be removed from a crankcase is evaporation. This evaporation can only take place in the presence of heat and air movement. If the crankcase and engine block heat is not high enough for evaporation to occur, the condensation moisture will remain inside the block. Since this is water, which is heavier than oil, it will go to the bottom of the crankcase or valve chamber. It is for this reason that these are the areas where sludge is typically found in greatest quantity on tear-down. This writer has disassembled many of these engines were more than one pint of sludge was present in the valve chambers alone. The best remedy for condensation removal is a high temperature thermostat. Vehicles built in the forties and fifties (and before) were designed to use alcohol based antifreeze. This required the use of low temp thermostats. Today we use glycol based antifreezes with much higher boiling points. Actually, the use of a 50/50 mixture of permanent antifreeze and water RAISES the boiling point of the coolant. All this is in aid of explaining why higher, rather than lower temperature thermostats are beneficial to longer engine life. The use of a 160 or 170 degree thermostat today with permanent antifreeze is an invitation for sludge to form in the crankcase. You are doing your engine no favor at all by keeping it running cool, in spite of how it may seem to your own sensitivities. Not only do higher temp stats cause higher engine operating temperatures which aid in condensation removal, but they also help to raise the temperature more quickly, resulting in less cold engine operating time. Once stat temperature is reached, normal cooling will take place, but at a little higher temperature. Yet another reason why these flatheads need more heat than some engines is that they are heavy castings. A flathead six cylinder 218 cid engine weighs several hundred pounds more than a small block Chevy 350. This casting mass takes TIME to heat up and get up to operating temperature. Many owners believe that when their dash gauge shows normal temperature, the engine is truly warmed up. Nothing could be further from the truth. Remember this one idea: an engine may warm up and the thermostat open to full circulation long before the block casting around the valve chambers has come up to full operating temperatures. It is this writer’s estimate that it takes nearly thirty minutes of engine operation for a typical flathead block to reach normal operating temperature in cool weather. Please remember, I’m not talking about the thermostat or the top radiator tank, but the block casting, itself. This is where the condensation occurs and must evaporate from. In order to keep these block casting spots free of sludge, they must get up to full operating temperature. Proof that many of these engines have spent much of their lives running too cold is the sludge found inside the blocks. Granted, engine oils and filtration were of poor quality by comparison to today’s technology, but those engines that are run warmer are always cleaner. An example of this is the fact that larger truck engines are usually found to have less sludge than small trucks and automobiles. Check it out. Consider a newly restored vehicle with a completely new and clean engine assembly. To keep this engine clean, it should not be started and driven short distances, again because the block will not have an opportunity to achieve operating temperatures. When I use my old stuff, I start it, let it run at idle for a while, then drive it, hopefully at least thirty minutes. I will jack up a car and push it in or of a stall to avoid starting a cold engine for only a few minutes, for this very reason. It goes without saying that all this talk about getting engines up to temperature is doubly true for the exhaust systems. Exhausts live linger in an atmosphere where they warm up completely each time they are used. Why do you think tail pipes rot off three or four times before head pipes and mufflers? They are always cooler and warm up slower, since they are farther from the source of heat. Cooling Systems Cooling systems seem to be one of the more misunderstood components of older engines. In order to understand them, it is necessary to understand the combustion process. A typical gasoline engine running at 2000 rpm under no load will generate a certain amount of heat, but this will soon be realized and stabilized. Add to this engine now an increased load on the crankshaft, and many things happen at once. First, in order to maintain rpm, the throttle plates must be opened further. This is done automatically if the engine is governed, or manually in an automotive application. The amount of fuel entering the engine increases, the result of which is an immediate increase in combustion chamber pressures and temperatures. It is this sort of use that cooling systems must handle in order to protect an engine. Normal driving under light load barely works the cooling system at all. It is at higher engine loads that the cooling system must be able to function well. From the engine’s perspective and from a combustion standpoint, the hotter an engine temperature, the better and more efficiently the engine will. Fuel atomizes more freely and the combustion process thrives in an atmosphere of heat. This is difficult for many older vehicle owners to comprehend, yet it is fundamentally true . . . . . . Up TO THE POINT where the engine will begin to suffer metallurgical from the heat. Therefore, the job of the cooling system is to allow the engine to run as hot as safely possible in order to aid the combustion process, yet keep it cool enough to protect it. Engines are designed to withstand lots of heat safely. Unfortunately, the margin for safety between “hot enough to run well” and “too hot for engine safety” is not a very wide one. When metal parts are heated, they expand. When they cool again, they contract. This cycle can happen over and over with complete safety, as long as the extremes of the heat range are not reached. If metal parts are heated so much that they do not contract to their normal tolerance after cool-down, the metal is said to have warped. This action is most often noticed on cylinder heads and manifold castings that have been subjected to hundreds of heat/cool cycles.. Typically, the remedy for a warped casting is resurfacing. An example of this action is the typical small block Chevy cylinder head, where the valve arrangement is such that two exhaust valves sit adjacently in the middle of the cylinder head. This is nearly always the point of failure with these castings, for this is the hottest spot on the component. How does this all relate to MoPar flatheads? The design of these engines is such that a water distribution tube is used in the cooling system to aid in dispersing coolant to the bottom of the exhaust valve seat castings. In this sense, these engines are truly overbuilt, for this is a feature not used by very many other manufacturers of the time. An analogy to this feature would be oil nozzles directed to piston crowns in modern diesel engines – a feature that goes far to extend engine life. Flathead radiators are also overbuilt from a size standpoint, and are truly impressive in their ability to transfer heat from the engine and transfer it to the air. When these engines are warmed up to 180 – 200 degrees F, they run happily all day, run more efficiently and stay cleaner. They live linger, as well. Having said all this, the water distribution tube is a critical link in the cooling system. Never pull a water pump without at least pulling and checking the distribution tube. It goes without saying that no engine overhaul should ever be contemplated without inspection of this part as well. The tubes are reproduced by several vendors and are available. Bottom Line If you truly want to do the best you can for your MoPar flathead, here’s my recipe: • Modern high detergent motor oil in a clean engine • Full-flow oil filtration system in place of the part time bypass system • PCV system instead of the primitive road draft tube • High temperature (180 or higher) thermostat • Good quality paper air filter instead of an oil bath system
    1 point
  28. What follows are a few of my own observations, made from more than forty five years in the automotive trade. They are offered purely as an aid to those new to flathead engine quirks and differences. Your own experience may vary from mine. This is fine with me. I am still learning a little every day, myself . . . dte Valves The valve train is lubricated entirely by the splash effect of the camshaft and valve train. The only pressure feed to the system is to the cam bearings. The oil that escapes the camshaft journals and any splash resulting inside the crankcase from the reciprocating crank mass are the sole source of lubrication for cam followers, springs and valve guides. Common sensed says that exhaust valves and guides run at a higher temperature than intake valves and guides. Coupled with this temperature differential is the fact that intake guides are subjected to manifold vacuum, (meaning that they tend to suck oil into the guide), while exhaust guides work in the environment of exhaust pressure and heat. These two facts, temperature and pressure, mean that exhaust guides get virtually no lubrication. As a result of this fact, they are one of the more likely components in the valve train to wear out first. Having said this, a quick look at these engines shows that they, like most automotive engines, sit high in the front. This means that in a splash lubricated valve train, the highest component is also the farthest from the source of splash lubrication – the cam bearings and followers. Happenstance (and perhaps MoPar engineering) have dictated that the frontmost engine valve in MoPar flathead engines is an exhaust valve – the ones that wears first, anyhow. All this combines to mean that the front valve guide is the hottest, least lubricated and most prone to wear out. Disassembly and inspection of many of these engines have led this writer to believe the front valve guide nearly always exhibits the greatest amount of wear of all the engine guides. Second in likelihood of wear are the remaining exhaust guides, while intake guides rarely if ever show wear. If intake guides do leak, they tend to draw oil into the guide, which tends to aid lubrication. No valve seals are used on flathead engines. MoPar engines use hardened valves and seats as standard equipment. In this area, these engines are truly overbuilt. When valves show wear, they are invariably exhaust valves. Experience has proven that worn exhaust valves are nearly always caused by worn valve guides. Exceptions to this rule can be a piece of carbon or other debris causing a valve to hang open and burn. Lubrication Systems Mopar flathead engines were manufactured at a time when the technology of engine oil was still primitive, by today’s standards. Much of the wear restorers encounter upon disassembly is the result of the poor state of available lubricants. The oil we buy and use today is light years ahead of that available fifty years ago. Bypass oil filtration systems were never very helpful, but happened to be the only thing available in the forties and early fifties for these engines. The nature of bypass filtration is that likely ten percent or less of the total oil circulated by the oil pump ever gets to pass through the filter. The line that feeds these filters is the smallest diameter steel line used in automotive manufacturing. Even this meager amount of volume allowed to pass through the filter system is shut off during periods of low oil pressure, and only opened for circulation when oil pressure rises above a given pressure point. These bypass filters were optional, for many engines were produced without them. Full-flow oil filter systems, by comparison, filter ALL oil that is picked up by the pump and circulated inside the engine. Several restorers have performed work-around adaptations for these engines to adapt full-flow filtration to them. This improvement, in this writer’s estimation, goes a long way toward extending engine life. Full-flow oil filtration coupled with modern high detergent oil technology, will allow these already-well-built engines to last much longer between overhauls. Engine Blocks Do not be fooled by the small (218/230) cubic displacement of these engines. They are heavy block castings that warm up slowly due to their large mass. The water jacket inside the block is only present in the top several inches of the casting, where the heat of combustion is greatest. On the passengers’ side is the valve chamber, and there is no coolant flow below the level of the water distribution tube, well above the camshaft level. On the driver’s side, the water jacket extends down to the block core plugs and petcock, but the flow is mainly limited to the upper section. The area on the petcock side is typically where sediment and dirt settle inside the block. I have seen these blocks filled with sediment above the tops of the core plugs at the rear. This of course must all be cleaned out as part of any overhaul. Remove all block core plugs and use whatever method you have at hand to make sure everything is clean and free of sediment and dirt. It is logical to believe that these fifty-plus year old engines may have several hundred thousands of miles on them, in spite of what you want to beleive. Logic further dictates that cylinder heads have been removed several times for valve and piston work during the life of the engine. While the head is off, it is a good thing to check the deck with a straight edge, both for warpage and for distortion. It is not likely that an engine has been overheated sufficiently to warp the entire block casting, but close inspection usually shows some heaving or mushrooming of the deck surfaces around each head bolt hole. I have been successful in removing these distortions with a sharp flat file. Just start at one end and swipe crossways over the deck area. This will reveal high spots around each head bolt hole. These can be filed down to a true flat area with a little diligence. The result is a more precise deck surface against which the head gasket can seat. Most folks know that heads can be safely milled sixty or seventy thousandths to improve compression ratios. Even if this is not important to you, a resurfacing of the head is recommended, just to be sure of a flat surface for the gasket. If you can afford it and your block is at the machine shop for cleaning anyhow, have them resurface the deck a few thousandths to get a true surface. The same advice would not hurt a bit for the manifold gasket surface on the block. Crankcase Ventilation Another element of engine technology that has gained vastly from modern engineering understanding is crankcase ventilation. Originally designed only to ventilate the crankcase of fumes and condensation, this system is forced into double duty when an engine begins to wear excessively, for now it also has to handle blow-by products of combustion that have escaped past worn pistons and rings.. Positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) systems were originally mandated with a view toward limiting crankcase emissions. A secondary benefit of the PCV system is its ability to remove much more of the condensation and moisture from the crankcase than was originally possible with the primitive road draft tube that was always open to the atmosphere. Yet another advantage of the PCV system is its ability to disperse any blowby from the crankcase by returning it in the engine. It is easy to modify these flathead six engines from the original road draft system to the newer, superior PCV system. This is true mainly due to Chrysler’s involvement in military vehicle production during WWII. Many of these military vehicles were equipped from the factory with engines designed to ford streams and run in semi-submerged conditions for short periods of time. One part of these engine sealing systems was the PCV system designed to keep water OUT of the crankcase. A direct result of this fact is that most military vehicle parts suppliers are equipped to offer the PCV adaptor necessary for this conversion. This writer found one at Vintage Power Wagons. The adaptor is a round, cast metal piece that bolts to the rear of the block in the same spot as the original road draft tube. From this adaptor, 3/8-inch tubing is routed forward and up to the intake manifold. A pipe plug in the center of the intake on the outboard side can be removed and this line connected to it as a vacuum source. In series in this line must be a PCV valve, of the type typically used on any engine of equivalent cubic inch displacement. Because of the closeness of this vacuum line to the hot exhaust manifold, this writer chose to use an all-brass PCV valve, available from the same military source. A PCV system on these engines, coupled with modern oil and a by-pass filter, offer a recipe for extended engine life.
    1 point
  29. 0 points
  30. Only thing I like about both cars is they don't have fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror.
    0 points
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