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  1. Yesterday morning my wife and I left home and headed on a 300 km road trip to Osoyoos BC. My Chrysler was fantastic. OD was engaged on the hiway the whole way. Great cruising. Ambient air temps about 30 cel. The cooling system stayed between 170F, then up to 180F. T-stat would open then drop back to 170. The thermostat cycled and regulated perfectly. I did inatall a 6V electric aux pump incase needed. The whole trip was great. When we arrived in Osoyoos we got into some traffic. Stop and go. After 10 mins or so we got out of it. I hit the accelerator and she hic-cuped and sputtered a bit. I hit the switch on the electric pump, and it worked perfect. Just as I had hoped. 300 km back home tomorrow. Then I’ll post my fuel economy numbers. About and hour from departure I did advance my timing slightly. I could feel it. She got a little more jump in her step! A few picks of our area. Its been a great tour. More confidence building. More tours are to come!
    26 points
  2. Just being extra cautious as I have seen some suspicious activity by "Guests". Moving forward "Guests" will need to first register to gain access. This provides me a way to review registration information to determine if is a legitimate registration attempt or a spammer. This week I have seen an increase in spammer attempts to gain site access (they get filtered out in the registration process).
    16 points
  3. Took the son and granddaughter for a little tour of the town this afternoon. Since he had his camera with him we decided to make a stop in front of historic Founders Hall on the Athens State University campus, the following images captured the moments.
    13 points
  4. I got the bed installed. Body is finally done. Just need to complete wiring the lights, turn signals and wipers.
    13 points
  5. This morning I planned to fire up my ‘38 Chrysler coupe. The battery was dead. Hmm. Drat. I had somehow left the AM radio on, volume on zero. That was twice in the past year that the battery had slowly drained dead. Not good. Automotive flooded-acid batteries are not designed for this. Once they drain a few times all bets are off. I plugged in my new-to-me 1950’s 6V battery charger to recharge it. Got it to 6.35V. Not great but ok. The engine started fine, yet I was cautious. I had planned a dinner out with Momma later that night. A nice warm summer cruise after dusk, seemed like a great time to take the Chrysler out driving to dinner. I bought a brand new 6V battery 19 months ago. Its been sitting on a bench in my garage. I’ve been nursing it along, keeping it fresh. The battery in my Chrysler is 6 years old. That’s now in the “Ya never know when its gonna fail stage”. Maybe I’d better take the fresh new battery along in the Chrysler’s trunk. Just in case. I looked around, I couldn’t find my booster cables. My son probably took them and never put them back. Who knows? In my mind its easy to just cast blame on him though. Lol. So instead 1 took along a 7/16” wrench after testing it for size on the positive cable clamp. I also threw in a flashlight as it would be dark soon. We headed out, all seemed fine. Yet for some reason my dash gauge lights would only work on low. High power lights weren’t coming on. Hmm. I figured I’d have to check out the wiring and the switch next week. During a couple of higher engine revving episodes I felt a little miss. Nothing serious. Yet I know its not normal. Hmm. “Maybe I need to check my dwell?”, I estimated. The ammeter showed that the generator was feeding a good charge to the battery as we drove. It seemed like a higher amp charge than normal. Nothing crazy. Yet I did note it. We pull onto a gas station. I shut the ignition off. Fill up. Get back in. Stone cold dead. Not 1 electron seemed to move from the battery. I had Momma climb behind the wheel. I pushed the Chrysler to an empty area of the gas station lot. Time to install a battery. Momma has seen this type of roadshow more than a few times. She was not surprised to see that I had the exact wrench in the glovebox, a battery and work gloves in the trunk. There was certainly nobody in the gas station that could offer any help. 10 minutes later the engine turned over with vengeance. The fresh 6 volts really cranked it. Over time, the old battery had lost it lustre. I had not noticed until the new one spun it so fast. The high power setting on the dash lights now worked again. High engine revs? Perfect. No slight miss anymore. I assume the weak battery couldn’t fully charge up the coil at higher revs. We drove to the restaurant and enjoyed a fabulous dinner. We walked out to the dark parking lot. I put the key in the ignition and said, “Well here we go. Did we get it right? Will she get us home?” You bet! Fired right up like it was new in 1938. As we pulled into the garage at home Momma said “If you weren’t a mechanic, we’d never own these old cars”. I laughed…I was thinking about how the situation might have unfolded very differently in 1950. A few pics from tonight’s outing.
    12 points
  6. My truck loaded with round bales. Just finished our first cutting hay crop this year and finally remembered to take some pictures. Goal has been to get the old truck ready for local customer small deliveries.
    12 points
  7. After being perched on the lift all winter, I've been waiting for the snow in front of my shop to melt enough to get my 1950 Dodge Meadowbrook out for a short cruise yesterday. It was the first time she's moved under her own power in forty-some years. And those forty-some years were really hard on her. She sat outside in a little village in the N Cascade mtns called Stehekin that is accessible only by boat and has only about one mile of road. The incredible snows caved in the roof and rotted and rusted out the interior. The plus side of that slumber and location is the motor only has 35k miles (where do you go with only 2 miles of road?) I un-stuck 5 valves and now the motor purrs (45 lbs oil pressure at idle). Rebuilt the transmission, added an overdrive, did a fluid-drive delete, installed a two-circuit brake master and all new brakes and nicop lines, new ebrake and cable, wheel bearing and seals, 12 V alternator, and electric fuel pump. Gutted the interior and put in a new headliner and door cards. Next up is new upholstery on the seats.
    12 points
  8. Just finished this set of 41 Chrysler plastic this past weekend and was So happy with how it came out that I had to post it. It looks better in person than the pictures can show, the shine on that clearcoat is amazing! My first try at woodgraining came out really good, nod to Grain It Technologies, but what's really cool about this set is...all of these pieces are copies, made from silicon molds, and cast in my basement. Nod to Smooth-on for the mold making and casting part of the project. I'm probably jumping the gun a bit by calling this a 'set' since I haven't quite finished the door strips yet, but I'm working on it...
    11 points
  9. I've always enjoyed driving my P15, and I'm having even more fun now that my son's old enough to get behind the wheel. We worked the car hard at a recent Speed Hill Climb at historic Prescott Hill. The wet course was super slippery, so we got some sideways action on the hairpins!
    11 points
  10. Loaded my clan into our ‘53 Dodge for the local celebration. Grandson really enjoyed tossing candy to the crowd.
    11 points
  11. I guess I'm a little crazy. I now have two 1947 Plymouth Business Coupes. I picked up this white one today locally in Tucson through a CL ad. It is running and driving, but the engine is running really rough so I had it transported home on a flatbed so that I can service it at home. It sat in the P.O. garage for 8 years dnd was only run once a month for a few minutes, so I'm guessing everything needs maintenance. The body and paint are pretty good and the interior is not too bad either. The P.O. had it converted to 12V negative ground, which I'm planning on retaining. Yes, I know it has the incorrect rocker trim. It will need some wiring attention under the dashboard. Here are some pix:
    11 points
  12. Friday AM, Feb 10, Edmonton, AB: Four hardy souls set off for Lethbridge for the Early Bird Swap Meet on Saturday; our trusty steed my rusty and ragged '47 D25 Sedan. Clearly, many fingers had been crossed and much wood was knocked as the old heap never missed a beat. We splurged on a Motel 6 and arrived at the event's shiny new home at the supposed 8:00 opening bell. "Supposed" in that there was no line-up and already lots of shoppers roaming the aisles. We brought back some treasure — while the elders bought mostly books, young Ryan is building a Model T Speedster and checked several items off his wish list. We got home Saturday evening, everyone got roughly equal wheel time and the trip was an unqualified success. Three of us made a similar trip down to Lethbridge for the 2022 swap meet. Last year the Dodge was in the throes of a valve job and we were forced to travel modern. Total distance 691 miles Target cruising speed 50-52 mph, moving average 42.6 mph, top speed 59.0 mph. Fuel consumed 187.63 litres = 41.3 CdnGal = 49.6 USGal Gas mileage 16.72 mpgCdn = 13.9 mpgUS. The roof rack is no friend of fuel economy. Facebookers can view more photos at: https://www.facebook.com/EdmontonAntiqueCarClub
    10 points
  13. We did the first hopefully of many Christmas light parades this year with the 1952 B3GA First gear low speed on the rear end and I just idled the whole way with my foot off the gas! It's like it's made for a parade. Fun was had by all. This weekend it's a Christmas caroling hayride.
    10 points
  14. Not sure I posted a picture since fully assembling my repainted truck.
    10 points
  15. I just wanted to show you fellow flathead Dodge brothers and sisters our new addition to the family. It needs a good cleaning. 66k original miles. Gotta redo the brakes it’s a one owner car. Car has all the original paper work and hang tags from when it was new.. it has its original hub caps. We just have them off.
    10 points
  16. I've got the front seat finally finished. Sheesh, this seat was way harder than the rear. Not perfect, but so so much better than the rotting thing that was present when i got this meadowbrook. Now carpeting and then the interior is finished.
    10 points
  17. This photo was posted on a Facebook page related to history of my hometown of Ladysmith, Wisconsin. According to the story with it, this guy had just joined the State Highway Patrol. He became the 41st State Patrol Officer, hired in December of 1948. I thought you guys might appreciate the picture…
    10 points
  18. Today I participated in a local vintage car show. Ir was a good show. I met a lot of people. I was quite pleased to meet a fellow P15-D24 member here who has a flathead old Mopar and lives right here in my town! I hope to meet up with him again soon to check out is old Mopar. Ideally I get to help turn a few wrenches on it. @42D22 Here are some photos from today's meet. The local TV crew interviewed me and my Chrysler. They tell me we'll probably be on the local TV news tomorrow. That'll be cool. If that works out, I'll post a a video here later. About 75 vintage cars registered. We started as seen here in a parking lot and socialized. We completed a driving tour then ended up on the grass of our main park downtown for a free public show. Here are all the Flathead era Mopars I found: 1928 Dodge Standard 6 1940 Dodge D16 Special My 1938 Chryler
    10 points
  19. Interesting, I was going to write a short thread about the process of "Bumblebeeing" the fan blade but figured it was too light weight for this place. Many of the people including my grandfather, took the time to do this....Eglin Field "pink mist" makes a powerful case.
    10 points
  20. I thought I'd share my newest project. I was graciously gifted a 1929 Desoto Cupe de Lujo (rumble seat soft top deluxe coupe) from my friend with the simple goal of saving the car. He acquired the car 3-4 years ago from his uncle who drove the car in high school in late 60s and kept it ever since. I'm guessing the car was last driven in the early 70s. From what I can tell, it's 100% complete and was parked while driving. Over the years his uncle tried to preserve the car by putting oil down the cylinders and rolling the engine over and various other things. The engine is loose and it honestly looks like it would run if I clean the points and run it off a gas can. He did work on it some since it was parked in hopes of driving it again. He put new wheel cylinders, brake lines, and it appears he rebuilt the master cylinder. He collected some parts, like wheel bearings, a very nice (looks NOS) Desoto grill emblem, and a few other odds and ends. I picked it up last night after work, and didn't have much time to look it over very good. I did spend 15 minutes or so digging around through the boxes of parts and through the rumble seat area and found the original top (perfect for a pattern), the missing rear bow for the top (I was worried about that!), and even the original door panels that he saved when he replaced them in high school. He saved everything he ever took off the car down to each screw. The worst part of the car is going to be repairing the wood body frame as needed and making a new top for it. The cowl is weak and it flexes when you open the doors to the point the doors hit the opening at the rear. It takes a firm push to get the doors to close. Other than that, I think its going to be fairly straight forward. I'll just need to pick away at it as I get time. It was originally a teal-ish blue but someone painted it brown at some point. The brown is lacquer and is peeling off in sheets. Here are some pictures. My kids seemed to enjoy it. It's a pretty exciting event for them lol. I have other projects, but I have a big hang up currently with one, and the other one is in a running/driving state, so I haven't been eager to start it other than acquire some parts. With that said, I think this one will be what I tackle. Hopefully I can get after it in a reasonable amount of time as money and kids allow!
    9 points
  21. I read up on what folks are doing for door threshold replacements and decided to use .05 sheet aluminum and added some design instead of rubber on top. It clamps the carpet edge tight, I like the look, and it definitely didn't cost me much.
    9 points
  22. Gentlemen, Thanks for your help for my sometimes stupid questions. I am working on my first classic Dodge so something I haven't seen before this way. Today I got the ole 41 running and be very happy with result. Thank you Joe
    9 points
  23. My wife and I just ended a week-long trip to Arizona. We flew into Phoenix. Picked up a rental RV van and hit the roads. We drove and toured as much as we could fit into a week. We had a fantastic time! We met very friendly, helpful pleasant people everywhere we went. We went north to hike Sedona. Down to Bisbee and Douglas. Caving in Coronado and Kartchner. East over to Wilcox where we tipped a few back with the locals in their cowboy dive-bar, Rex’s. Chiricahua hiking. Heading north again travelling through Why and Ajo. And lots more. We saw so many great places and things but best of all was the people. Kind. Appreciative. Welcoming. From our BLM campsites to the drivers at the truck stops and all points in the between. Living like nomads on the road in our van for a week showed us the real, happy, generous people of America. God-bless America, we love y’all. Special mention to the truckers doing an important job and staying so friendly. I realize now, after I turned off mass-media and all the news doom-and-gloom for a week, I saw the big heart of a really great country, open up wide.
    9 points
  24. I have been remiss on spending time on this forum this last year. Too much going on with our place out of town and as far as cars go, I have been working on the Dark Side....a V8 car. Since Sondra insisted on a car with AC now not in a couple of years, I went and picked up a 1964 Chrysler 300K. The old 1947 Desoto just needs to be taken off line after 22 years of daily driving. Of course the 300K needs work as well as it is a 94K mile original. After I get done with the Chrysler, I will go back to the Desoto and start on it. The 1949 Desoto Convertible is just fine. I need to drop the lower control arms and turn the inner pivot rods to get some more Caster but that is about it. I hope everyone is having a good 2023. Best, James
    9 points
  25. The son and his wife surprised me with this gift....the grandson, wide open behind the wheel....
    9 points
  26. My ‘38 Chrysler’s original transmission shift knob is crumbling apart. I think its made from bake lite? Anyway, chunks are falling from it near the threads. I removed it to stow it away safely. My dear friend who has machining tools agreed to spin me up a new shifter knob from aluminum. He has some 3” round stock. The original knob is 2” diameter. I said lets try 2.5” diameter for my big mitts. He made me a wonderful polished aluminum knob. It fits my hand great and feels so extremely nice. Its so comfy and smooth. Like butter in my hand. He must have used 2000 + grit jewellers rouge or something. It’s so shiny and smooth. It’s not stock but I think I can overlook that. To say I’m pleased is an understatement.
    9 points
  27. Step 4 – Gauge face graphics I took the gauge face layout created in step 2 and used it to create a paint stencil. Same as my PRND21 project, the stencil was cut on a Cricut machine. Given the size of the numbers and hash marks for the volt gauge this pretty much pushed the limits of the Cricut in terms of the size and precision of the required cuts. Overall it came out acceptable though. Once I had a stencil, I painted the gauge background using the same tinted clear I used in my PRND21 project. I then used the Cricut stencil to air brush the numbers and hash marks onto the face. The last step was to hand paint over the numbers in phosphorescent paint. The phosphorescent paint makes them glow in the dark when lit, same as the stock gauges. Overall this came out with acceptable results, not a perfect match with the stock gauges but good enough for my purposes. If you want to do something similar, hopefully this will give some ideas on how to go about it.
    9 points
  28. that was quick.....the sheriff office made contact with Arthur. He does not answer phone calls he does not recognize. He just called me back after sheriff told him it was I who was checking on him and we spoke for at length on the phone. He is doing well, focusing on getting his stuff moved forward to new owners and is now on the way to the grocery store. Hopefully he will be able to pop in on the forum and say hey....
    9 points
  29. I've got another noteworthy repair to share. Made my original 1940 Philco C-1708 working again. ? This was actually inspired by the following comment in another recent thread: I thought it to be not very informative when the person in the video mentioned that the original tube radio is not repairable or not worth the trouble to repair, and simply gutted the whole thing and put a modern player inside. ? And I thought to myself - this ain't right, I can do better - I can fix the OEM radio. And I did. Here is a short version: The most common problem in all tube radios seems to be the electrolytic filter condensers, which age and go bad with time. This is most often evident by the buzz/hum sound audible from the speaker when the radio is turned on. This sound has no response to the volume control and it is not to be confused with the buzzing of the electro-mechanical vibrator inside the radio itself. The filter condenser hum is actually coming from the speaker, not the radio. How to fix it? Quite simple - you need to replace the filter condensers, and all the other paper (outdated) condensers you find inside the radio. You can usually keep the resistors, mica (bakelite) condensers, tubes, and other parts, unless they test bad. Some people also prefer to replace the electro-mechanical vibrator with a more modern solid-state one, but I kept the original, since it is working without issues. The condensers you use (called capacitors, or caps, now-days) should be the same as the original ones, in terms of the capacitance and voltage specs. Going up in voltage is okay, if necessary. The capacitance can also deviate within +20% of the original value. This allows you to find cheaper and commonly available replacement components. Here is the list of parts for the C-1708 radio I used: caps ECW-HA3C202HQ - 1 ECW-H20402HVB - 2 EEU-EE2V150 - 1 EEU-ED2V100 - 1 DME1P56K-F - 2 DME2S56K-F - 4 103MSR400K - 4 DME4P27K-F - 1 ECA-1EM220 - 1 $24.45 2 new knobs (mine deteriorated completely) 1450DR $16.67 1 Philco 7B8 tube (mine turned out to have an open heater circuit) $4.99 (on eBay) This is it. For a grand total of $46.11 I now have a working OEM radio. Parts delivered to my door. The repair was performed with a cheap soldering iron kit and a regular digital multi-meter. Also I am a not an electronics specialist, at all. So if some of you with proper education are reading this and thinking that I am full of nonsense - you are right ? For the long version: After I replaced the condensers, found a faulty tube, and checked everything else, the radio still would not work. I spent days educating myself in radio repairs, etc., and troubleshooting all kinds of different components. In result, at some point it started working, all of a sudden, and I still don't know what happened. But don't worry, yours is going to be different - a quick and simple repair ? And here are some illustrations, as always: Original radio and new parts. New parts installed. I really cheated with the buttons. Technically, they are supposed to be semi-transparent, with labels, and illuminated by the pilot lamp from inside. But I had no tools or time to do a more or less proper restoration, so I cut new cores from a plastic base board, embedded the metal connector for the button rod, and used a switch plate for the ivory inserts to match the new knobs. In the end, I think it turned out acceptable, cosmetically. Although, I must admit that if the darker knobs were available, these would look better. The schematics for this radio are available here: http://www.nostalgiaair.org/PagesByModel/952/M0013952.pdf
    8 points
  30. My engine looked tired so I thought I’d give it a quickie rebuild. Before After Total cost approximately $1.00 CDN. ? As I said, it looked tired but even with 102,000+ miles it still runs just fine. I was changing out a water pump so I thought I’d take the opportunity to spruce the old girl up with a bit of silver paint. Engine is original to my ‘53 Plymouth.
    8 points
  31. It was in the upper thirties today in Massachusetts. Sunny, dry roads, no snow or salt. My wife and I took the Dodge for a mid winter ride. The ground is entirely bare as it has been in the 50's since before Christmas, but still I wanted to have some snow i my photo. The only snow we could afind was on the "bunny slope" at the Wachusett mountain ski area. The car ran great and we put 35 miles on it in mid winter.
    8 points
  32. We have grown to over 12,000 registered members and new members joining every day! Things have changed over the years with new site software several times. Fortunately the software has gotten much more stable making my admin job much easier! We have met and built new friends online and meeting many in person. And as the years have marched on we have sadly lost some of those friends. I'm most proud of the way the community shares information and helps fellow mopar lovers. I look forward to many more years and thank you for your ongoing support!
    8 points
  33. Easy way to add water to your radiator and or battery Easy way to pour water into your radiator or battery. On a lot of the early cars have what is called the butterfly style hood. This style hood has the hinge down the middle of the hood and the hood open up like butterfly wings. Also, the other style is called the alligator style because the hood open up like an alligators mouth and the hinges are mounted at the back end of the hood. Have you discovered that there is not enough space to use a gallon jug of distilled water to add water to your radiator or even your battery without spilling water all over the engine and battery. Even some batteries are under the front seat like on my 1939 Desoto so there is very little room to get to the removable caps. Most of us drink coffee or tea and like to add a flavored creamer. The lids on these bottles most of the time have a pour spout flip top lid. Refer to the pictures below of these bottles. The nice feature is that you now have a smaller sized bottle and you can control the amount of water being poured out of the bottle. So, the next time you empty one of these bottles clean it out so there is no left over creamer. Then take the plastic label off the bottler and label the bottle as DISTILLED WATER. Store the bottle with your other cars supplies in your garage. Only use Distiller water in your Radiator and Battery. Some batteries have sealed caps and others have removeable caps. Most caps can be removed to check on the level of fluid in each cell Refer to the attached pictures: Notice how easy to pour water into the radiator versus trying to pour from a gallon bottle container. Refer to picture 3 & 4. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com
    8 points
  34. I bought this car a few years ago with a Fulton visor. I was going to use the visor on my black 46 Bus. coupe. It fit perfect and looked good before I painted my car black. Now I can’t bring myself to install it on the new paint job. An acquaintance stopped by last Monday to look at a 54 Plymouth Savoy 2 door coupe I have and noticed the 48 coupe. He doesn’t have any cash, but would I trade for a 41 Dodge WC. I delivered the car today and picked up my trade vehicle. I was able to release the winch and roll it into his garage and he drove the truck on the trailer. I brought a couple sheets of plywood so he could set up a table on saw horses and check out what parts I had delivered and a new reprint service manual. He offered fuel money and lunch, we had lunch. I’m extremely happy and he was excited with his next project. The truck needs some things changed, but I have the parts to do any remediation, I hope. I still have the Fulton visor. Rick D.
    8 points
  35. I guess I should have just started a build thread a while back! When I bought this rust bucket, I'd didn't think it was going to be saveable...but you know how that goes! I justified putting some lonely into it by having it serve as my upholstery classroom, which has turned out to be a good call cause I've sure learned a lot. Here's the back seat done and temporarily in cause, we'll, I was too excited just to see how it looks.
    8 points
  36. My-off season project wrapped up yesterday. The plan: 1. Remove the three in the tree shift setup 2. Fabricate and install a 3 speed floor shifter. The process: 1. Removed the front floor section and disconnected the linkage from the transmission 2. Scoured the internet for 3 speed floor shift ideas 3. Hatched a plan, in my head, for how I would do it. Spent hours deciding. Came up with a workable plan. 4. Removed the column mounted shifter and linkage. Whoa!!!!! This is the point where the plan changed drastically. After several days of staring at the now naked steering column, I just couldn't do it. I would start taking measurements and look up at that steering column, stop what I was doing, and ponder it overnight. It didn't look or feel right. It needed that shifter to somehow complete the look and feel of this car. So, I made a new bushing for the shifter shaft, lubed and adjusted everything, reinstalled all the parts I had removed, adjusted the linkage, put the floor back together, and sat behind the wheel and smiled. All is right with my machine again. For 33 years I have said "I wish I had a floor shift". Careful what you wish for. I am glad I changed my mind. That three in the tree is as much a part of this car as the flat head engine. I remember I had read a post somewhere that said something to the affect of "If it ain't on the floor, throw it out the door". And I agreed wholeheartedly, until the other day. Now I say "If it's a good three in the tree, let it be". Long post to say a little, I know. But, it speaks to the emotional attachment I have with this old car. It's not fast, loud, flashy or worth a lot of money. It is odd, quirky, and different. In other words, perfect for me!
    7 points
  37. So here is the end of the saga! I made the trek to the parts store and bought a cigarette lighter extension that I was able to connect to the 12 V lawn tractor battery and strung the lights and this was the final product. Looking forward to Christmas Eve when Professor Plum and I get to travel through town. Merry Christmas or Seasons Greetings to everyone.
    7 points
  38. Brought the 29 DeSoto to the lake for sunset tonight. Started right up. Still has a stumble on acceleration but it was fun to get out with it.?
    7 points
  39. Just an update on my ‘48 project. After seeking out a visor for my car and discovering the out of sight prices, I decided to build my own. I fabbed up the frame work from 1/2” aircraft tubing (which bends nicely in my Harbor Freight pipe bender) and some 1/8” by 1/2” flat stock. Some 24 gauge sheet metal stretched over it all welded around the edges and smoothed makes it look like one stamped piece. Found an old piece of stainless trim I had laying around the shop to cover the center seam. I made some clamps to hold it to the rain gutter held on with 3 stainless button screws on each side. Easy to remove if need be and no holes needed to be drilled to mount it. Finally I added a few small pieces of thin rubber glued under the 1/8” flat stock where it meets the roof to prevent damage and provide a vented area for air to pass through.
    7 points
  40. Carb together by noon. On the car, primed, accelerator pump squirts, engine fired up. Engine died. (Had to set the idle speed.) Purrs. Revs up, a little roughness. Next, a shakedown cruise through the neighborhood. Stay tuned for the next exciting adventure.
    7 points
  41. Dude, thanks. That made my day. Nice tool! Lol. If a video I made, helps educate and inspire you, my time was worth it. Flathead Mopars shall live on! Get ‘em out of the garage or barn and onto the roads for all to see and enjoy.
    7 points
  42. There's an old joke told by Rodney Dangerfield about dinner at his house. "You don't brush your teeth after dinner, you count them!" Well, I am going through an Overdrive transmission and I decide to try the only optional gear set for the 1940-54 transmission. At the same time I am building a 1939 Ford V8 transmission and a Studebaker R10 Overdrive ( very old school, mounted in the middle of the torque tube ) to replace the hated T5 in my Model A. My Dad said he had a set of Lincoln Zephyr gears and I thought I try them at the same time. Well a Lincoln Zephyr gear set is 3 gears and if you want a NOS set they are astronomical in price! ( there's a set like I thought I had for $2,895 on eBay ) Turns out what I had was two of the correct gears and a cluster for a 1955-56 Ford with a 272 V8. When I looked at a gear chart from Van Pelt Sales and counted the teeth nothing made sense. Hence the Rodney Dangerfield joke. It took a phone call to Mac Van Pelt to identify what I had. Back to the Plymouth: At the time my cars were built ( 1949 & 52 ) the speed limit was 55 mph and the closest thing to a freeway in Los Angeles was the Arroyo Seco Parkway ( aka Pasadena Freeway ). Which is kind of laughable as a "Freeway". Anyway that's why the old cars had 3.90 rear ends and 3 speed transmissions. When Chrysler went to column shift ( largely so a 5 passenger car could suddenly become a 6 passenger car ) They tried the one year only second gear ratio and thought better of it for 1941. Turns out that 1940 second gear ratio was highly regarded with the "Boy Racers", it making the mopar gear box more close ratio. Not only were there lots of factory gears sold as replacement parts, the after market made them too. There's plenty of them for sale on eBay for less than $300! That seemed to me like a cheap experiment. So here we go counting teeth again. The 1940 Cluster Gear ( aka Transmission Countershaft Gear ) is part number 853-885 and has the tooth count of 32-25-19-14 Whereas the 1941-54 tooth count is 32-23-19-14. Second gear is the only different ratio and thus you only have to change two gears. The 1940 second gear is part number 692-687 and it's tooth count is 23. The 1941-54 second gear tooth count is 25. Enter the Overdrive: The Plymouth R10-G1 Overdrive will shift into 2nd Overdrive plus the top gear overdrive making it actually a 5 speed. When new, the cars were delivered with 4.30 rear end gears giving them lively acceleration....to 55 mph. Now days as the song says "I can't drive 55!" My 49 came with a 3.73 rear end and with Overdrive that car is really happy at 55 mph and 70 sounds like 55 used to. When I installed the Overdrive I swapped the speedo gear from my old transmission which has 17 teeth and the speedo is close ( p/n 652-848 ). With a tire size change and I would change to a 16 tooth speedo gear P/N 652-846 which is also useful with a 3.54 rear end ratio ( there being no other smaller tooth count speedo gears ). One fly in the ointment: Between the loose needles used in the cluster gear and the thrust washers it's a challenge to assemble the countershaft. Chrysler had a solution for the dealer mechanics, the Miller Special Tools C-578. It is a short rod slightly smaller in diameter than the countershaft and only as long as the cluster gear with the thrust washers. You assemble the cluster gear with grease ( to hold the needles and washers ) with the tool inside. After all the other parts are installed you invert the case and the cluster falls into place. Then you push the counter shaft in and the tool keeps everything aligned until the counter shaft is in place. The same method is used by locksmiths changing the pin combinations. Only one problem, try and find one! SO...I am going to make some from plastic rod stock which will work even better than the metal one did. If you enjoy using your brain and working little issues out, the old car hobby is the best! Have fun!
    6 points
  43. Well, on Sunday is Xmas Eve, and the real busy day will be on Xmas day for everyone that is hosting a family get together, with all of the food preparations and cooking the big turkey, the gathering in the morning around the Xmas tree and religious items and opening presents. But the most important aspect of the holiday is not the amount of presents or the cost of the presents or dwelling on what you wanted and or did not get from someone, BUT the true meaning of Xmas is the renewing of our faith, no matter what faith you have. It is the renewing of being kind to a fellow person or helping a senior citizen that is lonely because they lost a loved one this year or just being there to help a person get through the holiday season. Some people get depressed, and others get excited, but we all have mixed feelings. The time is very hectic, and everyone is in a hurry to get someplace. So, plan to leave extra time to get to your location, plan for those people in a rush, try to control the anger when the traffic is at a standstill. Getting upset will not make the traffic go away. It is better to be late to the party or family celebrations versus not arriving there at all. To many people get over tight and stupid things happen everyday. As we also prepare to start a New Year some will go out and celebrate, please be aware of how many people have been at parties. Everyone needs to reflect back on the previous year in 2023 and try to make changes to make 2024 a better year. Think about how you can be a better person and make changes to your life to accomplish these things in 2024. Life is a journey, so make the best of what each and everyone have, life is really short and when a loved one has passed during the last year remember them fondly because all we ever will have are the memories. Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to everyone. Rich Hartung
    6 points
  44. Once these were welded back in and the NOS hinges were bolted to the door, I was able to realign the door to the body and get it reinstalled. Now the door works perfectly. Of course if the hardware attaching the hinges to the a-pillar weren’t so rusted, I would have just been dealing with the actual hinges. Since things don’t always go that smoothly I wanted to show how I dealt with the inner brackets. Hope this helps someone.
    6 points
  45. Yesterday we took the ol' D24 out for its longest, well, actually first, significant ride since installing the restored radiator. A mere 60 mile round trip to Island Falls, ME with our car club for dinner. Apologies for no photos - I had a camera, but it was also the very first time since we've owned the car that we drove it in the rain. I had to think about that for a while, in 32 years, it had never been driven in the rain. Of course, that served to verify what I already knew from washing it, the windshield seal leaks like a sieve, and 30-year old wiper blades don't work very well. The only saving grace is that water did not get on the inside of the windshield, just everywhere else. The Missus' and mine legs got rather wet. Oh well - "it's only water". I don't plan on doing anything about it until the fall, I'd penciled in replacing the windshields and gasket when it comes time to put her to bed for the winter. I'll just have to manage expectations and/or avoid driving it on rainy days. We had the trip planned for a month, if you're wondering why we went out on a rainy day. In Maine, if you wait for a nice day to do things, you won't get much done. Still, a nice trip, and the Dodge ran flawlessly.
    6 points
  46. I always wondered why the guy with a car has to pay to get in but the spectator is free. Not always, but a lot of times.
    6 points
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