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Joe Flanagan

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Everything posted by Joe Flanagan

  1. Exactly what I was thinking. I made two spares and am now keeping them in my trunk along with a small flat blade screwdriver, an open end 7/16 wrench, a 3/8 socket, a 7/16 socket, and a ratchet. That will be my roadside emergency kit in case the wire breaks again. I've also put a mark on the engine block that shows exactly where the line to the vacuum advance is positioned so that I get the timing close when I put the distributor back in. It was a really dumb mistake on my part, crimping the wires the way I did. Like I was just asking to break down.
  2. I believe the Borg-Warner R-10 reduces RPMs by roughly one third. That's what I recall from the literature. I have one in my car and my 218 is bored out to .060 over which I think gets my displacement to around 220 or thereabouts (I did the calculation a long time ago and don't remember). When I drive 65 it's still pretty noisy but that may be body and insulation-related, I don't know.
  3. Thank you for all the responses. I was able to make a new pair with some thin wire I had around. I think my mistake was in the way I crimped the terminal to the wire. All the stress was focused on a small area at the base of the terminal. This is because I did not have the terminal gripping the insulated part of the wire. I've fixed that and I'm back up and running. I'm pretty sure, anyway, that that was my problem.
  4. I'm using the NAPA replacement wires with their original terminals, so I should be good there. The only modification I'm making is grinding one of the sides off the terminals so that they'll fit in place. I also plan to get an extra pair of wires to keep in my car along with the tools to make a roadside repair if this should happen again.
  5. I might have figured out my problem. I noticed that on the replacement NAPA wires, the terminal is crimped onto the insulation as well as the strands of the wire itself. On the ones I made, I crimped the ring terminals onto the wire only, with the insulation starting well back of the terminal. So the only thing the terminal was grabbing was the strands of wire and it had no hold on the insulation at all. When the thing flexed, all the stress was on the bare wire. If I have the terminal crimped on to the wire insulation as well, it looks like there's a lot less stress on the wire when it flexes. Does this make sense to you guys?
  6. So right now I'm in the process of installing new lead wires in my distributor. The ones I made (and which promptly broke) were about 1 1/2 inches long. I notice that in the chart that Rich Hartung posted under "Small Distributor Lead Wires" the stock lengths are well over 2 inches. Does anyone think the fact that I used a shorter length made a difference? Would a longer wire hold up better under the constant flexing? Also, the wire I used was not copper and I think the original was copper. Does that make a difference in terms of longevity? When I first rebuilt the distributor, I used a thicker wire than the one that recently broke. It worked fine for a long time before it finally gave way. I'm thinking of maybe using that thickness again. Any suggestions are more than welcome. Would love to hear from anyone who's done this and actually had the wires last for a while. I plan to make the trip to New York in August to meet with the other forum members, but I would not attempt it unless I figure out a better solution.
  7. Can these be found anywhere? And are they all bare copper?
  8. The wire broke off at the terminal. Looks like the other one is ready to do the same.
  9. So you remove the block and just run your new wire right through the hole in the side of the distributor?
  10. Right where the wire connects to the ring terminal. I guess that's where all the flexing happens. I'm wondering if I can find something thinner. I don't think I can use anything that has no insulation because chances are it will touch something inside the distributor. Also, it was the wire that connects to the points that broke. The other is intact but I will be replacing that one too if I can find a suitable wire. There's a possibility I didn't crimp it well enough and it just pulled free of the ring terminal. I haven't pulled the distributor yet for a closer look but will let you know if that's the case.
  11. Probably. Do you have the same issue with yours?
  12. Yesterday one of my refabricated wires inside the distributor broke, stranding me about a block from my house. Luckily it didn't happen during my trip to Philadelphia, which was going to be Sunday but which I've now scrapped. I used the wire that came with the NAPA part Young Ed posted but used very small ring terminals so it would work in my distributor. It seems the wire is still too stiff to withstand the flexing that goes on inside the distributor. What have you guys used that actually works?
  13. So, am I at risk of damaging the transmission by running it like this? I bought it from Neil Riddle. It came out of a 52 Plymouth and worked when it was removed from that car. I don't know if it's ever been apart.
  14. What exactly was the purpose of the rubber hose?
  15. Last time I tried to check the fluid level in my overdrive transmission, the front section was full to way above the the drain plug and the rear section just needed a little top-off. I understand the oil is shared between the two halves but I can't understand why the front would be overfull. When I pulled the plug, the oil poured out and I had a struggle to get the plug back in. The rear half, as I said, was just a little bit below the drain plug hole. I wouldn't bother except that the transmission has a couple of steady drips and I want to make sure I haven't lost too much. What am I missing?
  16. OK, just might do that. I'm always looking for an excuse to take a ride.
  17. Thanks. I plan to be there. After this weekend's trip to Philadelphia, I'm making a trip to Massachusetts along the back roads that will be a 14-hour haul. That route follows most of the same route I will take to New York in August.
  18. I've been driving my 49 Plymouth as much as possible. I've now got 2,300 miles on it. Only issues so far are minor. I plan to take it on its longest run yet this weekend: Alexandria, VA to Philadelphia via the back roads. Haven't checked out the mileage yet, but it's 3 hours if you take the interstate. I'll be mapping out my route tomorrow. Here's what the front of the car looks like after a 26-mile night drive along the Potomac River:
  19. Looks really good. A lot like my 49 Plymouth. How long a run did you take and what's that building in the background?
  20. Wow, never seen that before. Everyone ought to have an extra in the glove box. In my case, though, I need a glove box.
  21. Thanks for the responses. Shel, I did not try to adjust the striker plate because it didn't look adjustable. Plus there is no picture in my manual like the one you posted, so I assumed there was no adjustment there. But I will give that a try. If that doesn't work, I will try Tim's suggestion of cleaning the rotor assembly. Thanks again, everyone. Joe
  22. Doesn't sound familiar, John.
  23. The passenger door on my 49 Plymouth rattles pretty badly. It looks like the piece on the jamb needs to move inward quite a bit but there doesn't seem to be any way to do that. Also, I looked in my manual at the section on making body adjustments but it doesn't have any information on adjusting how the doors close. I don't have this problem on the other three doors. Any suggestions?
  24. Yep, I'll be setting up the old cauldron when I get around to de-rusting the gravel shields for my Plymouth. I thought it worked well and it beats sandblasting as far as mess and trouble are concerned.
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