bob_amos

Bulbs tend to glaze over with time and allow a smaller amount of light out. Also, the case that the cluster is attached to gets dirty over time. I have found replacing all bulbs, cleaning all sockets and cleaning the cluster case, and even painting it whit if needed, usually gives the best results. Remember, not all dash clusters are designed so as to give good lighting.

Thanks guys. Tod's site has all the info. I looked there first too but just did not find it. He has everything on his site, it seems. Thanks Tod!!

My '53 Cranbrook gets around 17 - 19. Mostly highway with a little city included. I'd imagine it to be 12 - 14 city stop and go driving. But I avoid that if I can.

Mike, Thanks... Perhaps I had better hold off until I can determine just what colours are suppose to be on this thing. Anyone else have any input?

Greg, Thanks for your response. Looks like it's going to be silver all over and black accessories. Thanks again.

Hi guys, been a while since I've been here. Actually, drop in all the time, do a little light reading, but just haven't logged on. I have a question on paint colour on a 1941 Plymouth engine. I know the post war cars all had silver painted engines and transmissions with black accessories. But I am not sure if the '41 was the same as I know there were engines called silver dome engines that were black blocks and silver heads, hense the dome name. Anyone know for sure what is suppose to be on this one? Thanks.

My 1967 Sunbeam Alpine. 31 years. Followed by my 1956 Pontiac Catalina that I've had for 29 years.

There ya go.... Think the customer will buy that?

Sorry for the delay in posting this. I don't make it to this site very often these days. Anyway, Thanks for the help and input. Generally, I have the list handled. Removing the horseshoe mount exposed that there was a bend at the left side as well as a crushed mount on the left side too. Replaced the mount and aligned the bracket and it is real close. I may insert a shim to level things off if needed. Thanks again guys....

I have a big question for you that may result in showing the true colours as to the knowledge that you seem to be creating as you go along. That being: "Exactly where are you getting your information?" Nobody, and I do mean nobody, would know better that I would as to the break even point of the Santa Maria National. You see, my wife and I are the clubs treasurers and have been since the club opened its doors. Not only did the meet make money but that resulted in the clubs lowering of the membership fees for the following year. We've donated funds to various individuals since then and still have a surplus. So, it would appear, to me, that this clubs financial position is in great shape as a result of the clubs past management. I do hope that this will clear up the misinformation being spouted off by an individual that seems to have an agenda to fill and will do so at all costs... Even to the point of delivering information that fits his and only his needs rather than the real truth. What is said in the future should questioned before believing. Misinformation is misinformation and calling it anything else does not change the fact that it is still misinformation. In his defense, perhaps his information is what was actually told to him. If that is the case I ask him to please research his future statements based on his sources past performance. If this information was given to him it was false and don't accept it in the future until he makes sure it is true. Enough said, period!!!

Well, the good news is it is a P-15 engine. That build date is 2.18.48. So the "T" must be an "I" I scratched the paint off and, like I said, the bottom mark almost dissappeared. Think I'll enhance it so as not to have trouble in the future. The owner will be happy to hear that. Now that bad news is, I am back to square 1. I guess I will remove the horse collar mount and see if the are any markings on it.

Looking again, the "T" could be an "I". But the cross on the top is very wide and prominent. There seems to be a small, what looks like a scratch, at the base of the "T". Very small and not very deeply cut. It almost looks as if I could scratch off the paint and it would dissappear. These old engine numbers are something I don't work with often so any input is always a big help. My consern is with the listing. If the engine is a P-15 engine I am wondering where in the world the wrong mount bracket came from. I do know, though, that the engine has been out of the vehicle as the radiator cross bar has been cut and rewelded in the same manner that all those old mechanics did. I remember the first time I saw a guy do that. It seemed to me, at the time, that it took a little longer to remover the engine without cutting up the car, but took longer in the end doing the refitting and welding. Go figure those old time mechanics. They had some weird ideas. Or... were they just lazy? LOL Don, Thanks for those links. Interesting reading and helpful.

Years ago purchased a convertable top for my Alpine from them. I also purchased clear plastic seat covers for my 63 Belair. Both were drop shipped from a major interior supply company. They just get good deals and pass on some of the savings. I wouldn't hesitate at buying from them on these. My shop is abn Acme Headliner, top and upholstry dealer. Minor dealer as we don't buy much from them and I still purchased from Whitney as the price was about the same as I could get from Acme.

Thanks guys. It is looking more like the guy has the wrong mount bracket in this car. Let me know what you find in the way of brackets for this one. Norm, No, the customer just wants it to sit in there as it was designed. It runs pretty good but I know he's going to be bummed when he hears what is in there...

Thanks for the input. The mounts do need replacement but the list is severe. Actually, the right side of the motor is lifted at the front and is carried through the entire engine/trans combo so that the right side trans mount is actually lifted from the mount. My thoughts were that the bracket mounted to the front of this engine has the lower base mounting points that are not the same as the P-15 car. A '37 engine in this guys '48?? Boy is he ever going to be dissappointed!!! Any more input would be welcome. Oh yeah guys, While Iam a professional mechanic of 40 plus years, this is one of those things that are not an every day item so your help is truely appreciated.

I have a 48 P-15 in my shop. The engine code is PT5. I am assuming that the "T" would designate truck. Am I correct? Anyway, the engine has a decided list towards the drivers side. Under the vehicle this list is more pronounced when looking at the trans mounts. Looking at the front support that is attached to the engine mount and frame it appears to be secured properly. The mount, while needing replacement, is not all that bad. Not enough to cause this list. I am thinking that the support may be different in the truck version and not the same as the car. Anyone ever run into this before?

I can't speak of the other two guys, as I don't know either of them, but I can speak for Nick. I have the good frtune to be a personal friend of his. He's as devoted to the club as anyone that I have ever known. He gives of his time freely and is always available to help out in any way possible. In many cases he has done things for the Golden State Region with all the cost being donated out of his own pocket. (A lot of our members are that type of people.) As to rising prices, we all know that it does no good to dodge the fact that EVERYTHING is costing more. If we want this club to continue we must face that fact that it will be more expensive to operate and maintain the current high quality levels that we enjoy as members of the POC. Anyone that runs on a platform that does not face this issue is not the man that should be in the top office. Ignoring the rising costs does not stop it from happening. Better we address it now when the cost to us, as members, is controlable and not to wait and find out when it is too late. Nick is the president of the Golden State Region and we actually found ourselves with a bit of a surplus in funds 2 years ago. As a result, he, along with the rest of the membership, decided to lower the renewal fees for the following year and level that surplus off. So, if he says anything about increasing membership it must truely be needed. But, by the same token, if it is found that it is not needed I can assure you that he will first in line to make sure that it does not occure. One of you made the comment about the wine tasting events at the National we held. When you are along the central coast of California it is the primary tourist attraction of the area. We offered the wine tours because it is one of the best wine areas in the country. (And I live in the Temecula area which is also a great wine area but not as good as the Santa Maria area in my opinion.) It would have been shear stupidity to not offer those tours. People from all over the county as well as the world would expect it. But, we also had other events that were not the "highbrow", as one of you called it, as the wine tasting. The members that attended the wine tasting enjoyed it and those that did not attend enjoyed the events that they attended. If you could have seen the work and time that Nick put into that National you would know the passion he has for this club. His contribution in time and cost were far more than anyone would have been expected of him, or anyone for that matter. Personally, it is my opinion that new directions are in order to help sustain the growth and future of the POC. Nick is a westerner with ideas that may not always sit well with those in eastern parts of this country but he's as honest and sincere as the day is long. Someone has to be a realist and do what is necessary in order to assure the continued success of the POC. It may not be popular to address these issues during a run for the office of president, but at least we know what the facts are and what to expect. It is my opinion that we could not find a better, more devoted man to run our club than Nick. Now, please, let's not run this like our coutries political leaders do. Tearing someone down is not the answer. I suggest that anyone that knows the other two members running for the office tell us about them. Hey, if I end up feeling that one of them are the better man then I may just cast my vote for them. After all, I want the best for our club and that would mean that he who is best qulified should be running things.

I've installed a number of them in customers cars. In every case it was to correct vibration. Not all of the replaced driveshafts were old. Some had had the ball and trunion replaces. The new design is also very servicable and easy to install.

Fred, Of coarse I agree that some vehicles are just not worth spending the money on. Being a 40 plus years professional auto tech I tend to believe that if it's worth the cost the only true repair is to do it correctly. Your friends GM with the leak. That is caused by the Dex-cool fluid that GM uses. That stuff actually rots the system from the inside. His leak is probably at the intake manifold where it meets the cylinder head. That's the first place they tend to leak. We do quite a few repairs to those manifolds. Make me lots of cash!! And yes, with a ton of miles on that vehicle stop leak is the best course of action. Then when that fails, and it will, the salvage yard is the next step. But as for sealer, the only sealer that I recommend is the Jones' Motor Purr. It's never failed me and never had a single advese effect on any vehicle that I've used it on.

I don't recommend stop leak to repair a leak that really should be addressed in a proper manner.. But..if I did... there is a product called Jone's Motor Purr Stop Leak. It comes in a glass bottle. I've actually used it for over 40 years, even though it's not what should be done to correct the problem, anyway, it's been around for years. Back in 1967 they guaranteed that it would stop the leak before the bumper passed the driveway. I've seen it stop sever head gasket leaks. It is great stuff and does not clog up the cooling system. About $7 a bottle.

I'd avoid the Roberts rubber ones. I had my car in my shop a few years ago and installed 2 new rubber ones from Roberts. The car stayed in the shop for 8 months for some work. I put the car up on the rack when I was getting ready to take it home. Guess what? Both of the new rubber ones had desolved and what was left of them was barely recognizable. When I contacted Roberts they wouldn't do anything about them. I've heard that some of todays C/V join boots will fit but am not sure which ones will work.

A couple years ago we had a '53 Chrysler with something like this and we ran the solenoids from the resisted feed at the coil. The customer was a little uneasy with the solenoids running off of the coil so we just added a second resistor and fed the solenoid from this added resistor. It's worked perfectly for the last 2 years with no troubles. We just decided to keep it simple for future repair men to work with.

WOW!! Margie & I have been looking for s good one of those at a reasonable cost but have come away empty handed.

Bob, Really cool hats. Espesially that white one on the left. (I know t's off topic but it was just too cool to ignore.)

Norm, Why not do a little diagnostic work to determine the cause? I'd suggest swapping the carbs front to back and see if the fault follows the carb to the back or if the fault remains up front. My reasoning here is to determine if the fault is temperature related. If the fault follows the carb when moved to the back then you know you need to address the carb itself. If the fault remains up front then you need to determine why the temperature is excessive in the front manifold area. As a professional I always try to determine why, and then address the issue. Todays fuels are not a stable or as forgiving to higher tempuratures s in the "Old dayz".