whtbaron

x2 on the melatonin... get the 10 mg tablets. Cheap and non prescription. I didn't like the prescription drugs because they left me too drowsy the next day. I was getting as low as 3 hrs a night and these really helped me get back to a more normal sleep pattern.

I'm curious to know what your mileage numbers were, and in what car? The bone stock (and well worn ) 218 in my 52 Plymouth sedan got around 22 mpg on the highway, and I'm wondering if expecting another 20% in fuel efficiency is even practical. Excellent post all around.

He's got that right... I bought a running (a very nice runner at that) 228 with the 4 spd truck tranny out of a plated pickup for $300 Cdn. and prices tend to be higher up here. I'd have a hard time getting excited about a 218 even being a dyed in the wool junk fanatic.

Being a farmer, I've always had a healthy mix of cars and trucks around, but I never really thought about a convertible. I think that 41 could help me deal with the messy hair...

I know others have had luck soaking the cylinders in PB Blaster or Marvel Mystery Oil and turning the crank with a breaker bar on the nut on the crankshaft pulley, but I must say I've never been that lucky. Remember to leave the plugs out if you try this or you could get a fluid lock. I've always had to remove the head and tap the tops of the pistons (go easy or you'll break things) with a BFH and a wooden plug to fit the cylinder. Often you will find that the rust has formed where the carbon holds the moisture at the top of the cylinder. Hopefully it's not from moisture sitting on the rings, or the cylinder walls may be pitted beyond repair.

I shot these pics of the 54 Dodge Firearrows in the Imperial Palace in Vegas a few yrs ago. I never saw them with the hood up, but I think these 2 had Hemi's in them. Very classy little sports cars for their time. It's too bad Ma Mopar never marketed them with Hemi's against the Corvettes and T-birds of the day.

With 19 degrees of frost, anything that was going to freeze is probably solid now. That's probably all you're going to get unless you put them on the barbeque next...

I went through the same learning process when I was 12. Nothing like an old car to teach you how things are built. I've never heard of the bread system for pilot bushing removal, but it can't be any more messy or undependable than the shaft and grease method. I like the idea of using the right tool for the job, so I might have to keep my eyes open for that puller setup.

If you go to the year on the site that SSnowden provided, they give a PPG code of 41636 for Tamiami Green (code 615), so mixing that code shouldn't be a problem. If that chip is anywhere close to being accurate I would think it could be mixed in any system. We used to have a book of what we called "fleet chips" that basically started at white, went to black and gave you every code in between. Even if the fleet chip was off a little, it's no big deal to lighten or darken it a bit, but that will make it harder to match down the road. You just need to find yourself an experienced paint mixer with a good eye for color and forget whether or not it's the "original" code. Most manufacturers in those years probably had a color very close to that.

Bring one over here and we'll give it a real test... supposed to hit -30C with a windchill factor hitting close to minus 40. Those are pretty strong little tanks, they might just stretch and not rupture.

I assume that's different than a pacemaker? I have an aquantaince on another board that farms with a pacemaker. He avoids electronic welding equipment, but other than that he still leads a very active lifestyle.

Well yea... but I'd have a tough time jumping out of a perfectly good airplane!

Still debating in my head if it goes in the stock frame with the straight front axle, or a dakota front clip. A Dakota 318 4x4 chassis would be nice too... too many ideas with too little budget...

Not real pretty at this point, but I don't see many Fargos on this list so I'll include it. It's a 48 that came replete with torched out mounts where the power train used to be. I'd like to see it with a 318 and Torqueflite ... some day.

To each his own, I suppose. Not my cup of tea either, but the only real loss was the old cab... everything else was crusher material anyway. The biggest problem I have with these unsafe and sloppy builds, is that they are going to make it harder and harder for the rest of us to license modified vehicles.