keithb7

Yup. Pull axles. Drive shaft then the diff. I should have when I put in new axle bearings. I’ll be back in there soon enough.

I may not be right. But...I'll try. It is my understanding that the bearing cone, that is pressed on the axle shaft, moves outward, as one with the axle shaft, when you tug on the axle. The amount of free play is set by how far in your drive, or press, the cup in place. The cup should not be pressed in all the way flush with the end of the axle housing. You leave some free play, then when you choose the right thickness of shims, and re-install the brake backing plate, and torque the mounting bolts in place, the backing plate pushes the cup in toward the cone. This distance the cup travels, is determined by the thickness of shims, stopping the backing plate from pushing the cup in deeper toward the cone. This free play between the cone and cup is what is desired. I think that when you tug the axle out, this is what you are measuring. The free play between the cone and cup. Am I understanding this right? Open to corrections and clarity. Thx. Keith

When an intake valve is stuck open it can also sound like a leaking exhaust manifold gasket. The sound of forced rushed air can be heard coming out of the carb. It indeed sounds like a ticking exhaust manifold leak. Just be aware.

I find it interesting that you have different sized wheel cylinders. I can understand how that may have happened. I am wondering what that does to effect braking? Unequal hydraulic pressure at the cylinders? Perhaps different travel distances too. Which is likely a clue why you have 2 shoes with longer tabs on them, where they contact the cylinder. Have you had a look at the master cylinder to determine its diameter? Up to this point how did it feel when braking?

Sorry to hear that. Unfortunately that’s how things go sometimes. Best not to rush in, due to a wave of excitement. You’ve got good will power. What sorts of things did you find with the car that were not ideal?

I bought a Honda gas engine powered pressure washer new. Probably 10 years ago. About 2500 psi if I recall. We used it a ton when our boys were young and we all had dirt bikes. It made for quick clean up of our bikes and our muddy riding gear. They boys grew up, the dirt bikes gone. Today I have a huge driveway. Once a year I pull it out and wash the entire driveway to "like new". My wife probably actually uses the pressure washer more than I do these days. She hits the fence boards every few years, then they get new stain. I don't feel the need to use a pressure washer on my vintage car. It rarely sees even a drop of rain. I just hand wash the car. In the fall when I go hunting, I'll use it was clean up my 4-wheeler when I get home. Maybe hit the the truck too. Problem is, the driveway is so big, I've got to strategically place a muddy object near the entrance. So I can then just blast the mud to the soft shoulder on the road out front. Otherwise I'd had a mess of mud in my driveway. These are indeed first world problems. Last winter, the pressure washer got put away out in the shed out back. Somehow I missed flushing anti-freeze thru it. The residual water in the pump froze. That was the end of the pump. I easily bought a new one and replaced it myself. For storage, the handle comes off. It fits in a smaller area under some storage shelving. It is now in my main, warmer, garage. Realistically it probably see 3-4 times a year average use, max. I could probably live without it. However when I do use it, it sure is nice. Mine is kinda like this one here. https://www.bepowerequipment.com/washer-gas-6-5hp-2500psi-fe903bd3-93ad-4d11-b378-03a521cc7e1e I take the handle off as mentioned. Back up rings and o-rings for the wand: Buy and keep extras. They will leak in a few years. Not sure where to get some? Take em to your local Caterpillar heavy equipment dealer. Ask a parts guy to match them up. That worked well for me. The Honda engine has 100% been trouble free for a decade. I just change the oil and run it. It's my fault the pump froze!

Would it have had this same radio as in my '53? These are interesting units. The head unit or "deck" part of the radio is separate and independent from the electonics for the speaker. The speaker has its own amplifier circuit and tubes. It's all tucked away in behind the speaker. The clock sits in between the two radio systems, separating them.

That’s a buy. Looks nice. Cheap easy way to get into a vintage car. Fluid drive I presume. Brakes on all these old Mopars seems to be one of the most misunderstood maintenance items among common owners. You found the right spot here to get help in how to address the brakes.

Take a photo with your cell phone. Then open the photo to view it. Then take a screen shot of the photo, as you view it on your phone screen. On the Ipone its easy. Then simply crop and save it again on your phone. Then you can easily ipload and.post that photo. It’ll be much smaller in size and be accepted. - K

Sellers demand a premium price for replacement stock type ignition switches for these old Mopars. Especially the ones that mount to the rear of the coil in the firewall. A new replacement 6V coil is low priced. However won’t be able to accommodate the rear coil ignition switch wire mount. I can appreciate your desire to maintain stock. For others with a different plan, maybe a revived, drivable old Mopar on a budget, this works.

See my '53 265 engine here. Positive cable goes to the LF corner of my block. Not that it matters much, the differences just caught my attention.

The engine bay suits the car just fine. The car is running, revived survivor that is loved and driven regularly. I am intrigued by your positive ground battery cable. It comes off the battery, takes a hard right and appears to maybe mount on the top of your cylinder head? Is that correct?

Are you trying to preserve the stock look and parts? If not, cut the metal tube that covers the wire. I cut mine close to the back of the key switch. Remove the metal tube. Splice in a new piece of wire. It travels to the coil, correct?

Is that the condenser ground wire?

Nice car! For those of us that don’t know...what is the deal with the “Town Sedan” model? I’d love to know. Thx.

I am making the trip tomorrow, 2.5 hrs one way, to drop my '38 tank off at the recommended shop. It'll likely be a week or two before I get it back. I will post my results later... Fingers crossed.

So I dropped my fuel tank off at the local specialist shop. Asked to give it a good going over. They called me, “You need to come in”. Whatever the previous owner had done, isn’t working out well. Large chunks of sealant are coming off the insides of the tank. They did not have a process set up to deal with it. I have to send mt tank to another place a few hours away. They told me the product used should have remained rubber-y. Somewhat flexible. This red stuff is stiff and tears like cardboard paper. Here’s a sample chunk that came out of my tank. No its not an autumn leaf.

An e-brake properly maintained, regular monitoring of brake fluid, low gear hold back, and multiple planned possible emergency crash routes, allow me to drive down a steep winding hill every time I take my old car out. I’m still running the stock single chamber master cylinder. I adjust my brakes. I pull my 4 drums probably 4 times minimum, every cruising season. Do I need a dual master? It might offer more reassurance. Maybe some day. For now I’m comfortable and feel that my brakes are adequate.

Tire machine! Awesome-ness. If I had the space I’d surely buy one. That looks like a good one. I have a friend who owns an older tire machine. Largest rim he can work with is a 15”. So he does my vintage car tire swaps. Also any of my immediate family’s 15” or smaller tires. We pay him cash every time. No favours asked. He’s about 1/2 price compared to local businesses. He has no overhead costs. I love the cash savings! He also has a balancing machine. Gotta love it. Cash. No worries about any litigation from me.

The scabby old original rear chassis harness was pulled today. I lay’d it out and tagged each wire at each end. I’ve wrapped my head around exactly how it’s put together. A modern custom built replica will be hand built by my wife, then I’ll install it. I must say, for anyone new to this, a factory manual is paramount. I’ll likely curse myself some time in the future when I add turn signals. I’m rather smitten about the whole process. First time for me. Sure is fun and feeds my brain what it craves. Knowledge. Onward and upward!

This one is looking down then filler tube.

While addressing revival issues with my ‘38 Plymouth P6, I’ve noticed fuel issues. Orange-y colored fuel. Sediment. Also electric lift pump sucking issues. I’ll address all. So today I drained the tank of questionable fuel from the previous owner. I have no idea how old it is. As mentioned, the fuel appears orange-ish in color. I dropped the tank. Seen here. Pretty good sized tank I thought! The thank appears to have been serviced or replaced at some point. I have questions about the ruby-red coating inside. Is this some type of normal coating/sealant for old tanks? The coating appears to have some type of abrasive grains embedded in it. Almost like sand. I tried to show it in the photos. Just curious. What do you recommend I do to flush this tank? Take it to a rad/fuelntqnk shop? It looks pretty good. Maybe I can do a decent job at home flushing it? Thx.

I was thrown off in my initial inquiry due to funky wiring. The wire coming out of the steering gear box in my ‘38 car, plugs in to the main harness. Then it proceeds to “dead-end”, going nowhere. Bare wire left hanging that I plan to deal with. Yet my horn works. Lol. Someone likely added a separate wire to ground somewhere. I’ll get in there and find it.

I too am interested in learning more here. I too have a pretty good rear engine leak. I’ve yet to get in there. Please do post pics and update us as you figure this out and fix it. Thx.