keithb7

Yes, very nice. I’m with your son. I’d rather ride in it than Mom’s new car. (Has nothing to do with her driving, I swear)

Piston #1 at TDC. Yet you could be mis-led as #6 is also at TDC at this point. One piston will be at TDC of the compression stroke , the other will be at TDC at the end of the exhaust stroke. You need to find out exactly which piston is at which point in the 4-stroke cycle. The tissue idea or ping pong ball, or your thumb on top of the spark plug hole will determine exactly which TDC position a piston is at. A piston traveling up, with both intake and exhaust valves closed will force air out of the spark plug hole. That is the position you need hone-in on. If a piston is traveling up and not blowing air out the spark plug hole, the exhaust valve for that cylinder is open. That particular piston is then on the exhaust stroke. This is not the TDC position you want to use for timing your spark. The spark for a cylinder must fire when the piston for that cylinder has created compression inside the cylinder. That only occurs 1 time in the 4 cycles of a 4 stroke engine. In this particular straight 6 engine #1 and #6 have the exact same throws on the crank shaft Meaning #1 an #6 piston will always be at the exact same position inside the cylinder. The only difference is the valve timing. The two cylinders are out 360 degrees of each other in the 720 degrees of a 4 stroke cycle. If you study the 4 strokes of an (engine, intake, compression, power, exhaust) you will see that 2 strokes make up 1 full 360 degree turn of the crankshaft. A single "stroke" is the piston traveling one direction fully up or fully down once. The crankshaft must rotate 2 times or 720 degrees for all 4 strokes to be complete. The cycle then repeats again over and over. The piston going to the very top of the cylinder 2x every 720 degrees of crank rotation. These 4 strokes, another way to think of it: - Stroke 1: Intake stroke, the piston goes down all the way to the bottom of the cylinder. Drawing in air and fuel. - Stroke 2: Piston goes back up for the compression stroke. Now you are at exactly TDC to set your spark timing. - Spark fires here now at this time. - Stroke 3: Combustion sends the piston back down to the bottom of cylinder. - Stroke 4: Intertia, along with the help of other cylinders firing, brings that piston back up to the top of the cylinder. Pushing the burnt gasses out of the cylinder, Piston is now at TDC again. - Start over at Stroke 1 again. Can you see how the piston will be at TDC 2 times in the engine cycle? Only 1 time there is fuel in the cylinder to fire. The spark has to fire in correct order of the list above. I often talk about how I like to 100% know an engine is at TDC to set the valves. Also if wanted set the ignition timing. When a piston is at TDC of compression stroke, both intake and exhaust valves are fully closed. You can confirm this by feeling the valve tappets. Wiggle them up and down. You can only move them by the amount the valve lash is set at. Only 1 time in the 4 stroke cycle are both valves perfectly closed, is during the compression stroke. This is the only time both valve tappets of 1 cylinder can both be wiggled up and down in their bores. When you determine #1 is at TDC of the compression stroke, take the distributor cap off. Where is the rotor pointing to? Take the rotor off. Look at the points and hexagon of the points ramp. A peak of the hexagon cam should be at it's apex and have the points pushed open now. At this point is where you set your points gap. Do so, then put rotor and cap back on. The spark plug wire going to #1 cylinder's spark plug goes into the cap hole, right over where the rotor pointer is currently sitting. Then working your way clockwise from #1 wire, insert wires 5, 3, 6, 2, 4 into their holes in the rotor. Follow each plug wire from the rotor to each spark plug. Make 100% sure they travel to the proper cylinder order as written. If you have a good battery, 6V going to a good coil, no ground shorts, a good condenser, points, plug wires and decent plugs, fuel in the cylinder, valves that seal at least somewhat, somewhat half decent compression, an open air intake passage through the carb, she'll fire. I hope this helps you.

Hear, hear. I had a similar experience in 2020 visiting Dave. . Dave has helped me several times as well. I’m fortunate to be in these circles, the great Mopar family.

I’m doubtful you have a fuel pump problem. The electric pump is generally more reliable long term versus the mechanical pump. You could check fuel pressure to confirm its within range. Does this car have the M5 semi-auto “Tip-Toe” shift transmission? I suspect so. Hi range top gear going up steep hill, expect flat performance. Kick it down to passing gear and let off the throttle a bit so its not revving so high. That’s pretty much all you get. Its a heavy car with relatively low compression, low HP engine. Probably a 251 ci engine I assume. You can check the engine’s state of tune and address it if needed. That might help improve power a bit. However, it will still perform mediocre compared to later model cars with bigger engines.

You can watch me test my generator output here with simple clamp meter/ Digital Multi-Meter. You can buy the tool here: https://www.amazon.com/UT210D-Digital-Current-Resistance-Capacitance/dp/B0753FY711/ref=sr_1_2?crid=187OIWIDDJUEX&keywords=uni-T+210D&qid=1693926590&sprefix=uni-t+210d%2Caps%2C319&sr=8-2 Works very well.

I am not aware of a way to date them. If in doubt replace them. Points, cap, rotor and condenser. Keep the condenser in your glovebox as a spare. The contact section of the points is likely not copper. Just a the arms may have an ore blend with some copper in them.

The little town of Nakusp BC. The old Mopars are easy to spot. This one is a Chrysler Windsor. Indicating a 6 cylinder, if I recall. I suspect 1948? I’m not dial’d-in on this era. I’ve heard them called “harmonica grill”. Rear suicide doors. The wheel chocks tell me the car probably has a semi-auto or fluid drive. No park position. Plus the parkbrake can’t be trusted. You look at ‘em the wrong way and they can snap off. Well anyway, my ‘53 was like that. Thought you might enjoy. I did.

Mine was awfully excited, anxious to start up: https://youtu.be/FNNctm-_yks?t=299

I pulled the engine out of my ‘38, I left the nose cone on. The rad was pulled. It can be done but it was certainly precarious to say the least. When I re-installed the engine I chose to remove the nose cone first. Much better. Much easier. The whole front end seems to be a contraption of body panels, support brackets, hardware etc. Its certainly interesting. I did not attempt to remove nose cone and fenders all assembled, I’d be interested in trying it some day. I suspect you would likely need a fair number of support points to lift the whole assembly up.

@BingsterThis site is full of nice friendly folks who want to help you. A few people have said here be careful and have not flat out said why. Reason is they are so polite. I'll be a little more blunt. I suggest moving-on, avoiding the seller you named. I and some close contacts of mine have been stung.

I’m jealous of the beloved 6 blade fan. I hope to land one locally some day. I keep my eyes peeled.

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.

My 1938 sedan 3 speed manual with a 25" 237 ci engine, has a 4.11 rear end. I can run it up to 90-100 km/hr. The revs are not likable to my ears, yet It'll do it. I like how it drives, handles and stops at speeds of 80-85 km/hr. My 1938 coupe with a 25" 251 ci engine, 3 speed manual, has a 3.90 rear end, but it also has overdrive. This one does very well at 100 km/hr. Yet I live in the 85-90 km/hr range. I seem to feel a little safer with the stock skinny tires at 90. The engine feels very good with this one at higher speeds. Its old, has no crash zones. No seat belts. No real safety features except laminated glass. 100 plus km/hr to me, is not sustainable for reasons beyond engine RPMs.

A vacuum gauge is a great diagnostic tool to ensure if you do, or don’t have a vacuum leak. What is the history on your carb? Last cleaning? If you carb is not reacting adjustments of the idle air fuel mixture screw, you likely have an air leak leak somewhere. Leaky carb base gaskets? Shaft wear?

Agree most folks wouldn’t know the engineering marvels in the early Mopars. My ‘38 has fully removable floor pans! So easy to remove or service transmission or clutch! Love that feature.

I always keep an eye out for used parts. If one has room for a fun old car hobby, they likely have room for some spare parts. I constantly see hot-rodders ripping out powertrain and steering parts. Engines etc. I pick these parts up for cheap. I pick the components apart and keep what I think I’ll need. I had so many spare spare drums I measured them. I kept the best 4 spares for each of my two old Mopars. The rest went to scrap steel recycling. I hate to do that but freight is so expensive nobody wants to have drums shipped. I bought a lot of old parts for $100. I stripped them all down. Kept everything I wanted, then got $80 back for the leftover steel scrap that I took away. I have a spare 25” block. Crank. Head. Manifolds. Carbs. Drums. Flywheels. 3 different diff ratio assemblies. I could go on. In the end the spare parts have cost me little to nothing. Wear parts like seals, rubber parts etc, I buy ‘em as needed. I’ve learned where to get things and save money. The big Mopar dealers I dealt with in the beginning because I didn’t know of other options. They don’t get much of my cash any more. The self proclaimed mopar pro, I’ve ex-communicated. Partially for personal reasons. Yet also for parts quality and business practices. Everything is going up in price. Believe it, the good old days are today. Prices will never be what they were. Ya gotta pay to play but you indeed can find ways to save. I’m pretty frugal. Heck I even have a YT channel that helps fund my Mopar parts needs. Lol.

You could. Just be mindful of the crank. No bogging down in 3 rd gear on a steep hill with the throttle floored. No oval lap dirt racing or towing a 23 ft RV trailer. Then you’ll be fine.

From what I have seen 201 has a light crank compared to a 218. The crank journal diameters can be light and weak. The early 218 had 1.937" rods, 2.250 mains. The later 218 had 2.0620 rod and 2.50" mains. I suspect for reliability they upsized the crank size. 201 bore/stroke = 3 ⅛" x 4 ⅜ 6.70:1 compression ratio 218 bore/stroke = 3 ¼" x 4 ⅜" 6.80:1 compression ratio In my experience, avoid the self proclaimed MoparPro.

My take on the electric booster fuel pump. https://youtu.be/d2pQW_LIdiE

I had a fun Mopar adventure this weekend. I went to visit my family in Alberta Canada. I also met up with an on-line Mopar contact. We stay in touch and help each other out from a distance. It was the first time we met in person. I hadn't planned a new episode for my YT channel, but when things went wrong, it seemed like a good time to throw something together on the spot. Lol. I was pulling up from memory whatever I info could recall on the spot. Now I realize I screwed up the date on the distributor auto vacuum advance. I am not sure when it was added to all Mopars. I was thinking you folks here might like a little old Mopar entertainment. Cheers. Keith

My tool of choice is the Mity-Vac fluid extractor. Also great for rear axles, transmissions etc. Quick and easy clean up too. I bought the 2 gallon version.

Does your car have 2 single wheel cylinders on the front wheels. 1 upper and 1 lower? 1 activates the front facing shoe, another cylinder activates the rear facing shoe. Eventually brakes were designed to be self energizing. As you brake while travelling forward, the brakes pull themselves to dig-in deeper and brake harder. This primarily occurs when driving forward. Maybe a couple clues to help you out?

Sure you can! Its not hard. You may need a few tools though. Not sure what you have. Nothing too specialized for tools for just a head gasket replacement. It would be a really great time to check for valve leakage and dress them up. Guaranteed a few could use a touch up. Valve seat erosion is kinda like toenail maintenance. It never stops. Just a matter of time when you have to do it. The good news is your wife isn’t bugging you to do your valve seat maintenance.

I don’t have the front seal part number @SteveR. I’ll bet your local Cat dealer is Finning. That’s who I work for. Same company. It started here in Canada 90 years ago.

The small space discussed between 3 & 4 can be seen here.