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Hi Pete. I use a free program that I downloaded on my Mac. It's called VideoPad Video Editor. Here is a link: https://www.nchsoftware.com/videopad/index.html You can download a Windows or Mac version for free and try it. I l have gotten pretty comfortable with it. The software is not hard to use. I only use the free options. It's enough to do what I want. The video editing and production is just a hobby. The software company wants $ to unlock it to use all the full features. I have not paid that. I see they offer a $5.50 per month, full version. I may try that for a few months. See how all the features work. On a related note I have had several people ask what I use to record my videos. Most of my recordings are done with an iphone. I also have a Go-Pro Hero camera. There are countless mounting options for Go-Pro cameras. I have one that can suction cup onto the various surfaces of my car. It allows me to record interesting, cool angles of the car. I also have a head mount. Then the Go-Pro is up on my forehead. I can use both my hands to work, talk and illustrate my topic. It's pretty handy.

A large portion of us on here seem to live in massive countries. Examples include USA, Canada & Australia. Surely there are indeed many, many places we have not seen right here in our own back yards. I have been fortunate to visit the farthest east and west corners of North America. In both Canada and the USA. However there are a ton of rivers, lakes, mountains, prairies, valleys, and more, left to see between the two coast lines that I have never seen. I will be venturing further in my home country next year. There are so many places I still want to see in the USA and Canada. Until things settle down, my USA destinations will have to wait. When some of us travel, sometimes we are looking for a different cultural experience. In these big countries, indeed there are distinct differences in culture and language. Right here in our own country. Canadians, if you have not been, the Maritimes is certainly more than a little different. Newfoundland is more like a foreign country still in the 70s' in many ways. And that's a good thing! Quebec is certainly quaint and distinctly different. Although I have visited different areas of Quebec, I have yet to visit Quebec City. The Citadel and Old Quebec is indeed on my bucket list. How about a language barrier? Quebec, Newfoundland and Boston will leave you scratching your head trying to order a coffee. An American or Canadian west coaster is indeed in-for an unforgettable experience when visiting their country's east coast. Boston, NYC, Rhode Island and Cape Cod left a lasting impression I will never forget. Hush puppies in Rayleigh NC are worth trying when you are in the area checking out Nag's Head. Ranking right up there with some of my most memorable places to visit ,the eastern USA was so very hospitable...."Wherey'allwunnabeesat?" was repeated 3X (very quickly) by southern waiter at a restaurant in South Carolina. I still could not comprehend what he was saying, as he led us to an empty table for dinner. I've not thought about a 2021 summer trip anywhere yet. I sure hope things improve by then. Perhaps if I head out on the open road, I can meet up with a few members here. I'd really enjoy seeing some other old Mopars. In person. There seems to be little to none around here in my town.

Best bet is to seek out a used old dwell meter on your local on-line classifieds. Perhaps a swap meet some day in the distant future when they can have them again. They are cheap, (majority of people have no clue how to use one anymore) and in low demand. A great tool to have to keep your old Mopar well tuned up! I'm am quite pleased with my old 70's dwell meter.

After I’ve bent over a fender for a few hours, I sometimes think that might be how my back will feel everyday at 70!

Those were optional rims, factory order I believe in 53-54. I have seen them in ads from that period. Usually seen on a NY'r or an Imperial. You know, the big money guys with the nicest toys. I had an opportunity to buy a used set a couple of years ago. I jumped on them. As they indeed class-up my Chrysler considerably!

Easy to get lost on proper dates! It was indeed Sunday. However Nov 1. You are right....The days, weeks, months fly by. I would not have been surprised if I said it was September. Feels like it still. What happened to the entire month of October? Gone, too fast. Non-scripted, fly by the seat of you pants video recording...It happens, I slip up here and there.

To rotate the distributor shaft to open the points, I like to turn the flan blade by hand. In turn, spinning the crank. Cracking a few spark plug seals will make the engine easier to turn, by letting compression escape. With a new set of points you can use a feeler gauge to set points opening time. Used points are to be filed squarely if possible, and a dwell meter used to measure dwell is best practice. In this video I talk about my dwell meter. I screw up and say that dwell is the time the points are open. That is incorrect. Dwell time is the time that the points are closed. I like setting points and setting the tune of the car myself. It is rewarding. I like to be able to tweak things myself. I like using the old tools too. As you can hear me say in the video, I am pretty proud of the state of tune of my 38 Plymouth. A pentronix to me is non-serviceable. BreakerIess solid state technology. Personally I’d prefer not to use that in my 1938 car . Toss a spare set of points and a condenser in the trunk and drive across America!

A distributor does not need to be pulled/removed to change points, or the condenser. Nor file the points and set the dwell. There’s not much to it. “Setting it and forgetting it” is not a common theme with these old cars. You’ll want to be under hood for multiple other reasons. Checking various things regularly. There is quite a long list of items to maintain and be checking.

Thanks for the kind encouragement folks. I enjoy making the videos. It ties in nicely with my love for old cars, enhancing the hobby. Sharing my old cars with others, and helping others out is rewarding to me.

In my '38 have installed a 6V electric pump. I use it for priming only. About 5 or so seconds of pumping to prime the entire fuel system. Then I shut if off and start the engine using just the stock mechanical pump. I did use it in the video above. I placed the electric pump between the mechanical pump and the carb bowl. It was to be a temporary location, as down by the fuel tank seems to be a better place. However it works just fine there where I have it. It sucks through the mechanical pump no problem.

Having fun making these silly videos...Hope the next generation clings on to these old cars. They sure are fun and unique.

Hopefully not hy-jacking this thread...Sorry if I am. Engine has 20w40 modern detergent oil. Ethanol-free fuel. 6V system. A secondary 6V electric fuel pump was used here to pre-prime the fuel system, then it was shut off. The engine started here using the mechanical fuel pump only.

No, I don't have a video. It would be fun though to see how that goes. I'll make a quick video. Been parked 2 weeks. I'll be back with a video later.

Just a little note on my experience. When I was only attempting to make my old 38 Plymouth road worthy somewhat, so I could see what I was really getting into....I was trying to control some of my expenses. The brakes were old and the wheel cylinders rusty and leaking. I sourced new piston rubber and the outer rubber boots. I cleaned up the cylinder bores with emery cloth. I cleaned everything up and reassembled. 3 of the 4 cylinders sealed up great! One was weeping about 2 weeks later. I took it off again. I spent some more time with the emery cloth with my thumb in there, working on the rough spots. That was 7 months ago. 1500 miles later all are still dry and working well. The two rear cylinders were the stepped type you also mentioned. I figure my old cleaned up cylinders are probably better than today's new Chinese cylinders.

This doesn't always ring true. A well maintained 6V Mopar flathead starts up very fast...An example of my car. It's a stock system, the engine tuned up well. 00 battery cables. Clean connections. Good strong battery. A/F mixture, timing, dwell set to a good state of tune. Rarely does the crank make one full revolution, starter driven, when hot or stone cold, and the engine is running. Can 12 volts improve my example?

I'd keep it 6V. Just get on the entire electrical system. Make it safe and reliable. I'd update it to modern wiring. Making my own harnesses. Good thicker gauge wiring for 6V. Head light relays. Depending on the condition of the brake drums, I'd be inclined to rebuild the entire stock brake system. All new brake lines, hoses, cylinders, rebuilt master, shoes...The brakes, when set up right are certainly adequate for speeds aside from the interstate. Install seat belts for the grandkids and Momma. You'll sleep better. You need a working radio. Skip the tube AM radio though. There's little left on AM radio. You can leave it installed. I'd be doing the hidden bluetooth mirco-circuit board thingy. The kids can dial in there favourite music on their cell phones..."Baby shark, do, do, dee do dee doo..." New radial tires. Go through all the various mechanical systems. All wheel bearings, rear diff and axle are important to me. . Dial in the engine with all new ignition system parts. Rebuild the carb and fuel pump. Add a 6V back up electric pump. Service the fuel tank. Blow out the fuel line at least. Clean out any sludge from the oil pan, valve covers, oil filter canister etc. All new oils and filters. A major engine tune up including a valve set. Dwell. Set idle A/F mixture and set speed. Set timing and advance working? Set your clutch free-play. Grease u-joints. All 150 grease zerks. Steering components check over. Wheel Alignment? Make it reliable and expect years of fun cruising with a car load of family, for ice cream.

Well @tjlarson88 if you find it helpful, I’ll try to document and upload more instructional videos to YT as I go thru the various processes In my ‘38. I try to remember to strip the topics down to a beginner level. When was the last time you saw a video on how a block drain pet-cock works? Lol. It seems so very simple, yet I know for a fact there are folks who don’t know. They are perhaps intimidated by working on their car? Maybe too reserved to ask simple questions? For fear of being though of as dumb maybe? I feel strongly that there are no dumb questions. We all start out knowing nothing. We all have to learn. If my videos help others keep these old cars on the road, that is exactly what I’m looking for. 3.5 years ago I set my eyes on, and bought my very first flathead powered car. Its been an absolutely awesome journey so far. I have learned so much! As TJ eluded, anyone from here who finds themself in my neck of the woods someday, do plan to drop by. A beer or a coffee awaits you while we lean over big old fenders and chat in person. About all the old Mopar things we love. (Or hate. Lol)

I opened my block drain pet-cock last night. Nothing came out. I removed the drain pet-cock completely from the block. Nothing came out. I took a small screwdriver and poked around in there. Like cement! Eventually I was able to break through and coolant flowed out. My thoughts are I’ll pull the engine this winter. Put it on a rotating stand. Pull and replace all expansion plugs. Flush out the block as best I can. Probably pull the head and inspect bores and valve sealing. Valve guides. Pull oil pan. Plasti-gauge all bearings. Throw the dice on a new rear seal. See what happens. Depending on bore inspection and measurements, I may consider a hone and a re-ring. We’ll see. I’m in that far. Engine is out. It’s winter. A guy needs something to throw money at! A recent pic of my lovely wife and I. Its sure nice to have car hobby support from your spouse.

I suspect the warmest location in Canada is Victoria BC. As mentioned, a big warm body of pacific ocean to keep temps moderated. Its not the furthest south by a long shot. Windsor Ontario is the furthest south you can go in Canada. I believe it is on par with Northern California for latitude. Problem is, Detroit and Buffalo winters are known for the cold snow. Windsor is right there too. Victoria BC is indeed the winter jewel in Canada.

I am about 3.5 hours drive NE of Vancouver. Yes, you've nailed the right area for my location The problem with the darn earth's axis is you just can't get even, moderate, steady temps year round. Down there where it's warm all winter, it's crazy hot and humid in the summer! Here where summer is a little less extreme, in the winter we get this white crap that all Primadonnas love. They go on about how pretty and beautiful the snow is. Sure... Here's a shovel. For 10 days straight at either 6 AM before work, or 6PM after work, you get 1.5 hours of free exercise! It will be interesting to hear how your love of snow turns to disdain. Why just this morning it was so nice...I was out there in the dark at 6:15 am, getting a nice sweat on before work. Working the snow shovel...Then the peaceful ,quiet, tranquility was slashed by the roar of my 11 HP Techumseh. Only 10 days? That's just an example of a string of a few days back to back, in January. It's already started this year here in Oct. We'll be into it till the end of Feb for sure.The power tools certainly help make things much better. With decades of winters behind me, I have accumulated tools to help with the task. We make the best of it. Smile and cancel the gym membership! A ton of folks pack up and head south for 5 or so months. Snowbirds we call them. Off to Calif, Ariz, Florida, etc...So they never see snow except in their security cameras back home....This year they are in a state of shock. Can't travel to the USA in their RV's. Some are scrambling to find a place to park their RVs here that is frost free all year...The options are very limited. These folks who love snow! They're so cute....

Not a formal cross reference, however I looked up the part numbers for each: 1938 201 engine water distribution tube: 637432 1953 218 water distribution 1120672

The photos I provided came from two sources. A ‘53-‘54 Mopar parts manual and a Motors Repair Manual. I didn’t actually get into the proper OEM service manual on this topic. Although I do own a few. The Motors manuals are pretty decent and also worth owning. A good well rounded library is very handy to have. All sorts of things can be sorted out. Sometimes by a process of cross referencing and elimination.

I’d like to help. I’ve worked on a few parking brakes. The ones mounted on the rear of the tranny. However I’m scratching my head trying to figure out what I’m looking at in that photo. Saying that, I’ve not worked on many Mopars, just mine. Perhaps a parts diagram would help?