keithb7

I cleaned up my crown gear and found 4.1-1 stamped on it. OK by me. I'll get out my dial indicator and measure backlash. Maybe I'll try and see if I can record the gear contact pattern. Then go from there. I will indeed change the pinion seal at a minimum. Seems like reassembly as the bearings are now, will suffice based on everyone's input. I have not had much considerable driving time with the car yet. It's only been around the block on some test drives. So I guess I cannot say for sure there won't be any gear noise. I never noticed any in my brief test drives. The diff was easy to get out, and pretty quick. If I have to go back in, it's not a big deal. Wheels, drums, brakes, backing plates, axles, then the diff...It's not a daily driver, so I'm not concerned. I think back to last May when I bought this car. It was barely running. It was very sick. Barely drivable. I've learned so much. The car is so much better now and running healthier! These old Mopars are war horses.

I shake my head at people who think there are tons of buyers out there looking for used flathead era Mopar parts. Used Blocks. Trannys. Diffs. Whatever, with unknown history. I buy it at a little more than scrap prices. That’s all it’s worth until proven otherwise. There’s a guy about a 7 hour drive from me with a “field find” 1938 Plymouth. He’s been trying to sell it for quite some time. I’m interested, but not at his price. I made him an offer. We’re too far apart. It can rot another 50 years in that same field. He’ll eventually likely accept $75 from a scrap metal crusher guy to come pick it up. Yet he won’t accept my offer at 5x that today. I am here to tell you, in Western Canada there might be 1 guy right now actively looking to buy, paying cash, a field rotten 1938 Mopar sedan with no interior or windows. That would be me. He’s lost his opportunity to sell it. 2 years ago same thing. A 1950 straight 8 NY’r. No windows rotting for 40 years in a field. Sunk up to the frame in mud and grass. I made an offer better than scrap. He said no. It’s still sitting there sinking deeper. I’d have rounded up a flat deck trailer, driven 7 hours each way. Stayed in a hotel. Winched that dead ‘38 up on the trailer. I’d have had it pollute my driveway while I parted it out. Either car would be picked to help keep other old cars on the road. Yet stubborn sellers think they have gold to sell. Any guesses what the market value is of a restored 1938 Plymouth 4Dr Sedan, or a 1950 4dr NY’r is? Not nearly enough. Not nearly enough.

I’ll clean up the housing and see if I can find the stamped ratio. I do climb a fair hill back home. The 4.1:1 sounds like it may give decent performance. Saying that, I am up from the 201.7 engine to a 228. Hmm.

Axles and diff came out tonight. Easy-peasy and quick. As I loosened the first housing bolt my wife poked her head in the garage and said “Dinner is ready”. 5 mims later I sat down to eat. Removal was done. I love the simplicity. It feels tight. No slop. No noise. No clunking. Gears look great. No complaints. I have no idea how old the bearings are. I figure there must be something I can do, I’m in this far. Perhaps I will install all new bearings and a pinion seal? I’ll get to reading and learn more about this before I go any further. I understand it. Why and how, it does what it does. I get tooth pattern and bearing pre-load. My knowledge however is just text book reading. In terms of hands-on diff rebuild experience, zipola. Never been in one myself. It’s a great model to learn on I figure. Like my tranny, it’s time I learned. I just jacked up all 4 corners and used jack stands. I don’t have a proper hoist. The diff was easily manipulated by myself without the aid of anything. I just lifted it out by hand. It felt heavier than my tranny. Could be because I actually had to get under the car and work with my arms up. I stole the bathroom scale. It checked in at 57 lbs. I can’t recall for sure, but think the tranny was about 50lbs. Questions to come.

I found this pic recently on the internet. A 1938 Plymouth from back when it was near new, I hope I didn't post this already. My thread is getting long!

As they lay tonight. ‘38 Full brake disassembly. Rear axles and diff coming out next. I have no diff rebuilding experience so I’ll be turning here to the great membership, for some guidance. I’ll start a new separate thread on rebuilding the diff. I have not seen a diff rebuild thread on the forum in a while. Should be fun.

Stock? No, but I'm going for it. Too cool when you hear these on old cars. I love the sound...

We are fortunate when our wives support our vintage car addiction. Some of the best memories I have in my vintage cars are when my wife and I are sharing the good times. When spectators are oogling your car, and you're waving, as you go down the street maybe in a parade...Feeling proud and happy that all the time and effort you put in taking care of your old car, is brining other people joy. You look over at your wife/girlfriend/son/daughter in the passenger seat and see big hearty smiles...Does it get any better for an old Mopar lover?

Forgot to mention, with the starter linkage no longer connected to the throttle rod, no more flooding. I’ve been running It up to temp and shutting the engine off and restarting. No problems anymore. Am I missing the real reasons why the starter linkage is connected to the throttle? It seems unnecessary. Perhaps it was a short lived idea that they later gave up on? Was it designed for easier starting for owners who had no idea when to give it a shot of gas or not? I suspect if the linkage were adjusted properly I could get it to stop flooding. What was the original intended to benefit this concept? As it is now it is running very well.

@Young Ed and @plymjim here’s what I tried and tested tonight. Works good so far. Both the starter button and the throttle got a spring each. Feels good. A road test in the future will ensure.

Thanks for the feedback @classiccarjack. I figure there’s probably no shortage of folks on here like me, who cannot seem to get enough of these old Mopars. I hope that sharing my progress and the odd video on nothing but my passion, breeds community spirit here among us. There’s probably a few beginner folks viewing here, with little car repair experience. There may also be folks who maybe used to wrench, but for various reasons cannot anymore. Maybe there’s folks who are reluctant to start a major project on their old Mopar. Perhaps lacking the confidence. Or maybe its a lack of motivation? We do know there’s some well respected, experienced mechanics here too. Maybe they smile and remember when they rebuilt their first transmission. If I can reach out to any of these people via my thread here, I figure it’s worth my time to keep posting. To some, maybe we’re thought of as an odd bunch. The old pre-muscle car Mopar guys...Maybe we are odd, but we have a great community here and am glad to contribute to it.

Thanks Ed. I was thinking of a solution and came up with a spring as you mentioned. I’ll see what I can round up.

Clutch linkage torque shaft. There is a two piece split bushing in each end. They slide into a recess in the torque shaft. When everything is bolted together it all stays in place.

Anxious for driving season....

Last night I was doing some tweaking on a few things. Perhaps I should get the heater working next.

Going thru several reference book here there is little mention of these parts except this photo seen below. They call the photo “Throttle pick-up adjustment”. Nothing else mentioned in print. No reference to the photo. Just a photo only. I think I see a spring on the forward starter linkage mount. Right beside, to the left of the "1" in the photo. I am missing that spring...Another clue.

I have a few questions about the starter linkage on my '38. Being as I know the original engine was swapped out, and a 1953/4 25" long 228 ci engine was installed. The car is 82 years old and not everything is stock. Stuff gets jacked during 82 years worth of backyard mechanics. I think I am missing a few parts and ideas and I'm not sure. As I mentioned I have no local '38 Mopar cars to compare mine to. This '38 is my first crack at this pre-war stuff. The manuals leave out a fair bit of stuff and has me scratching my thick head. I have been having a few issues with throttle. Linkage related I suspect. The car has the foot starter button. I like it. You manually push the linkage to make contact on the starter switch and the engine turns over nicely. There seems to be little to help return the starter foot rod linkage back to its original stand-by position. I suspect a spring or two is missing. Where is there supposed to be return spring on the foot starter? Can anyone share photos of the linkage on their foot starter? Show me some return springs? Also the foot starter linkage has a bracket that ties it into the throttle linkage. So as you push the starter lever, it engages the throttle linkage and squirts a shot of gas from the accelerator pump into the carb venturi. I suppose to help the engine flash up easier. Back in '38 the choke was a manual cable that the operator worked. However, note that my engine is a 53/54 version with a same year matching carb. It has the automatic bimetallic spring choke. During my recent "test & tune" episodes, I have found that if the car is fully warmed up, if you stall the engine or shut if off, it does not want to start easily. (remember, every time you hit the starter foot pedal it injects a shot of raw fuel). So I suspect it may be flooding the engine when this scenario happens. The concept maybe was needed for the original '38 engine and carb? But is not needed for the '53 era carb?....I also found that the throttle linkage was getting a little bound up and causing hi engine revs. The throttle rod from the gas pedal takes a 90 deg turn after it goes through the firewall. A rod travels across the firewall to the passenger side of the car, then another 90 degree turn, straight toward the front of the car to the carb linkage. Wiggling the linkage bit, or pulling up on the gas pedal relieves the high engine idol. So tonight I get to thinking, maybe the starter foot pedal linkage is the culprit here. So I remove the starter linkage piece where it engages the throttle rod. I pump the gas pedal myself a time or two and the engine flashed up when cold. It's sub freezing here tonight and no problem. I let the engine fully warm up and shut it off. Starts right back up no problems. No more apparent flooding the engine with gas whenever I hit the starter. Seems that this throttle rod to starter rod lever is adjustable with a set screw. It can be set to squirt more or less fuel when the starter is engaged. This is all well and good, and probably should all work together when set up properly. I suspect it will work when springs are in place to help snap the starter linkage back to home position. Tips, pics, illustrations are appreciated. Here is a pic of my starter linkage. You can also see the throttle rod linkage running in behind along the fire wall. Ignore the loose bolt seen. I was fiddling with it. Thanks. Keith

Thanks @Worden18 I love it too. Sub freezing here tonight and a little snow showed up. Still we proceed with test and tune duties. Not much can stop a person infatuated with an old car.

Warm here again today. Snow nearly all but gone.. I'm starting to think it could be a problem come summer time if the snowpack in the mountains is down too. Normally by now I have at least a few feet of snow on my lawn. Took the Chrysler out for a typical "April 1 type of cruise" yesterday. Weird, just weird.

@Sam Buchanan I am not sure about the motor mounts I used. They seem to be making noise still, even though I left the lower mounts out. The upper one the left side did not set down nice and flush. The right one did. I am going to see what else I can do. Maybe take it back out some day and try reshaping it a little with a dremel or something until it sits flush in position. After completing the tranny job, I think I could get in there and re & re a mount pretty quick now. It's a shame that new parts today for our old Mopars are made to a crappy standard and considered "close enough" or "good enough". It's unacceptable as I paid to get those mounts from a supplier and I paid dearly for the freight to get them here. They're fodder.

Test driven and the transmission seems to be functioning properly. All gears and clutch feel good. No more tranny howl in first or second gear. No more pilot bearing noise. I’m happy! Thanks to all who answered my questions and helped me along, thru my first ever tranny rebuild. Cheers to a great support forum! - K

Thanks. I have spoken to Ron. Three times over the past 3-4 months I have contacted him to buy parts. He has not been able to provide so far for my parts requests.

Progress!! Test drive results coming soon...

@westaus29 The story behind this clutch fork issue and throwout bearing is I bought a bunch of used parts last fall for about $100. Most of the parts came out of a 1953 Plymouth. I kept them around as needed in the future. When I got into my 1938 tranny & clutch I found a worn out throwout bearing. I looked in my spare parts stash and found I had what appeared to be a good, exact match. A throwout bearing and sleeve assembly. Upon reassembly of my '38 I found out that there was a difference. The throwout sleeve housing is slightly wider. My '38 fork would not fit properly on the '53 sleeve. As shown in the pics above. I started shopping around for a proper new '38 throwout bearing. Every single part I need ends up costing me about $100 by the time it lands at my door. I'm in Canada and shipping charges are beyond ridiculous. At this point I am trying to revive the car, not restore it. I want to build a reliable driver and go from there. As you know, it's easy to spend $25K on a car worth $12K when you are done. This early in the game, I am trying to prevent that. Yet, how far I'll go in restoring the car in the future is to be determined. Getting back to the shift fork problem, I got to thinking, "Maybe I have the matching '53 shift fork?" I dug around and found that indeed I did have it. I compared it to the original '38 shift fork. They are almost identical except for the wider spread at the fork. I swapped in the '53 shift fork and with the '53 throwout bearing, everything lined up nicely. The clutch linkage is smooth and seems to be working as it should. The real test will be the test drive coming up. Why would anyone utilize a used throwout bearing? Because in some instances at this stage, I am willing to throw more time than money at my '38. LOL.

Today I had a rare chance to beat the groundhog out of hibernation. Not many Canadians get to do that on Feb 1. Snow is gone! More could come yet for sure, but I took the opportunity today to capitalize. A great day here today for a cruise.