55 Fargo

Hi all, well I think I have only put ona 1000 miles this season since June 1st or there abouts. This spring I painted the car, so in getting her on the road, I was about a month late. Manitoba collector cars are generally on the road from the end of April till mid October, maybe later if the weather is nice and no snow. Well this summer, it has been rainy and wet, now my car ain't made out of sugar, but I live on a gravel road, almost 3 miles from the paved highway. So this road when it's raining is a real friggin mess, very poor quality materials, a real piss off, when there is real good material near-by, but the RM (aka County), will not spring for it. Then when it rains this road gets full of pot holes and such, so what does the County do, it grades it, as my road is a main road to a counrty village and sub-divison, it is well travelled, a counter estimated a few years ago, close to a 1000 passes in a week. As soon as the road is graded, everything is dry, so the road is one big dust bowl, they do not use dust control on the entire road, only in front of the 10 houses or so on this road, so maybe 1/4 of the road is dust controlled. Today was a beautiful day, but could not leave the driveway, (Norm I know how you feel now), okay just joking. My car would be a big dust bowl, by the time I reached the highway, so now I have to wait for it to rain, then the fresh graded road will flatten out, and hopefully they leave it that way for a while. Not looking for sympathy, not belly-aching, just a fact of life for me. We are not moving, a half decent home in this are is between $250000 and $300000, fora decent family home nothing fancy. I was thinking instead of a 47 Chrysler Coupe, should gotta 40s or 50s Fargo or Dodge pick-up truck, and left her on the rough side, and would not matter if I drove it on any gravel road. The gravel dust washes off easy enough on the exterior, but gets into everything underneath and finds it's way itnot the trunk and inside the car too. I have it sealed pretty good, but it still comes in. Any of you in similar boats..............Dirty Dusty Rockwood

Hats Off, To Norm's Coupe, Norm is a true Gentleman, answered a lot of my questions, has been helpful on a number of occasions, and has been an ear, via email, with my sometimes incessant ??????s. I have only spoken to Norm once on the phone, but would surely drop by and meet you Norm, if ever in the Milwaukee area. I have enjoyed the periodic bantering with you and Don, Norm,and Don you 2 are both great assets to this forum, and Old Mopar World.......Fred

Welcome to Flat Head Heavan, Happy....Fred

Grease is the word, till you can repair the leak....

Like I said Darren, 30s and 40s nice early spring days and late fall days here in the Heartland Of Manitoba. I realize the valley is cooler in winter and hotter in summer, compared to the beach towns, and in LA itself. One of my supervisors grew up in Beaumont, crazy fool moved back here about 30 years ago, now regrets it as his siblings have done well in California. I spent a bit of time in the LA area years ago, seems like another lifetime ago, been about 18 years since my last time in the LA area, wouldn't even know it anymore.....

I have 2 flatties here with the head puilled off each of them. No signs of a broken piston on either of them. I also have a another flattie in decent running shape, with a granny 4 spd, it is mounted on a 1955 Fargo 1/2 ton frame, complete witha lat model Mopar diff, and newer front end components. I need a body to put on this frame, maybe someday, it has a 228 engine. My engine in my 47 runs just fine except fot he bit of piff-piff noise at an idle, this is coming from the tail pipe. This engine starts easy and runs very well, has decent power too. I am not pulling the head, unless I have a reason now, will drive as it is for ????, then will dcide, it go last for years as is, with only a few thousand miles going on her each season. So Yukon Jack, just because Shifitcus had a broken piston, doens' t mean you have, if you really want to open Pandoras box then do it, you can then correct what needs correcting, maybe just clean-up, and milling the head might be the only thing. Good Luck Fred

As my engine is running decently with good oil pressure, decent compression will not open her up, unless I have to. I have another engine a 251 I would like to rebuild somtime in the future to swap. i do not want the same surprise you have, not saying I necessarily would , but it's possible. The piff-piff ,sound at idle could be sticking or burnt valves at idle I suppose......Fred

Darrin whats cold for you, :is a nice spring or fall day. Try these babies out in 0 to -5 days, they still run nice and get decently warm inside. Maybe George asche drove his engine like a rental car, and I believe it has about 200000 or so miles on it, but for me I follow Roberts method, oil pressure up, take it easy for a bit then let engine warm up to temp, and drive, not too hard on my old girl, or she may have a dump somewhere........Fred

Prior to the 19th and 20th century, material progress was slow. A lot of it had to do with people's superstician and closed mindedness. The world was supposed to be flat, until Galileo, told us it was round, they nearly executed him for his astronomical heresies.......Fred I do not think the intelect of the automotive engineers was inferior to any of those today. I do think the evolution of the industry and the ability to manufacture needed 60 to 70 years to evolve. I think the automotive engineers work was perhaps tougher in the old days, because so much was new and in a process of Discovery.....Fred

Thanx Bill, not sure what the 1 to 1 would equate to HP, but it should be noticeable....Fred

Thanx Don, forgot about the head milling chart and the resulting compression changes, will look it up.....Fred

Hi all was at the local General Store out here yesterday. The owner is a bit of an old time mechanic, was listening to my engine, it runs pretty decent, ahs a slight piff-piff sound at an ilde, but I do have a Smithy muffler. It runs well never hesitates on accleration, has decent power. He tells me I should pull the head and clean up all tthe carbon, as we all know Flat Heads wbuild up carbon, I told him I would not be pulling the head unless I have a reason, such as blown head gasket, engine rebuild, maybe to shave the head. Have any of you guys done this surgery of removing the head just to de-carbon, we a have 1 member who has just discovered a bad piston by opening up his engine. I wonder how well his engine was running prior to him pulling the head, for the shave job he is intending to do. BTW, if I shave the head.050, what should I expect for an increase in power/performance/HP......Thanx Fred

CooL Pic Bob, the property where my house is planted, there used to be a 1 room school house on here from the 1890s to the 1950s........

Hi, I do not see oil leaking from the back of the pan down, or on the front of the clutch housing pan either, i mean there is a slight amount. The leak is on the bottom of the oil pan near the drain bolt. Now years ago, one welded ona piece of 1/4 plate steel, to the whole bottom of the pan, wonder if that is leaking, and I wonder why it was done in the first place. I do have a nice donor pan here to replace this one with..........Fred

Thanx Claybill, not sure what seal I may have yet, can the rope type seal be done without flywheel removal....

Okay will do, it's done, except the thick center rubber piece, the cowl lacing was quite easy to do. I re-used every fluted screw, I simply lined up the lacing, and used an awl,poked a hole inserted the little screw, and hammer it in with a drift punch. Will post pics when I can borrow the Wife's camera......

The way I am reading this is you already have an 8 track recorder, and blank tapes. If this be the case, then you should be able to record off the cd player somehow, it will be a digital to analog recording, will of course lose a lot of quality in the process, if it can be done......Fred

I am in total agreement with Don on this one, all my 8 tracks, and all my friends 8 tracks, never had a capabliity to record, if it were possible to record on the 8 track, then connected a CD player to it might work. I always thought 8 track tapes were only factory made, I have never personally seen a home recorded 8 track tape, and I have seen plenty of these years ago......Fred ps Lou get out to some yard sales and see what youy can find for tapes

On my 218 25 inch Canadian engine, what type of rear main seal might I have. The engine was from a 1950 or1951 Plymouth or Canadian Dodge. It is the type of block with the internal bypass water pump and narrow belt pulleys. Does anyone have an idea when they changed the rear main seal type on these engines? I will be doing my pan gasket soon, might as well do the rear main, if I have the type that can be changed without removing the clutch housing and flywheel. thanx Fred

My 1941 to 1948 Chrysler shop manual states 90 weight gear oil for temps above 10 , and 80 weight for temps below 10. Vacamatic trans calls for 10 weight oil.....

Hey Shell, I have 80W 90 Castrol Gear lube in my 3 spd trans, boy am I way off the 10 weight you are quoting....Fred

Got 1 side done, looks okay, need some real thick rubber for the center piece. Will do the other side tonight yet, using the old futed nails/screws, they look okay, tried some screws first, but they were Rorbertson (square slots), did not look good....

Thanx Guys, looked at my parts car, looked in 2 pieces the thicker rubber in the center. I am going to use trunk weatherstrip for the center piece. Thanx again

Hi Robert, exactly, I already have 1/2 of the nails out, they are in fine shape, will do as you have described. I do have 1 ?, do you know if the hood lace is 1 continuous piece from 1 side of the car to the other, or does it install in 2 pieces, with the very center of the cowl not having any in that area?.................Fred