55 Fargo

Could this simply be a short in the wiring, poor connections at switch or solenoid contacts. Have you tried a testlight/meter to see if the switch works, or if you are getting juice in the circuit?

Jim , I hope to do the same thing, I hope to get a T5 soon, and do the swap later. Getting a T 5 from a 80s S 10 is probably the way to go. Let me know how this works out for you, do you plan to go the dry clutch route, I already have a 3 spd and dry clutch in my 47 Chrysler...........Fred

I would agree, gotta be careful when used acid based metal prpeps. With Picklex, it is not recommended to use Etch primer over it, according to the manufacturer, epoxy primer is fine. The bottom line is it must be good and dry, before shooting on any primer, as you do not neutralize Picklex with H2O, it simply needs to dry fully. Yes epoxy primer has a longer pot life than say 2 k urethane, the nice thing about epoxy is this, it has no ISOs, sprays on well,seals very well, the down side, it does not sand as easy as urethane, nor does it build as well as some of the high build urethane primers, or the mega build polyester primers

Wow, Greg hope you not leakin oil

Just went under the car to have a looksy, I have oil leaking a bit from the rear tappet cover, the bottom rear oil pan, and a little from the front of the oil pan. I probably would leak more than what I stated. I plan to drop the oil pan, clean and install with new gaskest, will see what I can do with the tappet covers. I am not gonna try a rear main seal job, at least not in car. I guess this is what I get for having an old engine, some day will rebuild my 251, and install. Right now will live with oil leaks, what else can I do.....Fred Is this a common deal with our engines, I don't mid oil leaking, and adding when necessary, just don't want any mechanincal problems because of it

Guess the cork absorbs oil swells and seals. I have been told to make neoprene gaskets for my oil pan from the cork set I have in the box, by some forum members. Maybe I be best to use the cork gaskets on the oil pan too.........Fred ps I could make that oil mess in about 1 week on my engine

Thanx Don

Here is a the engine internal green horn:eek: ? of the day. What exactly is a burnt exhaust valve:o? Is it the valve and seat burnt to not allow a good contact and seal? What are the symptoms:confused:? What are some causality:confused: Is there any snake oil for sticking valves, to add to gas or oil:D? Just pondering this, I have something going on in my engine, when at an idle when warm, she misses a bit, but runs well other wise, the miss sound come from the exhaust, and is not noticeable at the engine.....Fred

My flat head leaks oil like crazy, out the tappet covers too, they are new gaskets. I just keep a big plastic office chair mat on the garage floor and clean it up as needed, I also have a large old cookie sheet with cat litter in it. I am going to tackle the oil pan leak this fall, will try and stop the valve cover leaks too. I figure these engines porbabvly all leak oil, , mine happens to be a big leak though. The rear end leaks when the car is not driven for prolonged periods, stops after regular use.......Fred

Alexif the 3 spd trans is from a fluid drive set-up, it should bea fairly simple swap-in. Would be a matter of disconnecting the wiring for the M6, install 3 spd trans, the shifter linkage should fit and work just fine, as it is. The speedo drive gear in the trans should match your current rear end, if possible, remove the gear from the M6 and use in the 3 spd, if it fits, don't think it does though, as I have tried this before........Fred PS, when my engine idles, once warmed up, I get a piff-piff sound from the exhauyst, evn though she is idling smooth or pretty smoooth under hood. Is this a case of my Smithy muffler, or do you guys think, I have a problem with an exhaust valve.....................Fred

Alex, I have also now have a 3 spd trans, and dry clutch rather than the OEM M6 Trans and fluid dirve in my 47 Chrysler. The clutch housing frame mount had to be moved forward, the clutch rod had to be shortened, other than that, no other real concerns. I am not sure I would ever switch back, even though I have an M6 trans and fluid drive in a parts car. I can see how a fluid drive could be convinient in town though. I love the off the line power with a dry clutch and 3 spd trans, I have a 3.73 rear end....Fred

All the best wishes to the "Happy Couple", enjoy the Honeymoon in Mexico...............Fred

I just tried this as a iget a piff-piff, puff-puff rap at an idle with my engine, I am running 2 inch pipe, and a single Smithy muffler. The paper blew right out my hand like a rocket. Does this rule out a bad valve in my case? My compression is 100 to 105, except cyl#5 was 96 on the last time I did a compression test on this engine, about 2 years or 2000 miles ago.............Fred

I know that, these are my youngest, my oldest is 26, from my previous life.....

Don, just played theis vid for my 2 kids, 7 & 3 yo, now they want to go to Sonic Burger, trouble is we don't have any in Canada, will have to wait till we go to Florida.......ps my kids also jump around in the front seat, so no highway rides for them.

Was reading one of my favorite car mags, Hot Rod Deluxe, it's a retro magazine, great pics articles and pin-ups. On page 19 there is a pic Normspeeds 53 Sububan, way to go Norm. In this same issue are 2 great articles, on on Ed Iskenderian, and Ed Bingelli, both alive at 86 and 88, trus Hot Rod pioneers.........Fred

Hi Lou, there were still a lot of cabs using flatties in 1972, thats amazing. I agree with the oil, better than ever before. My engine has some miles(unknown to be exact), but this engine has decent compression 100 to 105 average, and idle oil pressure 40 psi down to 30 to 35 when the engine is good and warm, 50 to 55 psi on the highway. The engine runs great, but I am still nervous going over 50 mph, even with a 3.73 rear end, I am afraid to blow anything up if I drive at 60 mph sustained...............Fred

lacquer based spot putty is okay, I use it too, it is a single component airdry putty. The newer polyester 2 component puttties are better for heavier filling, will stand up to urethane primer possibly better too. Nothing wrong with old glaze in a tube if used correctly, ity dries super fast. I laos reduce my high build urethane primer, especially on 2nd or 3rd applications, it then goes on nice and smooth, rather than rougher and more txtured, a good quality urethane primer surfacer sands real slick. So does lacquer based primer surfacer too, some guys use the urethane pirmer first, then the lacquer primer, if using acrylic enamel paints.............Fred, how would JB Weld be for things like reparing steering wheel cracks?

Hi, engine looks great, hope to do the same to a 251 I have someday. Any idea how much HP your engine would be pushing out, could it be run at a higher rpm, and higher redline than a stock engine...........Fred

Joe, once you are satisfied with your filler work, primer with a good quality 2 k high build urethane primer surfacer, block again with 220, use the 2 part glaze to fill scratches,pin holes etc. The lay on 2 to 3 more coats of high buld 2 k urethane primer, block with 400 to 600 wetsand.Thehigh build primer tkaes car of a lot, compared to old lacquer primers....

On curves and rounded areas, the long board may not work as well, and especially in tight spots. I like to use long boards for big flatter surfaces, but tfor the rounded areas, and curves, go for a 5 and 9 inch rubber block, also use a soft block for curves and tightspots too. One thing you want is smooth transitions from filler to metal, nice feather edges, that make a big difference. I may not have got all my highs and lows, but my filler was sanded out nice and flat with good feather edges. Joe on real rough panels, try the 2 k Polyester riller primer, shoot it on with a gun with about a 2.2 tip, you could bury a 25 cent piece with this stuff, and it does not shrink back much, nor does it have any ISOs. Far as wasting material, filler is relatively cheap, and so is sand paper, you nkot being an expereienced body man your gonna have some ttrial and error, I found a lot of my applied filler wound up as sand dust on the flooer......good luck Fred

Rodney this is true, I did the same to my engine, got a lot of chili out. But there is more to the senario than just a clean block and clear water passages. The rad, needs to be in real decent shape, waetr pump needs to be verified it is not slipping on the shaft. A verified T/stat, that opens fully at the correct temp. Engine timing, this can cause hiher operating temps, especially if the vacuum advance has issues on the dizzy. Lean buring fuel system, will cause over heating too. Out side ambient temperatures, wind speed, wind direction. Airflow across the rad, shrouds, electric pusher fans etc, for slower speeds in town this would help. Engine load, vehicle load, terrain, speeds etc. Everything comes into play on these engines cooliong systems on hot days with temps over 90, while driving down a freeway up and down hills..................Fred

I had this problem, for me it was shifter linkage problems, corrected thi and it went away. I needed to adjust the linkage a bit, it seems fine now. I may have been lucky on this one.....

I can't speak for the United States, but I know in Canada, especially rural people, they didn't put on the miles per year we do now. People didn't go for long commues and road trips as they have done in the last 40 years or so.....Fred ps is my thinking correct on this one?

nice pics Ed