55 Fargo

The only test the rad had before it was installed was by Tim Adams, at the time Tim tested the rad (may2006), it was flowing like a twin bladdered dairy cow on a flat rock. So it has lots of flow, the rad when the engine is warmed up but not too hot, is warm on top and progressively cooler to the bottom, and no cold spots. The other day I discovered my bottom rad hose collapsing when I would rev up the engine, discovered this by accident as I just happened to look at the hose when this was going on. Now would the bottom rad hose collapse, if the water pump was not working, or would it still possibly collapse when the engine is revved up even though it may not be pumping all that well. I need to check these items, to confirm what is going on..Thanx for your time Fred

I advanced the timing till it was pinging and backed it off just a bit. This I thought would help with the heatrange, but no such luck, it's running great and starts great as well..................Fred

Hi Don, I agree with Greg, an am thankful for his and everyone elses advice/help on this forum. Being somewhat inexperienced, I may be going in circles on this heating problem, this has been going on for over a year, I figure some of youse guys are sick of hearing about it, and believe me I am sick of talking about it. But I am certainly willing to give any sound idea a chance, infact I phoned a dealer here in Canada, about Purple Ice, he says its great stuff, when mixed with water somehow changes the chemistry and creates a super coolant liquid...........Fred

The timing is as far advanced as I can take it right now, at least I think it is. The bottom rad hose sections will be replaced as they should be. I am willing totry straight water, or anything else for that matter, this cooling has me baffled, don't even want to take the car too far, as it might set too hot. As I am basically on my own here with this problem, I am running out of ideas, and am tempted to get another engine, found a good running 365 the other day, right near where I live, for a $100.00, it's on a welder right now. I knwo this sounds drastic, or maybe I should spend $300.00 and have one of my rads re-cored. This one has me scratchin thje old noodle alright, maybe this block is still plugged, or maybe the dang head gasket is leaking, . I sure hope I can figuire it out someday........Fred

Hi all, what is the correct Autolite plug to be used in our flatties. I was wondering if I was using a plug to hot or if using regular gas was causing my engine to run hotter. A frined of mine told me he always uses Premium gas when the weather gets warmer in winter, so his snowmobile engine will run cooler, and with #1 fuel it apparently does run cooler....Fred

Thanx Ed

The rubber hose that attaches to the fuel pump and connect to the fuel line has a tear and is leaking, so I figure that is the culprit. Does anyone know where to buy this item, or does anyone have a decent used on for sale, my parts car has one but somebody cut it off, so it's useless........Fred

Hi all, went for a cruise yesterday afternoon temp 75 and muggy out side strong east winds. Car heated up to 200, on the way to the store, took a break, then headed back home, this time it was going against the wind temp steady near 185 all the way home. But I was losing power, as I would step on the cas, it was bogging right down, if I put my foot on the clutch she would rev right up again, car was bucking a bit. Got home let her cool a bit, went for a ride later, after about a 1/2 mile she started bogging again. It was like fuel starving or something, because it was hot under the hood could this be a vapor lock of some kind, I do have the heat shield on the fuel pump. But I did dsicover a hot heater hose laying against the fuel line coming up to the carb, did not shut off my manual heater control valve, could this do funny things to the gas, because the hot heater hose was touching the fuel line to the carb. The heating issue is baffling me, not sure what to do next, figure the t/stat should go back in, it will slow down the flow at least to the rad and maybe it will be more efficient at coolng, don't think I need to flush out engine and water dist tube again, as the antifreeze comes out nice and clean, when you open the block petcock drain. I do have a rad from a 47 Chrysler, maybe I should have this one re-cored and have it made larger than factory, not sure what direction to go in. I know the temp numbers aren't that bad, but what if I was to try and go for a 50 mile run at 80 plus outside, it might boil right over.........Thanx Fred

Put a torniquet on made of house wire, seems to improve things, will go for a longer road trip to verify, as it is only 72 outside here right now, want an 80 plus day to see how things will cool, can handle 200 on a hard run on a hot day, but would like to keep it at 185 to 190.......Thanx Fred

Good morning yall, Happy Fathers Day to every Father and Grandfather on the forum. Glad to hear everyone that took part in the Tulsarama events had a good time and safe trip, even up to the day before I sure felt tempted to drive on down and partake in the events, as it is about 900 miles straight south of Winnipeg. Anyway this morning it's a somewhat overcast day about 70 degrees outside, I jump in the 47 and go for a short 3 mile ride, when I get back she is running about 180, the temp in the top of the rad about 173, but I knew my gauge was a bit out. So I start to rev up the engine, to see if the temp will come down a bit and to see if the coolant is moving in the rad. This time as I am revving the old girl up I see the top section of the bottom rad hose collapsing and I mean collapsing real good. My bottom rad hose consists of 2 straight pieces of rad hose and the metal horseshoe shaped steel tube.Now do yah think this could be a problem, would this cause a bit of heating issues when driving hard at higher speeds. What do yah all think, about this as being a culprit in running hot...........Fred

Hi all, as you probably know I have been having overheating issues with my engine. Tonight I started the engine, to have a look at the flow in the rad to determine if the water pump is doing it's job, the coolant was flowing very slowly across the rad, as my t/stat is now out it has immediate circulation, I ran the engine about 5 minutes, it was already getting warm at the top of the rad, the heater hoses were hot, the top rad hose was hot, the head was warm.But the bottom of the block was cold as was the lower rad hose and very bottom of tank was cool. Now since there is no t/stat every thing should be at least warm. I drained a cup of coolant from the petcock it was also cool. Either the block is till plugged or the waterpump is not pumping very well. Tomorrow I will let it warm up to operating temp and feel these areas again, to see if the botto:confused: m rad hose remains cool, this is definately a problem, no doubt it may be causing my overheating issues, and hopefully it is the water pump. I did remove 3 freeze plugs, the water dist tube and flushed the whole block from all openings, that should have got a lot of the crud out, and there was a lot of crud that came out. Any ideas on this one guys........Fred

If you can just wait a little longer Norm , I will swing over to Milwaukee and give you a ride, we can buy lunch on my Canadian Tire Card.LOL Fred. Best wishes on the big race Don and Pete

it was up to 205, it was not coming down

Did that too Greg it was almost the same

Heres what has been done to date,water tube removed, side freeze plugs pulled, the freeze plug holes rodded out, I then pressure washed the block from freeze plug hole, water dist tube opening, thermostat hole etc, rinsed till the water ran clean. I was running a 160 thermostat, 50/50 antifreeze andwater, the rad has good flow and is in very decent shape.2 weeks ago I pulled the thermostat, when I drained the coolant from the block it was nice and clean, so was the coolant from the rad. That doens't mean there still might be a blockage somewhere. Tim Adams suggested I check the timing, a local friend of mine told me to put back the thermostat, but it was still heating up with a thermostat. Todays ride was only 5 miles or so each way, it was 82 outside and muggy, I was driving slow40 mph or so, no traffic stops all clear sailing no stop and go. In my mind the temp should have been around 170 to 180, but not 200 +. It was climbing higher as I pulled in to my driveway, I did lose a touch of coolant but the level in the rad was too high to begin with. So I sur hope I can solve this problem soon, I have bben working on it for a year.Thanx everyone Fred

Not only is there a front seat, but a bcak seat, windows and wipers that work, lighting and a horn. There is an old shop in this Village I went to, the owner ,who is retired any doesnt' run a service station out of it anymore, came over to jaw a bit. He told me he opened the shop in 1950, says these old flatheads ran warm in summer, that maybe a fan with more blades or a rad with a larger core. The rad seems fine, hot on top, a lot cooler on the bottom, wonder if the water pump is at fault or not, it does not leak, the coolant flows when you rev up the engine, I can't figure this one out, don't want to wait for -20 weather to drive her, and she could overheat in the cold if there is a circulation problem...Fred

Hi all, registered my car as vintage today. Got home, put on the plates, went for a drive to the local store and gas station, all went well to the store about 5-6 miles away. Got a lot of attention from the folks at the store and the customers, was even a vintage Volvo there, had a bit of fun, bought gas and made my way home. The engine was running hot by the time I got back around 200, I was cruisng at about 40 mphit is 82 and very humid today, but this high temp is still got me scratching my head. The rad spit out a bit of anitfreeze, but the ewas probably too high. I have been through everything, block and water dist tube flushed, decent rad from Tim Adams, water pump is okay I think, new antifreeze, and the engine was running good, no smoking out the exhaust whatsoever. Don't know what to try and fix next, to correct this cooling system. But inspite:cool: of this what a great feeling to go for a real ride and have the attention from other folks..........Fred

Hi all, I mentioned in another thread about my 47 Chrysler having 10 inch spindles and brakes, probably from an old Plymouth parts car. Today I took off both drums, brought them in to be measured, they measured at 10.022 and 10.023, well within the 10.060 max. These drums have already been machined, so this was good news for me.the rear drums are fine and within spec also. The only problem with my brakes is the right rear wheel cyl was leaking when I checked it a couple of weeks ago, it has not dripped down the backing plate yet, it was only wet when I pulled back the boot, inside of the boot, but if it is leaking it will eventually pour out. So for now, I will install 2 new rear wheel cyls. The brakes have all new parts, and I am using Dot 5 Silicone brake fluid, so they should last a while. Today I spoke with a gent from ECI Brakes, he was telling me you cannot use a stock MC and a residual valve, with there disc brake kit, says the brakes wil lock up. I did not what to debate with this nice gent, but there a are a few of you guys that did not disable the residual valve in the MC and add all of the extra valves, and your brakes work fine don't they. He wanted me to buy a special MC form them to use with there kits. I would like to convert to disc one day, but want to keep it as simple as possible, and of course I want the best bang for the buck..Fred

Thanx Robert,if these drums are machined out too much, I am going to seriously look at converting to disc, it would a better braking system and less complicated than the lockheed system. I am hoping the drums are okay, I would use these brakes at first then figure out what I plan on doing next, my king pins seem to be in good shape, but even these and the rest of the front end will get done. I am not concerned about being real original, as my car is a driver, and a bit of a resto rod when I am finished with her.......Fred

Does anyone happen to know how much a 10 inch drum can be machined oversize, is it .030 which gives you a total of .060, or is .045 which gives a total of .090. I now have confirmed I have the Plymouth spindles on my 47 Chrysler, as well as the 10 inch brakes, the brakes are working pretty good, all is new. But the drums weren't measured when they were machined 2 years ago, the shop just removed what they had to, I can't remember if it was the front or back where he machined .003, but one set was around.009. . If the front drums are machined out too far, I am ffffed, will then possibly convert to disc brakes. I had the drums off today, they look thin, can you tell by looking at them. I plan on taking them in for a measurement real soon. I have a real good set of 11 inch front drums and backing plates from Pat S, but can't use them because I would have to change back to the larger spindles, I do have a parts car with them, is it a real big job to change spindles........Fred

Go for the green, with dark green rims or for the John Deere look, yyou could have yellow rims. Hey man it's your ride as long as you like it and it's safe to drive, maybe some white flames on the hood and fron fenders too.

Ryan, so far not too bad, you could always work panel by panel, do the bodywork, hammer and dolly, fillers etc. Then paint it panel by panel, thin the paint10 to 20 %, with mineral spirits. Apply 2 coats, wetsand with 600, paint on 2 more coats wetsand 1000, roll on 2 more coats wetsand 1500. You can then poish with elcheapo trutle wax polish, the white stuff, not the wax. Or use Meguires swirl remover and buff and polish to a nice shine. If you did this polished up the chrome, sand blast and paint the rims, you could have a nice little driver here, and heck, when you have more time and bucks you could sand down the car, redo or refine body work and have car professionally painted. But in the mean time you could takle all the mechanical, brakes engine, frontend, wiring etc. The interior, the chrome, the dash painting. If the car is painted nice, then you could enjoy the car, yes I know it will not look cherry like mega expensive bodywork and paint, but heck it ain't gonna cost you the farm right now either, I say go for it. What do yall need to make this vehicle safe and mechanically sound for the road..........The Rock

Hey Tim and Norm(s) and Merle, not to leave anyone out, another thing happened to my floor jack, it's just a elcheapo 2 ton floor jack, worked good for a few years, now it's leaking oil out where the piston goes into the jack mechanism, the part you pump to make the jack go up. Are these cheap jacks fixable, heck I only got 2 years out of it, and it only had 1 year of warranty.........Fred ps thanx everyone for your comments

Hi all, now I may have asked this question before, or maybe someone else did. I plan on jacking up my car on 4 stands, to clean under it and paint under there etc, as well I need to finish welding in some ptch work I was unable to get down whle the car is on the floor. Right now I have 4- 3ton jack stands, the car weighs about 3600 lbs (47 Chrysler Coupe). Or I was thinking of building cribbing or whatever there called, criss-crossing of 2x4s or 2x6s, they are very strong and can hold a lot of weight, I would also have the jack stands under there for insurance. What have some of you guys done to get you cars up to work under them. Without sounding like a worry wort, I want to have safety while under the car, any ideas?

I agree Bob, my only concern is, under the down below the rear side windows on a coupe, is normally a closed cavitie, by drilling a few drain holes,. don't see this being an issue of letting in exhaust fumes as long as the exhaust system is in good shape and exhausting out behind the car. The panels cover this area from inside the car, which will help toseal the area off from outside air coming in the car. I think I will drain a few drain holes in the are, about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch...........fred