IronMike

Didn't accomplish as much this weekend as I would have liked. I did manage to get the intake and exhaust manifold off. The only casualty was a broken stud that mounts the Sisson choke to the intake. I will plan on flushing the block next weekend. I am rebuilding the Generator and was able to get it cleaned up and ready for paint. 63 years of road grime cleaned up. The case has several rebuild dates stamped into it. The tape on the field coil windings was crumbling to the touch, so I decided to redo them. Unwrapped windings. New friction tape, new shrink wrap on the wiring to replace the old insulation, ready to be soldered back together. Next, I need to get the Armature cleaned up, source some miscellaneous pieces and parts and I should be able to get one component refurbished and marked off my list.

I have two rebuild kits from Then & Now Automotive to rebuild the pump on my car and to have a spare. Tennessee Clutch & Supply is great to deal with and very reasonable.

Thanks for the input. I will check torque on head bolts and leave it be. Good advice on the welch plugs. I hope to get the starter and intake/exhaust manifolds off this weekend and flush the block out. The car sat for about 10 years because my grandfather was unable to drive. I have only put about 400 miles on it the past few years. I rebuilt the brake system when I first got the car. My intent now is to freshen everything up to make sure the car is reliable enough to take my wife, 5 year old son, and 3 year old daughter on pretty big road trip next summer.

Roberts Motor Parts has them. I needed a couple when I rebuilt my brakes.

Not really a fix needed, I was just wondering if while I have everything apart to detail the engine compartment/re-wire etc. if: A. I should replace the head gasket as a preventative maintenance, or B. Leave sleeping dogs lie.

The engine has low mileage (44,000) and has always been a strong runner. Probably should have checked the compression before I jumped into it, but to be honest I was excited to get the chance to turn a wrench. No prior drivability issues. I am more concerned about the length of time aspect. The car has been in my family since about 1969 and the only other person to work on this car was my grandfather, who was a mechanic by trade. I recall that he may have had it apart in the early 70s to replace a burnt valve, but I was a snot-nosed kid back then.

What I started with today. Some progress made. Water Distribution tube looks pretty good.

I try to browse the site weekly, but until recently I have had little time to work on my 50 Dodge. I getting some fall/winter projects planned and I am going to try to post updates in this thread as I go. It is my hope that the input/advice received from you guys will keep me motivated and on track. I plan on posting pictures of my adventures to keep things interesting. My main winter project was going to be a re-wire, but as you guys know one project creates others and I figured while I have everything apart I might as well give the engine compartment a good detail. I am in the process of stripping everything down to the block for a re-gasket and paint. I have a Fel-Pro Engine set for the job. One question I have was whether I should mess with pulling the head and replacing the head gasket while everything is apart. Part of me thinks "leave it alone", but it very well may be the original gasket. Any opinions on this?

Not to hijack, but I worked at a Dodge dealership that sold Yugos. Around $3500 if I remember correctly. We were going through a training about servicing them and the rep. was all excited about all of the features on these little cars. He really was getting into the pitch and exclaimed that the best new feature of all was the rear window defrost. He claimed this addition had done a lot to raise customer satisfaction.......................... Because it kept the the customer's hands warm while they were pushing them They spent a lot of time in the shop. You sure don't see them around anymore. Chance, glad to hear you got your car running and congrats on the Yugo swap. I am sure it only increased the value of your car since you may have the only running Yugo engine in the world! Mike

Thanks for the Information. Lou Earle was kind enough to make available an axle shaft for a 48. Thanks for your generosity Lou! I guess I will put the plea out here, If anyone has one that they would like to part with PM me and we can discuss price/shipping. I know this is not the parts wanted section ( I will post there also,but I always seem get spam when I post there) Wanted- rear driver's side axle w/castle nut for 50 Dodge Coronet. Young Ed thanks for the research! I need to make the investment in a Hollander Manual.

I am in need of a rear driver's side axle shaft for my 50 Dodge Coronet. I have the opportunity to obtain one from a member here that is from a 48 Dodge. I have searched the web for interchange info and come up empty. A search of this forum indicates that there was a spline count change around 1953 but that is all I come up with. If anyone has access to a Hollander Interchange Manual and would be willing to look this up I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advance for your time and info. Mike

Thanks for sharing, looks like a better method. Mike

http://www.freewebs.com/1949convertible/apps/photos/album.jsp?albumID=4029016 If you aren't super picky about originality, I found this link a while back. I thought it might come in handy if my "bullseye" headlamps ever bite the dust. Mike

The educated with the briefcase have stolen more money than the uneducated with the gun ever have......... Either way, money (or a lack there of), nor formal education (or a lack there of) are any indication of a man's work ethic or character.......

I haven't been in that area since I attended the F100 supernationals a few years ago. I don't recall any salvage yards off the top of my head. As far as car events they seem to have quite a few from time to time. I would check in with the chamber of commerce or I am sure the city has a web site that may list upcoming events. There was a pretty nice muscle car museum in pigeon forge or sevierville that had a nice collection of 60's cars. always plenty of tourist type stuff to get into. The smokies are beautiful. Cades cove makes for a nice drive, make sure you have gas in your tank (don't ask me how I know) once in the mountains no fuel until you hit Cherokee NC or make it back from where you came. Mike

Looks like from the pictures posted in the listing, the missing spacer is the piece that allows you to mount the gauge on the spindle without tightening the castle nut all the way down to the base of the gauge. My understanding is that its purpose was saving you time. It must not have been too critical as a lot of these I have seen for sale are missing it. Mike

Probably so........ actually my wife is pretty low maintenance and very supportive of my addictions.

I went through the brake system in my 50 Dodge this past year. I budgeted about a $1000 dollars for everything, including some new tools. I had my M/C and wheel cylinders sleeved by White Post about $650. Lifetime warranty and not that much more expensive than buying new parts manufactured with questionable tolerences. Billy was great to deal with and turn around time was about a week. I got my rubber hoses through my local NAPA, and the metal line through O'Reilly. The metal lines are AGS and bendable by hand, but I found that I still needed a tubing bender for some of the more complex bends. I don't have my receipts in front of me but I think I have about $60 in the AGS lines and about another $40 in the rubber hoses. Tennessee Clutch and Supply re-lined all 8 brakeshoes for about $45! cheaper than I could buy 1 axle's worth through any of the venders I could have purchased them through. If you can't source them locally you might try TC&S and come out cheaper even with shipping. I bought a nice 180 degree tubing bender from Northern tool for about $20. I did a lot of research about flaring tools and went with the Rigid model 345 DL. I spent about $90 on it, but I am not disappointed! I have never done any flaring prior to this project and this is a quality tool that made life much easier. I did practice on some scrap brake line to improve my technique. I couldn't find the Rigid locally for less than $120 so I bought it and a Rigid tubing cutter from Coastaltool.com. A store front in the New England area. I would have stayed under budget except I decided I wanted an AMMCO 1750 to round out my tool collection...... Which set me back...... well..... not telling in case my wife reads this.........

My lack of patience for want of getting my car roadworthy is about to turn me into a patient.......................

My 3 owner (one being my grandfather from 1968-2009) unrestored 50 Dodge Coronet has the optional Gryo-Matic transmission. My understanding (passed down from Grandpa who was a mechanic/restorer by trade) was that "Gyro-Matic" was Dodge's name for the M6 trans, which had various other names (tip-toe, etc.) across the Chrysler line up. Mike

I have used an older stihl that a buddy has and it is a sweet saw. I have my grandfathers old (1950's) Pioneer brand that he cleared his farm with and you have to be a MAN to work with this thing all day, it is quite possibly the heaviest piece of hand held machinery that I have ever hoisted. All metal (enough to build a Honda) heavy duty lumberjack gear. It is on the "get it running again someday" list but parts seem scarce. Seems Pioneer is no longer around and I think it was out of Canada if my memory serves me correct. Mike

I did scan this into my computer at one point in time and it took quite a while. I had the intentions of turning it over to dezeldoc for Pdf formating but my computer crashed and and I was without one at home for an extended period. I just haven't been able to find the time to tackle it again. If I can help you out let me know and I can scan the information that you are looking for. Mike

I did scan this into my computer at one point in time and it took quite a while. I had the intentions of turning it over to dezeldoc for Pdf formating but my computer crashed and and I was without one at home for an extended period. I just haven't been able to find the time to tackle it again. If I can help you out let me know and I can scan the information that you are looking for. Mike

First GTK thanks for putting together a great place for guys like me to learn about our cars from those in the know! I don't post a whole lot, but I read/research as often as I can. Between remodeling a home built in 1930 and a 2 yr old son and a 5 mo. old daughter my garage time has been limited (just ask my 50 Dodge that has been waiting for me to finish the major brake rebuild I started in January). I guess that puts me in the active lurker/old car weirdo category........ you guys please don't tell on me, will ya? Thanks to all that make this site my refuge from the daily grind! Mike

I checked with Inline Tube and Classic Tube and neither carried a kit for my application. One of the companies (can't remember which) offered to custom bend a kit for my car if I would ship my old lines to them to use as a jig. So I decided to tackle it on my own and maybe learn something along the way. I am not finished installing everything yet so time will tell how my workmanship measures up Mike