SteveR

In my 37 Plymouth, I have on it a Glasspack from the early 70s. I doubt there is any fiberglass in it anymore and it sounds pretty throaty. The other day while waiting at a round-a-bout a boy racer with his little 4 banger revved his engine thinking he was pretty cool. I then revved my engine. It put him to shame but they laughed not expecting this 86-year-old to sound so good.

BTW 6 cylinders sound sooo much better than little 4 poppers.

I wonder how well a 2.5-engine will push around that 3070-pound car. As they say, torque is everything.

If you get a 6vdc reading on the Neg to ground next place your meter on the Neg and either Pos terminals you should get 6vdc. If not then your ground is no good. The ground will be through where the starter meets the engine. So if you set your meter to ohms you should get a closed circuit from the 'Pos nut' to the motor or the Pos (+) terminal on the Battery

If you notice on the lower large terminal the left nut and connector plate that goes to the starter are painted black You can also see that the nut on the starter partially in view at the top is also painted black. This will prevent any grounding and even if the relay is working the starter will not. They need cleaning to bright metal including the threads. Now if these are indeed painted then what does the area where the starter meets the engine look like? Is that painted too? If so clean the paint off and remove any rust that might be on the engine in this area.

It looks like in the photo of your relay on the starter (4th picture) where you are checking the 6vdc from the battery (large cable) the opposite terminal looks painted. If it is you will not get a ground and the starter will not operate. Also if the surface of the starter where it meets the engine is painted there will be on ground. It means pulling the starter and inspecting it. Also while the starter is out remove any rust where the starter meets the engine. In your 3rd photo with the relay on the firewall, those contacts look painted. If so they need to be cleaned and made bright (no paint just clean metal) I would recheck all of your wiring connections and clean all of these connections.

When I was 16 in 1969 my dad told me to change the brakes shoes on his 1960 Valiant. The driver's side went ok but I struggled to get the lugs off on the passenger side. I finally with brute strength got the first bolt off and proceeded to do the next only to have the same problem so again with brute strength I got that one off. I went to my dad and asked if they were hard to loosen. He said sometimes and then asked, why? I said because I snapped in half 2 lugs. He then said what way did you turn it? I said the normal way, counter-clockwise. He wasn't happy but informed me they were L.H. threads

In looking at the wiring diagram for a 1940 Plymouth there is no sol or button for the starter. Perhaps this was added later or because it was an import was this changed? You might want to check the resistance of the sol coil. If you have a relay and you press your button you should get 6vdc to the relay coil. then on the output contacts you should get 6vdc. This will go to your sol on the motor to engage the starter. How close are you to Worcester england?

I just clicked on it myself and yep it was corrupted. I don't go on those sites.

In digging a little bit I found this on this forum Hubcap Red Lettering Touchup Paint FlashBuddy said; In the process of refreshing a collection of 1950 Dodge dog dish hubcaps. Does anybody know what color of red was originally used? I used a color meter and came up with hex code #A83928 and or RGB 168 57 40. A quick trip to the hobby shop netted me a close equivalent - Model Master 2732 Chrysler Engine Red. I've been unable to find it in a spray can. Perhaps if I had a color code of some kind I could get a spray can mixed up? also from Plymouthyadams: Chrysler red engine paint is not hard to find....https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2062857.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xchrysler+engine+paint%2C+red.TRS0&_nkw=chrysler+engine+paint%2C+red&_sacat=0

One thing you have to consider is red is one of the first colors to fade in the sun. As I remember the color was bright red but not a dark red. The more blue there is in the red the less it fades. If it is an orange color now I would have thought it was normal red color.

Yes my gearbox is full of oil and does not leak. This 1/16" turn was done with the side of my screwdriver in the slot, not straight on, so I could not torque it down. My estimate of 1/16 is an approximation. It didn't seem like it moved much if at all. with wheels off the ground there is no binding when turning the wheels or the steering wheel. When driving and making a turn the wheel will return to center when I let go. What I am wondering is the play side to side of the steering wheel is this due to end play in the steering column? I did try to pull and push on the SW to see if there was any endplay but did not feel any.

No offence taken and I understand and appreciate your intent and honesty. 🙂 Yes my gearbox is full of oil and does not leak

This 3" play I am talking about is turning the steering wheel left to right before the wheels start to turn. I have no play in or out. When I adjusted the screw it only moved 1/16". When I drive down the road I am not wandering all over it. If I take the wheel and turn it I get a small movement in the steering arm before the steering wheel turns, about 1/2" You are right Los It does need to be looked at as I can not say what I can not see inside the box.

I did have my wife turn the steering wheel while I watched the arm off the box. There is play there. I attempted to adjust the screw on the inside and that helped tighten up the steering but I believe I may have to take apart the steering box. We have a wedding to do in October so I am reluctant to do this job before that.

My steering wheel is off-set. It is not the original wheel so was it put on wrongly? I do have an excess of play turning the steering wheel side to side of about 3". I have also had both from wheels off the ground and turned the wheels back and forth and have not seen any play. Likewise, I have had the wheels on the ground and looked for play and do not see any. My wear is on the passenger wheel only on the inside.

Ok I had some time and checked the Camber of my wheels. Both are at 0 deg. We have been haveing rain here and as I do not have a garage I'm not a diehard who likes working in the rain if I don't have to. My next step will be checking play in the king pin. Any other ideas?

If you are grinding in reverse that indicates your input shaft is still turning. The first suspect is the clutch fully disengaging. I am wondering if the journal of your input shaft is stuck in the bush of the engine. I do not remember is 1st gear also grinding even if a little.

Thanks I'll give that a try. Smart phone? What's that? oh you mean a Mobil Phone. I don't have one of those either. I'm just a little bit more advanced than 2 cans and a piece of string.

I have checked my bearings and they seem ok. How do I check the king pins and bush?

It would appear that in checking my alignment, camber, caster, king pins I can not do this myself but need the garage and its specialized equipment. Is this the case?

on my 37 Plymouth, I am getting inside wear in my front right tire. The left side is wearing fine. Is this a toe-in/out problem or a camber or? If there is an alignment problem can I do it myself or can a garage do this here in England? It appears that garages here mostly service European cars

Yep, "Don't take any wooden nickles". I often heard this expression as a boy in the 50-60s

Beautiful ride!

When I first got my 37 Plymouth with a 230 3 speed 4.11 gears It sounded like it was screaming at 45mph. I have owned this now for 5 years and have gotten used to the engine. I prefer to run her at 45-50mph. I know she will comfortably go faster but the suspension and the lack of any seat belts tell me depression is the better part of Valar.