Tim Frank

At the British Science Museum in London I saw a display of a collaborative 1/12 scale model of a Supermarine spifire Mark V. One guy made the airframe the other guy a working RR Merlin engine that he worked up from the original prints. This was an radio-controlled actual flying model. Why?...I guess because they can.

Exactly my thoughts Don....nary a bit of gratuitous violence or hanky-panky, it's all Mopar all the time! Oh well, Desperate Housewives is on in 1/2 hour, maybe I can tune that in....

NAPA is pretty inconsistent I guess; it seems to depend on the individual stores and of course the "liveware" installed at the store. Anyone know if they are franchises or corporately owned? We have several outlets in this town, and they are different as chalk and cheese. When I was sourcing all the brake parts for my wife's D-25C, store #1 (and counter guy #1) said they couldn't help with anything that old...didn't have even parts listings and the numbers that I pulled off the website made no sense to him. (blamed it partly on US numbers vs Canadian) Store #2, counter guy #2 took it as a challenge, asked me for one of the part numbers from the website, called me back within 15 minutes later and said it was the master cylinder, "they could have it tomorrow...is that OK? and what are the rest of the part numbers?" Bottom line, ALL the parts that I was after except return springs were delivered overnight and I picked them up next day.

Glad they came through. I've never dealt with Auto Fasteners but have heard all kinds of good stuff about how they do business. I've also never installed a wheel stud. Presumably the hub has to be off the car to access the back of the hub, and do they have to be pressed in or could you do a "rube goldberg" and feed the stud through as far as it would go and then use a spacer sleeve and and a wheel nut to draw the stud on until it seats fully? Or is there a more detailed process required?

If you flipped the lid, should it not need a shorter stud? I could see running out of thread, but not sure how it would be too short.

Had this issue with an old Land Rover back in the 70s. I got a 2" taller filter, same ID and OD. It raised the top of the canister enough that the increased air flow/decreased resistance solved it. 1/2" or 3/4 " might well have been enough, but I didn't have the patience to try 1/4" increments until I hit the jackpot. BTW, are you getting a good seal between the filter and the lid?

These guys can supply studs or/and nuts in 1/2-20NC LH or RH http://automotivefasteners.thomasnet.com/viewitems/threaded-fasteners-rods-and-studs/wheel-studs-and-bolts?&forward=1 Rgds, Tim

In most cases the two go hand in hand in here. The first four "grand poobas" that jump to my mind (not in any relevent order....and not to minimise anyone not in that four) are Tim Adams...Don Coatney...and the two Norms. It would be difficult to argue that their knowledge and help given do not put them at the far end of the bell curve. All that to say that I can't think of anyone who has posted enough to gain the rating but who posts fluff.

Greg, I have seen this type of deer sign, especially at this time of year. The pellet form is typical when they are eating dry stuff....twigs and bark. When they have grass, leaves, and berries available the form becomes looser and less defined. I have a picture if you want to compare, but have never figured out how to post one in here. Rgds, Tim

Don also provided photographic evidence to answer that other age-old (and I had previously thought, rhetorical) question. That bear is definitely NOT in the woods!....

Have to agree with David. As one who posts far more than my fair share of Off Topic items (with far less flack than is probably deserved), I would think that describing the sharing of a passion for old cars is about as On Topic for this forum as is possible.

Is PB blaster the penetrating oil of choice in here?

The locking pin will have to be drilled out. Oxy-acetylene torch, red hot for 15 minutes, and it just laughed at me.

I thought of cutting off the bar and drilling through the remaining length ( ~ 4") and rigging up a puller. Wonder how long it would take to drill a 1/2" hole 4 inches long?

This is not at all on topic, but I hope I won’t be shot for attempting to draw on the collective expertise that is resident in here. Short description of the problem: I bought a car from my Dad, which has a trailer hitch installed. This is a Japanese vehicle, and the hitch is welded to rear sub-frame. The problem is that Dad had not removed the “removable” drawbar for some time. It is now rusted firmly in place. Two Canadian winters worth! The draw bar is 1 ¼ inch square steel bar. Too much pounding is a no-no because the welds may suffer….similarly too much heat is also an issue. Has anyone had any luck removing a severely stuck drawbar? Maybe I should leave well enough alone? Thanks, Tim

Another option for you Rodney....rgds, Tim http://callieskustoms.com/CalliesKustoms-DeluxWhiteWallTirePaint.html

I am not so sure, Don. I remember the thread in here last winter and the pictures of 4 + feet of snow in Mexico.

Or fit the old hands to the new movement.

Norm, If you ever feel like restoring to AC operation, here is a source of clock movements....the ones you would need are priced ~ $15 - $20 near bottom of page. The $20- one auto adjusts for Daylight ST. Rgds, Tim http://www.atsclock.com/products/category_detail.cfm?catID=17

Just to throw out one more of my oddball ideas, could you jerry rig a recording device with input from the stethoscope and a mic? You could convert the analog recording readily to a digital format ~ wav, mp3 or whatever. If the actual noise was available to the masses in here, you might get some even better feedback. Rgds, Tim

JD, Was not suggesting that it was a choke issue, I am asking if the mixture could be too lean. The choke would cover for the lean mixture while it was on and that might account for why you get a bit of time after startup before the knocking starts. I still have not been into the carb on my wife's Dodge, bu it should be possible to richen the mixture "some" and reverse the adjustment if no effect. Kingsway52's post is a classic case of troubleshooting and having to make small improvements in a a number of factors that could all be contributing to the problem. Pulling a trailer is a textbook cause of knock. What are your plugs like? That is one other thing that I don't recall being covered in your post. They should give a picture that tells whether you might be on the lean side. Rgds, Tim

Diagnosing engine noises from text descriptions in a forum such as this can be a challenge.... You weren’t sure whether the rebuilder blamed detonation or pre-ignition. Pre-ignition is less likely than spark knock (detonation) and is caused by a hot spot developing in the combustion chamber and firing the mixture before the spark plug does. Biggest culprit used to be carbon deposits, which aren't so common any more. If you are using too hot a plug, that could contribute and if you have machined that Alum head, you may have sharp edges in the combustion chamber. I had an Austin that "pinged" after I machined the head until I broke the edges in the combustion chamber. Not sure if you can accurately determine what the effective CR of your engine now is, but you might have to use a thicker head gasket and/or a spacer to reduce it a bit. Also if you are running too lean that can be a factor. ~or detonation, spark knock ~ Detonation can usually be solved by using higher octane fuel. If that is not a solution, which you said it wasn’t for you, there may be several factors compounding the problem. Compression ratio may be one. Your rebuild may have o/s pistons and with the non-stock head you may be flirting with c/r issue. You did have head gaskets blowing at a higher than expected rate. Still, why suddenly after LT 15K miles? Timing could be the problem, but again, why suddenly? If it is really either pre-ignition or spark knock that you are suffering, I would first rule out a lean mixture (unless you already have and I missed it) ...vacuum line leaks....etc. I think you said somewhere in the thread that the knock starts after it has warmed up. Could it be “after the choke shuts off?” The fuel angle does mesh with the chronology of events. Good luck, rgds, Tim

The description of all the oddball parts that went into it reminded me of that old Johnny Cash song about the car that he builds "one piece at a time...."

Lou, I lost the train of your description. You painted the rims a green to match the car, but where does all the white exposure come from? (does look great though!) Rgds, Tim

A naval friend of ny father had a very similar import in the late 50s. That one was made by Messerschmitt.