Sam Buchanan

Modify the pin lengths to get them to fit. Here is what I use for my P15. Flats are ground on the ends so you can use a wrench to insert/remove the pins. I do this job single-handed mostly from inside the car. Here is the very crude cradle I made out of scrap so the tranny can be strapped to the floor jack. The various pieces are assembled so the trans will balance on the jack in spite of the irregular shape of the housing. The bolts are removed, guide pins inserted, tranny strapped to the cradle, then the transmission is carefully slide backwards keeping everything straight so the input shaft doesn't damage the clutch disk. Once clear, the jack is lowered and the trans pulled out from under the car. Installation is the reverse of removal. You need jack stands with which you can trust your life. Here are mine, they are tall enough for the transmission job.

Hook up the jumper cables first to the dead car battery and then to the jump battery (jump box or jump vehicle) and there is no danger of sparks at the dead battery. Likewise, hook up the charger to the battery before plugging connecting it to house power. Another common recommendation is to hook up the jumper ground cable at the car to someplace other than the battery to avoid possibility of sparking at the battery.

Jim, just for clarification, the fact your car is wired for positive ground and has a 6v battery doesn't mean it requires any care that wouldn't be appropriate for a 12v neg ground application. If you have a process that has maintained a 12v battery over the winter the same method will work fine for the 6v. Batteries don't have a "positive or negative" ground, the same battery works in either situation and appreciates the same measure of care. If you decide to remove the battery from your car that is fine, but don't assume your 6v battery needs special treatment any more than a 12v would. Best wishes for a peaceful winter slumber!

Same way you would keep a 12v battery in good health.

If a reasonably priced inoperative clock for a P15 fell in my lap that is what I would do. I won't mention anything about looking for a clock because that might bump up against forum rules. ? My phone number is BR 549......

You can install the battery either way and the car will start and run fine if it still has a generator. Once you have it started look at the ammeter. If it shows discharge when you rev the engine the battery is installed backwards. You will then know how the car is wired. Technically the ignition coil is polarity sensitive but it will work either way. As long as you don't have a radio installed and turned on there isn't anything in the car that will be damaged by reverse polarity. I'm not sure what happens if an alternator is connected backwards but it's very unlikely your car has an alternator.

Walmart, Autozone, etc, the least expensive store-brand detergent 10W-30 oil on the shelf......the P15 is happy. That oil is far superior to anything available in 1948.

Yes, get everything working on the bench so you can easily see what's going on. You don't need much of a meter, I have several of these $7 cheapies scattered around: https://www.harborfreight.com/7-function-digital-multimeter-59434.html

Two points. If you have a multimeter that will read voltage when you touch the battery terminals it is sufficient for this troubleshooting, a more expensive meter isn't needed. The three terminal solenoid should work if the wiring is correct and it and the starter aren't defective.

But you could under crimp.......

Might be a good idea to do your troubleshooting on the bench until you figure out what is going on.....a whole lot easier on the (your) body!

Naw.....I much prefer ratcheting crimpers, they apply the same force every crimp regardless of the forearm strength of the operator.

Returning from a country road run after dark recently (and during the season when deer are really active!) I noticed the headlights would occasionally briefly go dark as I switched from low to high beam. I took this as the original 1948 dimmer switch telling me it has gotten tired and is ready for retirement. I believe we should always listen to our cars when they are trying to tell us something! Not wanting to be suddenly left blind on a very dark and winding country road I decided to replace the still mostly functional switch. Andy Bernbaum has the switch listed for $35 plus their steep shipping rate but Rock Auto has a direct replacement Standard brand, made in the USA switch for less than $25 shipped to my front porch. Easy decision. The box states made in Mexico but the switch is stamped Made in USA. There is enough slack in the wiring harness to pull the old switch up into the engine compartment for relatively easy access. Of course the old cloth insulation was in pretty sad condition. The battery was disconnected to eliminate getting across something hot while handling the harness. The new switch uses screws instead of bullet connectors but this wasn't a problem since the old insulation needed attention. I unwrapped the harness enough to get back to good wire and shrink tubing was slid down over the old insulation prior to new eyelet terminals being installed with a proper ratcheting crimper. The mounting threads in the new switch are metric so the old mounting bolts have to be replaced. The old switch has the HOT lead on the "left" terminal but the new one has HOT on the right terminal, the housing is stamped for easy reference. It makes no difference which of the remaining two terminals get high or low beam, just make sure the dash indicator wire is attached to the high beam terminal. Maybe this will be useful for those who may need a new switch, it's good to know we can still get a good quality, bolt-in replacement. By the way, the halogen sealed beam headlights on my 6v car are very good, I've given the grounds some love and the alternator feeds the bulbs at least 7 volts even at idle.

It's interesting that the amber color is due to an external coating. I thought it would be the glass that was amber, wonder how the NOS bulbs were made.....

Plug the unused port. It is 1/8" NPT thread, same as a common pipe plug. Air won't escape from the open port, it will be drawn in by intake vacuum and create a lean run condition.

Excellent.

No.

That was then...this is now. Pepkids now charge $16.....just for balancing a tire. EVERYTHING has gone up the last two years..... $110 for messing with four (actually eight tires...) tubed tires on old wheels is a reasonable fee per my experience. Glad the "Coker selling 15 year-old tires" rumor has been put to bed.

Owners choice. I've had the carpet out of my P15 more times than I wish to service the transmission and clutch and after messing with the carpet around the pedals I slit the carpet above the pedals. My carpet has a thick enough pile that the cuts don't show and they sure make it easier to get the carpet out and back in the car.

I agree the dual-chamber master cylinder is a great upgrade for our cars, I did the same on my P15. A couple of observations about your bracket, and the photos may not be giving me a correct impression. If that is a 1/4" bolt being used for the pedal pivot, I would absolutely upsize it to match the diameter of the bore in the pedal (1/2"?). It appears your bracket design has the bolt cantilevered with support only on one end. That pivot carries a very high load during a panic stop and if it bends or fails you have no way to develop pressure in the cylinder. A steel rod welded into the bracket to match the pedal bore might be the ultimate solution. There also seems to be a mismatch in the bore sizes of the pedal pushrod pin and the eye on the pushrod. Once again.....not a place to have less than a perfect fit. Also keep an eye on the cantilevered portion of the bracket that carries the cylinder, that material looks a little light and you don't want any flex or fatigue cracks. A gusset could be added to tie the cylinder carrier to the major part of the bracket to stiffen up the structure. The above comments aren't meant to be critical, just made out of concern about what is probably the single most safety critical component in the car.

Plum purty....enjoy!

Man...what's with all that white stuff on everything?? ?

Hope your test drives prove the drivability problem has been addressed. However......for sake of education we need to return to the matter of semantics. What your mechanic remedied with the valve adjustment (not valve job!) was a tight valve, not a stuck valve. A stuck valve is just that, stuck open which prevents compression from occurring in that cylinder. It is a mechanical defect that usually requires some engine disassembly to resolve. What your mechanic did was restore valve lash via the adjustment procedure so the valve could close completely. It wasn't "stuck" open but was still operating normally with the exception of not having enough clearance between valve and lifter to completely seal the cylinder. Now.....vapor lock. What you are describing with your hot starts isn't vapor lock but fuel percolation. Vapor lock is when fuel boils in the fuel line so a "bubble" of vapor develops which prevents the fuel pump from developing sufficient suction to pull and push fuel to the carb. Fuel percolation occurs when fuel boils in the carb bowl while a hot engine isn't running and overflows the bowl sending fuel down into the intake manifold. This causes a fuel puddle to form in the manifold which in turn creates a rich mixture when the restart is attempted. Once the engine is running the rich mixture clears and the engine again idles smoothly. Hope this helps your understanding of what you are observing and will allow you to converse in a more accurate manner when describing engine issues with your mechanic. Enjoy your ride!

Ahhhhhh…….gyromatic……details, details.

Nearly every engine problem we deal with is heat related....the only problem my P15 engine has presented when cold is a puddle of oil....... ?