Sam Buchanan

Bigger hammer...........

Do you have the floorboard removed? If so I think you can pull the cylinder out with the pedals attached so you can work with the whole assembly on the work bench. Working from above gives you some better angles than doing everything under the car. I don't recall a particular gotcha when I swapped out master cylinders....you are probably just dealing with some wear/gunk on the pedal shaft.

Containing the coolant within the system in a liquid state but under higher than atmospheric pressure raises the boiling point of the coolant. Water boils at 212*F at sea level, but if contained in a closed system the boiling point can be raised considerably. The coolant remains in the liquid phase even as temp exceeds the sea level boiling point. Steam isn't present in the system until the elevated boiling point is exceeded and at that point the game is over. Pressure ramps way up drastically and the cap relieves the pressure as gaseous and liquid dihydrogen monoxide is released.

Answer to first question; Sawzall (the bolt, not the pipe). You want new bolts with anti-seize in the flange when you put it back together. Second question; Yes, unless you want to mop up the shop floor.

Proper size cables are huge and easily sourced online:

And alternator! ?

Donald, I think you can reach the bolt from either direction, whichever is less painful. ? I put a nut on the stud from the bottom one time (it was missing) but I went through the fender this last time when I replaced the gaskets. It's fiddly but can be done. I suggest you go ahead and remove the wheel and liner, it just gives you a lot more options.

To answer your original question.....Yes, lots of noise due to blown out gasket between exhaust and intake manifolds at the heat riser. Also had some leakage at a couple of exhaust manifold ports. Remedy....remove manifolds and replace gaskets. I installed a blockoff plate between the manifolds since I didn't want to use the heat riser. Once you remove the manifolds you will be able to see soot where the leak(s) is occurring.

Let's think this through.....there is noise coming from the manifold area.....you have a set of gaskets on the way.....why have you not already started taking off the manifolds? Remove manifolds, replace gaskets and repair as necessary, problem solved. ?

Excellent. My cables are also red/positive and neg/black.

Getting a pretty high reading on the Grumpometer......... ?

https://www.oldmoparts.com/

If you don't already have the proper size battery cables in excellent condition, go ahead and upgrade. The alternator and cables will make your charging system as good as it can possibly be. Excellent source for cables is BatterycablesUSA.

Does the distributor shaft have any lateral play in it? Bushing may be worn out letting the shaft wander enough to misfire.

Measure the battery voltage with the engine off and if you see around 6.5v the battery is holding a good charge.

I'll say this again......a cheap multimeter (I use the Habba Fright meter all the time) can show flaky voltage readings due to ignition noise on our charging systems. I've seen it and the charging system in my car (alternator) is rock solid. The noise is sufficient to make the little LED I use for the turn signal indicator flicker all the time. I pulled up to my friend's hangar when he had his aircraft radio turned on and you wouldn't believe the racket my P15 was transmitting to his poor radio (non-resistor plugs and solid copper wires). Drive your car. If the battery stays charged the alternator is doing what it is supposed to be doing.

If you are using a digital multimeter you may get jerky readings. Sometimes the digital meter and alternator voltage regulator don't get along very well. If you have an analog meter it may give a steady reading. The lights may be getting brighter with a disconnected battery because the alternator is trying to charge a very dead battery....... The battery serves as a sump to dampen voltage surges...I wouldn't mess around with a disconnected battery with the solid-state regulator in the alternator. The needle is showing more current with lights on because.......the lights are drawing more current........that is what an ammeter does.....

Keep that welder humming...or sizzlin'...or sparking....or whatever...... ?

This is referred to as "thread creep"........this forum is renowned for our ability to drive a thread off the rails. ?

After painting myself into this corner I cut a slot in the alternator (generator) bracket so it could be slipped over the bolt instead of having to remove the bolt. The bracket is under compression so cut the slot so tightening the belt will push the bracket against the bolt.

The one-wire alternator I have starts charging immediately after start. I agree that it is a reliable solution to keeping the battery fully charged in our old cars under all conditions. A hot battery and the proper cables solves a lot of starting issues! ?

Excellent! The only reason for keeping a generator/regulator is for originality. Operationally, the alternator is superior in every way.

In far less time that it would take to figure our how to redo an alternator, this reliable vendor can have an alternator that is ready to bolt to your car at your door in 3-4 days: https://www.ebay.com/str/HowardEnt?_trksid=p2047675.l2563 I have had flawless service from the alternator I purchased from Howard. Notice their price includes shipping which is an extra $40 with some vendors. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tractor-car-6-volt-60-amp-1-wire-alternator-Positive-Ground-w-Bracket-pulley/333591006902?hash=item4dab92ceb6:g:Y~QAAMXQobdQ7d68

Not every old Plymouth..... ?

Why not just ditch the mechanical pump and run electric all the time? Having dual systems just complicates things. Most pumps can be wired for either ground system. Here is the full-time Carter pump I installed on my P-15, it is located just forward of the rear axle: