Sam Buchanan

"Houston....we've had a problem." The person who goofed up the shift fork installation did you a favor..... ? Make sure the bearing retainer is well sealed when you put it back together, that is a prime location for leaks. You might also see if you need to modify the retainer for proper oil return:

The Fontana drum brake on my Indian-Velo motorcycle was a quad leading-shoe brake.....that thing was a monster! Here is one on a Ducati: I, as Plymouthy, suggested revert back to my motorcycle habits when driving the old car....try to confirm the other driver is looking at me as I approach an intersection. But when so many drivers are now gazing at their bellybu....er......phone these days this makes it more of a challange. ?

As a general rule.....yes....that is why power-assisted disc brakes were revolutionary when they appeared on American cars in the '60's. While there are examples of superb drum brakes (one of my motorcycles had a four-shoe Fontana on the front that could lock the tire at practically any speed) most drum systems will require more pedal pressure and have a different attack/feel than disc brakes. Our old cars have brakes that were optimized for 45-55 mph instead of panic stops from 80 on an interstate highway. That and fade resistance is why disc conversions are installed on old cars for modern highway use. I drive the P15 more conservatively than the 5000 lb F150, realizing I don't have the brake reserve of a modern vehicle. But so far I haven't scared myself and I consider the drums to be adequate if the car is driven as it was designed.

A datapoint from the replacement tank from Vans Auto for my '48 P15: The tank I received was carefully packed but leaked from a porous weld around the drain plug and the fuel outlet that was barely welded...it ended up popping loose. When contacted Vans offered to pay for local repair of the tank but a repaired tank wasn't what I purchased. They couldn't explain how this tank passed a pressure test but agreed to send me a new one. After I pressed them a bit they agreed to also pay for return shipping which would have been substantial if I had to pay it. When the second tank arrived I carefully pressure tested it and it passed. It has been in service for a year with no problems. The construction of the tank is very similar to the old tank except the drain plug is located at the rear of the tank instead of bottom center. The pickup is just a tube that lies against the bottom of the tank....no filter like the original tank. I did have to address a fuel leak but that turned out to be a new fuel gauge sender that was leaking through the rivets holding it together. So far, so good.

There seems to be some confusion as to which wire needs to be insulated from ground...if I'm confused please correct. The wire from the power terminal on the distributor body to the points has to be insulated from ground. It is the wire with the black insulation in the photo. The bare wire is merely a ground strap and it doesn't need insulation, polarity of the ignition system is not a factor. That is the wire under discussion.

I bought a new pump. ? ?

Is voltage reaching the horn terminals? Have you tested this with a meter or test light?

The transmission doesn't 'lock' the rear wheels when it is parked and in gear. What seems to be 'locking' is actually the compression of the engine preventing the wheels from rolling. Push hard enough on the car when it is in gear and the engine will turn over.......that is how we bump-start a car with a bad starter. Torque the axle nuts as much as you can with the car jacked up (they won't be very tight) then lower the car enough to put enough weight on both wheels to prevent them from turning as you lean on the big wrench. I also chock one of the wheels, and setting the parking brake will help if you have a good brake. Torque to at least 140 ft-lbs and insert the cotter pin. Recheck the torque after you put a few miles on the car, the nuts can probably be turned another slot or two.

Clip one of the test leads to the mounting plate of the sender, the other goes to the terminal. The sender grounds through the tank when it is attached to the tank.

The cap has an indexing key, wonder if it is smaller than the notch in the rim of the distributor? That would allow the cap to rotate so the rotor and terminals don't clock properly.

I would put a 90* bend on one end of the rod to make sure it can't fall into the engine. The test light method reminds me how we timed VWs (and motorsickles) back in the day (timing lights were for amateurs...). ?

I think the best anti-theft device on the P15 is the column shifter! ?

It needs to be a threaded nut so it will be a tight fit on the axle.

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There is a bit of confusion here. The hole referred to as an oil return is located inside the bearing retainer. It returns oil back into the transmission that makes it way out of the bearing retainer . The hole you are referring to is for one of the shift rails and the gasket between the trans and bell housing should seal that hole. I'm not sure why there is a hole in the gasket at that location, maybe it is so the gasket will fit multiple applications.

Where did you source the carpet....looks very nice in the photo.

Ok.......................

Why should they if their product compatibility is similar to petroleum products........

Best info is from the manufacturer. Here is a quote from Red Line's Tech paper on their gear oils: "It is not necessary to flush the transmission before replacing with MTL. Remove the drain plug and drain while warm. Seal compatibility has been designed to be similar to petroleum lubricants, and leakage should be no greater than any other oil of comparable viscosity. Being formulated with extremely stable synthetic basestocks, MTL and MT-90 will last much longer than conventional petroleum lubricants." The entire paper can be found here, and it is an interesting read: https://www.redlineoil.com/Content/files/tech/MTL and MT-90 Tech Info.pdf

This is really encouraging..... ?. ?

That is getting way too complicated for my 1948 car......I could just forget about the inertia switch and drive happily ever after...... ?

I played with the switch for awhile on the bench. Every time I've seen one mounted in a YouTube video it is oriented with the red button 'UP'. I found the switch seems to be sensitive to shock delivered laterally but has little sensitivity to vertical shock. Guess this is why I've seen it mounted button up and that is how it is mounted on my firewall. As far as the location of the switch is concerned....if it is mounted solidly to the body it should receive quite a jolt if the car is hit hard on any quarter. The purpose of the switch is to interrupt power to the fuel pump only after a really hard collision. Any more sensitivity could lead to nuisance trips. If the collision is minor I just reach over and turn off the ignition. Trunk mounting is certainly a possibility for my car since the fuel pump is located near the tank, that would make wiring pretty simple. But hey....I've only had this thing for a few hours so what do I know....... ?

There is a link to the switch in my first post but if you search eBay for 'Ford Inertia Switch' you'll find them. There sure are a lot of YouTube vids and forum threads about how to troubleshoot the switch...seems they can be a service item. But there are a lot of Fords out there that run with no issues.....I've never had one trip on the Fords I've owned.

Some of the Fords have them on kick panels as well. That isn't a good option for me because I have a carpet panel that is screwed to the body work.

Kinda...sorta. The switch needs to be attached to solid body structure and I don't know where you could do that and still reach it from the driver's seat. In Fords the switch is located behind a trim panel on the interior side of the body. Maybe on the firewall up under the dash somewhere?? I'm still pondering this.....if that thing trips when it isn't supposed to it won't be wired into the car. ?