Sam Buchanan

You know how it is....gotta fill the tank with That Good Gulf Gasoline on the way back to the house.......price was only 19 cents/gallon...... The back story----several years ago the historical buffs in our town decided to save one of the oldest gas stations in the state of Alabama instead of seeing it demolished. It has been restored and is a favorite site for old car photos.

I'm assuming you have carefully set the idle mixture.......

There is no need for the steel tube you fabbed.....just run rubber hose all the way to the pump. Back the brass reverse flair fitting out of the pump and replace it with a barbed fitting.

It may be just the way the light is falling on the hose....but is the hose too large for the steel tubing? Is the hose just slipped over the 90? You want the proper sizing here to prevent an air leak that could kill the ability of the pump to pull a vacuum. The 90* fitting isn''t doing you any favors...can it be exchanged for a straight fitting so you will have a straighter shot to the pump? You can get a reverse flare fitting for the 90 that can then be adapted to a barb for the hose. Or...just buy the correct pre-made hose from Bernbaum.

Welcome to the community! Many of us have been at the 90% done....90% to go stage......

Yep, I was impressed with how good the joints look on my car, no apparent wear. I should be able to replace a boot quicker next time....will only be a two pound chunk of gov't cheese.... ?

Man....that five pound chunk of government cheese is a load! I got one boot installed but my bathroom habits may need a couple of days to recover....... I was going to replace both boots but the other one isn't split and I can service the u-joint with it in place. When it splits it may be time for a new driveshaft with modern u-joints.....

You were mis-informed.....here is the device's documentation: https://tinytach.com/pdf/Tiny2AInstructions11263.pdf The tach is powered by an internal battery so it doesn't matter what voltage or polarity is used on the vehicle or if the vehicle even has an electrical system. The only connection to the vehicle is the sensor wire that is wrapped around a spark plug lead. The downside is when the internal battery dies the tach has to be replaced. I'm not selling or promoting this tach, only offered it as a potential alternative if traditional appearance isn't needed or if having difficulty getting a traditional tach to work properly.

Looks like Nick is out ahead of us on this. My boots arrived today from Bernbaum after going AWOL in shipping for a few days. There have been a couple of posts suggesting we may be getting NOS boots so I'm gonna post a photo of what I received: There is nothing here to make me think these boots are thirty years old. They look, feel, and smell fresh and the clamps look brand new. I hope they have a happy, long service life. Nick, I intend to use Valvoline high temp grease in the joints: Here's hoping my boots survive the installation attempts!

This may be similar to what you recall....found this on another forum:

Man...that brings back memories of the '56 Savoy my dad bought new (and I learned how to drive in!). As a child I would sit in the front seat and the speaker was "my steering wheel". We didn't know anything about seat belts in those days.....my mom's arm was the child restraint system if we had to stop quickly.

Positive thinking. ? One of the eBay vendors is listing "brand new" boots so somebody must be repopping them. Should know soon.

The rubber boots got delayed, should be here tomorrow and I expect them to be new production. I don't have any leather boots....not for universal joints, anyway.... I considered converting to new-style U-joints but the originals are tight and look very good. I can install several boots for less than what a new driveshaft would cost.

Beware of the Chinese knockoffs.......

If aesthetics are not a priority, just an rpm readout, the Tiny Tach might be an option. It just needs to have a sensor lead wrapped around a spark plug lead. https://tinytach.com/gasoline-tinytach I used one of these tachs on a 1/2 VW engine that had a magneto and it worked nicely.

Rubber boots from Bernbaum will be arriving today.

The engine looks great! However.....rubber fuel hose from the filter adjacent to the exhaust manifold.........maybe this isn't the final installation.

5/16" on my '48 Plymouth with the 218 engine.

Reverse the battery, coil, and ammeter connections. But positive ground alternators are available, positive ground works great, and it is required if you have an original radio.

Here is the illustration in my manual that includes the '51:

Jerry, it is a 6v alternator. https://www.qualitypowerauto.com/category_2/Special-Applications--6-Volt-8-Volt-and-12-Volt-Positive-Ground.htm I got tired of messing with the old genny and regulator and when they died I wasn't going to throw good money at them. The alternator is a huge improvement in performance....and I hope reliability. The alternator is internally regulated....what you see where the regulator used to be is a large fuse. Battery cables are available here: https://www.batterycablesusa.com/0-gauge-battery-cable-with-ends-1-0-awg

Calculate the loads on each circuit and confirm the wires in the new harness are heavy enough if you stay with 6v. Harnesses intended for 12v may have wires that are too light to handle the heavier currents in a 6v system. This is especially the case with battery cables and headlight circuits. Battery cables need to be BIG (my car has neg ground):

You will want to also replace the flexible line between the hard line and fuel pump. You can either make one with barbed fittings, adapters and rubber fuel hose or purchase one here: https://www.oldmoparts.com/parts-fuel.aspx As others have suggested, I used pre-made sections of 5/16" brake line purchased at a local parts store. Tape up the open ends of the tubing as you snake it through the gaps in the frame to prevent introducing crud into the line. The line running at the front of the frame past the front wheel and under the radiator may test your patience....just consider it a character-enhancing experience...... A good filter near the tank in an easily accessible location will keep any crud from the tank out of your new fuel line. I like this type: https://www.autozone.com/fuel-systems/performance-fuel-filter/spectre-5965-fuel-filter/228357_0_0

In the course of uncovering the frame number on the P15 to see if it matches the engine number (it does!) I found evidence that the rear tire sidewalls have been lightly contacting the inner fender liner. I have H78-15 Coker bias-ply tires......obviously these tires are a wee bit too wide. Question; Is there any safety reason why I can't put 1/8" spacer washers between the rear wheels and drums? I think that will be enough to eliminate the rub. Another remedy might be the judicious persuasion of a 3-lb hammer on the inner fender......

It took persistent wire-brushing followed by acetone to remove some paint but was finally able to make out a faint number on the frame that matches the engine number. That is a bit of history I was happy to find to go along with the rebuild tag from 1987 on the engine block. Probably doesn't mean much but if anyone asks if I have a matching-number car I can answer "Yes".