Kilgore47

Sent you an email

The 47 P15 has several broken clips that hold the hub caps on. So I leave the caps off while driving and then I put them on when I get to a show. Take them back off when I leave. New clips have been collected and I'll install them one day.

That's funny about the boat. I once put a good metal chair at the curb with a free sign on it. Sat there for a couple of days. Then I put a 10 dollar price tag on it and within a few hours someone stole it.

I would take them in a heartbeat, but I live in Texas also. I was thinking the same thing - collect the parts so I could give them to people as they need them. People have given me parts and I would like to do the same. I would be interested in paying the shipping to get them here if that's possible.

The part you should paint is the disc that is part of the speedo needle. Yes your speedo should have the prism. If you look close at the picture I attached above you can see the colors on the base of the needle. That's the part that should be painted.

The split fuel hose works. And I re routed the fuel line to get it away from the exhaust manifold. Hot starts are not a problem now. If I had known about the insulating sleeve that Sniper talked about I would have tried that first.

The white stuff is either glue or it's for balancing. It's in my speedo also. The color wheel is at the base of the needle. The deluxe had one color and the special deluxe had multiple colors. This is a picture of the 47 P15 speedo in pieces. Had to clean out the old dried grease. I got this one off the internet. The one that was in the car had a broken speed cup and needle. It's repairable but I couldn't find the parts.

One of the things I found on the 47 P15 was dirt dobber nests. Many of the honey comb openings were plugged with dirt. When replacing the water pump I removed the radiator and cleaned the dirt out of the honey combs. There was a lot of dirt. Used a light from behind to check that everything was clean. I lucked out with this car. One of the last things I did when I was looking at it was to remove the radiator cap and look inside. I saw clean clear green fluid. At that point I turned to the guy and said "I'll take it". Pretty sure the dirt was the main problem on this car. It was starting to get a little over 190. Now with a NOS 180 thermostat it runs 180 to 185.

WOW $9.85 was probably two or three days pay back then. If I see one of those I'll pick it up also. Fun display piece at cruise night.

The portable end lift I have and am getting have a large foot print. One of the largest. That's why I spent the extra cash for the Walker twin cylinder 7 ton machine. Much larger foot print than a two post lift. I would prefer a four post lift but there just isn't room. http://www.phjjacks.com/merchant/graphics/00000001/w-W93692.jpg

I was going to install a two post lift in the shop. But it turns out that the concrete is not thick enough to be safe. I have been using a 7 ton Walker pneumatic end lift to pick up the front of the car and a smaller hydraulic lift to pick up the rear of the car. The hydraulic lift doesn't go very high and it doesn't have stops. Been using a 4X6 under the forks of the smaller lift as a stop to make it safe. Yesterday I ordered a reconditioned 7 ton Walker pneumatic end lift. With the pair I will be able to get the car about four feet off the ground. Way over kill with the pair of 7 ton lifts but I wanted something that is really sturdy if I'm going to be under the car pulling the transmission. I guess these could be used on the side of the car like a two post lift. They are portable. But at almost 600 pounds each I'm sure I'll be cussing it when it needs to be moved. The picture is the old lift I'm using now. It needs a rebuild but I'll do that later.

Here is one more thing to consider. A new station opened in town that sells alcohol free fuel. I tried it in the 47 P15 and the old Jeep. They both run better on the alcohol free fuel. Tried the alcohol free fuel before I adjusted the valves. Had more power but still idled lumpy. Then after the valve adjustment it runs like I remember them running when I was a kid. The flat 6 can be idled down so low you can almost count the hits. But that was just for fun - then I took it back up to the correct idle.

I fixed the voltage regulator and generator problem on the 47 P15 with a 6 volt positive ground alternator. Not original but it cost less and works better.

It could be a vacuum leak. The base of these old carbs can warp and create an air leak. Check with a straight edge. It can be fixed by filing or sanding it flat again. The 47 P15 had a similar idling issue. It would idle smooth and then get lumpy. Lumpy is a good description. Blip the throttle and after a minute it would get lumpy again. Turned out to be a valve adjustment problem. Got the valves adjusted and now it idles very smooth and has more power. At 10000 miles on your rebuilt engine may need the valves adjusted.

Congratulations on your decision. I have always been a fan of "Work to live - not - Live to work". Although there were times when I got up at 3:30 in the morning and didn't get back home till 8pm. You turn into a zombie after a few weeks working those kinds of hours. But the plant blew up and we had to get it back on line. Left that job after we got the plant running again. Didn't want to do that again. Made it through all those crazy times and I'm retired now. Being retired is the best job I have had so far.

This is what showed up on my account. Apple,com 866-712-7753 I thought it was a random thing. Then I looked it up on line and turns out this is a common scam. And it's been going on for years. You would think that THEY would track it down and stop it. Who ever THEY is. It is supposed to look like an iTunes charge. And you just think someone with access to the card purchased a song or songs. Some people have had this charge coming out of their accounts for a long time.

It's always a different made up name. The last time this happened it was for 22 dollars. Went to the bank and they called the number that was on the charge. It was someone's personal voice mail. I suspect that the info is taken at a restaurant when they take the card away to pay the bill. Used to always pay cash but now I use a card so I can keep track of everything I spend.

I'm probably just old fashioned. But I have never paid for an app. And yet for the third time a recuring 1.99 fee for an app has shown up on my checking account. I always get it removed and replace the card. I'm sure many people have several app fees coming out of their accounts and probably wouldn't notice an extra one. All that said - I do use an app (supplied by the bank) on a regular basis to check my accounts. That way I can catch stuff like this. I use a separate account to buy stuff and pay bills. Only a small amount is kept in this account and that way if they do get into it they will only get that small amount. If they get 1.99 coming out of enough accounts per month that could add up quick. Check your accounts.

The pressure I have now is about 95 pounds in each cylinder. I'm at about 400 feet above sea level, That's not bad for a 48 year old engine. The guy I bought the car from said this engine probably only had 10 to 15 thousand miles on it. That was his guess because the speedo didn't work when I got the car.

The 47 P15 is in my shop for a few projects. Valve adjustment, replace the intake manifold and replace the rear main seal. Got the valves adjusted and the intake replaced but I think I will hold off on the rear main. Not sure what type rear seal this engine has but I don't want to dig that deep right now. So I'll do that later. Adjusting the valves has made a huge difference in how it runs. They were way off - probably haven't been adjusted since that engine was put in the car in 1974. The engine used to spit and spudder a little at idle. Now it purrs. Some of the exhaust was as high as 18 thousandths and the intake was up to 16. Made a lot of noise - now it's smooth and quiet. After the valves were adjusted I decided to do a compression check before the spark plugs were put back in. Grabbed the HF compression check kit and went for it. First cylinder came up at 60 pounds. My heart sank. Could I have adjusted the valves wrong? Is there a burnt valve? It could happen. So I went to #2. It came up 60 pounds also. OK one cylinder going bad is possible but two going bad with the same low pressure is not likely. So I dug around in my old tools and found the old compression tester. The one with the rubber tip that you have to stand on top of to get a good reading. Turns out the compression is good and the almost new HF kit has gone bad. Time for a new tool. Going to look into getting a lift for the shop. Rolling around under the car on a creeper is getting harder as I get older. But I really enjoy working on this old car so I'll keep trying. I'll consider doing the rear main if I get a lift.

Running great when parked

When I bought the P15 they were asking 5 thousand for it. I offered 3 thousand and they took it. All the parts were there. I probably should have offered 2 thousand. The engine, transmission and suspension were good. Brakes, wiring, fuel and ignition systems all had to be replaced or rebuilt. There was more. Ended up spending about three thousand on parts. I did all the work. But I'm not complaining because I enjoy working on these old cars. It's a hobby. As stated above don't plan on making money off it. I take great pride knowing that I saved another old car and got it back on the road. The other day I took the P15 to the parts store. When I stopped at a red light the guy next to me looked over and said "It's not every day that something like that pulls up next to you" and then he started asking questions. Made my day and it happens all the time. The project I'm starting today will be to replace the rear main seal. Gona wear old clothes for that one. Take your time and enjoy the projects. If you get frustrated then walk away and work on it later. Remember that you don't have to drive it to work tomorrow. Lots of info and help here.

Check to make sure the engine turns over. I can see in one of the pictures that the oil pan is missing. You should crawl under there to check if there is any surface rust on the cylinder walls. Depending on the price - I would grab that project in a heartbeat. Have fun with it.

I want to say thanks to allbizz49 for giving me his spare intake manifold. Mine was damaged while trying to fix an exhaust leak when I first got the P15. Thank You allbizz49

i'm going to need a new scope. This one got crushed when I lowered the lift with the P15 on it. Needed a better one anyway. Better a cheap tool than a finger.