Kilgore47

That sounds like valve adjustment. The P15 did the same thing. After adjusting the valves it was fine.

I think this has been mentioned. In the dark, start the car - open the hood and look for sparks coming from the plug wires. And adjusting the valves should be done. 12 thousand miles on a new engine - it's time.

If those spark plug wires have been on the car for the 10 years you have owned it then it's probably time to replace them.

Adjusting the valves while the engine is hot is probably the most accurate way to do it. But I was too chicken to do that. Burned hands and face while working that close to the hot exhaust manifold wasn't something I wanted to try. I removed the manifolds and adjusted the valves on a cold engine. That's a little extreme but I was replacing the intake manifold and it was a good time to adjust the valves with everything out of the way. The valves can be adjusted with the manifolds on and if I ever have to do it again that's the way I'll do it. On a cold engine. Just make sure you use the cold clearance settings for your engine.

Your problem does sound fuel related. But when I got the P15 it did the same thing. Sitting at a light it would start running rough. Blip the throttle and it would run smooth for a few seconds and then go back to running rough. I went through the fuel and ignition systems and it still did the same thing. The engine had about ten thousand miles on it per the PO. The valves needed to be adjusted because I could hear them under the hood clacking away like an old sewing machine. Finally got around to adjusting the valves and the rough idle went away. If your valves are talking to you then that's another path you could consider.

First thing is to put air in that low tire. Then gravity will be equal. ? If I make it to the P15 today I'll try to get a picture.

It looks like there are plenty of threads on the other end of that stud. You could move the stud over and there would be room for the nut.

These carbs are not hard to fix. Many times you can just clean the carb and put it back together without a kit and that will do the trick.

I was helping a friend move some stuff around and noticed these on a shelf. I thought they were bolt cutters. Turns out they are crimpers. As I was looking at them my friend told me I could have them. I hesitated because I didn't think I would ever use them. But it turns out that I can't turn down free old tools. So they are part of my collection now. They will be handy for replacing battery cable ends or making welding cables.

?I thought about adding a few bottles before I took the picture. I let the new owner supply their bottles of choice. Some use wine and some use beer or a combination of both. One of the trees I made is full of old soda bottles. This circle will be delivered next weekend and I'll get to see the bottles they have collected. I have considered making one with metal leaves. It would be nice to have access to a plasma table to cut out all the leaves. That would take forever with my cut off wheel.

A bottle circle. A friend sent a picture of a round bottle tree and asked if I could build one. So I borrowed my neighbor's HF hydraulic jack pipe bender and went to work. Drew a pattern on the concrete floor and started bending. Bend a little - move the pipe about an inch and bend a little more. Bend - move - bend - move. Turned out to be a slow process - but it worked. Ended up making the circle in four sections because I couldn't make a full circle with that type of bender. I need a better pipe bender. Built a base for this one and the circle rotates 360 degrees. It's made out of 1 1/2" sch 40 carbon steel pipe. Might try sch 20 next time. Still have some grinding to do so my ugly welds will look better. Strumming the rods with out the bottles on it makes a wind chime sound. Maybe the next one will be a wind chime. Better pipe bender first. Three hours to bend it instead of three days.

The old flat 6 engines can handle running for hours at a time. If you want to drive at 65 for extended periods you need to keep the engine revs down. Old flat heads are not high revving engines. This can be done with an overdrive transmission or by changing the rear end ring and pinion gears. I have a 1947 P15 and it came with a 3.90 rear gear. At 65 this gear would over rev the engine. I plan on changing that to a 3.54 gear. To keep the revs down on longer runs. And the 3.90 has seen better days. BUT you will want to make sure you have the stopping power to go along with the higher speed. A front disc brake conversion could help with that. The original brakes can work very good if adjusted properly. But adjusting these old brakes is not as easy as it sounds. There is a lot of good info on all these subjects on this site. And many people that will answer all of your questions. Go for it.

You might try this guy. He may have what you're looking for. regulatorroy.net

Looks like some new bolts in there also. They may be too tight.

If you go with an alternator make sure you get the correct pully for the wide belt on your car.

When you get the new plate be sure to clean the points. After sitting around for so long there is probably some residue or corrosion on the contacts.

Yep. Remove the distributor. Much easier to adjust on the bench. I know your on a budget so trying to tap it to a larger size as suggested above would have been my first choice at your age. It's already broke so it's worth a try. I picked up a NOS breaker plate from Vintage Oldtime Garage Auto Parts. These plates come complete with points and condenser. If you get a reproduction plate then be aware that the points will probably not be very high quality. I get points from a local auto parts store and they as close to original as I have been able to find. Made in Mexico. Good luck

I would try replacing the battery first. On the P15 the generator was going bad. The front bearing was shot and the windings looked like they had been really overheated. And I think the VR had been adjusted for an eight volt battery at one time. It was boiling the lead acid battery. So it was cheaper to go with a 6 volt positive ground alternator. No VR required now. Also went with 00 battery cables and an expensive 6 volt sealed battery. The car can sit for months and still turns over faster than it did with the lead acid battery. Not original and not cheep - but - no worries about the charging system now. At car shows I've never had anyone comment on the alternator - they do comment on the big cables. My what big cables you have?

All good suggestions above. I take a picture. Cap off and rotor on so I can remember where it's pointing. Just remember to not turn the engine while the distributor is out.

It's really not that hard. I got in too much of a hurry the first time. My first choice was to have the local glass company install the windshield. But they stopped installing windshields. Many shops have. The tools to adjust the sensors on new cars are too expensive. I used the rope method and silicon spray instead of soap. Having a helper was a must.

I started out with the "not one piece" gasket and ended up cracking one of the new pieces of glass. The local glass company that cut the pieces for me gave me a discount on another new piece. Ended up ordering the one piece Steel Rubber gasket from Bob's classic auto glass for less than Steel sells them. Second time worked and all is good. Sometimes it costs a little more than you think it will.

Whatever you use just make sure it is brass friendly. Some of the modern fluids have additives that will damage the brass in these old transmissions.

Many types of material can be used to replace the cardboard. When I rebuilt the drivers side visor I used brass plate I had laying around. My neighbor used to rebuild industrial pumps and he saved the old brass shields and gave me some of them. Used small brass nuts and bolts to attach it. The cover was good so I was able to re use it. Thought it would be too heavy but it works fine and it will never break again. One day I will have to do the passenger side. Not original but no one will ever see it.

There is a seller on ebay that has reproduction drums for about 100 dollars. Don't know if they have ones for trucks. Wouldn't hurt to check. I haven't bought anything from them but I have the site book marked for reference. Old Parts Source.

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