Wes Flippen

Here's a color coded wiring diagram for a '50 coronet if it helps. Wes Coronet Wiring Diagram-Flattened.pdf

Had a nice lady approach me while I was at the Dollar General in the Coronet, asking about my car. One of the first questions she asked was about gas mileage. Told her I thought it was around the 13-14 mpg area, but you really couldn't let thing like that bother you when driving a classic.

If I was a betting man, I'd say your distributer is 180 degrees out. When this happens, you'll still get spark, just not at the correct time. Will drive you crazy, and an easy thing to do. Don't ask me how I know. ?

If you end up needing to sand them yourself, I sanded on a bench sander using 100 grit until the drum would just slide on. After that, I used double sided tape and taped 100 grit sandpaper to the inside of the drum and rotated the drum on the brake shoe to match the arc to the drum. May not be the best way to do it, but it worked for me.

I had the same problem when I replaced my brake shoes. Sanded `em down on the bench sander. Probably not the proper way to do it, but it worked. Just make sure you only do a little at a time and do it evenly. Wes

Installed the 19" Derale fan. Huge difference! Much quieter and moves more air than the fan that came with the radiator. As a side note, I found the Derale fan on ebay for $52.00. Seller said it rattled when turning, so he had never installed it. Since these fans are usually North of $150.00, I took a chance. Turned out that the spring washer on the shift had been installed backwards, once I turned it around and installed it correctly, it ran quiet and smooth as silk. Score one up for Wes! Wes

Thanks Sniper, I'll try the Darale fan. The one that came with the radiator moves a ton of air, but sounds like a jet engine.

Recently finished an in car engine overhaul (pistons, rings, valves, guides, and rod bearings). Good news is that compression went from 80 to 130 average for each cylinder, but car has been running hot. I suspect I have the timing advanced too far, but I noticed that the radiation had developed some small leaks. Rather than deal with repairing a 71 year old radiator, I installed an aluminum radiator with an electric fan. Not enough clearance to install fan on the engine side, so installed it in front, behind the grill. Anyone had any experience with this setup? Also, fan is LOUD! Anyone have a suggestion on a reasonably quiet electric fan setup? It's on a 1950 Coronet, 12 volt, negative ground. Thanks, Wes

Installed a Sisson choke on my Coronet about a month ago. Works much better than the manual that was on it. My carb didn't have the lower linkage needed to properly install the manual choke. Was connected at the upper linkage and due to the air cleaner, the cable came in at an odd angle. Kept jamming either fully open or closed. Wes

The one that went from West TN and on into Bowling Green passed about 2 miles North of my place. Destroyed several houses, but only minor injuries in our area. Wes

Just in case anyone finds this useful. Wes Coronet Wiring Diagram-Flattened.pdf

Took my Coronet out for a short run yesterday. More of a test drive after ring and valve job. Still trying to dial everything in. Got a little warm. Gotta feeling it needs the timing tweaked a bit.

One idea is to do what I did, assuming you have a clock for your car that doesn't work. Bought a cheap battery clock that uses a AA battery. Gutted the clock and used the mechanism out of the battery operated clock. From the exterior, you can't tell the difference, and only need to change the battery about once a year or so. Wes

Loren, As an electrician, I know all about test lights, though I prefer to use a multi-meter. When I first got this car, I upgraded (or downgraded, in some peoples opinion) to a pertronix module, as I was having issues with the points. Ran fine with the module for several months. I'm getting fire, just can't roll the distributer far enough advanced to get to 6 degrees BTC, which is the sweet spot. May have worn out bearings causing play in the distributor. I dunno. Mainly just wondering if anyone on here had run into this issue, and what they had to do to remedy it. I do appreciate the advice however.

I'll give maddmax's method a go. I'll let you guys know. Thanks, Wes.

Have adjusted both adjustments. The one on the side of the dist. and the one on the back. Never pulled the Cam, oil pump, or distributor. Had issues trying to adjust timing when I first got this car a couple of years ago. Had to roll the distributer all the way counterclockwise with the rear adjuster. Mainly just wondering if any one else has run into this and what did you do to fix it.

Also; yep, the rotor is pointed at 7:00 o'clock when #1 cylinder is at TDC.

Recently finished an in car engine re-build on my '50 Coronet L-230. New pistons and rings. Ground and lapped the valve seats. New valves and guides. Compression in eache cylinder went from about 70 psi each to 125 each, so I'll count that as a win. Did not mess with the distributor at all. Turned the key, and engine rolled over, but no start. Accelerator pump working fine and getting fuel to the carb so tried adjusting timing. At full mechanical advance on the front and rear adjustments, I could get the car to start. Starting was hard and car ran very rough. Backed off the timing and no start, but backfired through carb. ( yeah, I know it's not technically a backfire when it blows through the carb.). Tried moving plug wires back one place on the cap and adjusting the distributor, but no dice. Any suggestions? Thanks, Wes

I had the same issue with my '50 Coronet. Idled smooth as silk. Stumbled under load. Decided I didn't want to be constantly adjusting points and installed a Pertronix unit. That took care of stumbling problems and ran great. (Now I just gotta finish the rebuild that I later decided was in order due to oil blow-by)

Check e-bay. There's usually quite a few old Mopar blank keys on there.

Keith, Just finished an in-car overhaul on my '50 Coronet. I don't envy you replacing the valve guides. That was the absolute biggest pain in the *$$ part of the whole process. Guides that have been in a block for 70 years don't seem to want to leave their home. But after a LOT of swearing and finding a Bishman 810 Valve Guide Remover tool on e-bay, I got 'em out. Had to drill them first, then used a length of stainless 5/16 all-thread to replace the steel bolt on the tool, as the pressure ripped the threads off the steel bolts long before the guide let go. Wes

Got it. Seems as if I had swapped the caps for the #1 and #6 rods. Must have been just enough wear difference in the bearings to cause binding. Spins okay now.

I re-installed the existing rods and bearings, as they showed no appreciable wear. I numbered everything when I took them out, but that's not to say I didn't get one swapped by mistake. Cleaned and lubed the bearings when I re-installed.

Checked gaps, They were actually about .002 over spec, so I didn't gap any more. Pistons went into cylinders fairly easy, just light taps with hammer handle. Crank got more difficult to turn as each piston was installed. After the second piston, I could no longer turn it with the fan. I guess my next course of action is to remove the rod caps and check that the bearings are all properly in place. May just try bumping it with the starter to see if it'll turn over.

Just did an in engine overhaul. Valves, guides, pistons and rings. Used standard size pistons and rings. Torqued rod caps to 50 ft lbs per manual. Engine seems really tight now. Even with the head still off, I had to use a 3 ft breaker bar on the crank shaft to get it to spin. Used assembly lube for new valves and wrist pins and dipped pistons in oil before installing. Any thoughts? Wes