49WINDS

Stargrinder - I checked what model of Pertronix I bought and it was the 2563LSP6, which may just be different since we have different distributors, but the important part is that they are both meant for positive 6V systems (the "P6" in the name). I do have the same 40011 coil as you so I imagine it should still wire up the same. I just took some pics of what it looks like in there now-the circuit breaker/junction block on my car is on the fender for some reason but it looks like they still have the same wiring layout. I suppose you could hook up the resistor anywhere on the wire that comes from the solenoid on the transmission, the hardest part may be just finding it elsewhere lol. Another thing to be sure to check once you get it all running is your idle speed. I don't have a way to measure it so I just went by the sound of the engine. When I went for a test drive it would not up shift at all and I was worried I burned something up. After overthinking it way too much I finally turned down the idle and it worked perfectly after that. I do have a cheap timing light so I was about to roughly set the timing to probably 5 to 10 degrees BTDC. The factory specs state it should be right at 0 but I've read in numerous other posts that with today's better gas you can advance the timing and get a little better performance out of it. Hope these pictures help and don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions! Edit-I just remembered after looking at theses pictures: be sure you get plug wires with some sort of radio suppression! The normal OEM wires are not shielded which doesn't matter with points, but with this electronic ignition it can cause interference. Also on that last picture the labeling I put may be confusing. Where it says "Interrupt to ignition" doesn't mean that's the actual ignition wire. It's just the wire that goes to the coil. Your junction block isn't covered in paint like mine is so you can see the top right where it says "IGN" is that wire.

I took the Pertronix plunge a few months ago, and while it was definitely confusing at first-I am very happy with the end results. I was lucky enough to get some tips from a fellow member on this site who had done the conversion himself. If you go to this post: you will see the diagram he provided, as well as several pictures of the steps I went through. The instructions don't state it but you do have to modify the points mounting plate in order to bolt on the sensor. For me I had to take off the small offset screw that was used to adjust the points before. Also, if you don't have the fluid-drive transmission then you don't need to worry about the resistor. If you do have it though you'll see in my posts there was also a mention of where to purchase such a resistor. I can try and take some more pics later to put them on here if it might help you. Edit: Also-my wires were taped up and different colors of wires had been spliced in at one point so I had no idea which one was the ignition wire either. The best way is to get a VOM or test light and figure out which wire gets 6V when you turn the key on. That then is your ignition wire, and the other wire (if you have fluid-drive) is the ground wire that temporarily shorts out the ignition so it can let the transmission shift.

Yes I was following the manual to a T. I actually had to bend the mounting bracket out a little bit to even get the band over the drum. It was still so big that I couldn't even get the nut on the other adjusting bolt that attaches to the brake cable. Either way I sent that band back and will try ordering one from a different supplier, fingers crossed that I'll have better luck the second time! I'll be sure to post an update when I finally get it all put back together.

When I replaced the exhaust manifold gaskets on my Windsor this summer (and didn't know that some of the bolts went into the coolant passages lol) I tried the drain the block of coolant and had the same problem as you. It wasn't quite like cement but I did have to poke a screwdriver around in there quite a bit before it started spurting out some pretty gross brown sludge. I bought a bottle of flush and ran it through a few driving cycles over 3 days before draining it again and rinsing it the best I could with the garden hose. I think the engine has been worked on at some point in it's life because the paint on it looks to be fairly new, or at least not 70 years old, but I have no idea when and what was done. All I do know is for now it runs great and stays a constant temperature so I have no reason to pull it apart quite yet. Also-that's so awesome that your wife supports your hobby like that! I love seeing all your great pictures and videos too!

Thanks! I'm trying to keep it as original as possible. She was pretty well taken care of for most of her life but hasn't gotten much love the past 10-15 years. I'm enjoying trying to get everything roadworthy again and love all that I've learned here so far!

They don't list prices on their websites but maybe try giving Andy Bernbaum Auto Parts (617-244-1118) or Mopar Mall (951-461-9005) a call. I'm sure you're already beginning to see the challenge of finding parts and not paying an arm and a leg for these old cars, but they sure are fun to bring back to life! You came to the right place to get a huge wealth of knowledge and experience though, I've been helped numerous times already and I'm sure you will too. Have fun fixing up your car!

I too had wondered the same thing, but the problem is this new band is so thick that I can't get the long bolt that actuates it all the way through. I would think if the drum were too small then I would have the opposite problem where I couldn't get the band tight enough.

Thanks Andy, I called AB back about the band and they claim that is the only one they show as available for my car, plus they went and checked the thickness of a few other ones and said they all looked to be about the same. So now I'm sitting here wondering if I should try and find a way to grind this band down, or return it to AB and look for one from another store. Any thoughts on how to proceed?

Got an update to my attempted repairs so far: a friend was able to machine the drum down (after me not being able to find any brake shops that would even want to touch the thing) and I was pleasantly surprised to see he got it completely smoothed out! Now my next problem is I can't get the new brake band I got from AB to tighten up enough to be able to bolt everything back up to it. I could tell the lining looked way way thicker than my old one, and I thought that was a good thing until now. My service manual states the lining should be 5/32" but from what I can tell this new one is at least 8 to 9/32". Are these meant to be filed back down to the correct size or is it possible that AB gave me the wrong part?

I've been working through similar struggles on my 49 Chrysler, mine was missing the adjuster bolt that goes on the passenger side of the transmission and that bolt was a 5/32 x 16. However if I'm right I think the adjusting screw you are referring to is the longer one that bolts up on the open side of the brake band? I don't have that measurements on that one but I bet someone in this forum will probably be able to chime in with that. I can't tell what that bracket goes to in your picture, but I can tell you that you can unbolt the whole assembly without worrying about losing gear oil as I just took my entire unit apart this last week. Best of luck to you in getting your parking brake working!

I agree with Tod and Keith, if you get the factory drum brakes set up correctly then they may surprise you how well they can work! I acquired my 49 Windsor earlier this year and instantly started looking at a disc conversion as well. After seeing the cost and amount of work it would take, plus seeing advice on forums like this, I decided to stick with just replacing the shoes,wheel cylinders, & master cylinder. At first I was highly disappointed with how they worked when I put everything back together, but I didn't know how important it was to set them up concentric to the axles. Once I was able to get that straightened out the brakes work great and I can even lock up the wheels if I push hard enough! I guess it all comes down to it you're just going to drive these cars as what they were built for, or if you're more looking to put in a bigger engine for more power/speed/etc and would then need better stopping power. Either way, this forum has a great wealth of knowledge and I'm sure you'll get whatever help you need in working on your car.

Duly noted - apologies if I looked like I was trying to request parts here. Richard did send me a PM after the fact so I think he got your message too.

I have no idea but I will certainly do some research and let you know! Do you have an extra one for sale I'm guessing?

Thanks Rich, I like the idea of having a spare as well. Plus that way I could try and use that time to find a new drum also and then maybe be able to swap in a whole properly working unit.

I see the replacement lining on Bernbaum's are available for around $40 or the whole band for $65 which seems like a decent price. They also claim to sell the drum too so I may reach out to them and see if the pricing sounds fair. Moparmall.com sells them as well but for almost $200. Rich- my email is apmattern@gmail.com Thanks for your help!

I have the same setup on my 49 Windsor and I tried pulling it out recently because it started leaking coolant into the cab. I thought the copper wire coming off it was some sort of ground wire and even though I was trying to be careful with it, I ended up breaking it while pulling the valve out. What Keith said about that time having ether in it makes sense because oh boy did it smell awful when I broke it apart! I had found another site that claims to offer a rebuild service for the factory unit but the price is still pretty up there. https://www.moparmall.com/MoPar-PN-1369742-Heater-Valve-p/816-288r.htm It doesn't get brutally cold here in Colorado so I'm not too worried about having a fully functional control valve, and while I'd like to try and keep the operation of it as it was meant to be I have a hard time justifying spending $200+ on such a novel comfort item. I've seen other mentions in this forum of people adapting similar valves off of newer vehicles with decent results. Just haven't found the exact part that would work though.

Thanks for the input so far, I had also wondered if it would be feasible to try and turn the drum. I also think I had seen someone selling drums (like Andy Bernbaum) but I don't remember if they showed a price. Either way I think I may just try to replace the band and see how it goes from there. I agree with with Tod said about it probably would work ok in the meantime, and honestly anything would probably work better than it does right now.

In my attempts to try and get the parking brake to actually hold on my car, I found that the band has been worn down to the rivets as a result of never being set up correctly. I also found that the drum has some pretty decent grooves worn into it which is no big surprise. I figured I could just go to the junkyard and try to pull one off the car I'd been finding some good pieces off of, but it turns out they crushed it!! I was sad and angry at the same time, how could they just crush something so rare and that was still in decent shape?! So now I'm left with trying to decide if it's worth trying to get another drum, or if it will work ok to just get a new band. I tried to show the grooves in the attached picture, any thoughts?

From everything that I have read it seems that those intake/exhaust manifolds make a pretty big difference on even a stock engine. If I had the chance I would buy that in a heartbeat. No idea on what it's worth but if the person selling it doesn't know how rare it is you may be able to get it for a decent price.

Hopefully you still have the main parts of it under there. The only reason I chose to replace the whole thing was because the handle appears to be riveted on and I was lucky enough to find an intact one in a junkyard. If you need more pictures of it just let me know.

Are you looking for this assembly? I just replaced mine today with one I got out of the junkyard because the handle on mine had broken off. I still have the old one and you're welcome to it, just need to find out if it's the same design for your '53 as it is my '49

I had a hard time finding it but eventually came across some online from O'reilly's. https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b/non-california-4604/chemicals---fluids-16461/oil-16865/motor-oil---conventional-25267/2673028dc6c2/pure-guard-non-california-motor-oil-10w-1-quart/nd10qt/6319898/ When I drained the old stuff I could tell by the smell that it was definitely standard gear oil and not motor oil. Chances are you'll notice the same with yours.

Maybe something in the driveshaft or diff binding up?

Thanks James, good to know that I have the option to use older distributors if needed. And those charts could definitely come in handy too. I actually was able to get my stock distributor back up and running with the parts I got from the spare from the junkyard. The pertronix works great too so it was worth the investment for sure! To be honest I probably could've had it running much better by just replacing the wires and coil, as the wires looked like a kindergartner put the terminals on and I'm pretty sure the coil was bad because it was misfiring like crazy once it warmed up. Either way it's good to have all new parts on and hopefully have one less thing to worry about maintaining. Best of luck to you whenever you get around to installing your sets! Anton

Finally finished installing the pertronix parts as well as new plugs/wires/etc and the car runs like a dream now! I did have a little problem with it not shifting up and I started overthinking everything and checking all the wiring and switches. Every post I read on here about shifting problems with a fluid drive said to check idle-and I know the idle speed was a lot higher once I put in a properly working distributor. I don't have a tach or any way to see the RPM so I was just going off sound and how smooth it ran. I thought I had it low enough, but once I lowered it a little bit more the car shifted like normal again. Always check the easy stuff first I guess! That's one more thing I can scratch off my to-do list...except now I noticed my heater control valve is leaking inside the cab. Oh well, at least there's something to keep me busy! I wanted to thank everyone again for all your help, this is a great forum and I'm loving learning so much about these old Mopars.