DonaldSmith

It'll buff out? (Edit:) Or dip it in CLR?

It sure looks like a 1950 Dodge, from the rear fenders. The '49 Mopars have the tail lights on the fender seams. and the trunk seems to stick out. The '50s and later have the fenders extended back past the trunk, and the lights are on the ends of the fenders. (My dad had a '50 DeSoto.) I didn't check front grilles. Other threads have discussed the practices of various states on the registrations. Cars manufactured in 1949 would be registered as 1949, even if they were the new '50 models. Feuden Wagon, be sure to check your serial numbers when ordering parts. You may have a '50. (Serial numbers are another topic, engine vs door post.) Oh, and welcome to the forum. Lots of good info here, and some laughs from time to time.

I noticed the wood-grain panels on the doors of the Chrysler barrel-back, and the wood-grain garnish moldings. The panels may have been an early plastic laminate by Bakelite. Mine are. I couldn't see if the open trunk has the formed panels. So I see the heritage of my Suburban. I wonder if any station wagons had the Bakelite panels? I suppose the typical woodies have real wood door panels.

I second the emotion. Cut back the base, not the screw. Pertronix said to remove the screw, but it wouldn't come out. in my frustration, I attacked the screw it with the Dremel. I left enough screw to allow reinstallation of the points.

My wiring diagram also shows the PRI going to the positive side. Hmmmm. Of course! Conventional ignition system: Ignition circuit to the (-) pole of the coil - "Hot"always on. Ground circuit through the points back through the block to the (+) post of the battery- circuit intermittent with the distributor lobes. Points break, coil fires. Pertronix: Ground to the (+) positive pole of the coil - always grounded - negative from ignition circuit, black wire interrupted by igniter, to white-black wire to the (-) post of the coil. Igniter breaks he circuit, coil fires. So, the Pertronix is the opposite of the conventional.

Here are photos of my installation, 6-volt, positive ground. Ignitor in distributor: Remove the points, condenser and wires. The eccentric screw (to the right of the igniter) interferes with the igniter. Cut back the igniter base or the screw. The igniter has two little studs that fit in the screw holes for the points. The two igniter wires have to fit where the one wire came in. I cut out part of the grommet for the wires. The black wire goes back to the ignition switch. The white wire goes to the negative (-) post of the coil. The positive (+) post has a wire going to chassis ground or battery (+) post. Now, I have the M-5 semi-automatic transmission, so I was concerned with providing the ignition interruption for the shifting. I called Pertronix. They said, put a 7-ohm, 5-watt resister in the circuit from the PRI (primary) contact of the transmission relay to the negative (-) post of the coil. this shorts out the ignition for the shifting, without frying the igniter. I found a 7-ohm, 12.5 watt resistor from Mouser Electronics, an RH0107R000FC02, 3 bucks plus 7 bucks for shipping. I checked with Pertronix and they said that 12.5 watt would be OK. So I have two wires coming out of the distributor, the black to ignition and the white-black to the (-) post of the coil. I have two wires to the (-) post of the coil, the white-black wire from the igniter in the distributor, and the wire from the 7-ohm resistor in the circuit back to the PRI post of the transmission relay. I have one wire from the (+) post of the coil to ground. A picture is worth a thousand words, but some photos need a few words to explain what's going on. The (+) post to the left at the top has one wire to ground. The (-) post has the thin white-black wire from the igniter and the wire to the resistor and transmission relay. The resistor is mounted on the frame, on a heat sink. Below the coil the thin black wire to ignition is somewhat visible. (My photo got rotated from the position I wanted, sort of looking over the fender. I hate it when that happens.)

I'll have to go out to my car (hibernating in the garage) to see how I hooked up my Pertronix wiring. Stay tuned.

With 3D printers, could a part be scanned and a model be made, for casting a new part? Of course, this is way beyond my expertise or budget. Jay Leno could probably get it done. I saw an episode where he was showing a 3D printer at work. One can dream.

Several years ago I bought car and boat carpet from a local flooring store. The carpet matched the brown hogshair carpeting in my car. The price was reasonable. Somewhere in ancient history is my posting on it. Maybe search "hogshair" and see what comes up.

I made a foamboard template per the PDF I got from Resources, Downloads, Categories, Tools, overspring-tool.pdf. Good through 1949 first series. The PDF is a top and side view. I made the "bend" by splicing a few layers of foam board. It worked slick. overspring_tool.pdf Edit: I just looked at my old print of the tool from 2005. I had noted that it is a "developed" elevation. Cut out the template and then bend it. The drawing shows the beginning and end of the bend. In the elevation. the bottom, pointy end is closer, and the top is farther away. The side view shows the offset.

My 2011 Buick Enclave has the battery under the floor in front of the right middle seat. The battery had a vent tube to release any hydrogen to the exterior. (Charging the battery releases hydrogen from the water in the battery. I think the oxygen combines with the sulfate on the plates to reconstitute sulfuric acid.)

If the points don't point so good, maybe the spark won't spark so good. There was a recent thread about cars that "ran when parked" but a few months later wouldn't start. Cleaning the points with a file was the cure. (Not sandpaper, which could leave an abrasive residue.) I guess if the points are open when the car is parked, they could get some corrosion. Filing the points is less work than swapping coils.

Here's an exploded view: 281 transmission control, exploded.pdf

It's got a flathead 6. Must have been before the Chrysler V8s got down to the Plymouths.

Drywall in a garage? Probably insulated, too. Probably a heater, and toasty warm. And a pay phone. So that's where all the old pay phones went.

I installed an oil pressure safety switch to the block by the oil filler tube, and connected it to my electric fuel pump. Same idea, engine not running, pump not running. Of course I had to get fancy, so I wired the safety switch to my special double-throw, McMaster-Carr fuel pump switch, so that the safety switch controlled the constant-on side but not the intermittent-on side. So I could pump up the fuel bowl before starting the engine. Also, I connected the safety switch to the starter solenoid post that powers the Sisson choke, so the pump would run while the engine was cranking. Slick, huh? But then something shorted out and fried the wire to the solenoid, and a few wires under the dashboard. (Major troubleshoot and rewire.) So, maybe an inertial switch would have been much better. Everything runs until the car gets bumped. Years ago, our daughter had been visiting us with her infant daughter, and headed home first thing in the morning. My wife went to work, but for some reason I was extremely tired, and lay back in the recliner for a few moments, contemplating going to work, eventually. Then my daughter called from a borrowed cell phone. She was at her car on the side of the expressway, after a minor bump from another car. Her car would barely start and would not continue running. I knew from my previous experiences with Ford products that there was an inertial switch in the trunk. I met her at the shoulder of the expressway, reset the switch, and off she went, with the baby still sleeping in her car seat. Why was I so tired that particular morning that I had to lie back for a while? (Play the Twilight Zone theme...)

I am sure that there was no intended connection between eating and getting intestinal gas, in the minds of the owners. (On this side of the pond we call the automotive fuel "gas" rather than "petrol', "essence", "benzina", etc. But I am sure that most travelers, especially the most juvenile, would instantly see a causal relationship between the two. "Hey dad, eat and get gas. Get it?" I have seen similar declarations at establishments that also purveyed fishing bait: "EAT ... GAS ... WORMS."

Here's an oldie but goodie for the choke adjustment: 2004, 06/14 Frank McMullen, How to adjust the Sisson electric choke, Chrysler products 1935 -mid-'50s... Modern auto choke, thermostatic spring, closes FULLY when engine is cold (depress the accelerator fully to floor once, then release - allows choke and fast-idle cam to "set"); then when the engine starts, a vacuum piston or pull-off diaphragm opens choke part-way to pre-determined setting, providing a suitable mixture for the engine to run on as it's warming-up. As engine & manifold heat-up, choke thermostat spring relaxes, until choke is wide open. Now, here's where the flat-head MoPar system is different: when correctly adjusted, the thermostat spring in the choke housing down on the manifold closes the choke valve just PART-WAY with a cold engine. There is a wire running from the choke housing over to the starter relay: this wire energizes the choke electromagnet when the starter is operated...this FULLY closes the choke when starting the cold engine. When the engine fires, and you release the starter button, the electromagnet is de-energized ,and releases the choke back to that part-way warm-up position. From then on, the operation is just like the "modern" auto-choke: as the engine warms-up, that thermostat spring relaxes, and the choke opens. Most folks misunderstand how the Chrysler choke operates, and they adjust the arm on the choke unit so that the t-stat spring closes the choke fully...then the car is way over-choked, runs awful and belches black smoke until it warms-up. (Aw heck...I'm this far along...) Correct adjustment is obtained thus: Remove the air cleaner from the carb. On the choke unit mounted on the manifold - on the side opposite the operating lever, the choke shaft sticks-out of the housing a bit...you will notice a hole drilled through the choke shaft...find a drill bit that just fits through that hole (shank-end first) - this will probably be a 3/32" or 1/8" drill...you will also notice a notch in the choke stat case which the hole in the shaft will line-up with. Disconnect the choke link rod from the operating arm of the choke unit...move the arm as required until you can insert the drill through the choke shaft until it engages a notch in the bottom of the choke unit housing. Next, close the choke butterfly via the rod which you disconnected from the choke stat arm...(you may have to open the throttle slightly to allow the fast-idle cam to move and the choke to fully close). Now, with the drill in place, and the choke butterfly held fully closed , the end of the choke rod should line right up with the hole in the end of the choke arm. If it does not line-up, loosen the pinch-bolt where the arm fastens to the shaft and move it as required to line-up with the rod. (use some Kroil, PB Blaster, or other penetrating oil on that pinch bolt before you try to loosen it; a good quality six-point socket will help prevent rounding the head on this little bolt.). Once the hole is aligned with the end of the choke rod, reconnect the rod, tighten the pinch bolt, and remove the drill bit from the shaft. If the engine is cold, when you remove the drill bit ,the choke should open-up to about half-choke. If you have a helper, have them operate the starter while you watch the choke magnet from under the hood: when the starter is operated, you should see the electric choke arm move upward and close the choke butterfly fully.

If you pull the cable out into the interior of the car, be careful. The cable may be coated with grease, graphite, or other nasty stuff for an interior. Keep the cable from touching anything nice.

I would put my money on the tanks splitting. They were designed to resist pressures, plus appropriate safety factors, for the internal gas, and for being banged around. They were never designed to create a different kind of ice. Stay tuned. Let us know what happens.

Expansion rate of water changing to ice? Force of ice if restrained while freezing? I don't know. But if the walls were thick enough, they wouldn't split. Would the water not freeze if it can't expand? Can ice be compressed without melting? Inquiring minds want to know. Update: Someone really smart says: ... there are forms of ice that do not have to expand 9% when they freeze, but they only happen at very high pressures or very low temperatures. ... (Such ice) actually shrinks when it freezes rather than expanding because the molecules of water arrange themselves differently in the ice. So maybe the tank won't split.

"Over yonder" = "Way back when", rather than "Way far away"?

Chit! In that case, in our neck of the woods, Gratiot Avenue would be pronounced "Grass-chit".

1956 model year changed from 6 volts to 12 volts. So, not the same starter. Not sure if the business end would be the same. Try taking the starter to a local auto electric repair shop. Find a greasy hole in the wall that's been there forever, and maybe also fixes trucks.

I've heard of U.S. GIs in England running into trouble with their Jeeps. That keep-to-the-right ingrained habit is tough to beat.