Chris-R

(N.B. EDITED: Because I didn't know at first what I was looking at until @ratbailey pointed out the obvious in his first response below. Thanks for that!) Anyway, one of the armature wires appears to have let go in a pretty big way, for reasons yet unknown. I've emailed a couple of starter restoration specialists with these pics to see what can be done repair wise, but what's the secondhand spares situation for these things? It has a plate on it saying Chrysler Corporation with part number 868857. It also says Max 4050 next to another number 96224169. Are used examples knocking around, or are we talking hens teeth? I've seen mention elsewhere on the forum that the attached solenoid is very hard to come by, but having stripped and rebuilt my solenoid it looks to be serviceable. ?

I might try an inner tube... I was thinking of trying to put a ring of sealant in there instead as the primary function seems to be waterproofing the bolt apertures, but that always gets messy. Strangely, I've found a rubber boot in my box of bicycle bits that looks as if it will fit, or it could be a boat bit... anyway, fingers crossed!

Here's the plunger end - with missing gaiter.

Evening all... So I've stripped down the switch end of the starter solenoid... now I have questions. 1) The soft black parts have degraded and fallen apart as per the first two pics below - are these simply rubber/plastic washers that have been crushed over the years, and thus can they be replaced with new washers of a correct size? (What size/thickness would that be?) 2) Third pic down is the copper disc that bridges the two terminals to complete the starter circuit when the solenoid fires. Does this look good to go after a clean back to shiny metal? It's a little bit pitted, but not too bad I think... 3) If I clean up all the internals should I put it back together dry, or would it appreciate some sort of electrical-friendly lubricant such as WD40 spray or some sort of grease? It's pretty gungey in there currently suggesting it was lubricated with something. 4) The solenoid plunger (no pic, sorry) itself seems in good condition and slides freely. I'll wipe it over and re-grease it before re-installing, but there's a rubber gaiter missing from that end of solenoid that's supposed to cover the exposed end of the plunger and the shift lever - has anyone any tips on making something up to replace it? (Assuming such things are unavailable from the parts store!) Any other advice that springs to mind, please let me have it. I haven't too much idea what I'm doing here... Thanks!

Then you probably know about Ron Hickman... https://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/ron-hickman-personal-collection-beaulieu/

Why not? It's a terrific table! ?

Thanks for this - some good insights. I may well address the solenoid and - if it spins - put the starter back 'as is' for now. Must overcome the urge to take everything to pieces all at once...

Having said that, the solenoid seems to move very freely when manipulated by hand on the table - leading me to wonder if it was stuck at all... all though on the car it didn't seem to want to move even with current applied directly across the terminals.

So having finally got around to installing my new fuel tank, it's time to get involved with the starter motor. At the very least I have a stuck solenoid, plus what feels like a slipped disc. That thing is heavy... ? Can't say I know what I'm doing, but my plan is to try and fix it on the kitchen table. Any tips or advice would be appreciated before I get stuck in.

Thanks Sam!

Hi, My replacement gas tank came with these two fittings. The smaller brass coloured one winds into a threaded hole on top of the tank - near the cutout for the sender. What's it for? My old Windsor tank doesn't have one... Also, is it fair to assume the tank will have been built with an internal fuel pick-up connected to the threaded hole on the side? I'm hoping the silver one they sent me is surplus to requirements. Final question, should my new cork gasket for the new sender be bedded in with sealant, or does it work on its own?

And that's why I've just bought a small compressor and a couple of spray guns... what could possibly go wrong! ?

Nigel - does the actuating arm on your new pump look the same as your old one? I took the pump out of my '48 Windsor (not sure if it's the original pump) and the actuating arm has a sort of saddle at the end which rides on the cam lobe. All the replacement ones I see don't seem to have this saddle piece. So I guess my question is - will any pump that's described as a 588 fit, even if it looks a bit different in details?

So I just received an email from Tanks Inc confirming their product does fit... contrary to the advice they gave me the other day on the phone when they said it wouldn't. They also advised me to buy it from Summit Racing as they have better shipping rates. https://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/fuel-tanks?fr=part-type&SortBy=BestKeywordMatch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=TNK-48DP-A So I did. With a 6v sending unit and shipping to the UK it came to $438 - although I can expect a $130 duty charge when it lands. If it all works out I'll be happy with that. Fingers crossed...

Hi John, the Mopar Pro would be my choice too, but the kids need shoes... ? In terms of intrinsic value the scratch-built aluminium copy seems the winner by miles - £299 plus VAT seems very reasonable in fact - but my problem now is that if I'm going to be forced to accept non-original, I might as well just bung in an old Land Rover tank from eBay for £40. Another option is to try for a used original one in the US, but I haven't seen what they go for or how many are about. You'd pay the same freight, and a vendor would have to be prepared to sort FedEx etc, but you only pay duty/VAT on the stated value... There's always these guys https://www.stsimports.co.uk/containers/ but you have to wait up to six weeks for a container, and then it takes another four to five weeks - without Covid or a Suez crisis. Not sure how much freight cost you'd save on a fuel tank, but probably good if you need an engine, seats or big panels.

I don't know if you're wrong, but I spoke to someone at Tanks Inc on the phone earlier today because their '41 to '48 product is listed specifically as Dodge and Plymouth but not Chrysler. She told me their product didn't fit the Windsor. The Tanks Inc product is not a repro anyway, in which case I'm not interested in paying a high price. Might as well fit something else which I can source for peanuts here in the UK, and spend my $500 on shipping something else.

I'm already taking the bus... I'm used to it. ? There are a few options emerging, none cheap. This is what I know so far... Vans Auto tank price $345 plus $360 shipping = $705 or £507 plus duty and UK sales tax at circa 25% = £633 delivered Tanks Inc - don't have a bolt-in replacement MoparPro tank price $395 plus $200 shipping = $595 or £428 plus duty and UK sales tax at circa 25% = £535 delivered UK tank refurbishing company - bashed out, blasted, plastic lined and painted (quote "It won't look perfect but it will work") = £485 delivered UK motorsport company - fabricate new tank from scratch in aluminium using my old tank as a template = £380 delivered. I am beginning to think originality sucks in this instance!

Yes, there are all sorts that could be made to fit - maybe something like this LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER CLASSIC V8/EFI 1986-89 FUEL TANK ASSEMBLY. PART- NTC2017 | eBay But I'm not sure how I'd feel about it. ?

I have put out a couple of enquiries to UK repairers and am waiting to hear, but I think the Tanks Inc option could be in hand for around £370 ($500). Not cheap, but given the amount of work required on a refurb... anyway, I'm hoping to hear something soon!

Thanks all for the replies. Andy - I'm an optimist and prefer originality, so my first thought was the same but the metal wizard I showed it to yesterday wasn't even slightly tempted. It was full of a large amount of loose rust debris (I shook maybe a kilo out of the filler neck - see pic) having been stood empty for a couple of decades, and his view was that the amount of work required would be a lot for a result that wasn't guaranteed to come good. (He recently attempted something similar with an old Land Rover tank - the interior had to be blasted, and what metal was left was too thin to be useful so a replacement had to be bought anyway.) So when I say 'he wasn't keen' I mean 'he shook his head incredulously and walked away muttering'... | Anyway, more pics below just for fun - including the drain plug you mentioned.

Has anyone fitted one of the Tanks Inc units to a '48 Windsor - or know of any potential issues? https://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=results/category_id=68/mode=cat/cat68.htm It's a bit cheaper than the Van Autos or Mopar Pro options which are the only other two tanks I've seen mentioned on this forum. I'm shipping to the UK, which costs an arm and a leg, so keen to keep the overall price down. But I don't want any extra hassles with fitting, etc. for the sake of saving a few £££s. Anyone know if there any other suppliers worth looking at? Pic attached of current state of play...

? ? I think I did throw my Rubik's Cube across the room....

Thanks all - confirming that 588 is the pump model was key info I needed. I'm have a little trouble releasing the diaphragm from the pump. My manual says the central rod 'unhooks', but it appears to be illustrating an older type of pump. The video linked above in this thread suggest a 90 degree twist, but that doesn't seem to work for me either... anyone got a pro tip? I'm reluctant to start disassembling the pump from the lever side unless absolutely necessary - all those fiddly bits!

I've removed the fuel pump from my 48 Windsor and started taking it apart. I can't go any further yet as all my smallest spanners are metric, but Amazon is hopefully sorting that for me tomorrow. So far I've been impressed by the crud that's collected in the bowl and housing - it has a dry papery feel, and its grey, almost like flakey paint. Maybe that's normal when a car has been standing for 15 years plus. There's no part number I can find on the pump housing, but there's a little aluminium tag under one of the housing bolts that has 588 and 1M1 stamped on it. I'll be ordering from the UK and I don't want to get the wrong one... but would this do it? https://www.ebay.com/itm/174144967093?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item288bd951b5:g:ysYAAOSwWcRa330t&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACsPYe5NmHp%2B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsSDAeS9EQtjPGVfKXTxF0%2Bjvy5WbigHn%2FuSK979DhciWWdzttZsOLZFghZmc2NDzz9frdi19WHHoEn1zGrI4hF1N9tVduDRlKZKBGGZC0fWfKGq%2FrLCkIXV3HuZZ%2FvJajFO3gTv6IAn%2FZc5Tr1PtJKCWrVl4EYMAk2mFdx2e3DJrICDLZmkv2WEmH1kCKSpg9%2BKd%2FXI1zx2ZbipjP4Bv9HnfKB6JCd3p0PC3VHjJwZuW9UJevV5SZ1VaJLuwT5X%2B%2BJEOXtOS3Eii87D5w%2FH7rK5Uiy%2BssDElhxECFGNKbDQJ3sVkFZAM3fjRLKxkdr86SUFx32Mq%2FCIAfpzZgS3PDfOCF6QpAnU3VPMV%2FS49bbA95zzW8Q2ZW9ZpOssUnKab8q8%2BdyKdd6w1CLB3eJqgho%2BZvkmpRKC4Z4Oo%2By%2FE298byn4Ye0TSRAc2M3%2BpgSpISRIOq3xHMJxit2hxILY90%2FQ4z%2B8IldgbFMxDoiO6oXXxBOKv0hxY0aAa8Bt43Jc8%2BXLbGVUfysbaE5uLZKNaWpWIz8ktEGP8ZYcWHRBZNptnWWAcYtUUd4XTFUvkEbPNPlJAXUkwefJDAvoebj2Gx8XBchaRh0reL0FZB8TWAxGicXf2ni0QidVjICJ2JwwUy2Rg0c0mh3EtT2B18D%2BmQZCUS45efhO7kSwLWENpROD81jP1LzYRNIjO1SIwbKoRg%2Bc3tlWE5gzO4jxRds8dVcLmE3ubaDpBsxhnOEGjHOau8zvScKnVbhC4CWCfBkWX7Zfrsg9%2FJaBG0BmXqjN3RZQ3vQPsRW%2B6zIlw4xVZ7Mzfi8d8v1HmsPSqxjOjer3A3y%2FmkclMq4X3DcoK4k7J9HgbIFIc6oeN6yw0OR0lVkNLc%3D|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524 TIA

Great, will do - thanks!