TJM70's_48

If it were not for 1) the kindness of strangers and 2) the internet; I don't think I'd have the guts to have bought this car. Thanks for the diagram. I really appreciate it. Tom

Yeah...NICE looking car. I like the yellow color and it looks like a nice, clean interior, too. -the other new Tom

Thanks for the tips, guys. I did use the 30A fuse. Hopefully, the reason for the blown fuse was just that it was under-sized at 20A. I don't think I'd have had as much confidence to buy the car in the first place without access to help like this. I really appreciate it. No sense in re-inventing the wheel; if I don't have to learn by making mistakes it'll save me a lot of headaches! Tom

From one new guy named Tom to another...welcome aboard. I have only had my car for about 6 weeks. This seems to be the most useful stop for cars of our vintage on the WWW. -Tom

My suggestion is $35 an hour, but, you need to know your capabilities - in order to give a fair value to the customer, you should be able to work at a reasonable speed. Typical rooms like a 20 x 20 size, should cost around - $200 - $300 (around here at least) each to paint...which works out to be around 4 to 5 hours from prep to cleanup. If you know it will take you 8 hours to paint a room of a certain size, but a more experienced painter could do it in 5 or 6, adjust the hourly rate accordingly to be competetive. When you provide the esitmate, gauge the cost of fuel and do the fuel charge as a flat number... Labor (expressed as a total number based on measurements) Fuel charge = flat number to be fair instead of mileage Materials charge = $5 or so to cover materials like tape, disposable materials Paint = customer provides or at cost plus delivery charge (buy it from Sherwin Williams and you can get a pro discount after you talk to the manager = you can mark it up to retail for the client). I've done a lot of painting over the years and this is the basic forumula I use. But, I paint fast and accurately so I charge a slightly higher hourly rate. As for exterior, to do a good job on a small / medium wood sided house...at least $3000. There's an outfit advertising a whole exterior for $1200...probably a spray job...but I'd question the quality...for what it's worth. Not too many people opting for paint any more - plastic wrap siding is pretty popular.

My car has the fuse on the headlight switch. Found it & it had a blown 20 amp fuse in it (along with an extra metal end from an old fuse inserted into the holder tube...to make the 20 A long enough, I guess). Fixed it but, I think that my headlight switch may need contact cleaning...it was a little sluggish to respond to pulling it on. What kind of construction is the switch & are the contacts accessable for spraying with contact cleaner? Would anyone be able to post or email me a schematic, diagram or image of the switch? I don't have a service manual (yet). Trying to decide which one to buy. Thanks, Tom

Drove the car last Sunday, lights were working well...head, parking, tail, brake and instrument. Prior to the Sunday drive, I had pulled the blinker unit in the aftermarket turn signals...with it in the circuit I had no tail lights or turn signals. With it out, I had good tail lights. Tonight, went to pull out of the garage and I have no lights at all...the one that has me stumped is the brake light going out with all the others. Tried putting the blinker back in, no change. I don't think the blinker is part of the no-lights probelm, but, thought I'd put it in just in case. Horn and heater blower still work. Is there a common starting point for me to troubleshoot? Headlight switch? Is there a fuse anywhere? Pardon my lack of knowledge...I'm still getting to know my car (only had it for about a month). Thanks for any help in advance. Tom

The original owner had the car from 12/22/48 to 1982! Second owner apparently had it repainted and did some floor repair, interior work, etc...so I am guessing he did the engine swap, too...but it's just a hopeful guess, really. Third owner didn't have to do any big mechanical work to it - points, timing, plugs, brake lines, new brakes. It has some noise (tappet? my best guess) at idle, but sounds good while running - no knocking or weird noises. Doesn't use any oil to speak of. Is a little valve noise normal at idle? Oil pressure is pretty good. All my gauges work - although the gas is reading off by 1/4 tank on the high side.

Hi Bob, Will do with the location & model. It's a 4 dr..."Special Deluxe"....what an embarassing mistake for me to make...showing off my "green-ness". Thanks for the info...the car runs & drives pretty good. I'm still learning, listening and learning more. Lots of learning to do.

I just picked up my first antique car a few weeks ago and I've been getting to know it better. Although the car is a '48 P-15 (super deluxe), I think it has a newer engine in it...looking at the stamped code on the left side of the block I can make out: P20*28208 (or something close to that....) Does this mean a 1950 218 engine? I want to make sure I know what's in there. The guy I bought it from had no background on what major mechanical work had been done and it's showing 104K on the odometer... Thanks, Tom PS Also..any suggestions on a nice, sort of original looking car seat cover source?