randroid

Gents, Anybody out there using shaving cream to make his morning chin real shiny? Of those of you who do, how many of you have ever seen a commercial on TV where the actor lays-on a half inch of the product while the rest of us use only a piss-coat? I think it was Stripe toothpaste that first layered two rows of their stuff on a toothbrush for a commercial. They are in the business of turning a buck, as are we all, and if I could get more people into my restaurant I would not be ashamed to coerce them into a hot fresh apple strudel when they're already stuffed. I'm certain there is somebody in this forum who would be very happy to make your shop floor into one your employees would take pride in keeping clean, and there's a guy I know who would be happy to give you straight advice as to how to round-out your insurance portfolio. Most of us seem to find many things more important than a dollar bill, but when we're spending time earning one there's nothing wrong with earning as many as we can. Stuff like Armour-All has goodies that help block UVs and make your car look shiny, but they don't need to be used every time the car gets cleaned; when the dash gets dirty clean it with a little warm water and white vinegar and continue doing so for many cleanings until the original finish comes back, then re-apply a little treatment. (Warm water and vinegar washing was taught to me by a guy who drove expensive cars for rich folks. It's also the best thing to use for cleaning windows, but I digress.) I agree the best color for anything is "clean", but a bit of a spiff is fun now and then, just don't always follow label instructions. There is, after all, a reason Tums are sold three rolls at a time. -Randy

Gents, IMHO, the next move would be to buy castle nuts, or at least run a lock nut snug to the existing nut. You'd need to drill the bushing rod (#48) for a castle nut and I can only imagine it's a hardened piece which could be a bitch to drill, but worth every minute of blue language and skinned knuckles necessary to get the job done. I know I'm anal about some things, such as I never use a cotter pin or nut twice. Cotter pins are soft and so cheap it gives me a better peace of mind to 86 the old ones, while a nut will loose a surprising amount of its clamping ability at a given torque after the first use, although if it's a machined part such would not be the case. This is definitely one of those jobs I'm happy is yours and not mine because if it were mine I'd have to do it, but, sort of like applying primer under Rustoleum, I'd sleep better at night. Sweet dreams, -Randy

Gents, What's the general feeling, that I should go with what I don't know or figure out how to roll metallic? Not being a wise-ass here; could I learn to roll metallic, as in, could it physically be done? (Mongo like candy, Randroid like metallic.) -Randy

Gents, After seeing the two-tone bizzy coupe Bob posted, I began toying with the idea of doing the same sort of paint job to my '48 P-15 but reversing the color pattern. Cruiser Marroon on the lower portion but rather than white on the top I feel a medium dark silver might accent the stainless strip without absorbing it while adding that touch of class the old girl deserves. After all, who but a P-15 owner would have the audacity to paint his favorite ride like a Bentley? I agree with Norm in that the top color should be carried all the way to the bottom in the rear, but in the midst of all these grand ideas my Lady Wife suggested it be done with a metallic finish. She's right, you know, because I decided before we got married that she was right, and my life is a lot simpler for it. I went to www.rustoleum.com and they make a metallic paint so, if metallic is metallic, then Rustoleum can handle it, but since I'll be applying eight roller coats rather than two or three spray coats, does all the paint need to be matelicized? I know nothing of the process other than an agent is added to regular paint and I'm thinking that agent doesn't come cheap. Also, is there any special trick to adding the metalic agent other than mixing it well, and can there be too much of the agent so as to degrade the properties of the paint? Whew, that's all for now. -Randy

Gents, Back on the '48 P-15 for the first time in several weeks and am at the point where I need to remove the stock radio antenna, but I can't figure out how to do it. The manual shows a picture and says not much more than just take it out. I can't get my hand up far enough from the inside to feel if there's some simple nut or clip and I don't have a mirror that will fit. Suggestions? -Randy

Charlie, I'm set for hood ornaments but I want to compliment your generosity, not only to the members of this forum but to to the Webmaster, too. Thanks, -Randy

Gents, I was 4-F due to ankle surgury but lied to get in the Navy. Sent personal stuff from Boot Camp to my girlfriend, Draft Card included, and she took it to an anti-war rally at UC Berkeley where it was burned in protest (1965). So I'm the guy who said he burned his card although I was on active duty at the time and not within 1000 miles of the event. Did two tours in 'Nam knowing I could go home anytime I wanted and never got a scratch, but too many of my friends couldn't say the same. -Randy

Gents, Neil Riddle shipped mine to me from Seattle to Denver in 1995 for $100 with no bell housing. -Randy

Gents, I think you may get a kick out of this. A dozen years ago I bought a '51 Dodge as a parts car, which actually became my daily driver for a few years, and before I gave it to a friend who wanted to do a resto I removed a few items, one of which was the hood ornament. Three years ago my Lady Wife bought a new 2004 Dodge Stratus, and guess what I did with some of the '51? http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/Randroid/DCP_0801.jpg Three generations have been born since this beauty was created, including Lady Lynn (who last year became a Grandmother). Fifty-three years later the Ram's Head symbol is still being used and just today some guy with a tricked-out Dodge truck passed her on I-25 then slowed to get a second look and flashed a big grin. Surprisingly, it's bikers who seem to notice and appreciate it most. -Randy

50, That looks slick for a cheepo-cheepo job and I, for one, applaud your efforts! Well done, Lad! Please post a brief synopses of why and when you changed methods and your overall opinion of each of their applications. Thanks, -Randy

Jerry, Solex Carter down-draft to the Offenhauser and Judson Hurst venturi forum blower. What was the question? -Randy (One potato, two potato, hot cross puns.)

Charlie, I had a similar problem with my '48 P-15 when I first got it and needed to move it a mile, and when I found a set of used tires two of the rims wouldn't hold air. The tire guy (a Firestone dealer - bit of a plug for a good guy) sanded all the rust by hand then gave it a shot of black Rustoleum so it wouldn't rust again soon. Took him about half an hour but I think he was enthusiastic about putting an old car on the road so he didn't charge me an extra penny for his work. Anyway, try sanding them well then spraying with a rust inhibitor; it worked for me. -Randy (BTW - The used tires that guy sold me were a good set of bias tires that got traded for radials, and they were wide white walls he was saving for a special occasion. The "Gangster Tires" looked just right on that car and I don't want to run anything else.)

Gents, While sanding the roof of my '48 P-15 I found a place with about 1\8" of Bondo and didn't realise how well my life was going. A square foot of the original filler fell out before I got the car but there is still some around the edges, which makes me think the part that fell out was not prepped well because what's left is sticking well. I've used Bondo on bare metal but would like an experienced opinion on how to blend new filler into old, or if I should simply remove it all and start over. I can sand it to give the new application plenty of tooth and if I find no rust would I be safe and apply some? Somebody mentioned a piss-coat of Bondo in a past thread but I don't recall if they primered the bare metal first, nor if the piss-coat was thinned in any way when layed on. Sorry if this note is rambling but I've had my ass kicked the last several days at work and have set a new level of sober sleepy in order to write this. -Randy

Gents, Gosh-a-mickle-dickle-pickle, gee-willy-wobble, dog-my-cats and rower-brazzle! Somebody else is into Pogo! As a USMC Officer my Dad was expected to be conservative, at least back in the '50's, and he was killed when I was too young to talk about being a closet liberal, but he hid the books from the kids so I have my suspicions. One last piece of Pogo trivia; It's been said the Ike won the 1952 election because he was the first candidate to appreciate the medium of television, and all I remember about his tenure in office is that when he had a heart attack every grade school kid in the nation sent him a get-well letter. Thing is, everybody got in on the presidential bandwagon in 1952; Howdy Doody ran for president of the kids but all the critters of the Okefenokee Swamp put Pogo up for the Presidency against his wishes and he won a rather embarrassingly large number of write-in votes. Walt Kelly wrote a campaign song for Pogo with a Dixieland beat and every political cliché known to man. If you ever get a chance to listen to "I Go Pogo" it will allay many of the political fears some of us harbor today. Or, stop by my house if you're ever in Northern Colorado and I'll sing it for you as I have sung it during every election since the '60's. -Randy (Who can hold a tune as well as Howland Owl.)

Gents, "Rocky & Bullwinkle" was the only cartoon show I watched other than the short-lived Bugs Bunny Show, which was aired to get a share of R&B's market. A piece of trivia: The show was taken off the air because of its subtle political statements. Remember, its popularity occurred during the hight of The Cold War with Viet Nam looming in the not-too-distant future. JFK was President and was rumored to love the show, but it was decided that to many kids were being taught question authority and see a satiric approach to politics, so the plug was pulled. There have been several modern attempts to recreate R&B on film; all have flopped and none of the 'Powers-That-Be" ever figured out why. They omitted the current politics (by this I'm not speaking about Republicans and\or Democrats; just some inane policies) because the humorless bean counters (or whomever) saw R&B as lovable duo of a fast and intelligent small guy and his lager but somewhat mentally slow companion, and they were wrong. "Pogo The Possum", a cartoon strip started around 1948 by a former Disney illustrator named Walt Kelly, was so political that my Dad (a USMC Night-Fighter Pilot) hid a small stack of the Pogo cartoon books in a corner of the closet like other fathers might hide Playboy or Hustler. I found them while he was "out of town" during the evacuation of Quimoi and Matsu, and when he came home we'd already bought a copy of the "Songs Of The Pogo" record. He fessed-up to liking their message but never bought another one of those books. Saturday morning cartoons evolved into mere baby sitters, versus the cartoons aired during prime time forty years ago, and they use only visual stimuli instead of adding a subliminal dribble of something causing us to use our noggins. Maybe that's why we don't care for them and why they don't endure. Just a few pieces of trivia I think might have a place in this thread. -Randy

Zach, The CSP have a new unmarked Chevy on the road and there are only two ways of spotting them: First, the only light bar on the car is one inch wide and rests inside the rear window at the bottom. The other way to spot them is they're new full-sized Chevy's running black walls. Gotta be a major price difference for them to spend $25-30 grand on one vehicle and not afford the ww's. (That was almost a joke. A sick and sad joke at best, it is true.) When I dragged my '48 P-15 out from under several tons of used restaurant equipment in a compound in town, it needed tires. I was able to get air into most of them and the tow truck driver (a local *****, albeit a wealthy local *****) promised not to drive fast for the mile he had to tow it and once he got 10 mph above the limit the three tires that blew out on the journey began smoking severely but the rims were never touched so I had him make a very delicate maneuver to park it in a particular spot that I thought would be the most difficult for him to accomplish. It was. I wanted to get it off of the ground and spoke with the local Firestone shop about some used tires, and when the manager heard what I was going to put them on he found a set of used www's out in the back. They didn't last too long, those used bias-plys, but there have never been tires of the same dignity keeping my ride afloat. Go for what your ride deserves, and you know what it deserves or you wouldn't have asked the question. Lord, I like spending other people's money, but take heart in that I'm putting my own money where my mouth is. Keep us informed as to where you go with this and why, please. -Randy

Norm, It seems as though he's done right by his drive, and it also seems you've done right by him. We breathe WPC smoke while he breathes something other, but we're all keeping them on the road if only one at a time. Well done, Sir! -Randy

Chet and other Gents, As long as you have it all apart, have you considered leaving it apart until all the parts are painted? (Reading that last sentence back to myself, it's a bit of a tongue twister. Oops.) That would ensure you no bare metal along the joints, and for that reason alone I'm doing my 48 P-15 that way. It will be more difficult for you to do, making a bunch of trips to the painter instead of just one, but the end product might be worth it. I'm painting mine with the roller method at home so traveling with pieces isn't yet a factor, but it might become so as I try to store those pieces in a small area while I'm waiting to put them all back together. Ever one to push the envelope of the sweet understanding afforded me by my Lady Wife Lynn, I tried removing the pan between the trunk and the rear bumper to create more tin around the house and yard and garage, and I found two things: There are three new hornet's nests and I haven't replenished my supply of the good hornet spray from last summer so my day with the car was short, but I also found the front of the pan secured with eight or ten rubber trim-type fasteners that don't smack loudly of 1948. The rear of the pan seems to be secured to the bumper bolts along with “L” shaped sheet metal braces that seem to be spot welded to the front of the pan. If those “L” shaped sheet metal braces are actual supports, are the obviously after-market rubber thingies necessary? I seek the guidance of my Gurus as to how that pan was fastened to the body originally. As long as I got it apart I might as well get it close to right. -Randy

Gents, A few thoughts: Oil performs three functions in our engines; lubrication (doh!), cleaning (detergent oil does this), and cooling. All oil has a finite capacity for heat transfer, and racing oil transfers heat faster than regular oil. It's more expensive than regular oil but not prohibitively so, and when I ran an air-cooled VW in SE Arizona I never incurred over heating even in 119 degree weather. I didn't have an external oil cooler because those take high volume pumps, which I also didn't have, but I would have felt better with 30% more oil in the system. I was once married into a racing family and they installed an external oil cooler on the race car that operated only by convection current (the outlet from the pan was mounted higher than the inlet on the right side of the pan because the car turned left for a living and they wanted to ensure the cooler wouldn't starve and develop an air bubble). It was surprisingly effective and when I suggested that perhaps if the flow to the cooler came from the oil pump pressure relief valve it would be more efficient with at least a partial flow and one fewer hole cut in the pan it went beyond their imagination but I still think it would be worth investigating. A law of thermodynamics is that energy (heat) can be neither created nor destroyed; only transferred. Work with this because it's true. I've mentioned running the heater in hot weather in past threads and it works in every liquid cooled automobile. We have a cowl vent that will blow the heat away from our tootsies, and even when we think those tootsies are too warm take solace that this is heat being dispensed (transferred) from the engine. When an impeller rotates it slings a lot of air sideways through centrifugal force and because of this ducted fans were developed and increased impeller (fan) efficiency was created cheaply. Those with metal-working capabilities may consider doing something along these lines, but the greatest efficiencies occur when the tip of the blades are within very close tolerances to the duct, and our fans weren't built with this in mind. Some aftermarket fans might be milled to do a decent job; experiment for yourselves because I'm working only theoretically here. Let me know if any of this helps. -Randy

James, I have been running my OD tranny in my '48 P-15 for over ten years and have yet to wire it in because I figured out a way I could activate the kickoff switch but I didn't like the setup so it's never been wired-in. One of our forum members sent a pic of how he did his and that simple fix will be emulated after I get the car roller painted. Anyway, when I bought the tranny from Neal Riddle he also sent a packet of booklets called "Service Reference Manuals". There are three of them, titled "Controls", "Operation", and Maintenance", each about 35 small pages and written for the 1952 Mechanic who didn't have the education of many mechanics today. After reading your query I broke them out looking for amperages and found none, but purely by luck on page 10 of the "Maintenance" book I found two paragraphs that give a hint to a possible solution to why would a good solenoid would blow a fuse and why would a new solenoid burn out. I'm going to quote those two paragraphs and then interpret them as I will, then you'll know as much about it as I do. Here goes: "When removing or installing the solenoid, you have to make a slight turn so the flats on the pawl rod will slide through the slot in the end of the pawl. That's what engages the rod to the pawl. "As you probably know, the pawl rod has to be connected to the control pawl so it can move the pawl in and out of the control plate. If the solenoid is ever mounted on the adapter without making that one-sixth turn, the pawl rod will push the pawl into the control plate and keep the unit in overdrive. Making this slight turn is an operation easy to overlook." Of course, whenever I bolt an electrical device into place, I always grab a Stilson wrench and try to twist it a little for good measure. I can see how the solenoid would burn if it wasn't allowed full movement. What I'd like to do would be lend these booklets to you for a month or so and they aren't as dumb as they sound. They're New OEM Chrysler Corporation 1952 publications, and I won't be needing them back until August, if then. PM a snail mail addy to me and I'll get them out Wednesday at the latest. (Hell, I'm a Waiter and this is a big money weekend for me. After our snowed-in Winter, I got some coffers to resupply.) Hope this helps. -Randy

Gents, "Cockshutt" tractors? How'd they sell? And here I thought those fat chicks on the Ford were gross. -Randy

Tim, The "Other Tim" gave you the best option you might have, but the discussion reminded me that when in NAPA a few days ago I saw on one of those vertical spinning racks they have an entire section devoted to headlamp bolts. Probably of little use in your situation there were dozens of styles, most of which were new to me. They also had two entire racks of trim clips, so it sounds as though NAPA is expanding into stuff we could use. That will be my first stop when it comes time to button-up Pigiron after she's painted. -Randy

50 Ply, I'm with you, bro. Painting my '48 P-15 has been a learning experience from the get-go and I, too, am doing it on the cheap. I'm learning what works best and fastest on my self-imposed budget of $150, and if you ever decide to improve the overall appearance of the job you can always feather the edges and repaint. After all, you'll have both the paint and the knowledge. If we were to do everything we'd like we'd be playing a rich man's game, and I ain't a rich man, not monetarily, so we scoot around the periphery and do what we can when we can. I'm not knocking the guys who are fortunate to be able to do whatever they want, but the reason I got into this hobby was that I've always wanted to do a restoration of sorts and I've turned every nut and bolt on it and soldered every wire and pressed-in every window with my own hands, save for the machining when the engine was rebuilt. That's what it's about to me (and probably everybody else on this forum) because Pigiron is an old whore at heart; she's been used and abused and pushed beyond her limits too many times and asked nothing in return other than what it took to keep her alive. Most of the cars we have were taken to that point and discarded and left to die. What we do is restore a little dignity into the old girl and give her the quality of life she deserves, so when I say "restoration" I'm not talking about matching numbers My, I do get carried away at times, don't I? Anyway, that's the Zen of my approach to this hole in the air into which we thrown time and money. Anybody else want to throw in a little philosophy? -Randy

Gents, Living in the Rockies has given me the opportunity to hear many stories of over-heated engines, and the one remedy that works 95% of the time is to turn on your heater. It is nothing more than an auxiliary radiator and if you find yourself in a situation where a larger radiator wold be of benefit, use it. I lived at 8000' when I rebuilt my '48 P-15 and there are some considerations to be taken at that elevation, including advancing the timing and leaning the carb. In mile-high Denver the atmosphere is about 10% less than at sea level, but when you get only a half-mile higher the density drops to 32% less than sea level, so you are effectively decreasing the airflow through the radiator by one-third. I've been up that road on Mt. Baldy and am not surprised that the engine got hot. Next time you go up on a hot day roll down all the windows and use your heater. I expect you'll get a pleasant surprise. -Randy

Frank, I suppose that's it. If it wasn't so small I could take a picture of it, but there's only one of them so my guess is we're talking about the same thing. -Randy