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jim leman

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Everything posted by jim leman

  1. THANKS EVERYONE WHO ASKED ABOUT THESE PARTS. I moved the entire lot today to one buyer. Jim Good morning, I sold my P15 last April and am now longer in the hobby. LOOKING TO UNLOAD TO ONE PARTY or VENDOR. I have a disassembled overdrive needing some work, a complete (sans steering wheel) steering set up with good sector gear that was pulled from a '48 Desoto, but I believe the parts book says fits P, D and Desoto. I have some manuals, including a Master Index parts reference for 46-54 for all Mopar (has great exploded illustrations), some misc. trim parts, ignition parts, coupe quarter glass, wing vents and glass, distributor housings (some mostly complete) Vacuum modules, etc., If you can come pick up these are yours. Otherwise, by end of June I will need to dispose of. Please keep this hardware in circulation or use. Located in Lake County, IL, northeast Illinois. Jim Leman 847-840-0784.
  2. When looking for rear axle replacement for a '50 Plymouth, need to match up best possible the spring width (distance from left and right) and the center line tire distance, left to right. '50 plymouth should be 31-5/8 for the springs and 58-7/16 for tires. Spring perch width not so important, as new perches can be welded to new replacement axle to fit '50 Plymouth spring width...key thing to look for is tire spread, and at 58.5" tire spread, center of tire to center of tire (est), a rear end from a 76-80 F body Chrysler car (Volare or Aspen) or 77-89 M-Body (Diplomat, 5th Ave.); or 80-83 J-Body (miranda, cordoba) should slip in pretty nicely. Will need to modify drive shaft, likely. These rear ends will give you rear end ratios of 2.23 to 2.94, depending on the rear end. Can send more details from article on this topic in The P15-P25 Driver restoration magazine from '02, now out of print. Will need mailing address.
  3. I'll add my two cents to what has already been said about this topic. The advice about setting the advance early on flathead 6 mopar engines is good. I am not sure what the factory timing spec is for a '55 motor -- check your manual and set 4 degrees or so advance from that spec. For a P15, which I have, and which has a TDC timing at factory spec, this means a setting of 4 degrees BTDC. A well-studied old flathhead V-8 guy told me that as today's gasoline burns faster (basic fuel quality and ethanol) you want the timing set so the ignition starts just before TDC to give the fuel in the cylinder time do its job...if set at TDC you miss out on the full combustion...the piston will be on its way back down before full combustion is achieved (probably have this a little off as it has been some time since he told me this; did a complete story on this theory and practice in the P15-P24 DRIVER newsletter I used to published; can send you a copy of the article if you send me your email. Proof is in how much better the engines run at 4 degrees or so before TDC. The other advice about being sure to have vac advances disconnected and idle as low as possible while setting the timing is crucial. May also likey have to adjust the points as well, as timing affects the points.
  4. Not sure how long your P18 hood has been like this, but when I had my P15 repainted the shop installed the hood springs backwards -- can't recall now what that means in terms of spring position -- I think the installed them upside down -- I mean the hinges were right but the hold-down spring was installed the wrong way. This kept my hood from opening up very far...turned them around (a job for strong arms, two people, and strong pry bars), but it did the trick. Worth considering perhaps.
  5. OK, not a dual barrel then but two singles...double the trouble in getting them to lean out properly. Can you shut one of them down and close off its barrel to see if you can get the engine to idle OK at about 450 or so?
  6. Arthur -- Do I understand right that you are running a two-barrel on this car? Is this mounted on a stock 218 or 230? Are you running the stock cam? If so, perhaps this two-barrel is just too much carb for this engine... That, I think, is what's causing this issue. That aside, you might want to experiment with the timing. My P15 (running the stock 1-barrel Carter B& runs best with timing at about 4 degrees BTDC...has something to do the combustion engineers tell me with the faster burn cycle of modern gasoline...
  7. If the meter is set on Dwell and the needle was at 8 on the 6 cyl scale, it shows a dwell of 40 degrees -- or, if on tach setting then it is reading 800 rpm. If it ran badly at 400 rpm, it can mean a couple of things -- carb is running too rich or too lean. But you should be able to get it to settle into a nice purr at 400, if everything else is up to snuff. Do you have a vacuum gauge you can hook up to the vacuum wiper feed of the manifold (assuming it is a car with vacuum wipers)? This is the most accurate way to set idle (and get a good reading on the internal condition of the valves, rings, compression, etc), shooting for a vacuum reading of a steady 19 inch of vaccum, but preferrable to a 20 to 25 reading on the guage scale. I'm assuming you know how to set the carb air/fuel mixture screw and idle speed screw and work them until you get the right idle speed and vacuum. If I am talking down, please forgive me. Also, is your distributor timing correct for your engine? And if it is right, is your point gap correct? Both can throw off the idle setting. Tackle it in logical steps. Start by checking the points gap and setting it to spec and then checking the timing and setting that to spec. To set timing right, get the engine to idle at its lowest possible, disconnect the vacuum line from the carb (or vacuum canister on the distributor) and plug the open ends with something (where you removed from the carb or from the vacuum cannister), and then check the timing. Set timing to the specs indicated in your service manual. Unfortunately, once you get the timing to spec you may need to readjust your point gap -- take your time, you'll get it! Also, I have found that it can be a challenge to get these old carbs to lean out correctly. Most of them after years of wear now allow too much air around the throttle valve, unless the carb has been restored and even then many restorers don't do this part of the restoration. Pull the carb off and hold the mounting end up to a light and look through the throat...with the valve closed you should see no or just a hint of light coming around the curve of the valve and throat itself. If too much sunlight is coming through then too much air is coming through making it really hard to lean out the carb. If you can turn the air/mixture screw in entirely without killing the engine then air is getting around the throttle valve. Such a situation will always cause the engine to run rich. My guess is that if your engine is running badly at 400 rpm it is running way to rich but the extra 400 rpms at 800 rpm can handle the additional richness. Hope this helps.
  8. I have two of these. One clip goes to the distributor side of the coil, the other to ground, if memory serves me right. Not sure which clip goes where...I can get good tach readings from mine, though never sure about the dwell reading tho. Note that the lower blue bar is the scale for a 6 cylinder. If this doesn't work let me know and I will rummage around for my instructions.
  9. Don -- I'll try to give you a call today...are you home during the day or at the job? Jim
  10. Don -- Is the seal that is interferring the H seals we have been talking about? If you were to trim off this part that is causing the interference, what would you lose -- I mean, what do you think the hanging piece of the seal is sealing? Did you end up installing the rope seal? Did you lube both the upper and lower halves? The crank should be harder to turn with the rope seal in place -- but not impossible to turn. Can you grab the front part of the crank where the crank gear will be attached and turn it? If you feel it is way too tight -- requires a wrench and muscle to turn, you might have a bearing binding against a crank journal. I live in Grayslake, IL, so if you feel you'd like to talk by phone, get back to me and we can see if we can set that up. It's Sunday about 3:30, so if you're not watching the Bears and want to chat, able to. Send a number for me to call you
  11. I buy bearings for my P15 and did for my 37 Chevy right from good old JC Whitney...never disappointed. I think I had to call their customer service people though...not sure they were catalog listed.
  12. Yes, that is who I think I was referencing, as for the catalog..but I bought the clips from a vendor at a swap and not sure it was these same guys...someone has them!
  13. Don -- Just a guess now....do you think the seals don't fit flush with the cap then is because they don't sit into the cap recess far enough? Trying to remember how deep the seal is our how much of it fits into the recess...could it be that these repos (they are reproductions, right?) were from poor moulds and too "thick" or deep for the actual recess? Is there part of it you can trim so they fit more flush level with the bottom of the cap...If the seal does not then fill the depths of the recess, is there some reason that would be a problem...I mean, what is in the bottom of the recess that would need a complete seal there....Don't do anything about this yet...I'll go back to my manuals and see what else I come up with...
  14. I purchased these from a swap vendor called... something or other Specialties..out of Wisconsin, I think. probably have the catalog somewhere. Will look at get back
  15. Don -- Let me dig around a little on this matter. Not sure these rubber H seals, as you define them, must necessarily have a good fit until you mate the two halves, the rear main cap and the block. Seems to me they are there to deflect runoff oil from the rear crank journal main slinger away from the seal. Are you saying that after you torque down the rear main bearing cap -- don't these pieces fit into notches in the cap? -- that you have a space between the cap and block once all is torqued to spec? OK -- looked in my '42 manual...are we talking here about the rubber cap gaskets that go into the recesse or notches in the cap (rear main) itself...I do think they will be above flush with the cap when inserted into the cap but will crush when you torque the cap to the block. You do have the flat paper gasket that goes between the cap/block faces and the two oil rope seal halves, right? Am I understanding the matter?
  16. David -- I might...you can find these from time to time at the swaps...Yale made replacements for the OEMs, but they look right. P15s used differrent locks, that is the lock door -- one was a figure-eight like heavy door and the other almost flush...Let me know what you need.
  17. Oil baths do an excellent filtering job -- in the old days and especially today with the air so much cleaner. If the top half with the metal mesh is dirty, soak in kerosene to clean it up. Unless you drive a lot on dirt/gravel/construction roads, the oil bath will do a great filtering :)job. Keep it filled with 40 wt. oil.
  18. Don -- Been a couple years since I replaced the main bearing seals in a 218. I have used both types, rope and the new neophrene types. Been satisfied with both, though it seems the latter is less prone to leaking. I know the neophrene type is designed for latter year engines, but if I recall when you use the neophene type you don't need the rope seal u-shaped hardware...but from the photo it appears you have the traditional rope type. Pull-push the old seal out of the metal retainer, clean the groove well, and then lightly lubricate the new seal and slip it into the retainer. Is the crank in or out of the engine? If out, put the rope seal into the metal holder and then bolt to the cap (I think there is one as well for the block-side) and I was advised to use a length of PVC about the diameter of the crank journal and then roll it along the bearing saddle (bearing not installed) to push the rope seal fully into the retainer. Then, using a very sharp razor blade, trim off the rope seal just a little bit more than flush with the top of the retainer. Doing the same with the other half will then provide a good crush of the bearing ends when the two are mated and torqued down tight. Don't bother with the seals until you have the bearings all installed and their proper clearance obtained...the seal step should be the final one once you've gotten that all taken care of and then dropped the crank into their saddles for the last time. The Plymouth Service manual provides some help on this step. An Old Motors or Chiltons should give some guidance -- and when you but the rope seals they used to back instructions with them. Hope this helps -- running on memory and a few glances at the manuals...does this sound right to others?
  19. Backfiring upon deceleration is due likely to a leak between intake manifold and block. Test on cold engine, Start and spray ether at each intake port...if you notice acceleration as you spray (if you spray too much engine will stumble momentarily) there is your leak -- the intake is sucking the highly volitale fuel into the cylinder and combusting. Tighten all nuts -- you are using the correct washers (thickness) and brass nuts, right?
  20. I think there is an illustration of this set up in either the service or parts manual...
  21. Well, Norm, your suggestions were dead-on. Wouldn't have thought a little oil on the crank seal would stop the whine, but it did. Serves a point to remember that the right solution is often the easiest -- Oakum's Razor, I think this is called. Thanks to all the suggestions.
  22. Hey Norm! Yes, good suggestions. Wondered about that too, i.e. bad crank seal or pully-counterbalance loose some how. Can't locate my stethescope to sound it out, but that would help diagnose. I have never heard of whining from the timing chain either....
  23. Suggestions, please, on troubleshooting a RPM-sensitive whine coming from what appears to be the lower front half of my stock 218 flathead. Removed fanbelt to isolate engine from water pump and generator and whine remains. Fearful is a timing chain/gear failure, but more troubled about what might have caused failure...likelihood oil drip to gear area failed? History: Complete rebuild of engine, including gear and chain, 10K miles ago -- no problem until this recent whine, which started very faint a few weeks ago and now is persistent at all speeds above low idle...though sometimes it seems to go away for a short time. May not be relevant, but whine occurred noticeable after driving car in rain several hours. Have checked and I think ruled out throwout and/or pilot bearings. Not sensitive to clutch movement. Would guess a failing fuel pump would produce a click noise rather than whine...any thoughts on failing oil pump drive (oil pressure gauge shows no obvious concern). I do not know what a failing cam bearing would sound like -- don't guess it would be a rap or knock like a rod or main bearing. OK, engine guys...what is the answer (make it one easy and inexpensive to repair, OK!). Yeah, LOL. Jim Leman
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