JohnTeee

Thanks 48mirage . . . I'll have to see if I can clean up the threads on the ends where the bolt and nut got galled. Right now I can thread anything on. "Dear, I have to go buy another tool so I can work on the car . . ." <grin> Cheers! John

After a busy couple of weeks, I'm back to Special D. Despite my earlier panic and confusion about the engine, you guys hit it on the head with stuck valves. I've finally got my intake and exhaust headers off and am trying to get the valves freed up. I was lucky with almost all of the bolts. One bolt had threads screwed up with the nut coming off (galled?) and I'm going to have to replace that. Most had 'dry rust' on the threads and squeaked coming out, but nothing totally frozen. Bolt on the tail end of the exhaust header was apparently broken in the past and there was just one bolt in place. Interesting. There were also only three bolts in the heat riser, as apparently one was broken off in there. I'll have to see if I can Easy Out those. Several questions . . . The valve access panel inside the right fender well . . . Is this thing supposed to slide out relatively easily? It seems to have a hole in the upper/forward corner of the panel, that a bolt goes through. The back side of the bolt WOULD be accessible, in a car without a heater. Without a slot there, I have not been able to get it out. So it's 'rolled' forward, toward the bumper. The stuck valves . . . Is it common/expected that it's the INTAKE valves that are the ones that are stuck? Here's #6, #5, & #4 And here's #3, #2 & #1 I'm spraying "PB Penetrating Catalyst" on the the upper end of the valves/guides in hope of freeing them. Is there any tapping or prying I can do on the lower end of the valve stems? I squirted Marvel Mystery Oil in the plug holes last Saturday and ran it through several revolutions; most of that seems to have ended up in the intake header. Header bolts . . . How do you back one of those out of the block to replace it? Vice grips and crank on it? Heat riser is frozen and I'm trying to work on that while I'm at it. More penetrating oil. I've been alternating PB, Marvel and some scraping and tapping. Spring is good. Little 'bell shaped' washer that keeps it from rotating on the shaft is a goner. Have to see what I can fabricate. Thanks again for the help. Cheers! John

I suspected in use would change resistance; failed to remember heat. Good answers Tod! Did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night? Cheers! John

When I look at the condition (sad) of my 47 P15 wiring, I suspect that you 'hit it on the head' with "was everything so new". Re-wiring is yet ANOTHER thing on my list of 'Things To Do' . . . Cheers! John

They (SuperBrightLED) sell an expensive looking "load resistor kit", with aluminum cooling fins, to solve that problem. What WOULD be an appropriate sized resistor? I just measured resistance across the two terminals of an 1154 and got .4 Ohm on one and 1 Ohm on the other . . . I guess there would be some more with wiring, depending on the gauge, length and condition . . . Ah, the "load resistor kits" come in 6Ohm/50W and 25Ohm/25W versions. One for each bulb, for $4.95. Then they also sell standard resistors . . . Cheers! John

I think they would work well and be a huge improvement. That will be the next light upgrade. Right now, I'm more worried about the idiots behind me and those REALLY dim 6V lights. One of the choices in the SuperBrightLED, that was not a choice for these cars, was 'wide' or 'narrow' angle LEDs. If I remember, both the LED for the stop and the turn/tail, would be narrow angle, red, LEDs. Wide angle would have been really nice . . . I would think if you could find a 'wide angle' white, your front turns would REALLY stand out. But, you choose from what's available. And as mentioned in another post here, amber would be workable too. Not 'stock', but then, neither were LED's!!! Cheers! John

Oh, yeah. THAT'S the other thing they told me! How does this look?: http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Turn-Signal-Flasher-Relay/dp/B000VTTDYY/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1318445175&sr=1-1 Cheers! John (edited to change link to link, instead of image)

And, there you have it. I knew LEDs are VERY particular about polarity. Had purchased a piece of circuit board, cut it to fit the brake light opening, and attached several red LEDs in series/parallel. Put power to it and burned out my LEDs. Something else I've never done, any electrical engineering! Cheers! John

Jerry did all the work. I'm just tagging on. I AM going to be in St. Louis this next week, unfortunately, I'll be working during the hours of operation for SuperBright, so it's mail order for me.

@Don - You forget we've met? I am familiar with that, but, as I've been gone for a while, I feel like I'm starting from scratch. Time to refresh. @Lou - Good suggestion. Have not pulled the distributor, so I should be good there. @alshere59 - Wow! Let me address all those . . . I think the fuel issue, short of rebuilding the carb is resolved. After tank rinsing, added Gumout and 5 gallons fresh fuel. I also ran about a pint of fresh fuel through to the gas line fitting on the carb and dumped it. Had also evacuated the fuel bowl in the carb (as well as the bowl on the pump). Have a commercial fuel filter in line after the pump. That DOES leave the carb . . . Plugs ARE fouled, so I'll start with fresh plugs today. Spark plug wires were pulled one at a time, and replaced as I pulled plugs and checked them. I did have #1 & #2 off at the same time once . . . Plug wires were pulled from the distributor cap one at at time, a little 'bulb grease' put on the ends and plugged back in. Coil wires have been pulled and plugged back in. I did NOT know that piston top was not visible through the plug holes. I have seen that plug . . . @49Dodge1ton - those sound like good suggestions. Thanks. Guys, I've fooled around with with the '47, with my dad, going back into the 70's. Changed plugs/wires, points/condensor, generator, starter, fuel pump, water pump, oil pan gasket, pulled the transmission, checked the timing - all auxillary stuff. I'm embarassed to admit . . . I'm an engine virgin. I have never pulled an engine, had the heads off or rebuilt an engine. This is the sweet mystery of life to which I have not been exposed. So, I'll work on my basics, with the your good help, and see where it goes! Cheers! John

@oldmopar - that's a good suggestion. I have good flow, that might make it better. @Young Ed - does the coffee taste funny afterwards? @Don - Just the exterior, for the bed coating. I think I had posted pics in the old forum of the interior I could see through the sensor opening. A, then current, discussion had been of tank interiors and a lot of guys had BAD rust in tanks. Mine looked pretty good. And, I still have them. Here's a pic of the exterior: And what you can see of the interior: These were something like six or more years ago. Cheers! John

Well, the odd thing is, I drove this around the block a week ago. Now, I'm having all these problems . . . John

Called SuperBrightLED (turns out they are in St. Louis, just north of me, and talked to Bill. He seemed to think that these bulbs would work just fine. I'm going to order: 1156-R19-6V for the stop light 1157-R19-6V for the turn/tail lights I'll let you know how it goes! Cheers! John

Well, SpecialD sat for several years and I'm dealing with the problems, which are snowballing. Brakes are decent; I have to replace the Left Rear wheel seal and the pads on that wheel. Flushed the radiator and added new coolant. I've changed the oil and filter cartridge. Fuel was shot and I've dealt with that. May be dealing with a carb rebuild . . . Had a lot of problems with the engine backfiring and something like tappet noise. Tried starting again today and it is backfiring horribly. Pulled the valve covers and it didn't look like all of the valves were working like they should as the engine turned over. Even though I had not screwed a whole lot with the spark plug wires, I wondered if firing orders could have gotten messed up. Decided to start with #1 at TDC. Pulled the plug and decided I had gotten lucky. There was the top of the piston. Put a rod in it and turned it over. Nothing. Tried #2, it too was visible through the hole and appeared to be TDC - at the same time #1 was; also not moving with the engine cranked. Checked #6 and throw was very short. I'm really hoping somebody is not going to tell me that it sounds like my crankshaft is busted . . . Also don't think that is likely. What's my obvious first place to start? Drain the oil, drop the pan and see what I can see? John

Following the helpful suggestions of Reg and oldmopar, I have: *Added a gallon of lacquer thinner and let it sit for two days *Drained the thinner and was it NASTY. About 4 oz of sludge *"Repurposed" the 7 gallons of gas I got from the tank by straining it through 4 layers of paper towel, added it a gallon at a time to the tank, jumped on the bumper a whole lot and drained each gallon out. Gradually decreasing amounts of, what must have been rusty water, and sediment and particles. I'm getting ready to add fresh fuel and the GumOut and see what happens next! Plan to flush the line with some of that fresh fuel to get rid of the rest of the old stuff that may be in the line. Cheers! John

Just to share another bumper hitch with you. The ACME (go, Wiley Coyote, go!) Bumper Hitch. Bolts onto the rear bumper through the center bumper bolt and with that frame on front, to the crossbar under the trunk. Both those vertical pieces for the actual bolts are massive 5/32" plate steel. Another Fine ACME Product, brought to you by Wile Coyote, Super Genius! Cheers! John

Thanks Jerry! I'll have to look for a 6V Stop replacement too! Er, say . . . how do these work out with a 6V Positive Ground??? Cheers! John

Thanks for the post Jerry. What bulbs did you order. I've been wandering around the site have not yet found 6V replacements for what I seem to have: 1158 - Directional 1154 - Turn/Tail 1129/GE63 - Stop Cheers! John

I've seen the following numbers for oil filters in another post ( http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=6773&highlight=filter ) on the forums: APCO AP-231 Fram C-231PL AC P-320 Purolator P-40 Wix PC-88 (other interchanges I found were AC-320 & Walker RC-69) With the following vehicle application data: Chrysler 6-cyl, 1936-42 Dodge 1934-42 Plymouth 1934-53 I have this filter assembly, as pictured at one point in the post: I just did an oil change and pulled a Hastings LF 130 out the housing and replaced it with a NAPA Gold 1080. Pulling parts numbers out of past maintenance records I have the following: Hastings LF 130 NAPA Gold 1080 Fram C3 Looking at Dimensions: NAPA 1080 Height - 4" I.D. - .578" O.D. - 3.367" Gasket I.D. 4" Gasket O.D. 3.367" Hastings LF130 Height - 4-3/8" (4.387..") O.D. - 3-23/32" (3.718...") I.D. 1/2 " (.5") Fram C3 Height - 4.389" I.D. - .53" O.D. - 3.72" Gasket I.D. 3.78" Gasket O.D. 4.19" NAPA Gold 1010 Height - 4.375" I.D. - .553" O.D. - 3.718" Gasket I.D. - 3.793" Gasket O.D. 4.191" And referenced on Tod's http://www.ply33.com site: Height 4.12", OD 3.44", ID 0.81" (bottom), ID 0.53" (top) O.D. will not make a big difference as long as it fits. I.D. might make it a tight fit . . . Height SHOULD get caught with the spring in the lid??? Does it make a HUGE difference WHICH one I use, as long as it fits? As was mentioned in one of the oil filter posts, as clean as things are today (roads, air, fuel, oil/detergents) as little as we probably drive these cars and as often as we probably change the oil, the oil filter probably doesn't make a real difference. Another list of crossmatch numbers I found on another website http://www.ytmag.com/nboard/messages/387682.html: AC - P203 Big A - 92010 Bosch - OX79 CarQuest - 85010 Fleetguard - LF-568 Fleetrite - LFR8574 Ford - 9N18649, 9N6714, Fram C3, C3P Hastings - LF130, LF102 Lee - 70FR Motorcraft FL144 NAPA – 1080, "Gold" FIL1010, FIL1071 Purolator - L20700, L20110, PM352, P70AC, T110, L20701 Western Auto - 5815? Wix – 51010 Cheers! John

DOH! What a NOOB! I actually have a gas tank that was very clean inside and freshly painted (six or seven years ago) with truck bed material on the outside . . . AND a drain plug that is very easy to get out. Here's the crap that was in there - bottom of the pan IS really pink. On my way to the farm store for lacquer thinner right after this. Mowing six acres can wait a little bit longer . . . <grin> Thanks guys!!! John

Well, I have a new problem, that will probably be 'old' to a lot of you. Having let SpecialD sit as long as it did (around five years), the fuel went bad. I had lacquer in the fuel bowl, so I'm sure it's everywhere else. I've had the car running after adding fuel. Took it for a spin and parked it and now it's running like crap and backfiring. The plugs are sooty black. I've siphoned off all the fuel I can reach that way. Turned the engine over to pump everything out I can get that way (including a little water). Drained the fuel bowl after that. Pulled the top off the carb and sucked out fuel and it did not look bad inside . . . I have no strong inclination to pull the fuel tank and completely drain it, but guess it could be done. <grin> I have a feeling that pouring fresh gas in is going to stir up the remaining fuel and whatever is in it. I have thoughts of adding five gallons and some Gumout Fuel System Cleaner . . . Care to share experience? Thanks! John

Since I just ran across these: 1947 P15 Special Deluxe June '77 127K Miles - 90/85/90/100/80/90 November 142K Miles- '02 95/85/90/90/100/90 No engine work in between. Have some minor oil leakage from the rear of the engine after driving. Cheers! John

Thanks Tod! Just checked with AutoZone for "13797". Crosses over to Timken 6241S: Seal Housing Bore (in): 2.437 Seal Housing Material: Steel Seal Installation Style: Press Fit Seal Lip Material: Nitrile Seal Outside Diameter (in): 2.441 Seal Shaft Size (in): 1.375 Seal Width (in): 0.25 Anyone have dimensions for the P15 "Wheel Seal - Outer - Rear Wheel"? On AutoZone's 'Check the fit' feature, it says it does not fit the 1947 Plymouth P15 Special Deluxe . . . Of note, when I entered the MoPar Part # "859164" (I had no idea you could cross an old MoPar part number on AutoZone website!), that crossed over to the Timken 6241S . . . Part Number: 6241S OEM Brand: Chrysler OEM Part Number: 859164 John

Hi Robin! That's a good looking car you have! <grin> My '47 is also a Detroit build; need to find out the build date. Has the same dash as yours. Was also originally red! John