Dan Hiebert

FWIW; To fill my fluid drive I used a squeeze bottle that has a nozzle on it that I attached some clear rubber hose onto. It was originally intended for use during one of the steps to fill cracks in basement walls (as if that info helps). It only holds a pint of fluid, and only flows so much, so it took a few refills and some time to finish with the fluid drive, but I didn't spill any oil when filling. I use it whenever I need to fill something that has difficult to reach fill holes. Yes, draining made a mess, don't think that can be helped much.

Simple explanation. You earn points towards Social Security benefits based on what you put into the system, regardless of who you worked for. Your SS income is based on however many points you earned, which is also affected by whether you have an alternate retirement. There is a minimum and maximum earning age based on when you were born (your age) - you can't start withdrawing SS until you reach a certain age, and you won't earn any more after you reach a maximum age. There are nuances to that, but that's basically it. I.e., I'm a "FROG" - Federal Retired Old Guy - so I have an annuity from Uncle Sam that affects my SS earnings. I had mandatory retirement at 57 (early because Federal law enforcement officers are all mandatory at 57), which was too early to withdraw SS, I have to wait until I'm 62. To get max SS benefits, I have to wait until I'm 67 to start. Because I was mandatory, I get a stipend (funded by paying extra SS tax during my career, which also ensured I would have the points necessary to earn SS) to make up for not being able to withdraw from SS when I hit mandatory retirement age. That stipend is based on my calculated max earnings - at 67, so I already know how much I'll earn from SS once I reach that age. If I start at 62, I'll get less, and I'm stuck with that amount the rest of my life. If I wait until I'm older than 67 it goes up, but not enough to worry about in my case. The main moral to this story is that Social Security can be complicated. We have our experiences to regale you with, but the best thing to do is contact your local Social Security office. They will work with you on those calculations you seek, for free. There's no reason to try to do it on your own. The Social Security Administration gets a bad rap, our local office is awesome, but you do need a good dose of patience, kinda like a lot of DMVs. Call them, tell them what you seek, they will give you an appointment and tell you what information to bring with you. If you are concerned with it, it is ultimately worth the effort.

Good job! How did you free up the valves? All the exhaust valves were stuck in our Terraplane when we first got it. I pulled the head off, filled a spray bottle with Marvel Mystery Oil, then used the hand crank to turn the engine. I sprayed the stem on all the valves that stuck open, then played whack-a-mole with the stuck valves until they freed up. Then I pulled them all out, cleaned the stems, and ran a bore brush through the guides. One guide pulled out with the valve, but went back in fairly easily. Reinstalled everything, and presto, the engine ran, and ran "OK" for the next 14 years until I got around to replacing all the valves and guides and grinding the seats. A testament to how rugged and "me-proof" old engines can be.

Nice! I look forward to following your progress.

No one replied right away because you had everyone sucking in their guts to see if they could manage it...then hesitant to admit you may be more agile than us...

My tolerance for heights has steadily diminished over the years. I used to thrill at being the first jumper, standing in the door of a C-130 with my "knees in the breeze" at 2,000 feet. Now I get woozy when I get on the roof of our garage to shovel snow off. Just watching that video gives me the willies.

FWIW, I've had all three Covid shots. Then got Covid at least twice afterwards. First time was sniffles for three days, and a sinus headache one day. Got it from my wife who was laid out with it for two weeks. Where she got it could be construed as a political dig, so I'll not disclose that. Second time was just a one night sinus headache, don't know where that one came from. At home test was positive for both of those, didn't get anywhere near sick enough to bother the medical profession with it. I still have a pretty stout constitution, so no telling if the mild symptoms were due to that, or due to the vaccines. Still, I'm not pro or con with the vaccines, I'm "it's your choice".

I found this Forum back in '96 or '97. As far as I know, social media didn't exist then. FB certainly didn't. I found the site quite by accident, since I didn't yet know much about how to use the internet. I am not impressed by FB at all. But I have an account to keep tabs on friends and relatives who swear by it as the "only way to keep in touch". None of them are flat-head MoPar fans, so no referrals there. I very rarely post anything, and then just comments. I don't use the notification feature so I only find out what's going on maybe once or twice a week when I'm bored. I've visited a few old car groups on FB to see if they would be helpful. They aren't to me. Information may be there, but it's too time consuming and confusing for me to look for it. I do, however, refer folks to this site whenever I get the opportunity, usually when they lament their inability to find info or help on our cars/trucks. Many don't think to look anywhere but on social media sites.

It's been stupid cold up here the past several weeks, highs in the single and negative digits. A front came through and the temp went up to 35F one afternoon a couple days ago and I was galivanting about in just a flannel shirt, and that seemed a little warm. When I was a kid in south Texas, we had relatives from Michigan's UP come visit one February. It was 50 out, we were in our winter parkas, and they were out in swimsuits washing their car. Granted, they were fish-belly white, but there they were. Acclimation to regional weather is a neat thing, kind of fun to sit back and watch.

Simply refreshing that you can get your car out and about in the dead of winter. Thanks for photographing and posting the deed, so we in other parts of the frozen north can maintain some inspiration.

I replaced the Sisson choke with a manual one many years ago. Although we have a D24 as opposed to your Meadowbrook, I placed the knob below and to the right of the steering column under the dash. I don't like drilling additional holes in the dash, either. Mine is on a mount that came with the manual choke kit. The photo angle makes it look prominent, but it's actually rather indiscrete from regular eye level.

My Dad ended his Scout days with a '72 Scout II. (Not the same one he'd traded for in south Texas.) He'd traded that one for a Scout II with all the bells and whistles, V8 and automatic tranny. He did not like it, too posh for his tastes, so he only kept it a year then traded for that last '72, with a 4-banger and manual tranny. That one we drove all over the U.S., rebuilt the engine twice. I learned to drive in it (more importantly, drive off-road), and helping my Dad work on it is what got me interested in putzing around with old(er) cars. He'd probably still have it if he could have found parts for it when he needed them. Not so big a problem now, but in the mid-late '80s parts were scarce. At the age when most boys were pining for muscle cars, I was dreaming of owning my own Scout.

Awesome. I have many fond memories of bombing around Texas in one of those tiny back seats of my Dad's Scout. We lived in Dallas at the time. We went through two of those older models, but I don't remember the years, first was a green pick-up that he traded for a red wagon style because of the room thing. Many hunting and fishing trips, and annual trips to Padre Island with dad, mom, my brother, and the (big) dog. Still can't figure how we all fit with all the camping gear, but he did have a roof rack on the wagon that wasn't for show. Dad put an air conditioner in the wagon that was mounted between the front seats, I still remember it blowing snow on really humid days. "Traded up" for a Scout II after we moved to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. We moved there because Dad joined the USBP, which I mention for the vehicles they used, lots of those early Scout models, and IH Travelalls. Those Scouts could go just about anywhere, but they couldn't outrun anything. A friend in high school in west Texas (Presidio) had one, too. It was topless, six of us took it to the desert where the rear axle broke. We tried to limp back using the front wheel drive, but the rear axle wouldn't stay in. That was a long, hot walk. Didn't mean to highjack your thread, but your original post brought back a lot of memories, thanks for posting, and I'll certainly follow along if you decide to continue posting your progress.

I subscribed to Hemmings MN for several years when it was still the best publication for the Average Joe to find old car stuff. Kinda let them pile up like old National Geographics for a while. But, I haven't subscribed for probably 15 years now because of this handy-dandy internet thing, and that they seemed to become somewhat elitist, as noted. Picked one up in an airport news stand to pass a few hours between flights a few years ago, and was rather disappointed. When we first got our D24, I located NOS front fenders for our car in Hemmings, (no internet at the time), but all it had for our era MoPars this last time I looked, was stuff we already know about through this Forum. I picked up their classic car magazine a few times, and rather like that, though.

Yep, the tick check when you get back from the woods is very important in these parts. The main problem with deer ticks is that they're really small and hard to find. Here in Maine, if you pull an imbedded tick off, you can send it in to the State to be identified and tested for Lyme. I think the tick has to be attached for at least 48 hours to transfer the disease. If you do it quick enough, they can identify it in the tick before any symptoms appear in the person, and treatment is much more effective. Escapes me right now just which department you send it to, but it's easy to look up.

Usually the other way around if there is a different track. Our Terraplane has an almost 2" narrower front track than rear. That van is just wonky. John T has a point, I've noticed the same issue with those Ford Econolines, especially when I'm driving in NJ where they all seem to be rode hard and put up wet, and the roads are paved by kidney specialists.

Dousing oneself with insect repellent is status guo up here once the permafrost is out, and you plan to go outside. (I guess technically not permafrost, since it goes away, but that's what everyone calls it up here.) That's when all the biting bugs and ticks come out to play. Ticks aren't so bad in northern Maine yet, but they can get bad enough to kill moose calves downstate.

That's what I did with similar grill mount bolts on our D24. Easy enough to accomplish, good results. The ones that I could get to the back of, I didn't tack. I usually keep in mind that factory fasteners are designed for ease of use on the production line, sometimes shade-tree solutions can work just as well, if not better, if one is not too worried about originality.

Car-wise; Finish the BiL's car (going well, but parts are taking months to get here), then get it back to him. Go get our daughter's '63 Falcon from New Mexico (wife's orders, not sure what we'll do with it yet). Get the Terraplane back on a regularly driven schedule, really just needs new tires and a carb rebuild, but I'm sure I'll find other stuff that "needs" to be done. Keep trying to wear out the Beetle. Continue my quest to become known locally as the "old fart in the old grey Dodge". Other-wise; Take the missus fishing, and get her out into the willywags more. Summit at least two more Maine peaks. Find more waterfalls (Maine has scads of them). Try to wear out my 2nd bicycle here. Do a 90th anniversary documentary retracing a 3-day, 60+ mile Border Patrol adventure that took place up here in 1932. Crash the 2022 P-15 Picnic.

That pex stuff is the go-to here in our part of the frozen north for remodels and new builds, especially "upta camp" where the buildings will be vacant for a while during the winter (if they have running water in the first place). They use a similar (maybe the same, haven't looked into it) product for new hydronic heating systems. About 50/50 radiant heating or baseboards.

...and, yes, they can be disassembled relatively easily, to the point you can have the trumpet and dome chromed. I used two pairs of horns to build one good restored working pair a couple of years ago with no difficulty. Hardest part was "tuning" them once I was done.

I have an original one. It is a dark blue/purple-ish color, and has the "CODE D-24" as you note on the lower right of the cover. It is in an original manila envelope with "This / Envelope Contains / OWNER'S INSTRUCTION BOOK / OWNER'S SERVICE POLICY / And / Identification Card. CHRYSLER CORPORATION / Detroit 31, Michigan. D-11312 / D24 on the face, with a small D-3194 / Printed in U.S.A. on the lower left corner. This and a couple bucks will get me a cup of coffee, meaning it's nice to have, but as Rich notes, doesn't score any points in any judged event. Folks looking the car over at car shows get a kick out of it, though. Thoughtful of your SiL to get you one, hope you gave her due credit.

Excellent! Congratulations on entering the Great Race, and thanks so much for thinking of us during the run-up. I will enjoy following along. We've been lucky in that the last four places we've lived ended up being near or along a Great Race route, New Mexico, Michigan, western New York, and even here in Maine. Fun to go to the route or some of the stop-overs and gawk.

Fastest I've had the ol' D24 has been 65 on the recently repaved Interstate. I don't dare go that fast on the secondary roads any place we've lived due to road condition. Suspension, except shocks, is original. Engine was rebuilt long before we got the car and could use another going over. Does not have much trouble getting there, and seems to have more in her, but the noises she always makes crescendo as I speed up to the point I don't want to go any faster. Nothing that doesn't sound right, just an old car making noise (kinda like me). Although, much quieter and less "exciting" once we put radials on her. I believe top speed cited by the factory for the D24s was right around 95 mph, I seem to recall reading that in an official tome sometime in the past, which to me is impressive - there's only so much a 102 hp engine can do in a car with the aerodynamics of a chicken coop.

I ditched the Sisson in our D24 soon after we got it, because it wasn't working. Installed a manual using a kit from Pep Boys. That was going on 30 years ago now. No issues in the interim. This won't help much - I like the manual choke because I'm used to it. I replaced the Sisson because I didn't know squat about it at the time. (I still have it.) Knowing what I do about it now, I could have fixed the issue and most likely have been trouble free the same number of years, and saying I like the Sisson because I'm used to it.