Dan Hiebert

Congratulations on retirement, Pete. Quiet Christmas for us here in northern Maine. Supposed to get smacked by a good storm tomorrow (wind and rain, no snow), but no one's coming here, and we're not going anywhere. Trees are still heavy with icy snow from a few weeks ago, so we'll probably have a few power outages. Taking a lasagna to some friends in a little while, otherwise, just as we'd planned. Merry Christmas to all.

I have one of those Craftsman speed wrenches, bought it new in 1988. Alas, same handle, but I doubt they changed the style very much over the years. I prefer a speed wrench over an impact wrench, too.

The oil used in fluid drives tends to last a very long time because it isn't exposed to much that wears it out, but, that burned rubber smell means that particular oil has been significantly overheated. It is indeed a 10w oil, many threads herein on just what to use now. Burnt ATF out of a bad AT smells just like burned rubber, some people replace the fluid drive oil with ATF. Many "con" arguments against that, but that doesn't mean a PO of your car didn't do it. There aren't really any friction parts in a FD unit, so I'd be concerned why the oil went bad, although overfilling the unit will put excess stress on its components, possibly overheating the fluid. Definitely change the oil at a minimum, check it often thereafter once you get it on the road.

They'll still be close, but last night was the closest they'll be aligned for another 800 years. Heavy overcast up here, so we couldn't see it.

Remove all the interior window trim. Work the headliner out of where it's tucked under those tack strips on each side first, then work from front to back removing the bows from the sides. Sounds like your liner is separating from the bows already, but keep track of which bows go where, they should go back in the same place(s). BTW, they're not that hard to install, I've done a few, just takes patience and a handy list of expletives. I can't sew a straight line to save my life, so I use kits. There are no good upholstery shops within 100 miles of me, either. So I install my own.

Looking really good! An upholstery steamer specific for the automotive industry is probably expensive just because. But its just a glorified garment steamer. My former agency's Honor Guards have them to straighten flags and touch up uniforms. Some people with a lot of business suits have them to save on dry-cleaning bills. Meaning they're kind of common, especially in metropolitan areas. You or your folks may know someone that happens to have a garment steamer you can borrow to tighten up that headliner once you get it installed.

Yeah, my twin brother is quite the artist and musician. He still draws on a regular basis, and he still has his trumpet from HS that he can still crank tunes out on. He tried out for the US Army band out of HS and had made the cut, but they told him he had to enlist for something else first because there weren't any positions open at the time. He joined the MPs and decided he liked that better. I used to be a pretty good pencil artist, but can't prove it, and haven't done any of that for many, many years. Getting a bit of inspiration herein to take it up again, especially during these long winters up here.

Yes, beautiful house...and car. Whenever I had extra time when traveling through your neck of the woods, I'd take side roads just to look at those wonderful old houses and hopefully spy some old cars. Seems to me there were more of those nice older houses in that part of NY than around Erie County or Niagara County, although Lockport had a few.

If my wife had seen that first, she would ensure we detoured around it from then on...for two reasons, one - if she had seen it more often, she would want us to get it, and two - it would have only taken me once...

Doing some research for the parts you need will provide some motivation. Compare what you can source for just parts vs. a parts car before you go down the parts car road...although having two cars in the dooryard can be motivational, too, sometimes. Don't fret over timeliness, this stuff isn't necessarily a competition. Enjoy college, tinker with the car. You'll have something unique that you did yourself when you're done.

Many folks tend to compare the steering of these old cars with more modern cars and call it sloppy...which it is when compared, but is actually just how these old cars handled. Not fair to make the comparison in the first place in my book. The steering out of alignment may be a contributing factor to the slop you mention, so in investigating the steering issues you're concerned about, you should indeed ensure the alignment is correct, along with what the gentlemen above wrote.

Awesome! Always nice to see you and the family out and about, especially when I'm too chicken to take our ride out.

I concur with your Dad, replace the tack strip while it's easy to get to. If it's brittle it won't hold the upholstery tacks very well and it'll start sagging after a while. It's a real PIA to replace after the interior is in the car.

Yep, that's what it is, reflective vinyl graphics. It's called ghost branding. Any shop that does vinyl graphics should be able to get what you need. The Omaha PD may even use a local shop for their graphics that could help you out.

Yeah, we're on tap for a good snowfall up here, too...about time in my book. I've been like Calvin in "Calvin and Hobbes" sitting on the hilltop with a sled waiting for some snow. I'll keep an eye out for something up here, if it's not too far of a haul for you. That kind of stuff pops up further north on occasion, usually originating from the closed Loring AFB.

Dayum! I thought the Mickey Mouse stuff I've fixed in our cars was bad...I'll be sleeping better tonight.

I'm unfamiliar with what a T172 engine is, assuming from your message title that'd be a 218? If so, I believe the 218 (23") is two inches shorter than the 251 (25"). Several herein have replaced the shorter engine with the longer one, I don't recall anyone doing the opposite, but I believe the mounts are the same. Fan may be too far from the radiator for the cooling system to work well if you don't move the radiator back. Those big Bombardiers need torque more than horsepower. A 218 will move it, but it won't like it. Where ya at in Maine?

Over in the air cooled VW world there is a gasoline fired supplemental heater, I forget the maker. Primary issues folks seem to have with them involves faulty installation leading to gasoline odor in the cabin, (a common malady of ACVWs in the first place), otherwise, I haven't heard of anyone that does not like them or even have major issues with them working. Defrost, such as it is, is theoretically covered by the regular heater. We had diesel powered heaters that I seem to recall were South Wind products in the troop compartment of our armored personnel carriers when I was in the Army in W. Germany. When/if they worked, they worked great, and could run you out of the vehicle, I don't remember a temperature control other than "on". Primary issues with the "when/if" part was that the original engineering was for gasoline fuel, so diesel tended to gunk them up. No windshields to worry about defrosting. I'd bet you've probably already thought about the defrost, or lack thereof, issue. I'd think there is a way to adapt the output of the South Wind unit onto the existing defrost venting. I like the idea of using what you have on hand to reduce the clutter in the engine compartment. I giggle like a little kid when I get old stuff to work.

It's a surprisingly common practice up here to put a company or farm logo on a restored (often only cosmetically) truck, both pick-ups and big'uns, and park it out front, put it in parades, and an occasional cruise. Personal garage logos on pick-ups is kinda common, too. "Surprisingly" because of the frugality Mainers are known for.

I prefer the "form fitting" skirts, too. The ones that fit in the wheel opening, or at least match the opening like yours. I think they have a much cleaner look. To me, those skirts look like low slung cruiser. Without, it looks like low slung hot rod.

1959 Dodge 1/2 ton pick-up, the one with the quad headlights. Not necessarily the sweepside (sweptside?) version, but I wouldn't pass one of those up.

Yep, after I learned which bugs you could safely eat, I think I'd rather have eaten bugs than ham and lima beans. Thankfully, there was always that one GI that liked them, so whoever in the unit drew one, they could trade with him.

I had that for Thanksgiving in '83 on a small Caribbean island! I remember that it wasn't the worst C-Rat, which isn't saying much...

Apparently not a "pro", certainly not a chiseled Adonis of the "sport". Has to be a "hold my beer" dulled moment, I'd be writhing around and saying/yelling bad words much more vigorously if my knee had done that...

There could be a few issues, or a combination of some or all of them. Adjustment is not correct, mechanism is worn, or just really dirty. Start with adjustment per the handy-dandy manual, keep in mind that the adjustment is with the striker, not the door latch itself. If the latch isn't catching right in the striker when closed, it could lead to both symptoms you noted. Does the handle droop when the door is open? If not, it's striker adjustment or wear. If so, something in the latch is most likely at fault, wear, broken parts, or accumulated grease that has hardened.