Dan Hiebert

You shouldn't panic, but you certainly should be careful. That hanta virus is more prominent in the southwest where the dry climate promotes dusty conditions, which makes it easier to inhale with the dust particles. There was a spate of infections when I was living in New Mexico a few years ago. Hanta virus is always around, but like anything else, people were getting complacent about protecting themselves from it (like these northerners forgetting how to drive in the snow every summer ), so we'd get mini-epidemics every few years. As noted, a respirator while cleaning is very wise, use wet cleaning methods to eliminate the dust, and/or keep it down as much as possible, and a good hepa rated filter/bag in your shopvac when you have to vacuum. You still have to be careful with the waste once you've cleaned it up, too. As long as it smells like a rodent's outhouse, you have to be careful.

I like it! I'm working on assimilating my 2 year old grand daughter into "the collective", too. Hopefully it'll work better on her than it did my kids.

Isn't the power transfer for the fluid drive in the high 90% range? As in 97 - 98%? 100% would be impossible since there's no mechanical connection. I tend to start in second and shift between second and third most trips, but taking off in first can be pretty lively (for a big car with "only" 100 hp), and taking off in second keeps up well with traffic. Third is another story (yep, them tricylce riding roughians can get rather belligerent), but it impresses those who are not enlightened about fluid drive.

I was pondering that when I wrote that, and hoping I wasn't going to taste Kiwi. I'm thinking the weight of the car on the wheels could bring the gears together. That wobble you described would be when the gears separated while you were driving. Your alignment is obvioulsy darn near perfect to go down the road that straight. Those tolerances tend to be tight because any looseness beginning at the steering box is magnified as it goes through the steering system to the wheels. Good luck with repairs, they're not hard to do, hardest part for me was getting the old bearing races out of the steering box. This is one of those "rewarding" fixes, the car will handle much nicer, and there won't be so much adrenaline and excitement keeping it between the ditches

Good to hear your son is enthusiastic about the old Chrysler. I tried for years to get my kids into the old car thing. My daughter caught on (she drives a 63 Falcon that I'm "re-restoring" right now as a college graduation gift), but my son just wasn't interested. As irony would have it, now he's an auto mechanic. Driving these old Mopars at night is a blast, the dash-lights are nice and mellow, and because they're real glass the headlights and tail lights have a great "sparkle" to them. Not to mention the reflection of the street and other outdoor lights rolling off the curves and trim. I drove the D24 in to work a couple times last week - "O-dark-thirty" - rather brisk and I've never gotten around to fixing my heater (needs a new motor), but well worth it.

Hate to be a bearer of bad news, but there's no getting around it, your steering box needs a serious rebuild. You may have overcome some slop with the adjustment, but there should be NO free-play at all in the sector shaft. There should be no free-play at the end of the end of the pitman arm (where it attaches to the tie rods), either, but the shop manual says up to 1/64" is acceptable for 46-54 steering systems, can't be much different from 38. Front end off the ground, and moving the wheels full range with no steering wheel movement means the sector shaft gear was not even contacting the worm gear on the steering shaft. Your adjustment corrected some of that, but theoretically there should always be some contact, no matter how out of whack the adjustment was. Luckily, you may only need to use a basic rebuild kit that replaces the bushings (sector shaft), and bearings (steering shaft). That may bring everything back into harmony. While you've got it apart, might as well check the condition of the sector shaft and worm gear, they may have been damaged as a result of the bearings and bushings being worn, as well as the other tertiary things already mentioned in the string. Andy Bernbaum sells steering box rebuild kits - bushings, bearings, and sector shaft seal. (I just went through this grind last winter to fix my steering.)

..I feel a disturbance in The Force...

I don't think there's a standard measurement for the Fulton sun-shades. The measurement is more to ensure the shade is level and even on each side. On mine, the first screw-hole for the bracket is 13" from the end of the drip rail, and the shade is cranked all the way up.

I'd say it depends on if you would have use for a cargo trailer, too. Then why not get one of those and do the two birds with one stone thing. Easier to tow, back-up, and maneuver. But it does take up space in the yard. If the only thing your going to do is tow a secondary vehicle, then to me it would depend on what that vehicle is. Something that has a "true neutral" - like a 4x4 transfer case (Jeep) - I'd just use a tow-bar. Front wheel drive, automatic transmission, etc. I'd probably go with a dolly. I've done a lot of towing with both and no real problems with either, but I still prefer to put my old stuff on a trailer. If I'm not driving it, I want all the wheels off the pavement. I towed my daughter's 63 Falcon from New Mexico to Michigan on a dolly with the driveshaft detached, and the pumpkin got hotter than a popcorn fart, so I don't think I'll do that again. I think dollies have a low weight-limit, but their tongue weight is almost non-existent, too.

"Thermador" is one for sure. There are several companies manufacturing new ones. Search "evaporative car cooler", or as suggested "car swamp cooler", there are several for sale right now. Good vintage ones are hard to find in decent condition, since they only work with water they tend to corrode quite a bit, just something to watch out for. They work great in the southwest where its dry, but you have to carry lots of water with you, because the drier it is, the more frequently you have to refill them, but the drier it is the better they work. They work "OK" where its humid, they get progressively less efficient the more humid it gets, and you'll have that dank clammy feeling inside the car, and everything will be damp - which I personally don't like - but to each their own. They sure look cool (sorry), too!

Northtown automotive group just opened a Fiat dealership on Sheridan Ave. in Amherst, just outside Buffalo. Drove by it yesterday. They used their old Land Rover dealership. Kind of odd looking because all the "hills" they used to display the Land Rovers are still there, and are bigger than the Fiats, and it looks like a parking lot full of different colored lady-bugs. Not saying the cars a small, now. But I hear Gucci styles some, probably because they're about the size of a handbag anyway.

Don't know about the rubber stuff, I used original style lacing from Andy Bernbaum. The nails that attach it have a twist in them, sort of like threads on a screw. To remove them I just used a pliers, grabbed the head of the nail and gave it a slight counterclockwise twist as I pulled them straight out. I seem to recall they all came out rather easily, easier than I thought they would, anyway. To replace I just lined the lacing up where I wanted it, and tapped the nails back into their original holes, through the lacing, with a tack hammer. Still holding firm after @ 20 years. I would think you could attach the rubber lacing in pretty much the same manner. I might use some weatherstrip cement along the lacing to keep it from bulging up between the nails, that or just use the cement for the whole thing and it'll look neater.

Speaking of Detroit area members, I was at Selfridge ANGB yesterday for work. When I was leaving town, I spied a black P15 coupe about a mile out of the main gate in a driveway off of Jefferson Ave. in Chesterfield Township. Would that belong to a denizen of this Forum?

Bumped into Greg at the show. A bit of shame on my part for not taking our D24, as I am only about 30 miles from Olcott. He's a braver soul than I for taking these trips. I just gotta man-up and drive the ole Dodge further than the icecream shop more. For a small club, this is an excellent show, over 800 cars (Greg was #800-sumthing only an hour before registration closing time). On the beautiful shores of Lake Ontario - you can't find a better locale. But he's right, more of a huge cruise-in than a show. Alas, very few noticed the National Anthem at noon, but I did get thanked for being a vet a couple of times - which always pleasantly surprises me. Must be the haircut. Lots of Mopars, but only a few from our favorite era. Two shots of Greg and his ride, the beige P15 has a Hemi, and for giggles - the Morris Minor has a motor half-again as big as the car.

I'll be needin a newun, too. Mine was so bad after umpteen years in the southwest climes that I didn't even bother to save it. Just an oblong slab of soft dull grey metal.

Apparently I have a subconcious urge to be a glutton for punishment. Went TO New Jersey for a family function with the In-laws, that happened to coincide with the arrival of Irene, but was planned too far in advance and too expensive to cancel or postpone. The event was Saturday so it wasn't affected too bad by the storm, but spent Friday battening down hatches and Sunday cleaning up (not to mention the cooking and preparation for the event). Father-in-law's house in South Amboy, Brother-in-laws house in Bradley Beach and their neighbors - lots of rain, flooded basements, wind, foreign objects in the pool and yard, and a few leaks in the ceilings. Got the big stuff cleaned up in time for the lifting of the road closures at noon, and headed home.....through what was left of the storm. Trip home was more exciting than the storm itself. Road closures due to flooding, fallen trees and power lines all the way to just south of Syracuse. BUT - being the strong back from out of town and only worrying about how wet I get takes a load off the "locals". Would have gone without the family function anyway. Glad to hear the Forum's "locals" seem to have weathered the storm OK. Just do me a favor and don't become complacent - better to prepare for an emergency and not have one, than have an emergency and not be prepared for it. That's what happened to New Orleans - complacency.

Pleasure was mine! I always enjoy meeting people and putting faces to names, especially when we can talk old cars and swap stories. After a near record return time back to the office, I could hardly wait to try that trick you told me about removing the early Hudson headlight lenses. Worked like a charm - clouds part / angels sing. (Of course now I feel like a doofus for taking this long to figure that out, but I've gotten used to that feeling ).

Man, I am WAY behind you'uns. We've had the D24 for 20 years (kinda cool that my adult kids can't seem to remember us NOT having it). Took a couple years to get it streetable, then drove it about 500 miles a year on little local trips, then moved to Michigan where we'd only drive it during the "season", and on those horrible roads I wasn't keen on taking it very far with the progressively worsening steering. The roads aren't much better in New York (western NY, anyway), but now that the steering got fixed in time for this summer we've had it out pretty often, still just short trips, tho. A mere 7,000 or so miles on it in 20 years....time to catch up now that its not such an adventure to keep it between the ditches.

I had a modern vehicle with a standard transmission that did the same thing several years ago - it was the throw-out bearing.

As they say, whatever blows your skirt up. If it weren't for the ones that think outside the box a-la George Barris and his ilk, we wouldn't have the Batmobile (the original one, that is.)

I like form fitting skirts - and the Agape fender skirts, too, for that matter To each their own, depends on the look you want. To me, fender skirts at a minimum make the car look longer, and perhaps a bit more "upscale", the bubble ones even more so than the fitted ones. And you can instantly change the look by simply removing them. I really like the look of WWWs with the hubcap and full trim ring on my D24, but I wouldn't mind a set of the Agape style skirts.

I prefer contrasting rims on cars of our era (meaning our cars eras, not us ), versus rims that are a different hue of the body color. Our D24 is grey with bright red rims. Red looks good on yours, but I think yellow would look good, too.

at a D24 owner, maybe in the Los Angeles area. Was swapping "war stories" the other day about the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, and had an epiphany. Since I don't get those too often, I have to pay attention. I went to the Riot with my ageny's tactical unit. The first night they put us up in an old Marine Corps barracks while they were deciding just where to send us. I can't remember the name or location, but it was in or near LA. Although the small base was still active (could have been a Reserve center), the building they put us in was pretty run-down, the ground floor was flooded by a burst water pipe. Which happened to be the floor they put us on - go figure. Anyway, there was a D24 coupe in one of the parking lots. The next morning a young Marine started puttering around with it. It looked to me like it was his daily driver. I went to talk to him and look at the car. He seemed kind of taken aback, couldn't tell if it was surprise at someone showing interest, or that I was in full riot kit. But he was friendly, and had a really nice original car, which I found interesting at the time, because I thought he was "too young" to appreciate an all original D24. I seem to recall it was a light blue. Since they had finally decided where to send us, I couldn't visit very long. Anyway, my epiphany was that he might still have the car, and that he might frequent this Forum. Sound familiar to anyone?

Last time I brought the D24 to work, when I was showing it off to a group of my co-workers, one of them asked if it had air conditioning. I said "yep", then reached in and opened the cowl vent. The blank stare was priceless. Good to hear of your long, troublefree, road trip.

OK. I'll send you a PM or something before hand. I'll be returning to Buffalo from Wellesley Island area on the 24th. Should have time to visit a spell, I look forward to it.