knuckleharley

I know a guy in ND that has several 55-56 Packard 2dr ht parts cars. He likes 4dr sedans,and has the hardtops as parts cars.

That guy wears shorts to work in Mt in Jan? He must be a lot tougher than he looks!

You won't get an accurate compression reading until all the MMO has been pumped out of the cylinder. Right now,don't worry about it. You have the engine spinning freely,so leave the plugs out and use the starter to turn the engine over until you see oil pressure on the oil pressure gauge. Then try to start it. Once started,run it at idle to warm it up a little,and then shut it off and drain the oil out of the oil pan,change the filter,and add new 30 wt non-compression oil. THEN start it up and let it idle long enough to warm up to normal operating temperature before shutting it off and letting it cool again. Then you can run an accurate compression test because all the MMO and associated crud will have burned away leaving your cylinders clean.

OK,fair enough. IMHO,the very first thing you need to do is check the numbers on your title against the numbers on the car to make sure you have a clear,legal title. Then look over the car thoroughly and make notes on anything missing,rusted or damaged beyond practical care,or just in need of refurbishing. Immediately start looking for decent used or NOS parts to replace anything that needs replacing. Some of the stuff will be hard to find,so the sooner you start searching for it the sooner you will have it. Then you can start work on the car. Is the engine stuck? If so,pull the side plates,close the valves and pour some penetrating lubricant into the cylinders and let it sit while you do other things. Do NOT put the spark plugs back in after removing them to pour the oil into the cylinders. Let air help and gravity help the lube get past the rings. Check on the oil level each day you do something else to the car to monitor the progress of the seeping oil. Use the engine fan or a socket and breaker bar on the crank nut to test it to see if it is free,taking care to not "grunt" if using a socket and breaker bar. While waiting on this,do the essential safety work of replacing everything involving brakes or fuel feed,including the hard lines once done with all the above. IMHO,now is the time to see if you can get the engine running so you can determine what work,if any,it will need. Beyond this it is personal preference and the general condition of the car when you buy it. Do you want a driver grade car,a show car,restored car, or a modified car? If you want a show car or a restored car,you can ignore several steps listed above,and just start taking it apart right away,and carefully taking photos and notes on how things were assembled,and bagging it. EVERYTHING has to come apart,so you might as well wait to do any engine,chassis,and brake work once the body is off the car and everything is easier to get at. If this is your first project car,you do NOT want to tear it completely apart to redo. Keep the process as simple as possible so you don't get overwhelmed with the work you need to do. Try to stick to the basics to get the car running and driving again so you can enjoy it,and then after you have been driving it a few months you can start to make plans on what,if any modifications or repairs you need. With the exception of safety repairs like rebuilding the brake and fuel supply systems,that is. Safety first,cosmetics second. Never cut corners with safety.

I have no doubt you are right,but I also know that none of them are related to me. I start to get cold when it drops down to 60 F.

Maurice Petty is a pretty sharp cookie. I know some of the guys that work for him. One of his guys built the headers for my 32 Ford coupe for me. Still,they didn't always win,and the Holman and Moody team kept them on their toes. And we all know the street cars of all brands were very distant cousins to the factory race cars from everybody.

I suspect " HURRY up spring. " are the words most often heard where you live.

The original FE was a 1958 332,and it didn't last long, but the FE's sure lasted long in both production and usage,and IIRC,were finally replaced in 71 with the 429 series engines. Even the 332 would have had no trouble running down a 6 cylinder anything,with the exception of XKE Jags and that type of car. And the 332 descendant ,the 427 had no trouble running down anything anywhere. Even in a crude old English AC body.

Uhhhhh,don't want to burst any bubbles,but he was trying to scare you,not outrun you.

I have a cousin that put over 200,000 miles on one in a dump truck,and he was in the scrap metal business and loaded the HELL out of that thing by shredding the metal before loading the truck to haul the steel to the buyer.

Not much to discuss. The slant 6 is the most reliable gasoline engine ever put in a automobile or truck.

Compared to the complexity of a 1968 GTX,or anything for that matter,it's a day at the park both financially and mechanically.

At last! Somebody is purposely buying projects rougher than mine! BTW,is that a TYM loader? I just bought one a few months ago,and use it for grading as well as stripping out cars and moving them and large heavy parts around. Near as I can tell from looking,it's the same tractor that Case sells,but a lot cheaper.

Once again I am proven wrong. I have just been assuming the pickup (1/4 or 1/2 ton in 33?) was build on the same chassis as the cars.

That's right,rub it in. I guess that's an unrestored original,too?

Thanks for the correction. I called it a Cabriolet because every Mopar I have seen for sale with a canvas top and rollup windows was advertised as a Cabriolet. Whatever you call them,they are beautiful.

You must be married. Don't ask me how I know.

Reg,probably a stupid question,but is there some reason you can't use your original brake drums on a 50 rear? BTW,my rustbucket 33 Plymouth coupe is sitting outside right now with more modern factory mopar steel wheels bolted to it. The guy I bought it from wanted to keep the wire wheels,so I sold them back to him. AFAIK,all the brake drums are original on that car,and it had wire wheels on it when it was delivered.

You mean Cabriolets,right? IMHO,the 33-34 cabriolets were the only cars made prettier than the coupes. I can see why people cheerfully pay stupid money to own one. I'd own one,maybe even two,if I had stupid money to spend.

In what ways is a " TJ Richards-bodied 1933 Dodge Roadster " any different that any other 33 Dodge roadster?

What's he doing in Raleigh,recruiting?

Don,it's one of those things that is so "special" you will recognize it for what it is right away.

I don't personally know anyone that has,but you can bet someone has gotten sick. Probably people who rode around in the cars before the nests and odor were eliminated. Out in the open,pulling a nest out with a piece of wire or even your hands,I wouldn't worry about it. Just wash your hands afterwards,and spray everything with carb cleaner and you should be good to go. Riding around inside a old car that smells like mouse urine is a major Bozo No-No,though. Put on a respirator and pull everything out of the car and drag it out in the open to air out before spraying and scrubbing down everything inside,and then rinsing it down good while wearing rubber gloves and a respirator. If there is something you can't spray with a hose,spay a rag with something like brake cleaner,and then use the rag to wipe that area. There ain't no such thing as saving upholstery that has mouse urine in it,though. Remove and replace,and clean the metal good before replacing.

Why? There is nothing magical about hydraulic pumps. I know for a fact that Germans have tractors,as well as cars with power steering. Check with local industrial or agricultural supply companies and ask if they know anyone who will rebuild your pumps. Or do what I do when faced with something that might be expensive,I go to local trade schools,talk to the instructors,and ask them if they will have a student rebuild whatever it is I have as a class project. You will get a first class rebuild,and it will only cost you for the parts. If hard parts need to be made,that same school will have a machine shop course and they can build it as a student project. Students need projects,so you will be doing them a favor at the same time they are doing you a favor. Just make sure you tell them the pump is operated by 6 volts or 12 volts,whatever system you are running. Having it rebuild and coming back wired for 240 volts wouldn't be much help.

I am just guessing here,but if all else fails you might consider getting in touch with places like White Post Restorations in Va,or Arthur Gould in NY and seeing about getting them rebuilt. What I would do first though,is vacuum all the dust and trash out of it and then try pouring something thin like ATF or machine oil into the reservoirs and then let it sit for a few days before trying to see if they will pump, Ever if the seals don't swell again and seal good,if you can get it working properly it will be a lot cheaper to just buy new seals or have new seals installed than having to buy it all.