Merle Coggins

I don't know that the sender cares much about the voltage. It's just a variable resister. Voltage would matter to the gauge though. If you use a voltage reducer for the gauge you're set. Merle By the way, I got my tank back from the radiator shop a few weeks ago. It cost me $180. They patched a few pin holes, removed the pick-up tube, cleaned it out, and soldered it back in. Then they coated the tank inside and out. It was a bit more than they quoted me, but they also did more work than was expected. I also got lucky finding a sender lock ring that I was missing. I picked up a parts truck, on which the tank had been patched and repainted (still doesn't look very solid). But it has a sender and the lock ring I needed. I haven't tested the sender yet though.

#1 and #6 pistons will be at TDC at the same time. It's just a matter of which one is on it's compression stroke. Which way the rotor points doesn't matter much as long as it matches up with the proper plug wire. If your rotor indeed points at the firewall at #1 TDC Compression stoke, that be sure that #1 plug wire is in that position in the cap. Then follow around the cap, in the direction of rotor rotation, with the proper firing order. (1-5-3-6-2-4). Merle

When I first started working for my current employer (around 21 years ago) we had a Clark fork lift with a Chrysler 318 Industrial engine. Unless that was a transplant somewhere in it's life, I can't agree that Clark never used Mopar engines. Merle

Yes. The differential action through the side and spider gears changes the ratio. You need to turn both wheels together. I would venture a guess that you do have a 4.10 gear if you got 2:1 with spinning one wheel. (half the gear reduction with half the tires spinning) Merle

I'm with Bob on this one. Once you're used to quality tools, it's hard to imagine buying a cheap knock of tool. I've got a mix of Shap-on, Matco, Mac, and Craftsman, Truecraft, Great Neck, Blackhawk, etc. There is a distinct difference between the two grades of tool manufacturers. There is also a distinct difference in the prices, but when a cheaper tool breaks or damages a fastener while doing a job, you'll use up the money saved in time spend correcting the situation. I also understand that if you don't work someplace where these tool distributors stop in, it can be difficult to purchase these tool brands. Of the big 3, and you can probably throw Cornwell in there too, I tend to migrate towards Matco. Primarily because we've had the same Matco distributor coming to our shop since before I started working there 21 years ago. In that same time frame there have been at least 8 different Snap-on guys, 5 Mac guys, and a couple of different Cornwell guys. And with a lot of dead time between tool guys it's hard to be loyal to a brand if the service isn't there. I know that the Matco guy will be there every Tuesday, unless he has told us it wont be. That's why I bought my puller from him. Plus I know it's a quality tool which shouldn't give me any problems. But if it does, I also know he'll stand behind it. Merle

Don, what's the quarter for? Calling for help?

I actually have one of those, Don. I haven't used in on any car tires yet. I also have the motorcycle tire adapter for it. I have used it several times to change motorcycle tires. It works pretty well. I was going to use the car tire part of it soon to knock a tire off of one of my parts truck rims. Merle

I bought mine from my Matco distributor. He had it on his truck for so long that he finally took it off and had it stored in his basement. He made me a deal on it. I paid $130 and believe it's worth every penny. Plus I know that Matco will stand behind it if something were to happen to it. Merle

What does the Fluid Drive switch do? I have Fluid Drive in my truck and there's no switch of any kind associated with the transmission or Fluid Drive. Merle

That is all correct Norm. What we're saying is that any water would be a the bottom of the pan and would drain first, not near the end. Or all of the oil would be milky, not just the last bit. If only a portion of the oil got mixed with water and became milky, it would still settle to the bottom. Rodney stated that it looked foamy. This would indicate that the oil got airated, either from windage inside the crankcase, or his lube system is sucking air before the oil pump (which isn't very likely or he'd have other problems). If it is a detergent type oil it may be getting foamed from the windage / splash in the crankcase. Rodney, now that you've got the Rotella in there, check your oil level just after shutting the engine off. If there are bubbles or foam on the dipstick, you may need to investigate further. Most modern oils have antifoaming agents added to prevent this. Merle

Well, until you find the ellusive radio, you'll have to print out that picture, cut out the radio face, and tape it in place on the dash. Then just sing along to the tunes in your head and you're all set.

Bunn coffee maker cleaning too.

Wait a minute guys. Water is heavier than oil. If it was water is should have been on the bottom and drained first. I'm not sure what substance it may have been, but I'm quite sure it wasn't water/moisuture if it was the last thing to drain. Did you have the engine running just before draining the oil? It may have just been airated oil laying in top. Merle

Reg, Your's must be missing the threaded bosses on the horn attachment part. This is from my parts truck. My project truck is missing the bracket altogether. At least now I have one, and a working horn. Merle

Yes, it was my question earlier. I think it originally was like the stuff that Jim has. What was left of mine has some wire loops in it. I bought this stuff from Roberts. I believe this one is the Windlace #T27A, 18' kit for $35.00. It's a black vinyl material with a foam filler. And I think this is the Sill Seal #T122, 6' for $9.00. This one is all rubber and hollow. I haven't used either one of them, so I have no idea if they'd work or not. My project kind of got put on hold through the spring and summer. I have too many motorcycle related commitments now through August. Hopefully I'll be able to get some things done to keep it moving along until fall. Merle

I had one recently, on my parts truck, that I couldn't get out with the slide hammer. I used a couple of 3/8" drive deep sockets behind the drum. It came out pretty good that way too. Merle

Thanks Dennis, I found that too, after I made the post. It seems that CSK Auto Inc and Advance Auto are seperate companies that both use Parts America as their parts sources.

Will they take a check? "I must have money, I still have checks."

I guess it doesn't matter that the name is on the store. It all boils down to who's working behind the counter. One thing that was puzzling to me... Checker Auto Parts is part of CSK Auto Inc, which includes Checker Auto Parts, Schucks Auto Supply, and Kragen Auto Parts. And they also recently purchased Murry Auto Parts. They are sponsors of Del Worsham Racing (NHRA Funny Car). Advance Auto appears to be a completely different company, sponsoring Cruz Pedregon (NHRA Funny Car). But if you go to their online parts catalogs, they are identical except for the heading with the company name. On Advance's site it boldly shows Parts America. On the CSK site you have to look, but you'll see it is powered by Parts America. The manager at one of the local Checker stores confirmed that they are all part of the Parts America group. I remember several years ago there were Parts America stores around. Most of them closed up or switched to Advance. I also remember the local Checker store before it became a Checker. I don't remember what their name was back then, but I remember not liking it as much after it switched to Checker. Now I've gotten used to it. So, It all comes down to where you get the best service and parts availability in your area. Everyone seems to have different experiences at different franchise name stores. Merle

Advance Auto Parts aren't everywhere around here. The only one that I know of is closer to Norm than to me, and it isn't that close to Norm either. There are several Checker Auto Parts around, and a few Auto Zone's, both of which I've got parts from for my truck. Checker is part of the Parts America parts system and have the same exact online parts catalog as Advance. However, there is one woman manager at the Checker near my work that has been very helpful. She's not afraid to dig out the books and look things up for me. Most everyone else will only look in the computer and if nothing is listed, which is quite common for my '50 truck, than as far as their concerned it doesn't exist. I've shopped around for most parts. Sometimes I get a better through Napa, sometimes at the other stores, sometimes from the online sources. I had a co-worker once that said that NAPA stands for Never Any Parts Avaialble. He never had good luck with Napa. I can't say that I share his luck. They've been good to me. Merle

I am using a portable boat tank that I borrowed from a buddy. You can see it sitting on my "operators platform", just to the right of my fancy bucket seat. Merle

Maybe it just depends on what the part is too. One that comes to mind is my master cylinder. Bernbaum and Roberts list them for $115 + shipping (manufacturer unknown). Napa Online shows it for $150. With our normal discount I got one for $130, and it was delivered to my desk the next day. No shipping or delivery charge. Plus Napa will stand behind it if something were to be wrong. We've never had a problem with our local Napa stores in that regard. Merle

From Meriam-Websters... "one affected with cryptorchidism"... which apparently is "a condition in which one or both testes fail to descend normally" I guess it's true. You can learn something new every day. Thanks Don. Merle

Napa has several different price structures depending on who you are. Certain shops/people can get different pricing depending on their purchase volume. When I was getting some of my brake parts I talked to the Napa salesman that stops in here every week. He checked the numbers for me and quoted me their cheapest "cash" price. He explained that it was even better than our shop's price since we don't buy that much brake parts from them. We do get good prices on some of their stuff though, usually better than their online price. I guess it just depends on who you are and how well they know you. Merle

Probably started out something like this. Or this. Could be worse... I've got a lot more.