kbuhagiar

(Sincere thanks to drdialtone for the use of his picture.) I don't care too much about getting the needle to sit correctly; I'm more concerned with correctly interpreting the reading. Engine is a TPI 350 Chevy with a pressurized cooling system. On a 75-degree day at around 70 MPH, my needle sits just under the 212 mark (red arrow). When I hit a long incline it may briefly go past 212. Around town it usually sits just under the red arrow. I am trying to determine if there is the 'fudge factor" of 20 degrees or so based on the starting point of the needle. If so, I have no quibble with the readings. I have an infrared thermometer so I guess I'll take some readings this weekend to determine the accuracy. Should I measure the temp at the thermostat outlet, or right where the temp gauge bulb is mounted in the head? John Wolf does fantastic work - I highly recommend his services. He rebuilt the fuel tank sending unit on my Corvette a few years back.

Does the extreme northern edge of Silicon Valley (San Francisco) count?

Hello Folks, On my 47 Plymouth, the heat gauge needle sits one mark to the right of the 100 degree position (what one might interpret as the 120 degree mark) when fully cold. I have a couple of questions: 1) Can this have an effect on the overall accuracy of the gauge reading? In other words, should I interpret the gauge to be 20 degrees off over the entire scale (so when the gauge says 212 degrees, the temperature is really only 192 degrees)? 2) Where should the needle actually sit when it is fully cold - on the 100 degree mark, or slightly below (to the left of) that? 3) Can the needle be adjusted so it sits in the correct spot when fully cold (wherever that may be)? Thanks in advance!

Video #14 is A1, as usual. Great job, Mark. Can't wait for the final build!

Thanks Ed, I'll take a look.

Hello Folks, On the P-15 Club Coupe, how does the back seat bottom cushion stay in place? On my car, there are two metal tangs that stick out from the floor. It appears as if they are supposed to hold back against corresponding parts of the seat frame. However, when installed there is no tension between the cushion and the tangs, allowing the seat to move front to back. Any ideas? Can the tangs or the seat frame be bent forward or back to provide the necessary interference fit? Thanks in advance.

Here you go - great stuff. Leno's good, but he's no Johnny Carson. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpVjW30I-YU

"Now let me see if I got the facts straight here... Cleaning woman Clara Clifford discovered your clean copper clappers kept in a closet were copped by Claude Cooper, a kleptomaniac from Cleveland. Now is that about it?"

Jim, I, too, found it to be a bit of a reach. Upon further review, however, even if the person was poorly grounded, wouldn't they still get a bit of a "tingle"? Enough to get their attention?

Thanks Mr Bill - we appreciate you taking the time and trouble to show us the nuts and bolts of your seat belt installation.

Why are they called headlamp doors?

Huh? Can someone explain please?

James, Thanks for the clarification. I'm not surprised that the real groundswell of support originated with the railfans. At the time it was no secret that the City wanted to tear up the tracks after Muni Metro went into operation. Can't blame the bureaucrats for trying to take credit for it, especially within the pseudo-reality of San Francisco politics!

Agreed. Working in San Francisco can drive me crazy sometimes, but I am glad they decided to keep the old streetcars. Which, by the way was sort of an accident. Here's a link to the story: http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mfleet/histcars.php

Hello Folks, Can anyone tell me if the capillary tube on the P15 heat gauge can somehow be lengthened, or replaced with a longer unit? Thanks in advance.

Ryan, When I was in high school I had a 68 Cougar that exhibited the same problem. Drove me nuts. After driving a few miles with the headlights on, the lights would suddenly go off, then come on about 15 seconds later. After much frustration and research, I learned that Ford headlight switches of that era had an internal circuit breaker that could wear out after a few years and become intermittent. There is no way of repairing or resetting the breaker. I eventually replaced the headlight switch and my problem was solved. Not sure how easy it is to find a replacement headlight switch for a 61 Ford Fairlane, but that would be the first thing I would look at. Good luck!

I got this email ad today: http://newsletters.thehoffmangroup.com/manage/display.php?M=498126&C=2f2d88ed9900d73bfd59273e09003070&S=239&L=10&N=118 At first I though it was a hoax, but...it's legit.

+1 I recently purchased some rubber parts from Dave Kruse. Although I haven't yet installed them, the parts appear to be well made and of a very high quality. His customer service is outstanding, very responsive, and his combined shipping costs were EXTREMELY reasonable. Thanks Dave!

Hello Folks, Glad to see that everyone survived Doomsday. Up next: Various hasty explanations of why the world didn't end yesterday. Stay tuned...

Pictures of the car (even though it is slightly OT), if its not too much trouble...thanks!

Same here - 70 Nova clip on my 47 Plymouth. I bought it this way; the conversion was done around 21 years ago by an experienced rod builder in Sacramento. All of the work appears to have been extremely well done. The car drives and steers like a dream. However, it is definitely not something I would have considered doing on my own. In fact, faced with the same situation today, I probably would have left the frame intact and concentrated on bolt-on improvements rather than radical surgery. Just my 2 cents....

Does the earlier (black) one has the same information for 46-49 models as the later (red) one? Thanks.

Pictures?

Hello Folks, Which is the best factory service manual for the P15? This the manual I have: It covers all Plymouths from 1946-53, but it seem to use overly general terms for some service procedures. I see there is an earlier version available: It appears to cover only the years 1942-early 1949, which would seem to be more specific to the P15. Does anyone out there have this one? Can anyone comment as to whether one manual is more thorough than the other for P15s? As always, thanks in advance for your assistance!

Yeah, I agree. Exactly which parts of this "beater" are rotting? We should all be rotting so nicely! NICE RIDE!