oldodge41

Friday started at 34F and quickly dropped below 0. It was -11F here most of Friday and yesterday with 20mph sustained winds and gusts to 55mph. It is a balmy +11F with much calmer winds today. Merry Christmas everyone, stay warm.

Proving it ain't so............ although it may have been be a cool concept if it were so.

Not many pictures this year. Not much driving around in the old girl either. Of the few pictures from this year, I oddly like this one best.

"The old car trap" been there, done that! I like the way you're thinking.

Around here DuKane is spelled Duquesne. Not sure why but I found that amusing.

A co-worker once told me our employer bought "John Wayne toilet paper". I asked what that meant and he said that it is rough as hell and won't take crap off anyone.

Is it possible something is plugging the exhaust? Maybe in the pipe or muffler?

I guess I have mellowed with age. I no longer feel a "need" to challenge other drivers. Whether it be the guy who crowds the merge at on ramps, the guy who can't seem to pick a lane, use signals or the tailgater. I used to challenge them all, every time accompanied by choice words and sometimes gestures. Not anymore, too much rage out there. What used to be a form of recreation for some of us has now become a deadly game of road rage. I miss the old days, when at most punches were thrown to settle all but really major disputes, and it was somewhat acceptable to hurt, or get hurt, feelings. Ah yes, the good old days............

Unfortunately I don't know of any bolt in alternatives. Many things could be made to fit with fabricated brackets. Since that isn't an option I am afraid I am no help at all.

I even have minimalistic "tool kits" in my 2019 F-150 and 2020 Hyundai Sonata. I obviously don't trust my mechanic (me) as much as @Sniper trusts his! LOL!! I have on occasion been able to help someone else out by having a pair of pliers, screwdriver, crescent wrench or hammer in the right place at the right time. Not always on vehicles, I was visiting a friend recently who needed a light switch replaced in his home. I was horrified to learn he didn't even own a screwdriver!!! No sweat, I got one in the truck..........

My last breakdown was a year or two or three ago, not sure, time flies. Anyway, as I rounded a corner thru an intersection the '41 just died. No sputter, no miss-fire, just silence. I coasted as far to the right as possible. Narrow shoulder as I was right at an on-ramp to an interstate. I checked for fuel in the fuel filter and the carburetor. I had fuel. Pulled a plug wire, put a screwdriver in it and then laid it on the head. Had my wife crank it over, no spark. I pulled the distributor cap and had her crank it again. No spark at points. I took a nail file to the points and tried again. Now I had spark. Replaced the rotor and cap and it fired right up. Drove home about 20 miles without a hiccup. I replaced points, condenser and cap later at home. I had points and condenser with me but didn't have to use them to get home. One person stopped, a frantic lady who wanted to know if I knew where the closest restroom was. LOL, I directed her to the burger King she could clearly see just ahead of her. Maybe I am odd, but I was hoping no-one would stop. But I was also hoping someone would stop that could help if I needed it. I think I was more embarrassed than anything else. Kind of like when you fall, and if you can get up, you look to see if anyone saw you. All part of the old car game I guess. Cool part of old cars is their simplicity when something does go wrong.

I was once buying a new Toyota pickup. They were promoting a "lifetime" power train warranty. I questioned them on the details of the warranty and was told as long as the oil was changed and maintenance performed by a certified shop the warranty was valid. I told them I do all my own oil changes etc.. They said that would void the warranty. So I argued I felt I was more adept at changing my oil than the kid at Walmart who doesn't know a carburetor from a distributor. He laughed and agreed, but said that's how it is. I asked what the cost of the warranty was to the dealership, he said about $500.00, I said take $500.00 off the price and wipe your butt with the warranty. No dice, I walked, almost out of his office when he said ok and took $500.00 off but left the warranty in place. I had no plan of keeping the truck beyond factory warranty anyway, but it was the principal of the thing. In another case, a mechanic that worked for me bought a new Hyundai. At about 1 year and 15,000 miles the engine blew up. The dealership refused the warranty because he had no oil change records. Hyundai, on the other hand, listened when he explained he had done them himself and they told the dealership to honor the warranty, which they did.

Like Merle I keep a small toolkit in each of my vehicles. Saved my bacon, and some other folks bacon, a few times over the years.

Looking good!

My grandson is 8 months old, and he loves the Bob Ross channel. The paintings this man made are amazing. I remember watching him on PBS years ago, and now watch his channel with my grandson.

Paul, I am sorry to hear of your accident. I hope you have a quick and complete recovery.

I had a cat, Sassy, that used to come to the patio door each night and I would put her in the garage. She would exit every morning when I opened the door to leave for work. I always fed her in the garage, kept a bed and litterbox in there for her. Not an affectionate cat, but a good mouser. Never had any mice. Then one day she didn't come home anymore. I tried several other cats but none would stay off the vehicles and they loved to scratch at the vinyl top on the Dart and the tonneau cover on the pickup truck. They never seemed to appreciate the stay in at night and prowl thru the day that Sassy did. Neighbor has four or five cats that roam around and leave me a porch present of a dead mouse now and then but they are not garage cats and run when spotted. I hate mice, but my guess is they don't like me much either!

Every fall is a battle with mice around here. The Dart in the picture above was terrible for attracting mice into the headliner. The '41 has had a few over the years but none that died and stunk like this one. Best trap I found is a five gallon bucket trap. I use peanut butter as bait and used motor oil as liquid in the bucket. Thanks for the compliments on the car too.

Here I am some years ago at the home of Pennsylvania's most famous groundhog, or whistle pig if you prefer. Punxsutawney, or Punxy as we call it, is a little over an hour from home. I had darker hair and my '69 Dart then.

I opened the door on my '41 Dodge coupe to the unmistakable stench of a dead rodent. There he was, laying right by the fire extinguisher in the center of the front floor. As the song says he was "Stinking to High Heaven"! First mouse I have found in the old girl in a lot of years. None stunk like this one. Fall is coming and they are looking for winter homes I guess. For such a little guy he sure did stink! Neighbors cats are letting me down here. I tossed the mouse and parked the car outside to air out for a couple days. The scent is much better now. Just another battle we face with these old cars. A couple weeks ago I opened the garage door to find shelves dumped, insulation torn up and the unmistakable sound of something fairly heavy running behind the freezer. Got my flashlight and found a groundhog hiding behind the freezer. Not in a good place to dispatch with a gun so I herded it out the door with a broom. Must have came in the day before while the doors were open and then spent the night trying to dig its way out of a metal garage with a concrete floor. He wasn't successful, but he did make a mess.

I had a couple bolts, not Mopar related, that were to torque to 320 ft-lb. Since I typically don't work with such high torque numbers I do not have a torque wrench that can be set that high. While researching torque wrenches that will accommodate that setting I came across some internet postings that recommend a simple math calculation and a lever of a specified length to achieve proper torque spec. Growing up we never had a torque wrench and just tightened things until they felt tight or as tight as you could if there was no feeling of fastener failure. Not the proper way to do it, I know, but it worked for years and years. The postings I found said to take the torque spec divided by your weight times 12 and that is how many inches of lever such as a pipe or breaker bar to use when applying your full weight to the fastener to be torqued. Some guys claimed this method was more accurate for them than a random uncalibrated torque wrench. So for example: 320/225=1.42 X 12 = 17.04" Anyone ever used this method? Anyone ever used this method and then verified with a calibrated torque wrench? I will now sit back and let the bashing commence.

Worn out bushings on the rear leaf spring shackles can and will cause a car to "chatter" upon clutch engagement as well.

Nice car. Good luck.

Happy 4th of July everyone. Let's see some red, white and blue. Here is some blue from yesterday.

Still have the Rambler too? Always enjoy your posts.