martybose

If you look at my profile photo you can see what a 47 Business coupe looks like with steelies painted Hemi Orange! Marty

If anyone cares, 4 more glove box locks just showed up on eBay, so we can all relax now! Marty

I was reading the latest Street Rodder last night, and found a 6V to 12V converter that is specifically designed to drive LED taillights; might be worth checking out! http://www.watsons-streetworks.com Marty

Nope, mine is black! Marty

I haven't installed my Langdon HEI setup yet, so I took out the round coil and unpacked it. All it says on it is "476T, 12V, Made in Mexico". There isn't any indication of either the orginal manufacturer or customer. Marty

Actually you have it backwards; the hot water comes from the back of the head and is returned to the top of the waterpump, which feeds it into the center of the pump. Effectively, you are bypassing the radiator and feeding hot water back into the waterpump. So yes, close that valve! Marty

I'm running a real mongrel cooling system on my 47. I've got a stock radiator with a zero pressure cap and a coolant recovery system, no thermostat, a stock NAPA waterpump with no bypass (either internal or external), run 100% propylene glycol coolant from Evans Cooling, and dual electric pusher fans with no engine fan. Even with a zero pressure cap the Evans NPG+ coolant has a boiling point of 275 degrees, so I don't worry about it boiling over and losing some. It starts warming up on the stock temp gauge about 5 blocks from my house, and usually runs between 160-180 degrees. The fans kick in at about 190 degrees, and usually only come on in heavy stop-and-go driving. I've only seen over 200 degrees once; a few weeks ago when I was driving on the freeway and a waterpump bolt backed all of the way out (!!) and dumped most of my expen$ive coolant all over my engine compartment and fenders! The only problem that I have is that this stuff tries to leak out of every place possible, as it is pretty thin. I've sealed every bolt going into the block and the head, and had to resort to heavy duty T-bolt hose clamps torqued to 100 in-lbs to stop the leaks at the radiator hoses. As they say, to each his own! Marty

I'm only seeing the engine shot, with icons only for the other picture in both posts. Marty

Mine are 12V, and I don't personally know if they are available in 6V. Marty

Or you could take the easy way out and just use a set of the new Technostalgia (sp?) LED taillights, which have separate inputs for tail lights, brake lights, and turn signals. Works great! Marty

Most of the new waterpumps have both the bolt holes on top for the bypass fitting and the tapped center hole for the 90 degree bent fitting that is used for the heater return when there is no bypass fitting. The only difference otherwise is an additional 1/2" hole in the backing plate that mates up with the later model block. The 50 Dodge block that I used was set up for a internal bypass pump, and I can personally vouch for the problem of using an internal bypas pump AND the outside bypass fitting! Marty

I wouldn't think you can even install a quickchange unless you are removing the stock gas tank; they do have a considerable overhang behind the axle. They also tend to be rather noisy, since the spur gears are straight cut. And I would agree with an earlier post that said most have spools in them, and lockers or limited slip differentials are rare and expensive. Marty

The only problem with this approach is that you lose the locating pin between the spring and the perch, and wind up with the U-bolts being the only thing that positions the housing fore and aft. Having sheared off said pin on a Mustang project many rears ago, I am painfully aware of how far the housing can move even if the U-bolts are tight. Maybe I'll see if I can come up with a hardened allenhead bolt that I could put through the spring and spacer into the perch. Marty

Does anyone know of a source for the lowering blocks and U-bolts for our narrow leaf springs? I'm looking for something in the one to two inch range. Thanks, Marty

I think it looks great the way it is; if it isn't too low in front, leave it alone! BTW, where did you get the lowering blocks and U-bolts from? Marty

You are correct; the bolts are the first thing that has to be fixed. If my experience is valid, they won't be the last ...... Marty

When I did the same conversion, I wound up with severely limited turning movement due to the drum brake backing plate hitting. I had less than half of the end to end turns of the steering wheel. I wound up taking a grinder to the backing plates to cut notches in them to allow them to turn farther. Have you checked for this yet? Marty

My day job is working in a shipyard, where we use a lot of scaffolding. We buy scaffolding planks, which are 2" x 12" x 10', and are exceptionally stiff; almost no bounce. Any good-sized lumberyard should be able to get them. Marty

Are you installing Holley-Webers or Carter-Webers? I've got the Carter-Webers (which I purchased from Stovebolt, along with his carb adapters), and I'll warn you about a problem for at least the small block Mopar flatheads. The electric choke connection for the front carb will be firmly against the body of the back carb. After much messing around, I ultimately hogged out the bolt holes in the adapters enough so that both carbs were rotated clockwise slightly to open up the area in question. Don't forget that you need to have enough room to get the connector on; want to guess how I know about that one? Marty

An interesting question! There is no doubt that a properly designed header will flow better than a split log manifold, but i've never seen anyone document the difference between the two in real world usage. But I like my cast iron headers anyway! Marty

The starter motor doesn't care about polarity, because it is using coils instead of permanent magnets. They all reverse polarity, and it works fine. There will be a little loss of efficiency initially, due to residual magnetism, but it isn't that noticable. You're right about the coil, I forgot that! But all you have to do is rotate the coil in the bracket and reconnect it. Marty

If the 6V radio is all original, it will work just fine with 6V negative ground. If it has been updated to electronic instead of mechanical, it will need to be changed to a negative ground. Marty

Good for you! I have given stuff to forum members for the cost of the freight that I could have sold on eBay, just because it felt like a nice thing to do! Marty

It does indeed; thanks! Marty