martybose

I can't quite tell from the photo: Does the the old frame get cut off far enough forward to keep the stock clutch and brake setup, if you were so inclined? Marty

These are the headers that I have on my engine, along with his side covers. I bought them a long time ago, ran them a while, then had them ceramic coated. I had to do a little work on the flanges to get them the same height as the intake, but they seal up and look (and sound!) great! I haven't had contact with J.B. since 2004, but I still have his last phone number if anyone needs it. Marty

I would second the warning about checking what is actually there. When I bought my 47 it had no battery, but the bulbs were 6V, so I installed a 6V battery. I then spent a long time trying to figure out why on long drives it would start boiling the battery. Played around with adjusting the regulator, then gave up and installed a new one, all to no avail. Finally removed the generator to get it checked, and that was when I found the 12V tag. I guess someone started a 12V conversion, and forgot to mention it! I then installed a 6V alternator, and all was well! Marty

Decided to take the old girl to work today, just for giggles. I get up on the freeway, cruising along at 65, all seemed well. I get about 5 miles down the road, then find myself thinking "Is that coolant I smell?" I look in the rearview mirror and see a cloud following me, look back at the water temp gauge and it's starting to go up. Pull off to the side of the freeway, and there's coolant everywhere on the front end of the car. Open the hood, and there is coolant just flowing out of the front end of the motor. The waterpump bolt that also holds the alternator adjustment arm has backed out completely, and is only still there because it hit the fan pulley first. In the meantime I have a nice 3/8" hole in the front of the block for the waterpump to pump the coolant out of! Put the bolt back in, put in the half gallon of coolant I had in the car, tried to drive it home slowly. Only made it about half a mile before the water temp went way up, so shut it down again. Called for a tow truck, then used the time waiting to start cleaning up the engine compartment. When I got her home, I added another gallon of coolant, and it still isn't full. Did a compression check, doesn't look like I hurt the head gasket. I'll get some more coolant tomorrow, then go down to the car wash to thoroughly wash down the engine compartment, hood, and fenders. Never did make it to work! Marty

the only time that I think it is tacky to post eBay auctions is if it is for a forum member who didn't offer it to the forum first! Beyond that, it is informational to others. Marty

I ran my car as a 6 volt for a number of years, after adding a 6V alternator and changing the headlights to 6V 60 watt halogens (needed headlight relays and heavier wiring for that). I finally switched to 12V after giving up on trying to make the stock gas gauge work, but all of the aftermarket ones were 12V. I rewired my car using a Rhode Island harness, which I highly recommend. I actually specified a number of changes (adding turn signal wiring, eliminating the voltage regulator becuase of a 1 wire GM alternator, incorporating the headlight relay and wire gauge changes, and more) and everything came out exactly as I wanted it. Not cheap; guess it depends on what you think your time is worth to do it yourself! Marty

I have about 5-1/2" to both the bottom center of the front crossmember and to the bottom of the sway bar brackets. Marty

If you click on my name in this reply and select the first option, you'll see what my 47 looks like with stock springs all around, a Fatman dropped front spindle, and 15" 60 series tires front and rear. Marty

Fatman does sell a spindle assembly that is dropped about 2.5" with the stock spring. Be aware that you will need to convert to disk brakes to use this spindle (I managed to get them to work with stock drums, but wouldn't recommend it in retrospect!), and you should use his brackets to move the top shock mount to the frame. Marty

The same thing happened to me; it usually means that your computer used what it had cached instead of downloading again, but when you manually initiated a reload it downloaded everything. Marty

There is already exactly what you suggested in place here; just go to the top level and you'll see the P14-D24 forum, the Pilothouse form, and the Admin/off-Topic forum! Marty

I had the misfortune to assemble my motor the first time with plated springs, which turned out to be embrittled enough from the plating to break occasionally. I replaced one the first time when a ticking noise got my curiousity; the second time I heard the ticking I found two more broken, so I bought a new set of unplated springs and replaced them all. Marty

Don't forget that there is usually a spring behind the panel to keep it tight on the escutcheon, so you may have to push the handle in a little to release the pin. Mine were straight pins, so they should come out either side with no problem. Marty

I always thought it was "Off Topic". I do think they should be elsewhere, since the new forum won't be flushed out periodically like the old one, so if you are looking for something specific you will have a lot of "stuff" to go through. But I guess I'm in the minority on this issue. Marty

.... you can still get the rest of it out if you are willing to. When my mechanic tried to get the one out of the D24 block now residing in my 47, the tube broke off at the #5 cylinder. He just drilled and tapped a hole in the back of the block, pulled out the remaining piece, then closed the hole with a recessed head pipe plug. Maybe not for he faint of heart, but no issues with it to date! Marty

Be aware that while a 230 crank and rods will drop into a 218, they have different flywheel mounting hardware; the easiest thing to do is get the flywheel and hardware when you get the crank. Here's a picture of the engine in my 47 Plymouth; a 50 Dodge 230 with Edmunds head and Edmunds intake manifold, topped with Langdon adapters and a pair of Langdon-supplied 2 barrel Weber carbs. Marty

Awhile back on the old forum I had posted about my surprise at finding that I have been running the wrong length plugs in my Edmunds aluminum head. Like a lot of people here, I had been running Autolite 306 plugs, and was very happy with them. Then I inadvertantly stripped the threads on #1 cylinder, but was intrigued to see that there were more threads below the stripped ones. So I dug out my OEM iron head, and it indeed was 3/8" thick at the sparkplug threads. I then measured my Edmunds head, and found out that it was 1/2" thick! So in the Edmunds head, instead of the 306 sticking out into the combustion chamber, it was actually inside the sparkplug threads. So I called up Autolite tech support, told them about my engine mods, and said I wanted a 1/2" reach plug that was one or two heatranges cooler than a 306, and would work well with my Langdon HEI unit, should I ever get around to installing it. They recommended an Autolite AP425, which is a platinum plug. I finally received that Back-Tap that I had ordered, and last weekend I cleaned up the threads and installed the new plugs (still using the stock ignition system). The interesting thing to me is that the engine runs even smoother now than before, and I found that I can get in the car, turn on the ignition switch and hit the starter button without even touching the throttle pedal, and the car will start up and idle. I used to have to fiddle with the throttle to get it running, but not any more! It was so smooth that I wound up turning the idle speed down. I would strongly recommend that anyone running Autolite 306 or 308 plugs in an Edmunds aluminum head on a 218/230 check to see what their thread depth is; if it is 1/2" like mine, it might run better with an AP425 plug! Marty

If there was one, I suspect a lot of us would qualify! I sure would! Marty

I'm limited Browser-wise by still running OS 9.2, but both Netscape 7 and iCab 3 seem to work fine. Marty

I read the Inliner's thread, and while I understand the issue as it relates to Dino oil, I can't help wondering if a good full synthetic oil, where the base material has greater lubricating qualities than most Dino oils, would also provide the necessary properties? Something like Mobil 1, or even better Royal Purple? Marty

There is no reference to plug wires in the instructions I have, but I would say a good spiral-wound suppression wire would be a good idea. I can't speak to reliability personally, because I haven't installed mine yet! He does recommend that you set it with an initial timing of 10-18 degrees BTDC (without vaccum advance connected), and that you use the ported vacuum for mild engines and full vacuum for performance cams. He doesn't say what the advance specs are. He does say that the unit is based on a 1982-84 GM 2.8L "S" truck distributor, if you feel like researching it. Marty

Yes, the one distributor works for both. You can't see it in the photo, but the bracket that bolts to the block is moveable, and the instructions tell you to match the height of your old distributor. He doesn't recommend a sparkplug, just recommends opening up the plug gap. Marty

Don't be afraid to mess around with some of the formatting options with the signatures, some are kind of interesting! Marty

Every time I've put my aluminum head on (more times than I care to remember! ) I've always used a FelPro gasket and used Gasgacinch on the copper side and left the blue side clean. They usually seal up fine, as long as I was careful to properly seal the headbolts/studs and all of the miscellaneous screws/bolts that screw into the head. Marty

I guess I'll have to work on making a smaller version of my favorite photo so that I can use it; none of them are small enough to be under 64K! Marty:p