deathbound

The 2nd pic looks like it's a straight up gasser!

Is there a chart on the inside of the door with heat/wire speed settings for a specific thickness? Could there be any voltage drop @the outlet? I'm not an electrician, but maybe your not getting a full 110 volts (or whatever it should be). Like what was mentioned earlier, start on high heat & lowest wire speed & have somebody slowly turn up the wire speed til it sounds smooth....like bacon frying.

I'll probably go with gear oil only & since I'm rebuilding the box with new gaskets & shaft oil seal, I'm hoping it won't leak. Looks like there's a new thread started re:steering box grease, so I'll watch that & see what the consensus is.

Do you pack the bearings & pack the steering gear box with it? How much...full? I was wondering, because, when I opened the box, there was grease (not very much & seemed kinda thin) and no gear oil. If I decide to use gear oil, am I correct in assuming I do not pack the bearings in grease?

No thanks-not my thing. I think it's illegal here in California anyways-not that that would stop me if I did choose to have them or anything else.

Opened up the steering box yesterday-here's what I found:some gooey stuff that used to resemble grease/oil-1st PIC, scoring on the worm gear of the steering gear tube/worm assembly-2nd PIC (does this look repairable?), major scoring on the steering gear shaft/roller & gear-LAST 3 PICS (definitely needs to be replaced). The steering gear tube/worm assembly is in the $300 range to replace, the steering shaft/roller assembly is in the $100 range to replace.....a couple of expensive-yet necessary parts. I have found a couple places that have them. The bearings look good, may end up replacing them also.

That's a nice set-up & a big plus using the original pedals.

a few more.....I'll post a few pics tomorrow of the insides of the steering box-NOT purdy at all.

Pics of the m/c....may be very graphic.

More pics....even found part#'s under all the crud.

This is kind of a follow-up to my thread asking advice on front brakes & steering. Thought I would start a new thread, considering it's all new work being done. Never really got the front brakes dialed in to my liking & had purchased a disc brake conversion kit from Charlie at the end of last year. I was waiting for a good time to install it (at the time, I was re-wiring the car, adding dual carbs/intake, headers/dual exhaust, & new fuel line) and wanted to get the car running again before jumping into more projects on the car. I noticed when I first removed the front wheels, both sides were right hand threaded lugs. This is not right....right???????? I removed all the front brake parts, steering arms/tie rods (tie rods/drag link end, etc. will be replaced), master cylinder & cleaned/prepped parts for paint. I had to enlarge the 2 bottom holes in the steering knuckles for the disc brakes conversion plates. I tried to cut a fat hog & drill them on the car (since the king pins seemed nice-without any slop), and, well, they moved a little & I didn't end up with a clean hole for the new threads. I ended up removing them, used a drill press & installed heli-coils-oh well, lesson learned-don't cut corners. Installed a new king pin package also. Honed the m/c, installed all new internals, made a new cover gasket, & buttoned it up-ALL new brake lines to follow (& probably look at the rear wheel cylinders/brakes too). Painted all the steering parts & installed the ends. Installed the rotors/calipers. Still need to re-install the m/c, but waiting to rebuild the steering box & reinstall it-which I removed yesterday (a whole new can of worms-so to speak) with ugly pics to follow. I'll start with a few pics of the front brakes & m/c-before. By the way, Charlie is so helpful. I had a few different questions at different times, e-mailed him & within a few hours, he responded-even during the evening. GREAT GUY! Thanks Charlie.

Shouldn't this new thread on "his" truck have been started in the truck forum??? I thought this is an open forum, nobody is forced to read a thread, so if you're not interested or willing to help, move on to the next. I'm new to old Mopars & shouldn't feel discouraged to ask questions about different problems with my car. I know it may clutter the forum a little, but, may also be easier to search when the question or problem is in the title of a thread.

What size wheels & tires are you running, it has a nice stance to it? Nice looking 48 by the way.

Me too........I couldn't resist.

I'm running the stock 6 volt starter/solenoid without any problems on my '38 Plymouth that's been converted to 12 volts.

I had thought about moving the front axle to the top of the leafs, but a lot more work involved than changing over to a dropped axle. Like you said, I probably need to find someone to drop my axle. Can you link the exact part(s) you're referring to, checked your site & found nothing to lower the front end for a '38 Plymouth with a tube axle. EDIT:found the dropped axles, but they require early Ford spindles or a disc brake conversion (using non-stock Plymouth spindles?). Is there anything that uses the stock Plymouth spindles??? I'm already in the middle of a disc brake conversion w/stock spindles. It also states they are straight, mine is curved, for oil pan clearance I guess. Sorry for thread highjack, but I hope the OP has found the info he was looking for.

Don't mean to highjack this thread, but has anyone lowered the front of a 38 Plymouth with the tube axle? Thanks, now back to our regularly scheduled program.

I've been using this type of crimping tool http://www.elliottelectric.com/Products/Detail.aspx?v=TAB&c=WT111M for the last 25+ years without any failures. It requires non-insulated terminals/connectors & if a certain non-insulated piece is not readily available-I remove the crappy plastic piece from the one I need. Of course, I then use adhesive lined heat shrink tubing to cover/protect/secure the connection. I'm not knocking soldering, I've just had good results with this crimping tool. DO NOT use the crimping tool that "flattens" the terminal/connector.

Another one....a bit more than the previous post: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DESOTO-345-CUBE-HEMI-CUSTOM-CRATE-ENGINE-/260835364917?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cbaffd035

You can always make or have a Carson Top made for it if you get tired of it being a full time convertible. Just take the advice of those that said to reinforce the frame/rocker panels prior to making ANY cuts to the roof/pillars. Could be a cool sled when done. Start a thread with pics along the way & don't be afraid to ask questions. Good luck. Here's a link for the Carson Top:http://www.rikhovingkustoms.com/RHK1/CarsonTop.html

Dan, thanks for the info. I noticed about 7/16" (a lot compared 1/64" in the manual) movement in the pitman arm before the steering wheel would move & most of that was the steering shaft moving slightly side to side (as viewed looking straight on with the shaft)-probably worn bushings. I will know more when I open up the steering box-which I planned on. I would not have able to drive the car if the sector shaft gear was not contacting the worm gear on the steering shaft. It drove fine, steered fine (straight with hands off the wheel), & very very little movement of the steering wheel with no reaction to the front wheels.

I adjusted the steering, seems to have cured the wobble-even though there is still slop in the steering gear shaft. Also did a brake minor adjustment & the pulling to the right is a lot less, though still slightly there & weak pedal also. I decided to finally convert to front disc (bought the kit from Charlie earlier this year). While I'm at it, I will be replacing both tie rods, drag link tie rod, new bushings on the steering gear shaft, clean & paint related parts, rebuild the master cylinder, install all new brake lines-front & back, & probably open a few cans of worms along the way. I will start a new thread with before/after & progress pics of the work, if anybody is interested.

I've got 3" blocks-only a few inches of travel left & not the greatest ride. To get it as low as you want, you'd probably have to do a "C" notch & bag it. Might as well add a 4 link while you're at it.

No, but I will be going to the Outrider's picnic Sunday. What type of events are there?

A few before & after of the wiring (first 2 are the old harness, 3rd is part of the new harness) & also newly fabbed dual carb linkage (from existing crossover shaft to supplied linkage @the carbs).