Ivan_B

Just noticed that you have a somewhat complicated roof structure. Make sure to seal those corners (where one plane goes into the other) very well, at the bottom. This is likely where it will start leaking the soonest

Great find, never seen it either. It kind of makes sense, though. Considering the time when pocket watches were mainstream, this is for an older car where there is no clock. Probably intended for professional drivers who are on schedule. So that you don't have to reach into your pocket, all the time, you just put the watch on the steering wheel, right in front of you. Very convenient.

The quickest check is probably to compare batty voltage running vs. non-running. The rest of the problems do not really sound like problems, unless you are buying a mint daily-driven car for lots of $. All used cars usually need some regular maintenance, and the old ones also have wear due to materials' aging and improper storage

I am sorry, but I don't follow this sentence... 🤨 Did you take pictures? What's wrong with it?

Speaking about smell: carnauba literally attracts bees (or wasps, I can't tell the difference) for some reason. So be careful 😉

Oh yeah. that car does look great, based upon the videos. First thing I would do (after making sure it is ready to drive) is put on some regular mufflers. Them loud ones are just silly for an adult on a classic sedan 😉 The original knobs were some sort of cellulose plastic, I believe, that's why they tend to disintegrate completely with time. These can be lathed out of hard wood, or even 3D printed and polished... There are a few sets on e-bay, for some cars, but they use different mounting hardware and not all knobs are available. Also, what I think could be really awesome - is to line all the faux wood panels with a thin layer of real wood...

It should be the same process you do with the kingpin bushings, only on a considerably smaller scale 😏

Shouldn't you be drilling and reaming both sides at the same time?

Yep. This is, indeed, very doable and there are a couple of different techniques that can be used. Good job!

Carnauba is just one of the ingredients, originally coming from some fancy tree leafs I always use liquid wax (with carnauba) so that I do not need to buff anything, essentially wearing down the paint I am trying to preserve.

The only way I know is to install shaft bushings. I saw kits on e-bay with the tools and bushings 🙂

Is that original paint? What does the car look like from underneath? For parts, you can start by casting and machining some brake drums. If you can do them for less than $500 a piece 😉 Also, some good quality replacement dash knobs and radio buttons would be great (at least for the 40s models).

Thank you, you are right 😇

Yes, and many relied on splash lubrication (instead of an oil pump) as well. And they also had less motorhours from the factory 😅

Smaller torque wrenches use in/oz instead of ft/lb I would concur with that, there are different ways to accomplish the objective at hand.

I would recommend getting your car to a good-operating condition, and starting using it, first 😉

Keep it on the shelf, or you can sell them. They are probably collectable, now 😃

Come on, you've never done that? 😅 It starts bubbling, profusely, right out of the hole (assuming that you've already managed to shake/drain/evaporate some gas out of it, and it has some air inside). After you solder the hole, this is also how you check the float to make sure that it is watertight.

I also had a leaking float, when I got the car. Dipping it into boiling water lets you know where the hole is 😉

This is probably the worst distributor I ever saw 😳 It must've been in some really humid environment. Do you also have the vacuum advance on that thing? If so, it is probably also shot. I am still in process of fixing my own 😅

I wrote an elaborate response to this, but then decided not to post it. Enough has been said already. They weren't If anything, the tolerances are probably tighter in modern vehicles and sealants are often recommended to be used by the OEM, these days, because fitting the pieces without them is either impossible or impractical. For lack of better analogy, the windshield on new cars is held by a sealant... 😅 Of course, they were not available back in the days so all sorts of machinery was likely more prone to being not perfectly sealed. That's true. I watched a documentary where a 50-s engine factory was mixing all sorts of additives into the engine block iron in attempts to improve its properties against cracking, warping, internal tension... Very interesting process for a lay person

Heat is useful when bending metals, in general... Do we have engineers, here? Assuming that we do not have heat-sensitive parts, inside, would it be of any benefit to bake the entire assembled carb to do "stress" relief? Or would that be a waste of time since it is constantly going through heat cycles with the engine?

I respectfully disagree with the above statement, as it appears to, somehow, attribute the use of sealants to a poorer workmanship standards and inferior service

Permatex #2 (as the gasket dressing) works just as well 😆 I do not believe that the engine head is a good analogy, here, since it experiences quite different working conditions in comparison to those endured by your average carburetor or thermostat housing. Sure, you can attempt to get perfectly straight/matching surfaces, or you can use some sealant with the same results. I am certainly not attempting to discourage anyone from having well-fitted engine parts, just offering some alternatives 😅

Congrats! 😀 The car looks great from far away. We need more pictures. There are plenty of hard-to find parts, but the repro-ones will be as expensive as the scarce OEM stuff.