Ivan_B

Sounds like a plan. Or, you can just take a look at your current radio to see whether or not it works... Basically, you need a working stock radio to go with the DIY AM transmitter route. And this is exactly what's going on. Wires are copper core, plugs - non-resistor. I was sniffing around the car with another AM radio, I am getting the ticking/tapping noise from around the generator, voltage regulator, and the coil (sitting right next to my radio inside the cabin). I am still thinking about whether I should install shielded ignition wires, or try to put some filter caps on the coil, etc. Using a modern stereo setup is a good solution, especially if you do not have the radio in there. My car came equipped with the OEM radio (with a paper warranty tag), so the whole point was to get it working and then use it with my own music to enjoy the good-old warm tube sound

For sure... If you need some sound insulation, you'll have to rely on laying down some loose sheet material. Disadvantage? Maybe, but it can always be easily removed for inspection/service later on

I was doing an "engine running in the dark" test, and noticed that all of the plugs are sort of glowing blue in the dark. The glow appears to be "ticking" together with the engine RPM... There is no arching, or anything like that. It looks like the glow is coming from inside the wire boots. The sparks are new, the wires are not new but seems to be performing according to specs. ? Is this normal? Can someone please take a look at your engine in the dark?

That's a good tip, I'll try that once I get to it. I also need to check my drums with a dial, and probably grind down the shoes for proper contact ? Have you attempted to look for a used steering box to see how it works? I cannot image it being worn so much that rebuilding does not work... Also, is yours adjustable? I once had a more modern car with an extremely bad steering wheel play (worm gear type). The adjustment took about 2 minutes, and worked great (no play)

Well, you can probably run it for a minute, but I would not recommend doing that. Chances are, you'll toss this engine anyway, sooner or later. Did you ever drive an air-cooled motorcycle? You would usually feel the cylinder head by hand; once it is too hot to touch, it is ready to roll. During hot weather, it takes less than a minute to warmup. Well, the air-cooled engines are fine because they have larger gaps, but if you heat-up a normal engine like that, you can get it heat-seized. In general, I would not be testing the engine with the radiator disconnected, etc., period. If you are planning to fix it, you need to fix everything, anyway I know you did not ask, but I still think you guys should get a different car, which you can readily-enjoy. This one sounds like it will be off the rod for a long time. Think about it - you could've been driving around, right now, and asking how to do the regular maintenance, instead of messing with all this ?

I know, I am just joking. Florida winter - is the classic car driving season... Things are obviously quite different up north. How are your brakes doing? Did you have those properly installed and adjusted? Fluid flushed, hoses, lines, cylinder seals brand new?

Do it, do it now, you'll like it! ? The volume on the OEM Philco? Of course! You can blow the speaker out with that thing. I am only listening at around 25-30% of the volume, right now. No alterations were done to the radio itself, what so ever, I am just feeding the radio signal by wire into the stock antenna. Drove the car around town, today, the "radio" is working pretty cool. Although, I am picking some static from the running engine. Checked - appears to be unrelated to my setup because it is there even with the transmitter turned off, and it fluctuates with the engine RPM. This is probably the ignition system or the generator. I'll look into ways to get rid of it, over the week.

I am finally driving while it is not too hot... Planning to go through the whole winter ?

It depends. Corrosion can form just from the humid air, and you will not see anything under the undercoating, until the metal is completely gone and you poke it with a screw driver. Even old guns stored inside bags with cosmoline sometimes rust because there are air pockets in there... I do not believe that this is a proper way to do body work. Same as fiberglass, by the way. This is just an old-school DIY hobby molding material, back when 3D printers were not available

That's right, I am not using any controls, don't need to. The module seems to remember the volume settings, though, and the last track played. If you want controls and a display - there are slightly larger modules available with these, some have a touch-panel interface and a remote as well I am still in the process of figuring-out why putting on the metal cover on the box slightly decreases the sound quality... Maybe I am tapping into my transmitter for wired signal at the wrong place? ?

How do you get the signal into the radio, just connected it to the speaker? That is not what I wanted. Also, I don't like the necessity of playing around with the phone or other playback devices. My setup allows me to listen to the actual radio and, since I just uploaded 825 songs to the USB stick, it starts playing on its own as soon as I flip the switch

As long as you have coolant inside - yes.

I went with a completely different approach. The problem with most coatings is that you need to have a factory-clean metal, otherwise, it will not work well. Moreover, it is difficult to clean rusty metal seams, etc. As for the bead-liner spray, and other thick coatings - these are even worse (in some way) because they look perfect on the outside while you have rust going on underneath. Once I had the interior out, I used liquid/oil undercoating. There are a few options available, I went with the Canadian Rust Cure Formula 3000 because it has great reviews. Ordered a gallon jug and a couple of spray cans. Applied it mostly everywhere with a brush and sprayed inside the doors, etc., where I could not reach. I really like the way it works. You don't have to clean anything, it just soaks what ever you have and, supposedly, stops it from getting worse. A small drop, at high ambient temperature, is really spreading well into all kind of places. The only disadvantage is no protection from elements. So if the car is driven in adverse weather, this is supposed to be applied again once per season. In my case, however, this is not applicable. I placed some construction cardboard over it, so that it does not soak up into the upholstery. I am planning to do the outside of the car, rockers, and other hidden cavities, a bit later.

Since the OEM Philco tube radio was fixed, I was planning to install an AM transmitter, so that I can broadcast my own music into the radio. There are a few commercial solutions available for home and auto use but I don't like them. Inspired by this video, I've decided to make my own. The idea was very simple: make a small device which would work on 6 volt and broadcast MP3 from a USB stick. Since I am not very electronically inclined, like the person in the aforementioned video, I've decided to rely upon readily available components. Here is what I came up with: AMT-MW207 radio transmitter (these are available at various sources), bought my from E-Bay, from USA, for $27, shipped. A DIY assembly kit was ~$10 cheaper, but I figured that an already assembled version is better. You can order these even cheaper directly from China, but you'll have to wait for the delivery. Although, in my case, the postal service shipped it to Puerto Rico, by mistake, so I waited for an extra two weeks for it to return back to the mainland MP3 player module, I've got this one for $6.49. There are plenty of different options available. I just needed something to play MP3 from a USB stick. Chose with this one because it runs on 5 volts USB power supply. Power converter module. I chose this for $2.99. There are a lot of different options; I looked for two ports, high power output, and medium price. The plan was to power both MP3 player and the AM transmitter with the same power source (and preferably not directly to the car's battery), and it worked well! Here is everything connected on the bench for testing: And here is the final version, mounted inside a small metal box: The sound quality is good! I am injecting the RF into the aerial antenna adapter to eliminate the unnecessary air gap. The transmitter is extremely close-range, so it would not work well otherwise, anyway. It seems that when I install the cover on, the sound quality gets worse. Not sure why, since I am transmitting the signal by wire. I suppose I just have no idea what I am doing here. I've left the cover off, for now, and will probably just cover it with cloth to keep the dust away. This way, it is also easier to change the USB stick, if I want to. I considered mounting it outside, but decided against that, so that I have everything inside a single box. So, if you'd like to broadcast your own music into an old radio, this is very much doable.

I would normally use the manual throttle control for that.

Dry the plugs with an open flame, that should help.

Thank you for the information. I think rockauto sells them as well. Anyway, I've seen cheap Monroe shocks somewhere. Wanted to replace mine, but then concluded that the old ones were still good (the car does not seem to bounce). If I am not too lazy, I might take them off for additional testing some time in the future.

You might want to get an electrical sander (not the orbit one, but the corner one that looks like a small iron) I suspect it will go much faster with the coarse grid paper. If you get one with a vacuum hose hook-up, you will produce less dust, as well

Well, yes, and no. Compared to an average "project" car you see - this one is in great condition. However, it probably still needs everything, unless it was on the road, recently, and properly maintained by the PO (which I doubt). I've started driving my car, recently, but still have not gone even over the standard maintenance items - greasing suspension, wheel bearings, adjusting the engine, etc. This is a lot of work ant it takes time. Not even counting the rest of everything that needs to be checked/overhauled due to age and lack of use - like the rubber engine mounts, bushings, hoses, entire brake system, and much more. Also, I would not recommend re-painting the wheels, unless they are destroyed. just clean them, gently, and cover with plenty of wax to preserve the metal. Remember, everything is original only once. If you re-paint - it is not the same anymore This is probably my worst-looking wheel. Used to be the same color as the car, when new.

I am not sure what kind of things there are in California, but that is extreme ? I did look for southern CA cars, in the past, and from what I recall, there are not many cars, plenty of rust, and the prices are rather steep. Besides, this car has been in the family for generations, switching a body is not really a good solution, in this case. If he wanted another car, he could just get a whole car in better condition, in California ?

It's great when you have the skills to fabricate things on the fly, etc. But there is a fine limit between being creative with what you have, when necessary, and just collecting clutter and spending extra time trying to make things from it, when you have proper materials readily available. Don't ask me how I know... ? So, make sure that your don't become counterproductive, that's all. A clean and orderly work-environment is very important for both a competent shop and a hobby garage alike I don't like tossing useful things myself, though, I try not to by too much to begin with.

Yep, looked about the same on my car. I just put some patches on the rips, cut new underlayment for the entire upper seat surface, and covered everything with new fabric of my choice Eneto, you might want to clean-up your car... No good use to store trash in it, even if it is not currently being worked on ?

Are you sure there was a toolkit with it? Not sure about the 29, but it looks like 40 did not have any tools with it, besides the jack and wheel wrench.

The meter does not produce enough current to fight the resistance of oxidation/burnt oil film/old pain, and other things you might have under the hood. I had problems checking the older solder joints in my radio because some of them were dirty with flux. Check it on a modern random piece of wire, if it beeps - you are good to go. To check the car parts, you might want to clean your test contact places with a tiny metal brush, or just scrape them a little with the leads themselves, if you don't mind ? BTW, if you switch it to the resistance check, chances are, you will see some digits at places where you have no beep (when you are supposed to).

I believe I've seen NOS covers like that for sale on eBay. There is a rope at the bottom, but they do cover the entire seat. You have to look under the seat to determine that these are actually covers. I've also seen covers like that in cars before. They look and feel like new upholstery. By the way, when I got my car, with original interior in rather poor condition (falling apart from aging), I also covered it up, so it looks like it has been re-upholstered, but it has not been. And no sewing was involved, thanks for the folding front seat construction where you can take it apart and hide the folds