Vespanation

OK, thank you all. I'll give it a shot this weekend and see what happens. It's funny how the solution to so many things is to hit it with a hammer! - Paul

Hi guys, Just so I don't mess anything up! I'm going to remove the cylinder head, but I really don't want to break anything. I have all the head nuts removed (two came out with their studs), and everything connected to the head off. I put massive amounts of penetrating oil down each head stud. But, I'm not seeing a good way to lift it up. I really don't want to pry at the head gasket, to kind of get the head moving, so what's "The Way" to break the head loose so I can lift it up and off? Also, any suggestions for the silver engine paint? Thanks, Paul B. - American car newbie

Thank you all very much for all the information! It's VERY helpful. I guess my journey is beginning... - Paul

Hello to the Group, My name is Paul and I'm a total American car newbie. I'm a British and Italian car mechanic by trade. Last year, my mom passed, so, I've been going through TONS of old papers and such. I found a envelope of photos from when my parents were dating, so around 1948-49. In there was a photo of my mom posing by a car in her 1940's one piece swimsuit. Geez! Mom! Our parents are not people, they are parents, so yeah, kind of a shocker. Behind her I could see the rear half, side view, of a car. I assumed it was my Dad's car, which it was. But what IS it? I have a vague memory of my folks mentioning "the old Dodge", and, "the '46 Dodge". So, 10 minutes with Google and photos and I can see that that is in fact what it is, it's that '46 Dodge they talked about. 1946 Dodge Custom. Cool. Fast forward 9 months - I'm in a huge old barn fixing a 1959 Triumph TR3A for an older woman. There is another car in the barn under a cover. I asked her what it was and she just rolled her eyes and said, "That..is my sons'. It was his father's and I gave it to him after his father's passing, but that was 10 years ago and he hasn't done a thing with it." "But what IS it", I asked. "It's a 1946 Dodge Custom" she says. I was stunned! Of all the cars, of all the years, it's the same model and year my parents car was. I asked look at it. Wonderful shape, but it has sat that 10 years. So, I'm thinking of buying it. But, I got permission to go over it a bit to make sure I'm not getting into a HUGE project. I got a new battery, new spark plugs, good spark, cleaned out the carburetor, engine spins easily, (if slowly, 6 volts!), checked the brakes, changed the fluid, etc. I'll give it a proper service if I buy it. I want to run it first, so I was going to drain all the old gas out of it, but when I looked at the gas tank drain plug, well, I wasn't sure what I was seeing. A female fitting with lots of notches inside it, almost looks like a Torx fitting, but I don't know. So, first question, what tool is used to remove the gas tank drain plug? Second, I'd like to do a compression check on each cylinder. What would be good numbers to see there? And that would be it for now, There will be more questions no doubt. Compared to what I work on everyday, this thing is HUGE. - Paul