Roger Blagborne

The "ethanol thing" per se is not the problem (other than the politics)...the following issues are . Firstly ...1..ethanol is hydroscopic (attracts water from the air) and while fresh fuel presents no problem ,in storage over 3 months, it begins to corrode systems without additional stabilizer , and when it gets even older, (depending on the climate) begins to separate (phase separation) and really destroys things (loves steel and aluminum alloys)...2..Ethanol contains less energy so the fuel air mixture becomes leaner, as the percentage rises to the extent that engine damage can occur without re jetting. (depending on the engine design)...3..Ethanol attacks rubber based fuel components that are not formulated to resist it (you will notice all rubber components supposedly for ethanol use say "ethanol resistant" not proof) Secondly...modern ethanol containing fuels are designed for modern fuel injected cars with plastic fuel tanks, pressurized stainless or plastic fuel systems and computer controlled fuel injection which compensates for various engine mixture needs (altitude, temp, octane, etc) .....all the things our old cars do not have. So to combat these things you need to add stabilizer and buy quality fuels to combat corrosion.....upgrade your fuel system with ethanol resistant components and... deal with vapor lock (modern fuels have a higher vapor pressure) via a inline electric pump located near the gas tank (either full time or as a "booster" to clear gas bubbles from the mechanical pump as required. Remember we are talking 50s and older cars a lot of which have flathead engines. (flatheads are really bad for vapor lock due to the fuel pump being on the exhaust manifold side where the cam is) Hope this helps. Cheers

Well..again ,we are talking about flat head sixes with B&B carbs which were never fitted with a PCV system..Military vehicles including some WM 300,s were designed to operate ,fording deep water and had water proof ignition systems and different carbs which I assume were jetted to handle the air dilution of the pcv system. Just to be clear ...MoPar flathead sixes with B&B carbs tended to run a little lean in #1 and #6 (the eights were really bad) to the extent that the truck engines had to run 2 carbs to keep them together...and adding an un necessary PCV system without addressing the mixture is asking for trouble down the road. The only reason PCV systems were added in later OHV engines was to attempt to address environmental issues, and we all know how bad things got before TBI or multiport fuel injection came along. Cheers

Not sure of all this... seen this adaptation on stationary engines which run at a given rpm and load, and of course generally in a confined space....but...mixture is changed and compensated for by the OEM stationary setup.....but on the road....this varies...so modifying the OEM motor vehicle setup with its unknown consequences is well beyond my knowledge base, so I leave things stock. If the oil stinks, I change it, and if there is blowby, I fix the problem. I really do understand ,however, the need to compensate for a worn engine, especially if there are no parts or those parts are too expensive. I have found ,that burning good quality fuel and using high end lube oils, with appropriate oil change intervals .(needed much more often on worn engines due to oil contamination-dilution) goes a long way to look after blowby stink issues. Cheers

Dont mess with the system.....Oil filler cap is facing a certain way to encourage airflow into the crankcase and the drop down air tube is to encourage airflow (plus bypassed products of combustion) out into the low pressure area under the car (assuming the car is in motion) We are talking flathead sixes here, not newer OHV sixes or eights. Hooking the oil filler cap to the clean side of the aircleaner causes reverse flow (air pressure drop through the filter element) Drawing dusty air up from under the car, un filtered into the crankcase. More modern systems use a filter on the filler cap as before or are connected to the clean side of the air filter.... but also use a PCV valve to evacuate the crankcase into the intake manifold which has a higher vacuum forcing the flow in the correct direction...The PCV valves design prevents excessive air flow into the intake manifold as the vacuum changes...which would ruin the mixture. There is absolutely no reason to fix what " aint broke"....some early military or off road vehicles had different systems to run submerged. If you have really bad blowby...fix the engine. Cheers

The best source of additional power for fog lights (or electric fuel pump for that matter), is from the hot side of the horn relay...do not run power for your horn relay through the ignition switch..these 6 volt horns sound beautiful but use too many amps for the ignition switch to handle. In addition pay attention to Merl,s comment above re overloading the headlight switch... Consider adding an inline fuse between the hot on the horn relay and your fog light switch. The horn wiring is really heavy ,and can over supply the lighter wiring to the fog lights in the event of a short. Cheers

One of the design problems with these ,involves, the fuel supply to the accelerator pump....the fuel comes off the very bottom of the bowl, (there is a slight dam around this port which wont do much),, drops down a channel and then performs a sharp 160 degree turn ,upwards to the check ball located below the leather pump.....two things happen during overhaul...1...the retaining spring clip which retains the lower check ball is very difficult to access, remove and replace...consequently it is often left in place with compressed air blown through via the port on the bottom of the bowl supposedly cleaning this passage.....2 cleaning brush fibers and debris, get down the port from the bowl bottom but are not limber enough to fully negotiate the sharp turn and get stuck there, unseen. Compressed air fed through the bottom port just packs them tighter and without blowing the passage the other way (failure to remove the check ball) they just stay there (will not dissolve in carb cleaner). Even when compressed air is blown backwards the fibers and gunk sometimes wont clear (you cant see down there) I have found that is was necessary to remove the factory rivet plug at the bottom of the channel (outside the carb bowl) and dig out the cleaning brush fibres plus debris stuck to them via acetylene tip cleaners. I re seal the plug with bearing locker. (good luck getting it out next time) I am not saying this is the problem but weak accelerator pump action can contribute to your issues. Another thing...the accelerator pump discharge check ball needs to be seated by tapping it down with a small drift....if this ball leaks , the fuel level in the passage to the discharge port will drop to the fuel bowl gas level, creating a delay or stumble while the gas is pushed up through the dry delivery passage. In the manual you are supposed to check this leakdown is not happening. Hope you dont find this too long winded, sneaky problems with really puzzling results. Cheers

It is not the clamps that are the problem.... it is the gauge of the piping, especially that which comes attached to the muffler.....it wrinkles on the bolt side, rather than collapsing and leaks...so we now use two clamps if we can, 180 degrees apart to fully close the joint. Ecen that sometimes leaks. We are also now using the stainless band type clamps, which really seal well, but they dont deform the pipe to lock it in place, allowing the pipes to turn relative to each other, leak, or even pull apart....so after all is good, I drill and tap for a 1/4"nc short bolt , right through all the layers to lock them in place. I dont believe in welding the exhaust system at any point especially with thin material which, if it dosent blow open, cracks pretty quickly.. I recently have built, 3, dual exhaust systems, 1 Desoto and 2 Chrysler 1960 hard top cars (pretty much the same underneath) Really complicated systems going around torsion bars, starter ,frame, offset through the shaft tunnel, muffler and out around the gas tank.....all different left to right....a lot of work and fiddly fitting. The first car took a lot of time (some of the Huth cards were missing and we had to extrapolate from the other side) third car went pretty quickly....so we figured out what worked and what did not. There was no way any muffler shop would have done this, Incidentally the Desoto, came with an aftermarket, Magnaflow ,stainless system which fit so badly we had to scrap it. My point is...unless you can find a good muffler shop..things can get really difficult ....and even pre bent, store bought systems dont fit too well...By the way, the reason most shops have closed down is most newer cars have stainless exhaust systems which, barring damage, last the life of the car. Cheers

Around here, muffler shops are scarce as hens teeth,,those that custom build, even scarcer, those that know how , very hard to find......So my buddy bought an old Huth bender and all the cards,from a closing muffler shop, so we bend up our own systems.(You want hard, try bending up a left exhaust manifold pipe for a 60 Chrysler ,good thing I have a big scrap box) Some pointers...1 ...we got a NOS muffler for the 49 Chrysler then bought 2 new ones from Walker (same pattern for the Desoto) ..new ones were less than half the weight (not SS) of the NOS. So probably wont last long....2....The aluminized pipe is OK but thinner so you have to use two clamps (opposite each other) to get a good seal...and 3...be prepared to re rubber your old mounts, either you cant find new ones or the universal ones are really cheap. (I cut new rubber strips on the table saw out of old motorcycle tires) Not too expensive when you bend your own and very satisfying to get it perfect. Cheers

How spoiled we all have become...used to be all smiles when I got a car with electric wipers...then came interval-electric wipers..really great...now....automatic wipers...not sure even where the switch is.....dont get me going on automatic headlight dimmers. Cheers

Lord Love Us All Cheers

Love Mader....but I know of 3 Maded look alike binders on the island alone. Cheers

You know this is a really good idea....chrome and paint are so expensive now...I have been considering a rat rod (not really me) to avoid the costs but a tribute car is really a better idea....Doc Hudson anyone Cheers

Try adding a small amount of 2 stroke oil to the fuel...ethanol fuel is really dry, we have been having problems with accelerator pump and power piston sticking...fuel evaporates, leaving the oil behind, lubricating the carb components...takes a few tankfulls to really work or dose the carb directly with a little oil un cut. Cheers

Big problem is to find a "certified mechanic" who knows about old cars...most are now just parts artists (keep adding new parts till problem is fixed)....Get a manual for your car...all the data you need is there in simple language...these old MOPar cars were really good machines,designed to be fixed. Cheers

Here is my current experience...I run Chevron 94 (E10 no choice) in all vintage vehicles...not for the octane but for the purity (regular and premium around here smells like its already 1 year old)...I add Stabil for winter storage and a small amount of synthetic 2 stroke oil with every fill, (have found that without it ,fuel is too dry causing rapid carb wear) and now, have no problems with fuel going bad,corrosion or gumming, after 6 months storage... still get vapor lock on the Chrysler flathead only ,on really hot days but fixed that with an inline electric pump. E15 is not here yet but will probably be **** gas with more ethanol which would only work in vehicles built after 2001. I should confess however our daily drivers are all diesels...I gave up on gas pots in the 80s but if I drove one I too would buy the cheapest gasolene available. Cheers