TodFitch

The Brass Works in Atascadero now claims to have honeycomb cores but they aren't cheap either. You say it wasn't leaking when you took it into the shop. Is it leaking now that they've played with it? If not leaking then I assume that it is just clogged up and not cooling properly. It might be possible using some anti-scale chemicals and back flushing to clean it up some. In my case, I ended up have a modern core installed because my budget wasn't going to cover an authentic reproduction. Most people don't even notice and many that do understand the issues.

In the case of the '82 TC3/Tursimo, the connection to the flexible circuit on the back of the dash had lousy contacts unprotected against any corrosion at all. So after a few years the ammeter ended up being isolated from the shunt wire by high resistance connections with the result being that the ammeter would only read zero regardless of what was actually happening in the electrical system. P.O.S. design. Near as I can remember, the ammeter on the '63 D200 was not on an external shunt and it read accurately up until the time I sold it in 1991.

The '63 Plymouth I learned to drive on had an ammeter. As did the '63 and '68 Dodge D200 trucks I drove for a while. As did the '82 Plymouth TC3 I once owned. Not sure when Chrysler switched to volt meter (my '92 Chrysler built Jeep had a voltage gauge), but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that all Chrysler products through at least the 60s and maybe 70s had ammeters rather than volt meters. I know the ammeter on the '82 was on a shunt and maybe that would be true of all the ones with high current charging systems. Don't know when that started or if it was on a model by model basis.

At least on the older designs, there is a spring loaded flat micarta type piece inside the impeller that runs as a seal against the body. There is another rubber seal between the micarta board and the shaft itself. So basically the seals are such that water should never get into the bushings. The wear issues I had before I discovered that I was using way to much tension on my fan belt seemed to have the following characteristics: 1. Any wear in the bushings means the shaft runs at an angle. 2. The interior seal does not work well if cocked at an angle so you get a little leakage into the bushing. 3. Coolant leaking into the bushings wash out lubricant. 4. Lack of lubricant means more bushing wear which means more leakage by the seal. Two observations: I've been able to get a leaky water pump that was also starting to be noisy in service for a lot longer than I ever could with a modern one. Back when I was traveling cross country in my '33 I was able to go about 1500 miles with a bad water pump by simply putting some grease in it every time I stopped for gas. Contrast that with a '91 Jeep where the onset of noise to total failure was about 150 miles. Second observation: Once I started keeping the fan belt a bit looser that I would for a new car, I haven't had a water pump failure. And no issues with a slipping belt causing cooling or charging issues. If you've got a 1935 or up engine, then you can get a new water pump. Go for it when you can, but you can probably also get a few miles out of an older one by just greasing it frequently. For 1933 and 34, the inlet to the block is different and either a custom water pump back plate is needed or you need to rebuild your original water pump core. In my case I've acquired a second pump and have it rebuilt on the shelf waiting for the day it is needed.

I'm not an EE. Especially not one who is experienced in designing automotive circuits. But.... A quick web search indicates that the noise suppression capacitor/condensers for generators were about 0.05 uF. A similar search indicates that the capacitor/condenser for point type ignition systems is 0.25 uF. So I see two possibilities. 1. Go to Radio Shack and get a 0.05 uF capacitor and wire it in. It won't look vintage but it ought to work. 2. Use a condenser designed for your distributor. Probably overkill but it will probably work.

This is one case where you really do need the right tool. Maybe you can find someone local to you to loan you the required puller. That is one really good thing about being a member of a local car club. I think the Lincoln Land Region of the Plymouth Owners Club may not be too far from you. Or if you are in northern Illinois, maybe the Dairyland Region would not be too far.

I guess you've never looked in the 1946-54 Plymouth Factory Service Manual. Here is a scan of the one Young Ed was referring to in the 46-54 FSM.

The 1935 through 1941 201 engines use the same head gasket as the 1942-48 (and maybe later) 218 Plymouth engines. Part number 1117542 for the head gasket by itself, part number 1064733 for the "Valve Grind Gasket Set" that also includes valve cover gaskets, thermostat housing gasket, etc.

A lesson in not always trusting stuff printed on a package to be error free: No such thing as a 281 L-6 Plymouth engin. 1934 does not use the same head gasket as 1935 and up. The 33 and 34 engines are a bit narrower as they don't have the water distribution tubes and full length water jacket.

I too use a finishing nail. Just thought you might like to know that "the round piece" is called an escutcheon.

I've always had some leak. However I did at one time have it down to a manageable 1 qt every 2000 miles or so and some day I'd like to get it back to that. At present I have a leak at the front of my engine (maybe more but oil from that obscures other sources) that will require major effort to get to. So I feed it oil. I keep telling myself that someday I'll have the time and motivation to pull the hood, pull the front sheet metal, pull the radiator, pull the front engine mount and get to the leak. Seems like you guys with newer cars have easier access to the chain case cover since you can pull the radiator without pulling the front sheet metal and hood. Fixing the leak was on my list for last winter. But I spent the time skiing instead.

If I recall correctly, the market for "re-refined" oil disappeared when rules were issued that required it to be called "previously used" or some such. Still just as good (or bad) for your car as before but with a scary name was no longer marketable.

That type of thing stopped when they found they couldn't trust contractors to use just used motor oil. For example: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Times_Beach,_Missouri

Sounds like you may have two problems: The lack of flashing which has been dealt with by a number of posts. But you also note that the new rear LEDs are really bright with the headlights on and go dim when they flash. I'm wondering if you've got the wires crossed on them so the tail light wire is being connected to the brake/turn signal circuit and the brake/turn signal wire is connected to the tail light circuit.

That sounds awfully precise. Sure it isn't at least 376 ml? With how the valve galleries looked on an earlier photo, I'd really want to clean out the pan and especially the filter screen in the sump.

Young Ed is correct. You need something like this. And you need to have the axle nut loosely on the shaft to so that the drum won't fly off and to keep the puller from damaging the end of the axle. See: http://www.ply33.com/Repair/axle_seal/

It might be leaking through the threads of one of the mounting bolts... But basically if you have both surfaces clean and smooth then a new gasket with a bit of gasket sealer should work just fine. Even if you are not up to pulling your stuck water distribution tube out, you can pop the core plugs and remove all the sediment and gunk you can from the water jacket. And you really ought to revisit the water distribution tube if you possibly can. While they can be obstinate to remove, the cooling system really does require them to be installed and in good shape.

Looks like there are a bunch of firms called Moose Motors in the US. I can't find an email or FAX number for the one in Penngrove either. But Penngrove is near Petaluma and Santa Rosa and I think there are a couple of forum members in that area. Maybe they can help make contact for you.

That is fun to watch.

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=BK_6601402_0069214657 I've heard of people cutting the old wire flush off the handle, drilling out the old wire, then silver soldering in a new wire. Seems like that might work and would allow you to attach a wire of any desired length.

Yesterday we grabbed the camera and took a couple hour drive in the old car in search of a "fall colors" photo. Unfortunately the native live oak and redwood trees don't change color. About the only native plant here that has bright colors is a shrub (poison oak) that is cut back from the road side. And the non-native trees that change color are in built up areas with way too many modern cars around to make a good photo. Oh well. At least we had a nice drive on a sunny and hot (nearly 80F) fall day.

Looks good. Is it 1964? Same body panels as the '63 wagon/suburban I learned to drive on but with a different front end treatment. The one we had as way back then also had a 318 V8 rather than a slant 6. Trivia which might be wrong: I think 1963 is the last year that Plymouth referred to wagons as suburbans.

Bad switch or short... Do they have a self-parking feature? Might be a bad or mis-adjusted micro switch that is cycling the motor to try to bring it to the park position.

Miserable weather! It was so cold here that we turned on the furnace, down to the low 50s F last night. Fortunately it warmed up to a reasonable temperature today, 74F.

Looks like you have the Lockheed dual leading shoe setup. I haven't worked on one of those but from what I've read it seems like it would be hard to put it together backwards. One major difference between the Lockheed brakes and Bendix brakes that are more familiar to people is that the Bendix system is to a certain extent self-energizing. Perhaps your friend was only familiar with that setup and the "servo" he was talking about was the self-energizing mechanism that your brakes don't have.