TodFitch

I think I'd use 3M Strip Caulk too for two reasons. First, it will probably do the job perfectly including sealing the wires but not pinching them. And secondly, I happen to have some on the shelf left over from installing the roof insert on my '33 PD.

It has been a long time since my materials class back in college but my recollection is that cast iron is brittle and not a good thing to be pounding on. But a forged item or something like wrought iron is ductile enough to avoid fracturing when being beat upon.

There is a reasonably good chance that your fuel system parts have been renewed in the last 20 or 30 years. And if so, then they likely have materials that are resistant to modern gas additives.

When I was a child we had a '56 Plymouth with a V8 (sorry don't remember size/type of V8) and the automatic choke on that car needed fairly regular attention to have the engine start easily in what passed for winter in Southern Arizona. Based on that I agree with the preceding comments about focusing on the choke.

Polarizing the generator simply sets a residual magnetic field in the soft iron core. It is highly unlikely that the soft iron core will lose its magnetism in years of sitting much less a few days. Not sure what is happening when you polarize it to make things work but strongly suspect that you are twiddling with the regulator while doing that. I'd personally take a close look at the regulator.

I generally take hand tools, AAA card, credit card and a cell phone. If I suspect something like a fuel pump won't last for 500 miles then I fix it before I leave. Same thing for any of the other myriad other parts that people seem to want to take along "just in case". I do have a few spare bulbs in a small box in the glove compartment as they don't take much space and I really can't predict if/when a light will burn out.

There are also two little check valves in the top of the pump, one on the inlet and one on the outlet. How do those look? I don't see any tears in your diaphragm, but if you don't know how old it is you might want to replace it anyway. Pumps built or rebuild more than maybe 20 or 30 years ago have materials in them that modern gas additives destroy. So even if an old pump works now it may be very likely to fail in the near future. Then and Now Automotive (a.k.a. Antique Auto Parts Cellar) has good quality rebuild kits.

For those who would prefer a link rather than a file download: http://news.yahoo.com/chrysler-changes-name-fca-us-151436223.html

In my area there are still a couple of automotive instrument repair specialists. I'm pretty sure I could take my cable to them and they'd make up a new inner portion to match. . . Don't know about Spokane but I think Tucson is big enough that there would be a shop like that around. Quick search turns up the following: http://www.mechanicadvisor.com/wa/spokane/speedometer-repair http://www.mechanicadvisor.com/az/tucson/speedometer-repair

I was going to say they were all invented by women. But the laser printer was invented by a man. And bulletproof vests is a bit of a reach as there were several invented over time going back as far as the 1500s, so I think you mean the material that makes modern bullet proof vests effective. Anna Connelly patented the first fire escape in 1887 Mary Anderson patented the windshield wiper in 1905. Gary K. Starkweather invented the laser printer in 1969. Stephanie Kwolek invented Kevlar in 1971 Edit: Maybe if you were to remove the laser printer and put in table saw. . .

Sounds to me like you need to drop some stuff off at the electronics recycling bin.

Bunch of car related activities in the Monterey Bay area during the show week at Pebble Beach. The only one I've been to is the Concurs d'Lemon just a couple miles up the road in Seaside. Looking at their web site it looks like they've blossomed into a number of events around the country: http://concoursdlemons.com

Way back when I worked at a aerospace defense plant where they used rolls of waxed black nylon lacing tape that was maybe 1/8" wide. There was a prescribed lacing and tying method the women on the line used and it made for very neat wiring harnesses. I wouldn't mind having some of that lacing tape but they sure don't stock it at the electronics supply places near me. They expect you to use wire ties or loom tubing. Any idea where lacing tape could be found?

"Imported Chinese Zip Tie Failure Syndrom" (ICZTFS), a new acronym in the making.

Might be something simple but it won't be just the boot. All the boot is there for is to keep dirt out of the cylinder not to keep fluid in.

I've gotten local reports from people who live off I-5 at the top of the Grapevine. Apparently 1 to 2 inches of snow at the 5,000 foot level and 5 to 6 inches at around the 6,000 foot level. Based on that, I would expect that Bakersfield got some rain.

Die cast aluminum maybe?

No particular issues here. Yet. We have a flat roof that can be prone to leaking but I took a look at it yesterday and cleaned the drains. So far I've seen no leaks. During some of the heavier showers earlier today my street did get water up to the top of the curbs but there is enough camber in the pavement that the center area was usable. Now that I've noted no issues, there will likely be a tree falling on the power lines to my house or something.

yep.

Not sure what the volt part of your analyzer is or how it is integrated with the tach/dwell part so I'll pass on that. Even cars with breaker point ignition have a 6v ignition system even if they are 12v everywhere else. Sometimes the voltage is reduced by a separate ballast resistor, sometimes by an internal resistor built into the coil. Since your tach/dwell connects to the primary wire between the coil and the distributor, it is really a 6v instrument. Only issue is whether to connect the red wire to the ground or to the points connection. If your car is positive ground like Mopar was from the factory, then the leads will be the opposite as what the instructions show. I bought a relatively generic brand new tach/dwell meter a few years ago from my local auto supply which works fine on my '33. Only issue was it had to be ordered as they don't have a large demand for those any more. The did have all sorts of things for reading diagnostic codes from computers in stock, but not an old fashioned tach/dwell meter.

That gasket comes in the engine rebuild gasket kits that I've seen. My notes indicate that you can buy it separately from places like Vintage Power Wagon. But as previous posted, a reasonably sized O-ring from the hardware store is probably the simplest thing to get.

Hmmm. Take an Australian's explanation of Australian slang or an American's explanation. Decisions, decisions, decisions. . .

Looks like we might actually get some rain and high winds here, enough that there is concern about power outages and flooding. Too warm a storm to help on snow at the areas I normally ski at but we can hope it is a start to a rainy season that makes a dent in the drought.

It ought to show some charging immediately after starting the engine with the charging decreasing with time as the battery is replenished. When driving with lights on it will likely show a little discharge when at idle but recover and show either no discharge or some charging when the engine RPM is above idle. Sounds like either your generator or your regulator is not working properly. You can test which by momentarily grounding the field wire on the generator which should take the generator to full output. If it does then the generator is good and you need to look at the regulator. The regulator needs to have a good ground to do its work and they sometimes don't after the engine compartment has been cleaned and painted so that is an easy thing to check and fix.

I was under the impression that it was either “jerry built” ( shoddy construction of a permanent nature) or “jury rigged” (shoddy construction of a temporary nature, basically a temporary repair).