TodFitch

Is this a video for that? Pretty impressive for both the Range Rover and the truck. Given that people are still buying some manual transmission cars because they actually want to "drive" as opposed to simply go someplace, I suspect there will be some push back against banning non-autonomous vehicles from the road for many years after the autonomous cars actually appear in the dealer show rooms.

Not sure if you need to actually visit the site to get some cookies set or not to get them to dish out the file to you. . . But stripping away all the HTML, Javascript, Flash Player, etc. crap on the web page, the video they play appears to be http://media.ksl.com/1382491408-1924422082.mp4 And that appears to play just fine on my computer. I wonder what the water setting material is that they've impregated the cloth with.

NAPA Online can't find an interchange for 1238406. But... For Chrysler part 1238395, NAPA Online comes up with NCP 2692635. http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx/Tie-Rod-End/_/R-NCP2692635_0380146985 For Chrysler part 1238394, NAPA Online comes up with NCP 2692636. http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx/Tie-Rod-End/_/R-NCP2692636_0380147038

Don't know about boiling them in dish washing detergent as I've never tried that. But I did try to wash some parts in the dish washer once. Seemed to me if the washer was good at getting off food oil and grease it might be good at getting off other types of oil and grease. Only did that once. Fortunately it was while I was single.

Being a commercial car, there is also the chance that it was painted in a custom color specified by a fleet buyer. If that is the case then the code won't show up on a list of standard color code numbers.

How does the electronic speedometer take off on that era transmission work? If I recall correctly, the electronic speedometer on my '91 Jeep Cherokee actually had an adaptor screwed into the transmission for the sensor. And where it screwed in it looked identical to the older mechanical cable based setups. Looked like you could just pop off the electronic sensor and hook up a cable. But that could have been a mistaken impression on my part. Or it could have been a transitional way of doing things that did not last long. But there is a chance that speedometer setups could be a non-issue. And as pointed out, a GPS unit or a smart phone with a GPS app will get you a very accurate speed regardless of your gearing or tire size.

Same timezone, same issue. Back to bed soon....

Its been way too long for me to even remember the equations much less be able to apply them, but I wonder. . . When you increase the size of the groove you are decreasing the surface area of the bearing and thus increasing the bearing load per unit area. So this seems to be a trade off between oil volume and bearing forces, too much one way or the other will definitely affect bearing life. It would definitely be something the factory engineers would have thought about. I know Don C noticed it, don't know how many others watched the whole thing. But on a video I posted the other day there was mention of engineers running 100 hour tests at 4000 RPM on car engines. Seems like that would be putting things into the zone where this type of issue would show up really quickly. I guess I should look up David Pollock's biography and see what his technical qualifications are/were.

While I harbor the strong suspicion that the oiling system is not a weak point, I'd like to read what you read to see if it changes my opinion. Can you list the references, and if on the Internet, post links? Thanks!

I've heard that from time to time on "the Internets" but haven't seen any period information that indicates to me that Plymouths had any more issues in everyday service than other makes. I think one would have to have access to the service records of the different manufacturers to make a definitive judgment rather than just heresay, so I think it will be one of those "everyone knows" which no one knows were it came from or how true it is. I know there was a lot of bad press put out by other manufacturer's about hydraulic brakes before they themselves started using them. And also about all steel bodies (GM's Fisher Body division ran ads about how a truly solid car body could only be made with a hard wood frame covered with steel). Since, to the best of my knowledge, Plymouth was the first low priced car to have thin shell bearing inserts (20 years before Chevrolet went to them) perhaps there was bad mouthing those thin little bearings and the possibility of failure compared to the competition's thick and well proven babbit bearings lubricated by "proven" splash lubrication.

For Plymouth, IFS with coil springs were used for the 1934 PE and PF models. Dropped as a cost savings measure on the later 1934 PG. IFS did not reappear on Plymouth until, I think, 1939. I think all the part numbers are different, but the '34 IFS looks very similar to the later IFS. So unlike the "Weak knee" Chevrolets, it was probably a decent design, just expensive.

You don't think that running a flathead 6 at 4000 RPM ("equivalent of 80 MPH") for 100 hours is enough to check the lubrication system? Just ran some numbers. Assuming 6.00-16 tires, typical for the era, that 80 MPH @ 4000 RPM would be with a 4.11 rear end, also typical of the era. And typical of the P15. Same person/group that posted that video posted this one for those interested in the first year of the Airflow:

I found that having the glass in the body made a huge difference in weight on my two door sedan. Truck cab will have less glass, but I imagine there is still a few pounds of it there.

Maybe yes. Maybe no. Turns out that because of the friction between the leaves, leaf springs are naturally damped. So the designer has the option of reducing the friction (fitting gaiters, adding oil/grease, using oilite or other pads between leaves, etc.) and using one set of shocks. Or relying on the unlubricated spring friction and using another set of shocks or even, in some cases, leaving off the separate shock absorber. So this is another thing that comes into modifying the design of the vehicle where you might be leading yourself into other unanticipated changes. With that said, I have from time to time attempted to get some grease between the leaves of the springs on my car. To do it right you need to spread the leaves and that might mean fully disassembling them.

I believe that was true when most motor oil was simply distilled from crude. Is that still true today? Seems like they have a lot more things they can do at the refinery to get whatever mix of products they want from the crude oil.

I agree. They made a number of modifications during the first couple of years of production, including some to the oiling system. But once they got it sorted out, basically by 1935, the changes over the years were more to take advantage of higher octane gasoline than anything else. Nearly a four decade run on the production of that engine. So if oiling had been a problem it was well sorted out by the time your engine was built.

They are called "spring gaiters" and are used to keep the dirt out and the lubricant in. Used on higher end cars for decades. I think Plymouth might have used them for a couple years but maybe they were only an option.

California has an equivalent one at http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov I think there must be a US wide database that all road departments contribute to as you can scroll out of California and see status elsewhere too. For example, it looks like slow going on I-70 over the continental divide west of Denver: http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/?z=10&ll=39.553,-105.9751

We've been having inclement weather here for some time: Sunny with highs in the mid-60s, lows in the mid-40s. Makes for lousy skiing in the mountains and isn't doing the reservoirs any good. Looks like we have a small chance for a break in this weather next week. Crossing my fingers and hoping they are right that we will get some precipitation.

Common joke on newbies just entering the work force at the first place I worked was to send them to the tool crib to get a "Crescent wrench". The took crib guy would go to great pains to bring up all the various wrenches they stocked and read off them the manufacturer's name from the tool. At the end he would find he had no Crescent wrenches and ask if you perhaps wanted an adjustable wrench.

The number on the photo from Desotodav looks more like an engine number than a serial number. Though it doesn't look exactly like an engine number either. The numbers I've seen or heard about have always been on the side of the left (US driver's side, Australian passenger side) frame rail. Either around the running board supports or the kick up for the rear axle. Seems the the numbers were more likely to be for the engine rather than the car serial number but you might get lucky. For what its worth, my serial number lookup gives the following for your number: Serial Number: 3938637 Found in range: 3934901 to 3939123 Serial: 3737 of 4223 Year: 1940 Make: Dodge Model Code: D15 Plant: Detroit Engine: 6 cylinder L-head Wheelbase: 117 inches

The darned things that look like "bolts" to me are listed in the 1930s Plymouth parts book as "Hex Head Cap Screws". So I knew what Don C. meant immediately, though I'd probably have called them Allen head bolts.

A search on J3L2404 gives the answer. If you are too poor to do the search I could personalize it for you.

Classic and Vintage Bulbs in Australia list 12v versions of their quartz-halogen pre-focused bulbs, so you should be able to just swap out the light bulbs to go to 12v.