splat1955

Hey Fred, I just measured the fuse I am using and I'm using the stock set up....it's about 9/16 in length. Couldn't really get an accurate measurement on the fuse holder, but, with the fuse installed I'd say that it's about 1 1/4 inch in length...maybe a hair less. I almost went the route of replacing the fuse holder with the longer type cause the first auto parts place I went to didn't have a short fuse in 3 amp but the longer fuse in 3 amp was plentiful. I went to Napa ( one of the few times I was satisfied when I left) and they had a few of the short fuses. The only problem I could see when I was looking at changing to the longer fuse holder was that the wire feeding and exiting the fuse holder was a thinner guage than was runs through the stock holder...probably something like 18 guage, but the wire could be removed I'm sure and a more appropriate guage used in the longer holder. Hope this helps.

Yeah, thanks Marty....I was pretty sure that was the case...I just hadn't had the battery disconnected long enough to let the clock wind down.

Hey Fred, It's pretty cool when the clock starts working, huh? Shel helped me get mine going too, just shy of a month ago....and it's still tickin'. If Mike is the official " guru " on the site for locks, then Shel's got to be the official " guru " on the site for clocks! I've even had to disconnect the battery a few times and after hooking the batt back up, I always kind of flinched, wondering if the clock was still working.. And each time I'd stick my head through the window and hear the " tick tick"...Funny story though. Almost 3 weeks ago, I made a final adjustment, just to speed it up a little. In 3 weeks, it looks like it had only lost about a minute. So, yesterday I just barely tweaked the adjustment a little bit and reset the clock....so in a month I will check it again. But then I remembered I wanted to disconnect the batt to see if my electric choked worked. I could swear that I had the batt disconnected for at least 3 minutes...then I remembered I had just set the clock so I went around to reset the time so I could monitor it for a month....and it hadn't lost any time. Now, I may be wrong as to how long I had the batt disconnected....maybe it was only a minute...maybe less...but even so, that was just eerie. Probably just me.....and age.

Hey Thanks guys, Picked up wire today...basic colors, red & black in both 14 & 12 gauge...figuring as time goes on, I will need to make other repairs and will pick up other colors as I go. I'm going to wire up the choke today....but being on jackstands, I don't think I will start her up.....no wheels on the front and just don't like to take unnecessary risks.....but once my spring silencers are here, the springs go back in..then I can test the fuel gauge for accuracy and make any changes and also check the choke. Oh yeah, and take some pics of the new stance.

Well today I did get a chance to look at the starter, and there is no wire coming off it and up to the choke. So, I disconnected the batt and put some power to the choke and I got a " click"....so, I think it works...Looked around the garage, got my connectors out, found a screw that fit the choke at the wire mounting location.....then looked for some wire....nothing long or heavy enough. So, that inspired me to clean up my electrical connections box...everything in the right drawer and tomorrow, well, needless to say I'm going to stock up on a few sizes of wire. By end of day tomorrow I should have the electric choke working....and that was the last on the list of electrical items to fix....well except for the flakey door switch that activates the map light.

I'd also be interested in a few of those hog rings if you have any to spare...going to be doing the seats in my car this winter if all goes well. Let me know what you'd want for some...

Hey Mike, Thanks for the updated info.....You may have told my Y-12 the other night....Anyway, I've got all the info on paper now, and hopefully my spring silencers will come in early this week so I can get the Dodge off the jack stands and back on the ground. Then it's straight to the alignment shop and from there to the locksmith. Hey, thanks again Mike.

Lots of good info on the lock systems for the Dodges & Plymouths here. I spoke to Mikemaker yesterday via phone about my locks. Man, he is a wealth of excellent info.....and a nice guy to talk to as well. He filled me in on what I needed to get my truck and glove locks working....with info that I will give the locksmith I am going to take my locks to. Thanks Mike. And if I don't feel my locksmith doesn't have the ability, I will PM you about sending my locks your way....but with the info you gave me I think this guy will be able to take handle the job. Just to confirm the blanks, you said either Y-11 or B-1.....is that correct. And thanks again for giving me a call, I appreciate it Mike. Hey, and if your ever up this way visiting family or whatever, maybe think about stopping in if you have time.

Hey.........thanks Shel.......Since the car is on stands, perfect time to take a look at the starter, just to see if there is any other wire coming from it to the top of the engine. I did notice that there is some sort of wire bracket, near or at the top of the head...but no wire in it. Maybe the wire was suppose to route through that loom. If no wire, you may be right, it possibly was not working. I'm going to try that test with the wire off the batt today and see if there is any activity. If so, then I will make up a wire from the starter to the choke. Man, everything just seems to be coming together. Thanks again.

Sorry guys, I just looked at a pic that Shel had sent me....a pic of the choke, and yeah, it looks as though I am missing the screw that goes to the choke. That's what that little hole is. I guess my question should be, where should the wire be coming from that goes to the choke.......I'll bet the answer is in an email I got from Shel, so I will check it out...but any input would be cool too.

Hey Guys, While waiting for my spring silencers and Peg is sitting on stands in the front, I thought I'd attempt to tackle the fuel guage issue. Thanks to Shel and his accurate trouble shooting process, it was narrowed down to the sending unit. I got a sending unit from JCW a couple weeks ago, but other things have kept me from getting to it. Anyway, today my daughter and I yanked out the old one, attempted to follow the instructions that came with the guage(actually, after a couple of reads, they weren't too bad) and an hour later we dropped the sending unit into the tank. Found a little slack in the wiring to the sending unit so we were able to cut the old connector off and install a new one, made a new gasket for the sending unit cover plate, kicked on the key and YAHOOOO....the guage seems to work, although until we get the car down on the ground and check it out a little, we won't know how accurate it is and expect we might have to make some adjustments if possible...but hey, it's better than sitting on " Empty " all the time. Thanks Shel!! I have a question about my electric choke. Now, Shel also described a procedure. Disconnecting the batt on the neg side ( saftey move), then running a wire from that post on the batt to the choke. Since I had the batt disconnected while installing the sending unit, I thought I'd mess with the choke...but after closer inspection....I see no wire at all running to the choke....but there is like a little screw hole on the top..or something that looks like a screw might thread in. Any thoughts? Cause right now, I don't think I have an electrical connection on the choke. BTW, after getting the fuel gauge to work, my daughter and I have now gotten everything electrical inside the car working....outside the car as well, except for the choke.

I wanna help! I wanna help!

Hey Mackster & oldmopar.........yeah, one disc that came with the grinder labeled "grinding"......the other was labeled " cutting"........so I used it like cutting wheel. I knew something was wrong......but you guys are right, both the grinding and cutting were twice as thick as the cutting discs I got today. Man, what a difference....I just may go out tomorrow and see if there's anything else around here that needs cuttin'. And I'm gonna have to check out what oldmopar said about flipping the sleeve over that holds the disc....although, then there would have to be the dimpled insets on that side as well for olding the wrench for tightening....and there very well may be. Anyway, thanks guys. Man, having the right accessory makes all the difference! Will get photos soon.

I know this is probably not a " hot " topic, but I thought I'd share the progress on Peg....which is the name I have christenedour '48 Dodge. Anyway, last I wrote, I couldn't find the tools for changing from the grinding disc to the cutting disc on my HF angle grinder...but of course, they were right where they were supposed to be...the problem really being that I re-arrange my tool boxes and garage more often than I use some tools...so I forget where the new home for a specific tool is sometimes. It's either that or age...mine, not the tools. Anyway, found them and put on the cutting disc that I'd gotten with the grinder...and once I started cutting the springs, I remembered that it didn't cut all that fast on the U-bolts I'd cut from my jeepster. And let me tell you, it was sloooow going on the spring steel! I had 4 cuts to make, alternating between the springs. I got 1 1/2 cuts done, and the cutting disc was gone, worn down. I was bummed. So, today I went to this little store, Tool Depot, that is pretty much a Harbor Freight outlet.....real small. But they had a nice selection of discs..cutting, grinding, 4", 5", etc. So, I picked some out, 3 of them, that were a lot thinner than the one I'd used that came with the grinder. Unfortunately when I got home and mounted one, the disc didn't tighten down with the mounting plate cause the disc was so much thinner. So, I mounted my worn one on with the new one. Man, what a difference. It literally took about 10 minutes to make the other 2 1/2 cuts I needed to make, that was set up time, alternating, cutting and all. And it didn't even wear out the disc...it's still almost like new...didn't need 3 of them. What was cool is the springs didn't get near as hot with this disc as the springs had gotten with the thicker disc. Anyway, they are cut, measured them and match perfectly. And although my spring silencers are here yet, I think I am going to mount them tomorrow or Sunday with the old silencers and see how she sits. Will take some pictures and maybe post them as well.

Okay, my decision is to make a comment about both the car and the occupant. Car....Man, I wish I had the nerve to try and do flames on my car....cause it always looks so good. Occupant....my personality disorder suggests that.....she needs spanked....

Hey Bill, Thanks , but I think you wanted this info to go to Rearview....he was the original poster of this thread asking about lowering.

To be honest, I don't see how #2 is easy or how it would take just "a little " time with having to pull them out, measure and then spend the time on a press, remeasuring until you get one spring bent correctly, the there's the other side to do, and then on top of all that, I don't see how any of that bending can be good for the spring or any of the other springs in that pack....am I missing something or did I read that wrong?

Nope, that wasn't mine....of course, it was back in the early '70s when I first got my license....so who knows.....my memory isn't what it used to be either.

Hey Norm and Don, That Harbor Freight 4" angle grinder is what I am going to be using as well. Mine also came with the extra brushes about 3 years ago when I got it. I finally got a chance to use it about 2 years ago....put on a cutting disk and used it to cut off the u-bolts on the rear of the jeepster...worked great! Then used my HF 1/2 impact wrench for all the shackle bolts...The impact has to be close to 10 years old....and have used it for a lot over the years. Now though, since it's been 2 years since I used the angle grinder, I've got to dig through all the tools to find the wrench that takes off the plate that holds the disk....cause it wasn't with the grinder. Finding its probably gonna take longer than cutting the coils! Going to be cutting them alternately a little at a time as you suggested Norm. In my teens, I remember using a torch not only to cut springs while they were still in a car...but heating them while they were still in to drop the front....man, we were driving some real bombs back then...but have learned a lot since.

Hey Don, I haven't cut the springs yet. I've got a grinder with a cutting wheel....was going to use that....if I can find the wrench to replace the wheel. Otherwise, I will take them to town to a machine shop.....

Ya know Norm, I must have read your post 3 or 4 times before I actually went out and started the work....so I know I read that comment about the " shade tree " torque...and I remembered reading just now when I searched for the post. Man, I had everything else memorized so I wouldn't have to come back in and read the post again. Well, anyway, tomorrow hopefully I will get the springs cut....I'm waiting for some spring silencers, but I'm still going to throw them back in and use the old silencers just so I can drop it down, bounce is around a little and see how it sits....that way, if need be and it's not low enough, I can take 'em out again and cut more. Oh, btw, I talked to ESPO....just to make sure they had the springs I will need if I ever need to go back to stock. Talked to Lori there. She explained to me the best way to measure the springs so you will get the drop that you want. First, naturally, you have to know how much you want to drop the car. Then, sit the springs with the flat ends down on a flat surface. Measure inside the spring from the base to the end of the coil on the top....usually that will be the highest point. Once you have the actual length of the spring, then you'd want to cut 1/2 of what you want the total drop to be. Using mine for example, my springs are 13 1/2 inches in length and I want to drop it 3 inches, which means I would need to cut 1 1/2 inches out of the spring making the total length of my spring 12 inches. With the tape still inside the spring and up against the spring, rotate the spring slowly watching the 12 inch mark until the a part of a coil lines up with the 12" mark....then mark the spring at that point for cutting. She also said that the only time this isn't real exact is when the springs are really old and soft, or if at anytime someone has used heat on the spring to make and changes to it. So, anyway, I guess I'll find out when I cut them and put them back in. I took measurements of the frame to floor and front fender bottoms to floor before I removed them. Will let ya know what happens.

Hey, thanks Shel....I wasn't expecting that many ft. lbs.......but I expect you are right about the '51 being the same as the '48....Thanks......I didn't see it anywhere in my '46-'48 manual.......I probably should have checked my old Motors manual...I forget that I even have that manual for this car...and it probably has a ton of useful info. Thanks again.

Hey Guys, Just wanted to let you know I used Norms front spring removal procedure that he's written up recently in a post. It should really make it to a " sticky" in the tech area if it hasn't already. My 11 year old and I removed the springs on Sunday. I'd put it off most of the day, even finding other little projects to do instead, just cause I thought it was really going to be a pain. Well, it probably took as long to chock the wheels, find the jack stands, break the lug nuts loose, raise the car, get the stands under it and remove the tires and it did to get the springs out. I figure it took about 20 minutes to get out the first spring on the drivers side...and it took longer than it should have only because we were trying to take the spring out through the back where the shock is mounted...duh! The other side probably took 10 minutes. The only bolt that took any real energy to break was the lower control arm pin, which in my guesstimate, was at between 50 & 65 Ft. Lbs. Of course, we still have to put them back in. Going to cut them hopefully tomorrow, but have to wait to put them back in cause one of the coil spring silencers was in real bad shape, so we ordered new ones.....8 to 10 days to deliver. But anyway, if you've ever got to remove your springs, no coil spring compressor needed, just use Norms method. I didn't even have the mess on the floor that Norm spoke of in his post. For some reason, we just don't have any road grime, rust, dirt, etc., on our cars underbelly. I mean, when we were done with the job, there wasn't enough dirt to wipe up with a napkin....and hands just needed a quick wash. It was sweet. Thanks Norm! One question to you guys. I've looked in the manual, and I can't find a torque spec for the lower control arm pin for my '48.....can anyone tell me what it should be torqued to when I get her back together?

Hey Fred.....that looks great! Nice Color too.

Hey Bob, thanks for the pics....those figure 8 covers are pretty cool....gonna have to watch for some of those.