squirebill

7*F here this morning. Reminds me as a kid there was a gentleman in the neighborhood who had a late 40s Pontiac with a flathead straight 8 in it. On winter days before he started his car he would light off some BBQ charcoal in a lid of a metal trash can and slide it under the oil pan of the car. Go in the house for a while and then start the car. Even as a kid, never seemed very safe to me. Primitive pre-heater. Necessity is the mother of invention. Regards to all. Merry Christmas.

I have the proper tool now but back in the day (say 50 years ago) did the vise grip and screwdriver routine. Regards.

I must take exception to the response from joecozzie above. My Plymouth Service Manual that covers 1946 to 1954 car models clearly shows the distributor rotor goes in the clockwise direction. Also the drawing given by joecozzie shows the #1 position on the distributor at 9 o'clock. The published position for the flat head 6 is at the 7 o'clock position.

Spark plugs are numbered 1,2,3,4,5,6, going from the front of the engine at the radiator to the rear of the engine at the firewall. The firing order of the engine is 1,5,3,6,2,4. To find #1 TDC, I remove the number 1 sparkplug and put a crumpled piece of tissue paper in the spark plug well. Bump crank the engine and when the paper is blown out of the well the number 1 piston is on the compression stroke. Bring the timing mark on the pulley to align with the pointer on the timing case cover.

I've had water collect in the spark plug wells of both the Plymouth and truck. Started the engine and saw the bubbles... figured it was just from the water boiling from the heat of the head. Leaking spark plug washers makes me wonder why they would hold water in the first place. If they were leaking, seems the water would leak past the washer and into the cylinder. As far as reusing them, if the spark plug was good enough to reuse, then I reuse the washer. Only time washers were replaced was when they came with a new spark plug. Regards to all.

To lower the new alternator maybe you could remove the stock /blue bracket and mount the new long angle bracket directly to the block with the short offset 90 degree bracket as it is mounted now. (Remove the two long offset 90 degree brackets) Might find the clearance you need.

go to 'Youtube" search: Generator-How to bench test it while in your car. Clear and concise and using a volt meter will tell you if it is putting out sufficient voltage. Worked for me. Regards.

So with the timing mark on the crankshaft pulley at TDC with the pointer, either the number 1 piston could be at TDC on the compression stroke or it could be the number 6 piston at TDC on the compression stroke. You have said that with the timing mark at TDC your rotor is at the 2 o'clock position. If the spark plug wire on the distributor cap at the 2 o'clock position goes to the number 6 spark plug, then your distributor position is correct and does not have to be changed. If the plug wire at the two o'clock position on the distributor goes to the number 1 spark plug then you distributor is installed 180 degrees out from the published position . To correct it, you can pull the distributor up about 1/2 inch and rotate the rotor shaft until the rotor points to the 7 o'clock position then push the distributor back down into the block and reinstall the retaining bolt. then you have to reinstall the distributor cap and make sure the plug wires go to the correct plugs. Starting at the 7 o'clock position of the distributor that plug wire should go to the number 1 plug. Then in a clockwise rotation the wires should be landed according to the firing order: 1,5,3,6,2,4. Regards

Never personally heard of an alternator or generator bog down an engine. My next step would be to disconnect the electrical connections of the alternator and just use the alternator as a tensioner pulley and see if the problem goes away. If the problem goes away then the alternator is the culprit. If the problem still exists it is something other than the alternator . I might suspect something in the starter circuit/system. Regards.

Found the culprits! The upper and lower gaskets on either side of the metal insulator were shifted/misaligned allowing for a vacuum/air leak. Note that the bore of my insulator is 1.5625 inches= 1-9/16 inches and is correct. The insulator gaskets that were in my carb rebuild kit were all 1.725 inches. Too much fiddleing and didleing required to make sure it all aligned with no leaks so made my own with correct 1.5625 inch bore. All good now. What was amazing to me was how well it ran at full choke. The leak path for the lower gasket was shaped as a crescent with maybe .050 inch maximum width at the center the tapering off to zero at each end . It was about a 1 inch long arc. When I compare this to the flow area of my 1-1/4 inch venturi diameter, doesn't seem to make sense. Another thing to ponder. Best regards to all.

Carb parts were in ultrasonic cleaner for half hour with detergent and then for another half hour on rinse cycle. As not recommended, old gaskets were reused. Intend to disassemble again, make new gaskets and reassemble. Was looking for vacuum leak test recommendations to verify gaskets were in fact leaking.

So was trying to get my 218 running after it sat for a full year without being started. Drained old fuel. Pulled choke horn and upper cover off the carb. All fuel had evaporated and left a white powder residue in the float bowl and throughout the carb. Removed carb for a cleaning with spray carb cleaner and while disassembled threw the parts in my ultrasonic cleaner with hot water and detergent. Assembled carb and reinstalled. Filled carb with fresh fuel and tried to start. No start. Dumped some fuel into carb while holding throttle open. Engine started but only ran for a few seconds. Tried to restart but a no go. More gas down carb and again run for a few seconds. Decided to install choke push/pull control. Applied full choke, two strokes of throttle and engine started. Went to take choke off and engine stalled. Choked again and started engine . Left it fully choked and engine runs great. Even revs up when throttled up. I'm guessing I have a vacuum leak. Clamped off hose going to vacuum wipers and disconnected vacuum advance tube and capped port at base of carb. Again, engine only runs when fully choked. I'm looking for recommendations to check for vacuum leaks of the carb. Have seen people use spray carb and brake cleaner but also read on this forum about heated carb and brake cleaner developing into phosgene gas. Want to avoid this since is adjacent to hot exhaust manifold. Have also read on this forum of using a unlit propane torch. Any other recommendations. Regards to all.

If my memory serves me right, someone on this forum advised me they are rubber wire grommets. They are the rubber insulators you would use in a hole in sheet- metal that a wire would be run through. Don't know the size but bought a box of assorted sizes off ebay and found the ones that fit.

Note that the distributor rotates in the "clockwise" direction so the firing order should be in that direction. Also, connect an oil pressure gage and insure you have oil pressure once the engine fires up.

I had luck finding a cluster gear for my B1B 3 speed at Northwest Transmission in Defiance, Ohio. Might be worth a call.

Maybe could use your belt sander or a hand file to thin down your spindle nut and/or washer so cotter pin would fit. Parts coated in wheel bearing grease would eliminate corrosion concerns of unplated metal parts. I used your idea to convert to the HELP 04991 kit on my '49 B1B. Bought the kit for my '49 Suburban but haven't installed it yet. Thanks for your research and posting it. Regards

I see one listed on Ebay.....$495 but you can also make an offer on it.

My parts book is from 1948 to 1953 so might not be the same. Is this hole your looking at in the center of the cap that holds the shims? If so , that hole is the one the wire for the horn goes through. Maybe the previous owner pulled the wire out and mounted a universal horn button on the side of the steering column and routed the wire through the firewall. Just a guess.

Burtbaccarat: did you install new wheel cylinders? I installed new wheel cylinders on my truck and found that the piston bores were rusted on the outside of the piston and would not allow the cylinders to extend. I stress that the rust was on the outside of the piston and can be seen by removing the large rubber dust cap on the wheel cylinder. I started a topic "Rusty wheel cylinders" that has a picture.

If you can get the drums off also get the wheel cylinders. They will be good USA castings that can be sleeved if needed. Current new cylinders are of questionable quality and origin. Same with the master cylinder. On a 1949 Plymouth the master cylinder comes out from the top...guessing the 1948 would be the same.

Finally got to the front wheel cylinders on the B1B. They are stepped bores, 1 1/4" facing forward and 1 3/8 facing rear. The left front was seized with rust in the bore but only on the outside of the pistons. Was able to push the pistons in using a C-clamp and remove the rust from the bore then disassemble the the wheel cylinders. Odd thing with the left front, when I disassembled it it had two 1 3/8 cups in it. Anybody know why this may have been done? Maybe the inner cup was leaking during a manufacturing pressure test and they just pulled the cap and piston and stuffed another cup in. Who knows. Veemoney, I am interested in your assembly technique with the Sil-glyde. Do you coat all parts, (bores, cups and pistons) with the lube? Please advise. Concerning DOT 5 brake fluid. In a long gone work career, I was assigned to do a study to substitute DOT 5 fluid for MIL-H- 5606 fluid we were using in a machine we manufactured for the US Air Force and others around the world. At that time no us auto manufacturers were using it. If I remember correctly Harley Davidson was using it on there bikes for the front wheel brake. The main bug-a-boo for us was it did not absorb water but our hydraulic system reservoir was open to the atmosphere and would absorb water from they air. We were concerned the water ingested would accumulate in various places in the hydraulic system, Bottom of the reservoir, pump, valves, etc., freeze and either crack components or prevent fluid flow. We stayed with MIL-H-5606.

Just happened to be on the Andy Bernbaum web site yesterday looking for brake parts and stumbled on a aftermarket air cleaner he offers. It is a chrome "hot rod" style for $43.00. Not for me, I'd rather do a conversion of the oil bath unit and stay with the "stock" look.

So I was having a situation with my brakes on my B1B where I felt I had to stand on the pedal to stop and hold, especially on an incline. I thought that maybe I had seized wheel cylinder/s as was previously reported on this forum. My plan was to pull a drum and verify the wheel cylinders were actuating when the brake pedal was pressed. First I measured and recorded the distance from the end of the cylinder pin to the back of the wheel cylinder for the upper and lower cylinders. Then using three 12 inch diameter worm gear hose clamps (as used for flexible A/C ducts) I tightened them around the two brake shoes. I then loosened them 10 turns of the screw and applied the brake pedal holding it down with a stick wedged between the pedal and the seat floor pan. Measured the wheel cylinder extension. The lower cylinder extended 0.57 inch. The upper cylinder extended 0.15 inch. Pulled the upper cylinder and sure enough the piston was seized with rust. With careful cleaning using brake fluid and a ScothBrite pad was able to free the piston. Now the piston freely moves in the bore due to the spring pressure within the cylinder. This was the left rear wheel. Will do the others as weather permits. Note that these were new cylinders installed summer of 2020. Based on the condition of the rest of the brake components I'm convinced this rust was present when the cylinder was purchased. Let the buyer beware. Check all you can before install.

My parts book shows two nuts on that stud.....one locks the stud to the starter housing, then the cable terminal is put on the stud and then another lock washer and another nut to secure the cable terminal. Sounds like you need another nut (5/16-18) and a 5/16 lock washer. I don't think the stud can fall into the starter...it may go in a little until it hits the armature assembly. Regards

Always admired a '49 Plymouth.....think it was one of the earliest cars that had "fins" so to speak. Bought a non-running '49 4 door for $10.00 a few months before I was drafted for my patriotic chore in 1969. Never got it running before I left. My Mom junked it 6 months before I got out but gave me her '65 Malibu SS. Pretty nice car . Wish I was able to keep either/both of them. Good luck with yours. Best regards. Stay in touch.