9 foot box

I have some distributors as spares. The original retainer clip looks like this, I lost one and replaced it with an e-clip from the hardware store selection. The arm isn’t going to jump off the pin, it’s just what I did.  Rick D.

Bkahler bought his repair kit from Ricardo Cavallero SRL. I found Power Brake X-Change in Pittsburg will rebuild your Gemmer steering box for about the same price. If you don’t have a press and tools to change out the bearing races and pin in the cross shaft, it’s something to consider. 

Watsons-Streetworks.com is one vendor that has an under dash toggle to operate the turn signals. It would be  inconspicuous and keep a clean steering column. 

There is a You Tube series by Steve Blancard. “Autolite GDZ4817A Generator Repair”. His 8th video shows the end plate and how capillary action of the oil in the small reservoir lubricates the bushing and shaft. If you find a material that will suffice as a wick, pull the top plug and insert it dry through to the reservoir, soak it with oil and put the plug back in. I was mistaken as to what generators that I have. Here’s two that show the wick. McMaster Carr sells wick material, but you have to buy 5 feet of it @ $3 and change a foot, depending on size. You only need about 2”. An oiling cap like the one on the front won’t work with that style end plate. An other option is to replace the bushing with an oilite style bushing that has been soaked in oil. The bushing probably needs replaced anyway, because it’s been run dry. That’s your copper residue. It will eventually ground the armature to to the field coils and you will need a new generator or change to an alternator. I like to Keep It Simple Sometimes and do preventive maintenance before it fails.

The serial number on left front top edge of the block would start with T173 if it’s original 218. Search “t137 other engines”. It will tell you what engine you have and what the donor engine you intend to use is from. Or post the first letter and following three numbers, if you’re not sure. Rick D.

Several years ago a guy had a post “Found a brake drum solution”. You can still find it in a Google search, just add p15. If you go into RockAuto in 66 Fairlane with a V8, depending on your brake shoe size, there is a 10”x1 3/4” or a 10”x2” brake drum. 2623R and 2637R. Same bolt pattern. You would have to machine the center hole to make it hub centric. It might be a solution for a lot of us, when a new brake drum is needed. I was lucky enough to find a good drum, when a brake return spring broke and ruined my drum. This is an opinion, but for $30, I will probably buy a drum and see if it will work for my cars, unless you do it first.  Rick D.

Maybe try searching for coil spring silencer. That’s what the parts book calls them. Roberts and A. Bernbaum have them. The book calls for a spacer on the top driver side spring. Silencer 691144 spacer 657770. I don’t know of a source for a spacer, or if they are metal or what they are made of. I put Aerostar springs on my 46, I believe that they are a progressive spring, that gets firmer as it compresses. I didn’t cut any coils. 

I googled the number, and in the 40-48 Mopar Sheet Metal and body parts book, came up with a center grill section for a 41 Plymouth. Posting a picture of what you have, would be easier to identify what you have. 

A D51 is a 54 Dodge car engine. The original engine was probably a T114. Google t137 other engines. Rick D.

The nice thing about swinging pedals is that you can put a master cylinder, and even a vacuum booster, on the firewall. The clutch adjustment is simplified by the elimination of a clutch overcenter spring adjustment. Your clutch release arm in the picture looks longer than a 54 Savoy that I have on a pallet. If you’re not concerned with originality, and you can mount the swinging pedals as firmly as they are in the 56 parts car, I think I would update the pedal arrangement. You have all the parts, you might have to fabricate a pivot point for the clutch on the frame to engine mount. Rick D.