soth122003

Even though this has been fixed by the original poster, It might help some one else in the future. Instead of the cookie sheets, you might try 2 panes of glass in the oven. That way you can keep an eye on it as you go thru the process. As long as you keep the heat low, (150-200 degrees) the glass should be fine and you can also add weight to a specific area that might need it. Joe Lee

The biggest problem with the genny was it's variable speed out put. At idle the genny did not produce enough power to run the lights, radio and other system draws, which is why they installed the fast idle cable. The alternator on the other hand produced max power at idle. The genny was also DC current while the alternator was AC with a rectifier to change AC to DC. Now with that said, just because the power was produced (either Genny or alternator) it was not all needed or used. That was the job of the voltage regulator for the genny and the rectifier for the alternator. Both supplied the needed volts/current to recharge the battery and stopped the extra power so it did not fry the electrical system. The generator was capable of producing 30,40, 50 amps and so on, but it had to run at faster rpms to do so. The alternator did the same but it's max output was set at a predetermined rpm (usually low speed) so no matter how fast it ran (rpm) it would never increase it's rated output. I switched to the Pos grnd alternator and have been very happy with it. Hooked the wire from the alt to the bat connection on the VR to maintain the look of the period. Sniper is also right that the ammeter is just a visual indication of charge/discharge. The more the needle moved the bigger the charge or discharge. The only numbers on the gage are the max number (usually 30) to indicate the output of the max load the electrical system can handle (I think, might be the genny size also). This is my layman's explanation of the system (not to include such things as corrosion, frayed wires and so on). If I got anything wrong feel free to correct me. (Still working on the FTL problem in my spare time). Joe Lee

Thanks for the vid Los, now I feel pretty doggoned smart. Before you posted about the magnet, I thought the speedo might be gear driven somehow. But when you said magnet my feeble mind went what if? My head felt a little warm as the 2 brain cells I have started rubbing together to make a thought and presto.. my previous post was born. Next thought....Faster than light travel. Wish me luck Joe Lee

To my understanding YES. The speddo cable drives the magnet, which creates a field that drives the needle. The spring is the dampening or breaking action that keeps the needle from going to 100mph or max on the speedo meter. So the faster you drive the more magnetic action the more needle pushes against the spring and shows relative speed. That's why it's so hard to get these cars up to 90-100mph. It is that speedo spring. LOL I don't think the spring is wound. It creates tension when the needle pushes against it. Then the tension pushes the needle back to 0 when stopped. I guess the engineers that thought this up were pretty sharp. If you really want to blow your minds, think about how different tranny gears or size wheels affect the speedo accuracy. Well that's my theory and I'm sticking to it. Now my brain hurts. Joe Lee

According to the Motors Manual the doge 230 engines valve clearance from 1941-53 are: hot/running engine, .008" intake and .010" exhaust. (1935-40 are .006 I and .008 E and .012" timing) The manual did not list a cold setting, but the manual list a timing clearance as .014, which is basically a cold clearance. This is the base for installing valves/cams after a major repair or rebuild. Set to .014 the run the engine and after it is at running temp adjust them to .008" for intakes and .010" for exhaust. Most people do one of two things on an engine that has already been used/run/broke in. 1. Run the engine up to temp. Shut off engine and adjust to spec. 2. Set the valve at .002-.003 over the spec cold and run the engine to temp and check the valves and adjust the ones that need it. Now I have not done this check but after the valves are set hot, you let the engine cool down (24hrs) then check the clearance and see what the difference is between hot and cold and this should be fairly applicable to any other Mopar you work on. Most of the mechs use option 1 as the least labor intensive option. Hope this helps. Joe Lee

The small hole is to relieve the line pressure after the brakes are released. The 2nd rubber cup on the MC piston sits between the large and small holes when the brake is at rest. When you do a pedal adjustment, make sure the cup does not cover the hole or the brakes build up pressure and will not release. It must be open. Best thing to use is a piece of .020" safety wire. A bread twist tie can work as well. I usually put the wire in the hole when I make pedal adjustments to make sure the cup doesn't cover the hole, but comes right up to it. Joe Lee

When These vehicles were made, the bumpers and accents were chromed or steel polished to make the car stand out. They also had a fairly straight color palette to use. Today with the advent of meta-flake/pearl enhancement and clear coat epoxy style paints the car itself attracts the attention with out the need of the chrome high-lights. If you are going to go with the standard paint job or originality, stick with the chrome to make the car pop. If you are going to put a $5k to $10k paint job on it, then you can probably match the bumpers to the car and it will look good. Especially with the enhanced color types available today. I've seen a lot of pic's of these old cars with the newer styled paint jobs with the bumpers the same color and they look good, real good. The pics of the cars with the old style paint with matching bumpers just seem to be missing something. My personal feeling is, new modern paint with high-lights match the bumpers. Old style paint, chrome or... paint the bumpers a different color to draw the eye. The only problem with this is some people have really, really bad taste. (Like an orange car with green bumpers. UUNNGGHH) Joe Lee

How long has the oil had time to soak in? Going from not working to pegging at 100 says it needed lube, but it might need more time to completely lube all the parts in the speedo. Granted it will probably need a rebuild, but you might want to give it a little more time to soak in and maybe it will work as needed, but probably not accurate. It might also help to slowly exercise it by using a low speed drill to turn the cable and work the speedo at a low speed. Joe Lee

Loren, I like the way the chrome color pops against the red rims. Makes it stand out really well. What color is the car that these go on? Joe Lee

Plymouthy is right about reading the white paper. More knowledge about the what's and why's will help in decisions and applications of what to use. Sam is right about the oils of today being way better than the oils of yesterday. With that said the big difference in oils to me, have been the detergent vs non-detergent oils. Switching from non-detergent to detergent can wash away grime and crud in critical areas the will induce slop and wear that can damage an engine. The crank bearing races especially. As well as the seal areas causing more leakage. Once an engine gets set to operating with crud that doesn't move it covers up or clogs areas that have not had proper oiling in a good while. Back in the day you could take your car to a garage and have a top end or bottom end rebuild done in an afternoon. This was done on a time chart every few years or so and the crud problem was taken care of at that time. When time and advancements in oil properties made for a longer lasting engine, these services slowly went to to wayside. Plus people were trading their cars in every 5 years or so as America became a throw away society. Now you get an old car that hasn't been maintained properly in decades or you don't know the history on the car, you put in the modern oil w/detergent and in few months to a year or so it starts making funny noises (squeals, grinding, or whines) or it starts leaking because the detergent has washed away the crud. Or you decide to stay with the non-detergent oil and the car suddenly breaks down because it has been properly lubed and you spin a bearing. All this is to say if you don't know the history of the car you could be taking a chance either way. Doing a bottom end or top end or total rebuild on car is not in itself hard if you have a lift or don't mind laying on your back and know what to look for. A lot of this will boil down to time and money willing to be spent to make sure the car is in good mechanical shape. As for which oil to use well one cleans and lubes as it works and one lubes but can leave deposits that build up over time, but will require more in depth maintenence at a regular intervals (other that just an oil change). Check the back of the service manual for all the things that are supposed to be done by mileage. There is a lot more that the newer cars. engine tune up minor every 3k miles, engine tune up major every 12k miles. At the time these cars were made the oil filter was an option because the mantenence was easily adhered to and done in a fairly timely manner. Now to do the required things needed to do to these old cars are done by the owner or a specialty shop that cost and are not available at many locations. These cars were made to worked on by the average person with a few mechanical abilities, but now the know how is sadly lacking as most people can't change a tire with out google telling them how and even then they get frustrated that it happened to them and they actually have to do something themselves (whiney bunch of snowflakes). Anywho that's my basic rundown and understanding as well as my story and I'm sticking to it. Joe Lee

Sweet ride Bob. Does it have hubcaps for it. I think that would really set it off. Joe Lee

Hate to tell you this Ffreeb, But removing a dash is not so simple or easy IMHO. It will probably be easier to pull the front seat and seat track, then lay down a mat and get comfortable. If your older or have infirmaties, it sucks. If you have a kid who likes to help that will make it easier. There really isn't a lot of wiring or cables to get in the way, it just looks like it. Just make sure to label the wires disconnected from the gages. Ask me how I know. lol. Most of your gages will be held in by 2-3 screws or nuts. Once you pull the fuel and ammeter gage the wires will be able to be pushed back out of the way. The temp gage will be the hardest to put in and the oil pressure gage I would loosen the line at the gage then remove the gage and take the line off with more room to see how it connects to the gage. Take it slow and take your time. Once the job is done, you'll see it wasn't that bad. It just looked tough. Best of luck and keep us posted. Oh, and post some pics cause everyone loves pics. Joe Lee

If you haven't pulled that lead plug on the side of the carb and removed that jet in the circuit, it is possible there is some crud in there that is causing the dribble. When I checked my pump for function, the stream shot across the throat and thru the middle support and helped atomize the fuel better. But like others have said if it still works, i wouldn't worry about it. Just make a note the next time the carb is out to be cleaned to check and clean that particular jet. Joe Lee

Let me just mortgage my house and soul. I might be able to swing it then. LOL Though the Airflow is awesome, I'm more partial to the convertable coupe pictured. Joe Lee

I'm guessing just 4 gages. Temp. Oil, fuel and Amp. Of the 4 the Temp gage will be the hardest. The temp gage is one unit from the gage to the engine block. The tube being fairly fragile will have to be handled with care when removing and installing. One sharp bend and poof there goes the gage. The gland nut holding the temp bulb in the block can be tricky too. If the gage is good and looks decent, leave it alone. If it doesn't work and needs to be replaced, make sure the replacement is in good shape and test it before installing. There are numerous threads on the temp gage. Read them. They will help you understand about the removal and installing procedures. Also ask questions. The other gages are fairly straight forward and pretty easy to replace just read the service manual. Although the manual doesn't get into the heart of removal and replacement of components, It gives a good accounting of how they work and that makes replacement easier to understand. Between all the members of this forum there are about 200-300 years of experience on these old cars so ask for help if you need it. Joe Lee