soth122003

If it is an old charger yes. New chargers need voltage from the battery to work. Joe Lee

If it just gradually creeped up I would try cleaning the key switch with contact cleaner, and if possible disassemble the switch and inspect it. It may be just a bit crud or corrosion on the contact points. Same with the solenoid. Joe Lee

The only dumb question is the one you ask after you make the mistake instead of asking before hand. All the manuals I've read say to use engine oil that will be in the crankcase for the rings. On the at or over 60 subject, (I'm 62 now) it depends on the evil life you led up till then. Retired military aircraft mechanic(Plenty of suck to go around but mostly a great time) then I spent my 50's contracting in the sand box working on helicopters for the military and civilian companies. Not a pleasant life but the experience was mostly fun and the money was great. Now after that, my wore out body is adverse to concrete and getting up from the ground is a winch and a chore I have to plan out. As far as doing the work myself or farming it out? Having seen the level of stupid that graduates these days, finding a qualified some one to do the work is almost as much a chore as doing it myself. I know how to do it but it takes me 4-5 times longer than it used to due to worn out body parts. (mine, not the cars) Any how Doug&Deb ask questions before the job and ALL the great people on this site will be glad to offer their two cents. And if more than 5 of them agree it's probably the right answer. I hope all of you had a great Chrismas and that the New Tear will be even better. Joe Lee

Pflaming. Sorry to hear about your accident. As you know with age comes slower healing. But I do have a suggestion for you. You look like a go to kinda guy judging from that monstrosity project you're working on. so for the next 6 weeks you'll be bored. Get some parts and motorize that wheel chair. It will give you something to do and help with you mobility as well. A Silver Bullet II so to speak. Just put a crash guard around the foot sticking out so if you hit something at speed it won't delay your healing time. Joe Lee

Something else to think of on the solar front. With the electric company you pay them till you die. With solar at least your payments to them will stop when the loan is paid off. One of the big reasons I just had solar installed on my house this past September. And as others have pointed out, the electric bill isn't going to get cheaper any time soon. My electric bill averaged out over 12 months was $160. With solar my payments to them are $127 for the next 20 years, but like any loan you can pay it off early. Plus the interest on my loan was 1.49% apr. Joe Lee

Just had my entire exhaust systems replaced this past Tuesday. The muffler pictured here looks just like the one on my car now. The new system is really quiet until you get to about 45 mph or so then it gets a bit louder but not unbearable rumble and engine noise. Right now I don't have the under carpet padding/insulation installed. The nose I did hear at speeds above 50 was the tires and a bit of the engine. A little more sound proofing and I might be lulled to sleep by the light rumble of the road noise. Joe Lee

As a lot of the old time knuckle draggers and wrench spinners will tell, these old cars are meant to drive. The longer you let them sit the more small problems start to appear. At least with these cars they are fairly simple to diagnose and fix with a little elbow grease, a set of sockets and wrenches and a book. Unlike the modern cars that require a $10,000 computer and expensive specialty tools plus a $150 an hour labor to fix. Joe Lee

Hey Rich, You mean you're not actually a foreign prince and possible relative in exile? I was going to send you some of Snipers monopoly money too (LOL). Have a good Turkey day as well. Joe Lee

Hey JohnTeee, Sounds to me like your rings might not be seated all the way just yet. When I got my P-15 the compression test showed about 60 to 75 psi across the board then with the wet test of oil they came up to about 95-100. After putting about 75 to 100 miles on it the test showed 115 across the board. While you have the head off do a light valve lap to get rid of any light corrosion and or debris that might have started to form. Might want to use the old gasket and put 20 to 30 minutes of drive time on it and check again. Just a thought, if you use a new gasket and have to pull it later due to the same problem it could get pricey. Joe Lee

You know Keith, You might want to make 2-3 separate videos. One for the pumpkin and 1 or 2 for the Brake R&R and one for the Axle R&R. Just a thought to keep you videos from one really long one that will cover 2-3 topics. Joe Lee

Glad you saved the car and are all right. On a related note, I just had my entire exhaust system replaced today. Been meaning to do it for years now due an exhaust leak at the manifold connection. Up on the lift the mech said the muffler was expanded due a backfire (probably) previously. Had small leaks along the pipe so I took the plunge. They said $150 for the header pipe or $450 for the entire thing. Best $450 I spent on the car. Sounded better and quieter, not to mention when I drove it I feel the sleepy creep up on me from the leaks even with the windows open. One less source of worry for a fire. Joe Lee

Hey Keith, Just checked my motors manual 35-53 models. All it said about lubing the speedo was lubing the cable and the wick on top of the speedo cable input. Now yours may not have one, but I would check on the top where the cable screws in and on the top part of the extruded housing on back of the speedo. Mine is on top of the speedo cable input about halfway between the cable and the end of the connection housing and usually you can feel it. The wick housing is sometimes just a tube inset into the speedo and might have fallen out. Yours might not have one, but you might want to use a mirror to check for sure. Joe Lee

I've had problems with bouncing speedo's before as well. If the bounce was light (5-10 mph) it was usually the wick that was dry. Heavy bounce (10 to 30 or 40 mph) it was the cable binding. I used white lithium for the cable. Clean the cable with a lint free rag and the sleeve with a degreasing agent then lightly lube the cable with lithium and slide it back into the sleeve. The wick on the other hand uses a light weight oil like 10 and it can be a bite to get to without making a mess. The Plymouth service manual states every 10,000 miles or once a year for the speedo cable and wick should be lubed. Joe Lee

I use the vinegar as well. $1.25 at the Dollar general for a gallon. Usually cheaper than the brand radiator flush. Joe Lee

Lucky for you about the clock. A P-15 clock (1946-48 Plymouth) is about 600 to 800 dollars on ebay. Joe Lee

You might want to remove the manifolds before you pressure test. You would be able to spot a cracked port easier. It might also be a leaky manifold stud/bolt and a bad manifold gasket. Joe Lee

My block had a crack in it that would leak when it cooled down and expanded the gap. I'd loose about a gallon of water a week. Just recently fixed that with some JB Weld. Thought it was a bad freeze plug and when I changed it (and cleaned out the block) it still leaked and that's when I found the crack. Since it is a zero pressure system, used JB to fix it and it works great. The reason I mentioned all that was I only ran water to cool the engine and it stayed about 160 degrees all the time. Now that it doesn't leak any more I run 1 gallon of anti freeze to 2 gallons of water and the temp sets and about 175. I may go back to just water with a rust inhibitor to get back the 15 degrees I'm loosing with the AF. I am running a 160 degree thermostat in the engine, with the original radiator. Joe Lee

Hey Rich, I'm in the pan handle and out of the path, but we have had a lot of traffic from the south. My guess is a lot of people remember the one a few years back that ripped right up the middle of the state, and most headed out of the path prior to impact. Gov. Desantis has his head screwed on straight and got a lot of emergency crews and services set up in advance to help the recovery. The ones I worry about are the transplants from Cali and NYC as they are in for a rude awakening. With the enactment of hurricane building codes and what I have seen on the media looks like flooding is the big worry this time. Welcome to the Sunshine state. Joe Lee

A lot of us have that problem, whether from losing the prime from heating of the fuel lines from the engine or letting it set and it slowly leaks back to the tank over time. The biggest reason for this IMHO is the ethanol fuel. A lot of us have installed a fuel filter and a prime pump at the tank to ease or over come this issue. My car does the exact same thing as yours OUTFXD. Installing the prime pump and the filter was easy and it solved the problem of cranking forever just to get gas to the carb. I just get in my car and hit the prime switch for about 5 seconds and presto, the car starts up quick. Joe Lee.

While blowing air through there can clear some of the debris, it will by-pass some of it due to path of least resistance. You might try a section of line filled with Acetone or carb cleaner and blow that back thru the filter. Think water erosion. The liquid will not flow as fast as the air and will probably clear more gunk out than air alone. It is an oil lite filter and most of the rust is from the tank. I cleaned my tank by using this method as well as a section of chain and some cleaning solution and sloshing it around for about 1/2 an hour. Cleaned the tank real good and haven't had any problems in over 9 years. Joe Lee Joe Lee

What Sniper said got me to thinking. (I know, I smelled smoke too, lol). What is the thermal transfer difference between brass and aluminum? Keith stated that his Chrysler is all original and his Plymouth has an after market rad. His Chrysler is fine but the Plymouth has some cooling issues. While I have a 48 Plymouth, the rad is original. The only time I had cooling problems was when the rad was sludged up. After cleaning it my temp stays around 175 degrees. While we don't have hills here in Florida we do have ungodly temps during the summer. Just throwing this out there as food for thought. Joe Lee

Hey Lauren, My dad went to school in the Air Force for the B-36. Got to Loring AFB Maine just as they phased them out. So they put him on the replacement, the B-52. Any way he told me that they had 2 Flight Engineers assigned to the B-36, 10 engines and all the associated gages that go with them, 5-6 gauges for the jets and about 5 for the prop engines. Then add in fuel gauges and transfer for fuel etc.. Joe Lee

IMHO, it is best to leave the hinges in the car This way it is easier to adjust the hood to fit when you reinstall it. Use a white or easy to see marker and trace where the hood meets the hinges and it should reinstall just fine. Joe Lee

You might want to use a little water and your finger first. I tried a scotch pad on the vin on the frame and almost wore the number off. Basic point is to use a light touch and minimum abrasion. Joe Lee

Did a little digging around and found this page. Now it doesn't explain the small 0, but the picture if you look at the number 6 and 9 in it, you can see how faint the tag line off the number 6 or 9 is faint. Maybe these are the numbers 6 and 9 with the tag line worn or missing. Just my 2 cents worth. Joe Lee https://www.t137.com/registry/help/otherengines/pengines.html