Normspeed

Looks like a nice item, nice finish on the metal. Hey, what is that top right car on the shelf?

Sounds like a serious picket line Alan. In downtown L.A. where I work, people picket wildly for maybe an hour or less when the TV news crews show up for their sound bites, then they pretty much all leave.

Look at the bright side, it's a lot easier to R&R the MC the second time around. Everything's been loosened up a bit. I'll bet you won't need as many wrenches this time. I'm going into the third round on front springs, it's getting too easy. (yawn)

Hoping someone else here knows for sure, but I think that's just the remains of the old dust boot where it sealed onto the pushrod. The new boot on the MC should fit there in that groove.. A wire wheel can really renew those rusted areas cosmetically. If you get into it and feel it's too corroded to work structurally, I'm sure someone will have a pushrod in the parts pile. I have a whole set of 50 pedal mechanisms in the shed somewhere.

Yeah, in my DREAMS.

Alan, others may have different ideas but I would clean up the old pushrod on a wire wheel and use it. Also while it's out, soak in cutting oil, put in a vise and work that adjuster until it's loose. And measure the current length of the pushrod before you mess with the adjuster. All things considered it won't be in an area shared with brake fluid and as long as it makes a reasonably good seal where it passes thru the dust boot, it will be functionally sound. Just my $.02

Seems like there was a point where the front bypass configuration made a change in the front center of the head and gasket, sort of a bump on front. Perhaps one additional coolant hole? The head gasket is a bit different for that one. Here's a later (53) head and block. You can see the bulge at the front of the head. By the way, the pic shows how a 1953 internal bypass water pump plumbs to the block.

Lucky guys. The older you get the more you appreciate what makes a really good woman. And Robin, glad to hear the tornado missed you. So strange to think of a tornado in your neck of the woods. Where I live, we get minor little twisters in the deserts and dry lakes, but they are more for amusement than anything else. At El Mirage Dry lake I watched one of these skip towards the pit area and come down on one guy's sun shelter and just picked up shelter, lawn chairs, whatever, and delivered them on top of his neighbor's pits:D :D

maybe here...?

Hey good luck on the new job. I worked at a bunch of things before I settled in. That's what youth is for. Make the most of it!

Too bad he only has 4. I need 7.

Gumpa, you should talk to Roadrunner on this forum. If he's not doing a full restoration, your frame might work out for him. He'd be in good shape witth a rolling chassis to drop his P-10 sedan onto.

Gumpa, if you're anything like me, it will be better to store that stuff, not sell it. If it's in yer blood, you're gonna want to use those tools again some day.

My book says .020 inch for 1946 thru 54. Says dwell of 34 1/2 to 38 degrees for 46 thru 52, and 39 degrees +- 3 degrees for 53-54. The higher the dwell degrees, the lower the point gap.

Rodney, if the plugs are black and dry (sooty) it's probably either got a weak spark or it's running too rich. Also, a lot of short trip driving or driving with the choke pulled out will do this. I think you are running AutoLite 306 plugs. Try a plug gap of .028. Some books say .035 but that is only for resistor plugs like the Champion R series. Points, .020 inch. Dwell is just another way to set points, using a meter to measure how many degrees of cam rotation the points stay or "dwell" in the closed position. A .020" feeler guage works fine though. Another thing on weak spark, if you've changed coils, be sure the wire to the distributor is connected to the + terminal on the coil. If connected the other way it will run but the spark will be weaker. I have a boat with a Chevy V6 motor and I only run it maybe once every 60-90 days. Unless I use a shot of starting fluid it's hard starting. Once it's been run, it fires up fine without any help.

I'm with you Shel. What I don't know would fill volumes! Mine has a 160 stat, running 50/50 coolant mixture and a zero lb cap although it should be a 7 lb. My book says 180 stat for permanent anti freeze and 160 for alcohol based anti freeze. That's an old book. In my neck of the woods, I feel like the farther to the left I can make the guage run, the more room I've got to get hot out in that CA, AZ or NM desert before I have an old faithful episode.

I think I see a Rambler, an early Falcon and a 58 Chevy in that pic...?

Same here, just the engine shot. When you plug in your photos, you can hit the preview post button and see if your pics are visible before you submit the post. On the top pic, you had an extra http// in there. One good thing, the engine compartment looks like no one's been in there altering anything. Stock air filter, coil is in the right place, stuff like that. You'll have all the bits and pieces for when you fix her up.

Nice find Steve.

Auto Zone has them. I'll look up the part number tonight. 6 volt, works with pos or neg ground. Somewhere around $40. Ebay has the same pump from time to time.

That's funny Bob, someone else thought that was a mailbox too. It does look like one. It's one of those old automotive "canteens", I think they used to be in sets of 3 for gas, oil and water, and mounted on the running board of your touring car. I carry spare water for those desert runs. It's attached to the side of an old wooden box that serves as my battery box for a deep cycle RV battery.

Thanks Norm, I do believe I've seen this stuff around. My teardrop is far from a show restoration, and the rough edges are part of its personality, so something like this should work fine. I'll remove the fenders and scuff sand 'em a bit before spraying. Now the tough part is, it's getting due for another aluminum polishing job. That is a lot of buffing and a dirty job, but looks so darned good when it's done.

Yeah Bob, I got lost, but I translated it to mean hot is bad, cool is good.

Greg, that is a really great looking coupe you have. There'a also a "little black box" that JC Whitney sells for under $10 , for combining the turn and center stop circuits. It's 12 volt. I bought one to install a third brake light on my teardrop but never got around to installing it or testing to see if it will work on my 6 volt system. I've heard that the same black box is included in some receiver hitch mounted 3rd brake lights.

Greg mentioned that the block journals are stamped as being .050 over, so I'd say the crank isn't the problem. I do agree, the rebuild shop should have caught this, but after dealing with my rebuild shop I'll believe anything. I still say call Vintage Power Wagons, they really know flathead sixes.