rallyace

Stainless, when in contact with ferrous will rust. I have done a lot of stainless projects over the years and you have to avoid contact with ferrous at all costs, especially on sanitary work. Cupronickel tubing works well. It does not rust and it is easy to form. The best SS to use would be 304L or 316L but hang onto your wallet and plan on purchasing some rather expensive tools to form the flares. If you do not have plans to show your car at Amelia Island or Pebble Beach, save some money and use the copper nickel alloy tubing.

We used only SKF speedy sleeves at work to repair worn shafts at the seal contact points. Make sure that the shaft is clean of all traces of oil or grease. We always used a bearing sealant when we installed them. Follow the instructions that come with the speedy sleeve and you should not have any issues.

A GPS system breaks down your travel into a series of vectors. It will not recognize most changes in elevation. The calculation is based on a jagged line in one plane and will not be accurate. On the straight and level the GPS speedometer is quite accurate as is the distance but add in curves and elevation changes and the accuracy diminishes quickly.

After the rebuild did you polarize the generator?

I brought my 51 Plymouth Cambridge from Iowa to NY by renting a pickup truck locally from Enterprise Truck Rental (NOT the car rental side of the business) and getting a trailer from U-Haul in Iowa on a one way rental. The last I knew, Enterprise truck rentals were about $100 per day and rentals are about $60 per day. You have to go with a 3/4 ton pickup if you are going to tow with it. When I did it I got a Ford F-250 diesel and we got 17 MPG for the 1900 mile round trip.

If you have a Tractor Supply or Runnings, they generally have them in the tractor parts section. There are a lot of old 6 volt tractors out there working just as hard today as when they were new.

Can you post a picture of the hole. It would make it a lot easier for us to understand the situation.

If the engine has not been cranked over, then there is no way for oil to get to that gasket. If it has been cranked over without starting it is possible that gas has reached that point and been absorbed by the gasket. How tight is the connection? If it is loose then it is very possible that the gas in the charge has leaked past the gasket when cranking.

I am in the next town over from Hickory who commented that he does not like NAPA. Our NAPA store is excellent and I seem to always get a discounted price. For other general parts I like Rock Auto as one of their major shipping warehouses is local to us. If I order before noon I almost always get the parts the next day for standard shipping. For unique parts I use Roberts, or Bernbaums. For some of the 6 volt electrical stuff I have found decent quality parts at a fair price from Tractor Supply and Runnings.

I have found 6 volt coils at both Tractor Supply and Runnings. Those old gas tractors had 6 volt systems and a lot of them are out there still working as hard as the day they were new.

From what I understand, put an ample amount of fluid in the tank, do a corner, check the tank and add more brake fluid if needed. Go to the next corner and bleed. Repeat as needed. If you got to get up and move your butt and your tools it is not that hard to check the level of the fluid tank at the same time. If you go through a quart of fluid on one corner you may have other issues that need to be addressed

I have had two mityvacs over the years, neither could generate enough vacuum to justify the time needed to do the work.

I am about to place an order for a Motive Power pressure bleeder with the adapter that they assure me will fit our master cylinders. I am looking for opinions on this. Should I go for it or spend an equal amount of money on the Speedi bleeders? Mike

I use Rector Seal #5 on any NPT threaded joints carrying a liquid. It is an industrial thread sealant and lubricant that has been used for decades. It is good for gases, gasoline, water or just about any other liquid found on a car. As was mentioned above numerous times, proper usage of a a thread sealant or lubricant is to make sure it does not enter the fluid stream. Always keep it off the first two threads of the male fitting and a little goes a long way. Just my two cents worth.

This weekend!!! Looking forward to seeing everyone.

A couple of things that the answers above did not clarify. First, the driveshaft is subject to phasing. A universal joint is not a constant velocity joint. When both ends are in phase they will amplify the velocity change. Putting them out of phase will negate the difference. Look up 'double cardan joint' on the internet for a technical explanation. Now, balance is another thing. The third thing to consider is that with the trunnion type joints, the pin must be exactly centered. If you have any wear in the trunnion cup the shaft will not be centered and balancing is next to impossible as the shaft will shift slightly from side to side on every rotation of the shaft. At 30 MPH your driveshaft is turning about 1500 RPM. Proper balance is necessary. I gave up trying to get my trunnion type shaft balanced and had a truck driveline shop make me a new one with Spicer universal joints. It cost me $300 which I consider to be well spent money as the new universal joints can be found in just about every auto parts store.

One more place to look is at the oil pressure relief valve on the left side of the block below the distributor. The oil filter lines connect to the block here. If they leak, the oil will run down the edge of the block and drip out at the rear of the engine. I was ready to pull my transmission and replace the rear seal when I spotted this was the location for my oil leak. If this is where it is leaking it is not that difficult to fix.

My experience with Pertronix is not good either. Points are not difficult to work with and were a reliable ignition method for over 100 years. I will admit that the quality of the parts available for a points ignition is less that stellar, but having an engine with a miss will still get you down the road. When an electronic ignition fails you are calling a tow truck.

I don't have a lift but one thing that I do have is a pump for filling the oil in a Mercruiser outdrive unit. It makes filling the transmission, OD, and differential a LOT easier. They are about $10 at a marina or you can get one online.

Don't mess with the float level if it runs with it set at 1/4" . Newer fuels are less dense than the gaolines available when your car was built and the float needs to sit lower to provide sufficient pressure on the needle to stop the fuel flow. I set the float at 3/16".

As far as the OD handle mounting point is concerned. Take a look at the lower edge of the dash just to the left of the steering column. My 51 had the two tapped holes there and the handle that came with my OD fit perfectly. If my memory serves me correctly the holes were tapped #10-24 but don' hold me to it.

I was under the impression that there was a Harley Davidson part that would fit and have the lights come on with very little pressure on the brake pedal.

8,000 cars at the Syracuse Nationals. I hang with a bunch of Mopar muscle car folks and we have a much better time at the Syracuse Nationals than at Carlyle.

Just a couple of things to check while it is apart. Look carefully at the land between the cylinders. Make sure when the gasket failed that the exhaust gasses did not erode the metal. If it did you are looking at having the block decked. Second, Take a straight edge and check to see how flat the head and block are. Again, making sure the new gasket will seal properly. Now as far as a sealer, get a can of the copper gasket sealer. It comes in a spray can. I use plumbers pipe dope on the head bolts. Good old Rectorseal #5 works well as it is a non-hardening sealer that is designed for the temperatures that it will see. Probably the most critical step is torquing the head bolts. The sequence outlined in the service manual must be followed and torque them twice as the process indicates. Once done, bring the engine up to temperature and shut it off. Let it cool and re-torque the head. Again, a very critical step in the process. Good luck.

That someone was probably me. I had a leaking welsh plug in a difficult to access location by the starter motor. The steering shaft limited my ability to use a hammer to expand the new plug. I rounded off an air chisel tip to use as the tool to expand the plug. I removed the leaking plug, cleaned and dried the opening, applied a shellac gasket sealer to the block and used a light application with the air chisel to expand the plug. The opportune term her is 'light'. This repair has not leaked in 4 years so I guess it could be considered to be an alternate way to make the repair. Again, the opportune term is 'light' application. You are not trying to pound the welsh plug through the block, just expand it slightly.