Worden18

Easter Sunday 2024: Finally had the opportunity to recreate a photo here in downtown Winona; East 3rd and Main St. Traffic was super light where normally it would be impossible to stop and pose the Meadowbrook for a shot. The beautiful buildings on the left were demolished in the 70s in favor of the mini mall. The foreground buildings on the right were demolished to make a parking lot. I put on a new fuel pump and hard line yesterday. Meadowbrook is back in business. Happy Easter everyone! 🙂

2-10-24: Out on a sunny Saturday running some errands. Parked across the street from the post office while there mailing tax documents. Also zipped over to the co-op for spelt bread and organic apples. Attempted to stop on 3rd St for a photo op (see previous post), but the traffic was too heavy.

Thought you guys might like this. The pictures are of downtown Winona, MN (I currently live there). The car in the foreground of the old picture sure looks like my Meadowbrook. It's a possibility that it is. My car is a Winona native. I have some of it's history as I had talked to the original owner's daughter a few years ago. She's in her 80s now. She drove the car to H.S. and to the local college (Winona State University) starting in 1960. To ME the car in the photo is definitely a 51 or 52 Dodge Meadowbrook or Coronet. And by the looks of the other cars in the photo it seems that the picture probably was taken in 51 or 52. I sent a PM to the woman who posted the picture on Facebook asking her if I could see the photo in person. She's a member of the Winona county historical society. Maybe I can get a license plate number off it and trace it back. Thoughts?

2-2-24: okay fellas the Meadowbrook is back in business. There were two problems: 1. The field wire had a break somewhere and was giving spotty continuity. 2. The voltage regulator was bad. I had put a NEW one on and that was bad, which threw me off and forced me to learn a few things. First thing I did was pull off the ground cable from the battery while the car was running. It died. That's a sign something is wrong with the charging system. I tested the generator by first taking the belt off and then running a jumper from the armature post on the gen to the negative battery post. The generator took off spinning, no issues there. Then I tested the VR for ground by running a jumper from the regulator base to the ground on the battery while the car was running. The ammeter did not show a charge so there was no grounding issues with the VR. Then I bypassed the VR by running a jumper from the field terminal to a ground bolt on the back of the generator. The ammeter showed full charge from the generator with the VR bypassed. So the new VR was the issue (and of course the old one initially). I ordered a new VR from eBay and got it today. I reinstalled everything (each connection with a bit of dielectric grease) and then polarized the generator and fired up the car. Immediately the ammeter went to charge as my battery was a tad low. Test drove for an hour. No issues. Thanks for the help, encouragement, and advice everyone. Much appreciated ?

Yes, I did repolarize ?

I probably didn't do enough troubleshooting. It stays at 6.30v at idle and when revving. Of course over time that voltage reading will drop as it discharges the battery. At the moment I did find an issue with the field wire. NO continuity from the generator to the VR. That has to be the issue. So that particular old wire is a problem. In the next couple of days I will be making up new wires for both the field and armature.

Hey fellas, I'm having issues with the charging system on my Meadowbrook (1951). Generator has been rebuilt (pulled and tested again... it's working); and I just put in a brand new voltage regulator and STILL it is discharging. My gauge is working and I also tested at the battery and confirmed what the gauge is showing me. So I'm thinking the old wires need to be replaced? I read online that I should run jumper wires in place of the originals from the generator to the voltage regulator (armature and field) and then test at the battery. But...what about the battery terminal on the regulator? Where does that run to? The ammeter? Any suggestions on what to do? I can't drive the car or it'll kill the battery, been there done that.

6-15: I'm still here. Out for a cruise. Stopped to wash off all the bird doo doo and then met up with my daughter at the lake (she was out for a walk). Back to cruising now....

Pic 1: My second birthday; brand new Radio Flyer wagon filled with gifts! 3 of those gifts were a metal toy bus, a plastic fire engine and a plastic Indy style race car. Pic 2: Me and the same wagon 51 years later. I painted it orange around 1978. That's my full sized toy in the background. '69 Dodge truck.

The original box was heavily dented from something much larger backing into it (my best guess). The PO bought the green box as a backup. After about a month of driving around with the original box I had him put the green box on. He was happy to do it for me.

It works excellent. It left a nice sheen on the Meadowbrook for about 3.5-4 years. And I drove it in the rain and snow, and left it outside.

I wanted to try Flood Penetrol on my truck like I had done to the Meadowbrook years ago. Holds up much better than boiled linseed oil. After searching the shelves of some local stores I was surprised to find out the product is being phased out. So I got on Amazon. Most 1qt. cans were $50-$60! I paid $12 years ago. Then I found one can that was $13.58 shipped. It arrived at my door 2 days later. I prepared my truck with a good washing using Mother's. I was shocked at how well it cleaned the dirt off. After that I used the scrubby side of a household sponge with CLR (I originally wanted to use Comet but couldn't find any). I tell you, that worked awesome and didn't hurt the paint one bit. Squeaky clean after that. Once the truck was completely dry I applied the Penetrol with a sponge. I used about $3 worth of the can on the entire truck. There is some drag marks but not very noticeable. The sponge worked much better than the foam brush I used on the Meadowbrook. In the picture the truck is completely dry. Looks wet though for sure. The Penetrol is hard as stone. Should last a long time.

Hey guys, I've had this truck since last fall. 318 was junk, so the PO built a 360 from a '73 dump truck. Cammed it and some other stuff I don't remember. Rumbles nicely with the duals he put on it. Still a 2bbl, has an aluminum radiator, all the brakes were redone (drum), I put new tires on the front. Clutch wasn't working right so upon further inspection I saw the clutch fork and pivot arm were both bent. I took them to work and fixed em both. I also disassembled the pedals and cleaned them up, cleaned and regreased the plastic bushings (which were all in tact) and reassembled. Shifts like butter now. About 3,000 miles on the rebuilt engine. The original box was badly dented and bent from and old accident; looked like something much bigger backed into it. The PO had this green box so I had him put it on for me. We mostly cruise around town, but I have used it to haul compost and stuff to the dump. PO drove out to Idaho a few years back to pick it up. The rear bumper has indentations from Arkansas. I'll snap a picture of that tomorrow. The PO put in aftermarket guages, but the original guages still work. I put in one new headlight and a new speedometer cable, too.

Thanks for sharing ? I seen an AMC Pacer in that group pic. Pretty cool!

4-8-23: So last night I worked on the passenger headlight ground in hopes of getting my blinkers to work while the headlights are on. I was not successful. Anyway, I cruised around town with the window down and the heat on low while the engine lulled me. Later I drove back home to pick up my older kids. (Pic is from then). We stopped for snacks and cruised for another hour while the drunken college kids hollered from the sidewalks saying they liked my car. It was a fun night. Mostly kept the car in second gear. Early last week while on another run to Menards I talked to an admirer in the parking lot for half an hour while he looked over my car. I love it when that happens. On another note, on our cruise route there is 3 terrible, unavoidable bumps in the road that totally rock every other vehicle I own in such a way I get pissed every time I drive over them. The 72 year old Meadowbrook floats right over. Hardly noticeable. Gotta love it ?

3-29: Drove the Meadowbrook to work this morning. 19F; heater was nice. Last night me and my two older kids cruised around town late. Got the new headlight in, but I'm having a grounding issue on the opposite side with the headlights on and the right blinker not working. I'll figure it out ?

3-27: Out running more errands. Stopped for gas first. Then on to Menards for fence post stabilizers. Heat on; running good. More looks. At least people notice ? Second picture looks like a toy car out of a Godzilla movie!

3-26: Out running some errands. Stopped at the Bluff Country Co-op for some goat milk and a few other things. Man I tell ya it felt good to drive the Meadowbrook. What a cool car! Got some strange stares as not many people around here drive a rusty early 50s car. Actually, I think I'm the only one! ?

3-26-23: It's alive! I'm still here you guys. After sitting all winter outside (with more ice than I've ever seen in a winter) I got the Meadowbrook going again yesterday. I installed the rebuilt generator and a new battery, dumped a bit of gas down the carb and it fired right up. Brakes work, runs normal temp, etc. I even took it to the Drive-In for burgers and malts. Once again I'm impressed by the old flathead. I've got a new headlight coming in Tuesday.

1-3-23: I'm still here fellas. Just read thru the 14 pages of this thread. I'm upset at myself for the delays, and for having to delete most of the pictures to make room for future ones. One excuse is as bad as the next, but we had a baby born 3 months early and that alone kept me from doing anything but concentrating on her health. Anyway, all is well now. Not afraid to admit that it was my son (now 13) who very harshly insisted that we start work again on the B1D. So here we are. We've been cleaning my disgusting mess of a garage, putting tools away, and picking up brakes parts off the floor. We're just going to chip away at it I guess. Thanks for the support everyone.

I had a 65 Imperial with a 413 about 25 years ago. It was a really nice driving car; I miss it. I like your plan!

Welcome John! What an awesome car. You'll love it here ?

8-28-22: Out for a cruise with the kids. We haven't been out much in the last month and a half with the Meadowbrook. We stopped for snacks at QuikTrip and on the way out a gentleman asked me what year the car was. He said his dad bought one just like mine in 1951 brand new, but in Illinois where he used to live. It was gray in color. He was super shocked to see my car, and was very happy that it was all original and that I drive it. Once again I always meet somebody at the gas station with a good story, and he appreciated mine too. He said his dad eventually traded the Meadowbrook for a Nash!

Cool truck! On your phone you can just go to the edit function on the picture and crop it to make it smaller...

One more damn thing to break. Opinion voiced ?