JerseyHarold

I installed a more recent filter on the inlet of my fuel pump. The original application was for a Ford 6-cylinder engine from 1970. It has one threaded end that fits the fuel pump, with a hose nipple on the other side to accept rubber fuel hose. My purpose was to eliminate the short braided flex line from chassis to pump and it works well.

Ditto for me. Did this on several cars when I lived in NY.

Two things I would look at: 1. Deteriorated wire insulation inside the armored cable from the ignition switch causing an intermittent short. Try wiggling the wire from under the hood while someone watches the ammeter inside the car. 2. The wire running up the steering column from the horn relay to the horn button completes the ground to activate the horn when you press the button. The wire may be chafing on the steering column jacket causing a short. Wiggle that one also to see what happens, or unplug it and drive a while. Hope these help. Harold

Greg, I vacationed in Woodridge as a kid and owned some land up there until a few years ago. I might be able to make it...have to check with wife and kids for plans. Harold

I registered a few vehicles in New York without previous paperwork. For one of them I signed an affidavit in front of the Motor Vehicle clerk and that was it. I had both my insurance card and tracing of the VIN with me, which helped. My friend got a car and lost the title to it before he registered it. In that case, he had to send a registered letter to the last known address of the previous owner, and save it unopened when it got returned to show the DMV that he tried to make contact and couldn't. He got his title as well. From what I've seen and heard, NY is one of the better states to deal with for lost paperwork. Some other states are a real nightmare.

Don, Two more things for you to enjoy...retirement and the Caddy! Best wishes for both. Harold

If your headliner is anything like mine, it has has grayish-brown dirt blotches on beige fabric. I'd be worried about using any kind of wet cleaning method on it and would try to brush and vacuum the headliner first to see how much it helps. I read in an old magazine from the 1930's that scraping with a dried bread crust works.

My father bought our '52 Cambridge new and was not the best on maintenance. It started burning oil around 50,000 miles and developed a rod knock at 82,000 miles, at which point he had a used motor installed. There was no reason to trust odometers on used cars back then, or today. Turning back mileage was legal until around 1970, and a very common practice. So people who proudly point to the odometer on their old car and crow about its supposedly low mileage had better have a pile of documentation to support it.

It's not a big deal for a locksmith to pick your lock cylinder to get it to turn. In fact, it's not too hard to do it yourself. There are a number of tutorials online that explain picking a pin-tumbler lock. The trunk lock cylinder also has a release pin; the lock has to be turned to depress it.

There is a small bolt on the underside of the ignition lock that holds it to the dashboard. In order to get the cylinder out of the lock, it needs to be turned so the retaining pin can be depressed. You can't do that without a key, so your best bet is to take the whole lock to a locksmith. They will either pick the lock to open it, or just make a key while the cylinder is still in the lock assembly.

I recently bought an original used '49-50 radiator for my '51 business coupe and was told by many on the forum here that they don't interchange. I'd recommend measuring both the '52 radiator and the P18 radiator to be sure.

Joe, My concern for the fuel tank arose because of the puncture issue in Ford Crown Victorias a few years ago that resulted in several fatalities. I'm glad that the hitch proved my statement wrong. Harold

Now that's a clever idea!

I got mine from JC Whitney several years ago. Also, take a look at rockauto.com they might sell them.

Many of the cars in these yards come from salvage auctions run by companies like Copart. A lot of the 'donate your car' charities sell through them, but the major source is insurance companies, who will total an older car for very minor damage. Many of them could be easily repaired, but (in my opinion) there is a hidden agenda at work here. If the insurance company totals the car, the owner has to go out and buy a new one. So the dealers make money on a sale, the finance company makes money on a loan, the state makes money on sales tax, and the insurance company makes money because they charge more to insure a newer car. Which is also what happened in the 'Cash for Clunkers' program.

We went to Harry's U-Pull-It in Allentown, PA today to get a replacement door for our daughter's Lumina because some numbscull hit it. Harry's has several yards in Pennsylvania and this DeSoto was on display in front of their foreign-car yard in Allentown. I asked the guy at the admission booth what they were doing with the car. He told me it sat in a lot a few blocks from their yard for years, and the owner recently gave it to them. He said it was for display, but I suspect that the right cash offer will get the car or parts from it. Our son took these photos with his phone.

Upon further recollection, when the distributor diaphragm ruptures and sucks in gas, the distributor cap gets blown off in the blast.

The distributor vacuum advance diaphragm has a hole in it and gasoline vapor coming from the intake through the tubing got ignited by the spark of the points.

Maybe you should keep an eye out for a cheap, running flathead six that you can drop in while you decide about the present engine. At least that way you can continue rebuilding the car and get to drive it.

The trick here is when you cut a notch in the key and the Dykem doesn't rub off when you wiggle the key, it means you find the correct cut depth and shouldn't file any more in that pin position.

It might be easier for you to get some key blanks and then have a local locksmith fit a key to your existing lock. The process is called 'impressioning'.

I could have bought the Cranbrook that got its windshield kicked out (that scene was filmed on Staten Island where I lived) but passed on it because I thought it was too expensive. The production company had deeper pockets....

Why, oh why, do I keep looking at car ads when I have three far-from-done cars in my garage?? Anyway, this looks like a super deal that someone here may want: http://lancaster.craigslist.org/cto/1807488260.html

You could park that Cranbrook in my driveway anytime...and don't forget to leave the signed-over owner's paperwork in the glovebox!

Are you sure you have the wiring right from the regulator to the generator? When I re-did my '52, I made a new 2-wire harness to connect both components. The car didn't charge at all. When I traced it out, I had the field on the regulator connected to the armature on the generator. Swapped them around and everything was fine.