JerseyHarold

It looks like the receiver would puncture the fuel tank in the event of a collision.

I agree about hand signals being alien to most drivers. My wonderful Ford Contour has a bad alternator, and in my recent dash for home before the battery died and the car quit I used hand signals to conserve juice. It met with some strange looks from other drivers. You may want to take the bulb out of your right-rear light and see if the brass base is corroded. That's been the culprit in a number of no-ground/backfeed situations I've encountered.

In my experience, the feedback occurs because there is a bad ground. Check your right-rear socket for crud that is preventing it from grounding.

I sold new Fords back then and these were very popular vehicles. Parts should not be a problem. Meyers made a snow plow kit for them. I sold a BII to a school custodian and had to have one installed for him.

If there is a short circuit it can drain the battery very quickly. The buzzing you heard was the voltage regulator trying frantically to provide enough current to recharge the battery. There are no fuses on these cars (except to the radio and a circuit breaker on the headlights) so there is no short circuit protection. One way to test for a short circuit is to turn off everything electrical in the car, and then disconnect the ground lead from the battery and put a 6-volt test light in series between the battery terminal and the cable. If it lights, you've got a current draw somewhere. The next step is to disconnect the field and armature wires from the voltage regulator and try the test light again. If the light is off, the issue is in the generator or the wires going to it. If the test light is still lit, it's time to go circuit by circuit until you isolate the one that has a short. I'd start at the battery cable connection on the starter relay and remove the circuit feed wires under the cable terminal one by one. A wiring diagram is a big help so you know what each wire controls. Hopefully this method will allow you to find where your problem is.

Are there any generator repair shops in your area? If so, take the generator off the car and bring it in for a bench test. There may be a short in it. I'd also take a close look at the wiring to see if the insulation is off and wires are touching.

If your ammeter reads screwy, sometimes whacking the voltage regulator with the palm of your hand fixes it. The same whacking repair also works for radios that hum but don't play. In both cases, it un-jams the internal contact points that are sticking.

Good luck to you both!

The bodies were made by Briggs (who also manufactured for Packard and others) so the glass may fit other makes and models so you can widen your search. Have you spoken to an auto glass place that has access to NAGS numbers or checked a Hollander's?

I've been following this thread and was telling myself how fortunate I was not to have had a really bad restaurant experience in a long time. That changed this a few hours ago.... My son and I took my wife to breakfast this morning for Mother's Day. We decided to try a new place on the other side of town. When we got there the place was very busy that we thought was a good sign. The server introduced herself punctually and got our drinks quickly. Then we waited over 1/2 hour for the food to arrive. During that time, the party of eight next to us (who were seated when we arrived) got up and left without ordering anything. Another couple near us was waiting quite a while for their order and the woman made a comment to my wife about the slow service. Finally, the server brought over our toast, which was cold so we sent it back. She re-heated our original slices of bread! When we got the food, it was okay but not great. Our son ordered a waffle with apple topping (looked like pie filling) and the apples were still frozen. The finishing touch was me finding dirt at the bottom of my glass of Coke after I drank most of it. The server and hostess didn't ask if we were pleased...it was obvious that we weren't. I'm pretty much non-confrontational, so we paid the bill, left a tip, and will never go back there again. I wish them well.

I went to the AACA show today in Florham Park, NJ about 50 miles from home. Got a few small items at the swap meet and had a nice time looking at the cars. The weather started cloudy down here and then the sun came out about 9:30 AM.

Greg, Will the Bon Ami also remove wiper burn if it's not too deep?

Our condolences to Tony's family. He will be missed. Harold

Did you ask the Craigslist guy where he sent the car? Maybe you can buy what you need from the junkyard.

I added myself to the map earlier today.

Francine was truly 'Divine'. And what do you think of when you hear the song 'How Much Is That Doggie In The Window'???

I don't have the time to devote to Rhinebeck this year, but I am planning to go to the AACA meet in Florham Park, NJ on Sunday. It's closer to home and this is the 59th annual show, so it might be interesting.

Here's a CL link for a '51 that may not be too far from you: http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/1681565497.html

As others have said, buy now and figure it out later!

It might be worthwhile to buy your car's build card from Chrysler. That would be one official document that ties together the engine number, body number, and VIN.

I lived in Buffalo for a few years in the seventies. It's really a nice place and if it weren't for the winters we'd be there now.

Somebody here might need it. Seller says he's negotiable. http://southjersey.craigslist.org/pts/1694287980.html

You have to make sure that the notch depth of the end that slides onto the brake shoe isn't too shallow. If it is, your brake shoes won't retract all the way causing all sorts of grief. There was a long thread on this topic a while ago.

Ed, I've seen squad cars with Ford-style (actually Mopar-syle ...duh) starter relays to provide current to the siren. If it hasn't been mentioned before, don't forget a fuse or circuit breaker to protect the system.

I used to buy and sell used police cars and all the mechanical sirens used a relay. Many of them also had a 'siren-horn' switch that allowed you to press the horn button to sound the siren. It let you change from grounding the horn relay to grounding the siren relay. Something like that shouldn't be too difficult to wire.