Los_Control

@rustyzman ,,, everything you say makes sense .... I'm naturally lazy ... maybe honing it would cause more harm then good. I still feel a possibility that changing the rubber seals may help ... this particular MC has a specific bore. Is possible the cheaper MC has rubber seals stamped out at a incorrect size ... the new seals from the other MC may be better quality and more precise when stamped out. The one plug is still a mystery ... MC on the left, plug is at the end of front piston and on the bottom. MC on the right, the plug is on the side and very front of the front piston. I just have a feeling, if the MC is low on fluid and try to bleed it ... the front piston will fill up with air and vacuum lock. Maybe all I ever needed was to loosen the bolt and release the air and then seal it back up .... The single plug would not explain a right hand car. I tried looking for a vintage Toyota forum .... thinking they could explain the plug ... that plug was made for a specific reason .... I dunno, maybe I will have to do some more research to figure it out. I do know, if I release the air from the front piston using the plug .... the MC works again. .... I need to search and find the real reason the plug was installed on these older vintage MC.

With all that said, I'm still having a issue understanding the plug on the MC. Is it possible they put the plugs in place in case the MC got low on fluid? ... It would fill up with air and get vacuumed locked and unscrewing the plug would allow the air to escape and be replaced with fluid? If I left the MC in place, then loosened the plug to remove air, the piston would have freed up and the air would have been replaced with fluid. I'm trying to figure out why the plugs are there in the first place ... most MC do not have them .... they are there for a reason. So I dunno, just grasping at straws ... I plan to rebuild the new MC on the left with the better quality parts on the right .... Two weeks I may be sitting right here waiting for a 3rd MC to be delivered and hope it works.

I think in frustration, I just needed to walk away for a few days. The one on the right is a higher quality MC and it just is better in every way. ... It is a 1/2" longer then the one on the left. My current thoughts, I think I will give the one on the left a light hone. Then take the quality guts from the right and install to the left body. Even the better reservoir on the right will fit on the left. .... I have no idea how this will work out. I'm thinking when you purchase a rebuild kit ... the internals are the same. The one on the right, just the thickness of the mounting tabs are thicker, The physical body is thicker. I need to try and make the one on the left work, using the parts from the one on the right. I still may end up buying a 3rd master cylinder .... this is a tried and true swap. .... I'm just having bad luck.

After thinking about it for a day ... and just personal feelings, not facts .... I feel like the current owner has owned the car a long time. They put a lot of effort into it. They are asking top $$ for a non running car .... but is probably a bargain for the work that needs to be done. I just have a feeling, the owner knows what he has ... he may be shopping for the correct next caretaker of the vehicle. If a buyer walks in and suggest they may do this and that and then flip it to make a profit .... the owner may just kick them to the curb. If a buyer walks in and all starry eyed and in love with the vehicle .... talk about how they want to just repair it and drive it and smile from ear to ear ... The owner will sell. I have known several older people that might want to sell a classic car .... $$ really does nothing for them, they can not take it with them. They are shopping for the next caretaker of a vehicle they have loved and enjoyed for years themselves. Just a word of caution, if the seller is not satisfied with you and your plans for the car ... they may turn you down flat just because. When you approach them, I would treat it like you were asking the father for permission to marry his daughter. This ol boy knows everything about this car, I would be interested in what he would share. So many people today may have a classic car like that, but their 50 year old children have no interest in it and will simply sell it at auction when time for whatever a non running car will bring. ..... The only reason the owner is searching for the next caretaker to take care of it. ... I would simply use caution when first meeting the older man. Or maybe they in deep medical dept and just want to unload it to the first person that comes along .... I doubt it.

Those selling slogans crack me up when we go back and look at them today. I have a low side bed and I suppose it had a targeted market for a delivery vehicle ... you can lean over the side and unload it. Then the slogan for the high side bed ... sounded like the greatest thing since sliced bread .... look at us, we have doubled the payload capacity. All they did was make a normal bed size that all the other trucks used.

I'll say the old mechanical brakes with a rod and brake pedal worked very well for the cars of the day. My Uncle told me a story about his friend in high school. They installed a 1932 Ford V8 into his model T .... It would go, but would not stop ... the kid sold the car and never drove it again .... It really scared the crap out of him driving it. Hydraulic brakes came along later.

To have that radiator recored ...original honeycomb ... $1K Engine rebuilt ... $5K-$6K in machine work A decent paint job today ... todays inflation, not under $10K Upholstery work done today is not cheap ... I should not even guess here. ... It is not original but looks good ... Maybe $2K-$3K Tires are new? ... curious what brand ... I'm guessing between $600-$1K or more. The original factory wood grain dash is priceless ... It is refinished I bet, but looks great. The list just goes on. The poor guy is taking a beating on the price ... nature of the beast, he will never recover the $$ he has invested into it ... You can see from the interior photo the un-comfort of getting under the dash to finish it .... It can be done. If you feel like you can finish it, you will not get hurt on price IMHO ... You will be able to recover it later and make a profit if it is running. If you are serious ... I would not hesitate, somebody else can step in and scoop it up. Good luck.

Sad to say it .... I feel like you are at the mercy of the mechanics you choose. To be honest, the first shop you talked about sounds fine to me. I feel like they fixed the current issue on the vehicle and made it work .... they did not try to up sell you and replace the entire system that probably needs to be done. You never know, is possible the old 1998 system may have worked fine for several years with the work they did. .... did you ever take it back to see what the issue was? I just do not feel it is fair to compare a older 1998 AC system to a 2019 AC system .... I have the 1993 Caravan, lets be honest the AC worked fine for many years with no issues. Not working now, I fully expect I will need to replace everything in it because of it's age. Wife Father told me, when a compressor goes out, always replace the radiator looking thingy with a new compressor ... the metal shavings will get in the old one and clog it up. .... will also get into other parts of the system ... is kinda normal to have to replace other parts. Happy wife, Happy life .... go back to the original shop and let them fix it.

I bought my 1949 Dodge truck with just photos from the sales post .... The truck sat in a field for 30 years and it needed everything ... there were no surprises when it was delivered .... sorta. I did have one before and I knew all the problems that I would need to deal with .... in the end I do not regret it and it all worked out fine ... I got lucky. It was only 2 hours away .... I was satisfied with the asking price and paid extra to have the seller deliver it. .... $2100 delivered. No cash exchanged hands until the truck was delivered and clear title produced. If I was going to pay up extra for no rust, 40K miles, fresh paint, rebuilt engine .... what's the interior like? .... If I'm worried about the price, I need to inspect it. My truck, I just knew it would be bad and did not want to be arsed to go look at it ... just send it. .... The zero's in your bank account will determine your cant be arsed, just send it level. These engines are tough ... if it has been sitting for a few years or unknown amount of time .... add some marvel mystery oil into the cylinders and let it soak before trying to turn over the engine by hand. Then turn it over by hand ... that eliminates any stuck or broken rings .... I kinda doubt this engine will have stuck valves .... If it has been rebuilt and running modern oils ... just a non issue. ..... stuck valves is a byproduct of running non detergent oil and getting sludge on the valve stems that cause them to stick. Keep in mind, my engine sat in a field for 30 years and was parked because of overheating issues .... With a lot of effort and a long term project, the engine runs perfect today. .... They made these engines from the 30's-70's and made very little changes to them .... they just worked as is. .... If it is as they say, I would not worry about the engine .... what transmission does it have? I just assume a standard 3spd. I'm not really worried about the car, anything can be fixed ... The correct 6V wiring harness for the car is expensive. 6V requires twice as heavy wires then 12V. Is it possible the seller is installing a incorrect wire harness? ... something you need to verify ... A proper 6V harness can cost between $600-$1K A good 12V harness might be around $300-$400 ... I paid $65 for my 12V harness from amazon. Anything on the car can be fixed .... you just need to trust but verify and inspect in person and pay special attention to title before purchase.

It is described as a pretty decent car ... be curious what their asking price is, what they think it is worth? Saying $6K-$20K sounds in the ball park. .... One thing about these old Mopars, they just do not carry the same resale value as a comparable Ford or Chebby of the same year. ..... $20K IMHO, needs to be extremely good condition. .... non running does not count. What bothers me is the wiring and why they stopped and never finished it .... This can be a challenging job for some ... not such a big deal for others. Assuming the car is stock, it has a 6V positive ground electrical system. .... Did the owner get in over their head and start a project they can not finish? This kinda makes their 2/3rds of the work done, questionable. .... I would guess the unfinished part is under the dash. I do not know this for sure, I believe you can remove the seat and get room to get under the dash ... the actual seat base is welded to the floor and does not come out. These cars get rewired all the time, it is just not a easy job to get under the dash and work comfortably .... maybe this is why it is not finished? Maybe it is a disaster and all needs to be redone. I feel you need to reach a agreeable price, then go look at it and see if it is as described and if it is a job you can finish. 4 hours is not that bad, I drove 3.5 hours to purchase my daily driver truck.

What @greg g just said here is so important to understand on this issue. In my case, the wires were just garbage and I just ripped them out and tossed into the trash ... then used the book to install new wires .... that does not always work. These engines the suggested position for #1 is at 7 O'clock on the distributor. If the engine had any work done to it such as a rebuild and the oil pump was removed .... when the oil pump is re-installed, is like installing a distributor and can get it a tooth off. I could not get my engine started and tried for a few days .... once I pulled #1 up on TDC and checked the rotor, it was pointing at #6 and not #7 as the book suggest. This is why I say the #7 position in the book is just a suggestion .... from the factory it was consistent .... if a mechanic worked on it, is anybody's guess. The good news is, these engines run exactly the same and it makes zero difference. ..... The mechanics never bothered to go back and correct it .... just moved the plug wires. So if you have done anything in this area .... you need to verify where the rotor sits on TDC. There is a 1/8" pipe plug over #6 cylinder ... pull it up on TDC compression stroke and see where the rotor is pointing. #1 and #6 are on TDC at the same time, one is on compression and other is on exhaust I have always cheated here ... a little corner of toilette paper over the 1/8" pipe plug .... when the piston is coming up and the compression moves the paper ... you know you on the compression stroke. With a long wire inserted, you can determine TDC .... then check the rotor. .... should be pointing at #2 position and that is all you need to know to set the plug wire rotation. Set #6 wire where the rotor is pointing and run the rest according to manual ... I admit you would never see this on a different modern engine, the flathead 6 just did not care and it was done all the time by old mechanics. Knowing what I know about these old engines .... if I had a no start issue. 3 items, fuel, spark, timing ... if we have fuel and spark, I'm checking TDC to see the firing order is correct.

I have the slant 6 distributor mod and factory pickup .... I think the setting was .016-.018? ... not really sure now .... just used feeler gauges to set it up. I remember when I was a kid, a guy taught me to set points at .016 on the side of the road ... A book of matches, the cover was just about .016 and would get you running. So I get a chuckle out of using a credit card to set them .... I was taught the same but back then, everyone had a book of matches on them. They just happened to be the correct thickness ... I can see the credit/debit cards that everyone carries around today are also the correct thickness .... Same idea. I prefer to use feeler gauges, next time I'm on the side of the road and need to set them, I will remember a credit card. The principle is the same, does not matter if it is a Ford 9N tractor engine, a riding lawn mower, or a automobile engine .... the travel of the spark does not really change. Seems that most manufacturers suggest .016-.018 for points .... the electronic trigger in the distributor is the same as a set of points .... just sending a signal. Then it is going from the coil to the cap and sending a high voltage to the plugs. .... Here plug gap should matter. A electronic ignition suggest a wider .045 plug gap ... while a points ignition will use a .030-.035 plug gap .... As far as the distributor side goes .... is just a trigger or a signal and the same.

I need to apologize .... sometimes opinions are not needed .... I apologize. Over the years, .... for example DCM sells them. DCM does not even sell correct tail light brackets. ... I still love them and purchase from them often. Over the years, I see those lights .... they all leak, have cheap parts inside .... just cheap China reproductions. I just have a mental image burned in my brain when I see them. Again I apologize, I should just keep my mental images to myself .... I still feel the same .... just wrong to share my feelings in a open forum. That bumper and lights look awesome @ggdad1951

Well there are a few things to think about .... I remember when I was a kid and had a 1969 fastback mustang, I ran a square yellow MSD coil on it because it looked cool .... I spent more time on the side of the road replacing points because it burned them out. The only reading and research I have done ..... I have the slant 6 distributor with a GM HEI ignition module and a petronix flame thrower coil. The coils have different ohm ratings IIRC, you need to run the coil to match your system .... it is crucial to use exactly what petronix suggest to work with your system. Are you picking up what I'm putting down? ... Possibility the MSD coil is why your stock ignition system is not working. If you plan to use the same coil with your new ignition system, if it is not correct it can also cause it to fail .... that can be very frustrating. I just suggest that you may have a mismatched system now, that is causing issues. It would do no good to change it and continue to run a mismatch system. I think it is in petronix warranty, the only way it is covered .... is if you run their coil and wires to go with it as a complete working ignition system package. Most failures and complaints on them are from mis matched parts. So either buy the complete package from petronix, or take the time to read and learn what parts you need to make your system work. I have a mixed system myself, the only part petronix is the coil ... simply because it was correct and cheapest.

Sigh .... love ya like a brother @ggdad1951 .... wonder if we need to visit @Sniper intervention thread The home built product is soooo cool, then a cheap Chinese reproduction lens is installed .... If you installed cheap plastic lenses, nobody would know or care. You install those lenses .... it advertises .... "Look at me, I'm cheap junk" I apologize for my opinion .... I looked at the photo and my heart sank. I would never run those tail lights on old hound dog. Others are going to say .... those are so frigging cool I love your bumper though.