Los_Control

Hrrmm, I was thinking a good sunny day and get some heat to it ... it might relax and fall into place. Possible a hair dryer to warm it up ,,, I have a heat gun, it gets too hot imho. A hair dryer I would be scared to try .... but a sunny warm day on the roof where everything gets heated up at the same time. Drop it off over to my place for a few days ... will be in upper 70's-80's all week. Or grab a cold one and leave it as is.

I wonder if over time it will relax and settle down to where you want it to be?

@Ivan_B There is no CEL on, last time I checked there is a stored code for running rich ... that does not trigger the cel though. It is randomly losing spark to the plugs ... so when a cylinder cuts out and still getting fuel ... makes sense it is rich. Currently what I'm looking at .... still getting the body harness opened up. Because the way the spark acted ... I think it has to be the wires that power the coil, or possibly in the wiring for the ASD relay. .... A bad ground could also be at fault. I have what is needed to replace the coil wires from the coil end and will have to splice and solder into the main plugs in the photo. I'm still concerned about other wires in the harness ... they are hard and no longer flexible because of heat from the exhaust .... while they still function and do what they should ... I will feel better to cut out the damaged and solder in new. Another example of what I'm finding .... The factory clips that hold this harness up, broke long ago. the harness runs the full length over the header and is melting the plastic covering protecting the wires. So I'm just going to spend a couple days going through replacing wires and making things better then before. Good chance I might not fix it this way, a chance I may fix it .... at least I will know the basic harness is in good shape, while now it is questionable, and a future problem. As a side note, the 2 extra harness I have, already have previous repairs in the same area ... the one installed is a virgin and never repaired ... I may as well keep and repair it.

Not suggesting it is ideal, the narrow belts work fine on the wider pulley's ... So if the crankshaft pulley was narrow you could just run a narrow belt. ..... My 1950 218 engine has wide pulleys. Previous owner had installed a newer generator with narrow pulley and ran a narrow belt .... I replaced that with a alternator and still running a narrow belt. You could not run a wide belt on narrow pulley, you can run narrow belt on wide pulley. Find out what the guy's bail is .... maybe pay his bail and get your parts back and let him work off bail with labor?

That particular area I always had a bad feeling in my gut about it .... I really would not be surprised if that is where the problem is. Because I plan to change those wires and fix other possible issues at the same time .... I will never know if it were those wires, or possible grounds or other things I fix.

Lots of good ideas here .... check the wiring is the common subject we all agree on. And I agree also because I have already changed everything else. I have another engine harness that looks like it is ok ... this harness came off of the engine. I installed my original harness that came with the car. I see there is a difference on the charging system connection, but I can separate the sensors and coil wiring from it. I suspect that if there was a internally damaged wire, it would be in this harness that controls the coil and probably ASD also. I do not like this area here, the harness runs right over the top of the exhaust and would get pretty warm. Because the engine runs fine when cool, possibly when the exhaust gets really warm the heat affects the bad wires? While this is how it was done from the factory, maybe change the harness and fabricate some sort of heat shield to help protect the harness. .... I also have a extra fuel injector harness I can swap if needed ... not having issues with injectors though. That will only cover the engine ... I will have to inspect the body harness also that controls all the relays and the ECM. There is a ground wire that I think is too short or should have been longer .... it is coming from the body harness and possible it is for the ECM ... I dunno but I will fix that and look for other questionable items. Will take a day to remove some of the front dress and the plenum, battery/tray to get to everything. Then spend a couple days going over the wiring ... will start on it Monday, weather will be good again. This car has sure been a challenge for such a normally dependable daily driver 🙄

I almost want to say .... Thankfully it is getting worse 🤣 Today I was able to reproduce it in the driveway for the first time .... I was able to put on the fuel pressure gauge and my spark plug tester and monitor it while it acted up. Fuel pressure is fine, 45 psi exactly what it should be, then actually raises when the engine cuts out. Spark going to the plugs is erratic ... spark looks normal on one cylinder while the engine cuts out. Then the engine runs normal and then the single cylinder I'm checking, starts to fade out .... What I think is happening is the cylinders are randomly losing spark .... the cylinder I'm watching is good while the engine cuts out .... then a few seconds later same cylinder is bad when it cuts out .... so different cylinders are randomly cutting out. I'm going to have to think on this a few days and am open to suggestions. This engine has a single coil pack with 6 plug wires coming off of it. .... I already double checked that. The original coil gave no issues ... I replaced it when I replaced the engine and then tried the original agan and put the new back on .... is not the coil. My first choice was replacing the crank shaft sensor ... I installed the engine with a new sensor, the first item I replaced was the new crank shaft sensor when the problem came up ... makes zero difference changing sensors. I have swapped the main computer ... no change. I have been told that a cam sensor only helps start the engine and could not cause this issue .... it is new. I'm starting to wonder if the ignition switch is going bad? I'm looking for ideas on this one.

With my remark on king pins, I was trying to make a generalization sweep, of any worn parts in the system might make it harder to turn with weight on the tires. With what you say, a little play and the rotation of 1 full turn, I would think the steering box may be worn and the gears are meshing or binding at a certain spot. I do not know what the proper procedure would be to test and verify ... hope others can clarify. Can you adjust the gears on yours? ... that might do it. The worn steering box would make it difficult to steer. Most boxes have a lock nut on a slotted screw. To adjust you need to mark the location of the screw. While holding the screw, loosen the lock nut ant turn the screw clockwise 1/4 turn and tighten lock nut. I just feel it is important to mark existing location and then no more then 1/4 turn. Too tight and the gears will bind, also the play is from the gears wearing thin ... the more times they need adjusted, the thinner the gears are getting and can eventually break. So adjust once or twice, then time for repair/replace.

Probably cheaper/easier to replace what you have. On drive lines, I assume that if one u-joint is bad I will expect the others to have just as much wear and replace all. IMHO, would be a improvement to replace with modern u-joints .... cost a little more upfront to have the work done to the drive line. Then if future issues arise, is a simple $15 part at any auto parts store.

I'm also thinking along the lines of check your front end for issues. We have different vehicles, I have a 1949 1/2 ton truck with a straight axle ... did 37 Plymouth have a straight axle? ... not sure when the cars changed. With my tires in the air, I can steer them from side to side with almost zero resistance. Grab the tire at 3:00 0'clock and 9:00 0'clock and steer back and forth. It is totally smooth with no play. ... On the ground the truck steers so easily while moving it around .... is just a non issue. I have 235 75r 15 with a aggressive tire tread. I just feel if your front end was in good condition, you would not be asking this question. Worn king pins could be a issue giving tire lean and fight your efforts. @Sniper might need to stock up on wheaties if going with 245

On another forum a couple weeks ago A guy was looking at a 1955 Chrysler. It had the poly V8 ... is that the 270? No idea how long it has been parked .... The owners bought a new car and this one was parked in the garage and never moved again .... they say mom would go out and start it once in awhile. The son would turn the engine over by hand using the belts ... now it does not want to turn using the belts .... is it really stuck? He went out to look at it and said it was rougher then he wanted ... interior was fair, he found small amounts of rust in the rockers and rear quarters ... he passed on it. They were only asking $1500 for it. .... I thought it would make a nice cruiser The poly is a good engine. .... wonder what people think about the transmission? He was worried about the E-brake being stuck, without a parking brake the e-brake would be applied since parked. It has the 12" drums which might be a problem to locate if needed. I only assume it has cloth wires in 1955 ... I dunno if it is 6V or 12V. Curved glass and patch panels would be hard or impossible to find. I think they would be a great car if in good condition.

Just pulling your leg ... as a carpenter I built as a team member a lot of houses in Richland, West Richland, Kennewick ... lived out in Finnley. Family members throughout the Tri-Cities ..... Wife father is in Kennewick ... I moved out of the area many years ago. I went back for a short time in 2016. The boat races were always fun .... I spent a lot of time fishing on the river ... I car pooled to work with a friend, we get to my house and the boat was connected to my truck. We picked up supplies on the way home, jump in the truck and head to the boat launch 1/4 mile away. Lot of memories in that area.

Great ideas @Sniper My fuel pressure gauge is same with a 10" hose. Pretty obvious I know nothing about relays ... I did not figure they could fail in this way. I assumed they either work or they do not. The car has 5 relays on the drivers fender .... I assume it is the ASD relay ... what they call it ... I call it fuel pump relay. Auto shut down turns off the fuel pump iirc. They are all typical 4 or 5 pin relays, like I just installed on the truck for the horn ... I might be able to swap out the AC or radiator fan relay just to test with. I will head outside pretty soon and check it out ... probably end up driving it to the parts store and just replace it. On the other hand, I have not pulled any of the relays to clean the connections ... might have to investigate if they are dirty.

Yeah I just do not know of a way to test relays .... I'm aware I can swap one relay for another to test it that way ... I paid $28 for a horn relay from NAPA last week to connect the horn on my 49 Dodge ... I might use it. Just too late in the day to pinpoint the exact relay to replace .... tomorrow I will figure it out. I told my wife I think I finally figured it out after cleaning the connections .... she laughed and said come back with no story telling 😕 Maybe tomorrow

Be careful what you ask for .... someone might be from Finnely WA and you may regret what you receive.

Thanks @JBNeal I agree .... just a weird issue and been chasing it. From google .... Engine stalling The vehicle stalls after starting, The engine loses power at higher speeds, and The engine hesitates when accelerating This is exactly what I see at this time .... from google for examples of a bad fuel pump relay. I have to try swapping it out, just not sure exactly which relay it is .... I will figure it out tomorrow and swap them around.

I just got back from the test drive .... is a no go. I was really excited because after cleaning the connections .... I noticed that the engine started faster. It always takes 3-5 seconds to start before ... after cleaning it now starts almost instantly ... made a difference. I thought the difference may make a difference .... no go. I can also suggest it is getting worse ... now if you have a bunch of driving around town at low speeds, it will act up. Same thing today on the way home ... it acted up at low speeds. At this point, I'm still thinking it is electrical and want to replace the relay for the fuel pump. .... it is original as far as I know. What I thought was strange, the brand new fuel pump was making a strange noise at low speeds ... then when the engine acted up, the noise went away and the car stalled .... for a split second. I dunno, I will just keep guessing .... I do not have the high dollar test equipment that "might find this issue:

My first random thought and thinking about the time the vehicle has been sitting .... you say freshly rebuilt generator ... what decade was that? I wonder if the brushes could be stuck from dirt ... So the brushes have been in a set position for how long ... you start driving it and as the brushes wear they ride on the armature .... but if they are stuck in their tracks and not sliding as they should .... generator may not be putting anything out. The fix would be to simply physically move them so they start to slide again .... just par for the course a vehicle not ran for awhile. Might be something different ... but a plausible solution. Back in the day we may have beat on the generator with a hammer to get it to work ... you could try that to see if the vibration will help

Saddles, harness, boots ... yes sir we have that shop also ... no speedometer shop though

That sucks, but kinda sounds par for the course for a vehicle first run .... What type of Generator/voltage regulator do you have? I'm just thinking about it, My rebuilt GM alternator was $35 and the solid state VR was $20 .... I paid more for my windshield wiper blades then I did for my charging system 🤣 You can believe I was cursing while paying for the wipers 🤣🤣🤣

Been a couple months because I was getting very frustrated with the car. I believe @Sniper was first to suggest the computer was stuck in a open loop. So having some time away from the vehicle I'm convinced it is a electrical problem and causing a open loop situation. So today I removed the battery/battery tray, air cleaner .... I unplugged all main engine/body plugs and started looking. The very first and the worse ... very possible this is the issue right here. Not as bad, still is dirty and needs cleaned This plug I should research, I have no idea what it does ... reminds me of a radio antenna plug. It is brass on the inside and needs cleaned ... After taking some time off and thinking about all the great advice .... I may have found the problem in about 15 minutes of time 🙄 Not sure if it was a good idea, I thought it would be OK, I used dielectric grease on the female connections to protect the connections when I plugged them in ... I just never cleaned them first .... these were the first connections to be made and was not expecting a problem at that time. I will take it for a drive in a few minutes to check it out.

This is something I have wanted to try, have not done it yet though. The key is to get the bulb on the end very cold. There is a gas inside the tube that makes the gauge operate ... gas expands with heat and makes the needle move. So when you freeze the donor gauge, all the gas is sucked into the bulb on the end. You prepare the original gauge by cutting the old line off leaving some of it and clean and sand it ready for soldering. Will need a larger tube to act as a coupling. Now take your frozen gauge and quickly cut the tube off of it and clean and solder it to the original gauge ... the solder job needs to be airtight. And this has to be done before the gauge thaws out and releases the gasses ... why @OldDad67suggestion to have a bucket of ice for the bulb to sit in is a great idea. My issue is finding a suitable donor gauge. I had a old gauge from the 1980's-90's with the metal tube and it worked fine and planned to use it as a donor ... then it leaked and is no good. Then I ordered another one off of ebay, modern gauges are using some sort of plastic tubing and not a suitable donor to solder to a metal tube. So that is the issue with fixing them now as I see it ... we need to find a manufacturer that still uses metal tubes that is suitable for a donor.

no idea if it matters ... appears to have the wrong cup plug when it should be a welch plug. I might be wrong, just not sure how well that cup plug will seal .... the sealing surface on the block is small. The Welch plug you install with the domed side facing out ... then smack it with a hammer inverting the dome side in and the plug expands against the block to seal. Just pointing out how it should be replaced. Looks like it might have leaked a little in the photo ... they may have enough goop on it to seal it. If the plug comes out will just be a minute or less to drain all the coolant from the block.

Been a couple weeks since a update .... I have been working on it when weather permits. I got hub caps from Hubcapmikes,com and happy with them Windshield wipers were a bit of a mess ... I finally got the parts and working wipers for way too much $$. I wonder if there is anything special to do with vacuum wipers? ... I saw where one person suggested ATF into the unit to lubricate them .... I dunno they work alright, but wonder if some maintenance can be done. Been working on the wiring and getting first class help from this forum, the best help anywhere period. Yesterday I finished up the wiring inside the engine bay, tail light wire been done for a long time. Today I worked on cleaning up the wiring inside the cab and the fuse panel .... All the lights except turn signals and brake lights are finished, connected to switches and harness is cleaned up .... The passenger side light is not on ... could be I damaged a splice or possibly the bulb is burnt out ... I have not checked it yet .... waiting for turn signals then will hunt down the issue. I have the wires ready for the turn signal switch and should be pretty simple to connect .... I'm just not happy with the used turn signal switch I bought off ebay a few years ago. Problem is the switch was rewired and the color of wires do not match original and it did not come with a proper clamp to connect to steering column ... I made one and it sucks, I do not like it ... A new reproduction is not that much and I have one on the way .... special thanks to @Young Edfor sending me good information a couple years ago ... My switch only has 6 wires, most have 8 or 10 .... the image Ed sent me that I thought was correct, has 7 .... I'm missing the main power wire that feeds the switch. .... So at this point, I will wrap things up tomorrow and Hound Dog is getting pushed to the side. I have parts on the way for it and not much more to do until they arrive .... I need to start working on the wife car again, I had sufficient time to cool off and not so angry with it ... It is time.

The rubber just naturally ages if they get used or not .... then the rubber gets hard with age. If you let the truck sit for 10 years without moving it ... the steel belts will form flat spots I know cars that have sat for 5 years or more will have some vibration to them .... 29 years ... Sad about the rock, glad it did not hit your windshield ... the life of a truck on the road I put the 235's on mine .... no idea what the speedometer will read .... but we have gps.