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I wonder if it is true? I hear cork gaskets need to be soaked in oil before installation. On modern engines I have been able to get rubber gaskets far superior to cork. Old wife tale says to soak them in oil for 24 hours then install them .... they swell up & seal better. I dunno. I always liked the rubber gaskets when I could find them.

I wish you luck. When I rebuilt my MC, I spent a whole day chasing down leaks with the new lines & getting pressure too them. Then I replaced the old MC because it failed with my rebuild with a newer 2 stage MC. I then chased leaks for a day on the new improved brake lines. Been a couple weeks now .... I turned the truck around in the driveway ..... I noticed two separate leaks that are a easy fix. Just a few drips then stopped .... but 2 weeks after installing the lines. ...... Never over until it is over.

NO NO NO! This will never work for a owner of a 1938 Chrysler. You need the 30 year old 1994 mower for all the experience it will give you. You just cant imagine the hours of fun you will have driving a old mower. My 1994 John Deere I paid $35 for it. The starter was ok, but a kid took it apart & it never worked since. It actually has a Kawasaki engine .... with a new battery & starter it runs well. The Deck was rusted out .... good practice patching it back up. I never seen blades so worn out ..... is only a 38" mower but gets through my gate from the barn to the front yard. The deck bearings all needed replaced .... I probably have $200-$300 in this mower .... I really like the fact it has a manual transmission .... I have bad feelings about about the automatics. I did make a hood for it ..... 1994 they were plastic and all of them disintegrated. New blades, battery, starter, bearings , body & paint ... a couple tires .... It runs & performs like a new machine. Yeah it goes slow .... I mow in 1rst gear. If I drive faster in 2nd gear It cuts terrible. I realize if I increase the rpm the blades turn faster .... will cut better at high speeds ..... I just have a comfortable rpm I like to run the engine at. So I putt around in 1rst gear slow speed & cut the grass. .... works for me. Is fun to watch the new zero turn mowers with large motors on them ..... looks like a carnival ride watching them go back & forth. My 30 year old mower never misses a lick .... I just putt around on it & get the job done.

Lots of different gasket sealers .... I'm not suggesting it is the correct fix. When I suggest it might be adequate I'm thinking of this product here. Just what I have used for gaskets for years ... A brown gooie shellac that dries. I'm not thinking of silicone products. Along the line of using pipe dope or Teflon tape tape to seal head bolts going into water passages. The bolts & threads are good, they get a lot of torque .... they still leak if no sealer on them. So I think it is a legitimate cure .... not mickey mouse. Yet I do not know what would be the best product. This is just my usual go to that I have a few bottles around.

There is a trick I learned years ago. Use a $1 bill over the tail pipe exit. The idea is that a engine is a air pump, it should push the $1 bill straight out. The only reason the bill would flap back & forth is if the valves are not seating. .... sucking air back up the tail pipe ..... should not happen. Just a quick & dirty test to check your valves. My engine has sat for many years .... it runs ok in the driveway .... Because I'm married ... I do not have a $1 bill in my wallet .... I used a piece of notebook paper to try the test. It flapped back & forth so fast it tore the paper in 1/2. My valves are not seating ... will cause a rough idle and poor reading on plugs for those cylinders. For me that is a future Fred problem I will fix. .... for now I get by running in the driveway. A quick & dirty test to check your valves.

I honestly have never worked with this type or your u-joints. ..... Or my Cleveland U-joints .... will be a learning experience for me. My 1991 chebby, you press in the cap & then there is a snap ring that holds the cap in place. They have to be totally inserted all the way in order to get the snap ring in place. There is no way to install them wrong ..... unless you are me and 1 of the needle bearings is not set proper & you beat it into submission. There should be some clip or ring that holds the cap in place ..... I have never worked on this style of u-joint before .... so I do not know. The u-joint is obviously off center ... only a 1/16" or 1/8" .... that would cause the off balance you see in your video. You will have to correct this. It could be all your problem, or just get you closer to fixing your problem.

Good eye @Sam Buchanan Is this what you are seeing?

I have a pair of vise grips clamped on the frame, then some bailing wire creating a loop for a spring to hook too ..... until I get the floor back in. The only way the u-joint could cause your issue is if it was frozen & not rotating freely. @kencombs is correct suggesting to look at the flange .... Your u-joints look terrible .... as they are they would self destruct in a few years or a few thousand miles. The brown rust with fresh grease creates mud. I think NOS parts is great for many things .... I personally have not heard anyone complain about quality of modern u-joints. Yours look absolutely terrible for being nos. You need to clean them up, make sure there is no pitting on the shaft or needle bearings then assemble them & re-install .... meaning you need to press them out from the drive line to accomplish this. Not a big deal to clean them & inspect ..... A typical u-joint is maybe $10-$15 ? Only suggesting I might just buy new ones if they are a reasonable price. In my truck I have Cleveland u-joints. Cheapest replacements I know about is on ebay for $101 each + shipping. I only hope mine look as good as yours when I remove them to clean & inspect. .... I will be cleaning mine & hoping they are usable. Or I may go deeper with a rear end & drive line swap .... To avoid $100 u-joints in the future.

Interesting oil leak ..... I can imagine how it could leak ..... 70 year old engine & bolts. I assume the threaded hole is exposed to oil on the other end. I think the torque on these bolts is really low. Over torque a cork gasket and cause a different leak or distort the flat edge of the pan. Possibly a new bolt would fix it, or maybe some gasket sealer on the threads of the bolt. Maybe it will go away with a few heat cycles .... just double check the bolt is snug. Glad to see progress

I still say IF! a u-joint was frozen, it would not rotate as it should. Pinion angle is important .... I think your jack stands are under the axle ... basically as good as it gets with the weight you have. Imagine if the jack stands were under the frame & the axle hanging down .... That would change the pinion angle a lot. The pinion angle will affect it at driving speeds. .... not so much while sitting on jack stands with weight on the axle. Your problem appears to be at the front u-joint. That yoke needs to move freely The u-joint needs to move freely. The plate the u-joint bolts to, needs to sit flat & flush. The output shaft from the transmission needs to be straight & true. If you remove the drive line from the transmission, then run it again .... you can see if it still happens at the end of the transmission where u-joint connects. Then remove the The connection there & check the run out on the tail shaft ..... Systematically 1 piece at a time you can find the issue here.

There you go! Installing fresh U-joints & grease a few months ago you know the condition of the drive line ..... IMHO, you have to know that is correct before looking elsewhere. Seems something is not sitting flat as it should .... You have a wonderful opportunity for improvement here .... You get to take it apart & do it again Just to be fair, 2 or 3 years ago I put new u-joints, carrier bearing in my daily driver 2 piece drive shaft. I screwed up the front u-joint installing it. It worked but did give some vibration & howled .... 6 months later I replaced it ... again. I do not think that is a good idea. ..... If the rear end is a limited slip like I think ours is, the wheel that spins is chosen by traction .... If you add traction to the left wheel it will spin.

I'm only suggesting, if you drive through Roswell you will see items like this. There is one display 20-30 feet tall downtown advertising the "Aliens" ..... But a smaller item like @Ulu is showing ..... could be on any counter in Roswell. So naturally we think of Roswell ..... Still a cool item ..... Value of item I could not guess. I would expect several of them in Roswell .... same time are survivors valuable?

I can toss out a couple opinions on the drive shaft ..... A: ... it kinda wants a load on it, sitting on jackstands ... no body, no weight ..... the pinion angle is not where it would normally be. B: When is the last time you greased the u-joints & the yoke? I get it, all looks nice and new .... Are those u-joints brand new 20 years ago with 20 year old grease in them? My truck does something similar but not as bad as yours ... when I let out the clutch, I can see it divert off of a straight path .... Breaks my heart I know I need to take the drive line out, including the yoke .... clean everything and add fresh grease . As Sam says, the front U-joint looks stiff & not moving/rotating as it should. My truck uses Cleveland U-joints $110 each on epay .... I will try to take mine apart and clean & grease them .... same with the yoke, make sure it slides smooth. KK funny story time. I had a old Toyota car that just ran great and we drove it often. Paid $300 for it at a auction .... pooched quarter panel & a blue door on a red car.. After driving it for years with giving it no maintenance. A u-joint actually froze up on it. The symptoms were, you drive it and give it the gas .... would seem fine .... let off on the gas and the rear end would bounce all around rolling up to a stop light. I actually swapped in a new rear end because I thought that was the issue. Then I got smart, pulled the driveline back out ... rotated the u-joints by hand & found the frozen one. Replaced it & drove the car another 5 years. A stiff u-joint will cause the issue you are seeing. Could be other things but first thing to check. A dried up or non working accelerator pump will cause your other issue with acceleration.

This is the only time I use starting fluid. Spray a short shot .... if it starts or tries to start .... fuel issue. If no change, then electrical. You can pour gas in the carb .... maybe get it flooded & no change so you end up getting a false diagnoses. I'm only suggesting, if you give it a whiff of either .... If spark & timing is correct, it will start. .... there is no maybe about it. If it makes no difference you look for a spark or timing issue. It is a very simple, quick & dirty diagnostic tool. You do not want to try & keep the engine running on the starting fluid .... by starting it and spraying more while running. It will tell you very quickly which direction to start searching.

Time is getting short .... get your bids in now!

I love the honesty. When I was 17, I had a 1969 mustang fastback .... base model 351 2brl/fmx transmission. I got 22mpg with the car. I installed L60-15 tires on the rear. Had to use air shocks to get the body to clear the tires. .... I do not remember the brand .... were raised white letters. I had the yellow traction bars mounted underneath & a 7" pro stock hood scoop on front. .... just the style of the times. .... makes me cringe today thinking of it. As a 17 year old kid I thought it was cool ... today I think I would be embarrassed to share photos of it.

Sometimes my reading comprehension is not so good. I was assuming they were out test driving the vehicle, while driving the temp was still creeping up. That is the real question, are we sitting in the driveway or out driving to test? Over 30 mph the stock fan is not really doing anything. Our old mopars have a non pressurized cooling system. ..... We like em big! ? Wonder when we started running a pressurized system .... 1960 with the slant 6? I would have to look it up, just a WAG. Along with the modern pressurized systems came smaller radiators. The big ol brass monsters were no longer needed. @kencombs what about slapping a 6 pound cap on it? Cheaper & easier then modifying a fan. I would not suggest on a oem system .... The heater core has already been recored .... I assume it will accept pressure. The radiator is not oem .... should be fine ..... what else would need to be changed? @D35 Torpedo Nobody asked if you are using a pressurized cap .... our cars do not use them. What cap are you using?

Just thinking out loud, seems we know your current radiator is not original ..... curious if it is brass or aluminum? Wonder how thick it is? Is it a 2 row or a 3 row? ..... I just checked Champion Radiators, They have a pretty decent reputation. 1952 Plymouth radiator ..... they are out of stock on 2 row. .... they have a 3 row for $244 USD ..... + shipping to Canada If nothing else, you can use these dimensions from a replacement radiator for your car, see how they compare to your existing radiator. You say it flows pretty good, fairly clean no crud coming out .... it just may not have enough capacity. Champion All Aluminum Radiator 3-Row Core | Cools up to 500hp Radiator Dimensions: Total: 24.5" tall x 23.5” wide (including brackets) Core: 18.5" tall x 20.13" wide x 2" thick Inlet: 1.75" Center Outlet: 1.5" passenger side Tanks: 3.13" thick (top) 2.5" (bottom) Tubes: 0.63" thick https://www.championradiators.com/Plymouth-P15-P18-P19-P20-P23-3-row-radiator-1949-1952# I have a very similar aluminum radiator am installing in my truck. Champion charges $70 if you want yours polished .... they look nice in someone else's car. I'm going to paint mine satin black, will look original enough for me.

Does sound like more then you might expect. But hey, thats why your in there checking it over. I would say a rule of thumb, keep checking until they stop moving. Would be a good chance the next time you check, you will get no more movement .... then 3 times is enough. If you get some movement on a couple bolts the 3rd time .... then I would check it a 4th time. As a rule, 3 times is enough. If you are getting movement on the 4th or 5th time .... I would start questioning the accuracy of the tool, the quality of the bolts .... something is up. To get movement on the 2nd round is perfectly normal.

Like PA stated .... hard to say what is in the muffler by this point. Think I would be more concerned with what is coming out of the blow by tube.

Were chebby ever + ground? I've heard stories that while the normal for the day was + ground, most makers were using it ... chevrolet refused to use it. Then by 55 when Chevrolet came out with the 265 V8 they were the top car sellers of the day .... everybody else just fell in line and went - ground also ..... Is it true? If the pulley is narrow, you can use a narrow belt. Fits the generator fine & does work on the other wider pulleys, just sits deeper. Not as sexy as the big wide belt .... works. I destroyed a old generator trying to get the pulley off years ago ... obviously I did not have the right puller or knowledge.

Holding it level with the bed would be correct. A good example would be my truck has a low side bed, the tail gate is shorter and uses a shorter chain. My utility trailer has a normal bed and needs a longer chain for the taller tail gate. Sure it is easier to supply a generic length chain that would fit all.

Is it a original radiator, or a modern replacement aluminum? Only thinking that sometimes we do not buy a big enough replacement radiator. Today we have 2 core ... 3 core ... height width. The originals were pretty bulky. You mentioned there was no T-stat .... With all this trouble, I would try one of them a long time ago. While most do not need one. Your engine is rebuilt, if the cylinders are bored the walls are thin .... you might need a Thermostat .... then still run warmer then normal. If the head was shaved, you raised compression .... again it could run hotter then normal. So I just read your post again ..... everything on your car checks out ..... But temps rise & fall as it pleases .... Your T-stat is not doing it's job. Sticking open or sticking closed ..... then swaps again .... at some point in failure it will simply stay open or stay closed. .... not bounce around. Always nice to know your complete cooling system is in good condition while you change the faulty T-stat ??? Sometimes we go overboard checking for problems. For me a good cooling system in West Texas is a major concern .... I want to know everything is as it should be. I have seen T-stats before fail in this manner.

You know me, I'm too long winded anyways ..... I was thinking about the heater core .... I just was not going to bring it up. I figured if the heater core is clogged, wont get any heat but will not cause the car to overheat. My truck a heater was a option, I have a valve to turn off the flow to it in summer time. Part of the cooling system, but would not cause a overheating issue.

The hole size is normal .... I have never heard of anyone modifying the hole in the years I have been here. If the tube is clear, then that is not the problem. Check the petcock on the block, down by the distributor or oil fill tube .... if you open it does coolant come out? If not it is likely you have casting sand in the block ... the petcock is the lowest point and where all the sand settles. This takes up space that normally would be filled with coolant. ..... Cleaning it would be equivalent to installing a larger radiator. If the petcock drains, it is not clogged with sand. You have the water pump apart, you can physically check it is working. The only thing left is the radiator. .... Or T-stat IMHO, if you disconnect the lower hose, you should be able to put a garden hose in top & turn it on at a fair pace. It should not backup & overflow out the top. .A clear radiator should flow a lot of water freely. ..... Also pay attention to how much crud & color of the water coming out of the radiator. Probably can turn the hose on high enough to overflow .... then adjust it down slowly a step at a time til it does not overflow. Then look at the flow from the hose, will give you a good visual of how much water your radiator can move. Personally I would skip that test & just pull the radiator. Turn the radiator upside down & insert the hose in the lower hose outlet, reverse the flow .... be surprised how much crud you can loosen and back flush it. Spend a few hours with it just flipping the radiator from top to bottom til you get clear water running from it .... you should get a improved flow also. When you put the radiator back in, then use a flush when you fill it. I filled mine with cleaning vinegar from the grocery store .... A gallon for $2 & has a higher acidity then cooking vinegar. Take it out for a drive, leave it in there for a week .... a very mild acid to clean the radiator as it sits, same time heat helps it along. CLR is another option some have had good results with .... Then there is Cascade soap for your dishwasher. Gets the tough stuff without harming your brass or stainless steel pots. You can take it to a radiator shop if you can find one. I have not been to a radiator shop in 30 years .... All our modern chemicals for cooling systems are for aluminum materials .... possibly not best choice for a 75 year old brass radiator. .... I dunno, is why I chose vinegar to clean mine ..... still too many leaks and had to replace it anyways.