Los_Control

Just reminds me of the story .... We never knew we could not weld cast iron .... so we just went ahead & did it anyways. Think about all the kids that created dual exhaust on a six cylinder engine back in the 50's. They did not know they could cut it and weld in a new piece .... So they just did it. And it worked and they continued to do it again. I really do not want to tell you about Grandpa Carl .... sold my sister a 1962 chebby chevyII station wagon. The engine on the car threw a rod through the block .... Grandpa welded a patch back on it, fixed the bearing issues and the engine ran great. I also drove a 1987 Astro van with the block welded up. It was perfect. We are told that we need special welding techniques to weld a set of headers for a straight 6, or patch up a hole in the side of a engine block .... Back in the 50's they just fixed it with no questions. Is your crack worth fixing? I have no clue. I can say it can be fixed .... I also can say these engines are not rare so it can be replaced.

Understood ... I bet @Sniperis just about as anal about cooling systems as I am. Today temps will be 108 and do not see any days below 100 in the near future. Is very important to keep our vehicles cooling system .... along with the vehicle in good condition .... nobody wants to be sitting on the side of the road in 108 temps waiting 1 hour for a tow truck. For some in poor health it could be deadly. For me a cooling system is very important and worth extra effort to be sure it is working properly. If I had any concerns about it I would not hesitate to go completely through it. I have done so with my Wife caravan, my chubby & my 1949 truck. I go through the complete system so I know what condition everything is in. So for me, if I was not comfortable with the cooling system, I knew nothing about past maintenance I would not hesitate to go through it. Simply mandatory first steps on a new to me vehicle. ..... Yes I'm talking the shotgun approach. Not troubleshooting the exact issue. Just simply the only way I would feel comfortable with going out of town. Pull off the hood then remove the radiator & the water pump. ..... @Davidmccabe original concern was using chemicals to clean the distribution tube. If you can snake a piece of rebar used for concrete through the grill and into the distribution tube ... if it goes through ... no longer guessing if the tube is clogged or not. You just mechanically confirmed it is not clogged. Now you can insert the garden hose in the tube & flush that part ... the water will circle around and run it til it comes out clean. Then pull the freeze plugs out and flush it some more ..... simply amazing how much casting sand from the day the engine was poured is still in the engine. The sand collects down in the side of the engine and prevents coolant capacity and cooling in those areas of the engine .... freeze plugs are cheap and you now know your block is clean and will not have one rust out on you your next trip for ice cream. What water pump is installed? is it the original with a zirk fitting to pump grease into it? They have been known to have the impeller blades rust away and no longer move water. Open it up and inspect it. .... A new water pump is cheap .... automagically we are going to replace the T-stat, hoses, belt. Just saying this is the shotgun approach, now I feel comfortable my cooling system will not leave me sitting on the side of the road and will have many miles of summer cruising ahead. .... The $$$ is minimal if you do the labor yourself, If I was 20 years old this would be a long weekend .... with my body it might take a week or 3. I did the exact same thing on my daily driver when I had a ignition miss at high speeds. I replaced the complete ignition system on the sbc. I knew nothing about it's history. I changed it all. Distributor, coil, wires, plugs .... the dizzy was the culprit, I now have peace of mind & spare parts.

Gotcha .... that would be nice to know what temps they are seeing. How fast do they see them.

The vinegar is a pretty mild acid, you can just disconnect your heater core and run the strait vinegar for a couple days then flush it out. I first flushed mine with the water pump removed and put a garden hose in the water distribution tube. Later I added a flushing T to the heater hose and remove the radiator cap and back flush the system out of the cap. Modern chemicals may be to harsh for our old radiators but still wont touch the hardened minerals in the distribution tube. Sorry for double post, I wrote above post yesterday and walked away without hitting send

Taking a shot in the dark here .... Chemicals will not clear the tube. When I bought my truck I'm certain overheating was the reason it was parked 20 years ago. .... Along with the owner physically unable to repair it. When I got it running for the first time, as it warmed up it ran good but as it warmed up it simply went straight to overheating ... It had no coolant flow. Was obvious previous owner went to check the Thermostat, broke a bolt off & walked away. It had the original Brass T-stat installed from 1949. The water distribution tube was completely packed with minerals. .... I used a piece of flat bar 3/16" x 3/4" and a hammer to drive the bar through the tube .... it was clogged solid with minerals. I had to pound hard at it ... Then I had to drill a hole in the end of the flat bar to connect a chain & slide hammer to to pull the bar back out. I spent a few days at it using the flat bar like a chisel to clean the hard minerals off of the sides and open up the distribution tube. I then started the engine & let it warm up, it seemed ok after this. I then filled the cooling system up with cheap vinegar from the grocery store. I would start and run the engine through several heat cycles ... for a couple weeks while letting it sit in-between ... I even drained it at one point & re-filled it with fresh vinegar ... kept going. Later I yanked all the soft plugs out and again with the water pump off I ran a hose through the distribution tube and flushed all the sand out of the block. Amazing how much casting sand from the manufacturing process is left over in the block and it all collects at this point in the block <---- this needs cleaned out. Since then I have let it idle in the driveway for up to 2 hours with no T-stat installed .... it would run about 160 ... eventually it would creep up to 180 .... give it some gas off of idle and would drop right back to 160 again. With a 180 T-stat installed it stays at 180. I'm only suggesting there are a few ways to clean out these old enginines

I myself never built a motorized bike. I think they are pretty cool though. Maybe someday I will. I have never seen mustie1 mentioned on this thread, just wondering if any others here has seen his bikes? While this is a older video and shows a few of them together .... this video is actually #2 of a 2 part series. If you are looking for more you can easily find them. I actually found mustie1 when searching for some videos to repair my riding lawnmower. He has some real talent as a mechanic. Anywhere from small engines to large diesel backhoes converted to snow plows ... bass boats .... Today was a old funky go cart .... I enjoy my Sunday morning coffee watching his videos. He certainly has imagination.

A whole lot of time & effort has gone into that, it looks beautiful & relaxing. She gets a "AttaBoy" I can only imagine how many "honey doo's" you were involved in ... you get a attaboy too

Back in the day when I retreaded truck tires, We did not own we leased our equipment from Bandag. The modern equipment was not for sale. One day we had their guys out there replacing a brass screw block on a 6' metal screw shaft on a $150k machine. I asked them why not just build a stronger screw block so this does not need to happen? The obvious reply was, If we build it out of steel, then the $2k shaft would wear out. We build it out of brass so it is the sacrificial piece & the easiest to replace .... Even though it took all day to replace. I wonder if iron rings in a old flathead may be the sacrificial piece in the puzzle & the easiest to replace?

Seems like a honest question, although am curious why you do not want chrome rings? Seems the original rings made way back before my Daddy was born, were made from cast. They tend to have a short life span ... was very common to replace the rings at a local gas station and considered normal maintenance ... When a vehicle sits for some time, is common for the rings to get stuck to the pistons and no longer seal. While if you run them through a few heat cycles the dissimilar metals will release from the pistons and they can/will seal again. Later on in the 1960's? they came out with the chrome molly rings? They lasted twice as long as the old cast iron rings I have no idea what the rings for a 2020 Dodge Hemi are made out of today, pretty sure they are not cast iron and have progressed beyond chrome molly. Thinking I would rather have at least chrome before cast iron.

Seriously I was under the impression that the /6 body was a direct drop in to our 6's ... but we need to swap the shaft for it to work with our oil pump. I have learned something already with @kencombsfirst post on it. Then learned more with @Adam H P15 D30 thoughts on the Chevrolet HEI module .... Not sure I want that. I learned 2 new things today, I better step away from the computer before my brain explodes

Am I correct in thinking you need to machine down the body of the /6 dizzy to fit into our flatheads? I have glanced at a few articles on it and was not aware this was needed. I thought we just put the stock distributor along with the /6 distributor in a bucket, let them sit over night & magically in the morning you had a working hei dizzy? ? I guess I better follow along also, since I plan someday down the road to do the same conversion.

Sigh .... it's growing

just a guess .... Looks to me there is too much wear on the shaft and rotor would have too much slop.

See a lot of good pokes in the dark here ..... First thing is I do not see the original problem you are trying to solve ... this thread is a continuation of a different thread that describes the problem there? Losing the cloth wire covering in the distributor was a real issue for many. It is a ground wire, since you have a positive ground electrical system, when the cloth covering falls off & the points plate moves from the vacuum advance the wire can spark, ground out against the distributor housing. The hot coil is a clue. If you are using a used coil for testing. It should not be hot. .... Just because we can swap 6volt or 12volt coils around & your engine will start & run .... does not mean it will run well. Some coils have a resistor built into them, some need a resistor added before the coil. If it is a used coil, possibly a 12v neg ground coil ... swapped into a 6v pos ground vehicle. It should work ... kinda. Because I am very stupid on electrical .... I want to call it a sine wave? ... A pos ground coil is use to running electricity in one direction, when you swap it with a neg ground coil it is now running in a different direction. ..... this can cause some really strange issues, probably more noticeable at higher rpm. Jus thinking that a good working used coil seems harmless, you need to know it's past polarity & also if you need a resistor or not with it. The 3 bad condensers .... absolutely. I honestly think it may have been my bad luck to buy the condensers from NAPA auto that week. Possibly if I went back 3 months later they would have had a better batch shipped in from over seas .... yes 3 bad in a row is documented in my diary and the 4th came from a junkyard & worked fine. Of course I have no reason to reply to this thread, I never saw what your original issue is. I just saw some of the past replies & toss a shot in the dark.

I would imagine the New 48-53 braces would work for you. I would imagine mounting the boards in position to the fenders, while installing the braces to the running board mounts. Then marking where they would be welded to the running boards? Just thinking if they were not exactly the same size as your original, would still work & nobody would know the difference. My 1949, the long brace is 30.75" long, 3.25" wide. The others are 5" long & 2.5" wide. .... I imagine would be what DCM is selling?

Sometimes just having the project is good therapy for the body, the mind .... lifting, bending, twisting, all the physical movements will exercise your back and build muscles and slowly improve your back's condition, although there will be pain along the way. Looking for parts, researching fixes for unseen issues all of this brain activity will keep you sharp. Trust me, you take on this project you will prolong your life by at least 20 years .... ???

I think tig welding would probably be the best choice, even if you need to practice on some scrap metal. You could use it as a learning opportunity Although your original idea may work fine as well. While I like JB weld, it has a place to be used .... I have some that I opened & used a small portion. Later I needed to use it again, the cap was stuck on & only way to use it again is to cut the top off. Next time I wanted some I bought this product instead, pretty comparable in price. Twice the amount of product. It comes in a layered roll. Just slice off the amount you want, knead it together thoroughly .... I assume if stored properly it will be fine to use again the next time is needed. You can grind, sand, paint it just like JB weld.

@kencombsI would post any info I can give you ... I removed my running boards on Monday ..... I have a 1949, no idea what they may share in common. I will share any photos or measurements you want .... 1956 - 1949 we are talking several years difference. Just ask if you think I may have something of value.

That is the message you would get if you tried to call my number today. Seems my page plus phone has ran out of time. OK after this post I will do my usual $25 & it will be working for the next 90 days, or if I use the minutes up. Just suggesting Paul's phone is no longer maintained, has a late bill notice & until caught up will not accept calls? I am not trying to suggest anything more then that .... Yet at Paul's age & health, we certainly should have concerns.

Wheeeel years ago in a land far away, I had a crankshaft nut welded to the crank. Was a rusted up body with a $300 engine in it .... Who cared? Just suggesting it is not impossible, just not likely.

No idea who will install the tires ... Will you take them to a shop? I would suggest this myself. Main reason is to have a professional inspect them for rust or bent and damaged rings that would prevent them from being safe to use. Some shops offer a wheel reconditioning service, sandblast & paint is all it is .... So I'm saying, take them in and dismount the tires, have them inspected "will they mount new tires on them?" Then you can feel comfortable spending some time cleaning them up & painting as needed, then have the new tires installed. If for some reason they fail safety inspection, chances are it would only be 1 or 2 wheels not all of them. Now would be a good time to decide if you want to switch to tubeless or just pick up a used replacement.

With a stuck engine, & or you add wood blocks to keep the engine from turning .... You add a breaker bar to loosen the nut I get it .... I always thought these threads were voodoo .... I think @Bryan bought the right tool and who cares. I do. Yeah they blocked the pistons with a block of wood & now they have a bent push rod. So whatever you do with your hundreds of removing the nut, yeah time is catching up with 70 year old nuts.

Just like that I have the running boards off ... I was a bit aggressive & broke 1 bolt, we can fix that. Yes sir they will need a hammer to beat them into submission. Honestly a little clean up & some kind words and they will be perfect Farmer repairs. With this my IWOYTD is over ... I may work on it tomorrow but does not include today My goal was getting the fenders running boards off Saturday ... am a day late as usual.

I always thought the clippers were better then the Mayfairs .... or did I get that backwards?

Thats a slippery slope .... next thing you know you are in a rabbit hole with bent rods as @Bryan found. Dealing with bolts 70 years old, you kinda want to give them every chance you can to remove as easily as possible. My current project today is removing fenders or the bed ... just cut them off or drill them out ... does not matter. Removing that crank bolt again as @Bryanfound out .... the rat a tat tat from a rattle gun loosened it and removed it. You can block the engine from turning and use a 10' pole on a breaker bar .... something will move. Just might not be what you want to move. The Rat a tat tat from a impact wrench is your friend here, it will with impact break the nut loose and not damage the rest of the engine. If you do not own one. just think about the cost of replacing rods & the price of the tool, then how many places you will use the tool again.