I'm Back...

[Shawn F.]

Well I have been away from here for quite some time. I have been working on starting a mobile detailing and paint repair business and going to college at the same time plus working so have not have time nor the money to put into any of my old cars and truck. Well I have been slowly gathering information and small parts to get this 46 Chrysler of mine going which if you dont know what I am talking about, here is a link: http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=1437

The only parts I do not have are for the brakes and this is probably the only thing that will ever hold me back to be able to drive this car. I cannot afford to rebuild them and probably wont for a few years because of other things that are more priority. I also need to get some plug wires and distributor cap but the internals I already bought if I remember correctly.

Another thing holding me back was the rusted fuel tank which I do not know if it's that bad or not because it is hard to tell on the ground but I am sure it is.

Here is the story....

I traded a dirtbike of mine to a kid that had a 1996 S10 extended cab pickup with a V8 conversion in it (350 sbc, 350 turbo tranny, beefed up and posi rear end with moser axles). It was on air bags as well and had 2003 blazer xtreme interior. The air bags I did not like and planned to get rid of them until I tore it apart more and found out just how bad this kid hacked the body and frame up on the truck. It's so bad that it is not worth fixing and would be very hard to fix. So I am pulling the motor, rear end and tranny out of the truck along with the interior to part out. The truck has one of those plastic racing fuel cells in it and until two nights ago I didn't think about using it temporarily in the 46 to use until the stock tank is replaced when I have the money. So now the fuel tank part is figured out for now and all I need is new lines, filters and will probably get a new fuel pump for the engine.

Falconvan on this website got me thinking about my 46 the other night while looking at his build thread and got me motivated to get going on it so here I am. It will be a slow process but it will happen eventually.

On my list of to do's:

1.) Brakes and brake lines (probably going to do a disk brake conversion)

2.) Plug wires

3.) Distributor cap

4.) 6 volt battery

5.) Rewire

6.) Put in fuel cell and all new fuel lines

7.) Fuel Pump

8.) Rebuild Carb

9.) Tranny Fluid (guess I am using hydraulic oil 32?)

10.) New Air filter

That's all I can think of right now but it's a start. The wiring on the car now is all there but a lot of it the insulation is deteriorating so I figured I'd redo them one at a time with bigger gauge wiring. What would you guys recommend? As for custom touches on this car, I plan to keep it pretty much all original besides the brakes. The car is supposedly a bit rare so I dont want to ruin it. Sorry for such a long post guys, I'll keep this updated and get some pictures soon!

[Frank Elder]

Fluid drive is compatible with universal tractor fluid because it will not foam up and cause cavitation, you do not want air bubbles in your tranny. I get mine at Tractor Supply.

Frankie

[Shawn F.]

I think NAPA near me has the Hydraulic 32 oil. It's like OIS or something 32. I have heard some say this will work and others said it wont. Then again everyone said to put a T5 tranny in the car but I like the fluid drive because not many people keep them in these cars and there aren't a lot of people that know how to drive them. My ONLY concern about these fluid drives are rebuilding them. If I rebuild my motor next year then I want to do the transmission as well but heard that you cannot buy rebuild kits and have to buy parts from different places online and piece it together...

[B-Watson]

The Fluid Drive and the transmission are two completely separate units.

The Fluid Drive is a fluid coupling between the clutch and the engine. The starter ring gear is attached to the fluid coupling as is the clutch plate.

The Fluid Drive unit uses the hydraulic oil.

The transmission was either a 3-speed manual or a 4-speed semi-automatic. The manual transmission was the basic unit used by Chrysler Corp. in their cars for many years and uses 2.75 pints of SAE 90 fluid gear lubricant for average temoeratures above -10F and SAE 80 when below -10F.

The semi-automatic transmission uses 3 pints of 10-W engine oil.

Bill

Vancouver, BC

[Shawn F.]

Ok thanks a lot for clearing that up for me, I never knew this! Not sure if I have the 3 speed or not but I thought it was the semi auto... How can I tell this without running the car? Also will the VIN # tell this and will the VIN tell the original color on the car as well?

Thanks!

[Frank Elder]

Universal tractor fluid is hydraulic oil, I was not trying to tell you what to put in your trans, I am so sorry that I typed tranny! It's air bubbles in your fluid drive coupling that will give you improper performance.

Thanks B-Watson for catching my mistake, it was a good call.

Frankie

[Frank Elder]

No VIN just a serial No. on the drivers door frame, I think the Chrysler historical society can make you a copy of your original build card, for a fee of some sort. You can search for the threads here for more info.

Frankie

[Shawn F.]

So no way to tell by that number the original color? The outside is the burgandy color and firewall is black so not sure if it was black or what...

[Young Ed]

Most likely if the firewall is black the whole car was. Unless the black looks fresh. When you start taking it apart you might find black paint under trim or the window gaskets etc as a further clue.

[Shawn F.]

Thanks YoungEd. I will probably paint it back the original color or some kind of dark cherry color like is used on the new Lexus cars. IMO that color looks very luxury like and would go well with tan interior. Once I figure out the original color of the exterior and interior then I will decide.

[55 Fargo]

Ok thanks a lot for clearing that up for me, I never knew this! Not sure if I have the 3 speed or not but I thought it was the semi auto... How can I tell this without running the car? Also will the VIN # tell this and will the VIN tell the original color on the car as well?

Thanks!

Shawn there are 2 ways you should be able to figure out what trans you have in the car.

Crawl under the car, and if you have the regular 3 spd trans and the fluid coupler, the trans will look like any other 3 spd trans of it's period.

If there is wiring going to the trans, for the trans governor, and the kickdown switch, you have the M5 trans, which is the 4spd semi-auto trans. There will be wiring, on the engine for the anti-stall and carb kick down too.

Which model is the car, royal, Windsor etc. A lot of the Royals came with 3 spd trans, while most Windsors had the M5 semi-auto trans.

If you have the 3 spd trans, you may likely have a 3.90 diff, if you have the M5 semi-auto trans, you may likely have a 3.54 diff.

For the OEM body clor, and the interior and trim numbers, look on the firewall tag, if the tag is ledgible, you will have yor info.

Hope this helps...........Fred

[Shawn F.]

Thanks Fred, I'll look into this. It's a Windsor but will check the tranny anyways. As for the color, the code is on the firewall and I used to remember it but forgot it now since I have not messed with the car in a long time and looked at it.

[B-Watson]

You can also determine which transmission you have by using the gear selector. The basic pattern is an "H" shape. With the 3-speed manual transmission, reverse is toward you and up while 1st is toward you and down. 2nd gear is done by pushing the lever away from you on the centre of the "H" and then up while 3rd is straight down from 2nd (away and down).

With the 4-speed semi-automatic, reverse is in the same place as on the 3-speed manual with low and high in the same spots as 2nd and 3rd, respectively. The "toward you and down" position does not exist on the 4-speed semi-automatic.

If you find the colour code, let me know. I have codes and colours for U.S. Chrysler cars from 1930 to date.

Bill

Vancouver, BC