fhubler Posted November 26, 2017 Report Posted November 26, 2017 Just wanted to share a situation with the brakes that was discovered today with the hope of preventing someone else from running into the same issue. We have our '48 Town Sedan for a whole 3 weeks now & it has been a great deal of fun. The previous owner had the brake shoes, flex hoses, wheel cylinders & master cylinder replaced not too long ago. He didn't drive it much (about 1000 miles since 1985). It drove fine for me for about the first 2 weeks & then the left front brake started to intermittently pull & sometime lock up altogether. Backing up a few feet would free it up again. This afternoon I finally pulled the left front wheel to check it over. The upper wheel cylinder dust seal was pushed out toward the backing plate. After pulling the plunger out of the wheel cylinder, I found that the dust seal was dislodged, apparently when the wheel cylinder was put in place. The plunger was out of the hole & off to one side between the edge & the hole. When the brakes were applied, the seal would bulge out instead of flexing inward causing the plunger to bind. After putting the plunger back through the hole it belonged in in the center of the seal & reinstalling it, the brakes worked fine again. The moral of the story is, when you install a new wheel cylinder, rotate the dust seal to make sure it is properly centered & seated before buttoning everything back up. 1 Quote
knuckleharley Posted November 26, 2017 Report Posted November 26, 2017 Sometimes it's easy to overlook the basic things. Especially those of us who are not mechanics and do these things on a regular basis. Quote
fhubler Posted November 26, 2017 Author Report Posted November 26, 2017 Its one of those quirky things that I may never see again, but I'm sure someone else will. It was on the back side, so you couldn't see it without rotating the seal... I see on your profile that you have a lot of interesting cars - any pictures of the '33s posted somewhere? Quote
knuckleharley Posted November 26, 2017 Report Posted November 26, 2017 5 minutes ago, fhubler said: Its one of those quirky things that I may never see again, but I'm sure someone else will. It was on the back side, so you couldn't see it without rotating the seal... I see on your profile that you have a lot of interesting cars - any pictures of the '33s posted somewhere? Unfortunately,it is not even half as good as it looks in these photos. The fenders and grille are ok,but the whole bottom of the body is gone,and so is the channel in the rumble opening for the rubber. Sadly,I paid a price for it that would have been reasonable if it were as solid as it looks and as it was described. I no longer buy cars unless I have personally looked them over. This one and the 42 Dodge coupe broke me of that bad habit. Quote
Branded Posted November 27, 2017 Report Posted November 27, 2017 This is my cousins coupe, he's had it for 30 years. 2 Quote
knuckleharley Posted November 27, 2017 Report Posted November 27, 2017 49 minutes ago, Branded said: This is my cousins coupe, he's had it for 30 years. NICE! Quote
fhubler Posted November 27, 2017 Author Report Posted November 27, 2017 Such beautiful styling. I think that 1933 was one of the best years for automotive styling in history for so many manufacturers with the Mopars being some of the finest. To buy a car sight unseen is a very risky business indeed! Quote
knuckleharley Posted November 27, 2017 Report Posted November 27, 2017 (edited) 7 minutes ago, fhubler said: Such beautiful styling. I think that 1933 was one of the best years for automotive styling in history for so many manufacturers with the Mopars being some of the finest. To buy a car sight unseen is a very risky business indeed! I saw photos. The owner must have sent me a dozen or more. The car just looks better in the photos than it does in "real life". I agree about the styling of the early 30's. Every American car I have seen that was built between 1932 and 1936 was beautiful. The 32 Plymouth was,IMHO,one of the most beautiful of the bunch. Here is a photo of my 31 Plymouth taken the day I got it home. It ain't a 32,but it ain't bad,either! The 31 Plymouths were so mechanically advanced over the Fords and Chevrolets that they might as well have been another species. BTW,not one single damn thing will ever be modified on this car as long as I own it. Edited November 27, 2017 by knuckleharley 1 Quote
fhubler Posted November 27, 2017 Author Report Posted November 27, 2017 I sold a '58 Sunbeam Rapier drop head coupe to a guy like that years ago. I took photos of every panel inside, outside & underneath - probably about 60 in all. When he came for the car he said, "Wow. Its more rusty than I thought." He got a rare car very cheap, but he had his work cut out for him. I felt bad for him, but he really wanted the car and I would have given it to him, but he said, "No. I have to give you something for it." Hopefully he brought it back to life. I went to look at many cars myself that I thought were great, but quickly changed my mind after a short examination. Our '48 Town Sedan was the opposite - the seller said, "Yea, it looks good from a distance, but the floors are rusty." I found 4 rusty panels, all of which are available at reasonable cost and no structural rust - a weeks worth of work for the shop I use and the average person would never know anything was repaired! That's rust work I can live with. Quote
DrDoctor Posted November 29, 2017 Report Posted November 29, 2017 (edited) Fhubler, and Knuckleharley, I agree wholeheartedly with both of you. I’ve gone with my neighbor to look as “treasures” he’s found that he wants me to work on, only to discover that they’re rusted hulks, not worth hauling them back home, much less paying for. Out ’46 Plymouth Special DeLuxe club coupe belonged to a friend of mine back in the midwest, so I trusted him, but wasn’t going to rely on only his word—given the money involved. My two brothers-in-law each went to look at it, and the each drove it. I got glowing reports from both of them—it was solid, interior was great, body straight (altho’ the paint needed attention), everything was in the trunk (spare tire, jack, some misc tools). The only negative expressed was that being a low-powered six cylinder, it wasn’t the quickest car in the world. But it started right up, ran like a clock, shifted smooth, stopped straight, didn’t make any noises, didn’t rattle. The other negative remark made was that the insulation on the wiring was extremely brittle, and falling off right and left. I negotiated a good deal, and we don't regret buying it. Now, if hadn’t been for my brothers-in-law, I probably would’ve passed on it. Warmest regards to you both!!! Edited November 30, 2017 by DrDoctor Oooopsie . . . . . . Quote
fhubler Posted November 30, 2017 Author Report Posted November 30, 2017 Assessing the "quality" of a car is a very subjective thing. I never pick out a car for someone or make specific recommendations. I just try to get them to articulate what they really want in a vehicle & then brainstorm about some that might fit the bill. I could go on & on about what I like in a vehicle, but what do you care about what I like or dislike about your car, or taste in cars? It's like trying to explain why someone falls in love - most of the time, they don't even know! If you want someone to think the best of you, listen to what they like about their car and agree with them heartily! Quote
DrDoctor Posted November 30, 2017 Report Posted November 30, 2017 Fhubler, Don’t count yourself so short—I am interested in your opinion, and what you like/dislike in cars. In fact, you’re probably one of only a handful of people that I’d trust to provide objective information about a car that I might be contemplating purchasing. And, at the very worst, friends should be able to “agree to disagree”. Warmest personal regards . . . . . . Quote
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