knuckleharley Posted November 28, 2021 Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 2 hours ago, Bryan said: The little colored dashes on top of a different color of wire. And what do they mean? Is there some sort of code? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted November 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 3 minutes ago, knuckleharley said: And what do they mean? Is there some sort of code? Not quite sure but I think the bigger the wire the more parallel dashes it has. Let me look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted November 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 Still not sure. The correct term is tracer. Have not seen a specific chart guide or industry standard. Might have just varied by manufacturers. All I'm trying to do is somewhat match what I have, but it won't be exact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kencombs Posted November 28, 2021 Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 It's my understanding the tracer is just a marker used for initial wiring, matches the schematics, and for later maintenance. It just allows use of a few basic colors but still provide discrete codes for multiple circuits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tired iron Posted November 28, 2021 Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 On 11/23/2021 at 9:38 AM, Bryan said: On lunch break to get warm. Decided to loosen the head bolts while I have it in the car. Imagine trying to do it on a rollable motor stand. All but 3 loosened. Using a torque wrench and not exerting more than 100 ft/lbs on it. Using oil, my Map torch, regular hammer to tap the heads. When I get one slightly loose, I tighten it back up to take tension off the adjacent bolt. Dang, when they pop it scares the crap out of me. Glad on videos people say that is normal. I just got all 21 out on my 1950 meadowbrook. Held my breathe quite a few times. They all came out ok, but I did bust one of the two bolts holding the thermostat housing on. Luckily it snapped with quite a bit of it sticking out so with a vise grip and a acetylene torch was able to free it up and twist it out. I'm enjoying reading about your project as I'm doing some of the same right now as well. ~martin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted November 28, 2021 Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 1 hour ago, knuckleharley said: And what do they mean? Is there some sort of code? Yes the different marks differentiate the gauge of the wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted November 28, 2021 Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 9 hours ago, Young Ed said: Yes the different marks differentiate the gauge of the wire. More marks = heavier gauge wire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted November 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 9 minutes ago, knuckleharley said: More marks = heavier gauge wire? Yep.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted November 28, 2021 Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 3 hours ago, Bryan said: Yep.. Does anyone know what gauge the wires with ony 1 mark is,and what gauge the 2 mark is,so there is some way to chose what you need? Asking for a friend....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted November 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 I'll try to look again. Did before and couldn't find a site that explained a standard. Looking at a P19 P20 schematic and my pictures of existing wires the horn wire is 10AWG green (has 3 tracers). Headlight red is 12 AWG (2 tracers), the yellow park light is 16AWG (1tracer). Black to headlight supposed to be 14AWG and has 1, black from terminal has 2 (might be 12AWG). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted November 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 Absolutely nothing out there. British (Lucas) has a set standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted November 29, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 Well, sick again. Started Sunday, but feeling better today. I did return a defective part I ordered, and checked on how much it is in SC to remove broken studs. First place said they don't work on car engines or manifolds, and said they charged per hour. Okay, thanks and bye. 2nd place, an automotive machine shop, said it was about $20 a stud, cheaper if I had more, as long as I didn't have anything broke off in them (bits, extractors, etc). I have 4 broken bolts in the bottom of the intake (were there), 2 manifold bolts in block that I did, and 2 head bolts. Maybe would be about $160 - $200 by my estimate. Not bad. My wife thought that was expensive. I told her it could take me 1-2 hours a bolt, and if I broke a drill bit off it would be worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyK Posted November 29, 2021 Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 (edited) On 11/28/2021 at 10:10 AM, knuckleharley said: Does anyone know what gauge the wires with ony 1 mark is,and what gauge the 2 mark is,so there is some way to chose what you need? Asking for a friend....... check RIWire.com they have a pretty complete listing of all the wire size, color, and tracer markings. Edited November 30, 2021 by LazyK spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eneto-55 Posted November 29, 2021 Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 (edited) RE: "tracers" (Sometimes also called "strikes" or "slashes".) Copied this off of this site back in 2010: wire tracers & wire gauge source: Big_John;222668 – P15 – D24 site 8:04 AM 11-06-10 The tracers on your wires are tied to wire size. 18 gauge has no tracer, 16 gauge has 1 tracer, 14 has 2 and 12 has 3. At 10 gauge it changes back to a solid color and 8 gauge has 1 tracer. Modern wire does not seem to be marked. (So I guess this is "ancient knowledge that has been lost to mankind".) Edited November 29, 2021 by Eneto-55 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted November 29, 2021 Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 1 hour ago, LazyK said: check RIWirie.com they have a pretty complete listing of all the wire size, color, and tracer markings. Can't get the URL to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted November 29, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 22 minutes ago, knuckleharley said: Can't get the URL to work. Rhode Island Wiring Service Inc. (riwire.com) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted November 29, 2021 Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 4 minutes ago, Bryan said: Rhode Island Wiring Service Inc. (riwire.com) thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted November 29, 2021 Report Share Posted November 29, 2021 1 hour ago, Eneto-55 said: RE: "tracers" (Sometimes also called "strikes" or "slashes".) Copied this off of this site back in 2010: wire tracers & wire gauge source: Big_John;222668 – P15 – D24 site 8:04 AM 11-06-10 The tracers on your wires are tied to wire size. 18 gauge has no tracer, 16 gauge has 1 tracer, 14 has 2 and 12 has 3. At 10 gauge it changes back to a solid color and 8 gauge has 1 tracer. Modern wire does not seem to be marked. (So I guess this is "ancient knowledge that has been lost to mankind".) THANK YOU! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted November 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2021 In my opinion none of the providers I've come across provide exactly the same wiring as the original. Ton's Performance on Ebay has the correct length tracers, but in the wrong direction. They don't have the selection that Rhode Island Wiring does. RIW has a great selection, very good price, but the tracers are too long. Went with them anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyK Posted November 30, 2021 Report Share Posted November 30, 2021 2 hours ago, knuckleharley said: Can't get the URL to work. corrected I cant type or spell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted November 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2021 (edited) Still somewhat sick with a cold but went out anyway..was 60F here and sunny. Tapped the head off with a rubber mallet. Yeah, looks like crap. It sat for 30 years. All of the loose stuff on the valves was from me tapping on head bolts to get them loose. 1st pic is Cyl 6 on left, next 3 pictures go left to right. Also transferred metal floor panels from the truck to the 1958 Dodge Coronet. Edited November 30, 2021 by Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted November 30, 2021 Report Share Posted November 30, 2021 Ok,some of the valves look a "little" toasty,but the rest of it looks GREAT for an engine that has been sitting for years. Almost impossible to believe you got the head off by tapping it with a rubber mallet. You damn sure have better luck than I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted November 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2021 44 minutes ago, knuckleharley said: Ok,some of the valves look a "little" toasty, but the rest of it looks GREAT for an engine that has been sitting for years. Almost impossible to believe you got the head off by tapping it with a rubber mallet. You damn sure have better luck than I do. Actually was an orange dead blow plastic mallet. Heck, I've been spraying enough oil at bolts and the gasket edge hoping it would penetrate to the bolt bottoms, heating the bolts, heating the block where the bolts were supposed to be, whacking the bolt tops. It surprised me too after reading what some people went thru. If it hadn't worked I would have attached the hoist to some of the side bolts for the oil bracket and lifted up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted December 1, 2021 Report Share Posted December 1, 2021 Yeah,SOME (strange way some people spell "most") can almost require a 16 lb mall and a wedge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted December 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2021 I'll just throw a kit in there and it'll be done..?? Brake drums measuring 11", wheel cylinders 1 1/8".. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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