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About 1941_Saratoga
- Birthday 01/01/1959
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3-Speed Transmission for 1941 Chrysler Saratoga
1941_Saratoga replied to 1941_Saratoga's topic in Chrysler Products - General
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Hi Rob, You may have already seen this article on Hemmings about batteries used in '24-48 Mopars. I have a '41 eight-cylinder and after my acid-filled battery exploded and made a huge mess inside the engine compartment (fortunately it was just before a rebuild) the next battery was a 6-volt Optima Red Top battery that I placed inside a battery case to make it look more "period correct." Here's an example on eBay (for a Hudson). This isn't the one I bought, but I can't remember right now where I purchased mine. I live in the Northeast and the winters get pretty cold, but my battery is about 6-7 years old now, and cranks strongly even in the cold weather. I'm all for keeping things as original as possible, but I don't want to be cleaning battery acid off my engine again. 🙂 Dave
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Been a while since I've posted, which means my '41 has been running well over the past few years. That is until 5-6 weeks ago, when I started to hear a banging coming from the transmission. The noise started gradually, then got louder as I drove it home. It really only occurs in 2nds. It's faint in neutral with the clutch engaged, non-existent in 3rd. Finally got it on a lift at a friend's garage, and ruled out throw out bearing - it's internal to the transmission. So my dilemma is, do I have him pull the transmission, find out what parts we need to rebuild, source them, rebuild and replace - all this could take weeks to complete - and it would tie up his lift or sit out in his yard for that time. Very busy 3-lift garage, and they're always occupied. Or is it realistic to think I could find a rebuilt 3-speed (I believe all '41 models, 6-8 cyl used the same transmission, unless it was the vacamatic) and replace mine. I also have OD, which is a separate unit on the transmission. This could cut the garage time down to 1-2 days, I could rebuild my original transmission and have a spare. Any thoughts on 1) if that's a reasonable approach and 2) where I might be able to source a 3-speed that's ready to go? Always appreciate the advice here! Thanks, Dave
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I've had the front clip off my '41 Saratoga, but is it possible to remove just a fender, or are they spot-welded along the top seam? Thanks!
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Removing Radiator from '41 Straight-8
1941_Saratoga replied to 1941_Saratoga's topic in Chrysler Products - General
Thought I would update this thread, as it's been two months. Just picked up my radiator on Saturday from Cap-A-Rad radiator shop in Long Island, NY and drove it back to Boston. Bill and his guys were the only shop that I talked to that had an alternative to the $10k recore. You can see what he did in the pictures - instead of the sloped shoulders and curved lower tank, he straightened everything so that he was able to use 3 rectangular cores and fit them in the original mounts. I put the radiator back in place on Sunday, and just waiting for a couple of strong bucks to come over and help me put the front clip back on. The cost was 20% of the original recore estimate, and he had a '48 T&C radiator that had just come in, waiting for the same treatment. Curious what you think of this solution. Dave -
Removing Radiator from '41 Straight-8
1941_Saratoga replied to 1941_Saratoga's topic in Chrysler Products - General
Yes, it's 3" deep. I've already sent out my radiator to a shop in the Northeast, and (fingers crossed) may have it back before August. Just before the radiator popped, I replaced the tie rod ends, new brake shoes, drums turned and had the cyIinders resleeved, replaced steering arm bushings, and bought 4 new Firestone white walls. It would be great to get a little driving in this year! -
Removing Radiator from '41 Straight-8
1941_Saratoga replied to 1941_Saratoga's topic in Chrysler Products - General
Thanks Bob, as I suspected, the T&C radiators of that vintage are wider than mine. Here are some diagrams I made up to send to a couple of radiator fabricators before I decided to go in a different direction. I believe that my radiator was only used for 2-3 years, ending in '41 (or '42). $100 for tested radiators...who would have thought that hanging on to those would have made a great retirement plan! Dave -
Removing Radiator from '41 Straight-8
1941_Saratoga replied to 1941_Saratoga's topic in Chrysler Products - General
Joe, you actually undersold it. 🙂 If I'm going to drive around with a $10,000 radiator, I'm not putting the front clip back on, because I want people to see it! Dave -
Removing Radiator from '41 Straight-8
1941_Saratoga replied to 1941_Saratoga's topic in Chrysler Products - General
As usual, Bob, great pictures. The '46-'48 8-cylinder radiators are strikingly similar to the '41 core that has stepped wings. However, aside from looking wider, the side mounts are also different, which would require some customization of the support. If it's not too much trouble, I'd still be curious about the width of one of your radiators, just to know for certain. I wasn't sure if I wanted to mention how much the quotes were for a full copper recore, but since this is an informational forum...I had several quotes all around the $10k range and a 6 month to 3 year time frame. I'm afraid that's a bit much for my budget and my patience (might be different if this was a T&C). I'm going to have something a bit different done, at ~1/5 the cost, which should give me close to the same coolant capacity, and be more efficient. That's the hope anyway - I'll post pictures when I get it back. Dave -
Removing Radiator from '41 Straight-8
1941_Saratoga replied to 1941_Saratoga's topic in Chrysler Products - General
Thanks Art, I've actually pursued a solution with my existing setup that I'll post (hopefully) this month. Hang onto that radiator though - I hear they aren't making them anymore Dave -
Removing Radiator from '41 Straight-8
1941_Saratoga replied to 1941_Saratoga's topic in Chrysler Products - General
Nice pictures, Jack. I'm gathering my options at this point, wanting to be original to the car, but also wanting to drive the car this Summer. We're already at July 4th, and in my experience, the day after the 4th is Labor Day. Bob, do you know the max width, height and thickness of the '46-'48 straight-8 radiators? I have a feeling, although they look really similar to the '41, that they are a bit squatter, and possibly wider. The mounting bolt holes are definitely in the wrong places, but the interesting thing is that they both have that oddly angled bottom tank, which is the same shape as the support. Maybe I need to send my radiator out to your guy... Dave -
Removing Radiator from '41 Straight-8
1941_Saratoga replied to 1941_Saratoga's topic in Chrysler Products - General
Jack, I may, at least temporarily, put a Champion radiator in. I've had a couple specialists look at the radiator and both agreed it needed a re-core. Just curious, did you have to cut any of the supports to get the unit to fit? Because of the shape of my radiator, I'm going to have to fabricate some mounts to hold a rectangular radiator. I don't want to cut anything that is stock in the car, just in case, down the line, I find a NOS unit. Dave -
Removing Radiator from '41 Straight-8
1941_Saratoga replied to 1941_Saratoga's topic in Chrysler Products - General
"How original does it need to be?" That will likely be decided by price, Jack. My preference would be an original one, or a re-core of this radiator. Dave -
Removing Radiator from '41 Straight-8
1941_Saratoga replied to 1941_Saratoga's topic in Chrysler Products - General
Just circling back to update. Thanks, Narve, for the input! I'm leaning towards having the radiator re-cored, and I've spent the past couple of weeks digging up some names in the Northeast of radiator guys who have had experience with this particular style radiator. It's not a honeycomb radiator, which surprised some very knowledge Chrysler people I spoke with. It appears that to have it re-cored will require a custom core to be fabricated. I'd go for the repair, but if the radiator is becoming fragile, I'd prefer to take care of the entire problem, rather than continually have to plug leaks as they develop. I don't think it's going to approach $5k, but it's certainly going to be pricier than a repair. So...anyone care to talk me out of this? 🙂 Dave -
Removing Radiator from '41 Straight-8
1941_Saratoga replied to 1941_Saratoga's topic in Chrysler Products - General
Yikes!