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McDar

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  1. Got the belts in. There was no way to use the retractable mechanism since the seat is tight against the center pillar post and the retractor would have to be put behind the seat in the rear passengers foot space. Used a three point with adjustable belts and put a clothes hanger hook at the top of the center pillar to hold belts out of the way when not in use. The center belts are fastened to the back of the seat first (behind the bottom cushion) and then a second short adjustable strap goes to the same bolt on the rear side of the seat to the floor anchor. Actually have short lengths of chain on the rear till upholstery shop makes up the adjustable straps. Belts feel comfortable and not distracting while driving. Would have liked the retractors because I have to unsnap to reach the glove box or other far reaches. Guess it's still better than eating a windshield.
  2. I was going to go with a Pertronix but would still have had the breaker plate, advance weights, and all the parts inherent to the factory distributor so I modified an Oldsmobile HEI to use instead. When gas was $4 a gallon I was on a quest to get 17mpg in my 37 Special because we do l-o-n-g trips in it. One thing that was needed was a rock steady spark source and for that the GM HEI can't be beat. An added bonus is parts can be bought cheaply at any parts store. It absolutely would not be for anyone wanting to keep things under the hood looking factory but for a cruiser it's the cats meow. Went to 12v and radial tires for the same reasons. Since you said yours is a cruiser you may (or not) be interested. Either way good luck with your project.
  3. Any suggestions how to route the center seat belts through the front seats on a four door sedan? Has a sheet metal back on the seat that runs from the top of the seat back to the bottom frame. If it wasn't already upholstered a slot for each belt would be easy. Maybe an upholstery shop has some kind of grommet that could be sewed or glued on to the area where the cloth is slotted for the belt. What have others done? Thank you; Evan
  4. Got it out, just wasn't holding it right. Putting it back together was even more of a joy.
  5. Is there a trick to getting the rocker (actuator) arm out of the body of a 52 Special dual action fuel pump? I removed both the gas and vacuum diaphragm covers and the pivot pin on the rocker arm. Have held the pump body in every position, shook, bumped, what have you and the rocker arm won't come out. Thank you: Evan
  6. Problem solved. It finally dawned on me that all I need is a good outer rim from any 18" wheel with the same cross section size. I have several. With a banjo wheel the stainless wire spokes and horn center are a non-factor in making a new casting.
  7. I'm in Trenton, Texas which is around 50 miles NE of Dallas.
  8. I would like to rent, borrow, or buy a steering wheel for a 1937 Special that is good enough to make a pattern for a mold. I can buy a new recast one but I want to try it myself. My old one is completely shot with most of the plastic gone and just the steel ring and and banjo wires to the center left. The process does no harm to the wheel, it's just pressed down into a special clay to form a female mold in which the resin is poured to make the new wheel. Would be willing to put up a deposit and the wheel does not have to be perfect. I can fill any cracks which I've done many times, and take care of any other small flaws just as long as it still has the finger grip bumps on the back side and is good enough to give a good impression. If the first one comes out good I could make a second one for payment. Thank you; Evan
  9. There are so MANY things it could be. Check the clutch by sifting into high gear at around 10mph and accelerating hard; if the engine revs but the car doesn't move faster clutch is probably OK. I'm suspicious of the exhaust of a car this happens to, everything from rats nest to pipe collapse. Take the exhaust pipe bolts loose at the manifold and try it out; ignore the noise. Check to see if the advance is working on the distributor. Try without air cleaner on. My 37 Special had 4.44 gears in it and would still run 65 easily (8.25/15 tires).
  10. Got one ordered, Thank you
  11. The insulated spring loaded horn wire contact on the side of the steering column tube of my 37 Special. I broke the plastic (or Bake-Lite) insulator while trying to remove the horn wire terminal end. Does anyone sell them? If not I'll make some. Got the gear box back from Lare's and decided to put a new wire in the steering shaft, big mistake.
  12. That would indeed be an interesting picture. I wonder if there is still good access to the distributor. My compressor is mounted on the drivers side on a home fabricated mounting plate. I made head bolts with a 3/8-24 stud on top and then heat treated. The mount fits on these and also has a brace from the underside down to a factory drilled and tapped hole in the side of the block. The mount plate holes are slotted one direction and the angle iron compressor brackets are slotted 90 degrees to these so belt alignment can be dialed in. Absolutely no problems from this set up but if you look at the one picture you can see how very little belt wrap is on the water pump pulley. Single belt has to be run very tight.
  13. Fifty year old car with 115k miles---pretty good chance your hydraulic lifters and old valve springs will decide your redline right quick.
  14. My engine is a 263 but the drive should be adaptable to other sizes. I have an a/c unit in my 37 Special (a necessity in Texas) and have not found any double crankshaft pulleys. The singe V belt really doesn't have enough wrap around the water pump pulley and could use more on the generator. I'm not into selling parts but if there is any interest I will take pictures. As it is now the single V belt will go through several vibration ranges and one is at 65-70 which is my cruising speed. The serpentine belt can have idlers and tensioners on either the front or back side of the belt so maybe this will solve the problem. I don't need power steering but since one can add as many accessories as needed to a single serpentine belt a p/s pump would be compatible.
  15. Not completely finished but wanted to take on the annual Bug Tussle cruise.
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