the 52 went BOOM---aaaaaaggggggghhhhhhh!!!

I have had the 52 out for small spins around the block as we get all the bugs out from the rear end and brake upgrades. Well all is finished on the upgrades and it was time to take it on the freeway---we were going about 50 and as soon as I let off on the gas she went KA-BOOM---blew the muffler wide open and it just quit running. Got her home and this is what is known so far--rotor turns--got fuel---will check for spark and rotor position at number one timing mark tommorow-----hope the timing didn`t jump or worse the engine blew. There was no knocking before she went south so we are hoping for the best-----------any thoughts on the problem out there??? ie; 52 Windsor--six.

52er-I'm no expert,but sounds like it jumped time.Anxious to hear result as I have a 53 Windsor with the flathead 6. Do you have the same engine? Moparbob-new member.

Does your car have the semi-automatic tranny ?

If so, if there was a problem with the interrupter switch/circuit during a downshift, that could've shorted the ignition longer than it should've, and that could account for gas building up in the muffler, enough to cause the "shot-gunning" that you seemed to experience...

Had a similar experience during tranny troubles with my '48 NYer, but not bad enough to split the muffler...

Found the problem-----no spark. I had rewired the dist. and all the wiring to the coil and the terminal block by the carb and other wiring in the engine compartment. I re-cleaned the wire from the dist. to the coil and BINGO spark. I am giong to re-clean all the wire terminals and use some grease on all conections to help with corosion----if anyone has any other ideas as to solve this problem it would be appreciated----as mufflers tend to get spendy if this happens on a regular basis. Do they make electronic ignitions for 6V---don`t want to any Pertronics products---how about Crane or Accel??? I hope I can eliminate this problem---it make ya anxious about taking it to far and it breaks down again-------Thanks for any help.

Slow down there, 52er...

Put that Pertronix kit down slowly and just back away... <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I have been running six-volt MoPars since I started driving ( over 20 years ago ), and everyone of them is still six-volt, positve ground, and still has its stock points-ignition. Between them all, I have logged about 100,000 miles in pre-1955 MoPars, and have rarely had to touch the distributor more than once in any given car.

Another thing to check: inside the distributor, there is a little jumper wire that connects the external terminal post ( from the coil) to the breaker-points. Quite often the insulation on this wire gets chafed, and the wire sometimes shorts-out against the breaker-plate ( which rotates about 30 degrees by the vacuum-advance)... sometimes it's just a momentary short...

Occasionally the conductors themselves in this wire break... in either case, if this jumper wire is bad, it can cause "strange ignition problems"...

For now, concentrate on making your stock ignition system work; they "did" and yours can...

Keep us posted...

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Frank, I have replaced the Famed braided wire early on and it solved the problem till this mishap. Took the dist. out today and put in ( again ) all new points,condenser,rotor,cap. Also went thru all the connections to the coil, terminal block with dielectric grease. She popped right off. Will put in the new muffler tommorow and hope everything goes OK from here on out. Can`t really think of anything else I could do to eliminate this problem in the future.

Hope the problem goes away, after all this effort...

If you still have an issue with intermittent ignition, check the condition of the wiring harness to the semi-auto... the one on my '48 was in bad shape and kept shorting to ground occasionally, causing all sorts of "weird" ignition problems... (just keep that in the back of your mind...)

Good luck !

I did blow apart the muffler on my '61 Willys pick-up once... and I happened to be under a tight stone-arch RR bridge at that instant... talk about LOUD !!!! <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Frank, put the muffler on tonite and took her for a drive---just around town -, not over 40mph--ran real well. Take her on the freeway next trip----we will see then. Going to write an artical on the upgrades that I have done so far---will be in tonite with pics. I have done the re-wiring on the tranny stuff -- carb and terminal block, going to do the whole car over the winter, it`s pretty rough----Thanks!

Does anybody have a windshield wiper motor for a 1960 plymouth savoy wagon?

Ron & Julies 1960 Plymouth savoy wagon needs a windshield wiper motor,drivers door,and a turn signal cam.Please contact Ron or Julies at jbo58@Juno.com

Good luck with it !

It takes time to reverse 50 + years of use / abuse / neglect / etc...

Slow & Steady !

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Any place short of the freeway you could go for your trials? Like a good 2-lane highway without much traffic and a 55 mph speed limit? That would be my preference. Freeways are murder for trial runs, IMO. Too fast, too much traffic, too restricted (roadside repairs are a b*tch, and you have to get an "official" tow if you can't get it going). Glad you're getting it up to speed, though, wherever you go! Do you have some recent pics to share?

Guy, I am in Minnesota too--live in Bloomington, how about you? Should meet at a car show some time.

I'm just up 35W from you--give me a shout out and drive the '52 up some time!--might be better to take Lyndale, though. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I took her down France Ave. got her up to 50 on the speedo, I think she is going faster than 50. I have 3:25 gears and 235-15 tires, wonder what she is really doing?? Well anyway it held together, but the valves sound a little loose at higher RPM`S.

Well heck, that's pretty good. But I don't know anywhere on France that the speed limit's over 30! No worries though, the cops always seem to go by looks--if it's old or a truck, they assume it's going slow.

How do you mean "loose" valves? Do you get clatter? The valve lash might be a little loose (it shouldn't be too tight though, they say), or maybe the springs have gotten weak. Did you have that one torn down? I can't remember. Anyway, you couldn't have picked a better car to do a valve job on... sweet and simple (but don't look at me to do it myself--I draw the line at things like water pumps and stuff).

That's a nice high gear ratio and big tires, so RPM should not be too high... the same engine was huffing along with 4:1+ and P205 15 sized tires in the 40's! 50 mph was screaming right along with that setup.

Cars of your Windsor's vintage feel like they are going faster than they really are! Part of it is the road/wind/engine noise which is typical of these babies. My '50 Dodge Wayfarer feels like it's flying when it hits 50 and that's as fast as I want to go in it. It's very sound mechanically with the engine, tranny, and U-joints totally rebuilt. Also new shocks, radials and brakes. But since I'm 66 and the "Way" is 56 years old, I'm content to just cruise along in it. These things were never built to cruise at 65 anyway! If I want to go faster, I drive our Avalon! I'm taking it out "on the road" tomorrow... from Fort Scott to Pittsburg, KS (26 miles... speed limit 65). It sure gets a lot of glances and "thumbs up" and folks seem very understanding that I can't go any faster. If the traffic builds up behind me, I just pull over and let them by. No sense in stressing anybody out. At any rate, have fun with your Windsor. I had a '53 back in 1959. They are nice, solid old cars.

Guy, you can go 45 south of 84th street. I think the valve lash is a little loose---the engine was rebuilt at 100k, but no proof, it`s got 146k now. Will do the valves and wiring over the winter along with other needs. I want to be able to drive it on the highways---go kruzin with the gang.At 50 I know its going faster, with that ratio and tire size the speedo isn`t accurate---will have to have sweetie pie follow me in the daily driver to confirm. More later-----52er PS send me a private message with your phone number---give ya a shout when we go kruzin.

I took my '50 Dodge Wayfarer on a 65 mile round trip yesterday to play golf... had a friend following me. I tried to hold it at a steady 50mph. He stated that I was going between 55 and 58 mph all the way. So your perception that the Windsor seems to be going faster than the speedo shows is probably correct. I have 205/70/R15 radials on the Way. Their diameter is probably greater than the original bias tire size which would account for the discrepancy. I would drive it faster but the front end/steering is just a little loose and, until I can rebuild it, that's about the top speed of my comfort zone! I've had it up to 60 (probably a true 66-67) for short streches when driving alone.

One thing that'll help these old cars sound a LOT less stressed at higher RPMs is... work on the fan! A great deal of the noise emanating from under the hood is fan noise. If you want to go high-dollar there are electrics, but even replacing with a clutch-type or plastic-bladed fan can help a lot. Clearance is often an issue, especially on the old P15/D24 models of '46-'47-'48. Don't know about the other MOPARS such as your '52.

Then, naturally, there's always overdrive. I bet that Chrysler that did 95 had overdrive! Almost had to, unless it was down a mountain and the clutch was pushed in...