Broken wire on 1950 Windsor

Hi guys: Today I've got two questions that I hope you can help me with.

1. I removed the starter today to replace the drive, and discovered a broken-off wire in that general area: small gauge wire, and about the only thing in that area that it could go to would be the small terminal on the starter solenoid. It runs up to a small solenoid that is mounted below the carburetor: Kickdown solenoid? I've attached a picture: the red arrow points to the solenoid that the wire runs to, and the yellow arrow points to the carburetor base. The picture was taken leaning over the driver's side fender. The fluid drive currently works as it should, except: You have to really mash hard on the accelerator to get it to downshift, and the 3-4 upshift only happens at around 25-30 miles per hour, instead of the 16mph it is supposed to. I'm hoping somebody knows what this wire is for, and where it is supposed to go.

2. I have an oil leak from oil filter housing/block union. When I took it apart, it appears as if there are two square 'o' rings embedded in the block concentric with the two oil filter holes, and there was no gasket. I'd like to insure that that is how that assembly is supposed to seal before I start attempting to tear those 'o' rings out. Also, can I use stock 'o' rings obtained locally, or are they something special that I'm going to have to get from Andy Bernbaum, etc.?

Any help/advice will be gratefully appreciated.

The red arrow points to the automatic choke, known as a Sisson choke. It has a solenoid inside that works off the starter. So the answer to your question is yes. The wire from the starter goes on that thing.

If your motor is in good shape, and the choke working correctly it will start and run as easily as a new fuel injection car.

I don't know about the O rings. If you have broken the seal there is no turning back. I would take them to an industrial supply place or old fashioned auto supply if you can find such a place. And try to match them up. Or, look on Andy Bernbaum's website.

Thanks (again), Rusty: we can always count on you or C49er to help us out, and I really appreciate it. I'm looking forward to smoother running cold once that wire is reattached.

The seal is definitely broken! It was leaking badly, and the bolts were tight. I'm just glad it wasn't the rear main seal:).

I'm going to try to dig the 'o' rings out this afternoon and go shopping at old-fashioned hardware and parts stores this weekend. . . . . .wish me luck!

Check your local hardware store first. I've seen square o-rings at my local store.

I think those are called quad rings.

I've dug out the rings, and the recess they fit into appears to be designed for a standard 'o'ring. Mine were just smashed flat from 65 years of pressure from the oil filter housing. I hope.

I'll be reassembling things early next week, and will post results afterwards. Thanks for all of the help.

Probably dried out and hardened from the heat.

Sorry its taken me so long to update. . . Life intervenes!

Everything is back together: starter works great, and so does the choke! I didn't think it started hard before, but Rusty is right: its now the easiest starting car I own!

Not so great on the 'o' rings. I really thought I had this, but it's still leaking. I used a standard ring 3/32 cross section ring (1/8 wouldn't fit into the recess) with a 13/16 ID. Fit perfectly in the groove machined into the block, so I thought my problems were over. I did have to use a little grease to hold them in the groove while I mated up the filter housing.

There was no gasket between the housing (which is machined flat) and the block, which is also machined flat except for the two o ring grooves. I figure if I put a gasket in there, I'm just reducing the compression on the rings, which may do more harm than good. I have considered taking off the housing, carefully gluing the o rings into their grooves (instead of using grease), and adding a thin layer of anaerobic sealant to the boss.

I don't think a quad ring or a square cut o ring would work in this application, due to the way the grooves are machined into the block (the bottom appears to be a concave curve), but I'd love to hear from anyone who has had any experience dealing with this issue!

Just wanted to let everyone know that the oil filter mount DOES take square cut 'o'-rings. I found some cork faucet washers that were approximately the same size, and they seem to be holding.