1947 Windsor Gas mileage

[47windsor]

I have had this car for less than a year & have not had it on any long trips. In may we are going on a 800 mile trip-- can any body give me an idea of what mileage I could expect?

 

Bruce Watson

[plymouthcranbrook]

My 52 Plymouth with the flat six gets around 18 at a steady 50 MPH or so.

[Joe Cocuzza]

That's about right - 18-20 mpg (highway)

[47windsor]

 i WOULD LIKE TO THANK BOTH MEMBERS FOR THE INFORMATION. i WAS VERY PLEASED TO HEAR THAT THE MILEAGE WOULD BE THAT GOOD..

 

 

BRUCE

[Rusty_OToole]

They are quite economical for such a big, heavy old car. Best to keep the speed to 50 - 60 MPH if you want the best mileage. And they run great on low octane regular gas. This assumes everything is in good shape, motor tuned up, tires inflated to 32 PSI.

[christianad1156]

Just did a 3000 mile trip.  With myself and 400 extra pounds in the car I averaged 18 mpg.  I'm going to start keeping logs now that I'm driving more in the "city," however, I'm pretty sure its going to be much, much lower.  For the highway miles I kept my speed 45-55 the entire way.

[53 New Yorker]

I have a 1948 Windsor Sedan, and working out some of the "bugs" as I go along...

 I wish I could trust it to drive it on a trip or to work in the summer.  I think there are wiring issues galore.   The gas gauge reads 1/2 a tank ALL the time... except when it is shut off... then it drops to "E".  But once in a while it will read full... WHEN I know the tank isn't full.

 The brake light doesn't work... tested the bulb and it is good.

 The interior light on the left side flashes with the turn signals ... and then the turn signals will say flashing even after they are "cancelled" ... until I shut the car off... then they cancel.  ?

 The dimmer switch must need to be replaced... sometimes if I go from low to hi beam... the lights go out!

 The radio and the clock do not work... but I figure this is typical of a car this old.

Oh.... and sometimes the car will just Shut Off....  But if I hit the starter button, it will start right up again... Go figure....  But, then this happens, the gauges all go to "off" position... even when the key is turned on.

 

 I also think the engine could use a refresh... rings and valve job... it has 89-94 pounds in 5 cylinders, and  42 pounds in the 6th cylinder....  and the 6th cylinder makes a Poping noise back through the intake manifold ....   Making the car sound a lot like a steam locomotive going up a hill.

  And, there is hardly any power when going up a hill in hi gear... I often have to drop it down into low range.

 

 I would like someone to give me their opinion on some of the things I've listed here.....  Thanks to all.

I've already learned so much from reading through the other posts on these pages !

 

 William

[Spinneyhill]

Hello William, welcome to the forum.

 

Firstly, you should start your own topic rather than tag on someone else''s. You have a litany of problems unlike those in the original thread.

 

It sounds to me like the wiring in the car is a shambles with stray contacts between wires that should not make contact. Perhaps the insulation is breaking down (or has already) and there are shorts between wires. Watch out for a fire!

 

As for number 6 with low compression, popping back through the carb, it sounds like a stuck or burnt valve.

 

I expect wiser heads than mine will be along soon.

[Rusty_OToole]

Agree with Spinneyhill the old wiring insulation can deteriorate and crumble causing shorts in the wiring. If it is real bad the best cure is a new wiring harness. If the damage is localised you can inspect the wiring, tape up bare spots, make sure all connections are clean and tight. Replace individual wires if necessary. Get a wiring diagram and go by it, some old cars have been hodge podged over the years, and work much better when everything is put back to original.

 

The gas gauge could be a bad wire or bad sender. I believe you can get access to the sender thru a round hole the size of a saucer in the trunk floor. This will allow you to test the wire and sender.

 

Compression test indicates a problem with #6 cylinder. Maybe a stuck valve, maybe it only needs to be adjusted. Maybe the valve us burnt.

 

The rest of the cylinders are on the low side but enough to be getting along with. How many miles on it? How is the oil pressure? Maybe you can fix the one valve, maybe it is time for a ring and valve job or motor job. Hard to tell without more to go on.

 

If your motor is in good shape and tuned up you should be able to take any main road hill in high gear.

Edited September 17, 2018 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[keithb7]

@53 New YorkerStarting your own thread would be best and gather more help and answers. 

 

These old radios are amplified and powered by vacuum tubes. The old tubes can likely be at, or near the end of their life. Remember in the old days how often tubes were replaced in radios and TV's? Every corner store had them in stock and tube testers were around most towns at the local drug store. One tube- looking device in particular in your old Chrysler radio is the rectifier. You should be able to hear it buzzing when the radio is first turned on. The noise is from contacts opening and closing. Flapping back and forth converting DC power from your battery to AC power to run the radio. If you can't hear that buzzing, that rectifier is likely suspect. Any other tubes in there could be suspect too. There are also electrolytic capacitors in there that could very well have dried up and cracked many years ago. They are prone to doing this. If you are able to pull the radio, or in this case the power supply circuit may be separate from the radio, it can be fixed. If you can't find a person to repair the circuit, look for a local vintage tube guitar amp repair person around you. They are still out there as musicians still love and use old tube guitar amps every day. The principles of operation of a tube guitar amp and your old car radio are the same. Likely the local guitar amp guy may very well be able to fix it. 

 

My radio was working and then slowly faded out one day last fall and died. I am pretty confident it's a tube. I will be pulling and repairing the radio this winter. I do fix and build tube guitar amps. So I do have the equipment and knowledge to hopefully fix my old Chrysler radio. When I tackle mine, I will post a thread here for others to follow along and learn. - Keith

Edited September 18, 2018 by keithb7 (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

On old radios the capacitors are more likely to have failed than the tubes. They were made of wax paper and tinfoil and had a life of 10 or 20 years. Capacitors are cheap, but finding someone to work on your radio may be the hard part. New capacitors are made of mylar and last indefinitely. There are plenty of NOS tubes around, most common tubes sell for $5 to $10. So, parts are not expensive it is the labor. But once the set is fixed it should go for years and there is nothing like the sound of the old tube radio. They not only sound better, they bring in stations from much farther away than modern AM radios. You can also add a device to your car, that broadcasts FM, Sirius etc thru your original radio. So there is no need to junk it and substitute an inferior, and more expensive modern device.

[53 New Yorker]

Hey Guys,

 Thank you for your comments and advice.

 To Spinneyhill :  I like the idea of starting my own "new" thread about my car's woes... but I didn't know how to do that, so I just went ahead and reached out to anyone who might have advice and insight through the existing thread that was already started.

 Once I get better at this, I will start my own.

 As for the replies that have come in... Thank you to everyone... your experience and helpful comments are really appreciated.

 

 I will try checking the valve clearance on the # 6 cylinder ASAP... not sure what to do about a stuck valve... and I know, if it is burnt.. then a replacement will be the way to go.

 

 With the wiring...  Yup... there have been plenty of "repairs" made along the way with this car...  and new wiring harness would probably help.  How difficult are they to install in a car that isn't under restoration?

 To Rusty_OToole:  About the radio:  I have a perfectly working radio in my 1953 New Yorker, and love the rich sound it produces.  You are right about drawing in stations for far away.. especially at night.

 I hope I can find a person to work on the 1948's radio and have it up and working too.

 Could you let me know how to interface or add the device that broadcasts FM, Sirius and the like... I would like to have it in both my cars for more stations selections.

 

 Cheers to everyone,

  

 

[Guest]

When you go to Chrysler Products General there is a box on the right that says "start a new topic", click it and follow the directions.

[JACK M]

11 hours ago, 53 New Yorker said:

Could you let me know how to interface or add the device that broadcasts FM, Sirius and the like... I would like to have it in both my cars for more stations selections.

 

Billtheradioguy on these forums.

He fixed me up and I am quite happy. Not inexpensive but good quality.

[Rusty_OToole]

Here is a device for adding devices to your AM radio including 6v positive ground. There is a video that explains how it works.

https://redirad.com/

This allows you to use a CD player, ipod, smart phone or whatever the cool kids are listening to today. I'm no electronics expert. There are devices you can put in your car that will broadcast onto your AM radio without changing it. This is just one of them. I have no connection to the company and have not tried their products, it's just something I stumbled across and thought it was cool.

Edited September 19, 2018 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)