GLong

An Occasional miss like that at steady speed is 90% of the time a spark plug, or plug wire problem. Do the spark plug wires run in a wiring tube on your '41? If so, there could be a bad plug wire in the harness in the tube that will occassionally jump to ground in the tube. I've diagnosed the above problem by using a scope, or the non technical way: leave the old wires in the harness in the wiring tube. and make a new set of wires and just leave them outside the tube or harness for test drive and diagnosis purposes. Your engine will look like it's being attacked by a black skinny-legged octopus !! BUT if new wires outside the tube do the job, you have isolated the problem. Let us know what you find.. GLong

Ten or fifteen ft# torque is plenty. I assume the manifold nuts and studs are 3/8" ? You can go tighter, but I never use a torque wrench on intake and exhaust fasteners. I just can feel when the gasket has crushed enough. I'll put a torque wrench on a few fasteners and see what I torqued them to. SevenCycle: ANY new gasket can and will 'crush' after a few hot/cold engine cycles, This is why we re-torque head gaskets after a few hot/cold runs. The head nuts or bolts rarely are still at the torque they were tightened to prior to running and letting the engine cool. Intake and exhaust manifold gaskets are the same. They need to be re-torqued. Your '41 Packard might still have a miss. If the intake was loose enough to have a large enough vacuum leak on a hard pull up a hill, then it would have a HUGE vacuum leak for idle speeds and closed throttle. So I suspect you still have a spark plug or ignition problem. Just to be clear, if you are driving steady at 60mph, and come upon a hill on the road ahead, the engine only misses or surges when you give it a lot more than 'cruise' throttle? Is this correct? I would try the plug gap suggestion if the miss is still there on the next road test. It's an easy thing to try, and costs nothing. GLong

Which insulation is broken or bad? The flat spring on the points usually can be covered with a piece of shrink wrap. The rubber insulator going through the distributor body can be made from delrin or other plastic if needed. a hard rubber block, a set of Xacto knives and a lot of patience you can make a new insulator pass-through block. The post the points piviot on, might be solid [grounded] to the plate,or may be insulated from the plate with bakelite washers. this is a tougher problem to repair. Like mentioned above, photos help.. OH, threaten the computer with a big 24oz ball peen hammer.. it doesn't accomplish anything, but YOU will fell better. :-) GLong

Loose manifold nuts could be the problem, let the engine idle hot, use WD40, spray around the gasket, if it's leaking the engine rpm will increase. Does the carb have a manual choke? By the way, what car is this ?? If you have a manual choke, try adding a little choke when it starts missing, if it smooths out. The carb is either starving for fuel, or needs bigger jets for this lousy ethanol fuel. Do not assume the tank, pump, filter and carb are still clean !! It doesn't take much crap/crud to cause your running problem. Check the float bowl in the carb to see if it had dirt in it.. Spark plugs can miss under load, coils miss under load. It seems odd to me, but a spark plug has a more difficult time making spark when the engine is making lots of power, so a poor spark plug can cause what you describe.. Do you have a different set of spark plugs to try? Don't have to be new plugs, just different, give 'em a try and see what if anything changes.. GLong

If you set the float level by the instructions when the carb was on your bench, then there is little to do but install it. Make sure that if there are any vacuum ports in the base of the carb, that the base gasket doesn't cover the port. Most idle jets will need to be gently turned in till they bottom, then back out about 1.5-2 turns. This is generic, some carbs its 3 turns. You will find out once it's running, and when you let the engine idle warm, turn the idle jet in till the engine slows or misses, then back out til it's smooth. Too far out will be rough running too, use a spot between the two extremes. That should get you going. GLong

AH HA ! So you still have points and condenser? That question about a petronix derailed me. Replace the condenser. Make sure it's grounded. I've had this 'two sparks then nothing' several times from a bad condenser. GLong

Put them in boiling water first, then soap and water and gloves. The grommets should then stretch enough to get over the pedals. If this doesn't work, you can use trim adhesive glue, like used to put rubber seals around doors and trunk lids. Or contact cement to join the ends of the grommet together. GLong

I took the '15 Chandler to a local church's car show last weekend, the proceeds go toward a building fund for the church. Very few original cars there, and none built before 1940 except for my Chandler. So it got a lot of attention. It was the longest run I've taken the Chandler on since I acquired the car. It performs well, but I have plenty of 'sorting out' to do yet. GLong

Oil can holders are not sitting on every table a swap meets, however they do show up often. At Hershey this year [2014] the Tool guy under the huge tent right at the bottom of the 'snake' ramp of the pedestrian overpass will have reproduction spring load oil cans.. at least that is his intent. There are more than one design using a sliding, spring-tension hook or hooks to hold a can securely in place. If I can find time I'll post a photo or two. GLong

I agree that removing the ridge might not be the best idea. Thin steel drums have marginal amounts of metal when new, and removing the ridge may allow too much heat expansion. When you put the brake shoe into a drum by squeezing it with pliers, did the brake shoe have to be compressed a lot? If only a few thousandths, I think you might just sand the outer edge of the ridge to round it slightly. The sand smooth any roughness on the brake shoe material. Then try reinstalling the wheels with drums, rotating them as you push them on. I've used this method quite a few times when replacing shoes on a vehicle with a ridge on the brake drum, the ridge often is a bit rusty, so it it has reduced the drum diameter. The brand new shoes just won't get past the ridge easily. But a bit of sandpaper and a rotation of the drum when being pushed over the new shoes keeps the ridge from catching and gouging the brake material. Once the drum is fully on the axle, it turns freely. Did you check the shoe-to-drum clearance when inside the drum ? Was the clearance equal all the way around? Sometimes shoe lining doesn't get installed real tight, and it will bulge between rivets. I'd put the shoe inside the drum again, and use a feeler gauge to check that the clearance is equal. You can always redo the brake lining, but you can't 'un-grind' that ridge. My 1915 Chandler has steel drums, in new condition, and only has internal expanding shoes. The amount of pedal drop from a hard 45mph stop is 'enlightening'. I can see why Chandler went with internal expanding with external contracting in the next model year. GLong

Hi Rusty, I have spoken with quite a few Chandler owners and everyone says to run it dry. I looked the clutch and mechanisms over very thoroughly and the friction discs are new, the release bearing is new and modified with a lubrication fitting, and the clutch brake material is new, and the linkages are adjusted correctly. A properly used clutch will have virtually unlimited life in a 'teens car driven only on tours, not climbing steep hills from a stand-still, or carrying a huge load etc. the amount of friction area is 3 or 4x that of a single dry disc in the mid 20's Pierces I own, so I'm just keeping a close eye on the clutch and mechanism. Thankfully there is a very big inspection plate on the top of the bell housing under the floor boards, which allows a very good view of the whole assembly. If I do decide to use anything on the clutch, I agree that ATF would make the most sense, it has many properties useful for clutch surfaces. But since I was not the guy to reline this clutch, I don't know what the materials are that were used.. it is amazingly smooth, not grabby at all, and no drag when disengaged, it just works right. GLong

If you have a sticky stiff steering gear box with loose kingpins, loose tie rod ends and loose spring shackle pins and bushings, then the wobble will start, and you can't feel or give feedback due to the stiff gearbox and away it goes.. Sort of hard to get your left eyeball out of your right eye socket and visa-versa !! and a bit terrifying too !

The 'C' Classic car is from 1924-1941, with a few exceptions. But the most important thing to mention is that the car has to be custom bodied, or hand made/assembled, NOT a assembly line mass-produced car. An example is the Big Packards in the mid to late '30's are all Classics. But the Packard 120 of the same year is not, it was mass produced on an assembly line. I have a hard time calling any car that I used to drive, work on, or see new as an 'antique' regardless of the AACA definition. Mainly because to accept a 1961 car as antique, make ME AN ANTIQUE !! I guess I'm not ready to accept that. !! I have a really hard time when the talking heads on TV babble on and on about the 'classic cars' during the Woodward Cruise in Michigan. There RARELY is a real 'Classic' car traveling Woodward Avenue. Any '50's or '60's car is NOT a 'classic' car.. is it classy, and when the term is used correctly a '50's car can be 'classically' styled, but it is NOT a 'Classic' car. Antique to me means teens and earlier, Classic is as described above: hand made/custom bodied, high end car from '24 through '41. Vintage? just means old to me. I love the definition of the 'hot-rod' vs 'street-rod mentioned above in #21. GLong

Does your clutch design have a friction disc that stops the rotation of the transmission input shaft when the clutch is fully depressed? Usually known as a 'Clutch Brake' ? Many transmissions need the heavy 600wt trans lube to slow down the spinning input shaft when the clutch is depressed. If you use modern 85-90wt gear oil there is little resistance or drag in the trans, and the input shaft just won't slow down if there is ANY clutch drag. See if there is some form of device that is engaged or applied when the clutch pedal is right on the floor. On most mid 20's Pierces, the owners manual states that the proper adjustment leaves 1/4-1/2" of gap under the clutch pedal when fully depressed, the pedal travel is stopped by the release bearing being pulled against the clutch brake friction disc.. This is with a Borg&Beck single disc dry clutch. My '15 Chandler is supposed to have 1/2 pint of Kerosene/motor oil mix in the clutch housing, the mix ratio is stated as 7parts Kerosene/1part oil. It has a multi disc clutch. But I run it dry, and it works wonderfully, smooth engagement and fully disengages. This design also has a clutch brake to stop the spinning input shaft. Hope this helps GLong

Any play in the steering gear box, any play in any tie-rod end on either the drag link or the tie-rod, and any play in the front [fixed] leaf spring eye or pivot bolt. Too little toe-in or any toe out will also cause the 'death wobble'.. But, if it didn't have the 'death wobble' before, I'd look first at the tires, have they been on the ground [floor] while it was in storage? if so, they probably are flat-spotted and might never get round again. Jack up each front wheel, push/pull on the wheel at the top bottom [12 and 6 o'clock] if there is play, is it the wheel bearings or the king pin/bushings ? Then push/pull on the wheel side to side, [3 and 9 o'clock] if there is any play, is it the tie-rod at this wheel, or the other end of the tie-rod, or both?? Have someone operate the steering wheel, while you crawl under the truck, with all 4 wheels on the ground, Block the wheels. Have your helper turn the steering wheel back and forth, you need to look for any lost motion, loose tie-rod ends, and any play in the front bushing/bolt in the leaf spring. This should get you well aquanted with the condition of the front steering and axle. GLong

Are you sure the cam that rotates to spread the shoes when the brakes are applied, is adjusted so that the shoe is fully collapsed [reduced diameter] by the return spring ? even a small amount of cam pressure would increase the shoe diameter. I can see in the first photo above that you do have the brake pull-rod disconnected, is the cam in the fully 'flat' position? Meaning no braking pressure applied. Can you easily insert the full-circle shoe into the drum by hand? If so, then it sounds like you might need to adjust the actuating cam. Sorry I couldn't see the woven lining in the first photo. now I can see the woven material. Another thought, is the shoe centered? is there any spring pressure that might be pulling the shoe off center causing it to hang up on one side of the drum? I would try checking this with a feeler gauge inserted around the drum to see if the shoe is touching all the way around.. GLong

Inspect lining for contact marks. Sand off only the contact marks and try again. A too-thick lining will usually not touch the drum equally because the radius of the shoe is then different than the drum. However, I think you will find you have another problem: modern lining is usually low friction compared to older brake lining. Is your new lining a woven style or look like a hardboard or composite material? Show us a photo of the brake material. GLong

Thanks, I was being as simple as possible. Babbitt bearings certainly have been around a long time, The Babbitt material has interesting properties to hold a wetted oil surface and hold up under high forces. I understand that there are dozens if not hundreds of different Babbitt formulas. And I've had several different people state that formula xxx is much better than formula zzy. I certainly don't know which is better than which, but if it has a minimum amount of lead, or no lead, it should be a harder material and hold up better, at least that makes sense to me.. GLong </thumbs>

What I discovered with the tubes is that the correct size tube fills the tire, but when inflated, the drop center of the rim has to be filled by the tube, and in this area the tube stretched very thin. This was with plenty of talcum powder in the tire. What has worked was to get a US Made TRUCK tire tube, at least 1/2" smaller rim size. So for a 17" rim, I use a 16.5" truck tube. This smaller tube is more difficult to work around, because it has a smaller inner diameter and is in the way a bit when installing the tire on the rim. Just pay attention to where everything is, and don't pinch the tube with tools. The smaller inside diameter of the inner tube results in the drop center filling with the inner tube first then the much larger area of the tire is then filled with the tube as it inflates. The talcum powder works well to let the two rubber items to slide and not stick to each other. The thick truck tubes seem to hold up very well. To install tires, I use almost exclusively my foot, and a rubber mallet to install tires on drop-center rims. I rarely chip paint using this method. Also: the drop center rims usually have a 'band' or flap like a big rubber band covering the ends of the wire spokes or welds or rivets. These bands don't fit real well, and don't cover the sides of the drop-center, from the bead down to the bottom of the drop-center is exposed. A good paint job will smooth this surface, but there is a very good product to use instead of the flap or trying to get a good paint finish. The product is PVC Tape. it is used in the HVAC industry, and is stretchy and strong, and can be installed around the compound curves of the drop-center. The PVC tape is made to work and stay strong and in place much higher temperatures than other types of tape. The PVC tape is available in 10mil and 20 mil thicknesses. It's surface is very slick, so an inner tube will slide over the drop-center wheel surfaces, and not get stuck or abraded by a rough wheel surface. Just install the tape when it's reasonably warm, like room temperature or above.. if it's 40-50* in your shop, it might be a bit stiff to work with. Hope this helps GLong

I've put many, many miles on the Bedford 7.00-18" tires. Smooth, strong, good wet traction. I have one that has had the misfortune to be driven flat when the cheap [supposedly the best available} chinese inner tubes split along their seams. Only enough to get to the side of the road from 55-60mph. This tire is still in use, no issues, but for a few marks on the sidewall from the wheel when run flat for a few hundred feet. GLong

The grease comes out from the flange if the gasket is bad, or if the felt seal around the joint enclosure is loose or bad. These rarely were perfectly 'house-broken' A little grease slung off the joints is pretty normal. Your original post was about a 45mph vibration, and I'm not sure we/you have located the 'smoking gun' for this vibration yet?? How far away is the car show you are going to? If the vibration is bad, you might be doing damage if you drive it a long way.. No way to know but to find the real cause of the vibration. I'm many months from moving into my additional shop space. It's amazing how empty and huge my barns appeared when I first set up shop. Now I need to add on just to keep the cars dry. I guess I have a bad case of collector-itis. GLong

My '33 Pierce Arrow has poured babbitt bearings, but full flow oil filtration. Supposedly the full flow oil filter as well as the oil heater/cooler were needed to stablize the temp and viscosity of the oil for the 'new' hydraulic valve lifters. My mid-'20's Pierce Arrow Series 80 cars are full pressure lubricated, and in 1926, a bypass oil filter was factory equipment. An interesting 'aside' is that my '61 Rambler has the optional oil filter, a bypass filter system. GLong

I'll recommend you save your money and time finding U-Joint parts. I really doubt that your vibration is caused by the driveshaft. And it's easy to test: remove it and take it to a driveshaft building shop. They can put it on a machine and check it for being straight and balance it. The old style U-Joints will require a good machinist to turn or OD grind the pins and re-bush the bearings with brass. But unless there is a lot of play in them, they will most likely not be the issue. Did you try swapping the front wheels and tires with the rear and see if there was any change ?? GLong

Well, all car engines with very few exceptions still use Babbitt for the bearing surfaces. Babbitt in modern engine bearings is only a few thousands of an inch thick, but it's still babbitt. I find it highly unlikely that any form of oil would or could effect the bond between babbitt and any surface it is properly installed on. Babbitt is a Tin/Lead product.. much like solder used to solder copper pipes in your home's water system, or used to solder wiring. Tin or lead bond to copper or steel in a way that is not going to be affected by motor oil. Many early engines had copper oil piping in the engine that is soldered together. I've never heard of failed soldered piping at a soldered joint due to any form of oil. Early engines, if clean inside, will function just fine on either detergent, non detergent, single grade or multi grade oils.. If the engine is not clean inside, then much more frequent oil changes should be done, I rarely will run an engine without dropping the oil pan and cleaning it and the screen on the oil pump pickup. This has for me avoided a disaster more than once. If an engine is full of sludge from infrequent oil changes and short running durations, then change the oil as soon as it looks dirty, usually about 500-1000 miles. Consider the cost of an oil change versus an engine rebuild. We rarely put enough miles on our collector cars each year to even need an oil change by modern engine standards. But every engine should be stored with fresh oil in it, and the fresh oil run through the engine for a few minutes minimum. Fresh oil will not have acids, contaminants etc and the oil will have a fresh additive package that will protect the engine from corrosion over the winter or extended storage. GLong

Ricosan: what did you find that caused your vibration and noises at 45mph? Out of balance tire/wheels ? Bent wheel? Flat-spotted tires? Inquiring minds would like to know what cured the issues ? ! GLong