MikeC5

Making slow but steady progress. After getting unsatisfactory results with cotton stuffing, I tried jute. I was happy with a 1/2 thick topped with 1/4" thick piece. The pleats come out more uniform, bend around tight curves better and at least jute is an orginally used material in other parts of the upholstery. The back of front seat is installed amd bottom cushion is ready to install.

I'll have to look again, I thought the oil level pin was missing. Maybe the float had a lead and it was sunk?

I believe some chargers will not work if the battery is too dead. I guess there has to be some minimum voltage. I have gotten around this by hooking up a good battery in parallel with jumper cables. It 'fools' the charger and charging commences. Once the dead battery has some charge, you can remove the extra battery.

Those are removable caps. Just take a small screwdriver and pry up one end (there are 3 holes covered for each rectangular cap). It's probably too late for this battery but it's only a few cents worth of electricity to try.

Thanks guys. I would have thought the fasteners would be included with the hidem but, no. I'm going to check my local hardware store today but if I come up empty, I'll take you up on the offer, Hugh. The job is a 20 footer... It looks ok from 20 feet. The matierial was cheap and while it was a good learning exercise, handling the large pieces of material is quite difficult and when I'm ready to do it with correct (Haartz) top material, I think I will search out a pro trimmer. This will work for now.

I'm hoping someone can help with this detail. i'm finally putting my top on the car and in the circled area (the last 3" of hidem), the top socket is underneath, so I can't just staple it. It appears that an uphostery nail is used to secure the end cap. Or is it a screw?

The wire wheels are interesting. I don't know that I'd ever seen wires on one of these (if it really is a '24). Under the hood, it appears someone adapted the later cross-block intake tube with the air 'filter'. I don't think that was OEM for 1924 but on later cars ('26 ?). I sure hope he at least drained the oil and put new stuff in there. No mention is made of what condition the fuel system was in either.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaMcs1Lg5F0&t=12s

Did you also have a new eccentric bushing made for the steering box? That's the one used for adjustment of worm-sector mesh. It would be an expensive one to reproduce and this is where oil leaks on mine.

I wish there were repro drums available or a tried and true repair. I've heard flame spraying metal to build up the thickness is possible but haven't heard of anyone succsessfully having it done.

I don't think anyone could miss the noise of winding it out in 2nd gear, Jack. You might like this diagram from the MIM since it shows the actual gear engagements with shift pattern.

Maybe this link will help https://forums.aaca.org/topic/201925-doing-brake-linings-on-a-25/#comment-1026998

Looks like it has rivets to me. I don’t see any signs of glue. Try punching or drilling out the rivets (but don’t enlarge the hole in band/shoe.

Right! The idea is to reduce stress at the crack tip.

Riveted panels tend to discourage fatigue cracking from progressing beyond the individual panel. On a welded panel, the crack has little resistance to keep going.

Well written, Jack! It is an odd shift pattern. Since I drive a 5 speed as my daily driver, I have to use extra effort to not shift into reverse when going for 2nd. I finally made up a laminated card with the pattern and stuck it to the dash board with magnets….

That's an outstanding piece! I love the maple. The middle panel on front almost looks like burl. You'll have to keep that dusted off in the garage...

Good advice. You may need to remove carb and disassemble to deep clean it. There are postings in the forum with detailed info on the Detroit Lubricator carb. Do you have a Mechanics Instruction Manual? It's a good place to start learbing about the car. Available on Amazon, E-bay, etc.

I'm sure it depended on manufacturer to some extent. But rememner the Budd bodies were all steel (except for the floorboards).

The water pump seal I used is National Oil Seal P/N 253747. https://www.baldwinsupply.com/itemdetail/253747 NATIONAL Typically, the water pumps shaft is badly worn where the packing has worn grooves in it. It will need to be replaced with the modern seals. I'm not aware of any write up for step by step to rebuild the water pump. The bronze impeller and bushings were in good shape on mine, so I didn't need to replace them. Good luck!

A wooden case? It must have been lined with lead or ??

Mine had the same when I got it. I think the critters used cotton from the upholstery. I think they probably got in from the timing mark hole on the block. I cleaned out as much as could with a wire (fishing fron same hole) and same from TO bearing opening. Years later, I still get some at the timing hole after running, so I'm sure there's still some in there. Not worth pulling the tranny, in my opinion. It doesn't seem to hurt anything. The rad hoses had been removed while in storage, so there was pleny in the block too. I pulled the head and cleaned out the block (and head) as best I could and have used a panty hose filter at top of rad neck since then. I check it when getting the car on the road in the spring and the debris has tapered off to nothing over 5 - 6 years. I did have to replace the honey comb radiator it came with as it was plugged up good and you can't rod them out. The filter kept the new core from getting plugged up.

Neat idea.

Hmm.. I thought it was Tucson to Tucumcari, Tehachapi to Tonopah

Maybe 'junk' is a bit harsh. I took it to mean "at these starting bids, many of these are likely a poor value for reasons stated".

The grey matter ain't what it used to be...