m-mman
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Posts posted by m-mman
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Pay me and I will allow you to clean out my garage…….
After Matt’s experience I have a different understanding and respect for projects like this.-
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Having owned many 1964 Fords and Mercurys I have to say that the 289 is the best combination for these.
The lighter engine is better balanced and doesn’t need power steering. No, it won’t break the tires loose at every stoplight but with an FE motor (352-390) all you are going to do is speed to the next gas station.
FEs are a 10 mpg engine no matter what you do or how you drive.
Best 64 I ever had was a red 9 passenger Squire with 289 and overdrive. Great road car.
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9 hours ago, 7th Son said:
Just a thought, but it might look good with a black vinyl roof, reminiscent of the wooden roofed wagons of the '40's and '30's
That would be like putting wood spoke wheels on it so that it looks like a car from the 1930s.
Wood station wagons were (and are) maintenance headaches. They are like keeping fine furniture outside on the lawn and then working to maintain the finish.
The fabric top covering of the 30s was replaced by the steel roof in the early 50s. This was a big step up in protection and longevity.
The industry was working their way into all metal wagons during these years, one step at a time. The all metal roof was one of those small steps.
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FYI iPhones are right handed.
when you turn the phone sideways (landscape) and use your left thumb to push the button and then upload the photo to a site, it will typically be posted upside down.I am left handed and have to remember to spin the phone so that I can push the button with my right thumb.
What a stupid design-
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21 hours ago, 1957Birdman said:
As for under the hood, maybe the Cadillac Club has a concours judging sheet that indicates what color various components in the engine compartment are painted.
Exactly. The Cadillac-LaSalle club sells judging manuals for specific years and models. Whatever people think the factory finishes and colors were these books describe what the experts have decided are correct. They are the judging standards and what you should use as your guide.
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I have a 1942 Commodore eight.
It’s good, it runs well BUT don’t ever confuse it with a 1950s stepdown with a 308 and twin H.
Two other considerations; to run a splasher 8 today at interstate speeds it must have overdrive (not a bolt in feature with floor shift cars) and parts to rebuild an eight are not common or plentiful.
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Accessories on a car should be seen the same as jewelry on a woman.
Earrings? Yeah, necklace? Ok, maybe a bracelet.
But put on every item that’s in your jewelry box? No way!The difference between beautiful & elegant and well…… I don’t want to use that language.
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Good explanation. Thanks.
Sadly I can’t try out the suggestions until next week. I’m taking a short excursion this weekend with a friend. I had hoped to use the Hudson but I have to take the (modern) 1966 Mercury instead.
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2 minutes ago, rocketraider said:
I like these high-styled cars. Still think ol' Henry J should have sourced a V8 for them. With that, performance would have equaled looks
He tried! But Oldsmobile said no.
There are some prototype photos of a K-F V8 that looks very similar to what ended up in Studebaker. The story was that an engineer changed jobs…..?-
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25 minutes ago, DavidinCA said:
A friend one said to me that when you buy a car that doesn’t run, assume it needs a motor and possibly more and you’ll be pleasantly surprised if it doesn’t
Good advice, but I have never seen that logic work with a seller when it comes to negotiating a price.
The seller won’t get it to run, but always has it priced like you can drive it cross country.
Nice car but seller can expect to have it a long while at this price point.
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A lot of folks have posted good information about electrical theory.
In my case I am seeing good flow (amps) with low pressure (volts). In discussing theory
would a six volt battery charge if the system provided say 20 amps but at 4 volts?
By comparison, 100 gallons a minute through a big pipe at 1-2 psi isn’t going to produce much of a dribble from a faucet that is 3 feet above the big pipe despite the river that is flowing through the pipe. -
Additional grounds and possible battery. Both excellent ideas. Now I can get to work.
FYI I’m currently using an Optima battery.
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A charging system that can keep up with the ignition only is great. However a charging system that has to borrow from the battery when the lights, OD and heater is on isn’t going to take you very far.
I know that the battery is getting weak when it doesn’t shift into OD. (The lights are probably dim also but in the city with the high intensity search lights on modern cars how would you know?).
So driving all DAY is nice but it’s winter and there’s still a lot of darkness in the day.
Looking at the numbers I’m thinking that while the amps seem good a low voltage is preventing a “charge” or replacement for the operating current. (Lights and OD)
I’m seeing the voltage drop to 6.2 - 6.3 and I’m thinking that isn’t enough to force the electrons back into the battery so they are stolen from it.
Shouldn’t the system show 7.1 - 7.2 volts at 40-50mph?
And shouldn’t this target voltage be set/created by the regulator?So maybe it needs adjusting?
The amp gauge I’m using is an old Stewart Warner under dash unit. (0 to 60 amp scale). It’s the only amp gauge I could find that could readily measure 35-40 amps. It’s working well.
Another test, I grounded the field and saw 8.55 volts and 50 amps. So I think the generator can put out what I need, but is it still the regulator that is holding things back?
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What ACTUALLY charges a battery, amps or volts?
Is it possible to have a charging system with high amps but too low voltage?
The car is a 1942 Hudson. Bless their hearts, Hudson used an unusual design of charging system, I dont think anyone else did this.
It is a three brush generator with a regulator that adapts VOLTAGE ONLY. The regulator is a 2 relay design. One cutout relay and a voltage regulator relay. Charging amps is moderated, regulated, adjusted by moving the third brush. (FYI Hudson used this design until 1950!)
Because it is a Hudson design it uses its own style of regulator, so parts are not exactly plentiful.
The battery has been going low driving at night with the lights on (sometimes the heater blower too) and the overdrive operating (an electrical solenoid) So I dug into it.
Testing today (with warm system) I found the following running the engine at 2000 RPM.
Nothing on = 7.42V 15A Headlights only 6.33V 30A Headlights & fan 6.32V 20A
Shutting everything off then checking again 7.47V 10A (could jump to 7.49V 10A)
Turning things back on: HL only = 6.24V 30A HL & fan 6.22V 15A
At idle (600 RPM) it shows 6.7V zero amps - I know, generators dont charge at idle.
Specifications from the manual (list a high output and low output generator) either 8V 40A or 7.8V 29.7A
The generator was just rebuilt by a quality knowledgeable shop
The regulator(s) I have tried the one the car came with, and the two NOS ones from eBay. (Again they dont grow on trees) The regulators are all sealed and the books say that they should never be opened or adjusted.
It looks to me like the amps is within limits BUT the voltage is low. . . . ?
As I understand it the voltage should be adjusted/maintained by the regulator. Voltage is: created by the generator (and could increase to extreme levels) but it is held down and moderated by the regulator.
Any thoughts?
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Still a very nice interesting beautiful car, but also still a lot of money for what is essentially a 4 door sedan…….
One of those cars that will likely need to be discounted well below “what it’s worth” in order to make a deal, but then isn’t that the actual value?
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1 hour ago, deac said:
So we've heard it before and well you'll hear it again; the photos leave a lot to be desired. No engine pictures, no top down pictures, no complete dashboard pictures and only one picture of the right side. The right rear tire is a blackwall so it doesn't match the other tires.
All the above screams estate sale offered by a non-car family member who installed the blackwall spare to roll it outside for the photos. It has been in the garage since the patriarch got old and sick, eventually dying.
The parts are what was found nearby in the garage.
It might have a very interesting history, but all that is now lost because the kids weren’t interested in the cars.
Warning - have an estate plan for your cars. Your heirs will thank you.
This is a convertible sedan. Lowering the top is a 15-20 minute job. Up or down wrestling with it is similar to putting up or taking down a camping tent.
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43 minutes ago, 1939_Buick said:
Notes found in files show that this car was originally purchased new by the Russian Consulate in New York City
Hummmmm……in 1942 Russia had been at war nearly 3 years. Certainly they maintained a consulate in NYC but I highly doubt that a custom built limousine (any make) would have been of interest to them.
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31 minutes ago, 7th Son said:
This car features a non-Ford accessory trunk. May be a rare addition, but it certainly does not add to the overall design of the car.
Make your Ford as long as higher priced cars. 😁
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Can’t do that with my phone. 🤓
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Bringing the topic back to cars, at least Henry Ford wasn’t prejudiced.
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Henney offered this important safety feature on their ambulances. This is from the 1941 catalog.
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Darn it. I guess I was focusing on the lower grills and they were obscured by the bumper on the comparison cars.
Thanks.-
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Suicide doors, lower grills….. easy for someone but I can’t find a match.
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I think it’s because original batteries are not of importance in these cars.
They are hidden from view, they are not judged in competition and today nobody would consider putting a lead acid battery in their restored car.
Today it’s all Optima batteries to eliminate any acid damage.Before you posted I never gave any thought about original batteries in prewar cars.
How do I bench test the dashboard on 48 DeSoto?
in Technical
Posted · Edited by m-mman (see edit history)
The test light continuity meter is because IF a wire is somehow broken/cut/misfired and it is touching a ground then when you apply full battery power it can heat and burn the wire. So yes testing with low voltage first is recommended.
Now with that said testing every connection AND THEIR GROUND is difficult and sometimes impossible.
Example dash bulbs light up when they get power AND are well snapped into the instrument cluster with a clean grounded connection. A test meter would be unlikely to find this situation but a battery power will either light the bulbs or not.
where to connect? This is exactly what the wiring diagram will tell you. All battery power comes from the battery and returns to the battery.
Find the battery on the chart. Where does the wire go? (Hint the big cable goes to the starter). There will be a smaller wire that comes from the starter to the inside of the car. (It’s how the electricity gets inside). It will pass through the firewall but your dashboard is yet installed. So, where does that wire go? To the key switch? (Which terminal?) to the Amp meter? Perhaps then it goes to the key. Power going to the key will be power that is turned off and on with the key.
Headlights don’t need the key to work. So somewhere there is a wire that comes “from the battery” to the headlight switch. This power might come off the starter? Or from the amp meter or even the terminal on the key switch that gets battery power.
The wiring diagram will show you where these wires come and go.
I just watched your video. Numbers are great. Colors are great. What you need to incorporate is a little logic.
without seeing the diagram, you should know that power for the headlights (parking lights) comes from the headlight switch. Power for the ignition will come from the ignition switch. Etc. Each of these switches gets battery power from somewhere. (Hint these sources can be found coming from the big cable connection on the starter)
Diagrams can be confusing. When they do, stop and think. All power comes from the battery (typically through a switch) to the thing that it powers THEN returns to the battery through ground. Which is all the metal in the car.
for your testing you will need to simulate the ground with a separate wire that goes back to your test battery.