neil morse

Thank you for that information, Dave!

As you often do, I think you have hit the nail on the head here. Thank you for the encouragement. As a relative newbie, I have a tendency to think various projects are going to be more difficult than they are. So far, almost all of them have turned out to be much less trouble than I thought they would be. I hope this is the case here, as you say. I will keep everyone posted as I go forward.

Thanks for the quick response, Ken. I'm using 50-50 coolant that was last changed out when I installed a new water pump about two-and-a-half years ago. But I have topped it up with plain water several times during that period. Anyway, that's all "water under the bridge" (pun intended) at this point as the time for the job has clearly come.

An update on my problem, and the news is not good! The original problem I posted about was the rear-most of the three core plugs on the left side of the engine. The two front plugs looked completely normal. Here's what it looked like in photos from March of 2019. Now the two front plugs look even worse than the rear one! I clearly can no longer put off doing something about this. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing the rapid deterioration of these plugs? I've driven the car about 3K miles in the period between the two sets of photos.

And I agree that it looks odd. But I think that's due to the unusual shape of the T&C rear deck, not the bumper.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that's just a stock '50 Chrysler rear bumper. Compare it with the '50 Windsor that's listed right above the T&C.

You're slipping, George! 😄 There's a '59 Chevy in the third column, two cars behind the Rolls. And speaking of the Rolls, Mr. Bigshot is going to have to pay a pretty penny to get that front end repaired!

I had a similar experience and agree with both of the things you say. (1) Rhode Island Wiring is top notch; and (2) installing a new wiring harness teaches you a whole lot about how your car's electrical system works!

Sadly, he died last October.

Haha -- I had the same reaction. What you got going on there, Lamar? 😄

From Wikipedia: "Corinthian leather is a term coined by the advertising agency Bozell in 1974 to describe the leather upholstery used in certain Chrysler luxury vehicles. Although merely a marketing concept, it suggested a premium product...something rich in quality, rare, and luxurious. In reality, it was the same leather used in most Chryslers, produced by the Radel Leather Manufacturing Company in Newark, New Jersey" While the term was first used during the marketing campaign for the top of the line 1974 Imperial LeBaron, it is usually associated with the introduction of the 1975 Cordoba, an intermediate-sized personal luxury car. The model's celebrity spokesperson, Ricardo Montalbán, is credited with indelibly linking the two. In promoting the Cordoba he described the thickly-cushioned luxury of seats "available even in fine (alternately, "soft" or "rich") Corinthian leather". Later, in promoting the Chrysler New Yorker in 1988, he again referred to the leather as "rich". 😄😄

Looks like a nice car, but price way too high for the sorting it will need. It's interesting to me that the dash in this top-of-the-line Imperial seems quite plain -- not too different from the '55 Plymouth we had when I was growing up. I would have expected something a little fancier for this type of car.

Yes. If you immediately plug the brake line when you disconnect it, you will probably not have to bleed the brakes when you put everything back together. I did this with my car, and it was successful.

Because he's not a comedian?

Harding Park Golf Course

Probably required by local rules.

Here's a pretty spectacular '41 Windsor Coupe that was being offered by Mecum in an auction in January 2021. If you blow up the first photo to full screen and full size, you can see the Highlander script on the side of the hood near the A pillar. https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0121-443131/1941-chrysler-new-yorker-highlander/

Narve, thanks for the correction on the badging question. Just based on those two detail shots, you car looks to be in tip-top shape! Do you have any photos of the interior that you could post? Do you have the plaid top boot as well? I have only seen advertising photos of the '40 and would love to see some photos of an actual example. I found this article online that has some great photos of different Highlander interiors various years. It also shows some exterior Highlander script that looks like it's from '49 or '50. (However, I noticed several errors with the photo captions so I don't know how accurate the article is.) https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/scotch-on-a-chrysler

In "The Naked City" (1948), this pristine '41 appears parked on the street.

In "The Big Steal" (1949), William Bendix, driving a '46 Roadmaster, chases Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer, in a '34 series 40 roadster. What a revoltin' development this is!

As Jeff knows, I previously owned a '48 Windsor 4-door with the same exterior color (St. Clair blue) and same Highlander interior (plaid and bedford cord) as his New Yorker. I agree with Jeff that the only Highlander badging on the '46-'48 cars was the script under the radio speaker grill, as shown in his photo. I'm no expert, but as far as I know, the Highlander option was strictly an interior trim option as opposed to a separate "model," although I believe in '40 and '41 the cars had Highlander script on the exterior, I believe on the side of the hood. I think some genius in the marketing department figured that they could attract a younger group of buyers with a "smart" interior, and hit on the idea of the name "Highlander" based on the fact that the Chrysler plant was in Highland Park, MI. When it was introduced in 1940, the Highlander option featured totally plaid seats instead of just plaid panels with the bolster and seat front in the contrasting bedford cord or leather. I really love the ad copy from this 1940 ad -- who knew that "swagger" was an adjective!

You are getting some good advice here, particularly the procedures recommended by "1937 Buick 66C." He mentions the possible presence of an electric pump in your fuel line. I know the first priority here is to get your system running properly using the mechanical pump. However, I just wanted to chime in here to say that if your car does not have an electric pump in the line, I would highly recommend that you install one going forward. If you put an electric pump back near the fuel tank, it will be a big help in getting the system primed when you haven't driven your car in a few weeks. It will also work as a back up system if your mechanical pump goes out for any reason. The best set up is to have the electric pump on a switch so you only need to turn it on when you need it.

Thank you, John and Keith. The clear days in between the rain storms are when the views are the best around here -- everything has been scrubbed clean. And I'm not surprised you like that color, Keith!