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Bloo

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Everything posted by Bloo

  1. I don't think the original building is even there. Maybe just the barrel? I remember Triple-X drive ins, and what I saw there in the 2000s didn't really resemble one. The last Triple-X building I was aware of that really looked intact was in Top Hat WA, just north of Burien. It had not been a true drive-in for many years, having been a bar and the I believe Indian food right at the last. It was still standing around 2014 but is gone now.
  2. That's not a 318... Without getting a book out, I'm guessing 325. Whatever it is, it has polyspherical heads and is based on the old Dodge Hemi block. It's a common mistake to confuse the engine types because Chrysler never made it really clear which engine family is which. The polyspherical headed 318 and it's immediate kin were exclusive to Plymouth until 1959.
  3. There is a relay on the back of the starter solenoid. The relay coil "floats" (isn't grounded) and has terminals for 2 small wires. You must provide power on one terminal and ground on the other for the engine to crank. The Buick will have a mechanical throttle switch and a vacuum switch in series to provide power. Both switches must be on to crank the engine. The throttle switch is on whenever the gas pedal is depressed and the vacuum switch is on when there is no vacuum (engine not running). I believe by 1940 one(?) or both(?) of these switches were integrated into the carburetor. It varies by year. In the mid 30s, both switches were in a separate assembly that screwed into a vacuum port in the intake manifold, and also connected to the throttle linkage. The ground for the little relay has been provided in different ways depending on year. In 1940 though, the wire from the ground side of the relay is connected to the GEN terminal of the voltage regulator, and "finds" a ground through the generator windings and brushes. In theory bad brushes not making a good connection could cause the car not to crank. If you test by grounding the terminal on the relay, be sure to disconnect the wire from the terminal before you do. The wire coming from the GEN terminal will become HOT as soon as the car starts and the generator starts working!
  4. Tapered plugs that look like the one on the left were not a thing in 1951-52. The originals would have looked more or less like the one on the right. In addition to having the wrong type seat, the one on the left is a "projected tip" type. Projected tips were almost never used in Flatheads. They are fine, and maybe even better if you know they won't hit anything and the heat range is correct. That is a big if. Plug clearance in flatheads is tight. No matter though, because small diameter plugs with a tapered seat are definitely wrong for 1951-52.
  5. So you full fielded it while it was having trouble, and it didn't even try to come up to 7+ volts? Even with the lights off? And its a 50 amp generator?! I think @Fordy and @Larry Schramm are on to something here. There is little doubt that you have a problem in the generator. If you full field it, it should try to come up, period. Full fielding makes it do everything it can. If it was a 15 amp generator or something like that, and the battery was low, the response might be slow, but 50 amps?! That should jump up immeidiately. I'd be looking at everything under a magnifier, and testing the windings in every way I could think of before committing to a rewind though. Only exceptions I can think of: 1) If that 6.55 volts was taken at the battery, and not the generator, and the generator DID go high when you full fielded it, then there is high resistance in the wiring, or the ground, or the cutout points in the regulator. 2) On my trip in the 36 Pontiac from WA to WI, I discovered the generator stopped working after about 45min(?) or so on the road. Full fielding didn't help. I was convinced there was a broken wire in the generator somewhere. When I got home I tore the generator down and scrutinized it closer than any generator I ever worked on and found nothing wrong. It turns out that the radiator overflow tube was supposed to have about a 4 inch piece of hose on the bottom to make it exit below the side shields, and it wasn't there. The copper tube ended right in front of the generator pulley. After about 45 minutes or so on the road, apparently the radiator would dribble a few drops of antifreeze on the belt and pulley and it would slip. It wasn't enough that you could see anything wet, nor did it squeal, or do anything else to tip me off that it might be a belt problem. One day I caught it dribbling a few drops. I shut the engine off and found I could spin the generator pulley easy. This had evidently been wrong the whole time I owned the car, and I never noticed it on shorter trips. Four inches of hose fixed it.
  6. Well then that's the correct connection of the ammeter. This truck is still 6 volts and positive ground, right? If the fuse (and accessories) then connect to the battery side, you can expect all current drawn by accesories and lights to be "charge". In other words, when the engine is running anything you turn on will make the meter go to "charge". Of course it isn't charge, it's just the current coming from the generator, some of it going to whatever you turned on, some going to the battery maybe... or maybe not. If the generator stopped charging entirely, nothing would register "charge" anymore. It would be like having an idiot light. Better than nothing I guess. Honestly I don't know what to make of it. When I saw the internet ammeter picture initially, I assumed someone had modified it for a negative ground conversion (probably 12 volt) by moving the strap. The strap even has a bend in it that makes it look like it has been moved. Now that we know yours is the same, I can't explain it.
  7. Well... The fuseholder clouds the issue. There are two factors at work. The first thing is that the ammeter indicates flow. With no accessories connected, if the ammeter reads backwards when the generator is charging the battery, it is connected backwards. Reverse the leads. The second thing is the accessories. They need to be connected to the generator side of the ammeter. This can be via a fuse or not via a fuse. In this case a fuse was used, but that is not important. What is important is that any accessories connected to the battery side will draw current through the ammeter. Will the truck work like that? Yes. The trouble is that any current those accessories use registers as "charge". It makes the ammeter almost meaningless, because if the accessories draw more than the generator can supply, the battery will still go dead. You have no idea whether the battery is being charged or discharged. The ammeter would still go to the center if the generator quit entirely, so there's that I guess. The wiring diagram posted shows the fuse and accessories connected to the generator side as normal. That was also true in Professor's 36 Chrysler thread. That is the left lower lug on the diagrams (with the whole gauge spun 90 degrees to the right). It is the "gen" and "bat" stampings on the web pic that appear wrong. Yes. There's the rub. If I understand that correctly, you have only the wire to the starter connected to one ammeter post, and the generator and anything else currently hooked up to the other ammeter post, and it shows a charge when revved, right? If so, it is working normally. Never mind right or left. Is the fuse's brass strap connected to the same ammeter post that is connected to the generator right now? If so, it's all good.
  8. The "CPR" mentioned earlier in the thread is California Pontiac Restoration. https://www.pontiacparts.net/contact/ Don't assume they don't have something based on the website. Always call and ask.
  9. I believe those go on the fuse lug (based on the wiring diagram). The fuse itself should be fed from the generator lug.
  10. More than a little strange. I was guessing Taylor Fire Sleeve or something similar.
  11. I think they are ignoring the fuse. Those are all things that would connect to the fused side of the fuse (top in the pic). "Starter Switch Bat." makes no sense. In fact it sounds like the starter/battery connection that does not connect here. "Bat on the VR" sounds right. Yes. These should go to the ammeter terminal that is strapped to the unfused side of the fuse. Take a close look at yours. I think the ammeter picture from the internet might have the strap on the wrong post(?). Not sure about that. Not sure if this should be on the fuse or not. If yes it goes on top with all the other accessories. If not, it goes on the ammeter post with the VR wire, the ignition switch wire, and the fuse strap. The other remaining ammeter terminal connects to the wire to the starter cable.
  12. Well... Not exactly. Ammeters are flow meters. The wire from the generator needs to go to one ammeter post. The other ammeter terminal goes to the wire from the battery cable connection at the starter post. This is so the ammeter ONLY measures current (amps, flow) coming in or out of the battery. If you connected the generator wire directly to the starter post, the truck would charge fine, but the ammeter wouldn't work correctly if at all. The ammeter can't measure flow that does not go through it. On any car with an ammeter, the generator system needs to be connected to one side of the ammeter, and the battery to the other. Also, all lights, ignition, radios, heaters, and almost everything else connects to the GENERATOR side. This is because the generator is the source of current when you are underway, not the battery, and you want to drain off any current that is used by ignition, lights, etc. before that current has a chance to go through the ammeter. That way you only see current going into or coming out of the battery. Exceptions to the "everything on the generator side" rule can sometimes be horns (GM usually put them on the battery side of the ammeter) and cigarette lighters (Chrysler did this I think). These will register the wrong way on the ammeter, but they don't do it for very long so I guess it doesn't matter. Based on the diagrams posted so far it looks like: 1) The generator, ignition, and fuse connect to one side. By "generator" I mean the wire from either the cutout, or the BAT terminal of the voltage regulator if your newer generator has a voltage regulator. 2) The rest of the loads connect to opposite side of the fuse (except lighter if equipped). 3) The wire from the starter post (battery cable) goes to the opposite side of the ammeter. That's all there is to it really. If by some chance it works backwards, reverse the ammeter connections. Remember it is a flow meter, so if it works backwards, the current is flowing through it in the wrong direction.
  13. Chryslers often recommended slightly heavier oil than everybody else if I recall correctly. For most normal outside temepratures, if the manual says 20W, SAE20, or 20W20, I'd try 10W30. If it says SAE30, I'd try 15W40. If it says 20W40, I'd try 20W50. Or, you could just do what it says if it is a type of oil you can still buy easliy. My guess is 15W40 or 20W50 if it is not real cold outside. Oil types for these old cars is a hotly debated topic, and you will get a bunch of differing opinions. Everybody's got one. Some will tell you to use Non-Detergent oil. I don't recommend that. Capacity depends on what it is in. I suspect 5 quarts for a car and 6 for a truck, but you would be well advised to post what the vehicle is, whether you think the engine is the original one or not, and whether it has an oil filter. All these things affect oil capacity, and there are some outliers. Plymouths with Hy-Drive can take more than double the normal amount of oil for instance. Maybe we can get @Rusty_OToole in this thread. If what he says contradicts me, listen to him instead. 👍
  14. There was no such thing as matching numbers on Chevrolet back then, so the engine number won't tell you if it is the exact same serial number the factory installed. It will probably tell you if it is a from a 1937 truck. It will most likely be from something else if someone changed it. Firewall tags weren't ID in those days. Title number came from the stamped engine number or the frame number. They are different, and in the US which one was used varied by state. Welcome to the forum. If you don't get a good answer, try here: https://vccachat.org/
  15. Wait what? Is it not 6v positive ground anymore? If true, that would have been good to know. It would explain why things are all backwards in the other thread. https://forums.aaca.org/topic/412600-help-wiring-back-of-amp-gauge/
  16. The way that is marked makes no sense to me. The little piece of wiring diagram you posted looks like the Chrysler in the linked thread, as near as i can tell, but the ammeter in the picture here makes no sense. Most of the loads connect to the fuse (top terminal), but the fuse should be fed from the GEN side. Is there any possibility that the strap to the fuse might reach the GEN post instead of BAT and somebody just moved it to the BAT post? Ignition should also feed from the GEN side. EDIT: Just found the other thread in "general" where @Joe Cocuzza posted the wiring diagram: https://forums.aaca.org/topic/412598-help-wiring-back-of-ammeter/#comment-2656465 Wire 7 (generator) and wire 24 (ignition) and the fuse strap are all connected to the lower left (in your picture of the ammeter) post. All other loads, wire 28 and 3 others, are connected to the fuse (top post in your picture), and wire 17 goes from the lower right post (in your picture) to the starter post. All that is as expected and makes sense except for the GEN and BAT marks stamped in the ammeter which are apparently backwards. I would connect it as in the paragraph above and try it. The worst that could happen is that the ammeter will read backwards, and if it does, you will have to reverse the connections, lower right to lower left (in the picture) including that strap that feeds the fuse.
  17. There is a 36 Chrysler thread by @Professor where the ammeter was discussed. Ammeter conversation starts near the bottom of page 8 and continues on page 9. There are some pics of the back of an ammeter. https://forums.aaca.org/topic/344725-1936-chrysler-airstream-c-8-convertible-restoration/page/8/ More or less, a wire comes from the generator and feeds the (+) ammeter terminal. The ignition switch and the fuseholder are fed from this (+) terminal. On the fused (opposite) side of the fuseholder the stoplight, light switch, and dome light are connected. The remaining terminal (ammeter - ) feeds the wire to the battery (via the starter post) and the cigarette lighter if there is one.
  18. I don't know about all lines, but probably. They were available in the 59 Cadillac for sure, and could be tripped from a button on the floor near the dimmer switch.
  19. "Silver Streak" is probably not the model, They probably called it something else. As I understand it, a "Silver Streak" is any Pontiac that has the chrome trim going up over the top of the hood, so basically all of them 1935-1956. "Chieftan" "Chieftan Deluxe", "Streamliner" and "Streamliner Deluxe" would be good guesses for the true model name of an American made 4 door Pontiac around 1950, Streamliners having a sloping roof at the back. After 1940(?) or so, I believe the engine (six or eight) was optional without moving to a different model. Poke around on the Early Times Chapter site for more info. https://www.earlytimeschapter.org/1950.html https://www.earlytimeschapter.org/index.html Also, look for the "style number" from your Fisher body tag on the firewall. Style numbers are kind of a big deal in the Pontiac world, and are the most direct identification of a model. I did not see a decode table for 1950, but I did see style numbers used in some of the other documents posted. it is a good thing to know when trying to find parts, etc. There were also Canadian made Pontiacs at the time, which were commonly exported to other countries. They are smaller and use a lot of Chevrolet body stampings, and often looking at the back of the car will reveal some obvious difference. "Fleetleader"(?) and "Pathfinder"(?) are good guesses for the model name. I believe they were all 6 cylinder, so I am pretty sure you don't have one.
  20. I don't know how DeSoto accomplished it, but it has to ground somehow or it wont light.
  21. I wonder if it might be a fuseholder. Is that a regulator or just a cutout?
  22. Are you sure that is from 1956? I'm no Porsche expert, but I doubt it. That looks like what is typically used for carpet padding in cars today. It's called "Jute" by everyone selling it, but it isn't jute, it is shredded old clothes. Check with a car upholstery supplier. It won't be quite as "loose" as that, and does come on a roll, but will look about the same. Don't go to a carpet store, they have something that looks about like that but it is bound up really tight with some kind of glue(?), and probably isn't what you want. Real Jute has a similar texture, but is all brown because it is plant fiber. Many cars used it in the 50s, but I don't know about Porsche. If real Jute is what you need and you happen to be in North America, it is completely unavailable. About 10 years ago, I found one restoration fabric supplier in the UK who claimed to be able to supply it, but I never tried to order any.
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