Bloo

Well my first guess would have been the grounds at the corners, but you have dedicated ground wires, right? If it isn't that, there must be a resistive connection somewhere between the regulator BAT terminal (source of power when the engine is running and the generator is charging) and the light switch (where the headlights could drag the voltage for everything down). You should probably have the engine running at least at a fast idle if not 2000 rpm or so. At just idle the generator wont keep up and dimming is probably normal. That said, The wiring probably runs from the BAT terminal on the regulator, to one side of the ammeter. and then continues from that same side, on to the circuit breaker, and then the light switch. My money is on the circuit breaker, it might need it's points cleaned. I would probably run the engine at 2000rpm or so for a couple of minutes with the lights on and things dimming down, then go around feeling all the connections and see what gets hot. Don't burn yourself. Maybe start with a glove if you are not accustomed to touching hot things. The spot where the voltage is getting lost is likely to get hot. One caveat, the circuit breaker is probably going to develop heat even normally with a bunch of lights on, so don't be fooled by that but maybe clean it's points anyway. It may be hanging on the back of the light switch. If the heat shows up somewhere else, like at the back of the ammeter, or some other terminal at the end of a wire like at the voltage regulator, etc. then there is a bad connection where you found the heat. The points in the light switch could be dirty too (and it might get hot). If you take the light switch apart to clean it's contacts, there are 3 triangular pieces in there that look the same, but are not. Keep track of which ones went where.

Yes, you'll need to knock the voltage down to 6 volts or risk burning out the gauge. I have heard of people using a "runtz" voltage reducer, but reviews have been mixed. It is likely to work better than just a resistor. The sending unit should be fine as is if it is correct for the car.

It is definitely drawing too much current then. That should make it easy to find, but unfortunately it doesn't, because a DC electric motor draws maximum current at 0 rpm. If the motor runs but fails to spin up for any reason, the current is likely to run high. 3 things I would check: 1) The solenoid adjustment I mentioned above. If it's far enough off the overrunning clutch will drag on the flywheel, and the drive gear will machine metal off of the starter nose casting. 2) There are 2 windings on the solenoid. If one is burned out, the solenoid will chatter on the starter contacts and since the copper bolts in the solenoid are not making good connection, everything gets real hot. With everything disconnected from the starter solenoid, including the copper strap that goes to the starter motor, you should have continuity from a.) the small post on the solenoid itself (not the little relay) to the large post that normally connects to the starter motor and b.) from the same small post to ground (the solenoid case). 3) Pull the dust cover strap off off the back of the starter and look at the brushes and commutator. See if the armature's commutator has been undercut (between the copper segments). It should NOT be. If I remember correctly the 37 shop manual says to undercut it. I am a little confused how that could have been true in 1937. It isn't true today. I suspect it is a mistake. You do undercut armatures on generators, but not starters. Starter brushes are made of copper and will fill the slots with copper shorting out the armature. If this is what has happened, you will find the slots full of copper, and that explains the slow running and excess current draw. You can fix it temporarily by taking the starter apart and cleaning the slots out, but if the commutator is undercut it will just do it again. I have encountered both 1) and 2) on straight 8 Buicks. Number 3) is also a good possibility. Does your ground cable go to the frame or to the engine/trans?

Are we still talking about the Chrysler? If so, I can't imagine how the nut we have been talking about could affect the axle freeplay. The axle freeplay is adjusted with shims as ojh mentioned. Use the shop manual spec if you change it. The little bit of slop specified allows the axle shaft to expand with heat without putting excessive preload on the bearing.

While you are waiting, you could also disconnect and plug the fuel supply line from the tank. Then you could continue testing. I understand the cables are getting hot along their entire length, it that correct? The positive cable hooks directly to the starter solenoid post, correct? No cutoff switches or anything like that? Where does the negative cable connect? Oh one more thing, a 1937 starter has an adjustment for the pinion depth. With the starter on the bench, you have to hold the outer diameter of the solenoid plunger (not the arm or anything coming from the center) back solid as far as it will go, and measure the distance from the tip of the drive gear to the starter nose casting. The shop manual has the dimension. Probably 1/8", but don't take my word for it. If the solenoid has a boot you will probably have to remove it to check this. The solenoid plunger is threaded to adjust. You have to get the plunger out of the solenoid to turn it, probably by removing the solenoid and leaving the plunger attached to the starter. Since the plunger is keyed, it moves in increments of one turn.

For what it's worth I have no love for asbestos linings. I have had asbestos-free linings on one of my cars that outperformed the old fashioned stuff in every way. For a period in the late 90s and early 2000s, asbestos linings were banned outright in the US. The new asbestos-free linings had one annoying fault that caused technicians to hate them. They had to be broken in carefully because when they cured from the heat the lining would expand a little. This results in locked brakes. Now I probably don't have to tell you that auto repair (in the US) ran almost entirely on flat rate, and probably still does. A lot of guys used to skip breaking the linings in and just give the car back to the customer. Its mickey mouse, and dangerous too because the first time the linings get hot the brakes are probably going to gas fade. Nevertheless it was common. When they pulled this trick with non asbestos linings, the car would come back a day or a week later on a tow truck with locked brakes. I had some of these linings on a mid-60s drum brake sedan I drove for over a decade. It was approaching 400k miles when it got wrecked. I had several sets of brake shoes on that car over the years. The non-asbestos shoes outperformed the asbestos ones in every single way. They were less compressible, resulting in a less spongy pedal. They were easier to modulate, despite the car having servo-action drum brakes, They were less prone to fade on long downhill runs, and you could still easily lock them if you wanted to. The difference in performance and control was dramatic. To answer the question, If I had to reline drum brakes today, I would call someone who can reline shoes, like either Brake and Clutch (Seattle, WA) or Brake and Equipment (Minneapolis, MN) and tell them this story, and see if I could get more linings like that. If not, I would take their recommendation for lining material. The shoes should be arc ground to fit your drums, and it is getting tough to find anyone who can do that.

I saw your post in the other thread. If you have not already done so, you should send him a private message. I'm not sure, but I don't think just posting in a thread is enough to trigger an email to him on this forum. He was never a regular around here, and may not still be reading the forum. A PM will trigger an email for sure, assuming he had an email address registered here, and that he is still using that address. Roll your mouse over his avatar or icon, and a box should open. Scroll down and click on "message". I am a 1936 Pontiac owner, and the cars are fairly similar. If there are any questions I might be able to answer, let me know.

I would still check (and retorque) since it's been apart recently. If it's fine, then it's time to look elsewhere. In the long distant past, I recall jumping up and down on a 6 foot cheater bar for a while to get those nuts loose. I weighed about 165 then. I wasn't exaggerating when I said they were really tight.

The drum being loose on the shaft. It will damage the keyway in your shaft. Don't drive it until you have either fixed it or verified it is ok and the clunk is coming from somewhere else.

Sorry, I edited that. I meant cotter pin. Yes. torque it and if the hole doesn't line up you will have to go tighter. There may be a second hole to help you get lined up quicker. If not, you will have to keep tightening.

If that was a rear wheel it needs to be TIGHT! Really tight. You can't back off for adjustment. 142 foot pounds is a lot. If the cotter pin wont line up you have to go tighter. It might be really tough to do. Also there might be more than one hole for the cotter pin. I'm thinking a ridiculously long cheater bar, but I'll sit back and see what @c49er has to say. Backing off sounds like something you might do on a front wheel. Rear wheels on on old Chrysler products (and some other makes) have a key and a taper, The taper needs to lock and hang on for dear life. That is why they are so hard to get apart. If you depend on the key it will probably shear off, and right away.

On a rear wheel? There's your clunk.

There has been at least one previous thread about this car. looks like someone cleaned it up and bought it a set of tires. I'm not sure if this is a flipper or the same owner? I am fairly sure I have seen those buildings in the background on ads on Seattle craigslist before. Maybe try to PM the original poster of the other thread through the forum. It should trigger an email to him. If he does not still own it, maybe he knows who he sold it to? He mentioned he was in the Gig Harbor WA area. It is currently listed in Hansville WA. That's not too far away from Gig Harbor. https://forums.aaca.org/topic/337650-1935-pontiac-4dr-6/

If that kills it, it was already dead. Everything lasts better with nice fresh good lubricant instead of old stinky broken down lubricant. Automatic transmissions are no exception. Drain everything if possible. Just be sure the fluid is compatible. There are a lot more types of transmission fluid now than there used to be.

If you could slide a clutch disc in there that has a sprung hub and the correct thickness, I would sure do it. Considering it may not have had one originally, you would have to check clearance very carefully around the sprung hub.

The 38 Special hood is going to be way easier to find than any Cadillac hood, and cheaper too.

Yes, the larger filament is brighter and is the turn signal in every case. It is also the brake light in the back.

Ground those sockets in the parking/signal lights. If necessary run temporary ground wires all the way back to the battery or chassis for a test, Having done that, if the small filament blinks as a turn signal, the wires at the parking/signal bulb are reversed. As for the 7 wire switch, it is fairly safe to say all the remotely modern ones work the same way. Power is fed to the switch from the flasher and also from the brake switch as you have noted. The magic is in the rear light hookup. The rear filaments are only connected to the brake light switch by contacts in the turn signal switch. When you turn a signal on, the switch disconnects one rear bulb from the brake light switch and connects it to the flasher. On the front, the switch just connects the big filament to the flasher. With a little testing you can probably verify that the switch is wired correctly even if you don't know the color code. If you add it up, it's 6 wires. Four large filaments, one at each corner of the car, power from brake switch, power from flasher. The seventh wire is just to a "pilot" bulb in the switch to show you that the signals are on. It goes to the third flasher terminal. The pilot bulb must also be grounded, usually by grounding the switch housing. To recap, the 7 wires are: Power from flasher, flashed (but wont actually go on/off unless the switch connects bulbs to it) Power from brake light switch (only live with pedal pressed) Right Front Left Front Right Rear Left Rear Pilot (this wire goes to the third terminal on the flasher)

Are the other gauges running on 6v positive ground? There are a whole bunch of different standards for fuel senders. In the postwar era, there's GM, Chrysler, Ford, Stewart Warner aftermarket, VDO aftermarket, etc. etc. Including prewar adds a bunch more and I don't even know what they all are. I have heard that aftermarket gauges with electronics inside are available today that support all the common (read that as "postwar") standards, and you just change jumpers or a switch. I've not seen one yet. I assume they run on 12v negative ground only. If your 32 Dodge sending unit happens to have the same resistance range (and direction) as one of the common later standards, that might be a way. In any other scenario, the gauge has to be bought to match the sending unit, or the sending unit has to be bought to match the gauge. I believe some older Chrysler products had a bimetallic voltage reducer incorporated into the sending unit. If you have that I doubt you would get it to work with any type of modern gauge.

Please post pictures. I have a transaxle Studebaker, 1913, but no shifters in the center of the car. Some later ones could have had a shifter and a brake in the center.

Don't get me started.... Done correctly, pressed pins are reliable. Are they as good as full floating pins? No. They cost less to manufacture. For high RPM I would talk to a piston manufacturer. Piston and ring technology has exploded in the last few years. I would expect floating pins and double retainers or spirolox, but I may be out of date. Nylon pucks are another option.

I'll bet they are standard rebuild blanks, but I don't know. My guess is that the extra divots allow you to use them on either side of the engine. You can check valve clearance with clay. Some, maybe all LA engines will bend valves if they lose a timing chain. Don't use any plastic timing chains.....

It does look like they bored it. Compression is pretty low on those later 318s. I have no idea about any Hemi pistons. Is that what those are? If you are wondering about compression, I suggest measuring how deep the pistons are in the bore, CCing a head, and then doing the math. Don't forget to add the thickness of the head gaskets you plan to use. In my opinion don't rely on any estimates or what the books say. Measure it. There is nothing unusual about a little extra deck height on an LA block if I remember correctly.

That looks like an old fashioned alternator diode, similar to what you might find in some of the solid state cutouts I have seen. If it were me, I would go a lot higher on the current rating. When used in an alternator, diodes like this have a rather large heatsink. Any diode will need to be seriously derated with no heatsink. I have seen in a couple of diode cutouts for Fords, and they are just an alternator diode about like that one, and little to no heatsink (because there isn't room). I really wonder if the people manufacturing them know what they are doing. It would work as long as it does not overheat due to excessive current. With that diode you will have to make something to press it into to hook up the other terminal. Heatsinking would be good too but I doubt you have room. It doesn't matter whether you get a negative or positive diode. Those are alternator terms, and negative just means it is reversed in the case when compared to a positive diode. It makes no difference as long as you put it in the correct direction. It needs to allow current to flow out of the generator but not in. The opposite kind of diode would just connect the opposite way. Similarly, in a positive ground system the diode connects one direction, and in a negative ground system it connects the other direction. The diode goes in series with the armature wire, just like the 2 terminals of the cutout did. In on one terminal and out on the other. Unlike the cutout, nothing is grounded. Stude Light: I understand they weren't meant to be serviced, but have you ever tried to fix one? It seems like if you were cutting it apart anyway, once you were inside it might not be that tough.

Try Page 65 of the PDF I linked in my post above. Diagram 174. Great to see another Pontiac in here.