keninman
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Posts posted by keninman
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Here is an interesting question, what do you do with the old antifreeze? Do auto stores recycle it? Pour it down the drain ( I can't because I have a septic system)? Pour it in the creek behind the house (does not seem eco-friendly and will probably destroy aquatic life)? Dig a hole and bury it? Take it to town and put it down someone else's drain? How does one dispose of used antifreeze in the US, especially a very backwards mid-western state like Indiana?
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Our gas prices in Indiana leaped to over $2.50 a US (gallon = 3.79 liters) yesterday. Perhaps because we have had a couple of oil rigs blow up in the last week. It had been hanging around $2.20 - $2.35. At the worst of the financial crisis it never got to $4 per gallon. I myself worry as electric vehicles keep progressing that it will one day be as hard to find gasoline here as it was in the very early twentieth century. What then will we burn in our antiques? At least Indiana is corn country, I guess I can make distill some ethanol or convert my buggy to LNG.
As for hand signals, they still teach them in Indiana because so many cyclists use them. (p.s. not bicyclists, Harley Davidson and Indian riders)
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I don't think I would need any turn or hand signals in New Zealand. At $5.67 (US) per gallon for petrol and since my car gets less than 10 US miles to the gallon, I would just have to leave it parked and see if I could afford to wash and polish it.
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I originally researched whether I could use Dex-Cool in my 29. I have found a couple of articles about it. One in Car and Driver, Top it Up with Green? Or Orange? Which Antifreeze?. The other appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Keeping Your Cool Over Antifreeze Use. Both articles are over 15 years old so may be out of date. There is also a 2006 article on the Consumer Affairs website, GM Owners Still Steaming Over Dex-Cool - Corrosion, Engine Damage Blamed on Coolant. It looks like GM lost the lawsuits and agreed to pay consumers for engine damage caused by Dex-Cool, GM to Finish Paying Dex-Cool Class Action Settlements. I believe my 08 Trailblazer has Dex-Cool in it but not for long, I will be going back to Green.
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4 hours ago, nvonada said:
Arm out the window is your best bet. Totally original! Your best improvement for safety is bright brake lights. Most on these old cars are horrible.
Nathan
That is the method I have been using, also avoiding busy roads or driving at night.
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Well, I don't need to worry about damaging my paint, it is already shot. The car had been running fine with plain old antifreeze until the trip into town. I have water in it now and no problem. I have some Texaco water pump grease that has arrived and 1/4" graphite packing on the way. I will see about repacking and greasing the water pump as soon as I am able. It is usually mid November before we get much of a freeze risk in the Indianapolis area. I also have another problem in that my radiator cap gasket is shot. I have a stop gap measure of using cotton material to fill the extra space, it won't create a pressure seal but should prevent any foaming from spilling onto the hood. I noticed that it did it worst when I let off the gas and hit the brakes. I also plan to mix no stronger than 60/40. If I calculate right this is 1.5 gal water to 1 gal antifreeze. Since we seldom get colder than -10 in Indianapolis, and it hasn't been that cold since 2004 I should be good to go. If I have a foaming issue again I will dig deeper.
One thing I did learn from studying is that under no circumstances should you put Dex-Cool in any car that does not specifically call for it and especially not older vehicles because it damages the soldered radiators.
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I am certainly no help for parts and I hope that no one was hurt.
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30 minutes ago, automaschinewerks said:
thanks rbk, I knew and read about cord's passing on here, I bought a serial number plate from him earlier this year, and have seen his ebay parts store. I see no serial plates for any cars at all on either white gloves website, or the ebay store, so I wondered if someone has taken over that part of the business?
about the versions of the dictators how do I find which I have? the only clue I have is the body number plate is gew-3. does that mean the third series? or does it not mean anything?
thanks - terry
Mine begins GLW-3 with 4 more digits below it. I would be interested also if anything can be deciphered from this number.
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My owner's manual says Vaseline.
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3 hours ago, automaschinewerks said:
its a four door, GE W 3, I forget the bottom four numbers, ill post them tomorrow, my paperwork is at home. the previous owner has used the body tag as the serial number on the ownership. I don't suppose there is a way to determine serial number from the body tag, I think I read that the museum only has records back to mid thirties(?).
thanks - terry
My 29/30 GL Dictator is titled with the body number. The car had been titled with it in Illinois, Michigan accepted it and so has Indiana. If you have a good title using the body number I would go with it. What are the chances that you will find another car with this same exact number? This solution seemed much easier to me than convincing the Indiana DMV to change it to the serial.
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This thread left me wondering what the correct running board material is for the 29/30 Dictator? Linoleum seems to me like it would be a very slick surface but I may be mistaken because I am only familiar with the vintage kitchen floor variety. Also would you need to use Glo-Coat on it.
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The thermostat is the old spring butterfly type nothing like a modern one, it cannot get a good seal no matter what, it can only impede part of the water I would say under full pump pressure it will open slightly anyway. I also have it set to open really low until winter hits. I tested it on the stove using a temp probe and it works pretty well. The shaft looks rough at the edge of the nut. I might have to try and smooth that up. I will order some packing and grease and see if I cannot get the leak to stop, it does not leak that much so far.
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I drained the antifreeze and there was no sign of oil in it. My oil level is still full and no sign of water in it. I tried tightening the packing nut and it overheated the nut and shaft quickly. I backed both nuts off and they were pretty dry of grease. Since the only lube I have not is wheel bearing grease I used it for now. I took her for a drive. She did run slightly cooler and no foaming but then again no antifreeze. I am still leaking at the nut though not quite as bad. There are bubbles at the top of the radiator but since the upper hose shoots the water out onto a metal plate you can't tell if the bubbles are from the engine or caused as it cascades off the plate. Apparently Castrol still makes a classic water pump grease. I wonder what the proper packing is for her? There is not much room for it so it must be small diameter stuff.
Also, since the rubber in my radiator cap is shot I took some cotton tee shirt material rolled it up and stuffed it in the cap. The cap fits much tighter now without pressurizing the system. I looked up Indianapolis's weather and found the last time it got much below zero here was 2004 when it made it to -11. I looked at a mix chart and at 40% antifreeze will protect to -12 so I won't mix for colder than that.
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Thanks for the idea folks, I did recently drain the system, I used a rust remover, Evapo-Rust Thermocure, and installed new hoses and thermostat. I ran it first with water only then I switched back to antifreeze water 50/50 mix. It was warmer than normal here and warmer than it has been. I did notice there is more leaked antifreeze between the water pump and generator than usual. I also wondered if having a working thermostat might have something to do with it. There isn't a bypass system unless it is internal.
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We took the buggy to town this evening and the first sign of trouble was at a stop sign and the radiator over ran and covered the windshield with antifreeze (it was real windy). Every time we stopped or slowed the engine quickly it spit out antifreeze. The temp gauge showed the engine temperature was normal. Once home I looked in the radiator and it is really foamy. I checked the oil and it is clear. The engine is running fine. I did flush a week or so ago but ran with pure water for awhile after that. Any ideas?
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Meanwhile back here in Indiana, Anderson to be exact, you know the US city where many of the Delco-Remy and Guide Lamp parts were made. Almost the entire Madison County government offices, courts etc. are going to have to relocate while the asbestos is removed from the government center building that was completed in 1973. They needed HVAC work in the building and the company that inspected complained their employees had been exposed to asbestos. No company will touch the system until all of the asbestos has been removed.
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This post made me think of a phenomena that I had never experienced before. I bought new tires for my 29 GL Dictator and they kept getting this dirty rusty look that I learned is called, 'blooming'. I also learned that cleaning the tires with something like transmission fluid knocks it right off. I don't know if this qualifies as dressing but if it does then I am all for it.
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That is what I am using but there I think and Autolite 3076 is the same thing and stocked at Oreilly's . I still have my original AC plugs but I am saving them and not running on them everyday.
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Those look real good Mr. Clark. Mine uses mechanic's wire through the heads that go into the fan pully
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2 hours ago, Stude Light said:
I have access to a bandsaw and have the Forstner bits so that may work out. I can probably use one of my current couplings as a template - they aren't too bad yet. Thanks for the help.
Scott
I used hole saws and a drill press, they were easy peesy.
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6 hours ago, kclark said:
I'll reuse the ones that I have but they are pretty nasty looking. I was going to see if I could find some shiny new ones to put in.
Wire wheel buffer works great for cleaning them up.
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8 hours ago, kclark said:
Where did you guys get new hardware (nuts & bolts) for the couplings?
I reused the ones that were there. My guess is that to replace them you will have to drill your own holes for wire and pins.
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Automachinewerks, that is almost identical to mine. I don' have any extra holes in my windshield and it looks like it in my owner's manual so I imagine the Trico is original for my GL. Do you happen to have the manual for yours?
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The only cable driven wiper system I have ever seen is used by my son's 1971 MG Midget. Perhaps they were used back in the 30s but that is well beyond my experience. Here is a link to a diagram of he Midget's wiper system. This came from https://www.mgpartsuk.co.uk/store/index.php?route=product/category&path=330_266_427. Here is a thread on another forum that discusses it https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/question-about-new-cable-drive-wiper-systems.614311/
1917 Ignition Key
in Studebaker, Erskine & Rockne
Posted · Edited by keninman (see edit history)
What if in the course of trying to remove the lock cylinder you destroy the lock? If your's like mine is in the unlocked position it is probably best to let sleeping dogs lie. Put in a hidden ignition switch or battery cutout if you are afraid of someone stealing it. However someone smart enough to drive it already knows enough to steal it without a key. Myself I have opted for the battery cutout, most people will not have the time to circumvent it and I have the added protection of avoiding the more likely scenario of an electrical fire.
p.s. when I left the car in my 84 year old mother's pole barn, I hid the coil wire.