AntiqueCraftsman

I built my car trailer from scratch about a half a century ago. This will be the third deck if you count the original. I just cut the oak 2x6's on the sawmill. In fact, I'm actually cutting the last log today. Then I'll remove the old rotten deck. Give the metal trailer a fresh coat of paint, and install the newly cut and stained oak deck. Then if the '41 Luxury Liner is still available I might give the new trailer deck it's first payload. ?

I'm not married so no restraints there. My sister lives about a thousand miles away so she isn't aware of my addictions (I actually have more than just the AAA). I am out of money and looking through old jars of coins to scrap up the cash for my next fix. In fact, now that you have me thinking about it, I have an old coin collection in the attic. I should probably get that out and put it up on ebay for a quick financial shot in the arm. Concerning moving on to the afterlife, I know that's right around the corner. I'm 69 and not in the best of health. So it's unlikely I'll actually finish a bunch of restoration projects. But I enjoy working on them so much that finishing them isn't really all that important. ? That would only mean that I'm ready to run out and buy some more starter projects.

Hi, my name is AntiqueCraftsman and I'm an Antique Automobile Addict. I've only recently discovered my obsession. This spring I bought a 1947 Chevrolet Fleetline Sportsmaster in near *perfect condition. * at least it runs. Later this summer I jumped on a super deal and bought a 1954 Chevrolet 210 that is 100% complete, but far from running. Today I'm looking at a 1941 Dodge Luxury Liner in near showroom condition (see photo below): The only thing that is stopping me from buying it is the fact that my car-hauling trailer is not currently available. I'm putting a new wooden deck on it. Otherwise this 1941 Luxury Liner would most likely already be sitting on my trailer. How do I deal with this insatiable urge to keep adding to my collection of near-showroom condition antique cars? I'm running out of garage space and I'm even thinking of building another garage just to expand my addiction. Is there a magic antidote to cure the Antique Automobile Addiction? Or will I just need to take cold showers and resort to old-fashioned self-discipline tactics? I tried calling the AAA but all they wanted to do was tow the car home for me!

Glad to see that I'm not the only one who sees the engineering advantage for this additional guide. I wouldn't even try to start the engine without this additional stability. Thanks for sharing detailed photos of this example. I was thinking of using a piece of pipe about an inch long. But for all the more it would be used that flat metal plate would be all that is needed. It's not like this crank is going to be used on a continual basis. So thanks for the tip. I'll go with Mr. Hwellens' design. That looks perfect. Tell Mr. Hwellens' thanks for sharing his photos. I appreciate it.

My new crank came today. Thank you Greg! It fits the car perfectly. It must be an exact replica or the original crank. I stuck it into the engine and cranked her over! (without the key on!) I'm a little chicken about trying to actually start the engine with it yet. I just wanted to see what it's like to crank over this big old 6 cylinder engine. It's not easy, that's for sure! But it is doable. To have any hope in starting the actual engine the engine would indeed need to be very well-tuned and easy to start on potentially a "half" of a crank, because that's about all that can be realistically done. All I'm willing to do is position the engine crank so that the crank handle is at the bottom. Then pull it up as fast as I can to obtain one-half turn. I'm not about to try to push it down on the other side. So if it won't start on a half-turn then I won't be able to start it. In the meantime I actually have the front bumper off the car at the moment. There's plenty of room for the bumper so there won't be any clearance problems. However, the car doesn't appear to have anywhere for the crank to actually ride against. In other words it's a 2 foot long crank and the only place it contacts the car is at the engine crank itself. That makes it difficult to pull the crank up with a lot of power. So I'm going to make a special fitting to attach to the bumper that I can slide this crank through. Just a short round piece of pipe to stick the crank through. That way I'll be able to just pull straight up on the crank and that piece of pipe on the front bumper will hold the crank level with the engine crankshaft. I'm not going to attempt to actually start the engine until I have this additional support for the crank fabricated and installed, which will also require putting the bumper back on the car. So it's going to be a while before I'll be able to actually try to start the car with this crank. But at least I got a feel for what it's like to turn over this engine manually. With that added support I'll be able to pull up on the crank with a lot more power. With a well-tuned engine that's ready to start on the first crank I think I'll be able to do it. Only time will tell. Anyway, I just wanted to report the experience at this end. It's a beautiful crank! Nice and heavy duty. It looks and feels much heftier than it appeared in the photo. I was afraid it might have been a bit flimsy, but I was sure wrong about that. It's super solid. So I just wanted to post my thanks and appreciation. This crank will be valued both as an additional period accessory in the trunk, and possibly as a bit of highway insurance should my starter motor happen to give out somewhere along the way. I'm definitely going to add the additional support piece on the bumper just to make this crank more practical to use, I'm surprised the car wasn't designed with additional support for the crank. It would be quite hard to crank the engine with only the very tip of the crank in the engine. I wouldn't want to try to start the motor like that. Gotta have that extra support closer to the handle end. So there will be a little piece of pipe on my bumper that isn't period correct. But that's ok, it will become a conversation piece when people ask me why it's there. ?

The first thing that came to my mind when I read these symptoms is the accelerator pump in the carburetor isn't working properly. In the carb there should be an accelerator pump that gives the engine an extra squirt of fuel when the gas pedal is depressed quickly. If that extra spurt of fuel is not there the engine will bog down because it's running out of gas too quickly before it's had time to accelerate up to speed. I'm not even sure that a 53 Merc has an accelerator pump on the carb, but that would be my first guess. That's exactly what the accelerator pump is there for. It's supposed to give the extra shot of gas that the engine will need to accelerate. Especially when you're putting your foot into it hard to get a quick acceleration. Without that spurt of gas the engine gets too much air and not enough fuel and bogs down. Just a guess.

I've had reliable parts stores that were unable to produce tiny parts for a particular item. They also usually require that the old part be returned before handing over another one. Or you buy the new part, and take the old part back later. But that probably could have been done with Rock Auto too. It probably wasn't the auto parts store that was at fault for the tiny part being missing from the package anyway. That was more than likely the fault of the manufacturer of the part.

Perhaps not. But you did post a video of someone who was complaining. ? It's certainly not my intention to get into a debate about it. Did the company offer quick customer service at one point in time and change their policy? If so, I can have sympathy for that. Especially if the company didn't notify its customers of the policy change. All I'm saying is that I didn't see the reaction to the company to be warranted from the information presented. I can see where someone who is in an auto repair business would want to have quick customer support. That's certainly understandable. And I wouldn't blame a person in that situation to move to a different supplier. But I just don't see the need to complain (as the man in the video you posted) about the company when it doesn't appear to be the companies policy to provide quick customer service. That's all I'm saying. But yeah, if you need quick customer service, then by all means, seek a vendor that provides quick customer service. That only makes sense. I certainly wouldn't blame anyone for doing that. I'm not trying to give you a hard time on this. I just didn't see the justification for the rant in the video you posted. That's all. I'm just expressing my perception of things. Not intended to pass judgment on anyone. This incident wouldn't prevent me from ordering parts form Rock Auto because I'm willing to accept their return-first policy. But if I needed fast customer service in a repair business I'd probably order those parts elsewhere. I might end up having to pay more for them too though. That's something to consider as well.

It seems to me that this is then their policy. It's wrong to say that they have NO customer service. They have customer service, and that service is that you need to return to part to obtain another one. That's it. It seems to me that a person either accepts this policy or rejects it. Why make out like the company is failing to honor a customer service policy that they never offered to anyone? As far as I can see this is just wrongful complaining. Now if Rock Auto had promised quick customer service and then failed to provide it I can see the beef. But I don't see the beef here when the company never promised the kind of service that is being demanded of it. Is it really fair to demand a service the company never offered? I'm mean we're certainly all entitled to our opinions, but i have no problem offing my opinion that if they didn't offer quick customer service, then complaining that they don't have it doesn't seem to make any sense to me. It would be entirely different if they promised quick customer service and then failed to keep that promise. But I just don't see that being the case here.

What I often do is use Google Shopping search. Sometimes I'll find vendors that way that I never would have found otherwise. One example, when I was searching for quarter panel repair panels for my '92 Ford Truck I couldn't find anything reasonably priced. Places were asking like $75 just for a small panel that only covers the top of the wheel. That's really all I needed, but I didn't want to pay $75 for such a small panel. So I used Goggle Shopping Search and found the same panels for $16 each. That about floored me. I figured that can't be right. But I clicked on it and went to the vendor which was Summit Racing. And sure enough they offered these very panels for $16 a piece. The only catch was that I had to pay shipping. However they have free shipping on orders over $100, so I bought some other parts I needed anyway from them, also at pretty decent prices. At first I was a bit scared that the $16 panels might not be what I expected. But when they came they were exactly as I had hoped and they fit the truck perfectly. It only cost me $32 for the two panels. Plus $70 worth of other parts I needed anyway. So I made out big time. At $75 a piece from other people I would have had $150 just in the two truck panels. So Summit Racing got a big thumbs up from me. I can't speak to all their parts. But they sure were a great deal on those quarter panel repair panels. Here's before and after pictures of the panel installation: Before: After: Can't beat that for a $16 repair job! All thanks to a Google Shopping Search.

Just taking a cyber walk through Harwood's showroom I think I'd like to have the 1933 Chevrolet Master Eagle Coupe. It's a bit out of my lawn-mowing budget. But dreams are free. ? I don't know how to post the pix here, but here's the link to it. http://www.harwoodmotors.com/vehicles/inventory_details.php?id=917 I think part of what attracts me to it is the paint scheme and of course the '30's styling too. I'm currently restoring a 1947 Chevy Fleetline that can be seen in my avatar. However, I'm hoping to paint it up with the following color scheme (or something close to it) Although I'm thinking of going with a darker chocolate on the fenders, and more like the yellowish beige that's on Harwood's '33 Chevy for the body. In fact, the brown strip that goes along the side of Harwood's '33 is about the right color for the fenders. I'll be mixing my own paint so I'm going to spray it on a plastic model car first to get an idea of what it's going to look like.

This is what makes a car attractive to me. Reasonably priced parts that you aren't likely to need anyway. That's my kinda car! ? Being the pragmatist I am, I would definitely go for the C4. Also, I wouldn't need to mow as many lawns to buy.

In 1938 it appears that car manufacturers were obtaining their jacks from other independent manufacturers. Is it possible that Plymouth may have obtained different second-sourced jacks for different cars coming off the assembly line in 1938? Or even possibly different style jacks from the same supplier over the course of the production year? I found the question intriguing so I've been searching for a photo of a 1938 Plymouth jacks and other than the ebay ad I wasn't able to come up with anything. I looked in the 1938 Shop Service Manual, but no picture of the jack. I couldn't find a 1938 Owners Manual online. But as someone else mentioned the owners manual typically shows photos of how to use the jack. I also searched Google Images for 1938 Plymouth Jack (in fact, that's how I found that ebay ad), but that was the only hint of a 1938 Plymouth jack I found.. I even got creative and searched Google Images for "1938 Plymouth Trunk". I actually found a half a dozen photos of the inside of a 1938 Plymouth trunk. But none of them had a jack in the trunk. At least not one that could be seen in the photos. Usually on the Internet I can often find what I need. But thus far no compelling photos of a 1938 Plymouth Jack. Other than the ebay ad, but that seller could be wrong. He has that jack listed for quite a few different cars. There's no guarantee that he knows what he's talking about. He's just trying to sell his jack.

I have no clue if this is the correct jack or not. I found it on eBay. It covers a lot of cars and a '38 Plymouth is supposed to be one of them. Here's a link to the eBay ad: https://www.ebay.com/itm/38-39-40-Olds-Pontiac-Buick-Dodge-Plymouth-Auscolift-OEM-Bumper-Jack-/372377402371 P.S. There's more close-up pictures on that ad.

I'll have to pass. My mom just informed me that my credit cards are all maxed out and I'm not allowed to buy anything more until I mow some more lawns.

What in the world is this blue thing? It looks like a Buick Roadmaster got rear-ened by a Corvette.

I don't know what they're worth but $8,000 doesn't seem bad at all based on those photos. It looks to be pretty close to showroom condition. Can't beat that. Motorized top too! Move over Victoria! I was second in line, but the first to pull out the credit card! Touch'e

I was going to say this. Looking at the pictures of the engine compartment it doesn't look like they left much room to get a wrench in there much less turn it. I wouldn't want to have to work on that engine. Driving it could be fun. Working on it could be a nightmare.

That's a cute little car. I'm wondering how the top works? Does it fold back into the trunk? Or do you need to take it off entirely and set it aside? And how difficult, or easy is it to put up and down. Can one person do it? I imagine it's manually operated? Or is it a motorized retractable top? Just curious. It's a fantastic looking little car. Nice styling.

I'm jade with jealousy.

That doesn't sound right. Gotta be something wrong with that car. Could it be that someone put a 4:11 rear end in it at some point? A decent running 265 with a manual transmission and a good ratio in the rear axle ought to be able to provide 18 to 20 MPG, or possibly even more when everything is properly tuned. Is your's an automatic? If so then I'm not surprised at the terrible gas millage. But even then it should do better than 10 MPG. That's pretty bad gas millage. You should be getting at least 15 MPG even with a poorly maintained engine and drive train.

I don't have the best memory. But I believe it was an automatic and the transmission was starting to slip. I was going to covert it over to a manual transmission, but never did. I had tons of old cars throughout my life and I've converted quite a few from automatic to manual. Those old cars are pretty reliable. Especially if they have a manual transmission. I personally don't care much for automatics and can't speak to their dependability. If I were looking for an old car to drive dependably I'll be looking at something from the early to mid 60's. In part because replacement parts can be had for more reasonable prices than the older cars. I've seen some pretty decent cars from the 60's on Craigslist for as little as $2000 that you can just jump in and drive away. And they don't look that bad at all. Many of them even come with fancy mag wheels. For 10K I would expect to get a car that is basically in showroom condition and had been totally gone over with all the consumable parts replaced with new parts (i.e. brakes, brake lines, hoses, belts, etc.) But yeah, I'm with you all the way. Buying an older well-maintained car is far better than buying a new modern car. Some exceptions apply of course. If you're really going to be putting countless miles on it driving it almost constantly, then maybe a modern car might have some pluses. But if your not planning on driving it 24/7 an old classic car will do just fine.

I had one of these when I was a teenager. I'm pretty sure I bought it for $25. It ran and I drove it for a while.

Back on topic. You could say that I'm a "newcomer" to this hobby in a sense. It was only this year I bought two cars to restore. So in that sense I only just started this "restoration" hobby. Fortunately I have years of collecting tools, skills and knowledge under my belt. So I'm hardly "new" in that sense. But I am 69 years old. In fact, I'm wondering whether I'll ever actually get to finish these restoration projects I've started. Old people don't typically "get into" this hobby. Typically they've been in it for quite some time and just accidentally got old while they weren't paying attention.

Sorry, but I'm most likely living in a totally different world from what you are used to. I don't even have a cell phone. Nor do I have TV. I do have Internet access obviously, but even that is bare bones basics. I never pay for any content. I live in a very small cottage that I built myself from trees I cut down and cut into lumber myself. I heat with wood that I also cut for free. I even built my own outdoor woodboiler system for a grand total of about $1,500. Something I was told could not be done for that price. By the way, the people at the woodstove store where I bought the hot water pump wanted to also sell me heat exchanges for $400 EACH!. I said "No way! Why should I pay $400 for their heat exchangers when I can go to an auto parts store and pick up a couple truck radiators for under $100 a piece. They said that truck radiators would NEVER work. Well, guess what? Those truck radiators have been heating this place every winter for the past 10 years and they work perfectly. They were simply wrong. Truck radiators work just fine as heat exchangers and are far less expensive. By the way, getting back to the head gasket. I found a place where I can buy a sheet of head gasket material for only $8.99 that is large enough to make a head gasket for my engine. I also found a DIY site on the web of other people explaining how they made their own head gaskets from this stuff. So I'll definitely be making my own head gaskets. No way am I about to pay $70 for a head gasket. That's absurd. I mean I could see the need for that if I was building a dragster engine. But just for an old stock 1954 6-cyl engine? I don't think I need a $70 gasket for that application. That's overkill. I'm sure a $9 homemade gasket will work just fine. That's the world I live in. ? Besides, if I start paying $70 for every little part for this car that can add up really quick. Ten items and you're up to $700 already. A hundred items and your talking $7000.