TTR

Well, there were cameras even back then... 😉 ... or at least I had a couple and still have most of the photos, including stacks of disassembly, restoration, etc, I took back then (my wife recently scanned all to digital format and organized them in my computer files), although with exception of couple of my own cars I still own from those days, the cars in them are long gone and who knows where they are today. 😳

+1 and not only “when”, but copious photos from multiple angle even before taking anything apart or off. It has always amazed me how many individuals, even so called professional restorers, fail to do or understand the benefits of this, more so now in the digital age when almost everyone has cell-/smart phones or tablets, etc with a cameras and huge storage capacities for taken images.

These types of under dash support brackets or rods are common and can be found in most makes and models of vintage cars & trucks, nothing special or unique to Chrysler Corp. cars. Just about every vehicle I’ve ever worked on has had some variation(s) of them. Some are cast, some are solid rods (like the one pictured above), some are stamped steel (similar to stamped steel tabs the rod in above picture is attached to), etc. Some support the dash itself, some the glovebox, some the steering column, some the radio, etc.

I wonder if it’s the axle rather than spindle that’s bent. If it was latter and depending on severity of the bend, I would think bearings, hub etc, wouldn’t last very long or maybe not even allow the wheel to rotate.

First, based on your description of the events, I wouldn’t consider you being a “better mechanic” than one you contracted to diagnose and fix the problem, but rather that you just got lucky after spending several grand (according to you) for nothing. And of course there’s alway a possibility you not disclosing everything that actually transpired, but that seems fairly common, especially on internet forum problem solving inquiries, so nothing to be taken personally. Second, I’m surprised that based on your supposed experience in leadership position you failed to recognize the dealership shop & mechanic weren’t up to the task before submitting your vehicle for their care. How did you found them and decided to let them work on it ? Internet reviews ? P.S. I’m not defending “professionals” per se, as there are plenty of bad or less than good ones in any field, but compared to DIYs, the ratio is probably nowhere near as dramatic. Heck, here in SoCal, I’m surrounded by a large variety and quantities (= thousands upon thousands or more) of automotive related businesses of all types, but let’s say within 50 mile radius, there’s not many I would do business with, let alone recommend to someone else Yet most of these “professional” shops seem to stay in business and some have for decades.

I absolutely considered, but since OP didn’t indicate having done that hence my recommendation. Besides, had OP found one he/she wouldn’t have a need to ask about it here. Apparently you failed to find proper one also.

I would recommend finding/hiring a mechanic who knows how to properly diagnose the cause. Everything else, including asking about this here or in any other forum is likely waste of time, both your own and of those trying answer/help, including me.

This ^^ applies to almost all technical questions people come up with in their daily endeavors, be they about fixing cars, household items or gardening. I’ve often said that if you have to ask help for basic/common sense technical problem solving in online forums/platforms you probably shouldn’t attempt to diagnose, fix or be working on it in the first place.

OK, I get it. You consider or view yourself an elitist or at least far more skilled than all the working class individuals with production line manufacturing jobs in automotive industry for past 100+ years because you worked as a Team Leader in "high tech" industry with computers and robots, etc.

I have to disagree, especially with your first assessment. I wouldn’t consider assembly line personnel at just about any automotive manufacturing facility as “back yard mechanics”. As far as I understand they are/were skilled and trained “professionals” assembling fully engineered new components, using all new parts, not attempting to diagnose, rebuild or repair any of them. And while I’m just a self-taught vintage car hobbyist & restorer, good part of my 35+ year “career”(?) has included correcting/fixing/repairing/etc countless screw-ups by both “back yard” and “professional” mechanics/rebuilders/restorers and not to forget DIY hobbyists. All my current and recent client jobs have involved fixing numerous f-ups, some worst than others, previously caused by what I refer as “hacks”, regardless of their professional standing or (lack of) skill level status.

I agree about good moisture separation being a very important part of compressed air delivery system. I designed and built delivery infrastructure for my shop facility comprising two separate units with about 8-10 outlets in each unit and each outlet featuring its own moisture trap w/drain over 30 years ago. Fortunately for me, I’m located in low humidity inland Southern California desert like dry climate, so in 30+ years of almost daily use of compressed air for variety of tasks, from air tools & media blasting to painting, etc, I can’t recall having ever experienced noticeable moisture concerns or problems with my system.

Mileage most of my (vintage) cars have always averaged is a few thousand a year, regardless of type of driving, roads, weather or price of gasoline per gallon, etc., but I’ve also always hoped latter would be much higher than it is or has ever been.

First part is relatively correct, but latter is not the reason I choose to use multi weight up to 50 . My reasons for use of multi weight are many, one being their chemical composition* allowing more versatile use than single weights, hence eliminating guess work or acclimation to various driving climates, which here (SoCal) can vary significantly, even during a single driving experience. * Most of this was explained to me in layman's terms decades ago by a friend with an engineering degree and research experience in the field of petroleum lubricants, etc. (His informal garage "lecture" at the time even lead my mind to come up with questions he admitted being far above/beyond his abilities to adequately answer). Many of my far more experienced colleagues have also been using 20W-50 engine oils in large variety of vintage cars/engines ranging up to 250 GTOs etc and have quoted or sited similar, scientifically proven explanations/studies, along with their decades long personal observations, etc. There are numerous and often more relevant reasons for choosing "correct" oils and other lubricants, etc for vintage cars, but seemingly ignored in discussions like this and confirms my belief that forums like these are more often than not wrong places to ask (serious) technical question and/or to expect intelligent/meaningful answers for most. YMMV.

I've been using 20W-50 in almost all my and my clients vintage cars for 40 years with "guesstimated" 500K - 1M combined miles between all. Pennzoil for first couple of decades and Valvoline VR1 for last couple. I've always been changing oil & filters every 2500-3000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first, but don't personally have any 200K mile experiences on a single vintage car or engine yet. +/- 70K is closest I've come to, but that was with a 1950's car/engine that had been driven/used (by original owner) about 100K miles prior to my ownership, likely had never been previously rebuilt and still ran like a champ with good oil pressure when I sold her after 20 years of great service. I'm getting couple of early 1970's four cam V12 (one dry and one wet sump) "Italians" ready for their annual oil & filter services within next couple of weeks and just had 5 cases of VR1 delivered yesterday. And while factory noted capacity for each is about 17-18 qts, experience has shown that being too much, preventing oil getting warm enough under normal driving conditions, so each will (again) receive about 13-14 quarts, which is still above minimum/low capacity, but provides more appropriate oil temps.

You have had a 1936 American Lafrance Fire Truck with a AEF650 straight 8 for 50 years ? 😳

Sounds like a fairly accurate estimate, but since I'm not greedy, I'll accept $10K, if it's delivered in good running & driving condition with clean title & current registration or $5K without delivery or other stuff. Cash or certified check only.

As noted by others, some engines, early MoPar V8s for example, require crank to rotate for oil to get to rocker arm assemblies, so before anything else, I would try that first by having one person (you or assistant) rotating crank while another is operating the drill to drive the oil pump. Also, make sure the drill is turning the oil pump drive to correct direction, which in case of some engines is clockwise and others counter-clockwise. If all bearing tolerances are correct, I would expect at least 30-40 psi, even with a bit slower drill.

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Not to mention, most or perhaps all were done out of absolute necessity to get the vehicle back to its daily service a.s.a.p. with minimal effort & expenditure and none were considered “rebuilds” or expected to be dependable long term solutions. Mainly just band-aids to extend service life, which in most cases was likely already on borrowed time and perhaps due to lack of adequate maintenance and upkeep, but unfortunately nothing in common or to do with “rebuilding” or “restoration”, IMO..

Was the judge getting into the car during judging with the permission & presence of owner or his/her appointed representative ? If not, IMO, not only would’ve this been the fault (& liability) of the judge in question, but also the chief judge and organizers of the event.

I’m sorry if my lack of appropriate sensitivity training or comments offering advise on reality appear insulting, which isn’t really my intention. They, along with most of mine, are generally meant to make readers, not just you or direct participants of this or any other thread, but also anyone who comes across it/them in the future, stop and think a bit more critically. BTW, I learned all this, i.e. approach to proper rebuilding/restoration/etc on my own long before internet or its vast myriad of forums, most of which, based on my limited experience and observations, are 99% populated with participants who seem to have very little or no real practical experience to base their commentary or opinions on and unfortunately many readers can’t seem to differentiate between good advice & those not so. I also learned very early on (40+ years ago) that trying to approach any hobby or passion without reality, including prerequisite funding or willingness to spend it, is more often than not a recipe for disappointment. Have seen it countless times in my 45+ years in this hobby. And as for “assumptions”:, unless the person soliciting advice from strangers on some online forum is explicitly clear and detailed about the specifics, including their own experience, etc readers and repliers, i.e. “strangers” usually have no choice but make some or numerous. P.S. My first restoration project was a 4-dr 1955 Packard Clipper (previously botched project with no running gear, etc) I acquired in my mid-teens and while I never managed to finish it (sold it unfinished), I learned a lot by just cautious trial and error along with advice from others with experience how to do things correctly.

Your engine/machine shop should be able advice, assess, clean, remove, service, etc better than anyone through your computer screen. If they can’t or you won’t trust them, find another. Does the owner/operator of your chosen machine shop know you and/or have you done business with him before ? If not and you’ve already revealed having disassembled/worked on the engine, perhaps not having a plenty of previous experience with nearly 70 year old engine “rebuilds” and sought advice from strangers on some internet forum, etc it shouldn’t be wonder he’s reluctant to give you meaningful answers over the phone. I wouldn’t and neither would my chosen machine shop* even consider accepting jobs from anyone approaching them in this manner, so my “opinion” may not be too helpful either. *They currently have about 8-10 month waiting list and do head work and machining on everything from forklift or model A to Ferrari/Lamborghini/etc engines and everything in between, but (somewhat diplomatically) refuse to deal with anyone who doesn’t know what he/she is doing or expects/wants some shortcut fixes. Not worth the headaches or liabilities commonly associated with such jobs. YMMV.

While the advice & suggestions by oldtech are likely practical for someone "fixing" their daily driver enough to keep it useable or re-sellable, I wouldn't consider most of the methods applicable for "rebuilding" or "restoration".

Thank you Kerry and my pleasure. I really appreciate your comment about the context between “what she was” and “what she became”. For this same reason I’ve always carried (in the car) a small photo album featuring these and other photos showcasing the reconstruction process. Reaching for it and showing the photos has always been a great way to answer questions like “Did you built it ?” or “How was it when you got it ?” and seems to give people I/we run into during drives & travel better appreciation and understanding of “our” relationship. And as I’ve mentioned (more than once), I’m fortunate to have had 30+ year (& counting) career restoring and working on variety of vintage cars ranging from 1906 Holsman or 1937 Cord 812Sc to 1959 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder Competizione or dozen+ early Seventies V12 Ferraris and beyond, but can’t think of many cars I would trade my Roadster for, especially if I had to keep one or the other for the rest of life without any financial benefit or consideration. She might be a bit of a Bride of Frankenstein, but I brought her back to life and love her as much as a person can (or should ?) of an inanimate object.

I would talk to ARP.