MrFreeze

Alex, thanks for double-checking that. Would you happen to know if the occasional rub is due to tire HEIGHT, or tire WIDTH? MrFreeze

@Craig Balzer, do you have any rubbing issues with those tires? Love the color on that car. MrFreeze

Good info, thanks. I always forget to check the ROA for info, but when I do, they nearly always have something helpful. MrFreeze

Very helpful, thank you. MrFreeze

I take it this is on a '65 Riv? I "assume" the '64 and '65 have the same amount of room inside the fenders. Would you happen to know what wheels you are running, or what the backspace is? Thanks, MrFreeze

That's what I have on the car now, but they are just a little small for my taste. What size spacer do you have on the front? MrFreeze

The car has 1-1/2" spacers on the rear wheel compliments of the previous owner. On the front, excess fins have been not-so-gently removed from the aluminum drums. Wheels appear to seat properly and clear the suspension with no issues. Interesting to hear you had rub with stock rims at 225/70R15. Any chance you had tired/saggy front springs contributing to the issue? What was the original tire size on these cars? Appreciate the input. Unfortunately, it looks like Goodyear no longer offers any tires in either of my 2 preferred sizes, unless you count trailer tires. Best regards, MrFreeze

Turbinator has supplied me with some restored wheels for my '64 (15 x 6 #895). Now I need to select tires. I was considering 225/75R15, but I have heard they may rub, and that 225/70R15 is a better choice. Anyone out there running either of these sizes that can provide real-world input? I am also planning on running blackwalls, as I think they would look better given this car's paint scheme. Anybody want to recommend a particular tire for a fair-weather cruiser? Either way I'm sure it will be a challenge finding good tires in 15" diameter these days. Some pics for inspiration: Appreciate any input you folks may have. MrFreeze

Doug, I bought what I believe is the same Four Seasons part through Summit and was disappointed to find out it didn't have a sight glass, despite the picture. I'm running it anyway, but if you find a better replacement, please let us know. Good luck, MrFreeze

Distilled water is about $2 per gallon at my local grocery stores. Less than coolant, for sure, but it makes the convenience of purchasing pre-mixed just a BIT more attractive. MrFreeze

100% agree with that.

That's very interesting. The effectiveness of fluid transfer depends on a few different things, but one of them is the Reynolds number, which is a function of viscosity and velocity. Low Reynolds numbers result in "laminar" flow, and are not very good for heat transfer. Increasing the velocity (which increases Reynolds number) will move you out of the laminar flow range and into the turbulent area, which is much better for heat transfer. The part of the heat transfer this helps with is crossing the "boundary layer" between the cylinder casting and the fluid itself, which is one of the main areas of concern when trying to make fluid heat transfer work (fluid heat capacity and conductive resistance of the cylinder material are the other big contributors). If you really got the water shooting fast through the irregularly shaped castings, you might be able to cause some stagnant zones where the water just sits in place. I doubt you could ever get to those kinds of velocities in a car engine, though. Our water pumps just don't move that much. Something to consider: there are many options for high flow water pumps out there (I have a Flow Kooler on one of my cars), but I have never seen any low flow water pumps. I HAVE heard of people inadvertently slowing down their water pump by installing underdrive pulleys, and then having overheating issues at idle and low rpm. It is also helpful to consider the fan, which does exactly the same thing as the water pump: it moves a cooler fluid (i.e. air, and to heat transfer engineers a fluid is a substance which takes the shape of the container it is put into, so air is considered a fluid) against something hotter that we want to cool off (the contents of the radiator). I have seen many overheating issues that were traced back to insufficient airflow (usually a retrofitted electric fan), but never heard of one that was the result of too much airflow. Would you try to solve an overheating issue by using a smaller fan? Seems counterintuitive, because it is. More flow of cooling media is nearly always better, until you get up to limits you can't feasibly achieve with a 60 year old car. Interesting topic for me (obviously; sorry for long-windedness of this reply), but probably not for many others. Best regards, MrFreeze

As a professional heat transfer engineer I can 100% assure you that this is not a thing. The higher the fluid velocity is, the better the heat transfer is (pressure drop also increases exponentially, so very high flow rates do become a case of diminishing returns). If you could get the flow high enough that you cause stagnant areas in the engine or radiator, you might start to lose some performance. But that is not feasible in a car engine. Best regards, MrFreeze

I am currently trying to get the AC operational in my '64, so I will be looking forward to your updates. Good luck. MrFreeze

Tom, thanks for the info. The large nipple was plumbed to the STV in my car - one of many vacuum lines that had been connected to the wrong place. Are the STV valves rebuildable/replaceable? How about the modulators? MrFreeze

So what part is the fuse? Is it removeable/replaceable? Anyone got a pic of this? MrFreeze

I am trying to unscramble and repair the HVAC vacuum lines in my '64 with AC. So far I have found a couple of broken lines, and several that were connected to the wrong place. I am using the factory service manual for guidance, and replacing all the lines with new vacuum tubing after adding the proper paint stripes for identification. My issue is: the service manual schematic does not show the line that runs to the suction throttle valve (STV) on the freon suction line (schematic from manual below). The operational description of the STV shows a vacuum line running from the suction modulator to the STV. I assume the suction modulator is pictured below. I further assume that I need to connect from the big nipple to the STV, and the little nipple would connect to the same vacuum source as the rest of the HVAC controls. If all my assuming is correct, I plan to put a tee in the right hand black line between the heater adapter and the AC adapter and connect it to the little nipple. Before I do all this, can anyone who has been down this road confirm that my assuming is correct? Or straighten me out if it is not? Bonus points if you can tell me what color stripe (if any) these 2 vacuum lines should have. Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge and experience, MrFreeze.

Zimm63, I don't see a fuse screwed into the base of my lighter. It looks like this (pic below). The bottom end does not seem to want to come apart. Is there a replaceable fuse in there? How can I get at it to check? I have power to the connecting wiring, but no power through the base, so a burned fuse would make sense. Please advise... Thanks for your help, MrFreeze

BulldogDriver, would you happen to have a model or part number for the USB outlet you used? Riviera63, looks like '63 and '64 used a different front ashtray arrangement, but at any rate, that space is currently filled by an aftermarket cruise control. Thanks for the input. MrFreeze

I am interested in removing the non-working cigarette lighter from the rear of the console and replacing it with a hardwired USB receptacle. The hole in the console is 0.9 inches, but all the USB outlets I can find are over 1" in diameter. Anybody know of an outlet that will fit the original hole? I don't want to hog it out any bigger - plan B would be to replace the lighter with a working used one (assuming I can find one) and plug an adapter in there when I need it. If you happen to have a working lighter you want to get rid of, let me know in case this doesn't pan out. Thanks, guys. MrFreeze

You sure sound like a robot...

Sorry for omission on this post; car is a '64. Some very good info here, so thank you guys for that. MrFreeze

I don't have that 3rd eye, and I also disagree, but I hope we can still be friends! MrFreeze

That's very useful info, thank you. MrFreeze

I considered that location, but I was afraid it might conflict with my right knee. Is that a first gen car? Any issues in that regard? MrFreeze