old-tank

Gotta get home from this last gig and do Minnesota first...

I guess I better report this before Bill does. My highway charger is dead (sniff...). Broken axel shaft; yep, that one inch (+) sucker broke in the middle. I thought at first it was the tranny which would be a BIG problem. Replacement parts will be here (Crescent Springs, KY) tomorrow morning, so I should be ramblin' again. We got a rent car, a Tayota Cerolla (gag) and feel like I am nearly a-foot. (preceeding words are not misspeled). Bill went out of his way to help and lend moral support; the replacements parts are coming from Doug Siebold who sent the parts without requiring payment in advance: thanks to both...ain't this a great club with friends and selfless help. And no, I will not give up traveling in the old iron...just may have to add axel shafts (magnafluxed) to my pile of take-along parts. Willie

Great meet, cars and great people. And getting an award did not hurt either. By the way the preservation award I received and the new senior Mike (Buick5563) received were on cars that were <span style="font-weight: bold">driven</span>! So far 2300 miles for me. You can drive and have fun and win awards if you want. The only down side is detailing for show and unless I restore another car I will not show again...better to spend the time with people...but I will drive. Mn should be a piece of cake compared this year...may have to retire again so I will have the time to drive to Seattle. Drive those Buicks. Willie

Well it was a FORD: <span style="font-weight: bold">F</span>ound <span style="font-weight: bold">O</span>n <span style="font-weight: bold">R</span>oad <span style="font-weight: bold">D</span>ead. Next time you see it call it a Ford and maybe it will be good. Willie

And now a picture of the rotor And remember it was still running, but barely and did run enough to get off the road with the vacuum advance disconnected. Happy and optomistic times Dixon, TN (July 4) before Bill's car 'croaked'.

Give this car a name or at least some incanations to cast off it's demons. My choice is Robert...will explain later.

For my part I hope this thread gets boring from now on.

Made it to south of Columbus, no problem on my end, but Bill has a different story that he should tell..... Willie

Well as Bill knows I was not without problems also. In Little Rock the car was really running badly; missing, backfiring and no power, but would idle. To make a long story short the rotor tip burned off...easy fix but took a long time to diagnose in 95* heat on a truck stop parking lot. I will try to post a picture later. Tomorrow night NE of Columbus...maybe Mansfield. Willie

You know the rules...first to arrive is in charge...

We made 425 miles and caught Bill in Texarkana...I'll let him fill you in on the details. The only thing "exciting' on the trip happened in Georgetown, TX. A car was passing me and slowed down next to me and honked. When I was going to do my usual smile and wave, I looked over and saw a big hairy ass---I got 'mooned'!! Temps were 90's/100's, no issues with the car, gas mileage was ~16mpg. Maybe Nashville tomorrow. Willie

We will be chasing Bill tomorrow, but will be getting a later start since it is 12:30am and I just got off work. We plan to leave Seguin at 9:00am and make it to Texarkana for the first stop...about 425 miles...what can I say, I'm old and slow. The chase car is the 55 Century in the avatar, also loaded and serviced. My laptop is going too, but I may have to settle for dialup since I am too cheap to stay in the snooty places with high speed connections. Later Willie

Looks like everyone who missed the heat in Texas last year will not miss it this year...

Hey Bill The good news is that you are OK (probably sore today), the bad news is of course the damage to the cars and the fact that the neighbors will sell the video to some reality/funniest videos show. You should know that judging in the Modified class does not give extra points for "customized by crunch" Looking forward to seeing you in Batavia and maybe on the road so we can eat, drink and tell lies in a hopefully excellent restuarant. Willie

I'm one of that bunch from Texas that Bill mentioned....will be driving the 55 in the avator...leaving sunday morning a day behind Bill. Willie

I'm probably out of line here, but here are some points to consider if you haven't already: Most relisted items never come close to the original bids. Your reserve is now known. You will have to go through the same agony of giving up an old friend. Work with him for at least a little while...you will know soon enough if he is really a deadbeat. I agree that you did not get enough for the car, but in my opinion Ebay is for distress/fire sales, and you seldom get as much as a planned well marketed sale. Willie

Mike should have had me helping...that would have really slowed him down. Or is he tired of me laughing when things go wrong.

Ken Pump is black, bracket is engine color (green) and the pulley is plated...I used zinc on some of mine, others I painted silver/gray. The top has no white on the letters. Willie

Ken Try holding the pulley with your hand wearing leather gloves and use an impact wrench on the nut...start with the lowest setting first. The pulley is keyed to the shaft and may need to be remove with a puller. Good luck... Willie

Time to check drivetrain mounts: engine, transmission and the thrust pad. Defective ones will allow the engine and transmission to move and the shift lever will not engage the propper gear. Willie

NTX5476 The 55 cleaner calls for 50W...I have a 51 Ford truck that calls for 30W. Willie

I would be best to use the current Dexron/Mercon fluids that are backward compatible with the old type A. Would you use the cheap no name non-degergent oil sitting on the shelf next to it? Only in an emergency. The old oils are inferior to the modern counterparts. I am having a Dynaflow rebuilt now and when I mentioned type A, I though the rebuilder was going to have a seizure. I then recieved a 30 minute lecture from a nice 75 year old gentleman....so I am passing on a short version. Willie

Tommy Sorry I won't get to see you again and laugh at all of this. Willie

All of the your listed plug should be fine. We used Autolite 85's in the last rebuild with no problems. The only plugs I have had a problem with were AC R43...three fouled and were inoperable in 25 miles. If your old AC 44's are not in bad shape consider cleaning and re-gapping (glass bead then pressure wash followed by wd40 to displace the water). Willie

One last bump before I order tires....Willie