Grimy

18 tpi, as I recall. To confirm, put a thread gauge on a regular 7/8 plug.

D., please read again my post #2 re some service manuals specifying compression readings at 1,000 rpm rather than at cranking speed. I don't have a 1937 Pontiac shop manual, but my MoToR manual covering the subject 1937 Pontiac 6 shows exactly that-- 140 psi **at 1,000 rpm**. Compression readings at cranking speed will be significantly lower, in my >50 yrs experience. I stand by my post #2.

My Rule of Thumb (ROT) for determining adequate compression pressure for pre-war cars (and post-war flatheads) is to multiply ambient atmospheric pressure (14.7 psi at sea level) by compression ratio (in your case, 6.2), which gives a product of 90.14 psi! Tampa is about as close to sea level as you can get! You're right on the mark! Perhaps your shop manual shows (as some did) 140 psi as desirable not at cranking speed but at 1,000 rpm, which would require running the engine at a fast idle with one plug out, one plug at a time. My view is that 90 psi is plenty for your car, and I believe that as long as the cylinders are relatively even in their pressure readings (~10-12% variance), you have nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry about other than crankcase dilution from that carb! Suggest you rebuild the carb then immediately change the oil as soon as the carb's operation is verified and adjusted.

Making a fitting for the 7/8 spark plug holes: Find an old (junk) take-apart-for-cleaning 7/8 spark plug and do indeed take it apart. Then thread the interior of the base for 14mm, the standard thread for compression testers. The exterior of the base has the 7/8 threads that screw into your plug holes.

Marina Blvd., San Francisco, Porsche was heading west...

Jim, I think all 1931-35 50/60/90 cars have roller tappets rather than flat cam followers; certainly the 1934 56S I had for many years did. If so, that's at least half the battle. I think the Rotella will do the job nicely without needing ZDDP additives.

Sorry, I somehow didn't give consideration to the statement that the engine and trans use the same oil. Are the engine and trans connected for oil sharing like a Model T? If so, do **not** use 600W in either the engine or trans, as it's way too thick. Ozstatman is right. Generally, crash boxes benefit from a heavy gear oil (600W is about SAE 200 in today's grades), which slows the gears and promotes smoother shifting. If the car does share oil between engine and trans, that consideration does **not** apply. What does your owner's manual call for?

For this car (equipped with crash box transmission and non-hypoid differential), I'd use 600W in both. You can get 600W from Model A Ford suppliers. Get the **real** 600W, which is dark, smelly and viscous; beware of the honey-colored, lighter stuff, which I suspect is often re-packaged 140-wt gear oil.

My 1945 AEA catalog shows Delco-Remy #1406 as a dashlight switch (photo shows two-position slide switch with two contacts) fitting.... Cadillac Series 60 1936 Cadillac 8 1938 LaSalle 1936; 1938 Pontiac 6 & 8, 1936-37-38-39 Sorry, I don't have a scanner. Hope this info helps.

A faw suggestions: 1. Battery cables: Find a battery wholesaler who also does some retail, and who can make you up some proper cables using your old ones as a length guide. I use 00 (that is, "double-ought") welding cable which is very flexible. Solder the terminals on. 2. Despite what the wiring diagram may show, run the battery's **ground** cable to a starter mounting bolt. Clean all the pretty paint off that starter mounting ear, and from the part of the bell housing to which it attaches. (The idea is to remove the insulation that the paint provides. After the job is done, you can add di-electric ignition grease as a "sealer" coating around the connection to help maintain the integrity of the connection. 3. Grounds are the first thing I check in any electrical malfunction on a 6V vehicle. The grounds must be "refreshed" every three years or so in high-current-draw applications like a starter. 4. For your headlights, consider that when the car has a generator rather than an alternator, at idle with the headlights on, you're running at a deficit--that is, the operating systems including headlights are drawing more current than the generator produces, and that's normal to a degree. You can check the individual headlight grounds by making a 10- or 12-gauge jumper wire with alligator clips on the ends and then connect the grounding surface in the socket (for non-sealed beams) to frame or other excellent ground. If the light brightens, then you need to refresh those grounds. You can also use an ohmmeter and should get less than 1 ohm for **lights.** Hope this helps. Keep that 6V system. It worked just fine in its day and can again, but 6V systems need substantially more maintenance on their ground connections.

Oil filter cartridge: Fram C4 and C4P cross over to today's Wix 51006 and NAPA Gold 1006, possibly on the shelf or at least no more than a day away.

Shrader valve (tire valve) has been around since the 1890s, modified about 1910 to the way we see it today.

I strongly recommend you DOo NOT put grease in a steering box. Grease channels--that is, the movement of the mechanism pushes the grease to the inside of the box casting, away from the parts that need to be lubed. Use 140-weight gear oil, or for operation in a cold climate, 90-weight. If your steering box seals leak, try the 800/900 or even 1200 weight "semi-fluid grease" (actually very heavy oil) made by Penrite, available from Restoration Supply. For ease of pouring, it helps to heat this heavy semi-fluid lube in a pan of hot water on the stove. Some 1920s cars had grease fittings instead of filler plugs on the steering boxes, which invited the use of chassis grease guns over the years, resulting in blown-out seals. Those cars' tool kits included hand-held pistol-grip lube guns which were to be loaded with 600-W gear oil (equivalent to about SAE 200 today). Those push-type guns and the 600-W were used on chassis fittings in lieu of grease as we know it today.

For the reason Restorer32 alludes to, I've always been wary of using a conventional buffing wheel to polish a rare Bakelite distributor cap, so I've tried other means. I've had very good results from using hand application of Meguiar's Trim Detailer (also good for the black or gray plastic trim on modern iron), followed by a small buffing wheel on a Dremel when absolutely necessary. It may take two or three applications to achieve satisfactory results. I urge you to take suitable precautions even when polishing by hand: I do so standing over a kitchen table that is padded with a moving pad or several thicknesses of blankets, and with barriers around the work area to keep the workpiece from falling off the surface onto the floor. I also perform the work very close to the padded surface. When using the Dremel buffer, I try to have a well-trusted friend hold the workpiece. Take your time!

Lebowski, the Lynn Kissel who lives in the Bay Area and has two Kissels is a male.

Re Bleach's comment: The late letter sequence depends on whether the car was reissued--or was initially issued--a California plate during the plate series lifetime. I based my comments on when the alphabet was used up for the black plates on the black Calif plate I acquired from DMV for my 1964 Cad Fleetwood 60S bought in Wash DC in June 1970--that plate was ZJH 943. I was active Army and thus entitled to use my domicile state's driver's license and auto registration; did so thru AAA but it wasn't easy... :-) Just perhaps.... cars sold new in Calif in late '69 and early '70 were issued the dull-looking yellow-on-blue plates while I got the now-preferred yellow-on-black ones. I preferred the black plates even then....

Hello John, Congrats on your acquisition of the 1953 Buick! When your car was new, in California it would have received a 1951 long-format plate with a 1954 (year of expiry) metal tab. There was also a 1955 tab issued for expiry in that year. Calif began using semi-permanent plates with annual expiry stickers in 1956. These plates were in the now-USDOT standard size. The plates used 1956-62 were yellow with black letters/numbers and on passenger cars were three letters followed by three numbers, as in your TRV 603. I believe that your TRV 603 plates were a circa 1961-1962 new plate for that vehicle, as the series began with AAA in 1956. By 1962 those plates were nearing the end of the alphabet. For 1963, another series of plates, this time with a black background and yellow figures, was instituted as a complete reissue. In both cases (1956 and 1963), obsolete plates were NOT required to be turned in, and many found their way to garage walls. These black plates are truly permanent and are still valid today (several of my cars still wear them, but with current expiry stickers). The 1963 plates (issued till approximately August 1970, when they reached the end of the alphabet again) used the same format of three letters followed by three numbers. Hope this info helps. I'll try to answer any followup questions you may have.

Studepeople, thanks for the kind words. We're all here to help each other.

Studepeople: All comments in my post are about the Clark tranny except the statement that the Brown-Lipe ratios are more favorable as close-ratio. The Clark tranny like yours has a wide gap between 2nd and 3rd, which is difficult on a steep upgrade as you must wind up the rpm in 2nd (normal 1st) before shifting to 3rd (a tall normal 2nd). As I recall, the two sides of the herringbone gears were cut about half a degree off from each other for sound-cancelling qualities.

It certainly looks like the Clark 4-speed in my 1930 Pierce-Arrow Model B. The best identification factor is the herringbone gears. P-A used the Clark ONLY in 1930, and on all 3 models, A B and C. It is a crash box requiring double clutching. P-A also used a 4-speed Brown-Lipe transmission, which is far more close-ratio than the Clark (see below). 1st gear (left rear of the H, against the spring) is a crawler, a parade gear, or for starting on a steep hill. 2nd gear (usual low gear position, not pushing against the spring) is fine for normal starting from a stop on level ground. 3rd gear (usual "2nd gear" position) has a ratio of 1.25:1 and is very useful. When shifting between 3rd and 4th, be careful because the ratios are so close. Unfortunately, the ratios of 1st and 2nd are also very close, so there is a huge gap between 2nd and 3rd. One really needs to wind up the rpms in 2nd before shifting to 3rd. The Achilles heel of these trannies is the herringbone gears which are riveted together. Use a small pry bar to **gently** test how securely each pair of gears is still attached. If there's any slop, you'd be well advised to have them re-riveted before any damage is done. Also check the input shaft bearing and replace if there's any slop (remove collar before checking). In Northern California's climate, I use Texaco Thuban SAE 250 gear oil in all my crash boxes. That weight is good for slowing gears down for clashless shifting. It will be stiff for only the first five minutes in our mild non-freezing winters.

If you're working on a Series 80, pm me. I can do photos next week. I may have a spare pair of curved brackets as well.

The downtown Oakland Chrysler-Plymouth dealer was The J. E. French Company, in the 2700 block of Broadway, on the east side of the street. They also had a branch in Berkeley, at Oxford and [Channing Way?]. I have a pair of their license plate frames sized for Calif's 1940-1955 [i.e., long] plates. There was a separate dealership in East Oakland (still within the City of Oakland) called Melrose Motors, but I don't recall its 1966 location.

Hi Gents, My original post was almost seven years (time flies!). Item #1, the early axle, has been sold. I still have the Champion axle available for $75 + shipping. Email address remains valid. Stude 8, I don't have the early axle p/n, but can probably come up with the later one as I have a 1936-46 Stude parts manual. The multi-make axles (I still have about 15 left) were all after-market, post WW2 production so far as I can tell. When I got them, most had tags from the NORS mfr (e.g., Republic). I confirmed ALL using seven different axle manufacturers' detailed catalogs.

Jeep windshield, Jeepster hood ornament and/or hood, too short a wheelbase for Jeepster (was 104") but perhaps a CJ chassis, modified Jeep/Jeepster/Jeep wagon front fenders.

Looks to me like a heavily retouched advertising photo for the Bronco in which the Mystery Wagon, which I would identify as a 1966 Generic, is an added two-dimensional background (in those days) probably an enlarged-to-life-size poster. Note the retouch on the Bronco license plate as well.