RoadsterRich

Warm thoughts and prayers are still coming ya'lls way... Rich

Mike, Wish I could make it this Saturday, but I'm bogged down with work. I have to wrap up some work issues so I can take the bulk of next week off to get ready for the show. Tons to do to get ready for the Youth program, and a bit to do to get "Miles" (the roadster) ready to trailer over for the youth to have as their reference vehicle for parts of the car, and how the car works, etc. Rich

Only 3 days left to register for the 2004 AACA Southeastern Division National Winter Meet in Melbourne Florida! http://www.2004meet.ccraaca.org/Registration.htm Hope to see you most of you here! Rich

David, if its snowing, I'll bring extra cocoa and coffee, as well as Krispy Kremes. I was going to buy Howard his own dozen of KK's, but haven't heard if he is attending or not. Hrrm... better buy him two dozen, by the time I charge the delivery fees there won't be any left with just a dozen Sure do hope you make it, would love to meet you... and everyone else too... well maybe except for that Wayne fell... oops. Seriously though Wayne, wish you could make it. Should be a great show, and at least no local snow here is likely. Rich Rich

So... I haven't heard from a soul... is anyone attending? Time's running out on getting things organized... let me know! Rich

The deadline for the Southeastern Division National Meet in Melbourne has been extended to February 26th. The host hotel and the adjacent hotel are booked, but several nearby hotels still have rooms available at discounted rates. For more information you can check out the web site for the show: http://www.2004meet.ccraaca.org Rich PS: I haven't heard from a single DFer... only 2 weeks to go... let me hear if you're planning to attend... so we can all get together.

Jim, I found in my mountain of antique radio links this link which shows some pictures. Turns out it is a 5-band radio, and rather rare. http://www.redwoodradio.com/car_radio_repair.htm I didn't look that closely at the schematics, as I was looking for application and date, not technical aspects. I'll keep my eyes open and see what other information pops up. Rich

Jim, The technical service data on Delco 985697 was dated 10/1/1940. It does indeed have shortwave (31Meter coverage). Unfortunately the service information contains schematics, alignment data, etc. Not really instructions on use or information on which model cars may have used it. The date should help narrow it down. If you need the service information let me know, somehow I missed indexing it on my website http://www.nostalgiaair.org however I will be fixing that omission shortly. In the meantime if you need it let me know and I'll fire off a copy to you. Rich

Fuel pump was one of the first things replaced, think I left that out. Will check out the exhaust pressure/convertor issue. The distributor and new cap will go in tomorrow, weekend got a bit hectic ended up with about 100 more projects than time... Thanks for all the input... I'm sure we'll eventually get it... just frustrating getting there. Rich

Just a follow up... compression is good, and within 3lbs from the lowest to the highest. No water in the oil, and when it does run, no white (or any for that matter) smoke from the exhaust either. I picked up a complete distributor for $35 at the salvage yard, on these everything is integrated in to one unit. They didn't have any distributor caps on them though, so I'll be heading over to Advance and pick up one from them. They sell one with a 'lifetime' warranty now, wonder if thats my life, the cars life, or the life of the cap? I'll try them out tomorrow and see how it goes... Rich

I took our daughters 1989 Toyota Camry, has the 4Cyl 2L engine in it, fuel injected to the shop. Everything is stock on the car. The car stalled and died on her at a red light. She got it restarted, and made it to a friends house. No problems prior to that. When I got to the car it had a pin hole in the upper radiator hose. The radiator fluid was down less than 1/2 a gallon. I replaced the radiator hose, the car was a little tough to start but did start. I got maybe a mile towards home and the car stalled. After that it ran rough and would stall when I put it in gear, nursed it about another 1/2 mile. Finally had it towed to a friends shop. The mechanic says there are no codes in the computer, there is spark and the fuel injectors are delivering fuel, as is the cold start injector. The car is hard to start, and if you can get it started it stalls as soon as it is put in gear. The mechanic has tried swapping out the AFM, and the injectors. He swears that every component tests fine, but the car just won't run. The pin-hole hose leak was aimed at the distributor and soaked it with radiator fluid. I am of the opinion that the problem is likely with the distributor cap/coil/module. I don't have the car in front of me, but if I recall the coil is inside the distributor cap, not sure where the module is. Is it worth my time to buy a new cap & coil (about $70) and see if this solves it? The car has been down for nearly three weeks, mechanic is frustrated, I'm frustrated, he's a friend doing this for free, he doesn't usually work on imports, you get what you pay for Any suggestions or ideas are greatly appreciated. The budget is tight at the moment, lots of unexpected family expenses in the last couple of months... so cheap solutions are good solutions at this point, as long as they work... Thanks! Rich

I can't say particularly good or bad things about FarmerBob. I have bought from him on several ocassions over the past couple of years. Usually the item descriptions are accurate, though sometimes just vague enough to let us read what we want to rather than what we should in to them. I've had a few 'condition' disagreements with FarmerBob, however the items are what the auction states they are, just don't read in between the lines. Ask him specific questions, pin him down and make sure you are getting exactly what you think you are. I emailed FarmerBob about the auction which started the thread. I told him I noticed the word 'copy' in the description, here was his response: From: <*****> Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2004 08:55:22 EST Subject: Re: Question for seller -- Item #2213228759 To: <*****> X-Mailer: AOL 5.0 for Mac sub 28 Copys......Made on a copy machine..... ..... Bottom line with FarmerBob is, that while I don't always agree with his perception of condition. He has always been upfront with direct answers when I ask him questions. I generally don't do business with him these days unless he has something I can't get elsewhere, but he has never been dishonest when asked a direct question. Here are some things to remember. This applies to all auctions, these are in no way related to experiece with FarmerBob. They are generalizations from my eBay experiences. 1) NOS doesn't mean like new... it means 70 year old parts that have at best been sitting on a shelf in a box for nearly a century. 2) If the word 'copy' or 'copies' appears in the text of paper matters, it is usually a photo copy, and from most ebay vendors is not the best of quality. 3) Feedback, positive or negative, alone does not speak to the quality of items sold. Some folks will whine about nothing, others will just not leave feedback rather than start a feedback feud. For a given feedback entry to be of any real value it needs to be objective, it is not, it is totally subjective. You don't usually know the person that left it so you have no basis for evaluating the 'objectiveness' or 'subjectiveness' of the feedback. Feedback is at best a generalization of the 'honesty' of the seller. 4) Don't count on eBays lack of action to be the same as their having investigated and resolved an issue. And a suggestion... if there is a part you really need, and it isn't cheap... have someone who doesn't need the part review the auction ad and give you their opinion. Some of us (well at least me) tend to get excited when we find a part we need, and often lack of information is translated to assumptions on condition. Lack of information lets us assume things, don't... send emails, ask questions, if you are ignored or the answers don't match up... move on... there almost always will be another one up for auction eventually. Rich

Glad the Red Head worked out for Ed. Sure wish it had been the one for the 77 like I was told when I bought it. Oh well, glad it found a good home. My car projects are seperated by distance as well as years. The '30 Chrysler gets worked on during the week, the other cars are weekend tinkerers. Mainly due to the location of vehicle storage, the Chrysler gets the primo garage space at my folks house, the other cars are relegated to tarps and carports. Rich

Randy, Any information would be a great help. I have a hand sketch someone drew from memory for me, but so far that is all I have to go on. Rich

Well it has been awhile since I last confessed to my progress... 1930 Chrysler 77 - frame is almost (some minor tweaks) ready to paint. Paint will be here Tuesday. Engine block is ready to paint. All brake components are here, and ready to be installed once the painting is done. 1959 Jaguar Mk IX Saloon, transmission is working well. Seem to have developed a sticky right front caliper, will be addressing that in the near future. Rear carburetor ocassional drip has become a constant drip. Full carburetor rebuilds in the near future. Colleen started the body work... we'll see how this goes. 1974 Fiat 124 Spider - swapped heads, installed carburetors, flushed fuel tank, etc. New head gasket seems to have a slight coolant leak issue, will retorque head and see how that goes. Fuel pickup filter screen is clogged to the hilt, will need cleaned. Have not touched the rusted through floor pans, or other minor body work issues yet. 1981 Mustang LX - looks like it is going to be sold... needs an engine rebuild and I have too many projects, it is simply too low on the food chain. 1982 Fiat 2000 Spider - Cranks and tries to run, but stalls, usually with a small backfire when the starter is disengaged. Have tinkered with timing forever to get it to run this well. I hate electronic ignition, points are so much easer to work with. Well that's it for the projects... the daily drivers are another story... Suburban needs an ac compressor clutch coil... '89 Toyota Camry unknown ailment, hard to start, stalls when you put it in gear, '91 Oldsmobile needs some minor rust work resolved before it becomes more than minor... Well that's the short version... Rich

Okay gang. If folks want to meet up and chat, or do whatever it is when we aren't in front of our computers, I'll be set up most of the day at the "Youth & Juniors" program area in the midst of the show field at the 2004 AACA Southeastern Division National Winter Meet, in Melbourne Florida, Saturday March 6th. If I get an idea about how many might show up I'll see about stocking up on the staples... Krispy Kreme's & Coffee. For the true computer addicts, if all goes well there will be a computer with Internet connection in the youth area, so you can check the forums while visiting! Rich

Okay, now that it is organized who is coming? Oh and what am I providing (aside from the fresh KK's of course! Hrrm... I only have about 30 minutes though, have to be at the "Junior" program (also meeting at class 5) at 1:30... Any interest in a Thursday Dinner, or Friday DF'ers lunch or breakfast maybe? All the other meals are pretty well picked over by the usual meet events. Rich

Okay who's planning on attending it's just 4 weeks away (boy do I have alot to get done!). Any interest in the DF'ers getting together over the course of the meet? I'll be at the "Youth Pavilion" most of the day, just remember in this crowd "Youth" is "40 and under." If you are at the meet, swing on by and say hello. Hey Howard, you coming down? If so I'll double up on the Krispy Kreme supply! The Roadster will be in the youth area as an exhibit, assuming I get it reassembled enough to get on the trailer in the next four weeks. So you can see first hand just how many mistakes I've made so far (too many to count mind you!). Depending on timing may have one of the Jaguars in the youth area as well, however not sure I can swing the transportation. Remember our cold days have had highs in the 50's, and mostly we're in the mid to upper 70's! Sure do hope lots of the DF'ers turn out... the information on the meet is at: http://www.2004meet.ccraaca.org Would be great to meet more DF'ers and to shoot the breeze a bit. So ya'll c'mon down and enjoy our hospitality, and lets get the DF'ers together! Have some fun in the sun! Rich

Bob, Right now it looks worse than it did 3 months ago. However, hopefully soon it will start looking better... I'll get some pictures up in the next week or two. Work and family have been tough on the free time since Christmas. My cousin died 2 days before Christmas, my mother collapsed and was rushed to the hospital 2 days after Christmas and spent a couple of weeks in the hospital. Right after she got out my father had surgery for cancer, 2 days after that Colleen was put in the hospital for heart issues. Last week my father had his second round of surgery, hopefully the last for awhile. On top of that we are crunching to deliver a new product to a client at work, and I picked up 2 more cars to work on. The side yard now houses 1958 & 59 Jaguar Mk IX Saloons, 1974 Fiat 124 Spider, 1981 Mustang LX, 1982 Fiat 2000 Spider and a 1986 Jaguar XJ6 VDP. On top of the 30 Chrysler 77 Roadster in my folks garage. Plus there's the family's 6 Daily Driver/Utility vehicles on top of those. Hrrm... I must need more projects, I still have time to pop on here and type stuff in. Oh yeah, and first of next month is the National Meet down here, the Roadster won't be ready, but it will be there on display in the 'youth' area for the kids to touch and learn about cars with... How many hobbies do you know where the "Youth" area is for kids 40 and under? Rich

Bill Hirsch does not supply the color I need, nor did they seem to have any interest in dealing with me when I called them. They did however suggest some other vendors, none of whom could help either. I had the color custom mixed locally because I could find no one selling the proper color. Eastwood suggested the local Chrysler dealer, however they go by the "everything before 1942 was black" mantra, which I know in my case is certainly not true. Rich

I purchased the enamel to paint my engine block, it is an acrylic enamel (Dupont, recommended by the local auto paint supplier). They suggested using Nason Ful-Base 441-21 Medium Reducer, and Transtar Super Wet Look 8105 Acrylic Enamel Catalyst. I have concerns over the super wet look catalyst. They recommend it because they say it provides a harder, more chemically resistant finish. I do not however believe that my engine would have originally been anything close to a wet look enamel finish. Is it safe to bypass the catalyst or is a catalyst required or a good idea? And if so, what would be an apropriate catalyst to provide a 1930's vintage engine enamel level of 'gloss' finish? More paint questions to follow... as I finish prepping the block for paint work... Thanks! Rich

I have a brand new black carpet for a 1974 Mercury Cougar. This carpet was manufactured by Auto Custom Carpets. It has never been installed, it was removed from the box and inspected before putting it up for sale. Photographs are available on request. The carpet is pressure molded to fit the floorpan, and has the original style heel pad. I have the complete specs for the carpet if additional information is desired. I've seen these go for over $100 on auction sites and at shows/swap meets, I'm open to reasonable fair offers. Rich

Travis, Welcome aboard! Congratulations on beginning your first restoration. The AACA technical forum is a great resource for information and assistance while restoring a car. Another great source is: http://www.vcca.org/ The Vintage Chevrolet Club of America. They have their own website and forums. There is also the Chevrolet forum here on the AACA site, though I do not know how active it is: http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=Chevrolet I'm sure other more knowledgeable folks will provide you with other great resources. Looking forward to hearing your tales as you progress... Rich

I am trying to assist a friend who's helping a Widow sell off her late husbands collection of car parts. Among the collection is what appears to be a complete Saab 3 cylinder engine, with a triple Solex carb setup on it, even has the original air filter with it. Photographs can be provided should there be any interest in the engine. It does turn over freely, however it has been in dry storage for some time, no other tests (compression or otherwise) have been performed. The engine currently resides in the Tampa/St. Pete area of Florida. Rich

Thanks for the info! Looks like they are mid 70's SAAB based on all the information I have gathered. This leaves their collection of engines that are not seized, and appear to be basically complete engines pulled from cars, not cannibalized as: 2 - SAAB V4's - Mid 70's 1 - SAAB 3 Cylinder w/Triple Solex Carbs - 1967/1968 (really only made them in 1967 I am told) 1 - Morris A30 4 Cylinder engine, Late 60's or early 70's. Is there any way to get an estimate for value on these? They need an idea on them and I have no clue... some expert I am huh? well then again I never claimed to be an expert, just offered to try to find the information out for them... Thanks all. Rich