Paul Bohlig

Is it a 6 cylinder or an 8? If a 6 cylinder Romar may help. I put one on my 28' Std 6 and it made a world of difference. May want to double check with Romar about your cars' ignition points?

I put an electric fuel pump on my '28 Std 6. The first time without a regulator after the pump and before the carb. The pump overwhelmed the carb float. So went back to the vac tank which was intermittent. Several years later I put a regulator after the electric pump and set for 2 psi. If you look in the DBC club News on CD and John's 1 volume on Vic 6 I recall the gravity feed from the vac tank is about 1 psi. You need to see what works for you. Here in North Texas, Dallas, O'Reillys and NAPA have what you need. Imagine similar where you are. So, gas tank to fuel filter to electric pump to manual regulator (no electric required) to carb. Dress up the seat on your carb float using tooth paste or silver polish and run in the seat using a pencil with an eraser with the float off and just the seat turning. Clean the cleaner off completely and see how it runs. Always work outside and with a good fire extinguisher handy! Paul p.s. I finally got my vac tank to work and found the leak was as the 3/8" fuel inlet at top used for priming. Whatever you do run the engine until the fuel has run through the carb to the point of causing engine to stop running. Either a switch in the electric pump or the manual valve at the bottom of the vac tank. Otherwise carb will gum up as the fuel evaporates.

Try DBC site which references vendors. Myers Early Dodge, Romar and others are well known and valued in the hobby. Top notch. Also join the club for $ 25/yr. Buy the back issues of the mag on CD and especially the excellent Victory 6 CD put together by John Bittence the long time editor. Yes I know you have a Std. 6. I do as well: a 4 door sedan. But many items cross reference among the 6's; Std., Sr. and Vic. Best wishes. Paul B

There should be a casting part number on the head. This is not the engine number or car serial number. If you posted that number it might verify that offers of a head would actually fit your car before shipping a lot of metal a long way. Paul

I think I have the same issue with my '28 Std. 6. I located some shimsat NAPA auto parts in the US but have been reluctant to try because unsure how big the "fat end" should be. 1/4 inch seems like a lot but it worked for you! The Chilton repro 1931 Multi Guide page 272 lists caster at 2 2/3 degrees. I see on John B's Vic 6 CD that this can be measured by degrees of either the front axle or front wheel steering knuckle. I had this thought after an engineer friend showed me an app on his Iphone. It is a level which if I recall correctly showed degrees off center as well as a balance bulb. Anyone ever thought or herd of this method. Obviously need to wrap the Iphone in plastic to protect from the dirt and grease. Paul

The master parts book does not list 17963. There is a lens 17953 for 4 cy. late 1927 and early 1928. On my '28 Std 6 the tail lens is solid red, one piece, with the top and bottom defined by the plated cover piece holding the lens in the bucket.

Glad you got to the bottom of the problem. The tab washers are a bit hard to find but in the US Synders Ford Parts and Little Dearborn among other Ford Model T and A suppliers have them. Good idea to use fiber washer. I recall I put one in front of the center plate to hopefully absorb some of the kick back if the engine does not start right off. Too bad about your rebuilder. If he has others help with the work he might appreciate knowing his folks are missing some very basic steps. Agree, if he is the main and only guy maybe time to chalk it up to experience and move on. Best regards; Paul

Another trick is to have a person in the car push the cluth pedal all the way to the floor while a second person with the hood open measures the distance from the firewall on the engine side to the clutch pedal and make a wood piece to hold it open. Leave is for a couple of days or overnight to allow the goo to separate as the spring slowly releases the clutch. These things were notorius for leaking oil out the back. Remove the square plug on the underside of the clutch housing and probably oil will come out. Several people suggest leaving the plug out. On mine I drilled a 1/8 inch hole (approx 3 mm) through the plug to let future oil drain. This is of course a dry clutch but with the rear seal leak oil does get in. Some have had luck dropping the oil plan and replacing the rear seal available through Romar or Myers of Olson Gaskets or make one with modern sealant. I tried all these and it still leaks! Paul

Might want to try Romar or Myers Early Dodge. I bought an electronic ignition replacement distributor from Vern at Romar years ago. Runs sweet and has correct outside data plate and oiler. If these are still available you must have the correct coil. The standard 6v coil will burn out and leave you stranded.Paul

Many of us have had the gum varnished gas crud. I finally reduced mine by shutting off the fuel but let the engine run until it stalls from no fuel. On the vacuum tank shut the valve. If you are electric fuel pump put a switch in line. I put a toogle on-off on the passenger side on the bottom lip of the dash board. You would barely now if was there it you were not looking. Paul

Try this guy. Recommended on DBC vendor list although I have not personally used them: Ace Alternator & Starter Glenn Cheaney 5770 S Midland Wichita KS 6721 316 529 8854 800 843 2211 Ace Alternator & Starter Exchange Good luck; Paul

Also see DBC News Dec/Jan 1994 issue. Pages 24 and 25 tell how to adjust for a '18 DB starter generater chain. Seems yours should be the same. It is on the original 3 CD set of DBC News sold by the club. If you need it email me at: paulmarg@gmail.com and I will scan and email it to you. Paul

Doug Best wishes on a speedy recovery. We need all the straight 6 28-29-30 DB's we can get. Sounds like you are on the right path. God speed. Paul

Not sure if it it the same car. But, Gordon Anderson, 8642 Island Dr. South, Seattle, WA 98118 phone 206 725 2343 has a 1922 roadster for $ 12,950 which has been in the last couple of issues. Cannot tell from the picture if it has the top? Paul

According to page D-7-5 of the reproduction parts book they are NOt the same. Unfortunately the parts books does not give dimensions, etc. So cannot figure how far off; but I bet it would be noticed. Paul

Doug Safe travels. Remind us of what compression number achieved after the rebuild. Just cannot remember what the ideal would be. Paul

Up north in Minnesota if you did not have a garage, and even if you had an unheated one, in the winter the slush and sludge would cover the floor switch and your snow boots could not make contact with the switch?

Thanks JB-ed and gundog99: You are probably correct. Neither spring has a shim. I see them on ebay. I checked some of the Ford suppliers: Little Dearborn, Mac, Synder and no caster shims. Realize Ford did not use the double elipical front spring but certainly other old cars must have had a similar problem. Also, how can you measure caster angle if you do not have the now obsolete tools referenced in JB-ed's excellent CD in book 5, section D, pages 13-28? Paul

For the air cleaner: try an after market place such as O'Reilly, AutoZone, PepBoys. Look for a motorcycle air filter with a housing already around it. The one I run does not look original but I feel better. I wired it up so I can pull off to shoot some starter fluid before crank as I found these old 6's are pretty cold starts.

Doug Thanks, I thought the same thing after I sent the post. About 15 or 20 years ago I had a similar friend in Des Moines, IA who worked on my car but had not interest in becoming a business at his age. Such people are true treasures! Paul

Doug Make sure you replace the center plate as well. It was pot metal and broke easily on kick back. It acts as a center bearing and resists the kickback. Maybe yours already was replaced. Sometimes they were simply removed after fracturing. Paul

Hey Doug Great to hear of your progress. Could you give the rest of us some inside information on the engine rebuild and the starter rewind. For example names and emails of your vendors to be listed in the DBC News list of vendors. Paul

Thanks for all the great ideas. I checked all of them out. A neighbor mic'ed the passenger side outside spindle where the bearing rides and found spindle and Timkin bearing at .75. Showed him the drivers side up on jack and he thinks the wood wheel is sprung. So, be happy in the slow lane!Paul

My '28 DB Std 6 drives well until about 35 mph and then the front end shakes. I have had it aligned, new king pins, wheel bearings. I always assumed it was worn steering and or tie rods which are near impossible to replace. Today I jacked up the front end and measured the run out. How much right to left off center with the wheels straight ahead; measured by spinning the wheel with a tool box at the edge of side of the tire. It appears the wood wheels are out of true by 3/16 to 1/4 inch. This may explain the shake as the out of true is magnified as speed increases. Anyone else ever run into this and how do you fix short of sending to a wheel wright?

The starters are covered in the DBC News pp. 18-21 in the JUN/Jul 2006 issue which should be on the CD for sale from the DB Club. Both Myers and Romar each carry the center plate and the end cover made with modern metals. They are at: Myers Early Dodge ROMAR Home Page Also in the DBC list of vendors in the AUG/SEPT 2007 DBC News: Ace Alternator & Starter Exchange Glenn Cheaney Wichits, KS 800-843-2211 Ace Alternator & Starter Exchange I have not used him but some members have recommended him. Also, I have a complete SBH 6404 with a modern center plate but original pot metal end plate. Heavy to ship but I would rather not part out. Hope this helps. Paul