hchris

To me they look like the inner front valance panels, they enclose the area inside the front springs/chassis rails with another piece that closes under the radiator shell.

Well spotted, I am in error, the 7/8 refers to fuel level not float level

What they are saying is to adjust the idle speed so you could theoretically drive, on a level surface, at 5 to 10mph with your foot off the accelerator pedal. In reality just set the idle speed to a nice steady tickover speed whilst in neutral, typically 400 - 600 rpm, you can do this by ear, and don't get too fussed about the exact revs.

Dykes quote 7/8" static fuel level from top of the bowl (gasket removed) to top of the float.

I am always troubled when people put electric pumps on a vehicle of this era; given that you may not have any other option, you need to remember that the carb needle and seat mechanism were only designed to hold against a supply pressure of less than 1psi with the vacuum fed fuel system. I`m not surprised that you are experiencing carb flooding, if this is your only option I would mount the pump as far away from the carb as possible.

I recently helped a guy out with his 52 Dodge, he is replacing his second starter motor in 18 months, after changing to 12 volts; this one had solder running out of the commutator. Enough said.

So if the cam shaft is broken why did those two middle valves move up on the first crank over, and why are those same lifters rotating on subsequent crank overs ? Note the two centre valves moved up but didn't return; as odd as it sounds, I think the two centre valve springs are broken.

People generally fit electric pumps because the mechanical pump is at fault, in your case it seems the mechanical pump is not working at all (or has been un plumbed) based on the fact that the engine dies shortly after you turn the elec pump off. Whilst the elec pump is obviously doing its job there are a couple of things to consider; whenever its powered on it will be pumping, unlike the mechanical pump which stops when the engine stops, so if you were to be unfortunate enough to have a smash and the engine stalled, and you had a ruptured fuel pipe the elec pump will still be pumping, not a pleasant thought. Electric pumps, unless they have a regulator fitted, will often be designed to pump at a higher pressure/flow rate than the mechanical pump and usually this results in carb flooding as the float/needle seat mechanism is unable to combat the higher pressure. So ideally you might like to see if the mechanical pump can be resurrected and save yourself a lot of problems, failing that you might want to consider an impact/inertia switch to wire into the elec pump circuitry as well as ensuring you can somehow regulate the pump output.

Most enlightening, thanks for going to the trouble of sharing this information; mind if I copy it to a newsletter down here ?

From what I understand the CA/CB Chryslers were stop gap "conventionally" styled cars to counter the sales rejection of the Airflow, in which case I suspect they just used up old stock engines. As an aside they were an oddball dimensionally with a 241.5ci displacement, not found in any of the other Mopar products of the time which makes them a bit unique, and, going back to John`s original query, is why you probably wont get too many photos. Just another piece of trivia, the crank and block were apparently used in some of the later 30`s Dodge truck range.

Hi John - cant help you with good clear photos of an engine but can confirm that CA / CB are the same, in fact they were all stamped CA, there is no engine with CB prefix to my knowledge. These are the last of what we call the half water jacket engines, I have an incomplete disassembled engine; what specific info do you need, I may be able to snap a few pics if you don't get a better offer.

I note that you say "seems to be starving for gas", so my first reaction would be, find out if that's true before messing with anything. Can I suggest you pick a quiet piece of road and run it at speed until you encounter the problem; at this point, given its safe to do so, turn the engine off and coast to a suitable pull off spot, now see if the vac tank and carb have any, or correct levels, of fuel in them by lifting the top off either, assuming all this is achievable without too much difficulty. Like others, I have motored many miles with vac tank vehicles, not without problems, but have managed to make repairs without having to resort to electric pumps, pressure regulators, wiring, re plumbing etc.

I think you might be looking at the coolant tube which runs from front to back of the block alongside the valve seat area, this was the Mopar answer to save burning out exhaust valves by directing coolant through holes in the tube around the valve seat area inside the block, it was a very effective measure for cooler running. Unfortunately they would corrode in service leading to overheating; depending on engine condition they need to be replaced from time to time, access is from front of the block behind the water pump (see a kidney shaped port when the water pump is removed). Not a job for the faint hearted as bits usually break off when you try to remove the old one. Alternatively you could be looking at bits of sacrificial wire placed in the block during casting, they were designed to corrode before the block during the life of the engine, best left alone!

Replacing valve guides is not a home handyman job, they are pressed in and out (usually with heat) then need to be reamed very carefully to a close tolerance to suit the valve stem dimensions. As a rough estimate re fitting clearance, if you place the valve in the guide, hold your finger over the lower end of the guide, then lift the valve up and out of the guide, you should hear a soft "pop" and feel a little suction on your finger as the valve leaves the guide, this is a sign of a good fit. If the valve binds or wobbles about in the guide you really need some professional assistance in replacing the guide/s.

Sorry Joe, I know your intentions are good but with this side valve engine you can see the valves, not the piston, through the plug hole. As you have not mentioned whether the distributor has been removed, perhaps its worth checking to see if the timing is correct. As #1 has no compression then you can use #6 as your checking point; use the same principle as doing it on #1, feel for compression on #6 and watch for the timing mark until it comes to TDC on the front pulley, if all is correct then the distributor rotor should be pointing at the 2 o`clock (#6) position and the points will just be opening; you can loosen the clamp bolt and rotate the distributor body a small amount to get the points just opening if needs be. The fact you are getting a "pop" at least tells us that you have fuel and ignition happening but possibly not at the right time, just for the moment put the timing light aside and go through these few simple steps to see what results you get, you can finess things a little later.

Straw in the hole wont work, these are side valve engines and the spark plug is located over the valves not the piston. Like the sixes there is a threaded plug over the piston at #8, removing the plug allows you to insert a rod or wire, watch it rise to its maximum height as you bring #8 piston up to TDC, this will be on the exhaust stroke at the same time as #1 rises to TDC on compression stroke. When you achieve this then make a mark on the pulley and timing case so you don't ever have to do it again.

Well done and congrats for your persistence in getting it running. I second the "get a book to help notion", you might like to consider searching for something a little more detailed beyond the Instruction book that came with the car, books such as Motors Auto Repair manual or Chilton Auto Repair manual are generic all makes publications which cover vehicles from 1920`s to 1950`s, they have a wealth of information on repairs to all aspects for older cars. As to the oil, well 60 psi at start is not unusual (noting you said earlier you had packed the pump with grease) but it could also indicate the "hardened arteries" syndrome where the lube passages are clogged up, fairly prevalent where an engine has been dormant for a while. In this situation it is tempting to run a thin flushing oil through the engine and clean it out, the downside is that you will disturb a whole bunch of crud and block up the plumbing, I would be inclined to run it for a while with a "standard" oil and cycle through a number of oil changes in quick succession. If the valve gear (or any part of the engine for that matter) is not getting sufficient lubrication, then things will get noisy with a lot of mechanical clatter, if you hear some dull knocking noises then quit running real quick as this usually means the main crank and big end bearings are running dry, then you have a major problem. So keep up the good work, ask questions and go buy a book or two, you may just finish up like the rest of us, dirty but wiser.

Well not so surprising, a great many vehicles use the oil pump to drive the distributor, even today. If you think about it, the cam shaft is a logical item to drive both distributor and oil pump, so it makes sense to share the same drive.

OK it sounds like you have the side plate off to have access to the lifters, if so, then yes when #1 is at TDC then both lifters should be free, however due to the nature of the cam profiles these lifters will be free for quite a number of degrees of crank rotation either side of TDC. You need a more accurate way of determining TDC to set the ignition timing, the pointer access over the piston of #6 is really the only way you can sure; having said that, going back to the looking at the lifters you could get reasonably close by observing the #6 lifters at the same time as #1. Because #1 and #6 come to TDC at the same time, (1 on compression 6 on exhaust) observe the #6 lifters at TDC, they will be rocking - that is the exhaust will be closing and the inlet opening; at this point both 1 and 6 will be exactly at TDC give or take a degree or two. When engaging the distributor drive tang in the oil pump slot, the rotor cap should be pointing at 7 o`clock and the heel of the distributor cam should be just about to open the points, if the oil pump is out a tooth the rotor cap will be quite a way off the 7 o`clock position.

Oh dear, if you have moved the oil pump then it is highly likely you have moved the distributor timing; how are you determining the TDC position of #1, the only positive way is using the indicator rod over #6 as previously mentioned. When you have positively determined that #1 is at TDC then look to see where the dist. rotor is pointing; as others have said if you have a good spark and fuel you should at least get a kick out of it.

For the Maxwell, find the chassis number on the upper surface of the rear chassis rail (drivers side for you) in the area above the rear spring hanger, or if fitted, around the tail light / number plate bracket. I should be able to give you a better idea with that info however I would say by the look of it keiser is on the money.

Just as an aside, some of you may be interested (or not), this heater has been and still is a popular heating accessory for light aircraft to this day.

Its highly likely that the rear wheel cylinders are seizing "on" and not releasing after first application. Unfortunately this is a common problem with many of our older vehicles that don't get a lot of use, the wheel cylinder rubbers, when not in use, tend to have residue or corrosion grow around them and stick in place when the brake cylinder wall becomes corroded; after first application the piston and bucket seals move out under hydraulic pressure and then grab or partially stick "on" instead of returning to the released position. Sadly there is only one solution, remove the brake drums and repair or replace the cylinders, now removing the rear brake drums, well that's another saga entirely.

In the day your Desoto would quite comfortably cruise at 60mph, 70+ years on there are many wear and tear factors which may influence that number and without knowing the mechanical status of the car any helpful response will be pure guesswork. Perhaps you could also ask yourself whether the tires, brakes and steering are up to that sort of cruising, particularly if you are mixing it with todays cut and thrust driving styles.

As ply33 said, the mixture screw is only affecting idle mixture, as your problem is occurring at higher revs there will be a different fuel circuit at play within the carb; just pull the plugs and have a look at their color.