hchris

If you are not too fussed about originality, consider a tailshaft from a wreck a few years younger, with conventional u joints, and have a machinist graft on the ends to your existing shaft. Saves a lot of angst when you can purchase u joints just about anywhere

On the lower front pulley you should have a timing notch cut into the pulley, on the front of the timing case cover you should have a pointer; the idea is to turn the engine over by hand until these two marks are aligned. Makes it easier if the plugs are out; and if you put your thumb over number one plug hole as you go, you can confirm you have number one on compression stroke by feeling the pressure build up as number one piston comes to top dead centre. Having achieved this you can now see where number one lead should go by lifting the distributor cap and note where the rotor button is positioned, all things being equal it should be pointing to the number one spark plug position; we are assuming here that the distributor has not been removed from the engine. I should mention take note which way the rotor button is turning as you hand turn the engine, with the distributor cap off of course and you should be turning the engine over in a clock wise direction as you face the front of the engine The firing order for most, if not all, straight six engines is 1/5/3/6/2/4, knowing which way the rotor button was turning now means you can progressively connect up all the other plug leads in correct order. Oh by the way normally this would have been a six volt engine but what you have will do the job, should you choose to maintain twelve volt electrics there will be other issues involving light bulbs, wiper/heater motors etc.

Dont like to add to your woes mate but I have a 25 Maxwell, owned it for 10 or more years now, I do all the swap meets etc. I can confirm that these parts are vey thin on the ground down here and you may just have to resort to later model parts. Early Chrysler 4s share a lot of componentry with my era and are relatively easy to find bits for, even the 28/29 Plymouths share similar engine/transmission pieces. Good luck !!

Over the years I have noticed large capacity vac tanks at swap meets, they apparently were fitted to trucks of this era perhaps you might find one of these. The other thing I have observed is the number of engine fires where electric pumps have been fitted. Typically a backfire has initiated the fire, and the electric pump which continues to work just fuels the fire. As to going uphill or pushing into a headwind with the throttle wide open, you will lose vacuum and eventually lower the vac tank level to the point where the carb will starve for fuel. My 25 Maxwell vacuum is drawn by the engine oil pump so it doesnt suffer these problems, makes me wonder why other manufacturers didnt follow this practice, plus if the oil pressure failed then the engine would run out of fuel and stop thus preventing further damage; lateral thinking perhaps ?

Just curious, when you say what gas is left in the bowl is hot; just how much is left? In other words I am wondering if you have a fuel feed problem rather than a vapor lock. Yes the fuel in the bowl will be hot after you stop the engine due to heat soak, not necessarily that hot whislt fuel is flowing through it with the engine running; of course in the time you take to remove the carb top some of the bowl contents will evaporate. As to the engine temperature, can you hold your hand on the bottom radiator hose with the engine running after you have done 10 miles? if not then your engine is definitely running too hot despite what the moto-meter is telling you. If you can, then temps are OK and unless you have an exhaust leak near the carb then vapor lock is probably not an issue whilst you are moving. Chris H

Good work Roger,nothing beats detailed knowledge!! Chris H

Dan; not sure about the Dodge but with the other Mopar stuff (as well as many other makes) the horn wire travels down the centre of the steering column and exits through the bottom of the column at the steering box where you also have the lighting switch mechanism. Because this wire twists with the inner steering column it often chafes and wears through the insulation at the bottom of the column and earths itself out whenever you are turning; possibly even worn or chafed anywhere inside the column as well. Chris H

Hi Trevor, where are you located? there are very active Chrysler Restorers Clubs in NSW / VIC and SA who would be able to give you assistance. Many of these cars exist within these clubs so just get onto the Chrysler Restorers website and contact your nearest branch. Chris H

From my understanding most vehicles of this era have a centre zero ammeter, as you first described, and that is the type fitted to my vehicle; it shows the current flow to and from the battery. The problem with the other (load style) ammeter is that you cannot tell if the generator has failed; hence you will be running on battery output until it also fails. Chris H

Thanks Ken, I pretty much gave up on further comments after the thread was corrupted by all the other unrelated brakes and lighting junk. I have come to the conclusion that the generator output, once set by the third brush, will remain high under no load conditions and one has to live with it by keeping an eye on the battery electrolyte levels; especially when long daytime runs are involved. Chris H

Will this help with the 3rd brush charge rate ??

OK thanks for the replies, I was unsure of the regulating capabilities of third brush systems; seems like the battery resistance is the only control factor. Hmmmmm just wondering if resilvering the headlights will improve my braking ?

Having a 1930s car with 3 brush generator installed I recently completed a week long tour and noticed that the amp meter showed a consistent 15 - 20 amp charge all day long. I moved the third brush from one extreme of adjustment to the other but could not reduce the output below these figures, I finally resorted to driving an hour or two at a time with headlights on which caused the amp meter to drop back to the centre of gauge. Whilst I expect to see a high charge rate initially after using the starter motor I would expect for this rate to drop off as the battery recharged, I might add the battery is almost new and in good condition. Am I being overly concerned with this situation ? My maintenance manual says to set up the generator I should position the third brush to give an output of 22amps / 8.2 volts at 1800rpm, my concern is that these are the maximum output figures under full load, I expect that on a lenghty daytime drive I should see little or no charge on the amp meter once the battery is recharged after start, or have I got it all wrong ?? Any old sparkies out there with this background ?? Thanks Chris

You are pretty much dead in the water if you start without a pattern. My restoration started with sketching / tracing / photos etc. of existing wood work before any dismantling was done, even rotted wood can be held together temporarily with glue or tape so as to try and get some sort of pattern. Having done that you pretty much remove (carefully) the metal skin from the existing wood work and do your cleaning / rust repairs / panel beating etc. Sort out your timber requirements (quality hard woods are a must, proper graining etc.)- seek advice if you are unsure, remember this is the internal strength to you body work. Now its a matter of shaping / cutting / sanding the skeleton from this timber to form your shapes to support the metal panels. I worked with one panel at a time ie rear tub, front cowl then to doors and so on, of course you will also have to cut and shape the under frame which goes between the body and the chassis; this will support the steel brackets which hold your upper body framework to the chassis. Generally you will then have to fix your metal panels to this skeleton with nails / screws, glues etc. The real fun part begins when you get to fitting the doors,hoods and access panels; be prepared for lots of cursing and swearing as you try to get the door gaps right, hinges hung correctly and so on. Dont be too proud to use scraps of timber for hidden packers / spacers etc.to achieve some form of alignment because if you had the luxury of dismantling the body in the first place you will find thats how they were when they left the factory !! All sound too hard? just persevere its worth the effort and dont plan on getting it right first time around. Good luck CJH

Hi Ed - sounds like a fuel (or lack of) issue so start with a few simple tests : when it stops is there fuel visible in the inline filter to the carb ? can you remove the air cleaner and look down the throat whilst working the accelerator linkage, you should see fuel being pumped into the throat, caution! this may indicate there is still some residual fuel in the accelerator pump mechanism but not enough in the float bowl to keep the engine running. if not too difficult - remove the top off the carb float bowl and see if there is any fuel in there. At least with these checks you can establish if the carb is starving for fuel, assuming this is the case then work backwards through the fuel pump, tank, vents etc. Good luck Chris H

I think you will find that over the years owners have swapped drums in order to have the same drum/studs all round. My involvement with Mopars over the past 30 years has shown that the practice of left and right thread studs was common from the introduction of steel wheels right up to the 60s.

Bhigdog - thats interesting, down here its actually illegal for aviation fuel outlets to sell to motorists, I think its because of the lead issues; however there is provision for a permit to be granted to a motorist who can justify the need to use it such as race car operators etc. CJH

Avgas goes off just like any other fuel, I have access to it from time to time and find its better to use it straight away rather than store it. From memory earlier this year I had a 20 litre drum stored for 2-3 months came to use it and the car just wouldnt run. As to harmful effects, well yes it still contains a percentage of lead which we are told is bad for the environment, as to engine performance its great - 100 octane makes the old girl get up and go !! CJH

Well done Sherlock, sometimes its just the simplest answer but so frustrating !! CJH

PHD - your summary is technically correct re increasing fuel pressure to reduce vaporisation, however, those of us with vac.tank vehicles should be aware that our fuel systems were designed to run on 0.5psi delivery pressure. As the average electric pump is designed for 3-5psi you stand the chance of creating more problems than you set out to cure. Whilst there are certainly vehicles out there with inherent vaporisation problems by design, a properly maintained vac. system is quite capable of dealing with todays fuels; my own experience with a 1925 Maxwell, in summer temps well into the high 90s, using 91 octane bear this out. By all means consider the easy fix with an electric pump but just be aware you may be creating more problems than you started out with and you may still have a feed problem. CJH

Just a thought, did you reassemble master cylinder internals in correct order ? How about cracking the pipe open out of the master cylinder whilst someone pushes the pedal down to at least see if you have pressure from the master cylinder ? CJH

OK Dan not wanting to confuse you,I am suggesting that you either have a fuel feed problem or a vaporising problem as two seperate issues. First, and I suspect that this is most likely, you may have a fuel feed problem for a variety of reasons. The best way to check this is when the engine dies you need to immediately lift the top of the carb bowl and see what the fuel level is, ie can you identify whether the engine has stopped due to lack of fuel. To achieve this you will need to shut off the vac tank / carb tap to remove the possibility of fuel running into the carb whilst you are undertaking this task. In the event this is the problem then you obviously need to find the solution - has the vac tank got sufficient fuel ? as someone else suggested, are the vents to vac tank and filler cap clear etc.etc. Second, vaporisation - the original lines were copper tube and as you say run in close proximity to the exhaust. It is possible that these lines are vaporising but more likely that heat soak through the manifold and within the engine bay is enough to cause the fuel in the carb bowl to vaporise, the only way to prove this would be insulating the lines and maybe a heat shield for the carb. As I understand it the car runs OK on a cooler day ? this in itself would point to vaporisation, or was it just coincidence ? So first up try and establish if it is running out of fuel, if not then see if you can keep the heat off the carb and fuel line. CJH

OK how about this, at the point when it dies on you, can you quickly turn off the fuel from vac tank to carb, then take the top off the carb float bowl to see if there is any ( or correct level ) fuel in the bowl. If you find little or no fuel in the bowl then you have a fuel feed problem, if on the other hand the carb bowl is full then you can start down the vaporising fuel trail. If vaporising is the issue you might consider insulating the fuel lines in some manner rather than moving the vac tank. For what its worth I have a 25 Maxwell with vac tank directly above the exhaust manifold & I have yet to experience vaporising problems. CJH

Many thanks John

Can anyone advise where I might purchase new / new old stock head gaskets for Dodge 4 ? Thanks in advance CJ