mrpushbutton

That score was written and recorded for this film, and is just right. The "Detroit Philharmonic" would have been a pick-up group comprised of Detroit Symphony players, working outside the structure of the symphony.

I could take one, or more, but both cars are out at our restorer's shop right now, the V-8 is being rebuilt at this time. They are pretty much your standard Ford engines from 1957.

The car with the Tony Curtis signature is powered by a 272 Cu. In. Y-block, the other one the collection owns has an in-line six.

I'm surprised he didn't chem-strip the block, the cylinder walls in the cooling passenges still look pretty crusty. That can impede cooling efficiency in an older engine, and rebuild time is a good opportunity to get that back to square one.

We have two of the Great Leslie cars made for "The Great Race", and two of the Hannibal 8s from the same film, at the Stahl Museum in Chesterfield Township, MI. They were made at Warner Bros. studios by the WB technical staff. The Great Leslie cars were made from the lengthened chassis of a '57 Ford F series pick up, they had a fleet of pickups at the studio to schlep goods back and forth. When this project came up they were about to replace the fleet with new trucks and wondered if these "antique cars" could be made out of a Ford Truck chassis. Warner Bros. talked Firestone into paying for a great deal of the construction costs of these vehicles in exchange for having the Firestone logo appear prominently in all scenes where the two cars appear. The Hannibal 8 (all 5 of them!) were built from the ground up, using Corvair drivetrain components. As cars...........................they are good movie props.

What about Dual-Ghia?

Definitely do the bug bomb thing. We used the type that come in a plastic cup similar to what a single serving of applesauce comes in. There is a pill inside the cup, you peel back the foil lid, take the pill out, fill the cup with water to a line and then drop the pill in, and the reaction starts, making the gas. We would tape all the door seams shut except the last door, then set the bomb off, close the last door and tape it off. Those are made to fumigate a 10' x 10' x 8' room, so the interior of a car gets gassed but good. Worked like a charm for us. Big hint: do this as the last thing of the day, before you go home. Moths be gone!

And his cousin, Phyllis Steen

I found this article in a 1926 of the Automobile Digest, magazine published for repair garages. A lot of good information presented here by the esteemed author, Mr. Ed U. Cator.

I know the people there. I'll find out what is going on. I used to work at the Museum in Auburn Hills, and worked with the folks from Historical. They are an amazingly small staff that gets a lot done. Danielle is a super person, and very professional. They are being jerked around a lot by corporate, I'm sure there's a good story in there somewhere.

Old wives tale completely unfounded in scientific principal. Look very closely at your mechanical fuel pump. What you will probably find is that the two halves are bent where the screw bosses are form years of over-torquing by gas station monkeys. Remove the pump, take out the old diaphragm and hold both pump halves together (as though they were assembled) and hold them up to the light. See all of that light between the two halves? that is preventing a good seal, especially as the diaphragm ages. Heat up (warm, not too hot) the halves and hammer those areas between the screw bosses to be more flat, then chase around the clamping surfaces with a flat file. You have to do the hammering back first, if you just file you are going to take off too much material. Get both halves closer to flat, they don't have to be perfectly flat, but close, then assemble with a new kit from then-now automotive. I really like their kits, they are made of the freshest material, formulated for what gasoline is at this moment. Get that pump sealed properly, that is your "vapor lock"

I knew a '38 Buick Special with pistons that were braking apart, the metail from the top ring groove to the top of the piston would break off, dance around on top of the piston and bend the spark plug gaps shut. Complete engine rebuild fixed that.

I would highly recommend the "Chem-Strip" method of block cleaning. A block that old has corrosion in the cooling passenges, and that is impeding the transfer of heat out of the engine. This method of stripping uses an alkline solution, though which an electrical current is passed. The block goes in filthy and rusty, comes out spotlessly clean, almost a bright silver color rather than a dull gray. One thing we did on all the engines we restored after this is to immediately coat all of the cast surfaces with DP-90 Epoxy primer and coat the inside of the cooling passenges with DP-90. Pour in an amount on the engine stand, tape off the openings and roll the block on the engine stand and pick it up by each end and make sure the primer gets everywhere inside. Drain the excess, and clean it off of any machined surfaces. These engines would go from overheating, temperamental things to running cool as a cucumber, no matter what. Go through the radiator core while the engine is out too--make sure it flows properly and is not coated with goo. BIG THING: Send the distributor out for re-bushing. It is as shot as the rest of the engine, and putting it back as-is is like taking a shower and putting dirty, sweaty clothes back on.

To start you need: Fuel, as an air/fuel mixture delivered to the cylinders Compression Spark Timing. I would look at the timing, and would reset the distributor. Remove the spark plug for #1 cylinder, hold your finger over the hole and bump the starter until you feel air pressure, then find and set Top Dead Center on the timing marks. Mark where the #1 spark plug wire (cast in the cap) lines up on the body of the distributor--Turn the distributor until the rotor points at that location, then turn the distributor in the opposite direction of travel until the points just break. Lock down the distributor, and it should start, then fine tune the timing with a timing light.

I like Dynamat as well. The problem with Jute is that it collects moisture. If your storage conditions are ideal, re: temperature and humidity Jute is fine, and very inexpensive. If you store the car in an environment that gets cold during winter, and is not protected against humidity that moisture can become a problem. The manufacturers didn't put much for paint on the floors of cars, usually just a coat of primer.

Much to their credit, Packards International has published a guide, sort of like this, not as thorough, but at least it's something. I thought the email list was a simple interim solution. Post your question to the group, get their consensus, or at least be entertained by their arguments, then choose paint colors/finishes.

The advice about going with a factory color from that year is spot on. I don't think a soul would know otherwise, or care. If you go "Kustom" folks will know from 100 yards away, but it doesn't sound like you are that type. As to what is what color under the hood--that unfortunately is a sort of game that the clubs play, and the PAC is no exception. The game goes something like this: "We half-dozen guys, who have known each other since 1960-something, who found all the good "original" cars, know what was done by the factory. We will judge your car when it is finished and (maybe) tell you what you did wrong" My bone of contention is: if you can tell me after I'm done why can't you tell me before I spend the time and material (=money)? I tried to get an email list going with the club and there wasn't a lot of interest. The Lincoln Club does a fantastic job--they take the factory exploded diagrams from the parts book and simply added the legend of the individual part's finish. That's a fair game, and it covers what happens when those "in the know" go the way of all flesh.

Knowledgeable gurus, what is the recommended rear end oil spec for this car? a friend is working on one at a local shop and asked me.

Not many big classics at the old car festival, more like genuine "Antique" cars. There are some big classics at the Motor Muster. If you want to see a lot of big classics find out when the Michigan Region of the CCCA has their Grand Classic (sometime in June) at either the Dearborn Inn or Greenfield Village.

That's auto mechanics 101. Of course, at age 34 he's a product of the "every child that leaves this school is going to college" movement. The schools all discouraged industrial arts training, sold off wood shop equipment for "safety reasons".

My rule of thumb has worked out to be: If it's a show about cars, on cable TV it probably is going to upset me. The majority of these shows are about rodding, customizing, DUBing, whatever. It is not about what we do, which is take a car and labor through years of neglect and reverse time until the car is like it was when new, or better than it was when new, with little or no profit margin. These TV shows need drama and they need a bottom line story that people who aren't mechanically minded, or not slavishly interested in history can relate to, and that usually comes to money. Most people are interested in money. In a way I see this as an impediment to getting young people involved in the hobby. This is what they see on the easiest medium in their home--people cutting, chopping, slamming, re-powering cars and no one restoring them. Our mission is basically unrepresented in this powerful medium. There was a very good show on years ago, a southern gentleman who knew his stuff would go through what I would describe as a typical antique car you would see at a show--a car that had cosmetic restoration and looked good but had various operational problems due to age, and the fact that at a crucial point some owner said "no, it runs fine, just make it look good". He was working on some Packards (my chosen brand) and was doing some really good, sound work. The show was a little dry, there was no silly manufactured deadline or personal drama in getting the work done. That show disappeared. We have Wayne Carlini, and that's it to represent our side of the hobby. I don't dislike Wayne, and agree with him a lot of the time, but again, his show is about how much money he can profit on each unit--to appeal to the masses.

Update: I looked through the Cadillac-LaSalle club registry and found that a local guy that i know owns the exact same car. I made arrangements and we went and saw the car. He was most accommodating, and we know a whole lot more now than before. This underscores the priceless value of the marque clubs. So many great people who are so generous with their knowledge and so very helpful to other sincere owners. The frames are all made of wood, which is terrific news, as my friend with the car is a master wood worker in his business.

At the RM "St.John's" (AKA "Motor City Auction") there was a NICE 1955 Packard Caribbean convertible that I worked on and knew, the only negative I can cite on the car was that it had been converted to the "Ultra-Torque" trans (Chrysler 727 TF) which may be seen as a plus by some. The car gaveled out at $42K, which for that car is cheap. It was bought by a speculator, and is offered for sale on his website now at a higher figure. My old boss also had a '55 Caribbean in the same auction, a better car (meaning REALLY nice, high point car) it only sold for $62K, and again, was bought by a wheeler-dealer and is for sale on his website. Both cars are a case where the buyer for that particular make/model/year was not there, or following the auction, and the cars went for a good price for the buyer.

Model 370C-178 Looking for a set of inside window frames for the above listed car. Looking for the inside window frames, they are missing from the car. Any leads would be appreciated. Also The car has a mis-matched Detroit Lubricator carb cover for one of the carbs, it has one with a proper V-12 plate, the other has a V-16 plate on top. Would like to trade a V-16 plate for a V-12 plate. Thanks!

Flackmaster, I will be available after I get Sarge and Lightnin' unpacked. If you can wait until then I'd be glad to help. You can pay me in food and liquor at the condo.