50Traveler

I looked today at a really nice, but not nice enough '48. Really nice but neglected interior with good door panels. Not even the drivers seat had any wear. I found no real rust on it. It had all the added components of DriveMaster under the hood but I doubt it has been used or changed in some time. The person selling it on behalf of the owner is not especially familiar what makes Hudsons such amazing cars. He was given the job of getting it in motion after a long rest. It is running off of a tank under the hood and only driven between storage and this rod shop to show potential buyers. Biggest turnoff is the careless paint job. Right now there is one likely buyer on deck who has already confessed to putting in a chevy V8. The thought of it hurts my soul. It is listed on Facebook Marketplace in Warsaw, NY which is about an hour south of Rochester. I can forward a link if anyone needs it. Thank you, Justin

This issue resolved itself. After many conversations with the seller the car disappeared from Craigslist. That's OK, there are others. In fact, today I venture into Canada to collect a similar car that I had shipped over from British Columbia. That presents a whole different set of issues but I am prepared and the paperwork is complete.

A friend is pretty new to his Metropolitan so I have been walking him through various bits and pieces under the hood. In the vacuum line to the distributor advance pot there is a vertical canister that I have only seen in other small British cars like a Morris Minor. What is its purpose? I have googled about and found replacements, but not an explanation of what it does. Thank you, Justin

I have been looking at a vintage British car that was imported about 15 years ago and has been through two owners since then. The current owner has not registered it and the only paperwork he is able to show me is two insurance cards (Yes, from Hagerty), from the previous owner in Illinois, membership documents for a British roadside assistance company, and a window sticker from the garage it had been sold from in the UK. What should there be? Would Illinois have issued a title or a transferable registration on something this old? It’s a '63. What would the current seller in Pennsylvania have needed from him to register the car in his state? Thanks for any information, Justin

I wish. I have pushed and pulled, tugged and yanked, shoved hacksaw blades along the shaft front and back, worked my arm up from the bottom behind the upholstery, and can't make any headway. There is something on the shaft but I can't see it or feel around it enough to figure out how to make it release.

I have the shop and owners manuals. Still can't find what I am looking for. The hunt continues

On my everyday driver I need to remove the headrest so that I can carry a long item over the front seat of my 1984 Reliant wagon. I have had suggestions to shove hacksaw blades along the stem but I have tried this both front and back without success. I did chew up the plastic escutcheon a bit and hate the I marred something along the way. Any suggestions? I can't find anything in the shop manual either. Thank you,k Justin

Thank you. I will definitely be on the lookout for rust, especially soft floors. Any other typical rust spots unique to these? It is a NE car, suddenly cast out into the elements this year. Shiny paint in photos could be hiding lots of stuff. I will check the manifold by ear and sight.

I am going to drive 7 hours tomorrow to look at a '46 Super. It looks to be in really good shape but pictures were taken before the seller lost storage and it has been outside all this winter. Are there any predictable weak areas or areas/systems prone to trouble with these? I have been fiddling around with old cars and doing most of my own work for 40 years, and while a sedanet body has been on my wish list for decades this is the closest I am to bringing one home. Thank you for any info, Justin

I am slowly tackling the various bugaboos in my car. Latest question is what is the likely cause of the service engine light coming on/flashing once my tank gets to be about a quarter full? Once I fill the tank it goes off. I also need to replace the front parking brake cable. If anyone has hints to do that please share them with me. Thank you, J

Last night it was resolved. Electrical contacts in the governor were the culprit. Thanks for adding this info. Every bit helps. Justin

I have been all over the forum looking for an answer but haven't found it. My Traveler shifted fine and so does my '47 DeSoto. The car I am working on now is a '49 Gyromatic Dodge. I can't get the tranny/fluid drive combo to cooperate in the one to two upshift in the shifter's upper right position. The 3-4 upshift if fine, works smoothly, no clunking up or down. Why would one work and the other not? Fluid levels are fine. Thanks for any suggestions. Justin

Thank you 28 Chrysler. The cable from dash to fins is in three pieces. Only on the center portion does my little AA battery circuit tester not light up to indicate an unbroken conductor from the male plug to the inner female receptacle on the other end. I am guessing that is my problem causing limit reception of few stations. AND: Norman Pitkin, I believe I have the Mopar 802 in my '47 DeSoto. It is the vertical mount model with the chrome pushbuttons? The antenna wire from a standard antenna with a plug like the one described above fits but it was a snug fit that had to aligned carefully for the final squeeze. I had trouble with it, mostly because I am not that coordinated when I am upside down and crooked and my face is smushed by the brake pedal. Thank you both, Justin

A project for a snowy day has been to trace the antenna wires on my '60 DeSoto. I have two under the dash, two antennae mounted on the rear fins, and wasn't sure what was between. Only the right antenna had a wire to it but it is a different wire than what runs under the sills to the radio. Now that I have dissected and studied most of the situation I have a few questions. Why a Coaxial cable? Though at a distance, the outside layer seems to ground the antenna to the radio but where does the inside wire go. Does that go directly to the antenna and doesn't touch the car body or chassis in any way?. I'd like to run a new cable front to back but the body of the antenna doesn't have a simple outlet for a terminal and I need to repair what is there somehow. Thank you for any input. It is always appreciated. Justin

Thank you all for chiming in with advice. I will get back under with a more focused search. I'll report back. Justin

Before I dare go to the shop again, I wanted to see if people could share with me their experience in locating noises under their Reattas. I have been under the car a bunch of times but I can't replicate real road experiences by reaching, pushing, pulling, and jiggling every part. The noise seems to come from underneath, on the right side, and more from the front than the back. On smooth roads all it fine, I think gravity is working in my favor. On minor road irregularities, whether going straight or turning, there is mild clunk. It makes this otherwise wonderful car seem fragile and cheap. I am willing to explore any suggestions but am wary of going to a garage without knowing what the cause is. The last attempt cost way too much and changed nothing. Thank you for any guidance and experience you can share. Justin

Ouch is right, but $1,296.22 bought an oil change and a brake line repair, PLUS: front struts, coil springs, upper mounting plates, and a sway bar link plus labor. It went back a week later to weld a heat shield in place and replace some suspension grommet at no charge. The discovery of the CV problem happened after I brought it back Friday morning because there was still a noise that they could not hear. I demonstrated it to both mechanic and manager. When I swapped out the snows for the summer tires I did notice that the plastic accordion strut covers were crumbling apart and were partly missing. Today the leather was cleaned and protected and the carpets shampooed of any mechanic prints. I love a clean car, especially my Buick spacecraft. J

The knob behind the right hand tuning knob is the fader. The radio is built to serve both setups, with and without the rear speaker. I need to know about the socket in the rear and where to insert what wires to hook up the rear speaker and make the fader knob work as it should. Any ideas? Thank again, Justin

A few weeks back I took my 44,000 mile 1990 Reatta to the shop so they could find a newly annoying intermittent soft clunk. Two trips and $1300 later the noise is still there and it has now been traced to some side to side movement in the front right cv joint. They are suggesting that I live with it because these parts are the original and they were much better then what they could get to replace it. The mechanic and manager both took rides with me and described the original shafts as solid steel and the new ones as plastic filled steel tubes. I have been going to and trusting this shop for almost 25 years, but noises like this cheapen the smooth solid feel of the car and I need to get some feedback. Thanks all, Justin

My 1960 DeSoto came from the factory with the optional rear speaker. When I got the car it had a radio from a 1961 which had a slightly different appearance that turned out to be more than jsut switching a face plate. Now I am installing the correct radio and want to hook up the rear speaker. In the back there is a four hole socket with a jumper wire between the bottom two holes. The front speaker wire has separate wires and so none of the this sockets holes are for the front speaker. What do I do to hook up that rear speaker? Is there a four prong plug? What do each of the 4 holes provide, 2- and 2+??? Thanks for any info. Justin

I bought these two years ago when I first began my odyssey to have my window frames re-woodgrained. I finally have them installed and it worked out pretty well. The second wood grainer only did a so so job on them but at least I have my car in one piece. The first grainer disappeared and so did my frames. When I was searching to replacement vent rubbers I found the nicest and most reasonable from Metro Moulded. The bigger problems I was having with the install had nothing to do with the rubber but with the newly glassed vents not fitting well with the main door window. It is a compromise for now until I get really ambitious to open up the door. For now I made things work better with a dremel to the glass. The car never sees rain, but the rubber doesn't provide the same seal as the old ones did. I love the car but I kinda wish I had never started this job. J

Good Morning all, I am struggling to install new rubber in the vent windows of the front door garnish moldings. The new rubber matches the old nicely, but despite its fresh flexibility it is not going well. Any hints? Thank you for any advice and experience you can share. Justin

After losing 2 years and the parts I sent to a wood grainer who vanished, I need to find someone else who is experienced, talented, reasonable, reputable, not too far away from Rochester, NY, and won't take too long to recreate the wood grains that were original to the door garnish moldings around the windows of both doors on my 1947 DeSoto Custom. I can share many pictures of what was there and can remove and show the garnish moldings that are around the rear windows. I may have found replacements but they are not nearly in the good clean and solid condition that mine were in. I wonder how much work is needed to make these work as they look to be uniformly rusty but not rotted. If you can please suggest someone. If you have such a business feel free to respond too.

Mine have disappeared along with a phantom vendor who was to redo the woodgrain. I sent them to him 2 years ago and after a lot of iffy communication there is no sign of him or my frames. I removed all the parts to them except for the chromed piece that the vent window latches too. My car is a 1947 DeSoto Custom coupe but I believe the frames from a business coupe will fit too and other years, 1941 - early 1949 will be the same. The attached photo is what I am looking for. If anyone can recommend a competent and capable person to recreate the original two-patterned grain please share that info too. Thank you so much, Justin

In his shop the first car is a '66 Oldsmobile 98. The windows are all opaque with dust. Looking through the one window I dusted off I did think there was a body inside. It was a blanket-bundled long part that was too long for the back seat and was leaning against the rear roof pillar, but for a split second I thought I had found the remains of the vendor I am looking for. I hope he is alive so I can find the fate of my parts!