rons49

Great film, thanks so much. I never knew that after 1982 Checker remained associated with GM. Nice memory of a time, when I was young.

Larry, I,m refering to the instrument cluster voltage regulator behind the dash that operate the fuel and temp gauge at 5 volts. Will it matter if I use a IVR made for a 12 volt car on a 6 volt car?

I'm sorry ,Jim, if I wish to replace a defective constant voltage regulator on my 53 Hudson(6volt-pos ground) can I use one from a newer,lets say, a 1960 Ford, which is 12 volt-neg. My thought is, that is does not matter if the battery voltage is 12 or 6 volts as long as the reg ultimately drops the voltage to the necessary 5 volts( for gauge operation). Futhermore, a company in Kansas sells solid state instrument voltage regulators and they claim it will drop battery volts to the 5 volt needed, from either 12 or 6 volt cars. Any thoughts?

I have a 6volt car. Can a constant voltage regulator from a 12 v car used for gauges operating on 5volts(temp&fuel) be used? That is, does the ignition voltage matter if the voltage line is less than the appliance ( regulator) is designed for? or a switch 12 to 5v would be OK if used with 6v? Would the net result still be 5v?

Thanks Harold, I see that the color mandate was 1965. I knew it was about that time. When did NYC go to the T&L Commission? I believe it was the Hack Bureau when I drove, and was a division of the NYPD. I needed to report to the 110 Pct for a license.Ron

Before I began my career as a policeman, I drove a Checker taxi in NYC. The company owned 1968 Ford Galaxies with 6cyl and no power steering. In 1970 they used Dodges with slant 6s. But in 1971 Bob( the owner) bought 1971 Checkers. His company never had a shortage of drivers. That is because the average cab driver could make 10-20% more money with one, and at the time I split 50-50 so the owner profited as well. There was no NYC mandate from the Taxi&Limosene Commission regarding what make cab to be used. As matter of fact, 69-70 Chevies and Dodges proliferated. By 1967 all "medallioned" cabs must be yellow."gypsie" cabs,ie non legal for street hailing, could not be yellow. The Checker that I drove had a complete Chevy drivetrain 250 cu 6 PS Pb and AutoPGlide. Customers would actually walk a taxi line to the rear if a Checker was available. There was money to be made with Checker and the manufactuer tried hard to close a deal, but reality was, the cars were alot more expensive (15-20%) to buy. and the shape was the only advantage, since Checker was essentially a Chevy. Independant owners loved them, but fleet owners thought twice. Also I noticed that the Checker was heavy and under powered with the 6. With fleet tires at 35 psi,and a cross wind, crossing the Bronx- Whitestone bridge was a bit of a thrill. Never the less a good car for the job.

That is about right on the fuel consumption. Also, if you are using a gas/ethanol mix, you will use more fuel, as ethanol is less efficent,1-2 mpg.

Two suppliers that I am aware of, Quail services. com and Antique Auto Battery in Hudson, Ohio.

In recent times the only Carter 6v rotary vane pump is Part#p4259.If you run a 6v pump on 12 v it will burn out the motor quickly. if you run a 12v on 6v,you may experience a differant problem. I did that with a Carter 60430 Carator(gear driven). That pump uses gas to lubricate the gears. When I stored the car for a month or so, in hot weather, the pump failed to start without get below a tapping on the pump a bit. I deduced that the 12v pump did not have enough voltage (actual was 5.5Volts at the pump through the ignition switch ) to actuate an inital surge to start pumping. Almost but not quite. So... NG for priming or electric only application. The same may occur with the rotary,albeit, without damage. Hook up to a 6v battery see how much fuel it pumps into a one gallon container.20 gal per hour should be fine but less than pump specs of 30-60. You will need a pressure regulator as well.

I saw some prewar cars for sale on Ebay and noticed that they had registers in(on) the dash for a defroster. Since heaters were optionable, and I presume the defroster with it, did the manufacturers build all dashs as to accept heater defrosters whether ordered or not? Or, did the restorerowner just never put the system with hoses etc. back, leaving an opening through the dash top?

Thanks so much. Thats what I was looking for.

Other than the presidents handbook for each chapter,where, on line, can a member locate the requirements to sponsor a tour? I would like to know what year vehicles can be limited, the amount of tour days expected,cash reserve needed for startup etc. It is listed in the handbook that I received years ago as chapter president, but I would think there should be some thing on line that chapters can refer to for discussion with their members.With this information, chapters(regions) can decide if they are willing and able to host a meet or tour and what vehicles will be limited, also what dates are available.

I use just the usual DOT 3 and flush the system every 5 years or so. But, water absorbtion is not a threat in Arizona, as in some locations. I read some time ago that silicone brake fluid is hazardous in mountain areas, because it has a propensity to collect air bubbles with elevation changes. Has anyone heard this as well?

The owner, and his car, participated in the Glidden Tour here in Tucson in 2000. It is quite a car and fast for 1911.

Dear oldie, a good idea, but... there are considerations. One is, where is the pickup tube in your gas tank? My caddy fuel line is flare fitted at the lower corner. Therefore, I would expect fuel to continue to "syphon" out if the flow is not blocked downstream. Only the line turning over the differential will slow the flow. Be prepared with a piece of fuel line with a bolt in one end, to slide onto the cut off line. Now my Hornet has a pickup tube on top of the tank, better. Airtex( solenoid pump) is OK, and fuel pressure probably will not require a regulator. Check your cars fuel pump pressure at the carb and the standards. Avoid dial in types. And don't forget, if you are still running the fuel through a mech pump, that in a rare possibility, the elec pump can dump gas into the crankcase. You will know this when the sweet smell of burning bearings becomes evident, or a burning car! I don't like that setup. Least of all, it is still a deduction to have a electric pump on a post WW2 car, if this matters.

One of the guys in our region has a 1960 Tbird conv with a 3 on tree & OD. Never saw another.

model 61 that is, sorry. Model 62s were all Hydromatic unless special order. 61 was gone in 1952 and the only standard was in the 75 series.

May 1, 1951 was the date of the last Cadillac model 6. Only 4700 were produced for 1951

Correct on the Volvo. Only last month I toured the Volvo Museum in Gottenborg. The tour director advised me that until 1967 the Swedes drove on the left side of the road (as did the UK) but the steering was from the left as well. Messed up the tram systems as the platforms were now on the wrong side.

Are these parts from a coupe or 4dsn?

Spot on about pressure regulators. Had a dial in on mine Was running a 12v Carter gerator pump on my 6volt system (5.5 v at the pump) OK, until the car sits for a few days & the weak start up torque held back the 12 v motor from starting, due to gas evaporation. When it ran it put out 7psi, too much, I felt so I put on a dial in pressure reg. Fine until I switched to a 6v solenoid pump from AC Delco( Airtex makes em also) engine fuel starved under load. Pulled the Reg, tested pressure, got only 4.5 - 5 psi removed any regulator and no problems. At the dial setting of 5, I could not even blow through the inlet port better at 3 and blocked at 1/2. Moral, use only good pressure regs with screw and locknut adjuster. See Summit racing. Most of our cars have only one carb and a single outlet port is necessary. Also maybe a check valve would be of value1/3 psi cracking pressure is available at McMaster-Carr.

RE: windshield. The glass #s are w113(right) & w114(left). These are the same as 49-52 Chev Bel-Air(htop) or convertable, Early 50 (2piece) and 49 Olds conv& Holiday coupe model 76, and Pontiac 49-52 conv and hardtop coupe. The numbers are the most important reference if supplier knows them.

Take a look a Consumer Reports in the mid 60s -@ 1980. The average US car had about 30 defects. Some manufacturers were better then others. To save my own mental anguish, I won't single out any brand. That does not include rust perforation in 2-3 years. The British cars were worse. Again some more then others. The Japanese cars really were bad until the mid 70s; their initial quality was ok but they could not handle the American roads, salt, high speeds. crash protection etc. But they learned. So did we. Old cars are repairable and needed to be. Todays cars are much better,safer & cheaper and require less maintance. But... heaven forbid something electronic goes wrong, labor rates now enter the factor.

My apologies to his family. Al was a good guy and made first rate repro parts. He will be missed.

Thanks, ron