60FlatTop

My grandfather used to call the "Flirting with a rattlesnake". Good example.

“There are two kinds of people: Those who think they can, and those who think they can't, and they're both right.” ― Henry Ford Probably applies to transmissions as well. If you don't think you will like it now you are probably right. Look for a Hydramatic.

Bill Hirsch sold a nice engine paint I would call pearl gray. I don't remember which. He had a light Chevy gray and a universal gray as I remember. Check and see if they can send you a dab.

A long time ago a friend to me a French phrase that translated it "Making a parade of oneself". I have forgotten the wording. He was talking about my old cars and, I guess, me in general. He may have mentioned Pomp and Circumstance as well. But he knew I like special events and adventures. When I get an old car out, work on one, or even polish one it is a treat to me. I would hate to taking that "specialness" away and relegate it to daily transportation. In good weather I don't drive an old car up through town for coffee every day, maybe twice a week. I just couldn't get into taking that away from owning them. I'd drive my truck.

I look at the primary shoe as the actuator or pilot shoe to initiate the self energizing feature of drum brakes. The rear shoe does the majority of braking. This is one reason I do not favor converting a drum brake car to discs. You lose the self energizing feature. Something I learned from the 1959 McGraw Hill mechanics books my Mom helped me buy in 1959 and could never get across to the Hot Rod Magazine readers. Here is a pretty good explanation.

I bought mine through Prosource Glass in Andover, Mass. That was about 2013. Richard Tankel was in charge. A Google search shows he is still out there but not Prosource. I got a tinted Pilkington that was very well packaged.

What was affected by the coil change besides the coil: The coil wires was unplugged and moved. Ohm out the coil wire and check the ohms per foot value. If it is a carbon/cotton conductor try a solid core. The primary lead to the distributor lead was moved. Ohm it out disconnected at both ends. Check for loose terminals and terminal crimps. Check the grommet and entry hole into the distributor hole for a short to ground. Check the breaker plate for a good ground. Check the ignition switch side primary lead for a loose terminal clip. Disconnect the battery and jump from the disconnected coil primary terminal to the positive terminal connector on the inner fender. Switch the ignition on an off a bunch of times watching for good continuity through the switch. That doesn't take long but it should assure there are no hidden problems on the primary wiring side. Does your key get hot after a long drive? If it was mine I would ohm out the spark plug wires as well. I have an inductive pick up that reads secondary voltage in KV. If you have access to one look for high 2K to just over 3K at idle. Lower will show a dead wire. Higher will show a lean cylinder. Having the problem appear to be resolved and then come back is one I would look forward too. I have driven some cars that were so bad I just kept hoping they would break so something would be definable. Those cars will trick you. One very hot summer day my wife had driven her '62 Electra 225 90 miles to her parents. On the way back she put gas in it about 15 miles away from home to be sure she got back. She didn't. The car quit about three miles after. Towed home to our driveway it wouldn't start. I couldn't figure it out. Around dusk I went out to close the hood for the night. The sun was setting on the opposite side of the car. When I looked in I wondered "Why is the fuel in the sediment bowl rainbow looking?" Didn't take long to get her to admit she put 10 gallons of diesel fuel in it. Sometimes the Sum, the Moon, and the Planets really do have to be in conjunction to find truth in the universe. It was a learning moment.

Big car with a flat floor, they won't even know you got them.

Oder two molded sets for a '67 Cadillac Eldorado. Should work out fine.

If you have possession of a car you think you own go through the proper channels to get it legally in your own name. Don't spend any time or money on it until you do. The cost of licensing or titling the car before you start work has always been something I have heard a lot of whining about. Some save that expense for the last step of their project. Years go by fast and those open registrations, jumped titles, bills of sale, if they can be found may not mean a think to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Just a rule of thumb, get your purchase licensed. Pay the tax, pay the short term insurance, pay for the plates. Yep, you gotta pay to make it yours. If you don't do it for yourself do it for the family that will be so aggravated by people who won't take a bill of sale. I may not follow my own advice all the time but I use fairly good judgement about how closely follow the laws.

Before you find out you have to back up twice to make a right hand turn into your driveway read the part about the distance between axles and how it relates to steering geometry. http://datagenetics.com/blog/december12016/index.html There are two breeds of Nova/Camaro sub-frames, forward mount box and rear mount. You are right, the Dynaflow question is the easy one.

I have been watching this topic since I prefer "newer" cars and upholstery is often an issue. A lot of this wear begins when the foam under the fabric deteriorates. The 19 year old Cadillac I bought last January had a split in the driver bottom leather due mainly because of a lack of support. I have fixed that and have one small flaw left to make it as it left the factory. I have installed new seat buns in three of the Chevy trucks I have owned. I bought my '05 Silverado new and kept it well maintained. It has a cloth interior and I noticed a crease in the bolster. That turned out to be from the bun foam failing. I installed a new bun under the existing upholstery three years ago and stopped the wear, saving the upholstery from replacement. That is 190,000 miles of sliding in and out. The two other trucks I had can be traced back to the foam failure. Lamar's car is the extreme. If you are luck enough to catch one early a good cleaning and build up or replacement of the foam can save the interior. I have pillowed velour in my '86 Park Ave. The foam is good but the velour is a bit faded but otherwise good. It is the zipper style assembly. It should be interesting to deal with. As usual, I will only seek professional help as a last resort. If what you have looks good keep it clean and don't be afraid to pull a few hog rings so you can beef up the foam.

I remember a time in the 1970s when cars were experiencing their oil lamp flickering at idle when the cars were at operating temperatures, especially at stoplights. Back then the word I got was that there were lower pressure rated oil pressure switches available since the cars were dropping to that 4-5 PSI range.. I am not a big fan of add on gauges except for testing.Gauges tend to be less reliable than the systems they monitor.

$2 more and I would consider the car overpriced. I like that under $10,000 market and before I settled on that number I missed some overpriced cars I sure wish I had today. The three special cars I in the garage today have been with me 45 years, 20+ years, and 12 years. Spread the difference between over priced and reasonably priced over that many year and the dollars are pretty low. Especially in my 75 year life where the deepest regrets I have are cars I didn't buy. Years ago one of my best friends was interested in a 1962 Chrysler Pace Car. I asked him how the deal was going. He said "We are negotiating and about $2,000 apart". I told him "If you are letting $2,000 hold up the deal you just don't want the car." Bingo! He perked right up and said "You're right!" So, for that often mentioned serious buyer only, What is that buyer's get realistic number and what does it come out to on average over the first 10 years. Or, if one took a flyer on it and wasn't happy what might the potential loss be even if they paid the ten grand. It is not the market. No one wants the little albatross.

I think I read that, went back over recent posts, then came back and read it another four times. I keep getting the same interpretation. It ain't fixed, right?

A few years ago I did some work on Tom Pirrung's 195 Super 263 Dynaflow. The car had "sprightly" performance. It moved out so well I took one of my street rodder friends out for a demonstration. His preconceived idea of the car was totally off. My '60 Electra has the Triple Turbine, highest developed Dynaflow. Nothing sluggish about that one. I don't use LOW. "Years ago" could be anything up to 70 years of poor maintenance or poor storage. Even 20 years ago would allow 50 years of deferred or inept repairs. Lots of things from dragging brakes to stuck vanes in the converter. I would expect something wrong to cause a car to leave memories like that. They would not have sold many against the competition when they were new. Tom doesn't get his car out often enough. I may have to talk him into a check up this summer.

Made me smile. My daughter lives in Boston and she got onto the iconic trip. I asked "Isn't that like the top trim on a Greek column?" She also had this "Yeah, yeah, yeah" thing. Always trice. She was visiting once and I gave her my grave, concerned look. I asked "Lisa, is there someone you hold in high regard who says "Yeah, yeah, yeah" all the time?" She gave me the look only a red haired, brown eyed woman can do. She laughed and has never said it again. On that open air museum the topic is about, they are a bunch of junkers. I can guaranty you the next car I buy for a keeper or project is not sitting outside at this moment. The next car I buy to reseller could, and probably is outside. But that is sport selling, a term I coined during my final years in High School patterned after another term the guys were using. Remember, the historian who rejects foibles misses a lot of history. And fun.

Show me a car for sale sitting on a car trailer and I end up with The Rodeo Song stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

Nice to park with your Chrysler Maserati. Fiat made some nicely styled cars. As far as the car's acceptance by the automotive aficionados, it is like one of my cars that is poorly received at events that the real knowledgeable people attend. I just avoid them, take rides in the country, and get compliments in the parking lot of small town family diners. I bet that little car would be a big hit at a Sinclair convenient store.

If 'twas green I'd surely think it came from the Irish National Railway.

Two Christine's. Rarely seen in pairs.

That is the image that flashed through my mind when the topic first showed up. And the reason for my alternative. When my son was 2 or 3 years old he had a little stuffed dog that he carried with him everywhere. I remembered that while thinking about "mechanics" who used to carry one pristine rag with them all the time. Some might think they imagined: They were the ones who never did any work.

In my youth we used to lie a 4x8 sheet of plywood across the span to service the outboard trolley wheels.

T-shirts. I can't use anything that isn't an accurate geometric shape.

There is an old saying: "How do you appraise a Bentley with a Rolls-Royce grille?" Simple "Bentley missing grille." If future appraisal were to play in: "How would you appraise a Buick with the wrong upholstery?" Would it be an issue equal in stature? Only to the owner who sees his second choice interior each time he gets in for the next 20 years and thinks "I saved $500 on materials". That's about 25 bucks a year.