Rusty_OToole

They were made of steel with a protective copper coating to keep off rust. You can buy the same material at any parts store in 25 foot rolls or in the form of ready made brake lines with the flared ends and connectors already on them. If the ones you took off are the originals I would be surprised but it would not be out of the question if the car was used in a dry climate or protected from rust by being stored indoors. Normal life for brake lines is 10 to 20 years, although theoretically they could last forever if protected from rust. They have no moving parts to wear out. How long do you plan to keep the car? Really there is not much point in buying some super deluxe brake lines when the standard ones work well and last indefinitely.

I get a little tired of Ford (and General Motors) getting credit for "firsts" that were in fact invented and pioneered by others.

You are a little late. Olds used the assembly line system on their Curved Dash model in 1903 and they were not the first. Clocks, chairs, and guns were made that way in early 19th century New England. Making things on an assembly line using interchangeable parts was known in England as "the American system".

In the US, cars are registered in the state in which the owner resides. So when the Daniels was built there could be 48 different systems of registering and taxing cars in the US. Some of them used the taxable HP system and the RAC formula. I know the RAC formula was used in my home province of Ontario Canada up to the early sixties, long after they stopped using it in England (1947). Owners manuals of American cars used to contain the RAC HP rating for the convenience of those who needed it.

You could ask the person you bought it from.

Draw bar horsepower refers to tractors. It is a measure of pulling power meant to relate a tractor to a horse in terms of pulling a plow. James Watt invented the term when he was trying to sell his early steam engines. He tested some horses and rated his steam engines accordingly. This gave a means of comparing power that was familiar to his customers.

Your local name brand oil dealer or auto parts store may be able to get it, if they don't have it in stock. If that fails there are specialists who make the correct lubricants for old cars. Penrite is one.

Not without seeing them or at least some pictures.

I recall replacing the windows in a 52 New Yorker with those from a 50 DeSoto, so I will say the door windows will interchange. More glass area was one of the trends of the fifties. It seems whenever they restyled a car they made the windows bigger.

There was a major redesign of the 1950 body for 1951. This had to do with fitting the much wider V8. The front of the body was widened, the car got a complete new front end, windshield, and front doors. The rear doors may interchange.

Transmission should come off easily, likewise the bell housing. Fluid Drive unit could be tricky, it is held by 8 bolts to the flywheel. Maybe you can get in with a skinny wrench. Why won't the engine turn?

Pistons are supposed to come out the top of the block after you remove the ridge with a ridge reamer. What is a heak? Where is ri? Your letter is all mixed up. Can you ask again when you are sober?

Sloan's theory was to cover the market by offering "a car for every purse and purpose". Up to the early 50s there were definite differences between model lines. You could compare a Chev to a Buick or Cadillac and easily see why the heavy models cost more money. By the lat 50s these lines were blurred. You could actually buy a Chev or Pontiac with a bigger V8 than Cadillac, and all the Cadillac features as optional equipment. There was practically no difference in size, interior room, or performance compared to 20 or 30 years earlier. Things became even more confused in the 60s and later when all divisions wanted to compete in all size classes. Buick Special and Olds F85 selling against Chevelle, and so on. This sort of thing reached an all time low with the F car based Cadillac Cimarron in the 80s. Today we expect all makes to compete in all size and price classes. More or less as Mercedes has done from the start. Maybe it is time to rationalize all the car lines and start over. It seems today that individual models mean more than makes.

I think the various horsepower formulas were made up in the early days of the internal combustion engine. They thought there must be some way to calculate horsepower but it turned out they were wrong, there were too many variables. The formulas are fairly accurate for the engines of 1900 to 1910 but soon got out of date. The British formula was not the only one that ignored engine stroke. I think they were working on the theory that a short stroke engine would rev higher but have less displacement, while a long stroker would have more displacement but would not rev, therefore the output should be roughly equal. Or maybe they left it free to find out which was better, long stroke or short stroke engines. I know in French voiturette racing around 1900, the engine size formula allowed a larger piston area for a 1 cylinder than a 2 cylinder, which in turn was allowed a larger area than a 4 cylinder. No restriction on stroke length. This was because multi cylinder engines are more efficient and rev faster, as well as the long stroke/ short stroke argument above. The result was that the winning racers had immense 1 cylinder engines with a stroke 2 1/2 times the bore. Peugeot Lion for example. The point is, a lot of engineering questions were up in the air at that time. Things that we take for granted now that the answers are known. Incidentally the only HP formula that was worth anything was one proposed by Frederick Lanchester in 1906. Another engineer revived it in 1955 and said that it was still accurate, if you allowed a small percentage increase for improved metals and lubricants.

They were quite a machine and the last of their breed. Should not be selling so cheap, but as you say, they are too big and thirsty for a daily driver, not quite old enough to be a collector car. The typical owner was an old man who garaged and maintained his car and did not use it a lot (especially after gas went thru the roof). Consequently there are a lot of good ones around. This can't go on forever but in the meantime there is not much you can do. If you have the garage space, it might pay to keep it clean and waxed, service the engine and just keep it.

The whole Packard factory available for the cost of a Volkswagen. Who would have believed it.

Some years back somebody had big plans for that place, they were going to spend millions on it. But the city decided to swindle him out of it and do some project of their own. Which never went anyplace. Now it is worth nothing. Way to go Detroit.

For some reason they don't go for much money. I think because Lincoln sold millions and there are still plenty around. The early Mark III used to be in the same boat, decent ones everywhere for $2000 and $2500. In recent years they have gone up a lot. I suppose the supply of good ones has thinned out. The Town Cars may go the same way in a few more years.

Those prices are slightly lower than the one I quoted. I was quoting the cheapest cars of the cheapest models, that were complete and driveable. Yes internet prices are inflated for suckers. So are dealer prices and asking prices generally. The worst are boobs who somehow got hold of an old clunker and think it is worth millions. There is no point arguing with them they only get sore. Best are old timers who have been thru the mill a few hundred times. They know what's what and they know if they want to sell something they have to price it on the low side. There is no point kidding them, they know what their stuff is worth. But if they really want to sell and you have cash and don't act like a complete jackass they will give you a deal.

Old Cars Report Price Guide $5.99 from the news stand or magazine store. Prices vary around the country, it is only a guide. Look at some ads, look at some cars. Most people expect to take less than asking price.

They all leak from the engine and rear axle. If you hold out for one that doesn't you are not likely to find one in your price range. Remember we are talking about an 80 year old used car. To complete the info on car prices I should give you some Model A prices. These are the lowest priced 3 -4 condition models, which are the 2 door sedans. 1928 - $2600 - $5900 1929 - $2600 - $5800 1930 - $2800 - $6300 1931 - $2800 - $6300 These are the cheapest standard 2 door sedans, all other models higher by at least a $1000 even deluxe 2 door sedans. For exact prices you should get your own price guide. It appears that for the same money you can get a much nicer Model A than a 33 or 34. Whether the A appeals to you, and will suit your needs, is up to you.

I don't see anything wrong with getting fed up and leaving the hobby. It has happened to me more than once. What the heck it's supposed to be fun. If it stops being fun go do something else. It's not the bad experiences, you could shrug those off. It's time for a change that's all. If you are like me you will be back in a few years.

To me they resemble the ring nails used to nail down plywood flooring.

The vacuum advance is mainly for fuel economy. It advances the spark under high vacuum conditions (cruising, throttle nearly close) and backs off under low vacuum (wide open throttle). It won't work as well with dual quads because engine vacuum will be lower. But Chrysler offered dual quads in the fifties, you should look up the specs and compare them to the single carb engines. I don't know what the problem is but I don't think the vacuum advance is causing it. Disconnecting the vacuum advance will retard the spark a little. If the vacuum advance diaphragm is ruptured it will cause a vacuum leak and plugging the line will stop the leak. Other than that it shouldn't have much effect.

Another thing... a car that looks beautiful with new chrome, paint, upholstery may not run any better than a worn shabby looking one. Restoration work is expensive and a lot of guys spend the money on appearance while neglecting the mechanical aspects. A show winner may have an engine on its last legs or worn out brakes but who cares, they can push it on the trailer.