Rusty_OToole

Last time I needed tires like that it was for a 1951 DeSoto. Happens they were the same size you need. After some shopping and comparing I bought Marshal 791 tires from Walmart. They were the narrowest tallest I could find, a good 2" narrower than name brand tires of the same nominal size. They had narrow whitewalls, I prefer blackwalls out. But you could turn them into wide whites by carefully sanding or grinding the black off with a fine grit disc, or by painting them with whitewall paint. The tread and overall look was kind of old fashioned, certainly not the latest design. This was 4 or 5 years ago, you will have to find out if they still sell them.

I like to support local stores if possible, I live in Cobourg Ontario pop 17000. By the time you pay for shipping the difference in cost is minimal. But if there is a big diff, like $50 I will buy online. And some things are just not available locally. A small town parts store is good. If you go in and ask for a head gasket for a 1950 Chrysler flathead six they may just have one hanging on the wall. If not they will be able to get one in a day or 2.

I agree that the Model A is about the simplest and easiest to manage collector car and that decent examples can be bought reasonable. But if you really want a 33, and can afford a nice one, go ahead and buy one. They are very much like a Model A mechanically except for the V8 engine. One good thing about any vintage Ford is that all parts are available and they are one of the most popular collector cars, with plenty of support and knowledgeable people in the hobby.

There is another angle on this. Sometimes you buy what seems to be a good car but it has been out of commission for several years. As soon as you start to drive it the breakdowns start. You think O boy I got a lemon. Not necessarily true. Most of the parts failures are minor and not hard to fix, like a plugged up fuel filter or maybe a bad water pump. Once you fix these things you go on to a period of trouble free motoring.It's just that you have to fix up the things that went bad while the car was sitting around. A good way to deal with this is to plan a few easy trips of longer and longer distances. One day you might drive 10 miles, stop for coffee, and go home. Next day, 20 miles, working up to a 50 or 100 mile trip. After each trip generally check things over for oil leaks, loose parts, bulgy rad hoses, and the like. By the time you get to taking a worry free 100 mile trip everything should be in good shape. Tires are often overlooked. All tires deteriorate with time, the experts at the tire companies say a tire loses half its strength after 5 years. For this reason they recommend you replace tires over 5 years old, no matter how good they look. Good advice for a car that is going to be driven a lot. Even though if everyone followed this rule, a lot of good tires would be thrown away.

I don't know any but there must be a Willys owner's club somewhere.

Like I said, I would oil up the cylinders, make sure there was oil in the crankcase and try to turn the engine by hand. Using a wrench on the crankshaft or, by turning the fan blades by hand. Or see if the starter will turn it over. If it is really stuck then you have to take the head off. Usually what you find is one or 2 cylinders that happened to have the valves open, have a little rust inside and the valves are stuck. Then it is a matter of cleaning, oiling and if necessary taking things apart. I don't recall anything about a block of wood. I assume you mean putting a block of wood on top of a piston and hitting it with a hammer? I have never done this, it was never necessary on any engine I worked on. cylinders #1 and #6 rise and fall together. Likewise #2 and #5. #3 and #4. Each pair is separated by 120 degrees of crankshaft rotation from the other 2 pairs.

You can get most parts from your local NAPA store or other good parts store. If there is a dusty old parts store in your town with an old gray haired or bald headed guy behind the counter so much the better. The shiny new store on the main drag with the kid with purple hair and a snot ring behind the counter, not so likely to be of help. You want the kind of place where farmers go. The same engine was built by the millions and used in cars, trucks, farm machinery, industrial engines and marine engines. Last used in military Power Wagons up to 1968 and marine and industrial engines up to 1972. So engine parts not hard to find. One of the best sources is Vintage Power Wagons. They have lots of NOS and new and used parts, most of the engine parts are the same as the cars. Last time I looked at their site they had NOS pistons for $75 a set of 6. Andy Bernbaum is a Chrysler parts specialist Roberts Motor Parts is another. If you want speed equipment like finned aluminum head, reground cam Edgy Edgerton of Edgy Speed in California is a good one to know.

As to replacing old or worn parts. That is something you have to do with every car, new or old. If you start with a car that is in decent shape you should not have to do many repairs. On the other hand old cars require a lot more upkeep than newer ones, like more frequent oil changes, grease jobs, engine tune ups, brake adjustments (they are not self adjusting) battery service etc etc. The old cars were built with this in mind. Most parts that require attention are easy to get at and the service is easy and cheap. One example: oil bath air cleaners found on many old cars. Must be cleaned, washed in solvent and filled with (1/2 pint) of oil once a year or less. This costs maybe $5 bucks tops. If this is done, the air cleaner will last the life of the car. Compare this to the throw away filters on new cars that do not require service but cost up to $30 to replace.

Biggest difference between the Model A and the 33 -34 models is the V8 engine. It is more complicated and harder to work on but much better performance. There are better cars, like the Chrysler line (Plymouth Dodge DeSoto Chrysler) and Studebaker. But they are not so popular or easy to get parts for. Model A is a good beginner's car because they are simple, well known, and all parts are cheap and easy to get. On the down side they are kind of crude and slow. OK for tooling around at 30 - 40 MPH but that is about it. The V8 is a more modern faster car but still has solid axles front and rear and mechanical brakes. Some competitors had IFS, hydraulic brakes, full pressure engine oiling and insert bearings by the mid 30s.

I don't recommend anything. Try lighter oil like 20W20 or 10W30. If it still smokes you will need to find a Willys Knight expert. Do not trust your engine to anybody but a Knight engine expert.

They don't have I beam suspension. They have independent front suspension like the newest cars, except much more strongly built but not as sophisticated. When you get a good look underneath compare the front end to a Mustang II or Camaro. They compare the way a locomotive compares to a plastic fork. But for some weird reason, people who have never worked on them think the Mustang II is better. If the front end is in good shape they drive easy and ride well. Read the 51 DeSoto story again. 60+ years of driving takes its toll. They are not hard to fix and parts are available. If everything is in top shape and an alignment done you will not want to change the front end. They may not be perfect but they are a lot better than uninformed people give them credit for. If you really want a Camaro, buy a Camaro. Don't waste your time turning a nice old car into a fake Camaro.

You can try squirting some oil down the spark plug holes and turning the engine by hand. If the engine is truly stuck better take the head off and find out why. This is not a very big deal, a new head gasket is about $35. You may find one piston stuck, or a few valves, on the other hand maybe the engine is shot. No way to know for sure without taking the head off.

Did you polarise the generator? Shouldn't need it if it was working but who knows. The only other thing that comes to mind is faulty wiring. If the gen is good and the reg is good, and they are connected properly there isn't anything else to go wrong.

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I remember reading about those bodies. They were made of a moulded papier mache or laminated paper material, stiffened with waterproof glue. They were said to be quite durable, I suppose if one lasted 50 years or more they must be.

The Fluid Drive is supposed to slip to a certain extent. The manual says slippage goes down as revs build up also it will slip more under load as when climbing a hill. So if it is going up hill and not revving very fast you may notice some slippage. At highway speed on level ground you still have 3% slippage. Check the Fluid Drive oil level. It should be filled to the correct level with ISO32 or ISO22, TDH tractor fluid or 10W motor oil. It must be a thin oil to work right. Thicker oil has too much drag. If the friction clutch is worn and covered in oil it could slip. In that case the engine could rev up quickly when climbing at full power. The clutch is not very big. It is an ordinary dry plate clutch like any manual trans car, but rather small. It can be replaced in the usual way after removing the transmission.

Use light oil and warm it up good. It is going to smoke. Sleeve valve engines always do, to some extent.

Some of these materials were quite stiff, almost as rigid as sheet metal, more like a sheet of plastic or Masonite. They had to be heated with boiling water to be molded to the contour of the body. When they cooled they hardened to a rigid shape. They also developed shiny finishes like a patent leather. This was the tole souple material referred to in the article. Tole Souple means flexible sheet metal in French. It was a brand name for a specific product. I don't believe they painted any fabric bodies, it would have defeated the purpose of using the material. The first fabric bodies had a dull, matte finish or a pebbled, leather like finish. The smooth, shiny patent leather type material came later. There were soft canvas backed materials, like a vinyl top material. These were used for roofs and top inserts up until the mid 30s, even on mass produced American cars. Model A sedans had a full vinyl roof, others just had a small panel in the middle of the top. Almost all sedan and coupe bodies were built this way.

The fabric body had quite a vogue in the twenties especially in Europe. There were several advantages to this type of construction. The Weymann body made it famous, they were a very light weight, flexible body. The chassis of that day were not very strong, they tended to twist and flex. Car bodies had wooden framework and metal panels tacked on. They quickly developed squeaks and rattles, doors sagged and did not fit right etc. if the car was subject to hard use. They tried adding metal braces and reinforcements but it didn't do much good. Weymann took the opposite approach. He got around the problem by designing a flexible body that worked with the chassis and did not suffer damage. These problems did not become apparent until closed, sedan and coupe bodies came into common use. The open touring cars and roadsters did not suffer as badly, they could flex and bounce back without damage and you couldn't hear the squeaks and rattles for the wind noise anyway. There were other advantages to the fabric covering. The material itself was light weight. It saved time in construction because it was easier to work with than metal, and it did not require painting. The finish was built into the material. This was a big factor when cars were painted by hand with a brush, building up coat after coat over several days. As one French body maker pointed out, coach painting was a skilled trade and a good painter was not made in a day. These skilled workers were in short supply and demanded high wages. Painting was more costly, and more time consuming than most customers realized. Eliminating the painting step was a big saving in time and money. The paint finishes were not very durable either. One of the features of the fabric body was that you could wipe it down with a damp cloth and it was good as new. This would scratch and ruin a painted car. They had to be washed very carefully with a chamois and polished and waxed regularly, even then the paint would only last a few years. The fabric finish went right through and would stand up to years of wear without special treatment. So, the material was cheap and quick and easy to build. Also it was durable and practical in service. It was especially convenient for a small shop with minimal equipment, doing one off or custom made bodies. As time went on, manufacturers developed stiffer chassis, and stronger all steel bodies. These bodies were stamped out on giant presses and were quicker to build, cheaper and stronger than the old wood framed bodies. Also better paint finishes came out like Dupont nitrocellulose lacquer, introduced in 1924. It could be sprayed on, it was fast and easy to apply and it was a lot more durable than older hand painted finishes. For these reasons the mass produced car made the hand built, fabric body obsolete by the mid 30s.

That is putting it rather strong but you are not far wrong. Buying a collector car is irrational. It represents spending money for fun. It is not a practical decision. So, you should get something you want and that means something to you. Buying a car because it is a good buy even though you don't like it, does not make much sense even though it is logical. But you should not lose your head entirely. You need to consult your practical side as well if you want to buy a car you can afford, and can afford to keep up. You should buy the best car you can, as far as condition goes. And it should be a car you like and feel good owning.

Cadillac prices. I was not sure if $2800 would buy a Cadillac in 1931 so I did a little checking. These are the prices for a V8 Cadillac with standard body. Of course if you wanted a V12 or V16 with custom body the sky was the limit. Coupe - $2695 5 pass sedan - $2795 7 pass sedan - $2945 Imperial sedan - $3095 There were other cars in the Cadillac class for similar prices like Packard Eight, REO Royale, Chrysler Imperial, Lincoln V8.

I was going to say you could buy a Cadillac for that kind of money in 1931. It is difficult to make a comparison. For the average American, the standard of living was more like what we would consider 3d world or underdeveloped today. America may have been the richest country in the world at the time but there has been a lot of progress in the last 80 years. So, most Americans could not afford a car. Those people did without, they walked or took a bus or train and did not think anything about it. Many people with good jobs and homes did not own a car. They preferred to spend their money on other things. As far as having a second car or third car that was not thought of. Those who could afford a car and wanted one, usually bought one that suited their financial and social standing. In 1935 or 36 Packard introduced a new lower priced line. It sold in the $1000 - $1500 class. One of their executives remarked, "we have the Presbyterian market, now we are going after the Methodists" and that was about the size of it. Owning any kind of car meant more, and carried more prestige than today. Now, a car is just another appliance. The average person would no more be proud of his Toyota than he would of his toaster or vacuum cleaner. Back then it was different. So, owning a Cadillac or a car in the Cadillac class really meant something. It represented the peak of financial success and achievement. It meant you had arrived. Of course there was also that thin upper crust of society that accounted for less than 5% of the population. The old money people. To them, a $2800 car was the lower limit of acceptable transportation and Cadillacs were for characters from the wrong side of the tracks. These people drove Packards at minimum, Duesenbergs or Pierce Arrows if they were really loaded. That describes things going into 1931. That was the year of the locust when the money and jobs went down the drain and the Depression set in for real. October 29 may have seen the stock market crash but business, jobs, and employment held up pretty well through 1930. 1931 was hell. 1932 not much better. In 1933 the economy was starting to recover, by 1934 things were pretty well back to normal. By 1936 things were booming so much the government got scared, they were afraid of another boom and bust so they deliberately caused the "Roosevelt recession" of 1937 - 38. To answer your question. A $2800 car in 1931 would be more in the Mercedes or Cadillac class today. Even though cars do not mean as much as they did back then.

I don't know why you want a new block. The one you have is the best one they made, no kidding. Unless the rod is sticking thru the side, or there is a big crack from freezing, you have nothing to worry about. More details on this. If the rad was filled with plain water, and it froze, it could crack the block. Even if they drained the rad if they did not drain the block it could crack. Examine the left side, or driver's side of the block. You will see a drain plug or drain cock. If the block was frozen you could also see a crack. I have seen them split from end to end if the rad was not drained. If the rad was drained but they forgot to drain the block, there will more likely be a short crack behind the starter. A small crack is not the end of the world, they can be fixed and will not ruin the block. Now about the engine. Chrysler made 2 flathead six engines, a smaller one for Plymouth and Dodge, a larger one for Chrysler and DeSoto. Smaller measures 23" long at the head, bigger measures 25". They are very similar looking, the main tipoff is size. So you already have the "big block" motor. They were made in various sizes all with 3 7/16 bore and different stroke crankshafts. 51 - 54 Chrysler used the biggest one they made, a 265 cu in with 4 3/4 stroke. This is the longest stroke crank that will fit. They had to use special con rod bolts with no heads, to clear the block and cam. In addition to being the biggest displacement your engine has full flow oil filtration just like the newest cars. This is a real feature, cheaper cars like your Chev had partial flow, bypass filters or no filter at all. You will see a cast aluminum tower on the side of the engine, this is the filter. It has a replaceable cartridge you can still buy at any auto parts store. They are used on various diesel engines and tractor engines to this day. It is a well built engine with full pressure oiling to all bearings unlike certain cheap cars of the time. You can run down the hiway all day at 60 - 65 with no problem. They will not snap your neck off but have ample power for all normal traffic situations. One thing you should be aware of. They are a very well behaved engine that will continue running in an advanced state of wear with no knocks or bangs, and no sign of distress. They just get slower and slower, and harder to start. If it was mine I would get the engine running while making minimal changes to it. Then assess the condition of the engine, basically oil pressure and a compression test. If it has good oil pressure and good compression I would tune it up and drive it. If compression was low but oil pressure good I would consider a ring and valve job, provided it has less than 60,000 miles. If compression and oil pressure were low and it had 80,000 miles I would consider a full rebuild. This is not as bad as you might think. As I said, they are a tough engine, simple and easy to work on, and all the parts are available cheap. It should be possible to do a complete rebuild for $1000 to $1500 if you do it yourself. I know someone who had a similar engine rebuilt and the job cost $3500 including removing and replacing the engine, and a complete rebore and rebuild by an auto machine shop. The engine was running but had 2 broken pistons when it went into the shop. The owner was driving it occasionally, the only problem was low compression, almost no compression in 2 cylinders, low on power and hard to start. The mechanic who tore down the engine said "Wow it's a good thing you brought the car in for a rebuild when you did, look at those pistons" "Ya, no wonder it would only go 45 mph" " How, on the back of a tow truck?" ha ha ha.

They handle well in the sense of being easy to drive, not beating a sports car around the track. Ride is kind of floaty. They had the best shock absorbers of the time, Chrysler Oriflow tubular shocks which were self adjusting for smooth or rough roads. For reasons best known to Chrysler engineers, they fastened the top of the shock to the top control arm and the bottom to the bottom control arm. You can buy a kit to weld brackets onto the frame, and convert to a modern type shock absorber. This tends to stabilize the front end and remove some of the floaty feeling.