Rusty_OToole

Reality TV is more TV than reality. Record a few shows and watch them a second, 3d or 4th time. The phoniness will jump out at you. You will catch all kinds of things that escaped your notice the first time.

Rock the gangster whitewalls.

Yes you have it right. The socket usually grounds right to the body. The wire in the center of the socket is power.

There seem to be lots of DeSotos, if not many convertibles. More and more seem to pop up all the time. I think they have a higher survival rate than most cars.

According to the questioner, he is buying a car that is in good shape, running, and licensed for the road. I take from that, that it is not a jalopy with worn out weather cracked tires, no brakes, busted springs, flapping fenders etc. I would drive it. I would not drive it down the interstate with the gas pedal flat to the floor at 90 MPH because I am not a fool. But I would drive it, and if there was a problem I would tow it.

Wide whitewalls would be correct for that car. A convertible would be the kind of car that would have been equipped with whitewalls when new. The more modern skinny whitewalls look chintzy and out of place on that car.

The way the engine is firing indicates that the ignition is working. If you want to check, you could take out the plugs, connect them to their wires, lay them on the engine and see if they fire. Also examine them to see if they are dirty or soaked in oil and gas. If they are dry and fairly clean they should be ok. If they are soaked they need to be sandblasted or replaced.

You could flat tow with a tow bar. If I had someone with an SUV or pickup to help, I would drive the Buick but be prepared to hook up with a tow bar if it broke down. A lot depends on how much time you have.

If the bottom is coated with old grease and undercoating you are in luck. Leave the undercoating and paint over it. Unless it is loose and peeling. You may clean off the grease and find perfectly preserved paint or metal underneath.

7A 6v DC - I think this means, 7 amperes 6 volts direct current. 7 amps being the current draw, 6 volts DC being the operating voltage and power system. I could be wrong, especially if the other one has 12B in place of 7A.

The oil spray treatment goes back to the early days of the automobile. Have heard of it as far back as the fifties but am sure it was not a new idea then. Here in the northeast Rust Belt it has been done for many years and still being done, although it is hard to find a garage that still does it (it makes an awful mess). One garage that used to do it, would schedule all their customers for a 2 or 3 day period in the fall then give the garage a thorough wash. Have also heard of this service being offered in the south, on the atlantic coast, especially Florida where the salt air is murder on cars and some people even drive on the salty beach. I think since the seventies, has largely been superceded by patent treatments like Ziebart, Rusty Jones etc that do basically the same thing at higher cost and are not as messy to apply.

Joe you are right I was trying to simplify.

Sounds like it is just balky from sitting around. Once you get it running it should settle down and purr after a few minutes warm up. If you have any gas mixed with 2 stroke oil put a shot of that down the carb, the oil will help oil up the rings, they get dry when an engine sits too long and you have no compression. This is one of the things making it hard to start.

I use rust paint like Rustoleum or Tremclad, at least 2 coats but 3 is better. Scrape grease and scrub in Gunk degreaser with a parts brush then pressure wash. Scrape and wire brush rust. When using rust paint you do not have to get all the rust off, just loose flakes. Paint with brush or spray as you prefer. The second and third coats will go on easier. BE SURE YOU WEAR GOOD EYE PROTECTION. I can't stress this enough. Also long sleeve shirts and a cap. If you do not have a hoist and are using jack stands or blocks BE SURE THERE IS NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT. Before you go under the car try to push it off the stands. Don't say "he must be crazy I'm not shoving my car off the stands". If you are not sure it is too solid to push off, fix it so it is. You will be scraping, prying and banging around under there and you can't be too careful. Color is up to you. Semi gloss black would probably be closest to what they used at the factory, or body color on the body. A light color will brighten things up and make it easier to see what you are doing, when you work on the car.

Curved, tempered back windows were the ones that would sometimes shatter on very hot sunny days. I don't know if it was heat expansion of the glass itself or expansion of the body that stressed the window, perhaps some of both.

Rockne was a short lived, low priced car from Studebaker. It was named after noted football coach Knute Rockne.

You will have to determine if the hub is bent, or the wheel, or what. Maybe the wheel is not seated correctly on the hub. Check it before you drive the car. If the wheel is bent most good tire shops can straighten it.

Already answered in the other thread.

As far as I can tell they used the same duct on Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler Windsor and Chrysler New Yorker except the larger cars got longer ducts, step by step. It appeared the extra length was all in the straight part that ended at the firewall. So if you had a full length duct or pattern for the straight eight cars it could easily be shortened for the others.

The 1 wire alternator was made for bulldozers, tractors and similar non automotive use. It will function on a car but as others pointed out, you have to gun the engine up to 2000 RPMs or so, for it to kick in. After that it will function normally. The standard alt has 3 wires, 1 to the battery, 1 to keyed power (feeds the field coils, only when the car is running) and the third for the idiot light. The only difference between the 1 wire and 3 wire is the voltage regulator which is inside the alternator. You can change one to the other by changing the regulator, or by taking your alternator to an auto electric shop or rebuilder, and having it changed. You don't have to buy a whole alternator.

Very rare, and a much nicer (more expensive) car than the Wayfarer.

No way would valves go that way from heat or wear. They would burn out or the head break off first.

Some engines came with these cupped or tulip shaped valves. I don't know what good they were supposed to do. If you need to replace some valves and can't get the original style, ordinary flat valves will work just as well.

If I was there I bet I could have that motor eating out of my hand. As I am not there, a few suggestions. Pour a little gas down the carb. About an egg cup full or 2 or 3 tablespoons. If the engine fires and runs, even for a few seconds you know it is not getting enough gas. I would also put the air filter back on. If you want to look down the carb or add gas, just take the top part off and put it back on before you start the engine. It has a choke effect. The engine will start better with it on and it will act as a spark arrestor if you have a backfire. If the engine starts up, keep it running at a fast idle, 1000 RPM or thereabouts. Let it warm up for 10 minutes before you shut it down. This will burn off excess gas and oil on the plugs and make it easier to start next time. Check the plugs, if they are coated with a black oily substance sandblast them or replace with new ones. Spark plug gap .030. If the ignition is good, and the engine fires up with gas down the carb but keeps stalling out then suspect the carburetor. It may need cleaning because of the junky gas you get these days. Incidentally how old is the gas? Today's gas can go bad in six months to a year. You say the car was idle for a couple of months but how old was the gas? Did you add any stabilizer when you put it in storage? If the gas smells funny STOP. If it smells like varnish it is bad and can gum up your motor severely. You need to drain the tank and clean the carb and fuel system before you start the car. If the gas smells like gas it is ok but may have lost some of its oomph. But if you can get the car going and warmed up, then dilute the old gas with a few gallons of fresh gas in the tank it will be OK.

When driving make a mental note of the engine sound in second, when you shift into high. Next time you shift down from 3 to 2 at the same speed you will know how high to rev. to make the engine sound the same. It does not have to be exact but the closer the better.