Rusty_OToole

A lot of the stress radials put on old wheels is because the tires are too wide for the old wheels. You want the skinniest radials you can get. Cheap tires are narrower than expensive ones. The narrowest tires I could find for my 51 DeSoto were Walmart Marshal 791 215/75R15. They are 2 1/2" narrower than name brand tires of the same nominal size. They are still better tires than anything available in 1948. One other thing. Inspect your wheels closely. Do they have oval holes for the valves? The first tubeless tires used an oval valve and Chrysler was the first car to feature tubeless tires. There are special valves available or you can braze a washer inside the hole and use modern valves.

Oldsmobile should get a mention. They made some extremely tough long lasting V8s from the fifties right up through the seventies.

Oldsmobile used a unique number system for its cars back then. They could be a series 60,70,80 or 90 depending on body size. Their biggest most expensive model being the 90. Then they added the number of cylinders giving models like the 66,76,88 and 98. The 98 being the top of the line only slightly smaller than a Buick or Cadillac.

When roads were bad and cars few it made sense to put the steering wheel on the right, where the driver could watch the shoulder and the ditch especially when inching over as far as possible to pass a loaded hay wagon on a narrow country road. Later it made more sense to put the wheel on the left so the driver could see around the other cars if he wanted to pass. The most expensive makes kept the right side steering wheel longest. Partly to make it easier for the chauffeur to step out on the sidewalk to open the door for the passengers, and partly out of conservatism.

They made a bigger percentage than gas stations do today. I know the first gas station I worked at in 1968 regular was 45c and the station's profit was 16c. Some years later when gas was 89c the profit was only 6c (different station). This was when neighborhood full service/garage stations were phased out and the big gas/convenience stores came in. I don't know what they get these days but it's not a very big markup. Today they sell a lot more gas, and the customers pump it themselves and wash their own windows too.

It is an accessory switch. The screw was to clamp it to the bottom of the instrument panel. If it is an on - off switch it may be for a fog light , backup light, truck clearance lights or similar. If it is a rheostat or 2 speed switch it may be for a heater blower. Auto parts stores used to sell them and maybe still do, you can use them for many different purposes.

Vegas were prone to oil burning which was blamed on cylinder wear due to their "soft" aluminum engine blocks. A Chev engineer later stated this was not true. About the time the Vega came out, the first endoscope for looking inside cylinders was developed. The mechanic would look in there, see some scratches on the cylinder and say "there is the problem". Later it turned out to be faulty valve stem seals not the rings or cylinders at all. A different valve stem seal solved the oil burning problem. The scratches on the cylinder were minor, and did not cause the oil burning. The Vega had several problems caused by inadequate development and testing, or cheaping out on certain parts. By the time they fixed them up it was too late.

All 5 wheels should be the same width. It appears your spare got lost somewhere along the way and replaced with a narrower Plymouth or Dodge rim. The 225s are a good tire for your car as long as you get the narrowest ones possible, this means the cheapest tires on the market. I use Walmart Marshal 791 tires on my DeSoto, they are the closest in width to original. More expensive name brand tires are more than 2 inches wider in the same nominal size. Do not worry about using cheap tires, they are still better than what they had in 1948. The powder coat is a good deal. As long as you can get the right color. If not you may want to paint them. Sandblasting and painting wheels is a tough, expensive job for a body shop or paint shop. Tire stores have a special bead blasting machine specifically for wheels, so they can do a good job much more reasonable.

Dodge owners replace ballast resistors. Chev owners replace engines.

They look older to me. Might be pre WW1 but at least pre 1920. Other than that, no clue.

If it was good enough to burn in a car without gumming it up I wouldn't have drained it out.

Not to mention all the paint fumes and sanding dust. I don't know how he survives. All the old time bodymen of his age, died forty years ago.

I put mine in the furnace oil tank. It mixes with the oil and burns up. No problem so far.

About the Vega. They got a bad reputation because of some easily rectified defects that Chevrolet took too long to fix. It was too bad because the fixes were not very difficult or expensive. I know of some later ones that gave excellent service for over 100,000 miles without complaint. I drove one and was very impressed by its smooth quiet comfortable ride. It drove like a big car. You must remember that they were selling against the Pinto, VW beetle, Plymouth Cricket, AMC Gremlin and in that group they looked pretty good. Many people shunned Vegas and bought Monzas and were happy with them, even though a Monza was a Vega with a restyled body.

Well Allen there you have it. Don't feel too bad, there are lots of purists around here. I say if you like the car and the price is right buy it, but as a fun toy do not think of it as a real antique or classic.

I second the vote for a slant six Chrysler product. Best built economy car of its time from the standpoint of quality, longevity and service especially considering the low price. Although quite tinny and not at all luxurious. Here is one that rather surprised me. Maurice Hendry, an expert on luxury cars of the twenties, thirties and forties, thought well of Packard and Lincoln but stated that for sheer grinding hard work, nothing could outlast a Cadillac.

Looks like a novelty or advertising gimmick. Anhaueser Busch had several nautical theme cars in the late twenties - early thirties, similar to this one but larger.

I prefer to use the lower temp thermostat and a low pressure cap out of respect for the old radiator and cooling system. I don't want to blow a rad or rad hose. Never had a problem but then, I don't live in California.

Everyone was ordered to turn in surplus tires for recycling (garages and junk yards) during WW2. I know of one local junk yard that turned in the tires but did not turn in the cars, the owner scrounged all over the country for old wood stoves, farm machinery, any other kind of junk so he could keep the cars. Don't know if there was a quota or what.

Don't depend too much on 2 wheel brakes especially down hill. Leave the engine in gear take your foot off the gas and let the engine hold the car back. If you need to slow down apply the brakes sharpish, slow right down, then let it pick up speed again. Do not hold the pedal down and drag the brakes for long periods of time.

On second thoughts you may not need a starter. Maybe the cables are just loose or dirty. Try taking the cables off and cleaning the ends with fine sandpaper and reinstalling them. Do not over tighten, the bolts are made of copper and are softer than steel ones.

Disconnect the cable off the battery (either one) before you start. Take the starter to an auto electric rebuilder and have it rebuilt. Ask around your old car friends or look in the yellow pages. Phone first to make sure they can rebuild such an old starter, most places can. Usually costs a little more than a cheap parts store starter but they use much better quality parts.

The electrical wires are for the transmission control system. The carburetor also has hot water passages for quick warm up in cold weather. You really need to buy a repair manual. It has all the information you need and will pay for itself very quickly. They can be bought on Ebay, and from old car manual dealers.

Headers on that car are more or less a waste of money. The original manifolds flow better than you would think. You will get practically as much out of dual exhausts, which can be made by a local muffler shop. The New Yorker motor is the same as the one they used in 440 six pack cars, except with a 4 barrel carb. If you get it running right you will think you are driving a Caddy with an afterburner. Concentrate on tuning the motor up. If it has good compression and good oil pressure, that is all it should need. Don't forget to change the oil in the trans, and rear axle, and check the universal joints.

How is the compression? If it is low, the rings may be dry. A shot of oil in the spark plug holes will fix this. Or, valves may be stuck. If you have compression, spark, and gas, at the right time, an engine has to run, it has no choice. So if you have spark, and fed it some gas or starter spray, it should at least fire. Did it backfire or do anything at all?