Rusty_OToole

Mileage might be surprisingly good. In a railroad trade magazine from the eighties I read that a Chev Suburban on steel wheels, got 60-65 MPG in track inspection and maintenance duties. The steel wheels have much less resistance than rubber tires, the grades are gentle, and they don't go very fast.

You can buy a small portable radio at Walmart that runs on 9V of batteries. It will work just as well on 6V from your car battery. They even make vintage style units but I don't think they make one in a 1936 style lol.

First thing to check is belt tightness. I assume it is not worn out. Squeak or squeal can also be caused by belt being coated with oil or antifreeze. Cleaning the belts and pulleys will fix it.

Honeycomb rads are available but VERY expensive. It is cheaper to recore the rad with a more modern fin and tube design. This costs no more than recoring any rad.

If they used a 52 Chrysler or Buick instead of a cheap ass 59 Chev the results would be different. I know the Chrysler would wreck everything. They had more steel in the bumpers than Chev had in the whole frame. If you don't believe me, come out to my garage and try to lift one. By the way "hardtop convertible" was the original name for a hardtop. Sometimes "convertible hardtop" although that one sounds more like a Ford retractible.

We used to figure 20000 to 30000 miles for a fuel pump in fleet service, about the same for generators and starters. The vacuum pump should do less work, and last longer than the fuel pump if it is hooked up correctly.

If you stand the engine on its back end you should be able to fill the water jackets with your favorite rust eating solution (if the head is on tight). Once you get it cleaned out put in your water tube, wonder if you could find a NOS one from one of the old car specialists? Don't forget to take out the core plugs, clean the water jacket, and replace the core plugs before putting in the new tube.

By the way the Buick straight eight has NO advantage in power, economy, reliability or anything else compared to a good flathead. It is the more modern short stroke ohv V8 (and the new Ford OHV 6, 1952 and up) that have all the advantages. OHV per se is NOT necessarily better than a flathead, in fact, a flathead is better, all else being equal.

If you are shopping for a car, and are concerned about engine life and overall practicality, move up a few years and buy a more modern car. One with an OHV V8. All 3 of the cars you mention will have broadly similar performance and driving experience. Top choice for reliable practical transportation and easy low cost repairs, the DeSoto. In other words you already have the best car. To get anything much better you will have to get a more modern car.

There is a 1911 Cartercar touring in the Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa Ontario. I expect the AACA is aware of it, it has been there for many years.

"Burning of points results from high voltage, presence of oil or other material at the points, defective condenser or too small a gap in the points. High voltage can be caused from high voltage setting of the regulator or high resistance in the charging circuit or the third brush set too high. On third brush generators too small a gap at the points allows the points to stay closed longer resulting in the average current being high enough to allow the points to burn rapidly. Contact pitting results from an out of balance condition in the system which causes the transfer of tungsten from one point to the other so that a tip builds up on one point and a pit on the other. The direction in which the tungsten is transferred gives an indication for correcting the situation. If the tungsten transfers from the negative to the positive point one or two corrections may be made. Increase the capacity of the condenser, shorten the condenser lead, separate high and low tension leads between the coil and distributor, move these leads closer to the engine block. If the transfer is from the positive to negative point, reduce condenser capacity, move low and high leads closer together and/or away from the engine block, or lengthen condenser lead. Good luck with your trouble shooting. This information was taken from a Delco Remy electrical equipment book." Borrowed from Alan Hale's web site. Now you know how to fine tune your condenser for longest point life.

Chrysler six volt + ground used .25 to .28 Mfd. So it looks like they are all in the same ballpark. It is not necessary to have the condenser in the distributor. You can mount it on the coil and connect to the wire that goes to the distributor ( the opposite end of the same wire). Some English motorcycles came this way stock. You could put it together and check the points after 10000 miles or so. If the points are not burned the condenser is perfect. If the ground is pitted you need a stronger condenser, if the moving point is pitted you need a weaker one or maybe it is the other way around. As long as the condenser is somewhere close, the car will run. Frankly the stock ones weren't that perfect, or maybe there are variations in the resistance of the ignition or something. I know once in a long while you got a "perfect" condenser and the points would not burn but this was rare, usually they were off one way or the other.

Sounds like Mr. Nicholds got ahold of some surplus Hupp engines and transmissions.

Yes they made a puller just for Chrysler drums. I have one. It looks like a steel traffic cone with 5 bolt holes and a great big screw with a steel dog bone. The ends of the dog bone are all peened and squashed over. It has been beat on HARD many times but never fails to break a hub loose. I even made an adapter to pull wide 5 VW rear hubs.

I would start by checking for bad fuse, loose or corroded or frayed wires and bad connections.

You have a classy car there Jeff. It is definitely a 1952, you can tell by the tail lights. 1951 and 52 were practically the same but 51 had separate tail light and backup light, 52 had them together in the same housing. The 52 had the best flathead six Chrysler put in a car. 265 cu in, 120 HP with full flow oiling system. It will fit in other Chrysler built cars and trucks from the thirties to the late fifties. So if you decide to get rid of it do not junk it, advertise it for sale. Maybe someone can use it. The reason I bring the subject up is that your car has already been stripped of major parts like transmission, engine parts etc. This means a lot of work and expense to put it back original. I am all for originality but in this case it might be better to find a good running Fifth Avenue from the eighties and install the engine, trans, and rear axle in your car. I'm not saying one way or the other but it is something to consider. One good thing, the 51 and 52 Windsor were available with a V8 ( the V8 Windsor was called a Saratoga) so one will fit in easier than a pre 51. Did you ask the seller if he has any parts like chrome, hubcaps, trans, driveshaft, heater? They are no good to him, you might as well get them. The heater is a black box the size of a bread box that sits under the hood, on the inner fender, on the passenger side. Also ask for spare keys, owners manual , repair manual, and of course the ownership. It's best if you ask these questions before you pay for the car. Leave your phone number in case he finds something later. On a car that old, parts are sometimes hard to get. It would be a shame if the last owner threw a bunch of stuff in the trash, and you had to hunt and hunt for replacements. Re the transmission. All Chryslers that year came with the same transmision, semi automatic M6. With choice of Fluid Drive or Fluid Torque Drive (torque converter). Your car had Fluid Drive you can tell by the gearshift quadrant. It would say Fluid Torque Drive if it had that option. Chrysler had a lot of options that year such as, hemi head V8, 4 speed trans with Fluid Drive or torque converter, first car to offer power steering, power brakes, Oriflow tubular shocks, the best on the market, first car since the 1939 Packard to offer air conditioning, tinted glass, padded dash. No other car on the road that year offered all these things. No Cadillac, Lincoln, Rolls Royce or Mercedes could compare. Of course a few years later every car had them but in 1952, only Chrysler. Generally speaking parts are not hard to get, most are available from NAPA. By that I mean brake shoes, fan belts, spark plugs, etc. Body parts, chrome, upholstery are another matter. They are not well served by aftermarket suppliers like the Chev and muscle cars. On the other hand there are specialists like Andy Bernbaum, Roberts Motor parts and Vintage Power Wagons (engine parts) that have a lot of parts. If you have any restoration questions we will try to help. If you are thinking about an engine swap you might look at the HAMB message board, they are the hot rod experts. Your car could go either way, restoration or resto rod with original appearance and modern drive train.

The last one of those I had the gas tank was rusty and kept clogging the carb. As the gas tank and carb are one I ended up throwing it away.

Cell phone and auto club membership.

Do you mean the oil pan? You should remove the transmission and clutch housing pan first. Then take out the bolts and the pan should come off. It may need to be pried off if the gasket is stuck. Are you sure you got all the bolts? Use your common sense, look and see if anything is holding it.

Dexron transmission fluid, 10W30 motor oil. If you are concerned about the lack of zinc in today's oil use Rotella 15W40 from Shell.

Don't try to change your Plymouth to 6 volts. It's a real bag of worms. I have changed cars and tractors in the past, and it's not worth the bother and expense. Easier and better and cheaper to keep the 6 volt system and just fix whatever is wrong with it. As for all the guys who say it is easy, they are full of it. What really bothers me is that these wisenheimers talk some poor sucker into trying to change his car over, then when he gets in a mess, they are never around to answer his questions. Just keep it 6 volts, buy an Optima battery and be happy.

Good suggestion about the neutral safety switch. Could also be a bad starter relay. I would first check all the electrical connections from the battery to the relay to the starter, clean them and be sure they are tight, the wires not frayed or broken. This is something that does not take long and costs practically nothing.

He just told you, he got the wrong carb for the car but made it fit by making an adapter. Now he wants to know if it is the right carb for the car.

Yes I have plenty of thoughts. If I was there I could have that motor eating out of my hand in a few hours. Unfortunately it would take just as long to type out every single thing that could be wrong with it. First, check if it has spark. If not take off the distributor cap and clean the white fur off the points. Spray them with contact cleaner and drag a strip of white paper through them until it comes out clean. The paper works better if you double it over. If you do this you will not disturb the point gap or timing. Before you do anything else make sure the gas is OK. If it smells like gas you are good. If it smells like old stinky varnish oh, oh, do not start the car until you get all that old gas out of there. It will gum up your motor so bad a safe cracker couldn't free it up. If the gas is good and the spark is good try pouring a little gas down the carb and see if it starts. Just an egg cup full is all it takes.

That is why I suggested you stuff a rag around the hole. Oh well I found out the same way. The plug should fall to the bottom. Take the cover plate off the bottom of the bellhousing. If the plug does not fall out, turn the fluid coupling by prying on the ring gear. Do not turn too far or some oil might leak out.