Rusty_OToole

I remember a magazine article from the late 40s about the newest developments in radio and TV. The most expensive set was a combination radio/TV/phonograph with the biggest screen on the market, I think it was 10". It was meant for use in clubs and other public places. Cost was $1275 about the price of a new Ford sedan.

All cylinders are very low unless this is a pre 1925 engine. Did you oil the cylinders? Sometimes you have this problem (low compression) on a new engine if the rings are too dry, or if the cylinders have been flooded and the cylinders washed down by gas. Compression test should be done with the throttle fully open and coil disconnected. Let the engine turn over 3 or 4 times to build up pressure. Test all cylinders once, then squirt some oil down the spark plug holes and test again. 2 or 3 squirts from an oil can. This will oil up the rings. If pressure rises significantly it could mean bad rings. If it does not rise, could mean bad valves or a hole in the piston. Of course this is on cylinders that read low on the first test.

First check that the lights are working. If they are not lighting up check the bulbs, if they are OK, could be a bad connection, corroded sockets, broken wire etc. Once all bulbs are working the signals should work. The flasher will not work correctly unless all bulbs are working, it needs the right power draw to work. If bulbs light up OK but are not flashing, the flasher may be shot. Sometimes the lights have to be on for 10 or 20 seconds before the flasher starts to work. Your question is really too vague to answer. Would be a lot better if you could be more specific about what they are doing or not doing.

My uncle used to fix TVs and radios when TV first came out. He had quite a few old sets in his basement. His son (my cousin) still has a few. One struck me as unusual. It had a round, or nearly round, picture tube 7 or 8" across. The set was more or less square with a metal case. The unusual part was the depth. It must be nearly 2 feet deep. Did some early sets have a very long picture tube? Would such a set have any collector value?

You should be able to get speedo cable lube at any auto parts store. $1.79 a tube, a lifetime supply for most of us. To lube the cable, disconnect it at the bottom or transmission end. Pull out the inner cable and wipe it clean with a rag. Lube the cable and put it back in the housing. Do not lube the top 6" to 1 foot. You do not want the lube working its way into the speedo. This should be done every 10 or 20 years. If the inner cable is worn out or broken you can buy just the inner cable. But given its age you may as well buy the whole thing. Chev used the same cable from 1948 to 1972.

On thinking it over the front bumper reminds me of a 61 Tbird. Could be other cars had a similar style.

1956 would be about right if it was a show car. It anticipates features of the Chrysler and Imperial cars of 1960. I also see hints of 1958 Lincoln and 1960 Mercury. The way the front bumper wraps around the fender rings a bell but can't put my finger on it.

Probably a flower car modified from a stock sedan by a local body shop or garage. If it had rollers on the floor I might have guessed a "first response" vehicle used for picking up customers from the mortuary or hospital by a large undertaking establishment. Being made from a Model A suggests speed and weight carrying capacity was not uppermost in their minds, which argues against it being an ambulance or hearse and in favor of the flower car hypothesis.

Canadian Pontiacs were basically Chevrolets in Pontiac suits. They were built on Chev frames with Chev engines and were smaller than US Pontiacs. They did not get the wide track chassis. It stands to reason they would use the X frame as long as Chev did.

This is a common problem. Easy to solve with a battery eliminator. Or, by getting some batteries. The 90 volt battery can be made by getting 10 9 volt batteries and connecting them in series by plugging them together. Here is an article on making a cheap battery eliminator. There are others if you look around the net. Powering Your Antique Battery Radio As to better music, this I doubt. Your old AM radio will outperform any AM radio made today if it is in top shape. And battery radios seldom wore out, they were not used much because the batteries were expensive. If it does not work it is most likely capacitors died of old age. They can be replaced with new ones.

The ISO 22 will be fine.

If you check your Fluid Drive oil level, stuff a rag around the hole and you will not drop the plug where it should not go. Once you are sure there is enough oil in the trans and fluid drive, check over your wiring for loose, frayed or broken wires. There are other things you can do, we can go into all that if you still have problems. If you do a search for Fluid Drive in the Chrysler section there were some long threads in 2008 with a thorough discussion of the operation and servicing of this tranny.

"Sold down the river" goes back to slave days. If a slave would not behave his owner would threaten to sell him down the river. That meant, sell him to a slave trader for resale in the deep South. The deep south cotton plantations had the reputation for being the worst place for a slave compared to, for example, a Virginia tobacco plantation.

If it is Australian made forget everything I said. Your car is unique to Australia and has more in common with Australian made Chryslers and Dodges. Best thing to do would be to contact some Australian Chrysler enthusiasts. I'm sure they would have the information you seek.

"Are you rich?" "I used to be, before I bought an antique car." Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

The factory produced an excellent manual and when the cars were new, every dealer had one. There are still hundreds around. They turn up on Ebay from time to time. Price, usually around $50 for an original, half that for a reproduction, but the repro manuals are not as complete.

Wonder if the English went to model numbers because they had such a poor knack for picking names? Humber Snipe, Armstrong Siddeley, Standard Vanguard , Austin Hampshire, Morris Oxford, these were all actual cars. William Lyons managed to dream up the Jaguar name but only after naming his cars SS first. This did not sound so clever after WW2 so he changed to Jaguar, then quit while he was ahead, using numbers and letters from then on.

American or Australian made? If US made, I believe in those years all Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler cars used the same windshield and back window. I was surprised to find this out. Some years ago I had a friend who needed a replacement roof for a 1959 Chrysler New Yorker sedan. He found a 1957 Plymouth sedan that had the same roof. Careful measurements revealed it was the same length, width, etc. The difference was Plymouth and Dodge had 1 piece doors with painted window frames. DeSoto and Chrysler doors had bright window frames of extruded aluminum. Try to find a 1957 -58- 59 Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto or Chrysler to measure. Or maybe someone on here has an interchange manual. The windows will differ by body type. In other words 4 door sedans had different glass from 2 door hardtops at least the back glass. If you mean an Australian made DeSoto that is a completely different car that will have more in common with Aussie Chrysler products up to 1962. Chrome trim on the side, the only source I know of is used parts off another car. Rubber and suspension, there are specialists who sell these things, like Steele Rubber for rubber. Suspension parts are still stocked by large auto parts chains in the US or can be bought from Chrysler specialists like Andy Bernbaum or Roberts Motor Parts.

Probably something the matter with the engine but could also be low air pressure in the tires, brakes stuck, different driving habits etc. This seems to be the day for questions the oldest man in the world could not answer without a crystal ball. But the questioner could figure out for himself with a repair manual and some common sense.

I think they just ran out of names. They still give some cars names but when they call them Tredia and Cordia, as one car company does, you can hear the bottom of the barrel being scraped, hard. What will their next effort be? The Beadia, the Whitewallia? All the good names were used up years ago. From now on they will have to use names like Treetop or Notwithstanding, or else recycle names from old cars, or just use a string of numbers and letters.

It might pay you to play up to the perception of being rich. Rich people get a lot more respect no matter what they do.

Calling The Amazing Kreskin. Or let's all get out our crystal balls. Seriously, for that kind of money you should pay for an experienced appraiser. Unless the seller is out and out nuts. In that case save your money, they won't listen to an appraiser or anyone else.

Yes perception is a funny thing. Imagine bringing home a scroungy looking car from the fifties, sixties or seventies that has been sitting in a garage for twenty years. Sitting in the driveway on flat tires covered in dust as the tow truck delivered it. All the neighbors immediately call the cops and start a petition to have it squashed as scrap. 2 weeks later after washing, polishing, and spending a few hundred $$$ bucks on new tires battery and parts they are going "oh look at those rich show offs" lol.

Calling The Amazing Kreskin, or possibly the ghost of Harry Houdini. It is rather difficult to divine history of a car we have never seen, with no pictures, no serial numbers, absolutely nothing to go on. You might have a better response if you give us what you have, as pictures, serial numbers, and its history as you know it. Previous owners, where in Texas and so on. Maybe with luck we can piece together some of its history between Detroit in 1934 and Texas in 2012.

48 DLX I suggest you measure the taper of the cylinders. If it is .007 or less you can cut the ridge off the top, hone the cylinders and install new rings. Also grind the valves or replace if necessary. Check the bearings and replace if necessary. This can all be done with the engine in the car, it is called a ring and valve job and used to be a common type of overhaul. If the engine is not too badly worn this will give you another 20000 to 50000 miles of service. Provided the crankshaft, and cylinders are not too worn. If you had good oil pressure before you tore it down you should be OK. If you really want to go first class you can pull the engine, tear it down and do a complete rebuild but the ring and valve job is an economical and perfectly satisfactory alternative, provided the engine is not completely worn out.