Rusty_OToole

I doubt there are any factory patterns published anywhere. A headliner is a simple thing to tailor. Measure the roof on the inside, measure the distance between bows, and make the headliner a few inches oversize all the way around. Then trim off the excess material when you finish installing it. You could easily make your own pattern and sew the headliner on a home sewing machine. Be sure to use nylon thread, cotton thread will deteriorate and fall apart after a few years in a car.

A quick Google search turned up this book on the 1945 Chrysler IND 9 engine. VictorySiren.com - Chrysler Air Raid Siren Maintenance Manual They changed the model number as they altered and improved them. The IND 9 model was probably made for a year or two. The last 4 digits would be the serial number. IND 9 1372 would be the ID number you would quote when ordering parts. Straight eight industrial engines seem to be much more rare than the six cylinder versions.

You need to check the engine temp. The gauge could have broken because the engine overheated. Get a hand held infrared temp sensor. Check the temp of the engine at the head. Should be 160 - 180 degrees. Check the front and the back of the head. If the back of the engine is way hotter than the front, like more than 10 or 20 degrees, you have another problem. If the whole engine is hot could be a clogged radiator. If there is any problem with engine temps come back and tell us, maybe we can help.

Did you see this thread? Might be what you are looking for, unfortunately it is in Illinois. http://forums.aaca.org/f145/spitfire-long-block-324558.html They do turn up from time to time. Same engine was used in postwar Chrysler and DeSoto up to 1954, large Dodge trucks to 1962 and military vehicles to 1968. You might want to look up Vintage Power Wagons web site. They have literally tons and tons of flathead six parts, they may have a compete good engine.

A minor point if you want to be a real expert - the spring covers are called gaiters not 'gators. Definition of gaiters from Wikipedia: Gaiters are garments worn over the shoe and lower pants leg, and used primarily as personal protective equipment; similar garments used primarily for display are spats. Originally, gaiters were made of leather. Today, gaiters for walking are commonly made of plasticized synthetic cloth such as polyester. Gaiters for use on horseback continue to be made of leather. They go on: In Army parlance, a gaiter covers leg and bootlacing; a legging covers only the leg. In RAF parlance, gaiter includes legging. The American Army during World War I<sup id="cite_ref-WWI_0-0" class="reference">[1]</sup> and World War II had leggings, which were gaiters. Above the knee spatterdashes were cotton or canvas, as were many gaiters of varying lengths thereafter. Leather gaiters were rare in military, though sometimes a calf-length cotton gaiter had leather kneecaps added. Leggings, however, were very often made of leather, but also canvas. Gaiters were worn by horsemen, hikers, and Anglican clergymen as well as military men. So they were fairly common in the late 19th and early 20th century. The similarity to the laced on or sewn on spring covers is obvious.

Steam will remove the wrinkles. So will time. The material slowly shrinks, but with steam you can do in minutes what it might take months to happen on its own.

It could be a worn out engine or it could just need a tuneup. For your purposes I suggest you look at cars from the sixties or newer. No older than the mid to late 50s. They come with OHV V8 or six cylinder engines, automatic, etc and are generally longer lived than the older models. If you are not mechanical it would pay to have a car checked out by a good mechanic. And to pay the price for a good car, either a well preserved low mileage model or one that has been repaired properly. Would also suggest a Chevrolet would be the safest to buy, as they have the best parts backup and there are lots of mechanics who understand them.

I suggest you contact the car hauler company with your concerns. They may have solutions you have not thought of.

My book only goes back to 1940 but every Plymouth six I know of takes a Carter B&B carburetor right up to the eighties including the slant six. Carter B&B also known as the Ball and Ball carburetor. There should be a name and model number on the carb. On the ones I am familiar with there is a number stamped on the web on top of the float bowl at the front of the carb. My suggestion is to get it running, tune it up, and check the compression and oil pressure. If they are OK drive it around. It may take a few hundred miles of driving for the engine to come back 100%. If it is badly worn, down on compression and oil pressure, burns oil etc then you will have to consider a rebuild. Fortunately they are not a complicated engine and parts are available reasonable so a rebuild is not very expensive as such things go.

You should not need any new switches. They are reliable and trouble free. The only one that might give trouble is the governor and then only after 100,000 miles. The points get gummed up from oil fumes. The solution is to clean them with contact cleaner spray and drag a strip of white printer paper between them. Do not use a file or sandpaper, they are silver and rather soft. For instructions on trouble shooting and fixing the transmission look here. Transmission and Clutch Repair Information for Imperials and Chrysler Imperials

It's probably a single cell of a battery used for home lighting and electricity before the power grid. Many rural areas did not get electric power until the 30s or later. Each cell was counted as 2 volts, typical home power plants were 24 or 36 volts, so you would need either 12 or 18 of those cells.They were charged by a wind generator or one driven by a gas engine. When the battery wore out after years of service they could be rebuilt by putting new plates in the glass jars. They could also be used for a radio. The first radios were DC only and needed 90 volts to operate! The batteries were much smaller than home lighting batteries. The first radios that could be plugged in, were invented in the mid twenties.

I drove a 1961 Corvair when it was a 7 year old used car. Bias ply tires, swing axles, drum brakes and all. Never had an accident. It was one of the best cars for snow I ever drove, up there with the VW beetle, before front wheel drive became popular. The danger of the Corvair was very overblown. This was proven by a US government investigation in 1972 which absolved the Corvair of being dangerous, 3 years after they went out of production, and which never seems to have been publicised. It is amazing to me how people are still taken in by Ralph Nader's bullshit. I seem to be the only person who has actually read his book.

Reality TV = more TV than reality.

Diamond shaped boss suggests your engine had the aluminum tower filter with no external oil lines. The base bolted right to the block. It was used on Chrysler 1951 and newer. Your engine must be a C51 which is a 1951 or 52 Chrysler. Chrysler's Flathead Engine 1st picture - partial flow filter 2nd picture - full flow filter with aluminum tower base. Note clamp fitting lid. 3d picture - no filter at all

Yes that is what I meant. You can see the markings on C49ers illustration, Ign = coil +, Bat = coil -, INT = interrupter (switch) SOL = Solenoid. Yours will be similarly marked if you clean off old grease and rust with a fine wire brush. The other units will have similar markings. If they don't then you can connect them either way.

Start by removing the seats. With the seats out you can replace the headliner. This should be avoided if possible because you have to remove the windshield and windows to do it right. Then you have to replace the windows with new rubber. With the headliner cleaned or replaced, now you can replace the door panels interior panels and carpet. Once the carpet is in you can replace the seats, which you recovered when you had them out.

Look in the yellow pages for a local bearing supply company. They sell bearings, seals, etc for all kinds of industrial uses. They can get any bearing or seal if it is in production, and have the cheapest prices. They go by the bearing number not the car company parts number or model, make or year. If you have the numbers, or if you can take the original parts in to measure, or if the old bearing has a number on it, they can fix you up.

Could also be a 265 depending on the year. The oil filter is the later type used 49 to 54 so it may be a 265. If so it is the most desirable, largest and most powerful of the flathead sixes. The only way to be sure is by the serial number. Very hard to put a value on it without seeing it but should be worth $200 to $500 as is, complete with transmission and accessories. There are quite a few flathead Chrysler fans out there and the same engine will fit DeSoto and Chrysler from the late thirties to 1954, and can be fitted to a Plymouth or Dodge with a little work. Here is a message board dedicated to Dodge Pilot House trucks. Someone there might need an engine and trans. http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/forumdisplay.php?f=8

Postwar transmissions are all electric no vacuum. If the transmission will interchange, the controls can be added to your car. You will need a different carburetor with 2 built in electric switches. A resistor and circuit breaker which come in a little tin box. And some wiring.

Rocker panels are one of the easiest panels to make. Any body shop or tin shop with a brake can make them up. I once made a set for a 47 Dodge airport limousine, basically the same body as the 41 Chrysler but stretched to a 139 inch wheelbase. The rocker panels were so long I could not make them on the shop brake. I cut them out, measured, and took them to a sheet metal shop where they had a 12' long brake. I don't remember the exact dimensions but they must have been 8 feet long. The point is rocker panels and sills are not that hard to make. If you do not know how, be assured they can be made by any decent metalworker. The chances of finding parts off another car that will fit, is practically nil. Don't mess with old used junk, find someone who can do the job right.

Good question for a vintage motorhome forum. I don't know of any but I bet they are out there. I think the Cortez has a cool vintage look and wouldn't mind having one. There is a good chance that it does not need much mechanically. I base this on the fact that the average motorhome travels only 3000 miles per year and are built on heavy duty truck chassis capable of going hundreds of thousands of miles before they wear out. It would be like buying an old low mile car gummed up by sitting.

My Old Car Price Guide suggests between $1900 and $3200 dollars. The higher price is for a running car which this isn't. The lower price for a restorable car that needs everything, this car may be better than that. Usually this guide is a little on the high side. It seems cheap for that car but then I like it. If I got it I would preserve it as much as possible. Horns, visor and all. That is the way it was from new and deserves to be preserved, as a conversation piece if you don't care about history. Putting a car like that back in commission can cost a lot of money. Battery, tires, brakes, etc can add up to thousands of $$$ very quickly. I find it a bad idea to run a car down in hopes of getting it cheaper. Everyone can see through that trick and it just gets their back up. Far better to say how much you like the car, and appreciate how they have taken care of it, and isn't it a shame parts and repairs are so expensive. While gently touching the flaking paint like Mother Teresa picking a scab off a leper.

Spitfire head was used only on Chryslers, late 40s up to 1954. So either the head has been changed or the engine. Engine serial number is on a pad on the left side of the engine block up high behind the generator.

Did the 25 have more power? Could be they needed a larger friction drive to handle it, in other words both discs were larger?

I remember when Centari was introduced as I was working in a body shop at the time. It had a great shine, and was much easier to apply than previous paints. But we were warned that it was a lot more toxic. At first they sold special breathing masks that neutralized the fumes, a few years later they went to protective coveralls and masks with an outside air supply.