Rusty_OToole

Corrosion is not the problem it used to be. I first noticed 2O years ago that you could take the water pump off an old engine and it was perfectly clean inside with no corrosion. The antifreeze is a lot better than what we used to get.

Many cars had that type of axle especially expensive cars like Cadillac and Jaguar. It is a nuisance especially on old cars where they have grown together over the years.

A stove bolt was a distinct type of bolt with a round head slotted for a screwdriver. It usually had a square nut on the other end. All wood stoves and coal stoves made of iron, were held together with stove bolts. The first Chev sixes used the same type bolts to hold the valve cover and side covers on and to fasten other accessories to the engine. Probably because they were cheaper than other bolts. So it got the name Stovebolt Six.

Brake system pressure might go to 2OOO psi but the switch should close much lower. Like 2O pounds or so. The switches often fail. If you have trouble finding a replacement VWs used this type switch up to the 7Os. They are available from your local parts store and will fit most old cars. Just ask for a switch for a 1975 VW beetle.

So far as I know they will fit.49 and 50 the same, 51 and 52 were the same basic body as 49 and 50 but the front end was face lifted including raising the fender line and therefore, the line of the door.

Price is way out of line. $2000 would be more like it.

In those days many customers desired a hand made body on an expensive chassis. The Chrysler company catered to these customers by offering Locke bodies. In this way they could have a hand made body faster and at lower cost, than if they ordered the chassis and body separately. All manufacturers of expensive cars had a catalog of custom bodies.

There are definitely differences between a standard body and a Locke body. They are completely different, made in different workshops or factories. The Locke body was a more expensive alternative to the standard body for those who wished for a hand made body on a Chrysler chassis.

The man in Austria may have full size drawings or blueprints that he scaled his down from. As patents expire after 17 years there should be no problem making a copy. But copyrights and trademarks are different. Even so you should be in the clear as long as you don't put the DeDion Bouton name on your engine.

The leading experts on this type of supercharger setup would be John Erb . John Erb 4019 Ponderosa Drive, Carson City, NV 8970-6436 775 883 6494 johncerb@netzero.net Reknown Studebaker VS/SN supercharger rebuilder, modifier, parts supplier and parts manufacturer. John is also Chief engineer of Keith Black Performance Pistons and can be contacted Monday-Thursday 7 to 5:30 on 800 648 7970 for piston related talk. He should be able to set you straight if anyone can.

First car I rode in that had air, that I remember for sure, was my fathers 198O Pontiac Parisienne Brougham which he bought new that year, the first new car he ever owned bought at the age of 6O. First car I ever owned with working air was a 92 Dodge I bought about 5 years ago. Who needs air when you live in the frozen north

In their heyday DeDion Bouton sold over 5OOO single cylinder engines a year to other manufacturers, not counting those they used in their own cars and tricycles. Even pierce Arrow used DeDion engines in their first car. Then there were other firms that copied them like Aster. Seldenguy has a good point. It may be easier to find a repairable original engine than to make one.

Locke was an independent company that made bodies for any chassis the customer desired. Chrysler chose Locke as a supplier of bodies that could be ordered from Chrysler dealers, as an alternative to the standard factory bodies. In those days, luxury car makers offered such choices to their customers. They usually bought the bodies in batches of 25, 5O or 1OO. The bodies were kept in the warehouse until an order was obtained. Then the body would be painted and upholstered to the customers specifications and accessories added. In this way the factory could offer their customers something different and special. But the car could be built faster and at lower cost than building the body from scratch. An old timer in the custom body trade, said at least 9O% of all custom bodies were made in this way. Today such bodies are sometimes called semi custom bodies but he said when they were new, they were called custom bodies. They did not differentiate between such bodies built in batches, or one off jobs that are now called full custom. All their bodies were built of the same materials, by the same workmen, in the same workshops to the same standards. For more on the Locke body company see this. Coachbult.com - Locke

I am thinking the excess smoke might be from gummed up or frozen rings. In that case heavy oil will only make it worse, light oil might free them up.

I knew another old timer who took 2 Willys Knights on a trade in back in the thirties. One would not run right, it was down on power, he suspected a clogged exhaust from oil smoke. He sold it cheap to a guy who rammed a crowbar up the tailpipe and drove off with no more problem. Not that I am suggesting you do that. My friend took the exhaust off the other car and burned it out with oxygen. It restored the power without damaging anything.

I would go along with using low octane gas in a low compression car but not the cheap oil. There may be a more modern oil that will work better than what they had in the thirties and especially, preserve the engine from wear. My guess would be to take off the pan and clean out the sludge then use Shell Rotella 15W4O but that is only a guess. The main concern should be to preserve the engine because they are almost imossible to rebuild. On the other hand, given reasonable care and regular oil changes it should run over 1OO.OOO miles and I have heard of sleeve valve bus and truck engines going 3OO,OOO.

Knight engines are supposed to burn oil. I have seen newsreels of the Royals in the thirties riding in their Daimler limousine with a plume of smoke out the tailpipe. Daimler featured Knight sleeve valve engines in those days. I knew an old time antique car owner who used a Willys Knight 4 cylinder car from the mid twenties as a tour car in the sixties and seventies. He told me when he started off in the morning it would burn a quart of oil in the first sixty miles. After that, nothing. Next day, same thing, starting from cold it would burn a quart in sixty miles then no more for the rest of the day. It seems they take a long time to warm up. As to what kind of oil to use I would consult the Willys Knight experts. Or go by what the factory recommended.

A good auto supply store should be able to look u the master cylinder by the part number. I have seen old brake catalogs with pictures of the various cylinders. They were not identified by car make or model, but by Wagner part #.

The weight is supposed to be held by the spring. If the spring is missing it will rattle around which makes an annoying noise. The cure is to wire it open so it cant rattle. When the valve is closed (cold] the hot exhaust is diverted against the bottom of the intake to warm it and vaporize the cold fuel. As the engine warms the spring relaxes allowing the valve to open and the exhaust to go out unimpeded. If a car sits for a long time the valve can rust shut in the cold position. The best thing to do is fix it the way the factory intended. It will make a significant difference in the way your car runs when it is warming up.

purpose made by a guy with a disc grinder. Likely an auto body repair man.

Did they call or email the comany headquarters. The info is available if they ask. If they dont know enough to ask, try another paint dealer.

Your favorite local auto paint store. Given the original name and number they can get the formula from the head office in a few hours or at most, within a day or 2.

It looks to me like something made up in the late fifties for a custom car. Guys would buy bullets, drawer knobs, spinners etc and bolt them to their hubcaps, this was before mag wheels came in.

We were talking about early crank start cars that are made to be started by turning the end of the crankshaft.

If the tanks are otherwise the same, a good radiator shop can swap the filler pipes for you.