Rusty_OToole

IND251 is an industrial engine of 251 cu in displacement. This is the same engine as used by Chrysler and DeSoto in the early 50s. Cylinders sleeved with hard chrome sleeves and other heavy duty improvements. Possibly the full flow oiling system too. If the oil filter is in a tower bolted to the block it's the full flow model, a real score. Is there a plate rivetted to the right side of the block or is the number off the stamped pad on the left front of the block? The C22 prefix indicates a 1939 Chrysler Windsor or Royal engine. This is the same block design as the other engine but 241 cu in. It has the same 4 1/2" stroke but only a 3 3/8 bore. This block can safely be bored to 3 7/16, like the later Chrysler and DeSoto and use standard size pistons. Then it will have the same 251 cu in displacement as the other engine. This one should have the partial flow oil filter with separate oil pipes. A good engine but not as heavy duty as the industrial model. Either of these will fit into any Canadian made, 6 cylinder Plymouth Dodge DeSoto or Chrysler from 1938 to 1959.

If you can find a 6 volt one, an electronic ignition module will solve your problems. You can use your points distributor and the points will last 50,000 miles. You won't need a condenser either. The points act as a switch, the ignition module does the work. A few years ago I found plans for a 6 volt electronic ignition on the web someplace. Unfortunately it was not for pos ground so I didn't bookmark it. You might still find it with a web search.

They are the lever action type aren't they? Try filling them with hydraulic jack oil they are probably fine. Just low on oil. The correct oil is called Knee Action fluid but it's pretty hard to get. Hydraulic jack oil, or motorcycle fork oil will be fine.

Check with some local auto glass shops. You might be surprised. Windshields are available for a lot of old cars. The factory can make new glass for any car if they haven't thrown away the mold. Some have molds dating back to the fifties. Back windows not so much but used ones turn up from time to time. I wouldn't buy a used windshield if I could find a new one. No matter how good they look they always turn out to be scratched or pitted with stone chips, and as often as not they break when you try to install them.

Years ago authorities found Hitler's wartime Mercedes limo. It had seven paint jobs, army green over black, over army green etc. Evidently it was painted for military occasions then repainted black again for official government service. He had only one, not 2 or more as some believed. A number of Grosser Mercedes were built for gifts to foreign heads of state, and for use by top Nazi officials. Every time one turns up, it's "Hitler's car". I guess Herman Goering and Heinrich Himmler took the bus. Hitler had several Mercedes cars before he became Fuehrer. Standard models bought for him by the Nazi party starting around 1923. Don't know if any survive, wouldn't it be funny if one did and the owner thought it was just another Mercedes touring car from the 20s. By the way Hitler never "owned" a car. They all belonged to the Nazi party or to the German government, officially.

I saw half a dozen brass cars on the road just a few weekends ago. Mostly Model Ts but there were a couple I could not identify, along with a number of black rad Ts and other 20s cars. They were on some kind of tour in Prince Edward County. If you want to exercise your brass car these days you have to get away from the big city to where roads are narrow and traffic thin. There are several events in this area every summer for brass cars. I doubt they have as many in the big cities, and probably there are none. So get involved in the "grapevine" and do a little traveling and you will see some brass cars. They may even give you a ride.

Of 27 Jaguar XKS models built, approximately 300 survive LOL. Similar statistics for Porsche 356, Auburn Speedster and a few others. For some cars the survival rate is 100% as in the case of the Phantom Corsair aka Flying Wobat. In other cases, much lower. Some cars that were very popular in their day have almost completely disappeared. When did you last see a 1921 Essex coach? It was the best selling closed car of its day, Alfred Sloan, CEO of General Motors, said it had considerable vogue, and was a great influence on the move to closed cars by GM and the industry in general. Another good example, the Renault Dauphine once the best selling 4 door import in America, second only to the 2 door VW Beetle. Are any left? You see lots of Beetles from the fifties and sixties. There are a lot of factors involved. Hard to say how many survivors there are but there is no question, some cars have a much higher survival rate than others and it doesn't necessarily mean they were better than others long forgotten.

Back when points were in use it was common to get a tuneup once or twice a year. One mechanic I know would inspect the old points and if they were not burned, would save the old condenser for his own car. They varied in quality even when new. If you got one perfectly matched to your ignition, the points would not burn. If impedence was too high one point would burn, if too low the other would burn. By that I mean metal from one point would burn off and be deposited on the other point.

Frank I have seen radios 80 years old still working with the original capacitors (same thing as a condenser). But most old wax paper caps are shot, even if they were never used. They just deteriorate over time and there is no way to tell when they will go. So, it is quite possible your car is running on a condenser that was installed in the sixties. They don't all fail. A modern capacitor made of mylar is much more durable and is more likely to stand up for 50 years. But there is no guarantee in either case.

Pitted points usually means a bad condenser. An NOS condenser is probably bad when you install it. They had a short life even if never used, they were made of wax paper and tinfoil. Modern mylar condensers have a much longer life. See if you can get a new condenser of the proper value, probably about .25 to .28 MFD, at least that is the spec of 6 volt ignition on Chrysler products around 1950.

Speaking of dumb ads today I received a dandy in the mail. It is a full color fold out brochure, 16 1/2 X 11 inches. It was sent out by a local Chrysler dealership. The first line in in giant letters says "IMPORTANT NOTICE SAVE THOUSANDS" the very next line is "YOU HAVE BEEN PRE- SELECTED TO ATTEND A PRIVATE SALE THAT WILL NOT BE ADVERTISED TO THE PUBLIC" FAIL. My first reaction was what the heck are they talking about? Not advertised to the public, I've got the advertisement in my hand? My second was, if they would lie about that they would lie about anything.

Most likely the original engine. A 251 with the full flow oiling is an excellent engine, and it was available in 1952. Stock size for a Chrysler Windsor. The 265 may not have been made yet. It came in cars the next year. I wonder if you could check with Bombardier? Maybe they bought engines from Chrysler with no numbers on them because they had their own identification system? Is there any sign of a metal plate that was removed from the right side of the block? Such as rivets chiseled off? The industrial engines had an ID plate. If your customer does not want the engine I would like to have it myself.

CHEAPER to keep it original unless it is a total pail. By that I mean, a wreck with half the parts missing and the fenders rusted thru and beat right off it. Then it would be a toss up. Example: Complete body and paint in original plain enamel finish, $5000. Custom paint job in the latest style, $20,000 and up. Rebuild original engine, $2500. Replace with Chev 350 crate motor, which requires new mounts, new transmission, new rear axle, shifter, rad etc etc, $10,000. Sandblast and paint original wheels, new tires in original size, $1000. 26" Dub wheels and rubber band tires, $5000 Rebuild original front suspension, $750. Replace with repro of 1970 Pinto, $3500. Etc etc etc etc

Just a reminder that under the Auto Pact, for every Canadian made car sold in the US a US made car is sold in Canada. A common sense way to save having 2 factories on opposite sides of the border make the same car. So anyone who refuses to buy a Canadian made car is threatening the pay check of a US auto worker.

What people do, and what they want to see in an ad, are 2 different things. Imagine a beer ad showing a fat guy with a beer in his hand and a bowl of pretzels watching TV. Now imagine a beer ad with bikini models on roller skates. Which reflects reality? Which would sell more beer? An ad showing an elegantly dressed couple out on the town, getting out of their Cadillac at the opera or handing the keys to a car hop at a swell country club would sell cars. Even to people who have never been to the opera and never play tennis.

Is this it? 501 Radio Motorola Inc.;

It will be far more valuable original. It will also be easier and cheaper to fix. There is a lot of wrong information on this subject passed around by people who have never done what they are purporting to advise on, and don't know what they are talking about. Your car is a simple and popular design. Parts are available. If it runs there is a good chance it needs only minor repairs. Far easier and cheaper than hot rodding it, and by keeping it original it will only grow more valuable. For a good object lesson think of this. What about some poor sap who spent $50,000 hot rodding a car like yours in the 1990s and is now stuck with a car stripped of its original parts, with gray tweed upholstered Toyota seats, teal paint with a magenta flash, Chev 350 V8 and 3 speed auto, 1974 Mustang II suspension,and Boyd Coddington wheels. Compared to someone who spent $20,000 to restore one completely original. Who has made money and who is going to take a bath?

I fixed one once with a red fibre washer. A neoprene O ring might work. I'm not recommending a substitution if you can get the right part but in a pinch it could get you going.

Here are the paint codes for 1955 Chrysler AutoColorLibrary - Color Chip Selection If you scroll down you can see the paint chips. Click for full size. They don't show your paint code or colors. Closest is 67, black and tango red.

There is nothing to go wrong with a mercury switch unless the mercury leaks out. If the power is getting to the bulb then the ground must be faulty. Can you take the socket out, clean the contacts, and make sure it has a good ground? PS every house thermostat has a mercury switch in it. You could take one out of an old thermostat, glue it to your light socket and not even drill a hole.

It's a rare truck because only a few hundred were sold for civilian use during WW2. Then again, they aren't that rare because the same model was made for several years before, during and after the war. So I would think it should bring a good price but more because of its excellent condition, than the year it was made. I know agriculture was considered vital to the war effort which would explain why he was able to buy the truck. It would be interesting to learn what kind of authorization or application was involved in getting a priority and what criteria were used to qualify.

About a week before this thread started there was a thread about cars and trucks built during WW2. The questioner was looking for any such vehicles. Some doubted any were built. Wonder where those people are now.

Here's another one that floored me. A friend had a 59 Chrysler New Yorker that needed a new roof. He looked around and found a junked 57 Plymouth. The roofs were identical. You could cut the Plymouth roof off at the door posts, weld it on the Chrysler and no one would be the wiser. So they used the same body for Plymouth Dodge DeSoto and Chrysler. Only Imperial had a unique body. If you look at pictures of the 57 Plymouth Dodge DeSoto and Chrysler you can see where the front part of the body and even front fenders are basically the same, only the grille is different. Around back all have different rear fenders and tail fin styling.

By the thirties GM had worked out a system where they used just 3 basic body shells to cover all their cars. They were called A, B, and C bodies. A body was for all Chev and Pontiac cars, and the base model Olds 66. B body for the larger Oldsmobile 88, Buick Special and Century and some LaSalle and small Cadillac. C body for most Cadillacs, Buick's Roadmaster, and certain years of Olds 98. Oldsmobile's model numbering system had 2 digits, the first being body size,6 7 8 or 9 for A B or C body. The second number for cylinders, 6 or 8. Models ranged from 66 to 98. The rule wasn't always rigidly observed. The Olds 88 of the early 50s used the Chev A body and so did the earlier 66 model from the forties. So they weren't too particular in identifying body size in their names. Each body would be used for 2 or 3 years with facelifts in the in between years. They might bring out a new A body one year, a new B body the next and a C body the third. For example in 1948 Cadillac got a new C body and so did the Futuramic Olds 98. But Buick stuck with the old C body for one more year because the head of the Buick division didn't like the new body. In 49 they brought out a new A body and B body. About this time Olds gave up the C body and made only A and B body cars. So it can get confusing. 1959 is a unique year. They decided to go even farther and make all GM cars off one body except for Corvette. Chev, Pontiac, Olds Buick and Cadillac all started from the same body shell, suitably modified. This was to allow them to have a new body every 2 years by getting the maximum use out of one body. The reason this was a 1959 only deal is that in 1960 they brought out the Corvair. So now they were back to 2 steel bodies plus Corvette. Next year they came out with the Pontiac Tempest, Olds F85 and Buick Special that used a heavily modified Corvair body shell. By 64 they had a Corvette body, a Corvair body, a Nova body,a Chevelle body, a BOP compact body in 3 flavors (Tempest F85 and Special) plus the full size bodies. Whether they were still using the same shell, suitably modified, for all full size cars I'm not sure. One way to tell if 2 cars are made from the same basic body shell is to look at the windshields. If the windshields are identical they are brothers under the skin. The windshield and cowl area is the one part least likely to change because it is so complicated and expensive to design and build.

There should be a web site for this model somewhere. The Frank Sinatra edition did have a few features, for one they offered a special shade of blue to compliment Sinatra's eyes. There was a box of tapes in the trunk with his music on them. Possibly special upholstery etc but I don't recall for sure. The odo I don't know. The suspension is by torsion bars and is adjustable. You have to be careful here. The adjuster for the right side is on the left and vice versa. I have seen guys try to correct a lean and made it worse because they cranked up the wrong side. The shocks have nothing to do with ride height. Look for a sagging or broken spring in the back. If it is all in the front it can be adjusted up.