Rusty_OToole

Have you tried your local Chrysler dealer?

There is no way to estimate the value without looking the car over and talking to the owner. We are waiting to hear from the guy who knows the most about this car - you.

Walmart sells 6 volt radios, no kidding. If you get one of their portable units that runs on 9 volts of batteries it will work fine on your car's 6 volt system. A good old time radio repair man can get your original tube radio working a lot better, and for a lot less money, than any so called conversion. Have the repair man add a jack to feed the FM and CD player to your original amp section.

There was an article in a car magazine many years ago about a Cadillac convertible with GMC supercharger and manual trans. Supposedly the car was custom built in the GM experimental shops for a man who ran a major GM parts supply company. It was definitely not a catalog model. Only someone with a lot of pull with GM's or Cadillac's top management could get such a favor. This was confirmed by a man who was Cadillac's chief engineer at the time.

With the dual side mounts and trunk rack it looks more like a hire car for the tourist trade. Travellers could engage a car and driver by the day or week from the big dealerships.

It's a "bitsa" for sure but bits of what? Could be any chassis and parts. The wheels look like 50s Jaguar. Maybe someone was trying to build a king size MG out of junkyard parts in the 50s. That would be my first guess anyway.

Have you tried your local hardware store? Mine has a selection of corks up to thermos bottle size and larger. You should be able to cut one down to any size and shape using a sharp knife and sandpaper. Coat it with epoxy or gas tank sealant for a permanent job. The original was coated with shellac which dissolves in alcohol, a component of modern gas.

They can't leave anything alone can they. The first thought that comes to mind is to ask the gas companies what they have done. Can you find out from your customers what gas they used? It could be confined to certain brands. At least you would know which companies to contact.

They look the same but is the top of the carb a different size for Plymouth Dodge DeSoto and Chrysler?

Or, try asking the Dodge section of this board. Air filters are fairly common and small enough that the shipping won't kill you.

A 288 or 289 cu in six cylinder engine of 3 1/2" bore and 5" stroke was a very popular design in the twenties. In addition to Peerless Pierce Arrow and Packard I believe Studebaker, Hudson and possibly others built engines of the same size. Whether anyone copied anyone else, or they all share a resemblance from being designed about the same time with the same level of technology is anybody's guess.

I would consider rebuilding the body into a coupe again. If it is impossible to find the remains of the top, make a vinyl covered top. Make the framework of wood with steel reinforcements as they did when the car was new. Then form the shape with wire mesh. Finally cover the roof with cotton or foam padding and vinyl top material. This is how many sedans and coupe bodies were built in the 1920s. It would be the easiest way to fix it and put back the strength lost by cutting the top off.

I would be interested if it was not too far away or too expensive. I'm sure a lot of people would be. Where are you and how much would you want for it?

Well, it doesn't cost anything. Why not be a sport and give it a whirl?

Does it say on the ID plate WHERE it was made? It could have been made in Canada as most GM exports to Commonwealth countries were. It could also have been assembled in India from a CKD pack. I have never seen a Chev of that year with dual side mounts. The lack of trunk compartment and the presence of a luggage rack are also unusual. Plus the right hand drive. This combination of features make me suspect it was a special export model or locally assembled car. Taking another look at the body plate I see none of the codes for style, body, trim or paint are filled in and a hand stamped GM in the paint area. This leads me to believe it is a locally assembled car.

I have a method for making replacement brake lines, gas lines etc that works for me. This is for the standard coated steel lines. Buy a coil of tubing of the appropriate size at any good parts store. You will need a tube bender and a flaring tool. Take the old line off as carefully as possible. I like to cut them off at the ends, as short as possible, then use a socket wrench to take off the old fitting. This is much easier and better than trying to get them off with an open end or line wrench. When you have the line on your workbench take your new line and start bending it to match. To straighten out the coiled line, straighten the first bit and set it on the floor, step on it and hold it down with your foot while you unroll the rest. This allows you to get it straight. Leave a little extra, and start bending from one end duplicating the bends in the old line. Tape the 2 lines together with masking tape as you go. When you get to the end you can cut the line to length and install the appropriate fittings. If you need a bulge to hold a rubber hose on, upset the tubing as if you were going to do a double flare and leave it at that. As you go to install the new line you should find it fits in neatly with a little adjusting. O ya, after making up the line I blow thru it with an air hose and tape up the ends so no dirt can get in while installing it.

Yes. The + side of the coil will be connected to the points, the - to the key.

It might be easier to put in a used transmission. There should be lots around, they usually don't wear out. An appeal on the Chrysler for sale board may turn one up. M-6 transmissions are all the same 1949-54 Dodge, DeSoto or Chrysler, 6 or V8 or straight eight. There were some changes made during this period such as a change from a plate type synchro to a pin type synchro and a change in the way the interrupter switch was actuated which called for moving the interrupter farther back on the transmission. The transmissions themselves interchange but if you want to rebuild yours you will need to be careful to get the right parts.

My Service Data Book says 135 Amp Hours at the 20 hour discharge rate (whatever that means). 6 volt, pos ground, 6.8 bench charge rate. Those who have used them say the Optima type battery is way better than the old type, and well worth the money especially on a 6 volt vehicle.

Have you done a Google search for American Motors or Hudson parts dealers? I bet there is someone out there with a NOS or good used part.

There isn't any filter to worry about. In the factory manual is a series of tests for the electrical controls, all done in the shop using a test light with the engine off but the key on. In all cases, checking that each part is getting power when the key is on. The anti stall (on the carburetor) and the solenoid are tested by using a screwdriver or soft iron to check if they are magnetized when turned on. The only tests done with the engine running are the governor, kickdown, interrupter and resistor tests. The governor is supposed to go off at 14 MPH. Pressure in the trans should be 38-40 pounds but there is no way to measure this directly. It is necessary to remove the shifter fork lock screw and insert a pencil, then rev the engine up with the car in gear and jacked up on jack stands, and feel the shifter move when you let off the gas and shift.

Suicide doors refers to doors hinged at the back. They make it easy to get in and out but dangerous if someone opens a door at speed because the wind catches it, rips the door off its hinges and throws the person out in the road where they get run over by a bus. Thus suicide doors. My old cars price guide does not even list Lancia. It goes right from Lamborghini to Maserati.

An unusual, Canada only model of Chev with manual trans and air was the so called Iraqi Taxis. You used to see them around once in a while. A basic 4 door Malibu sedan with a floor shift 3 speed. They had a white ball shaped shift knob for some reason. "In 1981, General Motors of Canada in Oshawa produced a special order of 12,000 4-door Malibu sedans for Saddam Hussein's Iraqi government. The deal was worth 100-million dollars to GM. These special order Malibus carried the unusual combination of GM's lowest-power V6, the 110hp 229ci (3.8 l) engine mated to a unique 3-on-the-floor stick shifter. All of the cars were equipped with air conditioning, heavy duty cooling systems, tough upholstery and 14-inch (360 mm) stamped steel wheels with trim rings and "baby moon" center caps. They were the ultimate Iraqi Taxis. In 1982 with 7,000 Malibus sitting on a dock in Halifax ready to ship and 5,000 more waiting for the train in Oshawa, where they were built, the Iraqis cancelled the order. Excuses reportedly included "quality concerns" or the supposed inability of the local drivers to shift a manual transmission. GM President-at-the-time Donald Hackworth said GM would still try to sell the Halifax cars overseas. Of course the real reason the Iraqis backed out was their escalating hostilities with Iran which required diversion of funds to support the ramping Iraqi war effort. In the end, the orphaned Iraqi Taxi Malibus were sold to the Canadian public at the greatly reduced price of about C$6,800 and over the years have acquired a low-key 'celebrity' status. " The story at the time was that the Canadian government paid for the cars because of an export guarantee or export insurance scheme to encourage export sales. The cars were sold off by Chev dealers at a cut price.

I was going by statements made by Tom McCahill in his road test of his car, his report on Cunningham's LeMans effort and later stories. I also thought it was well known that Cadillac was the first car maker to offer automatic transmission as standard equipment with no other option. It was definitely the case by 1952 and I think, in 1951. I don't know the exact date this policy was implemented. This is not to say they NEVER built a car with manual trans to special order. The commercial chassis I can't swear to either. I have heard of a 53 Cadillac convertible built with manual trans and a supercharger, special order and custom built by Cadillac's experimental department for an important parts supplier and long time Cadillac customer. But neither the transmission or supercharger was a catalog option for that model.

It takes a while to figure out what is happening when the tranny shifts. Basically it is like a manual trans with a hydraulic cylinder controlling the 3-4 shift. There is a little gerotor pump on the back of the trans to furnish pressure, and a solenoid valve to control it. When the solenoid is energized it opens the valve allowing pressure to drain away. Cutting the power allows a spring to close the valve, and the pressure shifts the gears into high. IMPORTANT I just noticed something in the book that I had forgotten. Your engine has to idle at 450 to 475 RPM for the transmission to shift properly. This is very slow by today's standards, barely turning over. If someone has set the idle to today's normal it is way too fast. Adjusting the idle may solve your shifting problem.