Rusty_OToole

$35

Approximately 625 lbs.

You need to be carefull here. The early 1949 was the same as the 1948. In late 49 they brought out a new model that was completely different.

Could you Helicoil the threaded hole? Just asking. Cork floats need to be sealed. Have heard of using leftover gas tank sealer for this. Just paint the float and let it dry.

Why are you "pulling" the engine? Do you have a reason, or just for the fun of it? If it's working OK why not leave it alone? If it's not OK why no fix what's wrong with it? Your engine could need work at that many miles. You would have to take the head off and measure the cylinder taper. From memory, the factory recommendation was if you had more than .007 wear or taper, to true the cylinders and install new pistons. If your cylinders are not worn then the normal course would be to hone the cylinders and install new standard size rings on the old pistons. Of course if your old rings are good, this will gain you nothing. If the cylinders are badly worn and the pistons slapping then you need to bore the cylinders and install oversize pistons. There is a trick we used to to. If the cylinders are worn but not quite bad enough to need new pistons you can install .010 oversize rings and file them to fit. This will cure oil burning for 25000 or 30000 miles. Seriously, your engine probably does not need anything. Unless you have diagnosed it by doing a compression test, leakdown test etc. you are wandering around in the dark. In any case if the engine is not right you probably only need a ring and valve job, nothing more. There is a chance if the engine was used hard and not maintained you need a complete rebuild. But you need to do certain tests to know for sure. I don't recommend jumping into a major rebuild which may cost $3000 or more, on a whim. I also do not recommend doing a half assed job if you really need a rebuild. You have to figure out what you really need. I will also say that if a car has been out of commission for years it often runs poorly when first started. But if you tune it up, change the oil and drive it for a few hundred miles it often comes around.

Somewhere recently I saw some info on an unusual Franklin engine. Apparently they made an experimental V8 of 322 cu in with F head cylinder heads. Now I can't remember where I saw it. Can anyone tell me about this?

Anybody remember sandblasting their spark plugs? This was a standard part of a tuneup when I started in the garage business. Anybody remember tuneups? How about washing your air filter? Also pushing a button on the dash to start the engine instead of turning a key. Or pushing the gas pedal to the floor, or the clutch pedal, to start the engine. How about spark intensifiers that went on your coil? Pumping up your tires every week because the natural rubber tubes were porous and never sealed completely? Oil change and grease job every 1000 miles, tuneup every 5000, motor job every 20,000 or 30,000? Weren't the good old days peachy? Don't think I could stand to live like that again. But it's fun to visit.

I say drive it. Would also make a couple of suggestions. One is, if you don't drive the car a lot, take 1 or 2 trips of 100 miles or so beforehand. This should show up any weak points before you get too far from home. Second, join the Auto Club and take your cell phone. That plus a few tools, a few parts, and some emergency supplies like food, water and blankets and you can look forward to an adventure no matter what happens, will be no worse than an annoyance.

OK if you want to get all icky about it, 12 volt cars use 6 volt coils. 6 volt cars use 4 volt coils. I preferred not to get that icky. I don't know why Chrysler chose to connect one circuit to one side of the coil and the other circuit to the other side but I wouldn't mess with it. If you leave it wired that way but put on a 12 volt (6 volt) coil you will need 2 resistors or zener diodes. If you keep the 6 volt (4 volt) coil, 1 will do.

If you have a cork float it was originally sealed with shellac. Worn floats can be recoated with ordinary shellac from the hardware store. Alcohol will dissolve shellac so it is recommended you use something else if you want to stand up to modern gas which often contains alcohol. I recommend you use leftover gas tank sealer.

If you want to use a 12 volt coil you will need 2 resistors or 2 Zener diodes to cut the voltage to both circuits. I have no idea why Chrysler put one wire on one side of the coil and the other wire on the other side. But after working on old cars for 40 years I have learned to trust their judgement.

I have freed up old engines too, using penetrating oils. But I would not recommend it on your engine. Flathead Fords are no longer a dime a dozen. And your engine has probably been stuck for many years. I suggest you at least take the heads off and inspect the valves and cylinders. If they are not too rusty you may be able to free up the engine with some penetrating oil and by working it back and forth with a wrench on the crankshaft. But don't force anything or you could break your engine beyond repair.

Will also add, that old cars with standards are MUCH easier to drive than modern cars with 4 speeds, even 5 or 6 speeds. You can put your old Dodge in high and drive around all day. Slow down to 10 MPH and pull away without touching the clutch or gearshift. For speeds below 10 you might need second but you won't need low at all except for starting from a dead stop. And this is the standard shift. If you have fluid drive it is even easier.

In the days when your car was built almost all cars had standard transmissions. They were very easy to drive. Old ladies and grannies used to drive them. Best answer is to take a driving lesson. It's not hard but you need to learn the correct technique without damaging your gears or clutch. If you have fluid drive you require a slightly different technique. It is half way between driving an automatic and a standard. Easy when you know how, but not many people know how because the fluid drive has not been made for 50 years. Look up the threads on fluid drive in the Chrysler and Dodge forums for complete details. There have been some excellent discussions on fluid drive.

RH drive was more or less standard on early cars. As standard as anything was. Did you know some elecric cars with tiller steering could be driven not only from the left or right side but from the front or rear seat? In those days roads were bad, dirt or gravel except in big cities. It was more important to keep an eye on the side of the road when passing another vehicle, than on the middle.Especially when passing a fully loaded hay wagon on a narrow road with a deep ditch at the side. There wasn't much traffic so you might only pass a dozen vehicles in a day's drive. Less than that in the west. Some luxury cars like Pierce Arrow did not change over until 1921 or 22. But the change over began around 1910.

Sedan or hardtop? What condition? According to my Old Cars Price Guide a 61 Fury sedan, condition 5=$436, 4= $1308 3= $4910 2= $7630 1= $10900. These prices tend to be a little on the high side. So yours would be about right for a sedan in #2 condition. "This is Fine, well restored or a combination of superior restoration and excellent original. Also an extremely well maintained original showing very minimal wear. "Will take the top award in many judged shows, unless a #1 car shows up. A #1 being a 95+ point show car that is not driven. So, it would have to be an awfully nice 4 door sedan for that kind of money. If it's a 4 door hardtop then a #3 car would be worth $6750. A #3 is a very nice, older restoration or good original. From 20 feet away it looks perfect but closer inspection reveals minor flaws and age. These prices are from a book that is nearly a year old so could be out of date but will give you an idea. You can buy a new book if you want to be up to date.

Rings a faint bell. I recall seeing pics of President Roosevelt at Warm Springs resort in Georgia, behind the wheel of an early 30s Dodge or Plymouth convertible with hand controls. Did a Google search for "Roosevelt DeSoto" and came up with this picture. http://www.disabilitymuseum.org/lib/stills/1129card.htm So there was a 1933 DeSoto built for Roosevelt with special hand controls. It could be the same car. Here is an article with pictures of Roosevelt in his Plymouth convertible with hand controls. It is not the same car as in the DeSoto pics, note the fixed windshield on the DeSoto vs. the folding Plymouth windshield. http://www.allpar.com/history/roosevelt.html

Flooding is caused by too much gas in the carb. The only way I know to get too much gas in there, is if the needle valve lets it in. It could be a worn or damaged needle valve, or it could be loose, or have a piece of dirt in it. Or, it could be a waterlogged float that won't float anymore. Hold the float next to your ear and shake it, if you hear gas shaking around inside, Uh Oh, you have a problem. You can either replace the float or if no replacement is possible you can repair the float. You do this by by drilling a tiny hole, draining out the gas, then soldering the hole shut and soldering up the leak. To test for leaks hold the float down in a container of hot water. The hot water will expand the air in the float and cause bubbles to come out if there are any holes.

About 10 years ago I had a 51 New Yorker with a bad booster. The local auto parts store sent it away to a brake booster rebuild shop and it came back in 2 weeks as good as new. It was not cheap, around $250. They still make similar boosters. You might be able to buy a new one that would answer, if you don't care about authenticity. It would cost about the same. The check valve on the intake manifold should be inspected while you are at it. Mine turned out to be defective.

It may not be clear from the diagram but the circuit breaker and the resistor are together in the metal box on the air filter support. Circuit breaker at the top, resistor at the bottom. If you clean off the box carefully the connections are labelled. Put the resistor in the wire from the ignition switch to the coil and use the 6 volt coil.

Best answer, forget the kit and buy a rebuilt carb. If you want to try rebuilding yourself a Carter B&B is as good a place as any to learn. I suggest your problem is a leaky needle valve. The kit will come with a new one. The instructions that come with the kit are more or less useless. You want to find the original factory repair manual and go by that. If you don't have one maybe someone can scan the pages for you. Don't go getting ideas of your own. Follow the factory directions to the letter. Be careful when you take the carb apart not to force or break anything. Don't try to take out the choke or throttle plates. If the throttle shaft has noticable wear, replace the carb. You can't fix it yourself unless you are a machinist. Blow thru all the passages with compressed air. I like to use a spray can of carb cleaner to be sure they are clear. Check the carb base and mating surfaces. If they are not flat you may have to true them up. Use a fine file on the carb base, a sheet of glass with 600 wet or dry sandpaper for the other surfaces. You can improve carb gaskets by smearing on a coating of silicone seal and letting it dry. This protects the gaskets and makes them seal better. It also allows them to come away clean if you take the carb apart, and you can reuse them. Don't overtighten the screws, they only have to be snug. If the carb leaks you can retighten once. if it still leaks ramming hell out of the screws won't help, you have a problem someplace else. I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together.

Are you sure you have the battery in right way round? It's supposed to be 6 volt positive ground. The car will run with the battery in backwards but it's not a good thing to do. When you turn the battery around you may need to polarise the generator. If it doesn't charge let us know and we will tell you how to do it. Another thing to watch for. Your car has left hand thread studs on the left side. I only bring this up because so many new MoPar owners find out too late, and wish someone had said something.

The hubs are wedged on tight. It takes a heavy duty puller to get them off. Take off the hub nut, turn it over and put it back on flush. This protects the threads and prevents the end of the shaft from mushrooming. Then put on your puller and wail away. Of course you must know about the left hand thread wheel nuts on the left side of the car.

Bodies were normally framed with ash. It has a consistency between hardwood and softwood and is not too hard to work. They would use oak sometimes where extra strength and rot resistance was required such as the sills that went on top of the frame and supported the whole body. There might be a custom wood working shop near you that has the skills and equipment to help out. There used to be a wood working shop here in my small town, that made doors and windows to order. They could work wonders with wood.

It's probably an aftermarket job. I don't know if heaters were even available in 1929. If they were it was as a dealer installed accessory not a factory installed feature. I know hot water heaters were available from the early 30s but didn't become a big fad until 1937 and 38. I know this because I have a big stack of MoToR magazines from the 30s. There were no ads for heaters, suddenly in 1937 there were ads for all different brands of heaters on every page. They were sold by garages as well as car dealers. Starting with the 39 Nash Weather Eye, heaters became integrated into the design of the car as a complete heating and ventilating system. By 1950 the sale of heaters as an accessory slowed to a trickle. So 427, yours was most likely installed in the late 30s although it could have been earlier. If you examine the heater closely you should find a trademark or brand name on it. It would be neat if it was a genuine