Rusty_OToole
-
Posts
14,008 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
7
Content Type
Forums
Gallery
Events
Posts posted by Rusty_OToole
-
-
Can anyone identify this model, Studebaker Whiskey Six? I'm sure it's not an official name. But during Prohibition there was a Studebaker that was popular with rum runners and bootleggers that was give that nickname.
I believe there was such a thing because I have seen the same name in a couple of different books and they were not fiction, they were history or reminiscences of old time rum runners.
-
Try writing or calling your local DMV. It varies from state to state. I know here in Ontario Canada it's a piece of cake. You give them the VIN and they check it out. If it's not stolen and you have a bill of sale they give you a new ownership.
-
I was surprised to find out recently that Chrysler DID make dual exhausts and dual carbs too. They were used on 6 cylinder flathead engines in big trucks. I don't know what year or model but I believe 1 or 2 ton and larger, dump trucks etc, up to 1962 or whenever they stopped making flathead truck engines.
Some of these would interchange with the DeSoto - Chrysler long block engine but they also made exclusive truck engines in the 300 to 400 cu in range.These would be much bigger than the car engine and manifolds would not interchange. But the 250 or 265 cu in model will. This is the engine that measures 25" long at the head.
Look for a Dodge or Fargo big truck or bus from the forties or 50s. I'm told in the west and midwest there are lots of these languishing on farmer's back 40s and rural junkyards.
-
I would suggest you vacuum them and cover them with seat covers. All the old cars with good upholstery I have seen had seat covers or were stored inside. Sun will kill those seats in a couple of years if not sooner.
-
Rome was not built in a day and neither are old cars, they are mostly built at night LOL.
-
There is a used pair on Ebay. Bid last night was $5. They are listed as 1947 or 48, are they the same?
-
The Inliners International site has some great ideas. Try the Mopar section. On the overheating all I can suggest at this point is to make sure the rad is clean and not plugged up and likewise your engine coolant passages. Try running some CLR mixed with water in your rad. Get it at the hardware store, it removes calcium lime and rust. Put 1 container in your rad and fill with clean water, drive 50 miles or so (in one go if possible) and drain it out. Might take more than one application.
I can't be responsible if this causes rad leaks. The CLR will not hurt your rad but if it removes the caked on lime and dirt it could expose old leaks that were sealed by dirt or by 50 year old Bars Leaks.
-
The more I think about it the more I think your symptoms sound like the shift levers are loose on the side of the transmission.
-
The supercharger I plan on using is a McCulloch VS57 made by the McCulloch chain saw people between 1953 and 1957.
It was designed for the 1953 engine which was typically a flathead 6 or 8 of 200 to 300 cu in and 100 to 150 HP. Most of the testing was done on 239 cu in 100 or 110 HP Ford flathead V8s.
The VS stands for variable speed and refers to a variable speed belt drive. This is arranged so you can get some boost from 2000 RPM, full boost from 3000 RPM. Yet when you don't have the gas to the floor the blower slows down and "loafs" at a lower speed.
The downfall of this supercharger was the introduction of larger higher powered OHV V8s. A 150 to 200 HP engine was a walk in the park. 200-300 HP made it sweat. After that, you were beyond its design capabilities. They did try beefing it up with heavy duty drive etc but in the end they brought out new larger designs.
They did redesign the VS57 without the variable speed feature. In this form it was used on Studebakers from 1960 up, and is still in production. They sell them for 302 Mustangs and 305 Camaros, they also have a bigger blower for bigger engines. But the original design (without the variable speed drive) is still being sold as the Paxton SN model.
I happen to think the old low compression flatheads are ideally suited to supercharging. One of the first thing they do is lower the compression ratio on a supercharged engine - ours are already low. Plus the engine is so detuned with mild cam, small carb, small valves etc a blower is the best way to make it breathe.
Then there is the fact that vintage speed equipment is so expensive. The same week I bought my blower on Ebay there was also an Edmunds 3 carb manifold for the same engine. The manifold sold for $512. My VS57 went for $275. I believe I can get a substantial performance improvement (McCulloch claimed a 40% increase in rear wheel horsepower) cheaper than I could with a conventional hop up. Plus, if I want to remove the blower I can restore the car to stock trim in less than a day.
If you are interested here is a web site that does an excellent job of covering the McCulloch supercharger story from the 1930s to the late 50s.
-
You've got me there. The only 3 brush generator model I ever owned was a 1947 Indian Chief motorcycle and it responded to moving the brush.
All I can suggest is you try to find an old time auto electric repairman. I would try to help but from this distance there isn't much I can do.
-
I looked up the transmission section of my MoToR manual and it looks pretty straight forward. Don't know what problems you will find inside. It's a good rule to replace the low second synchro any time you take a tranny apart, it is usually the first thing to go. In your case it's the 3d gear one. Maybe because in the case of FLuid Drive the last owner habitually started off in second then shifted to 3d.
You should get a repair manual if you don't have one.
-
I have heard the same idea many times especially from newbies. They are afraid of the old engine but they are not afraid of an engine swap, probably because they don't know enough about old engines and definitely don't know what an engine swap entails.
Not sure what troubles you are referring to but if you are a mechanic I suppose it must be a rod sticking out of the block or something equally drastic.
As for the traffic problem, I have 1951 DeSoto coupe with the original 236 cu in 112HP flathead 6 and fluid drive so I know what you are talking about. That's why I recently bought a supercharger for it. No I'm not kidding. For various technical reasons I believe a flathead engine is ideally suited to supercharging and I'm putting my money where my mouth is.
-
Now you know why they changed to the more sophisticated, but more expensive voltage regulator. Your system gives a constant charge that does not vary with load. Sometimes it charges too much, sometimes too little. You have to set it for "average" conditions. Puttering around town, shove it up. Going on a long trip, shove it down. A little old lady would need a different setting from a travelling salesman.
The only thing you can do is set it for "average" conditions.
One thing you can do today that they couldn't do in 1937 is bleed off excess voltage with a zener diode. English motorcycles used to use an unregulated alternator - wide open all the time - and bleed off excess voltage this way. You need a zener diode and a heat sink to do this, that's all.
-
Interesting point about the Golden Submarine. The windows are black wire mesh, no glass. But Barney reported the air was so calm inside he could smoke his cigar at 100 MPH. Not sure if this is due to the streamlined shape directing the air around rather than thru the body. Or just because the windows were so small.
-
Is that the flathead 6? Did they offer different flathead 6's? Heard they used the 265 cu in Chrysler Windsor engine until 62 and also the 230 cu in Dodge. 127HP sounds more like the big 6.
-
Don't know but there can't have been many. I would think maybe a couple hundred.
The fluid drive is a rugged, simple unit but requires a different driving technique from either a standard or automatic. It has characteristics of both.
Look in the Dodge and Chrysler sections, there have been some good discussions on fluid drive lately.
-
Are they chrome rings? They should be, in an industrial engine. If they are ordinary iron they will only last 30,000 or 40,000 miles. The chrome rings will go at least twice as long.
-
If you change the oil regularly that engine should go 80,000 to 100,000 miles with no trouble.
-
If the bushings in the shift linkage are worn out you will see it easy. They will be loose at the joints. If the linkage is adjusted correctly, and the clutch is not dragging about the only thing left is an internal transmission problem. You should see any worn out joints, bent linkage etc by a visual inspection and shaking the rods with your hand. Have also seen where an arm worked loose on the transmission. It had a square shaped hole which wore out allowing the arm to work back and forth without shifting the transmission. This was on a Ford. The cure was to braze up the hole and file it square so it fit the transmission shaft tight.
The transmission should be real easy to shift but slow.
Since it does not drag or shift hard in low second or reverse that rules out the clutch. So it must be in the shift linkage or inside the transmission.
By the way the transmission on your Dodge is supposed to be filled with 80 gear oil.The semi auto takes 10 motor oil.
Don't know what all that business is with the floorboards and wrenches. You don' need to make things more complicated and harder than they are.
-
The 3d brush regulates output. The cutout regulates voltage. You can reduce the output of the generator which is what you need, by adjusting the 3d brush. This is a simple adjustment done on the car. Take the cover band off the generator and peek inside. You should see one brush is moveable. I'll bet it is rammed as far as it can go one way. That's why it is charging so hard. No doubt it was set that way because the last owner puttered around town at 20 MPH and never went more than 2 miles at a time. So the mechanic set it high because his battery was always going dead.
There are ways of adjusting it that should be in your manual but if not try backing it off and see what happens. If your battery doesn't charge, push it up. If it boils dry push it down.
I suppose your cutout could be stuck too but in that case I think you would know it.
-
Before you do anything rash read this guy's experience with a DeSoto Suburban 8 passenger sedan, it's a great story and may give you some ideas.
-
Try to get the stainless steel. They never need rechroming. Buff them up and they are as good as new.
-
Compression is supposed to be 125 - 135 PSI on your engine. So you have some badly worn rings and valves. How is the oil pressure? Any raps or knocks hot or cold? How many miles? You might get away with a ring and valve job or overhaul but most likely your engine is ready for a rebuild.
This is not a real big deal on a flathead six but it's not cheap either. You can buy all the parts as a package deal from Kanter or Bernbaum for under $1000 and probably another $1000 for the machine shop. That is if you take it out of the car.
-
You should be able to use the bearings no problem if they are not worn out. If you suspect they are badly worn you could check them with Plasigage but from what you say they should be like new. There is no problem with reinstalling them. Put them back in the same place they came out and torque the nuts to spec.
If money is an issue the rings should be OK too. Try using penetrating oil and working the end loose with a small screwdriver. Keep wiggling and they should come loose. If they have not lost their tension they will be fine.
You could put in new rings just because today's rings are better but you don't have to.
Packard V8s in boats, too.
in Packard
Posted
If anything the big block chev head design was copied off the Chrysler polysphere. Chev introduced it (1965) just as Chrysler was getting rid of it.
Actually the 348 and 409 had staggered valves, the new head design leaned them at an angle. This was the Polysphere design Chrysler had been using since 1954.