Rusty_OToole

They say honesty is the best policy. I have done similar when selling a house that had issues. Disclosed all of them to the buyer before closing. Later they got sore and tried to sue me, they got noplace because I could prove I warned them in writing and they ignored me (pro tip, always read the fine print).

One of the most unusual, and successful restyling jobs was the 1959 Studebaker Lark. It was basically the 1953 Champion body and chassis, shortened and restyled. For one thing you almost never see a restyled car that is shorter, and they seldom outsell their predecessors. I wouldn't mind a Lark VIII hardtop with V8 and auto right now .

Chrysler had some interesting redesigns. The 1951 -52 Chrysler and DeSoto looked very much like the 49 -50 models with better looking front ends but the real news was the new V8 engines. This required redesigning the body from the windshield forward, widening the engine compartment and moving the steering over several inches. The change was much greater than just a style face lift but you wouldn't know it unless you know Chryslers. Then there was Chrysler's first unit construction cars 1960 - 1964. 60 and 61 were the last of the tail fins, 62 basically the same car without tail fins, 63 - 64 looks completely new until you notice the windshield and dashboard are carried over. It is really a major redesign of the 1960 body, one of the best ever, and quite similar in style to a top of the line BMW of ten years later.

I checked out the ad, looks like a nearly complete and original, but very dirty and shopworn little car that was just dragged out of a shed. And they want $5000. I know they have their fans but that seems excessive.

As Alsancle said, would be legal today as they were legal when new. Make sure you get the original title documents. I would hate to have to convince the DMV I didn't make it in my home garage lol. You could have a lot of fun on suburban streets, running errands, or going for drives on quiet country roads. But you would have to be nutz to take one on the interstate or in heavy traffic. But, when they were new, a few people took them on cross country trips .

There is quite a bit of info on the net if you look for it. I find the story fascinating but I know it is not for everybody. How did they stay in business so long? They must have filled a need, to this day many people love them, they have annual rallies where 100 of them show up. Incidentally they had other products like motor scooters and go karts, and also did business supplying parts .

King Midget used one cylinder Kohler or Tecumseh engines, same as many lawn mowers. They are easy to work on and easy to get parts for. Typically they had 8 to 10 HP engines, but many have been repowered with 26HP V twins from Harbor Freight or with 250cc motorcycle engines. If it was backfiring I would suspect it needed a new spark plug (1). The points cleaned and adjusted. Maybe the carburetor cleaned. At worst it might have a burned valve. But very few of them ever got driven enough to wear out the original engine. Pretty much everything else was off the shelf accessories (turn signals, headlights, boat trailer tires, motorcycle chain drive) or something you could whip up in your home shop with ordinary hand tools. There are even enthusiasts who make hard to get parts like the original emblems.

It just occurred to me that there is one new postwar American make that is still in production. Can you name it? I was thinking of Jeep but suppose you could stretch a point and include Tesla depending on your definition of "postwar". I was thinking of cars like Kaiser, Frazer, Crosley, that debuted in the late 40s.

One of the most fascinating cars to me is the King Midget. In case you are not familiar, this was a small 2 seater roadster the size of a golf cart but street legal made in Athens Ohio. At one time they advertised the car as weighing 500 pounds and costing $500. Speaking of advertising the only ads I have ever seen for them were small ads in the back pages of Mechanix Illustrated and Popular Mechanics. The amazing thing is, they outlasted all other postwar cars. Tucker, Kaiser, Frazer, Crosley all fell by the wayside but the King Midget stayed in production from 1946 until 1970. The last model retailed for about $1000 fully equipped. They made about 5000 all told and many survive.

"1929 Deluxe. Driven only 4000 miles by one of New York's most prominent financiers. Opportunity for a new car buyer to save $2000" How do you say stock market crash without saying stock market crash?

You are right the motor should be warmed up after 10 or 15 minutes. But what if the choke is sticking shut or carb running rich for some other reason? This would work well when cold but cause the symptoms you name when warm. Another thing about your car, if it was like my 1952 hemi New Yorker the carb was warmed by both exhaust and hot water. The exhaust passage in the intake often gets plugged with soot and carbon and the water may be disconnected. This could affect the way the car warms up and runs.

I used to help my father electroplate baby shoes. We used the exact same bases you have. Everything came from Warner Bronze . We would stuff the shoes with newspaper to get the shape, tie the laces and glue them down with shellac. Shellac the shoes and coat them with bronze powder. Then they were ready to go in the plating bath. Electroplating took a few hours. Then I think we washed them off and coated the inside with flocking. This was quite the thing to do in the fifties but in the sixties it tapered off, not sure if the fashion changed or the old man didn't bother to advertise.

Cudaman has it. The parts go in a vacuum chamber with a piece of aluminum. The aluminum is vaporized by high voltage electricity. The vaporized aluminum is deposited on the plastic. Then they take them out and varnish them. It is possible to plate plastic by coating it in copper powder to make it conductive then electroplating. We used to bronze baby shoes that way.

If it does you could weld a washer to the hinge and hook thru the hole. But I doubt it will.

If the car was under water the aluminum would corrode like crazy. As long as it is dry it may be ok. Maybe Bugatti didn't know this or didn't care. I doubt he thought his race cars would still be around this long. Why didn't he use aluminum rivets .

I would take the head to the local auto machine shop and let them check the valves and guides and grind the valves. Some of the valves you show are obviously beyond the hand lapping stage. Whether you need new guides or the head is warped I can't tell from this distance.

Mount the hinge to the body and hook the spring to the hinge before you put the hood on. The hinge will be in the fully open position. One way to put the spring on, is to hook it to your floor jack and stretch it then pack washers between the coils. The washers come out when you close the hood. Or you can make a gadget to hold the spring stretched, using a short piece of pipe cut in half with 2 washers welded to it. Held in place by a couple of hose clamps. There are several videos on Youtube on the subject.

Good catch. 1914 (or was it 1912?) Cadillac had the first really good electric starter, most important it was integrated into a complete electrical system with generator, coil ignition, and electric lighting the first time this was done, and showed the way for every car made afterwards. Belongs on the list of revolutionary cars.

To me a revolutionary car is one that affected the whole industry, turned it in a new direction by making other cars obsolete. I nominate The DeDion Bouton tricycle of the 1890s, first mass produced motor vehicle. Had a tiny single cylinder engine that was a revolutionary change from the big "gas buggy" engines. Hundreds of makers used DeDion engines and copied the DeDion design, even Pierce in the US. Ford Model T. Not widely copied in design but it affected the industry forcing everyone to mass produce for lower prices. In the late teens and early twenties even the most expensive cars copied the Model T look of black or dark paint finish and little or no nickel or brass trim. At one point Ford was making nearly half the cars sold, you could not ignore them. Chrysler Airflow. It looked like nothing that came before, but practically every car that came after copied the Airflow design with chubbier fenders. 1949 Cadillac, pioneer of tailfins, OHV V8 and automatic transmission 3 of the biggest auto fads of the fifties. I know the 48 Caddy had the same fins and the Hydramatic was 10 years old but this car put them all in the same package and influenced all American cars from then on. 1984 Chrysler minivan. Often overlooked, but it revolutionized the industry. Before the Chrysler there was no such thing as a front wheel drive, soccer mom minivan. Afterwards, everybody had one. They were in every suburban driveway and every manufacturer added one to their line.

Usual way to check the valve guides is use a new, unworn valve stem and see if there is any sideways motion. Usual fix for worn guides is to knurl the guide or replace it with a new guide. About the valve springs. The inners are 3 X 1 X 1 inch. Available here , this is a random site I found with a web search, no endorsement implied. https://bobsautomobilia.com/shop/engine1628937744/1924-27-master-inner-valve-spring-ivs-124/ Here is what they look like Outer 3 X 1 1/2 X 1 1/2

I've supplied 13,800 answers many of them long and technical and helpful. Will put that up against your 3 posts. Sorry I don't have the psychic ability to diagnose the changes you made and why they didn't work. Can only suggest you go back to the stock setup which worked fine for many years. Or, go back to the genius who sold you the "upgrade" and let him fix it. That is not being snarky. I know from working in garages for many years that anyone can make a mistake and if I did (very rare) would prefer the customer brought the job back and let me fix it rather than run around bad mouthing me all over town.

Wish I had a buck for every time someone comes here looking for help with an electronic ignition "upgrade" that doesn't work. Or who had some "genius" change his car over to 12 volts, now nothing works. Wish I knew why they don't go back to the "genius" who knows everything and why they ask us when we know nothing about what was done. Wish I had the good answer for them, other than change it back and fix it properly.

How is your oil pressure? Should be 15 at idle, 30 at 30 MPH. No oil pressure means crankcase is dry or bearings shot.

My first car was a 1948 Chev sedan I bought for $35 in 1964 when I was 13 years old. My father put me up to it. What does a 13 year old need with a car? My father was an idiot. I wasn't much better, I should have known better even at 13.

I suppose you could buy some studs and screw them in with loctite but why bother?