John Byrd Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 My "What I Am Working On" list had a great finale' today ! Got the 2007 Mini's 2nd power window replaced, all trim back on, the car cleaned up really good, and sold that thing to the 2nd caller on the 1st day of our F-Book ad !!! Never again will a BMW Fake Mini grace our place, this was the 2nd one, and the 1st one was trouble too. Both of these were my brides cars and she is a picky caretaker which made it all worse. (it was a REAL good deal...yeah, one of those, ha !) . I'll stick with my 63 real Mini and the 55 Studebaker. Lesson learned, BMW apparently means something like "Bring More Wallet", ha ! It did look and run good tho'.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Byrd Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 I'll sure be glad to get back to some of "MY" car stuff, especially since today I have been making, painting, and hanging curtain rods making a new miniature ironing board, and doing way too many computer things, ha ! Think I'll jump on the scooter and go to Outback for lunch with some of my buds, check on the 55 Studebaker progress at the shop, go to the bank, and whatever else my bride thinks up for me to do while I'm "not doing anything else", ha ! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Byrd Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Hooray ! Got the 55 Studebaker back home from my pals garage, and what a fabulous difference that 200 4R transmission made ! I now have a few things to do to finish up little things like getting a speedo adapter, a neutral kill switch, getting the column indicator to read right , making the throttle open all the way, and spent yesterday afternoon and a while this morning cleaning off the grubby hand-prints and shop dust. VERY thrilled with the transmission change tho'. No one here was the least bit interested in the old DG 250M cast iron transmission, so I had to go to our only local scrap dealer to get rid of it....300 lbs and 15 bucks payment lighter, I'm a happy boy ! Now to get out there and start fooling with details and continue cleaning it up, but it really acted nice driving to the club breakfast and "cruising our in town coast" this morning. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Harper Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 Today was another frustrating day trying to sort out the green beast. Since its arrive at the museum it has never run quite right. Usually dropping a cylinder or two, popping through the exhaust etc. We replaced the distributor since the old one had worn bushing and had been turned so it couldn't be rebuilt. (major wobbling around!) points, condenser, cap, dust shield, coil, ballast resistor, wires, plugs, compression test..... Now it runs without dropping cylinders or fouling plugs but it still has a random miss that I cannot attribute to any specific cylinder. A compression test showed no problems. Reminds me of my Great Uncle Chauncey. By all accounts he was a gifted mechanic. One time he bought a used Hudson. When he made the deal he knew it had a miss but that didn't bother him - he figured he could take care of it. Well, after trying just about everything with no success he pulled the head. Low and behold one piston - complete with it's accompanying connecting rod, was missing - a wooden plug well pounded into the bore taking up the space. The lifters having vanished too. Chauncey - admitting defeat, simply put the head back on and sold it on to someone else - miss included. We are not to that point yet but.... it is trying patience. 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skvitt Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 Re-upholstering my '84 C4 seats 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Harper Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 (edited) Today's project in addition to harvesting the garlic and moving the rock garden, was cutting out a gasket for the Oil Filler Body on the big T-head Wisconsin. I am fortunate to have all sorts of CAD software on hand as well as a CNC Laser cutter. Otherwise, as in days past, I would have tapped it out with a ballpeen hammer. As usual I made a spare gasket as well. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to acquire a partial set of factory drawings. (approx. 60 sheets) These have been an amazing help! Back many years ago a former Wisconsin Motor Manufacturing employee had acquired and copied the drawings from microfilm. Unfortunately he is now long gone and the microfilm has apparently vanished. Here is a drawing for the Oil Filler body. And another for the "Water Pump Rotor" It dates from 1925 with an update in June of 1926 and applies to the model M, P & PT series. Its amazing how long Wisconsin continued to produce T-head style motors. Edited July 21, 2021 by Terry Harper (see edit history) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Perkins / Mn Posted July 22, 2021 Author Share Posted July 22, 2021 Working on bringing my recently purchased car home. 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARY F Posted July 22, 2021 Share Posted July 22, 2021 Nice car. I like the plaid. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bloom Posted July 22, 2021 Share Posted July 22, 2021 Handsome Jeff! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 (edited) 15 hours ago, Jeff Perkins / Mn said: Working on bringing my recently purchased car home. Yes change in your profile pic did not go unnoticed yesterday but was waiting for a press release Jeff! Attractive cars and rock solid mopar mechanicals of the era! Assume reverse threads on wheels for safety, that one will get ya now and then. 👍👍👍😁 Edited July 23, 2021 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Perkins / Mn Posted July 23, 2021 Author Share Posted July 23, 2021 48 minutes ago, Steve_Mack_CT said: Assume reverse threads on wheels for safety, that one will get ya now and then. 👍👍👍😁 Learned about that 40 years ago when I had a ‘46 Dodge! Good eye spotting the profile pic change 👀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericmac Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 I'm currently working on buying another car. I know that's vague but having to be a bit like Ed on this one. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 I found a 1980 Coupe De Ville that called my name. Pretty clean car but needs a little work. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Byrd Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 Still fiddling with our 55 Studebaker coupe after the transmission change. Yesterday I worked 3 or 4 hours removing the gas pedal linkage bar off the back of the engine and learned two things.... look at the manual 1st, and look at the manual 1st, ha ! I had a lot of trouble reaching into that tight, greasy space, removed 2 bolts, tried to remove a huge bolt, and learned that to remove it, you just loosen one of the bolts behind the engine on the linkage bracket, then remove the rear lower head bolt ( !!!! ) that holds a piece of the bracket, and pull it out. The "huge" bolt I couldn't get loose turned out to be the water temp sending unit, and when I removed the two rear bolts that I didn't need to, it fell out and my floor got covered with water. Hmmm, who said working on old cars was fun ?, ha ha ! It actually was fun, and all the guys at the car club breakfast got a big laugh out of my story and asked me why I didn't look at my manual 1st..... Oh, now I have to find a simple, normal, easy to use, functional gas pedal that operates the carb by a cable or a simple straight rod.... so I had to ride my 50cc scooter to breakfast since the Stude is still laying in the garage.... but it idles great, ha ! ( the pic is from when I still had linkage, ha ! ) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithb7 Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 (edited) Motorcycle fork, rebuild and new seals. New tire. Set up and maintenance. Ready to go! My son's MC. He worked overtime all day at his summer job, so I helped him out repairing his MC.I do enjoy the garage time. Do you figure he got good life from his worn out tire? We are changing it up to something a little different, better in the rain. Edited July 25, 2021 by keithb7 (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Harper Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 (edited) Ran the beast for the first time in nearly two years. Visiting with wonderful friends and playing with old iron.... a very good day. Edited July 26, 2021 by Terry Harper (see edit history) 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimKB1MCV Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 A good day indeed. Drove ~3+ hrs to visit the Maine Forestry and Logging Museum with my daughter, our first visit, hopefully not the last. Probably the largest collection of Lombard iron in the country. Recommend a visit if you are in the Bangor area. Jim Richardson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Harper Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 Just now, JimKB1MCV said: A good day indeed. Drove ~3+ hrs to visit the Maine Forestry and Logging Museum with my daughter, our first visit, hopefully not the last. Probably the largest collection of Lombard iron in the country. Recommend a visit if you are in the Bangor area. Jim Richardson Wow Jim, I wish I had known a fellow AACA forum member was there! I would have made sure to give you and your daughter the first class tour! My daughter and I spent most of the day running the steamer and the gas Lombards. Its an amazing crew to work with and we met a lot of very nice people. Our next major event will be "Living History Days" the first weekend in October. Best regards, Terry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithb7 Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 (edited) I have a small economy car to get back and forth to work. A 2006 Mazda 3 hatchback wagon. Cheap reliable transportation. Earlier this summer we broke all time high temperature records when we hit over 120F. One day I was driving my little Mazda thinking how spoiled I am to have A/C. The very next day it stopped blowing cold air. Oh boy was it hot. I started researching prices for all the AC stuff needed when you open up an AC system. The parts were not too bad, if the did all the labor to install the new parts at home myself. Then I was thinking I could just take it into and AC shop to be vacuumed down and charged back up again. I sorta failed to accept the notion of dropping the car off at a garage to get it repaired. I thought about it, as I am so very busy working on my old Mopar cars and other family vehicles. I was feeling like treating myself to a little "mechanic's rest". Maybe I'd just take this Mazda in, drop it off. Then pay the bill 2 days later and be done with it. I did not. Though I certainly was tempted. I researched the OEM shop manual to learn how to troubleshoot and test the A/C system components and switches, etc. I narrowed it down to the compressor magnet for the clutch. It was not locking on when the AC switch was pressed. I had voltage at the wire to the magnet. Yet the magnet was not activating. I found a new clutch kit on Ebay for an attractive price. I waited a month for it to arrive. (Ebay Global Shipping to Canada is brutal). I tackled the clutch kit tonight. It was not an exact fit. The new pulley was wrong. A thermal switch was incorrect. However the actual circular clutch magnet was right. An exact match. I tested the original old thermal switch. It had continuity. I figured it must work. Only 1 wire going in, though it and back out. So I chopped it up and made it work with the new clutch magnet. I practiced some soldering skills. A little butt-splicing. Some heat-shrink. I installed the old pulley over the new magnet. Clipped the wire connectoions back together. Tested. Voila! Success. The new magnet was now engaging the clutch. The compressor was compressing. I had cold air again in the cab! I drove out for ice creme in celebration, and cold air. Total cost out of my pocket: New Clutch kit on Ebay $30 USD New compressor drive belt $20 USD I am pretty confident if I had taken it in to a shop they would have told me the compressor needed to be replaced. Then when you open up the AC system you need a new condenser and receiver drier at a minimum. Then there is the refrigerant recharge fee. Then the shop labor charges. I haven't been to a garage in so long I have no idea what hour shop rates at these days. US funds $130 hr? A guess. The bill, had I taken it to the shop for the repair would have been $1500 USD easily. Stay in school kids.....Or at least get on the tools as soon as you can. If you like driving, and having some pocket money left over. Lol. Edited July 30, 2021 by keithb7 (see edit history) 12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 Gettin' ready for runcto the Belltown show tomorrow, way too nice for the garage today! 😊 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bloom Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 Steve, I’m digging your cupola! The A roadster looks great. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Perkins / Mn Posted August 1, 2021 Author Share Posted August 1, 2021 Drove the recently purchased New Yorker home today……97 mile trip……85 deg.F with no cooling issues. 40 lbs. oil pressure, does not drop hardly at all when idling. One problem I have is the idle is high, cannot lower it without the car dying. I could not find any vacuum leak. Tomorrow I will spend the day cleaning inside, out and underhood as I do not like working on dirty cars. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Perkins / Mn Posted August 2, 2021 Author Share Posted August 2, 2021 (edited) Update on the New Yorker…..I thoroughly cleaned the engine and compartment including the carb and linkage. I then cleaned the three electrical connections to the carb. On a whim I started the car and it idled beautifully. Idle speed and mixture were at factory recommendations. A small but satisfying victory! I guess I was born with the cleaning gene….my sister got the shopping gene. Edited August 2, 2021 by Jeff Perkins / Mn (see edit history) 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Anselmo Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 As time permits I have been working on a 1959 Parkwood Wagon, 1963 Renault Caravelle and a 1965 Glastron 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Perkins / Mn Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 Busy guy! Love all three….. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dei Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 Finally have the family 1951 Nash Canadian Statesman on the road again. Dad bought it from the second owner back in 1968 and kept in out the winter driving till he gave it to me in 2011 deciding to give up his license. We used it till developing some serious noise in the rear end and parked her till last year when I lost the storage she was at having sold the property. I sent it to RM Restorations last December 2020 where they took their time and found the carrier bearings were totally shot. Little wonder why as the speedometer shows 97,000 miles... They finished it in March 2021 and I had her trucked home to finesse a few things and then drove her out to a fellows where my Special was till this month. Drove her home last Thursday with no issues finding light sockets needed cleaning up for better contact and spent the evenings polishing and waxing the original paint up. Yes that is correct, this car was purchased new at the Toronto, Ontario production Plant, driven the first winter when the owner decided he liked it so much he bought a winter beater and she never saw snow for the next 10 years. He decided to sell her as he didn't use it as much as he felt he should. The man that bought was a co-worker of Dad's and knew of his likes for antique and of beat cars & decided to sell it to him. Dad tried to flat tow his beloved 1920 Overland with it to Niagara Falls one year and while she did the job, the little flathead six was put to task (not doing any harm but back roads were the norm for this setup). Move to today, With a new fuel line, fuel pump, carb adjustment and fresh gas, tonight we drove her to her first Cruise-in since 2011. Sadly the threat of more rain curtailed many from coming out but this Friday there is a big show on the Waterfront which should gather over 1,000 cars for the day. This is the only Canadian Statesman I know of in Southwestern Ontario to London. She should gather some interest especially being mostly original condition including interior. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 Working on my daily driver 2002 Toyota pickup, figuring out what an IAC is, a Idle Air Controller, and why it doesn't run. It went from running fine, to where you'd start it and it would just die. Completely undriveable. Guess what a new IAC costs at the dealer? $444.65, and that's just for the part. A very small part. No installation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURktman Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 Painted up my gas tank, did some touch up on my frame, and coming up with some cheap yet effective vacuum pump for my brakes. I don't need a lot of extra vacuum, but every little bit helps. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bloom Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 It's been a few weeks since I posted anything. Hectic Summer. Two years ago (Labor Day 2019) we became empty nesters after raising four kids. At the height of COVID, all four kids and a grand-dog had moved back in. We have been "adjusting" as have many of you. Next Tuesday, August 31, we will officially be Empty Nesters again........ I put up one post a couple of months ago as I'm "waking up a Packard 733 Club Sedan that hadn't been started for 3 years. I am in no hurry and I'm going through things systematically. Thanks to those who have given me feedback. To bring things up to today..... I have changed the oil, cleaned the oil pickup screen, filtered the oil and found no metal or objects in the 8 quarts that I drained out. It was dark, but didn't seem overly thick and no signs of debris. I had the impression that it was probably changed 4-5 years ago and may have only had a short amount of run time on it. Pan Gasket set from Olson's, new oil, filled radiator, small drip/leak around the water pump shaft that stopped after about a day. topped it off and no leaks. The original Detroit Lubricator carb is with the car, but has seen better days and the previous owner replaced it with a Zenith 14744. I will keep the original with the car, but for now will rebuild the Zenith. I'm ordering a carb rebuild kit tonight. I found this thread from Carbking, interesting as it relates to my situation. I don't know Jon (Carbking) but see him helping out a lot on the forum. With the carb gone through, I'll get everything buttoned up and give it a taste of gas from a new clean auxillary tank with a fresh battery. If we are up and running, I plan on changing the oil again and sending the gas tank out to be opened up and cleaned/sealed and painted before putting it back in. The previous owner used an EFP to bring gas from a 5 gallon can in the trunk. I will go back to the gas tank, and plan on assessing/rebuilding (if necessary) the Vacuum tank and having it gravity feed once again. I have 6 gallons of Evaporust standing by that I want to run in it this fall, before draining it and putting antifreeze in. I could leave the evaporust in all winter, the garage is heated and no fear of freezing. Bottom line is I''m having fun..... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 John said “Bottom line is I''m having fun.....” Isn’t that the whole idea and why we do what we do? Some people think we’re all crazy. We spend a lot of time and money on our vehicles. It can be quite frustrating at times, but in the long run it’s fun. Mike 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericmac Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 2 hours ago, Mike "Hubbie" Stearns said: John said “Bottom line is I''m having fun.....” Isn’t that the whole idea and why we do what we do? Some people think we’re all crazy. We spend a lot of time and money on our vehicles. It can be quite frustrating at times, but in the long run it’s fun. Mike I couldn't agree more with both you and John. I hear a fair amount about the hobby as an investment but I think that's the wrong approach. Golfers never expect a return from their investment nor do readers of books, gardeners and on and on. If the cars are (both literally and figuratively) vehicles to enhance our enjoyment of life, their relative value is a secondary consideration. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 Great progress. They do sell very expensive reproductions of the DL carb, I'll leave it to others to comment if they are worth the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMc Posted August 30, 2021 Share Posted August 30, 2021 Regarding those reproduction DL carburetors. A friend bought one a few years ago for his 1929 Packard. He was told to fit it and not touch the adjustments, it had been adjusted and test run on the same model car. He did that and the car ran perfectly. They might seem expensive but when you see one and realise the precision work that it took to make it they are worth the money, and no more pot metal which is why I would not waste any money on an original. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bloom Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 I had some down time and my buddy Tom was free today, so after cleaning the carb (not rebuilding it yet), hooking up an auxillary tank, radiator full of water only, a few shots of starter fluid, retard, and a charged up battery........................she's alive. I believe it is the first time in about 5 years. Oil pressure in the mid 30's at idle and mid 40's with a little gas. I got it about 4 months ago and have been going through things systematically. It has new oil. I'd like to run it for a couple hours, put evaporust in the radiator, drain the oil again and clean the pickup filter again. I have another Oil Pan gasket from Olson's to drop the pan again. I'm having the tank cleaned professionally from a source of my friend Tim's, I think I'll actually send the carb out for an experienced rebuild by someone who has done hundreds of these type of updrafts (vice me buying a kit and doing it myself), any recommendations are appreciated. A little weeping at the water pump. maybe 2-4 ounces came out while running it and the 6 hours after shutting it down. Don't know if that might seal with some more running or if I will need to address it. total run time today was maybe 5-7 minutes. It seems smooth and no funny noises or vibrations. I'm pretty pumped. My gut is to get the gas tank off for service and while it is out, learn about vacuum tanks. I have never played with them. This one has been bypassed with an EFP. I am using an auxillary tank for now, but with a clean gas tank, I want to go back to the Vacuum tank as designed. I'm sure there are some educational threads on the forum for me to learn from . Very thankful for this forum and the guys on it. i'll keep sending updates. she is getting better every week. John 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 (edited) John......do NOT run the car down the road with an electric pump........they are a huge fire danger. The vacuum tanks are easy to work with......once you understand them. I have driven countless miles on them. Car looks great. Take your time. Doing things right means only doing it once........a money and aggravation saver in the long run. Your going to enjoy that car a bunch.......well done. Edited September 2, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick8086 Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 (edited) Just got this out. It needs some detailing done to it.. Just started.. Edited September 14, 2021 by nick8086 (see edit history) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Perkins / Mn Posted September 12, 2021 Author Share Posted September 12, 2021 On the road with my recently purchased 1948 Chrysler New Yorker. A thorough cleaning (inside, outside and under hood) followed by a complete tuneup, new hoses and fan belt, fluids changed, and brakes adjusted. (Thanks Keithb7 for the adjustment tool!) Now awaiting the arrival of the Diamondback radial tires to add a much needed upgrade. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted September 12, 2021 Share Posted September 12, 2021 The very long task of scraping and painting my garage.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted September 12, 2021 Share Posted September 12, 2021 Yikes - Now will it be in proper period colors? Pin striped ( with a 3 inch brush) , 😁😁😇 Could add an accessory spotlight near the door post............................ monogram at the center of the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted September 12, 2021 Share Posted September 12, 2021 1 hour ago, keiser31 said: The very long task of scraping and painting my garage.... Poor Pegasus, he's been through hell! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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