Monday, October 24, 2011
SOLD!
I sold the Traveler for what I paid, $1,600. Now I have a 1942 Plymouth that is in quite a bit better shape. Perhaps it will be the subject of a second blog. This one is officially retired.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Free 1948 Traveler With Purchase of Blog!
This blog is for sale for $3,700 and includes the 1948 Traveler discussed herein. Leave a comment if you're interested.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Rust Removal Using Molasses - Report
After soaking for about a month in the molasses/water solution, it appears that no rust has been removed. I suspect this is because I used household cooking molasses instead of agricultural grade.
I bought a 1000-pound engine stand for future use. It was on sale for $70 and I couldn't pass it up. My friend Byron Richardson from Tillamook has offered to come out and help me yank the engine.
I bought a 1000-pound engine stand for future use. It was on sale for $70 and I couldn't pass it up. My friend Byron Richardson from Tillamook has offered to come out and help me yank the engine.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Chrysler Books
I got some interesting Chrysler books through interlibrary loan. I'll list them here and try to give short reviews as they become due. They are:
Chrysler Engines: 1922-1998 by Willem L. Weertman, SAE International (October 26, 2007).
Chrysler Corporation Classics, Publications International (January 2008).
Chrysler & Imperial 1946-1975: The Classic Postwar Years by Richard M. Langworth, Motorbooks Intl (June 1993).
A Chrysler Chronicle: One Man's Story of Restoring a Classic 1948 New Yorker by Dave Floyd, McFarland (September 1, 2000).
Chrysler Engines is due in three days so I'll start with it. It is an exhaustive 400 page study of every Chrysler production engine and many experimental engines. It is very interesting and very informative but not much of a page turner. I wish I owned it for use as a reference manual. Besides the details of the engines, it also describes the formation and history of Chrysler Corporation and many of the key personalities such as the design team of Zeder, Skelton, and Breer. I did not know about the relationship between Willys and Maxwell and the formation of Chrysler in 1924.
Regarding the Traveler, I learned that its 6-cylinder is a four-main-bearing, shallow-skirt, L-head engine. The book constantly uses the term "L-head" but never really explains what it means. "Short-skirt" refers to the height of the crankcase walls measured from the centerline of the crankshaft to the bottom of the block where the oil pan attaches. This distance is only 0.125 inches, considerably shorter than the skirt on the earlier 6-cylinders, reducing the weight and cost of the engine. The engine premiered in 1933 Dodge and Plymouth vehicles and was adapted to Chrysler and DeSoto in 1937. They look very similar and the key method for telling them apart is by the length of the block at the cylinder head surface. The Dodge and Plymouths use a short-block of 23.4 inches and the Chrysler and DeSoto use a long-block of 25.7 inches. The Dodge/Plymouth version remained in production for passenger cars through 1959 and the Chrysler/DeSoto version through 1954.
It's a great book. I wish it were at the local libary or in my own library. I didn't even have time to read about the hemis.
Chrysler Engines: 1922-1998 by Willem L. Weertman, SAE International (October 26, 2007).
Chrysler Corporation Classics, Publications International (January 2008).
Chrysler & Imperial 1946-1975: The Classic Postwar Years by Richard M. Langworth, Motorbooks Intl (June 1993).
A Chrysler Chronicle: One Man's Story of Restoring a Classic 1948 New Yorker by Dave Floyd, McFarland (September 1, 2000).
Chrysler Engines is due in three days so I'll start with it. It is an exhaustive 400 page study of every Chrysler production engine and many experimental engines. It is very interesting and very informative but not much of a page turner. I wish I owned it for use as a reference manual. Besides the details of the engines, it also describes the formation and history of Chrysler Corporation and many of the key personalities such as the design team of Zeder, Skelton, and Breer. I did not know about the relationship between Willys and Maxwell and the formation of Chrysler in 1924.
Regarding the Traveler, I learned that its 6-cylinder is a four-main-bearing, shallow-skirt, L-head engine. The book constantly uses the term "L-head" but never really explains what it means. "Short-skirt" refers to the height of the crankcase walls measured from the centerline of the crankshaft to the bottom of the block where the oil pan attaches. This distance is only 0.125 inches, considerably shorter than the skirt on the earlier 6-cylinders, reducing the weight and cost of the engine. The engine premiered in 1933 Dodge and Plymouth vehicles and was adapted to Chrysler and DeSoto in 1937. They look very similar and the key method for telling them apart is by the length of the block at the cylinder head surface. The Dodge and Plymouths use a short-block of 23.4 inches and the Chrysler and DeSoto use a long-block of 25.7 inches. The Dodge/Plymouth version remained in production for passenger cars through 1959 and the Chrysler/DeSoto version through 1954.
It's a great book. I wish it were at the local libary or in my own library. I didn't even have time to read about the hemis.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Mopar Model 802 Radio
It turns out that this car has a pretty cool radio (the cats really seem to like it). It's been sitting on the front seat and I finally decided to have a closer look at it. It's an 802 Mopar manufactured by Philco and weighs about 20 pounds. It has a tone control feature which adjusts the tone as well as the color of the backlighting on the face. From the original manual:
"An entirely new and novel color tone control is designed into the MoPar Radio Model 802. The disc behind the volume control knob allows the owner to change the tone of the radio to suit his taste. The tone is indicated by the color illumination of the dial, push buttons and the tone indicator. When the indicator shows the word MELLO and the illumination of the dial is VIOLET, bass notes are given heavy emphasis. As the disc is turned to the right the VIOLET light gradually changes through the spectrum until YELLOW appears and the bass notes are blended with the treble notes, and the word MUSIC appears in the indicator. On turning the disc further to the right the treble notes are emphasized, the illumination changes to RED and the indicator shows VOICE. In this last position, speech is more natural and pleasing. For music use the position MELLO or MUSIC. When static or other electrical interference is present it can be reduced by adjusting the tone control to MELLO." See http://www.dodgepilothouseclub.org/know/802/imgcol/contact_1.htm
I took the front and back panels off to have a look inside. It is not as bad as I expected judging from the corrosion on the outside of the case, but I'm sure it needs serious work to get running again. Some googling turned up several restorers, one of which had a general quote of $400 to restore all 20 paper and filter capacitors and includes up to five tubes or resistors, and a new dial cord and dial lamps if needed. I don't think it covers any cosmetic work.
Maybe there is a retired guy living out in the backwoods of Vermont, stuck in the snow, who needs a winter project. Maybe someone who used to be a ham radio guy and an electrician? Surely, amongst the throng of readers of this blog, there is someone out there like that who would enjoy the challenge of getting this thing fired up again.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Baking Soda and Molasses: Restoring Your Car with Cookie Ingredients
I made my first experimental batch of molasses-based rust remover on Friday. Lacking agricultural grade molasses, I raided the pantry for some Aunt Patty's Unsulphured baking molasses and mixed it with nine parts water. Supposedly this mixture will soon smell like vomit and remove rust at the same time. The cylinder water outlet elbow pictured in my December 17, 2010 post is now soaking in it. In two to three weeks the rust should be gone. A full explanation and links to videos can be found here: http://forums.aaca.org/f120/rust-removal-using-molasses-293820.html
I've been investigating methods of undercoating removal including dipping and blasting with various forms of media. I found a local shop that blasts with baking soda instead of the traditional sand. The benefit of baking soda is that it does not heat up and warp the surface of body panels. On the down side, it may not be as effective as sand at removing rust and has a reputation for causing problems with paint adhesion when it is not thoroughly removed after blasting. I liked the guy I talked to at the shop and he think it is far superior to sand. On his cars, he powerwashes it for an hour or so after blasting and then uses compressed air to dry it off. Then it goes into the shop with fans and a dehumidifier. When it is completely dry he first uses an etching primer and follows with an epoxy primer. He said he should be able to completely blast my entire car and remove all paint, filler, and rust for under $1,000. The rinsing and priming would be extra if I want him to do that. It sounds pretty good if he can actually get the rust.
There is another shop I just learned about tonight that uses crushed walnut shells. I need to research it some more, but it sounds like it also is less effective at removing rust and has the additional negative of leaving an oily residue that is hard to remove.
Besides the research and experimentation, I actually accomplished something on the car. Two of the tires did not hold air and were completely shot. I found replacements for $5 each and good old Les Schwab took the old tires off and put the new ones on and disposed of the old tires for just $7.50. I love that place and will try to buy my tires there when the time comes. Now the car actually sits upright and it is not quite as embarrassing when I open the garage.
I've been investigating methods of undercoating removal including dipping and blasting with various forms of media. I found a local shop that blasts with baking soda instead of the traditional sand. The benefit of baking soda is that it does not heat up and warp the surface of body panels. On the down side, it may not be as effective as sand at removing rust and has a reputation for causing problems with paint adhesion when it is not thoroughly removed after blasting. I liked the guy I talked to at the shop and he think it is far superior to sand. On his cars, he powerwashes it for an hour or so after blasting and then uses compressed air to dry it off. Then it goes into the shop with fans and a dehumidifier. When it is completely dry he first uses an etching primer and follows with an epoxy primer. He said he should be able to completely blast my entire car and remove all paint, filler, and rust for under $1,000. The rinsing and priming would be extra if I want him to do that. It sounds pretty good if he can actually get the rust.
There is another shop I just learned about tonight that uses crushed walnut shells. I need to research it some more, but it sounds like it also is less effective at removing rust and has the additional negative of leaving an oily residue that is hard to remove.
Besides the research and experimentation, I actually accomplished something on the car. Two of the tires did not hold air and were completely shot. I found replacements for $5 each and good old Les Schwab took the old tires off and put the new ones on and disposed of the old tires for just $7.50. I love that place and will try to buy my tires there when the time comes. Now the car actually sits upright and it is not quite as embarrassing when I open the garage.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Headless
I was able to get all 21 head bolts out without an impact wrench and without breaking any of them. The only tricky part was the bulb for the temperature gauge was stuck in the head. I had to remove the soft plug above the bulb so I could push it out. The head was too heavy to lift off by myself so I waited for my brother-in-law to come over for Christmas eve. We took a short break from the festivities and lifted it out. I was expecting an animal nest of some sort to be inside so was pleasantly surprised to see that it looks so good. I think the piston and cylinder bores look great - there is no rust and no ridges at the top of the bores, indicating that there are few miles on the rebuild.
Because the spark plugs are above the valves rather than the cylinders, the valves are in the worst shape. Two look particularly bad, one of which appears to be affixed to its seat with corrosion. The other has rust on its face but is not stuck to the seat and the seat itself looks fine. My guess is that water dropped on the face of that one and then down the stem into the guide, causing who-knows-what kind of trouble down there. I put a few tablespoons of oil in each piston bore and have sprayed the valves a couple times with PB-Blaster and the ATF/acetone mix. I'm also occasionally rapping lightly on the frozen valve with a rubber mallet. I still can't turn it over by hand and plan to finally buy a large socket this weekend so I can try with a ratchet.
I made the bonehead mistake of removing the head without first draining the block. I had it in my head that removing the radiator would lower the fluid level below the surface of the block. But the inlet and outlet of the radiator connect to the water pump which is high on the block. This means that some fluid probably went into the valves and cylinder bores. A few days later I removed the block drain plug and was able to get it to drain after digging around in there a bit with a wire.
The only other thing I've done is remove the water pump, which I am starting to doubt is rebuildable because of all the corrosion. An oddity of this motor is that there are two large passages in the front of the block which would appear to connect to passages in the water pump. The water pump, however, has a backing plate that blocks one of the passages. I can't figure out why Chrysler would put the passage in the block and then cover it up with a plate.
Because the spark plugs are above the valves rather than the cylinders, the valves are in the worst shape. Two look particularly bad, one of which appears to be affixed to its seat with corrosion. The other has rust on its face but is not stuck to the seat and the seat itself looks fine. My guess is that water dropped on the face of that one and then down the stem into the guide, causing who-knows-what kind of trouble down there. I put a few tablespoons of oil in each piston bore and have sprayed the valves a couple times with PB-Blaster and the ATF/acetone mix. I'm also occasionally rapping lightly on the frozen valve with a rubber mallet. I still can't turn it over by hand and plan to finally buy a large socket this weekend so I can try with a ratchet.
I made the bonehead mistake of removing the head without first draining the block. I had it in my head that removing the radiator would lower the fluid level below the surface of the block. But the inlet and outlet of the radiator connect to the water pump which is high on the block. This means that some fluid probably went into the valves and cylinder bores. A few days later I removed the block drain plug and was able to get it to drain after digging around in there a bit with a wire.
The only other thing I've done is remove the water pump, which I am starting to doubt is rebuildable because of all the corrosion. An oddity of this motor is that there are two large passages in the front of the block which would appear to connect to passages in the water pump. The water pump, however, has a backing plate that blocks one of the passages. I can't figure out why Chrysler would put the passage in the block and then cover it up with a plate.
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