Recent content by Flathead Fever

Like he said, try driving it without the little air filter on it. I had a 33 1 1/2-ton truck, and I had one of those tiny, chromed, louvered, cheap, Stromberg type air cleaners setting on my workbench, it was brand new, so I popped in on the engine. Just at an idle, that little air cleaner...

I was a mechanic for 30-yearss but that was over 15-years ago. Eis brand of brake parts made an illustrated brake spring catalog with the measurements and drawings of the brake springs. I'm sure you could find something that would work in that catalog. It might not be available anymore. You...

I use this vintage Snap-On steering wheel puller. I found it in the attic of a garage that had been in business since 1950. It works super on '40 Ford wheels, it was made for them, takes them right off. I added the hose on the bottom of it so as not to crack the wheels as a little extra cushion...

I to like retro wires like the old Packard 440 wire. I have a few rolls of 440 wire I've bought off of eBay. I try to stay with the old look. That comes from restoring Mustangs and keeping the original Autolite electronics. I think building a car and using what was available during their era...

Great find, that's really nifty. I've never seen one of those before.

I have '51 Merc on an engine stand I was going to put in a '32 Coupe. Like has been said, you need the late model truck pumps with the wide belts. I used a wide belt '49 double pulley and then machined off the front pulley which I didn't need because I was going to run a fan on the generator...

That's the way it's been done on almost every car ever built. But If it really nasty dirty like most old Fords are I'd remove the radiator and reverse flush it from the bottom out the top to get any chunks stuck in the top of the tubes. Then while I have the radiator out, I'd also stick the hose...

When I was a kid in the 60s the Model A Club would put on an event and lots of Model A's showed up. Now I go to the same local club's swap meet. Last year not one single Model A showed up for their Model A swap meet, no members cars were there. That was really sad that the club sponsoring the...

I have a couple of wedge-shaped pieces of wood I drive underneath the generators and then tighten them up. I don't know how that would work on your alternator. Don't make the belt super tight or you'll wipe out the bearingsor bushings. The belt should have a "little bit" of play in it. Be really...

I was a fleet mechanic for 30-years, we always just used regular hose water to back flush the radiator and block and we used it along with antifreeze to fill them back up. We did this every two-years and the radiators mostly stayed clean. We had a fleet of around 400 vehicles. We kept most...

Uni-sync is just for setting the idle openings of both carbs to make sure they are set exactly the same on both carbs at idle. So that both carbs are drawing in the exact amount of air at idle. Then you set the idle fuel mixtures by gently bottoming them out and then backing them out say around...

Part of my mechanic job was I smog tech in CA. I also was going to say to weld a bung near the engine like a car with a 02 sensor has. Install a temporary fuel ratio gauge and sensor and dial the car in while you drive it around. Then you can screw a plug in the exhaust and use that new tool to...

Here in CA all you need to do is look at the size of the Model A and Early Ford swap meets swap meets to tell it's dying. I have been going to them since I was born in 1961. My dad was big into restoring Model A's and later Early V8s. It's not nearly what it used to be, I think l it because the...

I'm 65 and my dad painted his own Model As in lacquer when I was a kid. When I graduated high school, I took a college course from a friend of my dad. The instructor was the best metal finisher I've ever known. Because he was my dad's friend he took extra time with me. Gas welding, brazing...

My kids are scared they won't know what to do with all my stuff, they don't know what's worth money and what's junk. I'm 65 and have about 3000' of garage space full of neat cars and parts. When my dad died, I hauled mountains of his Ford parts home including his '32 roadster, I threw all of his...