Vintage car observation.

[up196]

Bright lights !

NOW the lights are bright as day (LOVE those 12v versions!), and now folks KNOW when I hit my brakes as they have bright red tail lights in their face telling them so.

An alternative, if you prefer to stay 6v, is to replace your bulbs with 6v HALOGENs and install a 6v alternator in place of the generator. I did it on my Fordor and it made a world of a difference, and there is no permanent alteration to the car . . . Tom

 

[Wild Root]

Interesting info! I may look for some of them. But again I like my dim soft head lights. They are sealed beams and are way brighter then the pre 1940 models! I'm an old fashioned guy and there are plenty of street lamps around to see most of the road. When my foot is on the gas my head lights are nice and bright! Generator you know! It's funny to see them get brighter when I hit the gas.

Any way, its fun stuff!

Root.

 

[Michaelson]

Yep, P-15/D24 forum indeed, Wildroot! Don Coatney would be proud! (grins)

I'm an 'old fashioned' type guy too, but I'm also around serious hotrodders/ratrodders, so it's an line I walk everyday....

Regards! Michaelson

 

[Brad Bowers]

Hmm, on eBay right now there's a 1948 Tucker formerly owned by George Lucas, with an opening bid of $385,000. I can only guess what the reserve is!

Brad

 

[jamespowers]

Hmm, on eBay right now there's a 1948 Tucker formerly owned by George Lucas, with an opening bid of $385,000. I can only guess what the reserve is!

Brad

Go ahead and buy it Brad. You only live once---and probably end up paying for it the rest of your life.

Regards to all,

J

 

[KR]

My vintage car

I just got my very first car this week. It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s a 1936 Ford V-8 Deluxe Tudor Touring Sedan, in black of course. It only needs some minor work.

I can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t wait to take it for a spin. Have to wait for it to be towed down from northern California.

 

[Wild Root]

Oh, now we?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re talking! Have any photos of this 36? I know what they look like (one of my favorite years for Fords) but, would like to see the condition. If you don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t mind, what did you pay for this little gem? Is it stock original? Those 1930?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s Fords are going for big bucks and it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s getting harder and harder to find originals.

Tell me more about this Ford!

Root.

 

[Michaelson]

Only needs minor work? It IS your first vintage car....isn't it? Just kidding. You'll enjoy the heck out it....just don't expect it to be like a modern car in the fact you can just put in gas, oil, and drive. You have to tweak here, and adjust that there, and it's a daily thing.....but once you're in the habit, it will become second nature. Just be sure to do your homework on what it requires, and that requires a general maintenance manual at hand. HIGHLY recommended! I've read my 1950 Plymouth manual from cover to cover, and am STILL learning things daily!


Regards! Michaelson

 

[jamespowers]

Yep, vintage cars all have a character all their own. No two of the same year are exactly alike. I filled up my 55 Chevy last week and found out that the gas tank sending unit gasket wasn't working very well. Needless to say I probably lost $20 worth of gas that way and the street outside the house will never be the same.
The wife's 73 Mach 1 (yeah I know not exactly vintage but older than a few people here ) blew a muffler on the freeway last night as well. This is my newest car int he family and it has the most problems at any given time. It is getting some new flowmasters on it and a thorough check of the no good lousy smog system to determine what made it do that twice now.
In short vintage cars are exactly what one would expect. A friend of mine used to manage the police fleet of the LA police department until the mid 1980s. He had 57 suburbans still doing a yeomans job for the police along with older vehicles for less of an emergency nature. Why you ask? Well, his contention was that it was cheaper to maintain the older vehicles than to keep buying new ones and his numbers proved it out. After he retired in 1987, they bought all new vehicles and it cost millions of dollars more than it would to just maintain the older fleet.
I am sure the police officers also liked those old big v-8 hemis they had too.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Absinthe_1900]

The wife's 73 Mach 1 (yeah I know not exactly vintage but older than a few people here ) blew a muffler on the freeway last night as well.
J

I've got a 71 Mach-1 I've had since 1980, the first thing I removed was that useless EGR valve.

How do you like changing lanes in that '73?.......71-73's have a great blindspot.

 

[jamespowers]

I've got a 71 Mach-1 I've had since 1980, the first thing I removed was that useless EGR valve.

How do you like changing lanes in that '73?.......71-73's have a great blindspot.

The EGR valve is removed on mine as well but the diverter valve is probably the thing that is screwing up the exhaust.
Changing lanes? Yeah, the Mach's back window is useless as well as looking back in any other way than the sideview mirrors. That sloping back and the slanting window are a pain.

Regards to all,

J

 

[KR]

My 1936 Ford

Here is a picture of the car. I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll have some better ones once I get the car next week.

It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s stock for the most part, the headlights were changed at some point but I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m planning on replacing them with stock ones. There is an early Ford store in San Dimas that is a great resource for old parts.

Bought the car for $16,000. The owner's wife was making him sell it and he said he was getting too old to really take good care of it (I believe he is 77). It is registered as a historical vehical.

I have already bought copies of the original manuals which I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll read over and over again! I'm really looking forward to caring for it.

 

[Mr. 'H']

That's a great car. Please get us some shots of it ASAP. How often will you be using it do you think?

 

[Wild Root]

You did well! That's cheap for a stock 36 Ford! Nice looking car.

When you get it, you should drive it up to a car meet every Saturday over in Hastings Ranch behind Robin?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s BBQ. There is a guy there that has a 34 and a 38 Ford and knows where to get the best parts for 30's and 40's Fords.

Take good care of that ride!

Root.

 

[shamus]

Looks great from the pic. Is it a California car? I keep seeing this rat-rod around town, a 34 ford covertible or at least it is now, but it still has it's 34 califorina plate! I love that.

 

[KR]

That's a great car. Please get us some shots of it ASAP. How often will you be using it do you think?

Will do! I'll be using it every so often when I need to get around town.

You did well! That's cheap for a stock 36 Ford! Nice looking car.

When you get it, you should drive it up to a car meet every Saturday over in Hastings Ranch behind Robin?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s BBQ. There is a guy there that has a 34 and a 38 Ford and knows where to get the best parts for 30's and 40's Fords.

It was a steal of a deal, I got really lucky. I'll have to pay that guy a visit.

Looks great from the pic. Is it a California car? I keep seeing this rat-rod around town, a 34 ford covertible or at least it is now, but it still has it's 34 califorina plate! I love that.

I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t believe the car was originally from California but I found it in Scotts Valley, not that far from Yosemite. It will be here next Tuesday.

I hope a 1930's manual transmission isn't too tricky.

 

[Wild Root]

I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m not to sure on how many speeds fords of the 30?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s had but, they can be a little tricky. You may have to learn how to double clutch (which is almost a lost art) I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m not very clear on it but, some one here might be.

My car is a standard three speed. It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s way easy to shift and drive! You?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re car shouldn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t be too hard if you already know how to drive a standard trans.

Best of luck with your new toy!

Root.

 

[KR]

I know that the transmission is a three speed with the latter two being synchronized. I'm not to well versed in automobiles so I'm not too sure what that last part means.

My friend has been having me drive his truck to get the hang of driving a manual.

 

[Nathan Flowers]

Synchronized basically means you won't have to double clutch between the gears that are synchro'd.

Say you start off in 1st gear, you then accelerate up to where you know you need to shift, you then depress clutch, and move gear to neutral. Then you release clutch, and depress again to move to 2nd gear, after which you release the clutch and accelerate again. If the last two gears are synchronized, you'll just depress the clutch and hold it down for the change from 2nd to 3rd, then release it once you're in third.


It has to do with getting the gears to mesh properly. When a transmission has synchronizers, it automatically makes sure that the two gears being meshed are at the same speed. Double clutching enables the engine's rpms to drop some and match the speed of the next gear so they will engage without grinding.
If you have a tranny without synchronizers, and you just try to clutch it like a new car, you will get a lot of CRUNCH GRIND CRUNCH when you try to shift.

 

[KR]

Oh I see, thanks for the info Zohar.