Vintage Car Thread - Discussion and Parts Requests

[Stanley Doble]

Sounds like some part of the clutch linkage came loose.

 

[David Conwill]

Yes, that sounds exactly what happened to the Rambler shortly after I got it. The engine torqued over in the mounts and dumped the bell crank out of the bracket, disconnecting the clutch pedal (which then flopped around uselessly) from the clutch fork. Hopefully everything can be reconnected readily and nothing critical is missing.

 

[HeyMoe]

Who knew owning an antique car could be so much fun!

Today was the first day of driving it in a few weeks due to a leaky water pump. [huh]

Best part is I will be the best dressed mechanic on the block (wearing a suit at work today) :rockon:

 

[David Conwill]

Best part is I will be the best dressed mechanic on the block (wearing a suit at work today) :rockon:

I feel your pain. The last time the Rambler spit the bell crank, it was in the parking lot of the dry cleaners and I was wearing slacks, sport coat, bow tie, and fedora. By the time I was done, I had more business for them.

It's still better than driving the HHR I was supposed to be borrowing for the winter.

 

[HeyMoe]

I feel your pain. The last time the Rambler spit the bell crank, it was in the parking lot of the dry cleaners and I was wearing slacks, sport coat, bow tie, and fedora. By the time I was done, I had more business for them.

It's still better than driving the HHR I was supposed to be borrowing for the winter.

Not looking forward to winter at all - if I could safely drive the Dodge all winter I would, but I would hate to expose it to that much salt!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Any car awoken from a long slumber is bound to be crotchety. It's earned the right.

The Plodge is back on the road after its detour to the machine shop for new bushings, and is handling well -- it didn't have much shimmy before, but now there isn't any. Very nice.

Next project, the shocks, which appear to be the originals. That will hopefully wait until next spring, though -- there's probably just another month of driving time left before it goes to sleep for the winter.

 

[vitanola]

The only machines that I have seen wake up happily from a long period in storage were Ford T-models or pre-T's of various sorts. I remember in 1986 reviving a 1907 Maxwell Model B that had been laid up in 1915. Fresh oil, new tires, water in the radiator, four dry-cells for the ignition battery and clean fuel in the tank, and the machine was ready for the road.

More modern machines, however have hydraulic brake lines to rust, seals to dry out, floats to flood, pumps and filters to fail...

 

[Stearmen]

The only machines that I have seen wake up happily from a long period in storage were Ford T-models or pre-T's of various sorts. I remember in 1986 reviving a 1907 Maxwell Model B that had been laid up in 1915. Fresh oil, new tires, water in the radiator, four dry-cells for the ignition battery and clean fuel in the tank, and the machine was ready for the road.

More modern machines, however have hydraulic brake lines to rust, seals to dry out, floats to flood, pumps and filters to fail...

Dale Walksler on Whats In The Barn said, a pioneer motorcycle doesn't know if it was started yesterday, or a hundred years ago! Having, now been around these 100 year old bikes, I have to agree. Put a hotplate under them, get the oil dripping, clean the carbs and plugs, and start peddling. Amazing, how good those old magnetos were!

 

[HeyMoe]

I ended up having the car towed home last night. When I started the car the clutch pedal moved back into its correct position on its own and there was some spongy pressure to the pedal. However, there was not enough to get the car into gear with the engine running.

I think it may be an adjustment issue. When coming to a stop at an intersection, with the clutch in, I have always had difficulty shifting into 1st gear. I had to wait for the RPMs to slow way down before it would pop in. It is my understanding, from looking at vintage advertisements for the car, that this was one of their big selling points: the transmission would shift very smoothly into all gears.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think it may be an adjustment issue. When coming to a stop at an intersection, with the clutch in, I have always had difficulty shifting into 1st gear. I had to wait for the RPMs to slow way down before it would pop in. It is my understanding, from looking at vintage advertisements for the car, that this was one of their big selling points: the transmission would shift very smoothly into all gears.

My car has the same transmission as yours, and first gear is the same way. I don't think first gear was synchronized on these cars, or if it was, it wasn't very well. I have an all-new clutch assembly in mine, and it still does the same thing when shifting down.

The idea was that you wouldn't normally *need* to shift into first until you were stopped. The torque, with a good clutch, is such that you can easily drive off from a dead stop in second if you have to.

 

[vitanola]

My car has the same transmission as yours, and first gear is the same way. I don't think first gear was synchronized on these cars, or if it was, it wasn't very well. I have an all-new clutch assembly in mine, and it still does the same thing when shifting down.

The idea was that you wouldn't normally *need* to shift into first until you were stopped. The torque, with a good clutch, is such that you can easily drive off from a dead stop in second if you have to.

Synchronized first gears were not common until well into the 1960's. Why ever would one need them? Back in the days of low-speed, high torque engines a synchro first gear was not terribly useful. Downshifting into first gear is also a great way to rip one's engine loose from its mountings.

 

[HeyMoe]

The torque, with a good clutch, is such that you can easily drive off from a dead stop in second if you have to.

Which I have done a few times

 

[Stanley Doble]

Moe, Lizzie, I hope you join the auto club if you haven't already. It is a must for anyone who drives an old car. They will tow your car to the garage or to your home or bring it on a flatbed truck free of charge. Will also give you a boost or bring some gas if you run out. I don't know how I got along without it all those years.

Synchro low was unknown until Ford introduced it in the sixties. With the old high torque engines it was unnecessary. If the car was moving you never had to go lower than second gear, and once you were stopped it was easy to shift into low. For the rare occasions you wanted to shift into low on the fly, a skilled driver knew how to double clutch.

If you have not mastered the skill double clutching works like this

Shift into neutral and release the clutch

Rev engine up to the speed it will be going, in the lower gear

Step on clutch and shift down.

The idea is to synchronize the speed of the gears, by revving the engine a bit.

If you can synchronize the engine speed to the road speed it is possible to shift up or down without touching the clutch pedal. Not recommended as a regular thing but I have done it for a "stunt" and also to get home in a car or motorcycle with the clutch out of commission.

 

[HeyMoe]

Moe, Lizzie, I hope you join the auto club if you haven't already. It is a must for anyone who drives an old car. They will tow your car to the garage or to your home or bring it on a flatbed truck free of charge. Will also give you a boost or bring some gas if you run out. I don't know how I got along without it all those years.

Synchro low was unknown until Ford introduced it in the sixties. With the old high torque engines it was unnecessary. If the car was moving you never had to go lower than second gear, and once you were stopped it was easy to shift into low. For the rare occasions you wanted to shift into low on the fly, a skilled driver knew how to double clutch.

If you have not mastered the skill double clutching works like this

Shift into neutral and release the clutch

Rev engine up to the speed it will be going, in the lower gear

Step on clutch and shift down.

The idea is to synchronize the speed of the gears, by revving the engine a bit.

If you can synchronize the engine speed to the road speed it is possible to shift up or down without touching the clutch pedal. Not recommended as a regular thing but I have done it for a "stunt" and also to get home in a car or motorcycle with the clutch out of commission.

We will be joining the Auto Club after last night! I do not know how we ended up not being members as we had a membership for a few years.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Triple-A has saved my neck on many occasions. Been a member for almost thirty years.

 

[rjb1]

"Synchro low was unknown until Ford introduced it in the sixties."
A slight correction - it was uncommon but not unknown. Packards had fully-synchronized 3 -speeds at least as far back as 1941.

http://www.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/1941_ThePackardNews.pdf

(The Corvette Borg-Warner T-10 had four full-synchro speeds in 1957, but that's a different animal.)

 

[AtomicEraTom]

My '58 Chevy had a synchro-mesh transmission.

 

[vitanola]

My '58 Chevy had a synchro-mesh transmission.

Chevrolet had synchro-mesh from the 'thirties, but like most other makes it did not did not have a synchronized first gear.

Chevrolet did not introduce synchronized first until the 1966 model year as I recall.0

It's been years since I've driven a Chandler, but I seem to recall that first gear in their "Traffic" Transmission" was effectively synchronized, and this back in the 'Twenties.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I didn't know a whole lot about it. The inline six and three-on-the-tree went bye-bye for a 327 and a TH400. It was terrible to drive. Same with my dad's non-synchro 1952 Ford truck, which is soon to be getting something new, as well.

Chevrolet had synchro-mesh from the 'thirties, but like most other makes it did not did not have a synchronized first gear.

Chevrolet did not introduce synchronized first until the 1966 model year as I recall.0

It's been years since I've driven a Chandler, but I seem to recall that first gear in their "Traffic" Transmission" was effectively synchronized, and this back in the 'Twenties.

 

[tonyb]

Oh heck, I'd have no problem driving a no-synchro-in-first-gear three-on-the-tree behind a flathead Ford engine, either the six or the V8. Those babes were standard-issue teenmobiles when I was first (legally) driving, which is to say they were old enough then that they could be had cheap and that no one much cared if we drove 'em into the wrecking yard. Which is what we did, one way or another.

Double-clutching down from second into first was a skill you picked up, not that you really had to do it very often. It was easy enough to slip into first gear from a dead stop anyway, although being kids, we rarely came to a dead stop. You know, we took stop signs as more of a suggestion than a command.