Vintage Car Thread - Discussion and Parts Requests

[MisterCairo]

My brother and I are on the lookout for an affordable (i.e. hopefully drivable but needing some work) 1949 Chrysler New Yorker. Our dad owned one, gave it to my brother who tried to keep and work on it, but the garage owner was tired of it, so my brother essentially gave it away for $100 (this was 1969).

Oh, it had all our dad's camping gear in the trunk.

Any hints or leads greatly appreciated within Canada/continental US of A!

 

[LizzieMaine]

If you do end up getting one, also get a copy of a book called "A Chrysler Chronicle: One Man's Story of Restoring A Classic 1948 New Yorker," by Dave Floyd. I came across this in a $1 box at a flea market, and enjoyed it very much -- both for the Mopar flathead technical advice and for the story of the car itself. Very engaging book.

On the vibration thing, I came across this article from a 1976 issue of Popular Mechanics which sums up just about all the possible causes, most of them already mentioned here. Although the technology of the suspension discussed is a bit different from that of a 1940s car, it's still similar enough that most of the issues would likely still apply. I know my car has a worn steering box -- not horribly slack, but it's not exactly tight, either, and I'm going to have that looked at when I take it in this week.

Meanwhile, I changed my spark plugs today as part of a routine tune up -- and found that this helped to cut the vibration way back. It's still there, but much less severe, and only between 20 and 25 mph. Apparently the fact that the engine was running roughish added its own vibration to the mix, and made whatever else is happening feel even worse.

 

[Trenchfriend]

@LizzieMaine

Could there be any problem in the intake-duct/throttle-valve?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've suspected that, but my eyes aren't good enough to try and rebuild it myself. I've got a remanufactured carburetor I'm having put on Wednesday -- the one on there was last rebuilt in the '70s, and I suspect the alcohol-laden gas we get nowadays has done a number on its internals. So we shall see.

 

[FedoraFan112390]

Hey guys, I need help placing a date range to this photo. Could you help by identifying the makes/models of the two cars in the background?:

 

[1930artdeco]

The first one I believe is a 62 Chevy and the one behind is 67 ford.

Mike

 

[Trenchfriend]

The first one is an Chevy Bel Air/Impala, or not?

 

[EngProf]

The first one is an Chevy Bel Air/Impala, or not?

The one in the front is a 61 Chevy. Note the dark slots above the front grille just below the hood line.
The one in the rear could be a 65-67 Ford. They all had the vertical-stack headlights.

 

[EngProf]

I just got back from doing a little "experimenting" with the wobble issue on my '48 Plymouth. I discovered I was wrong about it stopping once the car had sufficiently warmed up and had been driven for several miles. Previously, the wobble problem was noticed when I started the car and pulled out of the driveway. What I learned today was that when I first pull out and begin going through the gears, I am moving rather slow (the way the drive enters into the highway plays a part in this). However, after any other stop, when starting out I tend to go through the gears much faster and build speed much quicker.

So, what I did was to pick a nice long and secluded straightaway and do some experimenting. All this was after the car had been driven several miles and the motor, tires, etc. were sufficiently warmed up. I discovered, when just barely creeping along in first gear the car had a distinct wobble (real distinct). There is no "shimmy" in the steering wheel, however. With tut the clutch in and still just barely moving, the wobble is still there but not quite as bad as under power. As the speed increases and as I move up through the gears the wobble disappears (or at least is not noticeable any more).

I repeated this process several times with the same results. The slower the speed (like down to almost a crawl), the more the wobble. The faster the speed, the less the wobble until it is gone.

From this experiment, I would think that should discount a "flat spot" on the tires. The motor/transmission mounts have been mentioned, but I would think that if these were bad it would show not only when moving but when stopped and the motor revved. The driveshaft issue might be a problem, but I would think the faster it was moving the greater the vibration would be (I could be wrong about that). The kingpin issue is something I don't have a clue about, and don't have the resources to check myself.

Given all this, any further ideas?

I think Trenchfriend mentioned a bad wheel bearing. Good possibility...
Here is a check that sometimes will locate a bad wheel bearing easily. Drive the car for several miles. Then stop the car, get out quickly and touch the center hub of each front wheel with your finger.
If the bearing on one side is going bad it will be noticeably warmer to the touch.

(I had a "wobble" on my good old '65 Chevy and found a bad wheel bearing this way.)

 

[Stanley Doble]

And on the right, the tailfin of a 1963 Buick LeSabre station wagon.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Just got the Plodge back from the garage, and it turns out the vibration is a worn U-joint on the transmission end of the driveshaft. I hadn't had those rebuilt before, so I don't know how long it's been since anything's been done on it. But being just 200-odd miles short of 100,000 on the clock, I guess it's about due.

BM, if you haven't checked your U-joints, that might be another thing to consider. Bernbaum has both the rebuild kits and the full assembly available -- I've ordered mine already and have made an appointment to get the work done next week.

 

[Big Man]

Just got the Plodge back from the garage, and it turns out the vibration is a worn U-joint on the transmission end of the driveshaft. I hadn't had those rebuilt before, so I don't know how long it's been since anything's been done on it. But being just 200-odd miles short of 100,000 on the clock, I guess it's about due.

BM, if you haven't checked your U-joints, that might be another thing to consider. Bernbaum has both the rebuild kits and the full assembly available -- I've ordered mine already and have made an appointment to get the work done next week.

I'm leaning more towards the U joints being the potential problem. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and get them looked at sooner than later.

 

[GHT]

Keep us updated Big Man, I do hope it's not a remortgage job.
Just for fun, can anybody identify any of these cars. They look to be a mix of American and European, the one with some sort of string on it's bonnet/hood, looks like a Riley, wouldn't hazard a guess at the model though.

 

[Big Man]

I think I may have found the source of my wobble problem. Without giving the tires a real close up inspection, I don't think I would have noticed this until it was really too late. Looks like a new set of tires are my next investment.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Get your front-end alignment checked before you drive those new tires too far -- it looks like something's way out of adjustment.

 

[Big Man]

Get your front-end alignment checked before you drive those new tires too far -- it looks like something's way out of adjustment.

That's one of the rear tires. The ware, other than this FUNAR, is nice and even all the way around on all four tires.

 

[kaiser]

Big Man, that looks bad, there is reinforcement cord visable there. I would not drive that one anymore. A blowout is in the makings there.

 

[Big Man]

Big Man, that looks bad, there is reinforcement cord visable there. I would not drive that one anymore. A blowout is in the makings there.

The only place I'm going is to the shop to get new tires. And I'll be going there sloooooowly.

 

[Big Man]

Four new tires on the old '48 Plymouth and the low speed wobble problem is gone. I limped the car in to the tire store this morning (didn't think I was going to make it a couple times), and by this afternoon I'm back on the road running like a scalded dog.

 

[Talbot]

Something new has started with my '48 Plymouth. When starting out, the car wobbles like one of the tires are out of round. After just a short distance and after up to speed, the wobble disappears. Once the car has warmed up, no more wobble even at low speeds. There is no shimmy or vibration felt in the steering wheel. The tires are properly inflated and show no signs of wear. I'm not really sure the problem is in the tires, but that's just the best way to describe it. Any ideas?

If the wobble feels like it is coming from the front end, try rotating the tyres and see if the wobble is coming from a different source. If yes, I would recommend a dynamic wheel balance from an alignment specialist.

I had a similar problem with a 49 Ford. When the tyre in question warmed up the problem would dissipate. It was also very pronounced at low speed but would also disappear over 40KPH