Technical A Kid's First Project: 1957 Fairlane 500 Town Victoria.

If the “lot manager” gives you any more grief, contact HR.

You will never hear from that idiot again. Not because HR cares about you, but because they don’t want you to find a lawyer that will somehow manipulate the situation into a lawsuit against them.

 

On private property the management/owner can make up any rules it wants. It is still their property, they just let you park on it. Their sandbox, their rules.

 

did it again! crank pos is bad on the 96, gonna grab one on the way home.

today was rough, topped up the coolant before leaving, the stop and go is making it spew out the overflow tube. rad is only 195-200 idk why its dripping


also someone impaled themselves on the tailfin while i was getting ready, no damage was funny though.

 

also, yes break ins were a thing, but rare.

the parking lot people slow down entering the parking lot by a LOT it takes nearly 30 mins from line to park.

 

Really the only reason for the rad to push water out is: A) finding its level (My Model A will do this if over filled), B) the rad is plugged up someplace (I know you have a new one but it may have some boulders in it now), C) the block has a lot of junk in it. I can't remember if you flushed it out, but try putting a filter in the upper hose or some panty hose to collect any loose crud. Is the thermo not opening fully?

Mike

 

I don't remember the details of this on your car. The old systems 'leveled out' at roughly half to an inch down from the top of the tank. This air allowed the coolant to expand when hot. They would just vent out and down. These would puke out if topped up.
The overflow kits came with a different cap, the hose and the overflow bottle. The coolant would expand and go into the bottle, then when cooling, the rad would develop a vacuum and pull it back in. That's why they have a cold and hot line molded in the side. The cap must be the correct one and the radiator neck has to seal both pressure and vacuum to work right.

 

i may be overfilling it, im "topping it up" by putting the coolant up to the neck. guess i shouldnt do that

 

Yep, I used to do that as well, thinking logically that it needed to be full. Nope. She would spit water out and then settle down to her level and I would just keep tabs on her.

 

my latest and greatest lowball arrived.
1950s offy valve covers, i need new gaskets to install them properly, this is just a test fit.

but they wick heat, and fast! they were hard to touch after being on the car for only a few minutes.

got the heater fixed aswell.
with a full tank of gas!

the interior feels so welcoming now that its back together

 

Hope you're going to put some clamps on the heater valve.

 

that was just from test fitting, i needed to adjust the cable to get it to work right.

need to grab some 5/8 constant tension clamps, theyre better than crappy 3/4 hose clamps i grabbed from my stash

 

also, gonna hit 97000 on the way home, once again @e1956v thank you for your wonderful work on my speedometer, its dead accurate according to every single "your speed" sign i pass. even at 75 mph! (btw aren't they supposed to not display speeds more than 10 over?)

 

started misfiring. looks carbon fouled... several are. i think i need to replace the valve seals asap

 

But how are the Corvairs coming?

 

life has gotten so busy and ive found i simply dont have time for multiple large projects at this point, those corvairs are in rather poor shape and both engines really need pulled and overhauled. one has a completely dead lifter and the other has sub 60 psi on 3 cylinders. ive mothballed them by parking them on some thick plastic sheets and filling the engines with kerosene, i turn them over by hand every 3 months. theyre waiting until i have my own garage or pole barn to work inside.

regardless, the 57s carb leaning out issue is resolved. the 52s were good for wot and idle but they struggled to provide fuel when at cruising throttle. (weird right?) raised the float very very slightly to help but it still was running lean. so i started experimenting, i tried a set of 56 jets, still very slightly lean. upgraded from 26 squirters to 32, still very leaning out enough to be shaky and poppy. finally swapped to 60 jets, and thats the happy medium. 60 primary and 64 secondaries, far more takeoff torque and runs like a dream, faster revving from idle and more responsive throttle. seems like a lot of fuel for such a little engine to me. but as long as its happy, im happy.

 

If you need someone to come and get them Corvairs just pm me and we can work something out.

 

aaand the voltage reg went out on the way to work. how lovely.

 

and it works again???

 

If it is the original style, it probably has solenoids opening and closing points contacts to open and close the circuits. These require servicing or if you are lazy and foolish, replacement with modern cheap replacements.
I'd suggest diving into a clean/adjust on the old school regulator. There should be many different pages and videos covering this.

 

im on replacement number ...3?

the two previous nos ones burned up.

i think its a sign to prep the alt and swap it in lol.

 

if the failure is consistent, the root cause is not the part that fails, it's somewhere else.

 

>>im on replacement number ...3? the two previous nos ones burned up. i think its a sign to prep the alt and swap it in lol. >>
In situations like this, you're supposed to go down to your local NAPA or other autoparts store. Tell them you want an alternator for a 1975 Chevy Caprice 400ci without air. Then bring it home. And make it fit. Everybody who is anybody in the autoparts business has at least one alternator for a 1975 Caprice 400 sitting on the shelf.

 

i mean... it could be a ground issue. thats very possible. but i have a nice big ground cable going to the engine, then another to the chassis.

 

im going with a g1 swap with a SS regulator and old style cap. bolt in swap.

 

I have a 1974-ish 63 amp GM unit in my car, with the electric fan, I'd like to up that to 95 amps. The fan alone (on a thermostat) draws 21 amps.

 

apparently a 7" 7/16-14 bolt is decently hard to come by in most hardware stores.

time to mcmaster it it seems

 

Cut a 24" threaded rod & use nuts from Ace hardware instead. $4.

 

I must have missed it, but what’s the need for a 7 inch 7/16th bolt?

 

My guess, the alternator mounting/pivot bolt.

 

I can see that, but usually they have a sleeve(s) I seen one long sleeve and the two short ones in each hole. , his might be missing?
7/16th isn’t too common on vehicles.