Are you an old time mechanic?

[Gary - K7GLD]

Where was the distributer on Ford flatheads built before the '49 model year?



What was a torque tube in the old cars? Name a model that had one.



I used to work on a lot of these old cars in the '50s.

You and me both, Joe! :-laf



Distributor on early Fords was on the front of the engine, driven by the camshaft.



Torque tube was common on early Fords to reduce torque lifting of one side of the rear axle - my old '40 Ford had one, as did other early early model Fords. My '51 Chevy pickup also had one.

 

[DCreed]

Where was the distributer on Ford flatheads built before the '49 model year?
IIRC out the front timing cover
What was a torque tube in the old cars? Name a model that had one.
it ran from the trans to the rear encasing the driveshaft and acting as the 3rd link. I had one in my '70 OPEL GT

what cars had 8 lugs?
which make had only 3?
which had only 1?

 

[Joe G.]

What was odd about the clutch in a '50 and '51 Hudson? It may have been on some other years.



What was a Supermatic Drive and what car had it?



What year did Ford switch to hydraulic brakes?



What car used the Suburban model name in 1950?



What was different about a Cord?

No replies to these so here are the answers:



The clutch in the those Hudson modles was cork disks on the driven plate and was submerged in motor oil.



The Supermatic Drive was another crazy Hudson set up on the '51 model. It was a manual tranmission with a dash board button to turn on automatic shifting. Vacuum hoses with cables to the shift levers and the clutch pedal. It would actually depress the clutch and shift the transmission. That idea didn't last long.



Ford didn't switch to hydraulic brakes until 1939.



Plymouth use the Surburban model name for their station wagon in 1950. I had one. I think the name was used for a few years, but don't remember which ones.



The Cord was front wheel drive. I think it was the only one in the '20s and '30s. The first ones had a straight eight with the transmission and differential in front of the engine. Really long hood! The later ones (coffin nose models) had a V8 so the hood was not nearly as long. When Cord went under, Ford bought the pattens to the V8 engine. Some of them show up on the 85 HP Ford flathead. Cord also made the Duesenburg and Auburn.

 

[DodgeWarlock]

NOW, for the "mechanics", how did you adjust the valve lash on the flathead Ford V8 engines...

By grinding them.

What year did Ford switch to hydraulic brakes?



What car used the Suburban model name in 1950?



What was different about a Cord?

Hydraulics came in 37-40, I believe.

Plymouth made a suburban wagon.

Cord's were front wheel drive and high end models had hideaway headlights.

what cars had 8 lugs?

Pontiacs.

 

[Joe G.]

The later Ford flatheads had an ajustment screw on the lifters. The early ones had to grind the valve stems. I think there was one version that used shims. Not sure about that.



The Cord hideaway headlights were in the coffin nose models that had the V8. The earlier ones with the straight eight had the normal headlights.



Gary, you know this one. I wonder if anyone else does. What was a small piece of leather used for as an emergency fix on Ford flatheads? Usually clipped from the tongue of a shoe.

 

[B.G. Smith]

The later Ford flatheads had an ajustment screw on the lifters. The early ones had to grind the valve stems. I think there was one version that used shims. Not sure about that.



The Cord hideaway headlights were in the coffin nose models that had the V8. The earlier ones with the straight eight had the normal headlights.



Gary, you know this one. I wonder if anyone else does. What was a small piece of leather used for as an emergency fix on Ford flatheads? Usually clipped from the tongue of a shoe.

The piece or pieces of leather were used to shim up the fuel pump push rod so it would pump some petro. What was the screw knob on the right hand side of the model A ford under the dash? What were the two levers on either side of the steering wheel? Where was the fuel tank and the fuel shut off valve? bg

 

[Joe G.]

I know most of that but will see if anyone else does. I'm not sure about the knob. It may have been for the air vent.



One of the '51 Fords I had quit about halfway between Mojave and Barstow on a hot summer day. The piece of leather got me on my way again.

 

[GCroyle]

Is this the Hudson disc?

Aren't you glad this is not where clutch technology stopped evolving at? Needed oil, no telling what the adjustment or service life was. We have it on display in our lobby.



No takers or challenges on Grabowski Motors Co. (GMC) or Motorola origins?

 

[Joe G.]

Yep. That's the Hudson disk. I've pulled some out that had no cork and the metal was blue. If a Hudson couldn't move then that's what the clutch looked like. The one you have doesn't look like it was ever used.

 

[DodgeWarlock]

What were the two levers on either side of the steering wheel? Where was the fuel tank and the fuel shut off valve? bg

One was the spark advance/timing control. Wasn't the other the throttle? The fuel tank was the dash(just had a cutout for the guages).



What was the unusual drivetrain setup on old Reo trucks?

What unique body design did Chrysler use from 34-37?

What GM engine series carried the displacements 305,351,379,401,432,and 478?

What was the largest displacement gas engine in GM production?

 

[Joe G.]

The old Reo trucks use a chain drive.



What was the origin of the Reo name?



The Chrysler body was called Air Stream.



I don't know the GM engine answers.



What was a Hall Scott engine used in?

 

[Dl5treez]

What GM engine series carried the displacements 305,351,379,401,432,and 478?

The V6's

What was the largest displacement gas engine in GM production?

In production. the Allison V-1710

Built but not technically production. the Allison V/W/"Double V" 3420.


On road, probably the 702 Twin Six... .

 

[Gaylord]

REO off the top of my head... . I believe it was Ransom E. Oldsmobile.



I thought one Chrysler model was the Air Flow.



We had Hall Scotts in our Crown Fire Trucks.

 

[Joe G.]

Close. It was Ransom Eli Olds. He started the Oldsmobile Motor Company.



I think you are right about the name Air Flow. I was thinking that Air Stream was not quite right, but it was close. Getting old and have a bad case of CRS.



If you ever get a chance to go to the Automobile Museum in Reno, there is a Hall Scott truck gasoline engine on display just as you walk in the door. At least there was the last time (some years ago) that I was there.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

JEEZE, I take the day off, and the thread has really moved along - some real neat nostalgic old stuff here - pure Greek to most of the members here I bet! :-laf:-laf:-laf



Maybe this is why the Cummins is so attractive to some of us older guys - until the electronics really hit late in the 2nd generation trucks, these engines were much in the same class as the much older stuff - purely mechanical, traditional design and construction, and stuff you could still work on with a sledge hammer and blowtorch, and repair with baling wire and duct tape - maybe even shoe leather... :-laf:-laf

 

[Bob V]

Ok what three car Co where named after R E Olds, two are easy, what is the third

 

[PToombs]

Ok, here's a few answers.

Car used in the movie "Vanishing Point" was a Barracuda, not sure what year.

MGs used 1 lug, a knockoff.

Screw knob on a Model A was for fuel mixture, 1 lever was spark, other was throttle, fuel tank was the dash, and the shutoff was in the middle underneath.

 

[Joe G.]

Some of the tools we used on the older cars were kind of strange to say the least. The early Fords had traverse leaf springs. The differential was made so that the axle housings had to be removed. Putting it all back together required a spring spreader. It was a dangerous contraption. If the car was a Model A pickup truck there was an easier way to do it. The tool was about a foot of 2X4 with grease on it. Hook up one end and the middle of the spring. Then put the board on top of the axle between the spring shackles. Then have a some heavy guys get in the bed. That would cause the spring end to slide along on top of the 2X4 until the spring bolt would could be put in.



The Ford flatheads had a hidden bolt for the water pump that caused some ignorant "mechanics" to break the water pump gettting it off the block. Where was it?

 

[Joe G.]

Maybe this is why the Cummins is so attractive to some of us older guys - until the electronics really hit late in the 2nd generation trucks, these engines were much in the same class as the much older stuff - purely mechanical, traditional design and construction, and stuff you could still work on with a sledge hammer and blowtorch, and repair with baling wire and duct tape - maybe even shoe leather... :-laf:-laf

Actually the fuel system on a 12 valve is WWII technology that has evolved a little bit. I had a '42 Buda Diesel (Navy surplus) in a small commercial fish boat. The Boshe injection pump looked just like our P7100 except that it was a four cylinder and the governor was for constant RPM.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

The Ford flatheads had a hidden bolt for the water pump that caused some ignorant "mechanics" to break the water pump gettting it off the block. Where was it?

HEH - how about INSIDE the water pump... :-laf