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  1. Bill Crowell

    Gotta love those Greenlee chassis punches

    I've always felt they were very high-quality punches. I've got quite a few of them, but they're old, and I used to use them to punch holes in steel car bumpers(!) to mount CB antennas and trailer electrical connectors, so unfortunately most of them have become dull. I'm wondering if a DIY'er...
  2. Bill Crowell

    We're missing a big opportunity here! Please fill the vacuum

    In Britain, Australia and New Zealand they call the part of a car's frame where it narrows in the front, and where it kicks up at the rear, the "dumb irons". That never ceases to crack me up every time I hear it. We really ought to adopt the phrase here in 'Murica! Imagine how great it would...
  3. Bill Crowell

    Piston ring compressor tool for air compressor rebuild?

    On a reciprocating air compressor, since you can't install the pistons from the top of the cylinders because the connecting rod bolts face upward (i.e., you have to install the rod bolts, pistons and rings first and then lower the cylinders over the pistons) and therefore can't use a normal ring...
  4. Bill Crowell

    Wish I knew someplace good to buy single-stage paint economically

    I'm painting antique cars (on which a base/clear would be incorrect), farm implements and shop equipment with single-stage urethane. I sure wish I knew of someplace that offered good prices on decent-quality paint. Probably this would be an online store rather than a bricks and mortar one(?)...
  5. Bill Crowell

    How to clean an HVLP spray gun??

    I've been spraying quite a bit of epoxy primer, and I had thought that spraying lacquer thinner or acetone between uses would suffice to keep it clean inside. That was wrong. The epoxy paint did build up inside the passages of the gun, despite spraying lacquer thinner each time after I used...
  6. Bill Crowell

    "Bulletproofing" a Chrysler 2.7, 3.2 or 3.5 liter V6?

    A friend of mine has one of these engines sitting disassembled in his shop for the usual reason: the internal water pump failed, coolant got in the oil and ruined it. Looking at the block, crank, rods and pistons carefully, this looks like it was basically a nicely-manufactured engine. The...
  7. Bill Crowell

    Standards of beauty certainly are ephemeral

    Here's a picture of the Dodge Brothers breaking ground for their new factory in, I think, 1910. Look at those tummies! I am told that people back then thought a fat stomach was attractive because it showed that the person had plenty to eat and was therefore financially successful. I have...
  8. Bill Crowell

    Bad voltage regulator?

    So the alternator on my '62 Valiant stopped charging the battery. The alternator was producing charging voltage but the ammeter never showed a charge, only a discharge. I traced this to loose connections at the ammeter, which now reads correctly and the alternator is now charging the battery...
  9. Bill Crowell

    Chrysler inner wheel bearing grease seal

    It seems that no matter which seal driver I choose, it is going to be trying to drive the seal in by contacting the seal rather than the steel ring. Can this possibly be the correct way to install it? Won't I wreck the seal by trying to install it this way?
  10. Bill Crowell

    What caused inboard front disc brake pad to score the rotor?

    Chrysler large single piston front calipers. I'm trying to figure out why the inboard pad kicked its shim halfway out from behind the pad (until the shim hit something and could go no further) and scored the inside face of the rotor. Did the shim let go first and cause the pad to do weird...
  11. Bill Crowell

    Sandblasting talk

    I've been doing quite a bit of outdoor sandblasting of large car parst with an old Tip portable blaster that has a 90-lb. pot, and using 30-mesh sand as the abrasive medium. My compressor has 10 hp. and is connected to an 80-gallon air tank. With the 30-mesh, I find that a 1/8" blasting tip is...
  12. Bill Crowell

    How to scuff up epoxy primer in order to spray the top coat?

    I painted the underside of one of my Mopars with Nason Ful-Poxy 491-12 epoxy primer and then, dangit, life intervened and I didn't top coat it in a timely fashion (48 hours)! To make matters worse, the surface of the underside of the body is very irregular, with many flutes and louvers pressed...
  13. Bill Crowell

    Thin steel shims behind brake pad fell out

    On my Dodge van with the Chrysler single-piston front disc brakes, two of the thin steel shims behind one of the brake pads fell out of position, got all bent up, and were dragging on the inside of the rim. So I removed those dragging shims and re-installed everything, hoping that the shims...
  14. Bill Crowell

    The dog food that had everything going for it except that dogs didn't like it

    It sure is wonderful that GM is such a sustainable company: General Motors Releases Annual Sustainability Report, Setting Baseline for Accelerated Goals (gm.com) It's just too bad that its products suck. Except for its products, it would be a great company.
  15. Bill Crowell

    Drill bits for sizing Thermoquad main jets

    So far the best deal that I have found on a drill bit set for measuring the jet size on Thermoquads is the Harbor Freight cheapie carbon steel 115-piece drill bit set for $40.00. The jets I want to measure are around .09" - .10", and the set contains 5 or 6 drill bits in this range. I think...
  16. Bill Crowell

    Do I need to re-jet my Thermoquad?

    Do you think I should re-jet and re-rod my Thermoquad 6518 (an industrial model with the 1-1/2" primary bores)? Here are the results of two A/F ratio tests. The engine sure seems like it's running too lean, and I'm getting quite a bit of detonation on 91 octane under light-ish acceleration...
  17. Bill Crowell

    60-62 Valiant/Lancer: the red-headed stepchild of the Mopar resto world

    Why are these cars considered to be undesirable when, if you aren't satisfied with the Slant 6, you can always install a V8, disc brakes and a larger rear axle and wind up with a pretty quick car? Too ugly? But a lot of other, much more popular, Mopar cars are ugly, too. Is it that nobody...
  18. Bill Crowell

    Silicone self-fusing tape will repair leaking early TF cables

    On the early 727 and 904 automatics that had "wet" pushbutton shift cables and park lock cables (i.e., the cables will leak ATF if their rubber housing is cut, burnt or broken), a leaking rubber cable housing can be nicely repaired with silicone self-fusing "amalgamating" tape such as "Rescue...
  19. Bill Crowell

    Re-labeling a bakelite'62 Valiant/Lancer dashboard knob

    So the '62 Valiant/Lancer dashboard was a "one-year only" design, and knobs are almost impossible to find. The '62 dash uses two small, brown bakelite knobs (attachment), one on each side of the dashboard. The one on the left is on the transmission park lever (labeled "Park"), and the one on...
  20. Bill Crowell

    [WANTED] Want '62 Valiant or Lancer plastic dashboard parts

    The dashboard knobs, the transmission control pushbuttons and the dash bezel on my '62 Valiant have all seen better days, and I would be interested in buying any that are in very good condition. They seem to be pretty hard to find because I think they are "one-year only". I think I'll check...
  21. Bill Crowell

    [FOR FREE] Free early Valiant parts near Placerville, CA

    These parts are off a pretty cherry, original-owner '62 Valiant that I bought and resto-rodded. I want to give away a full set of 13" wheels, on which are mounted old, old tires with LOTS of tread left and that hold air great, and a set of the '62 Valiant full wheel covers that are in very good...
  22. Bill Crowell

    I think the loss of respect is mutual

    I can't believe that apparently the site administrator or one of the moderators won't let me reply any further to the Leanna charity thread. I was just trying to give her some good advice. You guys are way too emotionally invested in defending her. It is wonderful to be cancelled by you...
  23. Bill Crowell

    The business model of the independent tire stores!

    There are 2 independent tire stores in my town. When you get a flat tire and take it there to be repaired, of course you expect to pay for it, but they always say "it's on the house". Sure is nice of them, right? Last year I bought six 16.5" Firestone Transforce tires for my dually from...
  24. Bill Crowell

    Thermoquad low-speed fuel well not filling?

    The car doesn't want to start; doesn't want to run at all on the low-speed circuit; when it does run it idles poorly; and the accelerator pump doesn't work. Does this sound like bad primary circuit O-rings to you? The reason I ask is that it seems to me like the low-speed fuel well is not...
  25. Bill Crowell

    Trying to convert an A/C heater box to heat-only

    I'm trying to convert the A/C-type heater box (attachment) on my 1978 D-series truck to heat-only. I've removed the A/C evaporator. What do I need to do now in order to get fan air to flow through the heater core? Should I block off the round opening in the heater box through which the fan...
  26. Bill Crowell

    Off topic: I sorta learned how to install a new VW or Porsche floor pan

    I had the great opportunity of watching a skilled metal man install a new floor pan in my Porsche 356 the other day. There is definitely a trick to it because you're installing it in a different sequence than the factory did. Replacement VW/Porsche floor pans are sold in two pieces: front and...
  27. Bill Crowell

    I still like my Thermoquads, but....

    I'm still emotionally and financially invested in my Thermoquads, but did you ever notice that if your TQ-equipped Mopar sits for awhile, the carb won't work right? The vehicle keeps running out of fuel. It will run fine for a minute or two, then die from lack of fuel, and then start back up...
  28. Bill Crowell

    The coil on an A-body turn signal flasher unit is in series with the load

    Therefore the flasher unit will only operate when a load (the selected bulb) is placed on its output. If your turn signals don't work, try connecting a test light from fuse (3) to ground. The load provided by the test light bulb will make the flasher unit operate. The voltage source for the...
  29. Bill Crowell

    Not clear on how to adjust pot pressure blaster

    Despite having used it a lot, and having watched a lot of videos, I'm still not clear on how to adjust the choke valve and the media valve on my pot pressure blaster. When adjusting the choke valve, what exactly are we trying to achieve? And when adjusting the media valve, same question...
  30. Bill Crowell

    What a great tire the Pirelli P400 has been!

    I put a set of Pirelli P400s (since discontinued) on my '77 B200 van back in 1996, and they've been really good tires. They have given me quite a run: they still look to be in good shape and have at least half their tread left. (They're 235/75-15s.) Even though I hate to do it because I'm a...
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