Today I backed Faulkner out of the garage, and finally installed a fluorescent light fixture; before today, I only had a wimpy outside light that was there before the garage went up. And it only took me three beers to do it! For those who may not have seen this on the mailing list, Dick Koch sent out this hilarious story…
We should all try to control our carbon footprints. I dont know wactly where a flourescent fixture works best in our cars, but I am proud that Dan is trying.
(Okay, sorry, I look for sarcastic fun in my life…)
I have my Fury Junior for sale. I got the classic Scam reply…
Sending more $ than req’d for shipping, please refund difference.
Oh yeah, while I was at it, Roger, I installed flourescent spark plugs. Those old incandescent ones produce such a harsh spark, doncha know? 
Well, it’s not even April Fools day yet – and already I’m wondering what’s up Stefan’s sleeve.
But here’s what I’ve been up to: When I pulled Faulkner back into the garage, I put him up on ramps so I could inspect the leaks I’ve got. Yup, the lower power steering seal is definitely shot, I’ll put that on my todo list. And yes, the radiator continues to leak, that will need to be recored. But, uh-oh – shades of 7/2006 – I see that I’m leaking antifreeze from several of the exhaust manifold bolts now, just as when Matthew snapped this remarkable picture two years ago, right after the rebuilt engine install. I wrote about it here:
I thought I was lucky, and got away with only one leaking. Now it looks like I’ve got to pull them all… Fortunately, they look accessible. Maybe this will be a job for Ed Ober’s friend, Bill. Get the radiator recored at Burton’s, have Bill replace the steering seal and permatex the manifold bolts. Hmmm…
Dan,
You better get Faulkner ready for the trip, I just purchased my ticket and later today I will buy Matthew’s and Andre’s tickets 
We will have a couple of days in Philly before we go to Carlisle so Matthew will be able to take care of the last repairs and of course the forks 
Ron
Hi Everybody - Well I had a very interesting week, First thing that happened was I got a phone call from Puerto Rico, It was Tom Fox, he was vacationing and would be returning Saturday to Ft. Lauderdale which is about 45 miles from me but sad to say I had joined the AACA and they were having a Dual Meet on saturday (National and Regional) in Melbourne Florida which is 110 miles in the other direction. I was very disapointed that I wasn’t able to meet with Tom and his wife and exchange niceties. Maybe some other time.
I entered my Green 59 in the meet and thought I would give it a go and see what happened. Well as proud as I was I knew immediately I didn’t stand a chinamans chance of getting a First Junior award. That’s when you get one of the oval medallions to mount on your grill. However I did receive a Third Junior award and that means I showed up at the meet, met some abosulety wonderful people, got a trophy (which I haven’t even seen yet because I didn’t go to the evening banquet and awards ceremony, a friend received it for me.) got to see at least 800 and probably more prefectly BRAND NEW old cars from every year and brand imaginable. I was the only 59 SF there and got a lot of attention. The next thing that happened was a gentleman tapped me on the shoulder said I had a nice car and introduced himself. It was Robert Hinds from Birmingham, Alabama. Can you imagine getting to talk to TWO 59 Ply Guru’s in the same week. We chatted a little bit but he had to leave because he was one of the Judges at the show. No, he did not judge my car. Unfortunately I didn’t see him again. I know he must have been very busy. Sad to say he didn’t bring his beautiful 59. One of the other high points was I saw this georgous 58 Desoto Adventurer Convertible drive in. It had factory fuel injection and probable is the only one in existance. If you ever wanted to see a perfect car, this was it. It was owned by Thomas White, he had trailered it from MA. He showed me some pictures of a 59 SF Convertible he owns also. He and his son do complete restorations and may be a good source for info and parts. Phone 508-435-3442, whitehallauto@hotmail.com, and whitehallauto.net. The criteria for Judging an AACA car is it must be the same as it was when it drove out the factory door so that means Greenie has a long way to go. The only thing I can say is even if you don’t have a car to enter in one of these shows you should go anyway. I’m still in awe.
Thanks for listening, Your friend.
Dick Koch
This happened about a year ago. I was carrying a 2x4x8 in my garage and accidentally hit one of my fluorescent light fixtures. One of the bulbs came crashing down and hit work bench spraying me with glass. I went in house and washed my eyes out with water just in case and was ok. I had a spare bulb on hand so went to replace it. My wife was using my handy 3 step step stool so I grabbed a nearby folding chair. I had one foot on chair & other foot on workbench. Suddenly chair folded and I went crashing to concrete floor. My butt hit floor and my head hit my wood stove and new bulb hit floor spraying me with glass again. I sat there for a minute and couldn’t believe I didn’t get hurt. Needless to say I went in house, got wife and step stool and with her help safely changed the bulb. I got rid of that chair.
whoa! We are lucky you are still with us!
Well, today I found an hour to work on Faulkner. I thought I’d put the rear brakes on, so I jacked up the rear and pulled the drum. Looked pretty dry, but the shoes had a bit of glaze to them… Pulled back a dust cap on the wheel cylinder I had replaced, and… Dmn! A trickle of fluid! Pulled back the other… Dmn! More drops there!
I’m really fed up; I’ve got a minimal amount of time to work on my car, and I keep revisiting the same old problems. So I’ve resolved: At my age, I’m spending way too much time sweating the details that I could be paying someone else to deal with. It would be different if Stefan or Roger were my neighbors, or if Matthew were living on the third floor (keep your options open, Matthew!). So I slapped it back together, and placed a call to Ed Ober’s friend, Bill. When he calls me back I’ll arrange to take Faulkner to him to get this laundry list of things done:
check brakes all around, rebuild wheel cylinders where necessary
including replace rear shoes
radiator recore
pinion seal
(replace bad u-joint?)
power steering seal
permatex leaking manifold bolts
Before I take it over, I’ll pull the radio and take to a local shop I’ve heard about. Maybe get an audio jack installed for the iPod. Gotta have '50’s tunes on the way to Carlisle!
There ain’t nothing here that money can’t fix. One thing I don’t have, is time. And you can’t buy that.
Dan
I feel your frustration, Dan. Rortunately, your hard work at your daily job provides you the ability to pay to have the car “made right”.
I offer one bit of free advice (worth what you paid for it), to wit, do not rebuild your wheel cylinders…buy them new.
Dan,
Knowing how busy you are at work outsourcing the car work is your best option.
I agree with Roger on the wheel cylinders, buying new ones is often cheaper than rebuilding them. Since I still didn’t finish the “parts link page” here is a link to a good seller of all brake related parts: email to Warren Jung at pbrakeb@yahoo.com I have dealt with him in the past and was very satisfied with all transactions, and the guy knows almost everything about the brakes on old Mopars.
For your audio problem you can also use a small amplifier that is hidden in the glove box. You can connect any audio device with a headphone outlet to this amplifier. We have been using one for years and the sound is great, it is better than having to sing ourselves
Just my € 0.02 (equals $ 0.79 )
Ron
OK, the general consensus is that I should buy new wheel cylinders instead of rebuilding them. I spoke to Bill today, he’s agreed to replace with new ones from Frank Todd (a very reliable parts supplier in South Jersey). I spoke to Bill about my radiator problem; he suggested that, instead of recoring it, I might be able to find an aftermarket supplier of a new radiator.
Does anyone know of such a supplier? Are there manufacturers out there, that can provide a replacement radiator instead of going the recore route?
Dan
I have never gone that route…
Today was the day! I fired up Faulkner, and put it in reverse.
Nada!
Did I lock up the drum when I put it back on? Yikes! Killed the engine, put Faulkner back in the air, readjusted the drum… No, it seems to be OK. Back in the car: Punch it in reverse, and…
Nada!
OK, time to take the tranny dipstick out. The culprit! I’m down a pint of fluid. Where did it go?! Oh, there it is… On the floor! Thank goodness, I’ve got a vinyl mat on the garage floor. (Did I thank you, Dick, for your sage advice to buy one of those things, instead of epoxying my floor?!)
I put in a pint of fluid, brought the level up, punched it in reverse – a solid strain against the brakes! That was all it needed. So something else to add to Bill’s list: Check the tranny pan gasket, feeder tube grommet and cable grommet for leaks.
I backed Faulkner out of the garage, and drove the 21 miles to Bill’s house. Faulkner rode like a dream; plenty of power from his rebuilt 318, and with the tranny’s thirst cured, it shifted beautifully. Lot’s of folks pulling along side as we crossed the Ben Franklin bridge, honking and waving. Isn’t that the best part!
Bill says two weeks to work through my laundry list. We’ll see; meanwhile, to order a headliner kit and take the radio to the shop. And to sop up the various fluids on the vinyl mat!
Dan
I realized, when I popped the hood to show Bill – that there are ears on the exhaust manifold below and above the manifold.
I know the lower bolts pass throw the water jacket, and need to be permatexed. Does anyone know – do the upper bolts also penetrate a water jacket? I’d like to know, so I can pass the info on to Bill. If there’s no need to pull the upper bolts, so much the better.
Dan
I guess no one knows, eh…
Dan
Duuhh???
all I can say is the longer studs go thru the wall and into the water jacket…which studs they are, I dunno, and can’t find it in any manual.
OK, the bad news is, the radiator shop hasn’t yet taken delivery on the replacement core for Faulkner’s radiator. Tuesday, perhaps.
The good news is: Bill has –
permatexed the manifold bolt leaks
replaced the power steering seal, which was leaking
snugged up the transmission pan, which was leaking
…and ordered a repair sleeve for the driveshaft, which has a groove in it. That explains why, even though I had the pinion seal replaced, the pumpkin still leaked; there was a groove in the shaft. This should cure it.
Can it be, that Faulkner will shake off his fluid incontinence?! Time will tell…
Dan
Dan - Glad to hear you are on your way to recovery and have stopped leaking so much. A little tip, if you are talking about the front universal joint rubber sleeve, GUNK IT, it’s amazing stuff. When I first got my Red 59 the sleeve had a 1" long split in it, I stuck my grease gun nozzle in it, gave it about 6 pumps, cleaned the outside of the sleeve real good with solvent and GUNKED IT. it heald for about a year and a half until I put on a new sleeve. I carry a small tube of gunk in all my cars. I even repair my car covers with it, when they tear just GUNK EM and you are done. Marine gunk, household gunk, auto gunk, they are all the same.
Dick.
Wow, that’s a cool tip, Dick – thanks.
Dan