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I have an electrical issue. I'm driving my coupe and everything is normal. The voltmeter reads around 14. Then, all of a sudden, I hear a click, and my voltmeter starts jumping from 11.5 to 17 to 13.5 to 14.8. All over the place. Nothing like the fuel injection, the distributor, the A/C or the other electronic components appear to be affected by this. I have Dakota Digital gauges, and I called them and they said nothing in their system would cause a click and cause the voltmeter to go crazy. I replaced the old battery with a new Optima red top unit and I changed out the alternator with another that I had. The problem is still there. Any ideas?

I need to order a relay for my electric fan. Do I need one with a diode or not? Too many choices here:

https://www.delcity.net/store/NC/NO-Change-Over-Relays/p_931728.h_931744

My headlights are not as bright as they should be. I am running King Bee headlights with halogen lamps. A street rodder acquaintance of mine suggested running my headlight wiring through relays. Will that make that much of a difference in terms of brightness?

I think you have to admit to a basic design failure when you have to superglue a 6-32 nut to your index finger in order to get a bolt started in a small space. But it worked! Anyone else had to resort to doing weird stuff like this?

Anyone using or know of a rodder using this TBI conversion? I have read reviews that are positive but would like to get some info from someone that is running it on his/her car.

http://www.fitechefi.com/

The following was posted on another forum, and I am re-posting it for what it's worth.

"Machinist's Workshop" recently published information on various penetrating oils. The magazine reports they tested these products for break out "torque" on rusted nuts and bolts. A subjective test was made of popular penetrating oils, with the unit of merit being the torque required to remove the nut from a "scientifically rusted" bolt. Average torque load to loosen nut:

No Oil used ........................516 foot pounds
WD-40 ..................... ........238 foot pounds
PB Blaster .........................214 foot pounds
Liquid Wrench ......................127 foot pounds
Kano Kroil .........................106 foot pounds
ATF/Acetone mix...................... 53 foot pounds
The ATF/Acetone mix is a "home brew" mix of 50/50 automatic transmission fluid and acetone. Note this "home brew" released bolts better than anycommercial product in this one particular test.
Our local machinist group mixed up a batch, and we all now use it with equally good results. Note also that Liquid Wrench is almost as good as Kroil for 20% of the price. ATF/Acetone mix is best, but you can also use ATF and lacquer thinner in a50/50 mix. ATF = Any type of Automatic Transmission Fluid.
This version of the story was in one of the Military Vehicle Club newsletters

I found a product I really like so I thought I would pass it on. I put new tires on my deuce late this summer, and I was looking for something to keep them looking black. Turtle Wax came out with a new product called Jet Black so I thought I would give it a try. It turns out Jet Black is superior to anything I have used in the past. This stuff really lasts. I used it for the first time in August, and my tires are still nice and black. It isn't cheap, but because it lasts longer, it is probably worth the extra expense.

www.turtlewax.com/shop/products/turtle-wax-jet-black-black-endura-shine-tire-coat-kit

Anyone going besides me?

I want to replace my Gennie Shifter, and the two I am considering are the Lokar tail mount shifter and the B&M Street Rod shifter (links below). Has anyone had experience with either of these units. I know Lokar stuff is high quality, and I have used B&M's Quick Silver in another rod and really liked it, but the QS is not right for my application. Each of these works on slightly different principles but are essentially the same type of detente unit.

http://www.lokar.com/product-pgs/shifters/shifter-product-pgs/tailmount-shifter.html

http://bmracing.com/?wpsc-product=street-rod-shifter

I  have always found this to be a weird little quirk with my car. I have a 383 in my  '32 that runs great. But the quirk involves idle. I have an Edelbrock 750 atop an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, and it idles nicely at a little over 800 rpm. But once I have driven it ten miles or so, the idle jumps up to about 950 rpm. Is it heat from the engine compartment that causes this or what? It's not a big deal, but I would like to know why.

I installed a sensor for my electric fan in the spacer I have below the waterneck which turns on the fan at 195 degrees and turns it off at 185 degrees. It is connected to a relay which came with the unit. I works fine, but I don't like the fact that the fan runs after I turn the car off as I run one of those small Odyssey batteries, and I am concerned about running the battery down if I make a lot of stops.

My question is about changing this--can I hook up the relay in a different way or does this require additional wiring of some kind? The relay is run in the usual manner that I have used previously and the way it has been illustrated here on the RRT.

Thanks,
Lynn

I was cruising home Sunday morning in my deuce from the GG show in Des Moines. I was running 75 mph on a four-lane highway listening to the stereo and not watching my rear view mirror all that often when an Iowa State Trooper pulled up beside me. I thought, "Oh-oh. Speeding ticket!" He looked at the car, gave me a nod which I returned, and he went on his way cruising at least 10 mph faster than the 75 I was going. Must have been a car guy!

This was posted on another forum, and because I had not heard of this technique before, I thought I would share it.

http://www.vintagebmx.com/community/index.php?showtopic=4004702

This was posted on the HAMB this morning:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=691697

Now, this one I may be interested in if the reviews are good. The thing about fuel injection that has been holding me back is the need for a return line to the tank. This one does not require one. I did not see a price--probably cashy like all the others.

http://www.atomicefi.com/

I want to hide a switch under the car to roll down my driver's side window. Does anyone have a recommendation for a switch that would withstand an outside application? Thanks.

Anyone going besides yours truly?

Joe Mondello passed away this morning. RIP Joe. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Although I have never been a fan of his products, I hate to see guys who have built a businesses from the ground up close their doors.

www.chevyhardcore.com/news/barry-grant-inc-ceases-operations/

It was reported on the HAMB this afternoon that Barry Lobeck passed away today. RIP, Barry.

www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=547492

In an era of lousy customer service, I have to report a case of over and above service from Autometer. They are located here in Illinois where all their products are made--no imported stuff. I have one of their digital tachometer/shift light combos in my '32 which lost several LED bars so I could no longer read the gauge. I have had it for two years. So, I called Autometer, and Jim, their tech guy, said board was bad and told me to send it in for repair. So, I did. Turn around time was supposed to be 5-7 days which I thought was pretty good. Well, a month went by, and I called this morning to check up on it, and the gal that answered the phone told me she would check on it and call me this afternoon. A few minutes ago I got a call from the head of customer service apologizing for their "goof-up" and was told they would send out a new gauge right away rather than repair mine. Now, that is what I call customer service! Kudos to Autometer!

I have been running a small Odyssey battery for some time and decided to build a new, smaller battery box for it. It gives me a few more inches of space in the trunk. After completing it, I thought it needed something so I started looking for some brushed aluminum house numbers on the internet to go with the other brushed aluminum pieces. Here is the finished box.

I have an old beater '92 Safari van I use as a hauler/parts getter vehicle. It runs well and is mechanically good--I thought. I pulled into the driveway over the weekend and suddenly--NO BRAKES. The pedal went to the floor. Fortunately, I was going slow. I turned the ignition off and stepped on the emergency brake. I almost got is stopped before I hit the house. No damage done as it I hit the poured foundation/brick veneer left of the garage door. Upon examination, I found the brake line had rusted through. I would never have thought to check the brake lines for rust. I'm just grateful it didn't happen while I was driving in traffic. Whew!

I met a guy in Des Moines who asked if he could photography my car. He told me he was an artists specializing in car art. I saw it for the first time today. Pretty cool if I do say so myself. Here is the link to the four shots:

http://flashesofspeed.smugmug.com/Cars/Lynn-Steven-Johanson/12825157_hqvLw/1/925076463_4Dow2/Medium

I like number 2 best.

I have a digital tach (I know, they are pretty worthless) that I purchased for the shift light. I got it from JEGS two years ago, and I am having a problem with it. The shift light works fine but the digital readout does not show several vertical and horizontal bars when it displays. Is this caused by a bad ground or a bad connection of some kind? It worked fine when I first installed it. I like to fix it if I can.

Anyone planning on attending besides me?

Anyone planning to be there besides me?

My street rod has been selected as one of the final 50 from a total of 300 cars submitted for radio station 97X Classic Music's (Quad Cities) Classic Car Calendar. So, I am asking for your vote. The final 12 for the calendar are being selected this week by the general public who go to the radio station's website and vote. One vote per computer--if you have a computer at work and a computer at home, you can vote twice. The website for the Dwyer and Michael's show is posted below. Simply click on Classic Car Calendar Voting. My car is the yellow '32 Ford Coupe which is the 8th one down in the first column. I think I should win on photography skill alone, but . . . You can vote for twelve or just one (mine!).

Thanks! I will let you know if it makes the calendar. Here is the website:

www.2dorks.com

I built the deuce with an MSD distributor, but the engine always ran a little less than smooth at idle and putzing around town. So I added the ignition box and changed out the spark plugs last week. What a nice difference that made. Much smoother at low rpm and pulling away from a stop light. It also kept my digital tach from jumping around so much. Me thinks it was a good investment.

You see it at the Nats exhibits. It is a thin resin that soaks into what you put it on. They demonstrate with rotten wood and show you what it can do. I thought I had a flyer but cannot find it. Thanks.

There is a lake outside of town called Spring Lake, and yesterday I could not resist taking the '32 out there for a formal photo that I can put into the album. I thought it made a pretty good photo if I do say so myself.

I changed my one-wire 100 amp Powermaster alternator to a three-wire and followed the instructions--white wire to the fuse box Gen wire, and the red wire to the alternator hot post. But it did not help--still put out 13.8 and it would pull down to 13.2 when I turned on the A/C. So, I called Jim at Centech who told me to run the red wire to a battery source coming off the fuse panel so the alternator could sense a load and increase the charge. Tada! It worked. The voltmeter now shows 14.4 and when I turn on the A/C, it drops to 14.3. Now that is more like it. I learned something so I thought I would pass it on.

Drilling two 1/8 inch holes in the 180 thermostat worked. It now runs down the road at 185, and with the A/C on, it runs 200-202. Much more to my liking.

Arte Johnson used to say on Laugh In. I had one of those moments yesterday. On Monday I converted my PowerMaster alternator from one wire to three wires--you can wire them either way. Afterwards, I fired it up and it carried 14.1 volts rather than 13.8. Great. I went up to the BP station to fill up and when I went to shut the car off, it wouldn't! So I drove home, pulled the coil wire to shut it off. Yesterday, I called Jim at Centech, whose wiring harness I used, and he told me to go to Radio Shack, get a 3 amp diode and wire it into the white wire coming off the alternator and leading to the fuse panel. Voila! Fixed it! I learned something useful.

Does anybody make a 170 degree thermostat for a Chevy SB? The parts stores around here only have a 160 and a 180. The 160 does not run warm enough (about 172 cruising down the road) and the 180 runs too hot with the air on (210). The 170 should be about right. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I think I could hurt myself with this car:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZDqzgvdits&NR=1

My Holley fuel pump puked out on me this weekend (I should have known better) and I wish to replace it with another brand. What is best? I do not run a return line to the tank but I do run a regulator. I have looked online at Summit and found Edelbrock, Aeromotive, Mallory, and Carter. Anyone have experience with any of these. Is one better than another without running a return line? The guys on Chevytalk.com seem to prefer Mallory units. Carter runs the same vane design as Holley so I am a little wary. I have to run an electric pump since my pinched frame does not have enough space for a mechanical pump.

I am looking for the brush-like fibers used in shifter and hand brake slots in interiors. I want to use it to finish off the slot that my automatic trunk opener travels in. The problem is: I don't know what that stuff is called or where to get it. I could make my own using shop brush fibers, but I thought I could save myself some work if I could just order it. The upholstery shops I have checked with know what I am talking about by have no idea where to get it. Any help would be appreciated. I plan on improvising tomorrow (Saturday) unless someone can point me in the right direction. Thanks.

Now that the weather has been a little more conducive to working in the garage, I got to work and completed the upholstery in the trunk. The design mimics the interior with taupe, faux ostrich, and brushed aluminum.

I ran across this rather interesting story--I think it was posted on the HAMB some time back. Check out the video on the page below. Can you imagine what this car could be worth if they had buried a '57 Chevy 2 dr HT instead of a Plymouth?

www.buriedcar.com/index.cfm?pageId=1

I saw this today--might be worth investigating if you are looking for a project. The price is right.

www.streetrodding.com/index.cfm/f/streetRods.view/id/9555/hot+rods+for+sale/1945+Ford+Pickup.html

I got my A/C charged and ready to go a month ago, so I was going to try it out on a one hour trip. So, I am cruising down the road, turn it  on and am enjoying the cool air when all  of a sudden the engine quit. I reached down, shut of the A/C, and the engine fired and started running again. About fifteen minutes later I try it again and the same thing happened. Obviously the pull of the A/C is too much. I run an electronic distributor, electric fuel pump and a SPAL 16 inch electric fan. The battery I am using is one of those small Odessey batteries mounted between the frame rails. Is the problem the alternator or the battery? My alternator is a 100 amp Powermaster, but the Voltmeter was reading 13.1 with the A/C on. All of the electrical stuff is run through relays. Help me understand how to fix this. Thanks.

Shall we meet on Saturday for lunch outside Yogi's booth at noon?

It won't  be completely done for Des Moines, but I made some progress this weekend.

I'm planning on being there. Anyone else?

Having run out of money--enough that is, to have a professional complete the interior,  I decided to do it myself.  I'm an enterprising sort, so why not give it a try, right? Ivan, my interior guy, did the seat and the dash which requires stitching, and I am  doing the rest. Here's a couple of pics. I think I may have missed my calling as it has turned out to be fun and I have been doing it with a minimum of cursing so far. The door panel is a combination of taupe and ostrich vinyls, and carpet at the bottom. I hope to be done for the Des Moines Good Guys event. I'll keep you updated.

Check  this out:

www.rodmotion.com

Perfect for the man with no building skills and a fat checking account.

I have a mini-starter in the '32, and it starts fine, but in a simple cruise through town when everything get warmed up, it will not start after being shut off--the starter just clicks when I try to start it again. I took it off and brought it to an auto electric shop. He took it apart and checked it out and said it looked okay and it worked everytime he tested it. Anyone else have this problem? It is about 3 inches from my exhaust pipe. I know I can get a heat shield for it--is one kind better than another as far as the blanket wrap and the aluminum sandwich type?

Man! Some people have all the luck!!

www.clubhotrod.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18606

. . . happened to me at the Nats Saturday afternoon. I decided to go back to my motel and get another roll of film, and as I was driving down one of the "alleys" (for lack of a better word) leading the road next to the East wing, I came to the end and found two cars parked so close that I didn't know if I could get between them. So two people on each side were guiding me through so I wouldn't hit either car when the female owner of the car to my left started harassing me ad nauseum in an obnoxious voice, "Hey buddy, don't hit my car!" and "Hey, buddy, you'll be sorry if you hit my car." Well, I didn't need to hear that kind of nonsense when I was concentrating very hard to maneuver between the cars, and my patience was wearing thin, and I said, "Get out of here, will ya." But she just kept going on but more so. The owner of the car on the right courteously backed his car up a couple of feet so I would clear, and I had 8 inches clearance between my rear tire and the tip of the woman's car's rear fender on the left. She of course, never offered to move her car, but instead, just kept at it. Finally I had heard enough and uttered the expletive, "Oh, f**k you." I usually don't talk to people this way, especially women, but in this case it just came out. After driving back  to the motel, I re-entered the fairgrounds twenty minutes later and was driving up the main road next to the East wing, past this woman's car, and she ran out into the road, and started harassing me again right out in the middle of the street. So, I said, "Learn how to talk to people. People wouldn't tell you to get f****d if you talked nice!" At that, she took a swing at me, missed me and hit my door post. Never in all the years I have been going to car shows have I ever encountered such behavior or has anyone ever made me that annoyed. I guess there is a first for everything. BUT . . . I sure had a great time in Louisville this year. Nice seeing you all again.