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A match book cover will work for gaping points and you can then use them to set the truck on fire when it really pisses you off }
Dave ----
Good point. Yeah, I used the matchbook trick just a few weeks ago helping a friend get his 62 T-Bird going, he’s a decent mechanic but doesn’t know old school point ignition. He was shocked that the matchbook worked. It was even close on the dwell.
Speaking of a truck pissing you off. Check out my drivers door, yes, that’s a bullet hole. There was 2 more that had been repaired at some time with lead. The bed wood it riddled with bullet holes, .45 and 9mil. The guy was a terrible shot though, no groupings at all LOL.
This falls under tools, and yes, I’ll bring them in the tool bag.
The reason for a battery rather than jumpers is two fold.
1) 6v system, jumping with a 12v can ve dangerous
B) if I’m alone jumpers would be useless
4) I always have jumpers, the battery is added insurance.
I've been jumping my 6 volt with 12 volt vehicles since 1977. I've never had a problem. I do tell the person that is with me to take off the cables on my battery first as soon as my truck fires.
I've been jumping my 6 volt with 12 volt vehicles since 1977. I've never had a problem. I do tell the person that is with me to take off the cables on my battery first as soon as my truck fires.
I know that is anecdotal, but that's 45 years.
Good to know. I always pull the connections as soon a possible, and make the last connection the ground of the dead vehicle, and to the engine, not the battery.
I may have already posted this…in HS a friend was jumping her 6v car off of a 12v car and the battery blew. She had major burns on her arm, shoulder and face. She had skin grafts and managed to recover with just a few scars on her forearm and one where the graft was made on her left cheek. I’ve been scared to death to jump 6v with 12v since then.
I suspect she connected hot to hot and ground to ground, instead of + to + and - to -, and I know she made all the connections at the battery, including the ground.
I have oil and trans oil, but I figure I can use water in the rad in a pinch. I’m not gonna carry a cheap plastic gas can, maybe I’ll be able to locate and old Jerry can.
Jerry cans are all over on e-bay and elsewhere. I bought one recently. It appropriately has "1952" stamped on it and is the real deal. Lots of imitation cans are available as well. I forget what I paid. It wasn't cheap, but not shockingly expensive either.
I carried gas for my first big trip to Kentucky, but have since re-thought the risk/reward aspect of doing so. For now, I carry an empty Jerry Can which could be used to carry gas back to my truck.
It took about an hour for my wife to show up, and while I was waiting, the tow truck guy showed up in person to have a look at my truck. He crawled under and confirmed it was probably the master cylinder that was leaking. What a great guy! As you've heard me say, "Small town America is alive and well", and, "You are never alone driving an old truck". In the midst of all the horrible headlines we see everyday, there still seem to be wonderful caring people everywhere.
I agree, Jim. There are still good people out there willing to help. We had our annual massive classic car show right by my house yesterday, so there was never any shortage of issues when people are pulling out to go home. Went by there at 8 PM last night on the way with ice cream in my 65 Galaxie...lo and behold, two old timers in a mid-50s Caddy were still sitting there with the hood open. Me and a few other guys still cruising around pulled in and checked on them. Lost their brakes. They were waiting 4 hours already for a tow-truck, but we got down to see what we could do. MC was leaking, and they didn't want to drive it on I-95 to get home...don't blame them. They thanked us with "good to know there are people out there who still give a S**t!!". Since I lived closer, I asked if they wanted to limp it to my house and hang out on my porch with a drink while the waiting for the truck, but they politely declined. We are out there
Still trying to get my truck running. I replaced the condenser with one I picked up at NAPA (made by Echlin) and the truck still wouldn't start. However, the owner of the parts store gave me the name and number of another old Ford truck owner in town who he thought might be able to help me troubleshoot the electrical system. Before I called, I had one more idea. I took an old coil I had lying around from my Model A and put it in the truck. I can't say it started right away and ran smoothly but it did start and run. Off to NAPA to get a new coil.
Still trying to get my truck running. I replaced the condenser with one I picked up at NAPA (made by Echlin) and the truck still wouldn't start. However, the owner of the parts store gave me the name and number of another old Ford truck owner in town who he thought might be able to help me troubleshoot the electrical system. Before I called, I had one more idea. I took an old coil I had lying around from my Model A and put it in the truck. I can't say it started right away and ran smoothly but it did start and run. Off to NAPA to get a new coil.
I had a bad coil recently causing a high rpm miss.
Friends keep asking me if my truck is “done”. LOL…it’s never done.
If any of you get tired of failing condensers, a guy on the Ford Barn makes a condenser using modern (high quality severe duty mylar) capacitors inside a sealed can. They aren't cheap ($50) but he has sold a fair number and not a single failure. I believe he also sells on eBay. If you are interested PM me and I'll forward his info.
The trucks back on the road again. New coil from NAPA (Echlin) did the trick. It replaced the coil I bought from Mac's when I was setting up the engine for the first time. It had about 250 miles on it since new.
The trucks back on the road again. New coil from NAPA (Echlin) did the trick. It replaced the coil I bought from Mac's when I was setting up the engine for the first time. It had about 250 miles on it since new.
That stinks. My coil went bad as well, but I had about 1500 miles in it, still not much, but better than 250.
