Things I should Know-long trip planned

[tubman]

If you did things right, you'll be fine. When these cars were new, folks thought nothing of taking off and going on long trips. Any bad reputation they now have is due to the fact that for the last 60 years, the have been abused and neglected with the accompanying results. Most of them soldiered on anyway.

[TomC750]

Reminds me of when I bought my original '41 Mercury with a tired engine. I built a 1950 Merc engine for it, put a few miles on it and headed from NY to Texas with no spare parts. Blew a head gasket in OK, middle of nowhere. Sent a buddy I had with me to a town hitchhiking, he returned with a new gasket, we installed (I had tools!), dipped water out of a stream with a hubcap to refill radiator, started her up and went on our way. Had no more trouble. After a time ended up selling car to same buddy.

[RGC1]

Originally Posted by TomC750

Reminds me of when I bought my original '41 Mercury with a tired engine. I built a 1950 Merc engine for it, put a few miles on it and headed from NY to Texas with no spare parts. Blew a head gasket in OK, middle of nowhere. Sent a buddy I had with me to a town hitchhiking, he returned with a new gasket, we installed (I had tools!), dipped water out of a stream with a hubcap to refill radiator, started her up and went on our way. Had no more trouble. After a time ended up selling car to same buddy.

Haha thanks that’s a good story, I will make sure I have a few tools and make sure I bring a little creativity to haha, thanks !!

[RGC1]

Originally Posted by tubman

If you did things right, you'll be fine. When these cars were new, folks thought nothing of taking off and going on long trips. Any bad reputation they now have is due to the fact that for the last 60 years, the have been abused and neglected with the accompanying results. Most of them soldiered on anyway.

Thanks for the info , I will try and go over everything with a fine tooth comb and with some pointers fro you guys will give me a heads up going in.
Thx

[tubman]

Originally Posted by RGC1

Thanks for the info , I will try and go over everything with a fine tooth comb and with some pointers from you guys will give me a heads up going in.
Thx

That's actually not a bad idea. There are a lot of little things to be aware of with these vehicles. The electronic ignition thing is one; another is beware of current replacement timing gears when rebuilding an engine. Word has it that the currently available examples have a tendency to self-destruct at 5000-8000 miles. Cheap contemporary ignition components are also suspect, especially capacitors; get your replacements from a known source and a name brand. There are reports that some currently available inner tubes are questionable. I personally had a bad experience with a new aftermarket oil pump I installed in my last rebuild. It would not produce oil pressure up to factory specifications, and I ended up solving the problem by replacing it with a good used Ford pump. The list goes on and on. There is a lot of knowledge and experience on this forum, so if you are in doubt, just ask.

[RGC1]

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Originally Posted by tubman

That's actually not a bad idea. There are a lot of little things to be aware of with these vehicles. The electronic ignition thing is one; another is beware of current replacement timing gears when rebuilding an engine. Word has it that the currently available examples have a tendency to self-destruct at 5000-8000 miles. Cheap contemporary ignition components are also suspect, especially capacitors; get your replacements from a known source and a name brand. There are reports that some currently available inner tubes are questionable. I personally had a bad experience with a new aftermarket oil pump I installed in my last rebuild. It would not produce oil pressure up to factory specifications, and I ended up solving the problem by replacing it with a good used Ford pump. The list goes on and on. There is a lot of knowledge and experience on this forum, so if you are in doubt, just ask.

Thanks for that advice on where I’m purchasing parts…….kind of funny I do that with customers cars all week use this not that because of quality …..so I better remember that doing mine……..when comes to the 60s era I have it mainly figured out………but I better figure it out for this…….guy gets shopping by price and forgets his own rules regarding finding out the quality parts . Thanks I think I needed that wake up call. Just like buying an electronic ignition thinking he is doing a big upgrade only to find he paid a bunch for more problems. But good point on oil pump , timing gears ,points, condensor quality. So much cheap quality stuff being made now. Thanks for your input

[mfirth]

Originally Posted by tubman

That's actually not a bad idea. There are a lot of little things to be aware of with these vehicles. The electronic ignition thing is one; another is beware of current replacement timing gears when rebuilding an engine. Word has it that the currently available examples have a tendency to self-destruct at 5000-8000 miles. Cheap contemporary ignition components are also suspect, especially capacitors; get your replacements from a known source and a name brand. There are reports that some currently available inner tubes are questionable. I personally had a bad experience with a new aftermarket oil pump I installed in my last rebuild. It would not produce oil pressure up to factory specifications, and I ended up solving the problem by replacing it with a good used Ford pump. The list goes on and on. There is a lot of knowledge and experience on this forum, so if you are in doubt, just ask.

Dey Denny, had the same oil pump issue in my 52 8BA. Pressure was better with the original oil pump....It was a M-----ngs too.

[tubman]

Originally Posted by mfirth

Hey Denny, had the same oil pump issue in my 52 8BA. Pressure was better with the original oil pump....It was a M-----ngs too.

Mine was actually Speedway's house brand. "Ol' Ron" had problems with the Mellings pumps (which actually surprises me).

[mrtexas]

Originally Posted by tubman

If you did things right, you'll be fine. When these cars were new, folks thought nothing of taking off and going on long trips. Any bad reputation they now have is due to the fact that for the last 60 years, the have been abused and neglected with the accompanying results. Most of them soldiered on anyway.

Grandpa, grandma, 3 kids drove from SW Montana to Butte, Nebraska in a 31 Chevy two door. Made it there and back on gravel roads! 880 miles in 1931 one way.

[RGC1]

Originally Posted by mrtexas

Grandpa, grandma, 3 kids drove from SW Montana to Butte, Nebraska in a 31 Chevy two door. Made it there and back on gravel roads! 880 miles in 1931 one way.

That would have been a trip , I couldn’t imagine what the roads would have been like and that journey. No cell phones and no v8 roster , would have been just the way it was done. Very cool story