What I Did on My Lunch Hour

[Vic Piano]

Thanks Lee, I'm looking forward to getting in some garage time with him...

[Vic Piano]

And Now... Back to Flatheads...

Cliff came over to give me a hand getting the '51 F-1 ready for the trip up to Dawsonville, Georgia for the Moonshine Festival in October. We changed the oil & filter, greased everything (and I mean everything ) and checked the fluid levels in the transmission and rear end. After that we turned our attention to the '47 LC. We finally got the fuel pump to prime... (what a pain in the butt ) and took the car for a ride . Before too long she started to kick and sputter, suggesting intermittent fuel flow. We drove her back to the garage, let her cool down, and pulled the top of the carburetor off to check the float bowl for any crud. The bowl did have some rust particles in it. There were no inline fuel filters on the car so I put one between the fuel pump and the fuel line from the gas tank, to see what surprises we would get. Well, the pump lost prime again and the old Optima 6 volt (that won't hold a charge ) would not crank the engine so... on went the battery charger... I'm thinking this car could use on of those flex fuel lines with the one way valve... not to mention a good 6 volt battery and possibly dropping the gas tank for a good cleaning.

[oldbugger]

Vic, once you get it sorted out that will be one beautiful ride. Does that fuel pump have a filter in it? May have dirt in the fuel pump check valves. good luck, Paul

[Vic Piano]

Paul, that's a new fuel pump... whatever that means..., I don't know why it is so hard to prime... I don't think there are any pinholes, etc. in the fuel line from the gas tank (no signs of gas on the floor). I hope I can get a good 6 volt battery next week, that should eliminate part of the problem... When the car is running the way it should (not kicking and sputtering) it is a pleasure to drive. I have a feeling it's going to take some time to sort out all the bugs but, I agree with you, she will make an excellent driver.

[Vic Piano]

Counter Help at Auto Parts Stores...

I don't know, maybe it's me but, have you noticed that the younger the "parts person" is, the less inclined they are to want to learn about anything that is not in the "parts book"? This morning I took the Optima 6 volt battery (that was in the '47 LC) to have it tested at the local Auto Zone. The kid took the battery and (out of my view) hooked it up to the tester... He told me the battery was good but needed a charge. I asked him to put it on the slow charger... When he took the battery back to hook it up, I talked to another "parts guy" who told me they had no way to test or charge 6 volt batteries... We went back to the trickle charger and sure enough, the guy had hooked the 6 volt Optima up to a 12 volt charge... I can't believe that something as basic as the difference between a 6 and 12 volt battery would go unnoticed by an "auto parts person", or the fact that (if they didn't recognize something, they wouldn't ask before making an assumption)...

[V8COOPMAN]

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Soooooo.......maybe some knowledge would be more important than imagination, at least in this kid's case, yes/no? DD

[Vic Piano]

Sooooo..... Apparently, he has no imagination to create the desire to gain knowledge... Play along with me now… As we all know (or should know), without imagination, there would be no knowledge..! Case in point; Henry Ford had no knowledge of building cars, but his imagination helped him create and gain the knowledge... Marconi had no prior knowledge of wireless radio but his imagination helped him create it and thereby gain the knowledge… Isaac Newton had no knowledge of gravity but his imagination, well, you know, don't let it hit you in the head
And, (as we all should also know), knowledge, once gained through the imagination, helps to broaden ones imagination for more knowledge... To put it simply ; imagination created an idea, the implementation of the idea through imagination created knowledge... I'll say it again... without imagination, to spur thought, there would be no knowledge... Do I really need to post further examples, or do you understand the full meaning of my signature quote now? To reiterate, repeat after me... "Imagination is more important than knowledge"

[oldford2]

Vic, well I sure agree with your thoughts on imagination but why is it this guy says ""Imagination is a crutch used by those who lack knowledge and intelligence ." Think about it carefully, does that statement make any sense?? I really don't think Ben ever said that. Maybe he has the cart before the horse. John

[Vic Piano]

John, some guys just have no imagination and it clearly shows when they try to "show off". I seriously doubt that Ben Franklyn ever made that statement, as he was a most imaginative individual, and it's certainly not in the Farmer's Almanac"... LOL. As for your reference to the "horse", I would liken the publisher of that statement to a certain part of a horse’s anatomy...

[V8COOPMAN]

I think I'm finally starting to get it. You had enough imagination to know(ledge) that if ya asked the kid to put that battery on the "slow charger", that it would afford you enough time hangin'-around the parts store (to charge the batt) so that the old flathead that you brought that battery to the store with (we all know how you DRIVE those flatheads-you've said it too many times to forget) would have plenty of time to cool-down and recover...precluding any possible embarrassment because of another bout with the vapor lock that you seem to write about so regularly. You're sly, Vic! Don't know how I could ever have questioned your imagination...it's been legendary. DD

[Vic Piano]

Coopman, even you should have enough knowledge to know that a "slow charge" is just that, SLOW... and since you seem to be a student of my postings, one would have to question your comprehension and retention levels... You are correct in the statement that I drive our Flatheads as often as I can, after all... I thought that was what they were built for... to drive. And Vapor Lock... yes I've experienced it on a number of occasions and I don't mind sharing, my knowledge gleaned from that experience, with others. As it happened, I drove our '51 F-1 up to the auto parts store. Now back to that retention thing... having read all about my adventures, you should remember that I mentioned installing an electric fuel pump as the primary pump in the '51 and, as a result, I have not had a Vapor Lock incident with that vehicle. There's no embarrassment involved with driving Flatheads on my part, it's a fact of life that cars and trucks (not just Flatheads) do occasionally malfunction, nothing to be embarrassed about. I have no idea as to the type of driving (if any) that you do with your Flathead, because all you do is critique everyone else, and never talk about your Flathead driving adventures but, if you succumb to embarrassment every time you venture out in it... should it malfunction... I respectfully suggest that you find a less stressful hobby... perhaps stamp collecting might suit you... imagine that...

[Vic Piano]

It's a New Day...

And I'm already looking forward to my "lunch hour" as the plan is to drive one of our Flatheads (perhaps, if the sun is shining, I'll drive the '39 LZ)

to the auto parts store to pick up the 6 volt Optima battery (from the '47 LC) that they put on 6 volt slow charge for me yesterday. Hopefully I won't experience Vapor Lock in the Zephyr. If the battery is holding a charge, I should be able to get the fuel pump in the LC to prime and fire her up so I can check the fuel line for leaks while she's running.

[oldbugger]

Vic It seems since you now have more garage space you have more cars. Is that baby Linc your next project? Paul

[Mart]

I had a problem with the fuel pump in my 33. It would not pump. I had to make the fuel pump a bit longer than normal to make it work. I know my fix was a sticking plaster rather than a cure, but it did work.

Mart.

[Vic Piano]

Originally Posted by oldbugger

Vic It seems since you now have more garage space you have more cars. Is that baby Linc your next project? Paul

Paul, that's not a "Baby", she's a Cosmopolitan (the '49 Cosmo was the first Ford product to have a curved glass windshield, the "Baby" Lincoln was essentially a Merc from the cowl back, with a split windshield) and yes, it is another project. It is the only Convertible I've ever had that has absolutely no rust anywhere, in fact, the car still has all the factory sound deadening and dealer applied undercoat on it. It is an early '49 with the three speed and BW OD in it and the 337 runs well.

[Vic Piano]

Originally Posted by Mart

I had a problem with the fuel pump in my 33. It would not pump. I had to make the fuel pump a bit longer than normal to make it work. I know my fix was a sticking plaster rather than a cure, but it did work.

Mart.

Mart, I checked the pushrod, and it is the correct length, the cam lobe may be worn (I don't know, I haven't measured from the top of the pump mount on the manifold to the top of the fully extended push rod because I haven't found any information on that measurment) but, once the fuel pump is primed the car runs fine except for this last time when it apparently picked up some crud from the tank and/or has a "sucking" pin hole somewhere in the fuel line...

[Vic Piano]

Well, my curiosity got the best of me, I couldn't wait for lunch hour so I drove the '39 LZ to the auto parts store. Once there I was greeted with the bad news... the 6 volt Optima was a goner... Looks like I'll be driving over to the Tractor Supply store to see if I can pick up a "wet" 6 volt battery for the '47 LC. Before I drove back to the office I stopped at Mickey D's for a coffee, sat in the drive through at idle and no Vapor Lock in the Zephyr

[KiWinUS]

Vic , the optima has waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy more cold cranking amps than a wet 6v of any kind .Mine is 6years old in the 36 after 6 months of not running it took 15sec of non stop to get gas from tank & fire up . The Optima spins it over like a 12v , cause it has the same cold cranking amps is what the Optima guy told me .
Good Luck !!

[Vic Piano]

Hi Tony, I have several Optima's, both 6 and 12 volt. They are older, but have held up very well, the 12 volt better than the 6 volt. The 6 volt that was in the '47 LC is only 2 years old... but it won't hold a charge so... I'm going for the "quick fix" with a "wet" battery just to get the car running again... See you in Dawsonville. Vic

[mrmoose]

Hey Vic, if you brought the Optima back with you...try a heavy charge on it....20 amps until your charger (assuming it has an auto stting) reads full....then start it again on a low charge (2 amp) until it reads full again. I read somewhere that this is the optimal (play on words) way to charge the Optimas, and have found it works on mine. I guess that they can be resurrected. I have a 6v Optima in Amos (under the floorboard where noone can see), and a 6v Optima in a Ford case in Clem. Also have them in both our drivers (12v), and I think they are the best.

We just returned from a 2 week vacation camping in NC mountains in our little 1969 L'il Travelor pop up camper....ahhhhhh. Unfortunately, back to the salt mines tomrrow. Hope you are well, and hello to you and your Mrs.

mrmoose