Great care in doing the work is a necessity. I spent considerable time fitting bushings given shaft wear needs to be compensated for.

However, another consideration is the conditions of the nation's roadways. Rough roads are very hard on drivetrains. The computer controls in modern cars have programing that compensates for such. Otherwise, the check engine light would be setting misfire codes. When I drive in a state with good roads, I get significantly better mileage than here on Michigan's dilapidated, broken down, neglected, gas tax starved wagon trails. At work one of the guy's transmissions went before he needed his first brake job. No doubt from the strain of using broken down roads. And almost all of his commute was on the highway.

I'm thinking that I have the 48 Henney ambulance folder buried somewhere. I spent days making up inventories, but still have unaccounted for stuff.

According to Hydramatic coupling phase of the Hydramatic was achieved only few miles per hour later than with a torque converter, but that fluid friction was reduced and efficiency higher than a torque converter during coupling phase.

When they are adjusted the first shift is barely felt. I love the Hydramatic. When they are working right, they have wonderful shift quality.

Bear in mind that I am talking about the traditional Hydramatic and not those gerotor units and stuff that came later when GM was trying to re-engineer the thing. An interesting aside is that in comparison testing the Hydramatic actually outperformed the Torque-Flite in straight line acceleration.

It's too bad the Borg-Warner transmissions aren't usable given the Ravigneaux geared units (Fordomatic two speed) worked the same as the Ultramatic and the three speed units did the same if you started in D2 range. I wish my modern car had that D2 feature because it was really good for snow.

Here are some pictures. The first picture is of a dwell meter. Hook the red lead to the positive post of the coil and the black lead to the negative, start the engine, and read the meter. The rpm switch is there as an aid.

The second picture shows a reading on a meter.

Suppose you took your car to someone you know and he says: " I don't have one of those, but I do have a multi-meter for modern cars." If he hooks his meter up the same way and switches it to Duty Cycle he will get the percentage of time the points are closed - Dwelling. Multiply that percentage by 360 and divide by eight and you have the dwell angle. Of course you need only check that Duty Cycle remains relatively stable when you raise the RPM to determine if the distributor is worn.

I have a KAL 3000 multi-meter which has a dwell setting and can do the Caddy 12 and 16 as well as Packards. They show up on junk bay and are cheap because nobody wants them. KAL equipment was a competitor to SUN.

Attached is a picture of a distributor tester in action. The rebuilder will expect to see the lights remaining in position and not jumping around as RPM is increased. The timing advance mechanisms are checked by reading the position of the lights as RPM is increased. I love those old machines and those big engine analyzers. One time I was working on a car and the owner got pissed off that I sent the distributor for repair. I didn't hear anymore complaining when the motor would start in 1/8 turn when it came back.

Attach file:

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  Dwell Meter.jpg (134.19 KB)


  DwellTachScale.jpg (39.01 KB)


  Distributor machine.jpg (33.07 KB)

Put a dwell meter on the coil and raise the RPM. It should be steady. If it changes then the timing is floating around and the distributor needs to be repaired by someone with the old SUN machine who can verify the advance and consistency. I will put up a picture of the machine in action, but I have to go right now.

Every now and then there was an accident on the way home from work that would have me detouring through Detroit. You drive down the street and amid the burn outs there would be one well-kept property most likely kept in a family for generations.

I truly feel a pang for those people who are hanging on dealing with the highest water rates in the nation, crooked property tax assessments, crooked auto insurance, crooked foreclosures, and so on.

I knew one Detroiter who caught a heroin junkhead ripping apart the house next door. The dope fiend said he could get $25 dollars for junk. So the guy told him "If you keep the yard clean and cut the grass I will give you $25 so that my neighborhood doesn't look like a dump." He said that junkie was always on time keeping that yard clean.

There is a new arrival in Detroit to add to the city's blight. With the warm winters we been having the termites are moving north. They are in Livonia which is due west of Detroit. Detroit is termite heaven with all those empty structures. Thus, in the future it may be impossible to do anything there.

Is it pre-ignition or detonation? Pre-ignition occurs when glowing carbon ignites the mixture prior to the spark plug. Detonation is when glowing carbon results in two flame fronts intersecting each other.

When timing is too advanced the knock is caused by the flame front hitting an advancing piston. If there is excessive carbon in the combustion chamber retarding the timing compensates for the advanced flame front caused by the carbon build up.

When the car was new the automotive press pointed out that the 359 with its high compression flathead was subject to carbon buildup.

Looking through my files shows variations consistent with the parts book not listing those fasteners.

When they are done right flathead screws are exquisite and it appears that on the V-12 they were paying a little extra care with some fasteners although for that car it probably depends on who was working on it.

What you do get with the oval head screw is more contact with the screwdriver blade. They are very forgiving. For flat head screws you need to use high quality cabinet screwdrivers.

Imagine a long series of screws with the heads absolutely flush with the metal. I've done that and had people give the wow factor.

Take the shoes off and lay them in the drum. If the drum in beyond discard you may be getting too much self energizing.

Check the wheel bearings for damage that may cause the same symptom.

After that pull the right rear drum and check for contamination.

It will be interesting to see how much of that stuff shows up on junkbay at outrageous prices.