ps
if flooring the accelerator isnt enough to shift the ultramatic ,should I adjust the throttle linkage ? Theres a couple of places where I could " tighten" it by adjusting a double threaded piece the service bullitin had a fairly complicated sounding adjustment proceedure

heya wow ,that would make sence since the "switch " wasnt connected to anything ,Ill paly with the linkage and see how it funtions ,Ive had a couple of old cars that had something like that on the side of the carb and i never knew what they were for untill just now ,thanks ! I got a timing light and tried to see if I was 6 dbtdc as is speck but couldnt see any timing marks ,the dwell was about 30 degrees ,Im going monday to have a valve adjustment and will discuss the mystery noise as possible valve clatter or now preignition with them is preignition the same as "detonation"?
Happy Holidays !thank you!

mystery switch;
a vertical cylindrical switch which points downward and is actuated by a piece of the accelerator linkage ,it hangs off the firewall just inner side of the steering colomb
is this a kick down switch ?
the ultramatic will only kick down and go into low gear going up a hill if I pull my foot off of the accelerator,like a fluid drive ,is it supposed to? is that have to do with a nonfunctioning mystery switch?
is thers a vacumb system for the downshift ? I recall when changing out the fuel pump there was a vacumb line going back to the transmission which shared a "t" witht he vacumb line to the wiper motor

The mystery noise ;
only when going up a steep hill ,a mettalic rattly noise like some rocks in a coffee can or something rattling loose against something ,it does not sound rotational ,is random sounding ,i cant make it change by letting of the accellerator to slow the sound down,doeas not happen at any other attitude ,ie flat or down hill .the ultramatic has about 70,000 on it and has had a recant fluid change which didnt change anyting I had noticed some surge but I thaought that was too much strain on the engine going up the hill at a too low rpm
I have replaced the exhaust with kanter pre done pipes and muffler and it rattles agains the frame in a couple of spots, but I usually hear this only when the engine is cold and starting up ,so I dont think thats it ,am I looking at a trans rebuild?

I had a recant fluid change ,using as close to the recommended fluid as I could find ,recantly I topped the ultramatic up with some lucas anti slip fluid ,wow what a difference ,It works better but I couldnt tell you how.I also have a shift selector leak ,but its not so much fluid actually comming out .A pint is 3 square feet I hear

Ive gone through a bunch of rebuilt starters for my 52 200,I got them from Kanter and Max Merrit each time they end up not working so well or failing one even sort of exploded internally ,probably engaging while engine running ,always nicley painted but they must not have fixed the internals
,they would act like the bendix would be 1/2 retracted by nature of a scraping noise that sounded the little gear was contacting the spinning flywheel .I was advised to shim the starter ,
interestingly the problems ended with a rewire! I figure they're ,must have been a current leak from a short holding the bendix out partway .a local quality rebuilder did the last one and with the new engine harness I havent had any problems except if the battery went low ,(I had a bad generator rebuild and didnt realize it !)
The start swich(new replacement) in the carb would stick "on" and the starer would stay engaged ,I took it apart and honed out the little channel that the sliding thing with the ball and bevel and spring is in which seems to help .Interestingly when I had to use a 12 v jump box to start the car jump ,the start switch would not disengage untill I took of the 12 volt battery clips from the battery poles funny how all the proper function rely's on other component proper function ,and one thing out starte to knock out other things I have found a "GROUP 3" 6 V battery which has 900 cch ,closer to the 1100 original speck Ive heard metioned bu Ill have to enlarge the battery holder to take a big 16" long battery thats 1/2' taller

just found the service bullitin feature of the site ,wow great ! thank you Happy Holidays All

A propper set of well fitted wheel skirts is extrremely important for overall performance of the vehical ,
the uncovered rear wheel well will allow for destabilizing turbulent airflow at blistering velocity attained by the thunderbolt 8
it protects the vital rear wheel from 30 % of damaging ultraviolet sun exposure it might sustain if unccovered
its mechanically obstructive feature is most important for reminding one that the rear tire is being changed as in contrast to the front tire and most importantly self respecting motor vehical operators are not seen in public without propper wheel skirts ,
the unfortunate current fad of operating a motor vehical "Au natural"or "without"can be directly related to the downfall of the modern american family values

concider exactly why it is that you put up with all of the lovley headaches involved with the operation of the thing in the first place ,and have a happy Thanksgiving

SUPRESSION!
now that the radio is back in I was looking into making it work better ,
the accesory section says that there should be a supressor in the coil cable from the center of the coil , on each of the plugs ,as well as something (a condencer )I have to attach from the ignition switch to the inside of the dash ,
it also says the hood has to be grounded ,
and there is an adjustment on the side of the radio to "tune " the antenna

Thank you all for the good info! I have discovered the service index on your site ! Great stuff.Not being so mechanical ,the information I learn allows me to guide the mechanic who is competant ,through the vaguries if working on these lovely obsolete old machines .Also keeps me to keep from being bamboozled ,hoodwinked and otherwise ripped off on the lift
the valve info Ive learned is great .Now I can confidently tell him how to at least approach it on this car .
One question,Would my 52 /200 have hydrolic or mechanical lifters ? I hear Im supposed to look for an H by the engine number
another stupid question ,how does one know if one of the valves is bad? will it not adjust or click or something ?Once one valve is bad it sounds like the head comes off ,valves guides seats etc !
thanks!!

Thanks!!
very helpfull .as usuall .looking forward to a peppier thunderbolt !
Does the heater ducting need to come off when the innner fender is off ?
Does the intake manifold square block where the carb bolts on block reaching the rear valves?,or is the wheel and inner fender removal povide suffucuant exposure to get all of them

Thanks for the tip about the wheel .

the little tappets are they replaced too??

Ill have them hit all of the steering and suspention zirks while they are there ,is there a service manual that says where they are ? most of them are visable, but my old Desoto has some tricky ones and theres at least 600 of them

the cars getting closer ,thank you for the invaluable assist s!!