52 200 Deluxe in need of input/help to resolve remaining issues

Posted by Anatole Farci On 2020/8/27 14:16:49

Hi,

I bought a 52 200 Deluxe two years ago. The car sat since 2010 but was running prior to that. I was told that this car was using in the movie "Men of Honor" and another one but that's for some other day.

It's mostly original with 6 volt POS ground and all the engine parts. Missing the air duct from blower to heater and also the front passenger fender filler panel. No radio or A/C but came with wipers where I think the hissing noise near the firewall is from but I can't find which hose is damaged or from what I recently read, possibly reversed on the wiper.

I do have questions about the instrument panel. The speedometer and the oil + bat lights work. I can see at least one instrument bulb for speedometer working when I turn on the lights. It doesn't dim but maybe it never did. The map lights or the rear dome light not working but possibly burnt bulbs.
Neither the fuel, temp nor clock are working. I searched and read all the previous comments. I did do a test by shortening the temp sending unit wire against the body for less than a second and saw the needle move 1/4 in. I decided to remove the sending unit and replace it. Found TS6464 that would fit as others have mentioned BUT it fits into a coupler first as my old one did. the coupler or adapter is the one that screws into the engine block and the temp unit into it. I'm OK with this if this was the original design but something tells me it wasn't but I also didn't find anyone mentioning it except that TS6464 fit into theirs. My question is that with the adapter, only the tip of the sending unit is exposed to the water and is that enough to pull the correct temp? the gauge doesn't move at all. I had the engine running and checked the temp in different places of the engine, radiator, water lines and most are between 160 to 180 F. The exhaust was around 380 to 450 F. I read that the thermostat opens around 170. For now, I'm not worried about overheating but would love to solve this mystery! I had the water pump restored as it was busted and what killed the car from driving and I cleaned the engine water "pipe" and flushed it before installing the new pump and belt.

I did also do a simple the instrument cluster test with the cluster just pulled from the dash. the one fuse after the two breakers looked solid and would go into the clock if I'm not mistaking. The two breakers were showing 5+ volts between the leads so I figured they are OK as well.

I didn't try to check the fuel sender as it could have stuck and figured do my explorations and investigations from temp unit which was easier to troubleshoot.

So what are my next steps to fix the temp gauge?

The car starts nicely (came with a electric pump that didn't work and I replaced it with another 6 volt as I read many used them initially to help avoid vapor block and soon after the car runs, I shut the electric pump and the mechanical one work fine) and I did drive it around the block. Oh yeah, the Bendix Treadel Vac was completely crystallized and I had to pull it out and most of the lines to clear them and rebuilt the brake booster (again, thanks to the many forum comments and step by step dismantling and rebuilding it!). The wheel cylinders looked great and appeared to have newer rubber and the grease looked good on the hubs.

I do need to check the tranny and diff fluids. The engine oil was changed and it came with an oil filter and I didn't see any sludge which was a good sign. The engine purrs (except for the hissing noise that I need to locate) for this giant beast compared to my smaller British cars!!! I see years of grease and dirt on the axles and I haven't yet added any additional grease to any of the fittings.

My final question and sorry for the VERY long intro, is about the switch right below the light switch. Is this the overdrive? the wire/cable is cut and while 95% or more of the wiring is original, I do see few new wires here and there and in some places, the shield is broken and for now, I try to tape it to avoid shorting it. I have yet to check the blower (not worked as far as I can tell and I read that it has its own fuse) and the wipers need to be tested (maybe I'll find the bad hose)!

Thanks and any input is appreciated to resolve the instrument cluster issue as I don't want to drive without temp gauge!

Anatole