The compensator on the car is one that was modified. I went through my box of goodies and discovered that I had bought a NOS '56 compensator with a jumper wiring harness.

I see that the Yellow on the '55 goes to the Orange on harness and the Pink on the '55 goes to the Blue on the harness. With light green going tom light green.

Is it correct to assume that the wires on the harness get matched with the same colors on the Compensator and that the Yellow and Pink terminals are not used?

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  '56 NOS Compensator PN 472239.JPG (78.17 KB)

Not sure what was going on to cause the melt down of the red wire other than no fuse preventing it from happening. When I questioned the limit switch and how it worked, it was after running the motor by shorting out to ground contacts A & B. Before either side of the switch touched a transverse bar, the motor stopped. I was concerned about over torquing the motor and screwing up the gear box. I discovered that the fuse had blown but couldn’t figure out what had caused it.

Eventually I found that when the levers were moving outwards the frame, the top on the rear solenoid would short out against the motor. I’m guessing this is what led to the wire meltdown. That it would rub against the motor causing an intermittent short, but not enough to melt the wire.

I lowered the solenoid a bit and the motor can now run from one extreme to the other with the limit switches stopping the motor. The TL system has a problem so I’m in the middle of troubleshooting it. It works once in a while so I’m guessing that the contacts in the Compensator are corroded. I’ll pull it tomorrow, test it and clean up the contacts.

The bar is 2 1/16". Here are 3 more photos. As you can see when viewed from the rear, the bar is ~1/2" to short in order for it to contact bar. When actuated in the other direction, the bar is way to short in order for it to hit the shoulder on the bar.

I've included a picture of the solenoid bracket with the limit switch. I don't see anything wrong here or am I missing something?

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  Viewed from Rear.JPG (4,248.85 KB)


  Viewed from front.JPG (4,363.65 KB)


  Switch-Mounting.JPG (3,331.18 KB)

I was able to work on the TL system this past week. I examined the 12 volt supply (red wire) to the TL system, which came from the starter. The insulation was completely melted over its entire length and was still intact as far as the copper goes. There was no fuse or fusible link to be found in the wire. The wires that merged into the bundle (Red & Lt Green) had their insulation also melted.

When I went to run the replacement red wire from starter the nut was extremely tight. Therefore, I decided instead of pushing the issue risking damaging the starter I would get 12 volts from the battery. I installed a fuse (20A) right at the battery and replaced the rest of the damaged wires.

The arm that slipped off the Compensator (levelizer) bar was reinstalled. The system was tested by shorting out terminal “A” or “B” to ground.

While doing all of this, I notice that the limit switch appears to be incorrect in that I do not see a way for the tabs to be engaged by any mechanism on the system (see photos). It would seem that the tabs on the arm should be in the opposite direction. Should the tabs point towards the gear box or in the opposite direction?

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  Limit Switch.JPG (2,617.97 KB)


  Limit Switch 2.JPG (3,716.95 KB)

I want to share a problem I had with my '51. It would bog down whenever you gave her the gas. I chased the problem for months. My attempt to solve the issue included but was not limited to the following

1) New plugs
2) Rebuild carburetor
3) Replace fuel filter
4) Check timing
5) Replace point, condenser, & rotor
6) Replace Dist. Cap
6a) Performed dry and wet compression test
7) Replace spark plug wires
8) Pull distributor to check vacuum advance and bearings
9) Cleaned aire cleaner
10) Have carburetor rebuilt by professional

I took it to a local car show and the wife drove her '55 Caribbean. There was a problem with the '55 so I drove it home following the wife who drove the '51. I discovered that when she would accelerate black smoke came out of the tail pipe.

I examined the air cleaner and discovered that a mat on the inside of tne top of the air cleaner would get sucked down over the carburetor cutting off the air flow.

Over the years the mat shrank and the wire mesh that should hold it up didn't.

Great going. It's nice to see something not made in China.

It's sad to hear about Kustom Krome. They were nice to work with.

I had 6 pieces (the 4 side scripts and the 2 tail light "V") on the wife's '55 Caribbean gold plated at Kustom Krome in November 2019. Total cost was $395 with lifetime warranty against peeling/flaking. I'll add that they were all in decent shape without any pitting.

I took pictures of the 6 items and emailed them. He provided a quoted on that.

I'm happy with the quality and service.

My WAG but maybe the last part of the sentence should have been:

"email is swordsmth@aol.com look forward to hearing from you .thx"

Just a thought.

U joint?

Howard thanks for the quick response.

FYI - I had replaced the three wire brake switch with one of the 2 wire kits about 4 years ago. The 20A fuse on the red wire that goes to the starter would that have been near the starter or closer to the leveling motor because I can't seem to find it (Source of melt down??)?