1940 Ford Deluxe

Old school flush...

They sell a 2 part product for this.

Acid on one side, baking soda or other to counter the acid.

We do not exactly follow directions, but here is our process.

It makes a lot of water, so find a good spot.

Get the engine warmed up to where the thermostat is open.

Turn the heater on gull hot.

Shut off, then open drain and start back up.

Remove the cap and place the hose in with flow to just keep it full.

Watch the draining fluid, and when it is clear, stop the engine and close the drain.

Restart and fill to normal level.

Pour in acid, replace cap, and go somewhere.

You need high flow and heat, by the way, turn heater on full.

After the drive, repeat the rinse procedure above until clear.

Close drain.

Put neutralizer in and drive again.

Repeat the rinse/flush until clear and fill with water only.

Drive for a week.

Flush one more time.

If water starts as clear you are done, if it comes out rusty, get another can and repeat.

Does it run cooler now?

Get a non-contact thermometer and scan the radiator to ensure flow in all areas.

If clear and cooling properly, let it cool, then drain and install antifreeze.

If not, confirm radiator right size for engine, if it needs serviced you may go from 2 core to 3 as an example.

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I spent all morning flushing and refilling the cooling system on the '40.

Rather than doing the 'slow drain', I decided to disconnect one of the lower radiator hoses, hoping that the rush of coolant leaving the system would wash any sediment in the system out. The old coolant was actually surprisingly clean with very little noticeable sediment/ rust, etc.

After draining, I disconnected the upper hoses from the heads and discovered a pair of thermostats... 155 degree thermostats... I'm not sure what the point is in running 155 degree thermostats... that's too cool.

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I went down to my local Autozone and bought two of the 180 degree thermostats that they list for my car... of course, they don't fit... the overall diameter is ¼" too big.

So, I reinstalled the 155's until I can order a pair of 180's... it won't be difficult to drain enough coolant out to swap them later.

I flushed the system out... I didn't use a chemical flush, just water... I decided to start simple, I can always get more complicated later if necessary.

I refilled with new Prestone and distilled water, and added a bottle of Water Wetter.

After cleaning everything up, I cranked it up and made a few laps around the neighborhood... then parked it in front of my shop and let it idle for 10 minutes. The temperature still creeps up at idle, but not as much as it did before, so I think I've improved it, anyway.

While I was under the car, I noticed something... 'interesting'... the tires all have the wide whitewalls, but the whitewalls have been painted black and turned to the inside... so they can't be seen. I guess someone really didn't like the whitewalls.

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-Bear
 
One way to do a good flush with just water is to alternate the direction of the flush. So if water flows one way around the system, flush it in the other direction too. That will help shift the sediment that settles behind obstructions (like silt behind a dam). Did that to one of my cars where the cabin heater wasn't working and you wouldn't believe the difference in the flushes when I reversed the direction. Nasty stuff.
 
This morning I decided to install my rebuilt distributor today. I started by removing the old distributor... it was a little tight removing the mounting bolts. It mounts on front of the block between the two water pumps, above the crankshaft, and below the generator...

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The old dizzy is on the left, the new on the right...

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I had to swap the ignition coil to the new one, and installed a new condenser...

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These distributors are nicknamed 'diving helmets'... they have a twin point setup and both vacuum and mechanical timing advance. They are driven by a flat lug on the rear of the rotor that engages a slot in the nose of the camshaft.

I went ahead and oiled the distributor, then turned the rotor until this flat lug closely matched the old one...

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The lug is off center... so if it is installed 180 degrees out, the mounting bolt holes won't line up.

I reinstalled it on the engine and reconnected everything...

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There are two distrubutor caps, one on each side. Each of the caps has the four plug wires for that side of the engine.

This was a fairly easy job... the most difficult part was holding the distributor in place, lined up with the camshaft, while starting the mounting bolts.

I took it out on a 20 mile drive afterwards... WOW! I thought it ran good before swapping the distributor... it really runs good, now!

-Bear
 
A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I should try to determine how old the tires on the '40 are. After a quick internet search of how to read a 3 digit date code, I determined that the tires were made in November of 1984.

I decided that now was as good a time as any to put new shoes on this old horse...

I ordered a set of Diamondback Radials... blackwall, 6.00x16 inch. They claimed a 4 week lead time, but they were delivered 2 days after I placed the order.

I also ordered a new set of wheels...

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...Wheel Vintiques 4.5x16, mainly so I can go tubeless. Of course that necessitates painting the wheels...

That is what I worked on this afternoon...

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I'll let them cure for a few days, then see how bad I scratch them up mounting the tires...

-Bear
 
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