The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop dual mc

some time ago i asked about dual mc kits for 1951 vintage 1/2 tons, after many wonderful replies i went with classic performance. the bracket looks a lot like others that i had seen and as many had warned, the plunger didn't line up well. i went to my local lowes and got a longer bolt and a spacer, i used grade 8 but have no idea if that was necessary. anyway the longer bolt let me line everything up nice and straight. seems to work fine so far. no problems with it on the recent trip to south carolina unlike the radiator that let go on the trip, but that is another story, can you say next day air?

duddy

D-man-

OK, I'll bite. Why were your driving the 51 to SC? What happened with the radiator? We love these stories (or should I say sagas)!

the drive to south carolina was by my 19 yr old daughter to see her twin sister during spring break. one goes to uconn the other to charleston southern. the truck is hers, she says all the newer cars look the same so she bought this about 2 yrs ago, we drove it home to rhode island from utah(guess that would be another saga). anyway on the trip to sc the radiator sprung a leak about an hour away from charleston southern, her sister drove out to act as a chase car in case the radiator really let go(it was a small leak so i had her loosen the radiator cap and keep an eye on thetemp gauge) hey this is getting long should i put it in the saga section?

duddy

i read some of the sagas i cant write as well as the saga pages, so i will try and finish the story here.
they made it to charleston southern without further problems but it was like 3am or so. not knowing the nature of the problem and being 1000 miles away i decided it was best to just replace it. the local charleston radiator shops said that they could get one but it would be friday at the earliest. (it was tuesday). my daughter had to be back in rhode island by saturday noon and would never make if we we went that way, so i called up chevy duty and next day aired a radiator to sc. my daughter put the new radiator in but failed to check clearances before starting the engine. she mangled the fan on the bottom tank of the radiator, (it stuck out a little farther than the old one) the radiator survived thank goodness. she thought that she could trim the fan a little and it would clear so off to sears to get some power tools. the trip back to rhode island was uneventful except for the first gas stop where due to frame flex over a high driveway ramp the fan whacked again, but she was able to bend the offending blades back enough to clear the radiator. once she got home i cut down a new fan and she is back on the road

duddy

Duddy-

Thanks for the story. Sounds like you've done a great job of giving your daughters some skils under the hood. Glad she appreciates old iron!

This is one of the best stories that I have seen. It sounds like your daughter is very capable with these old stovebolts, and I agree, the new cars are bland convenient buzz boxes, with no personality.