Re: IML: Dummies Books on Engines?

I started small and out of necessity.

My first real car was my '56 Imperial when I was about 19. By that I mean that my father had no part of maintaining it and ferociously declined to help out. When it needed brakes, I had to do it. Dad said that I was lucky he let me use his garage. The job that I had was putting me through college and wouldn't support the cost of maintaining a car beyond gas and insurance. I read as much as I could, and with the help of the FSM (yes that means Factory Service Manual) I started the job. My car was off the road for about three days as I struggled with every aspect of that job. You have read about many of those issues here such as the Tapered axles, making new flared end fittings by hand, and ultimately dealing with the bleeding and adjustment procedures for the Center Plane Brakes. Tune ups and other repairs such as replacement of the water pump, exhaust system, and universal joints soon followed. I learned more and more all the time. I spent free time reading the FSM and anything that I could get my hands on that would help me to keep my car on the road, and running dependably and well.

Eventually, over the years, other cars came along that needed other work, some more extensive, such as short and long block overhauls, engine swaps, etc. I have never actually rebuilt a differential or an automatic transmission, but have paid to have these jobs done several times of different vehicles. This has culminated in over 35 years of first hand experience working on and maintaining 20+ different cars (many of which I still have) and about 2,500,000 driving miles. I would not recommend overhauling the 413 in your Imperial as your first "do it yourself" mechanical repair. The organizational skills (for disassembly, collecting new parts, arranging machine work, etc), special tools, and heavy work involved is more than anyone should deal with as an initial experience. That is unless you are able to enroll in a local Vocational & Technical College and get some hands on experience with a trained instructor. I'd start with other smaller jobs first.

Are you sure that the Pink Lady needs an overhaul? A great learning experience would be to do everything that you can to make her run good, and perform the tests that will help you determine why she doesn't. By this I mean, go ahead and do a simple tune up. Reading about it will go a long way in preparing you for the job. Once that has been done, if she still doesn't run right, you can do a compression test, and allow that to dictate where you are going from there.

If you know that your car has a cracked block, a bad bearing, or a cracked piston, there isn't much point, except for the learning experience. Other than that, starting small and working your way up is a very good and fun way to learn.

Paul W.

-----Original Message-----
From: Clint and Laurie Carter <imperialschooner@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Imperialist <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sat, 27 May 2006 22:47:16 -0700
Subject: IML: Dummies Books on Engines?

Hi list!

Okay, now that I've got my Pink Lady home, I want to start working on her. I know the engine needs work...but where do I start? I know, the FSM (that means Factory Service Manual, right?). Is that a good place for a beginner? Or is there a Dummies book? My mechanical knowledge is limited to Lefty Loosy, Righty Tighty. Yeah, I can use a screwdriver and a wrench (hammers are good, too), but what else do I need to learn? I don't mind getting my hands dirty. I have a basic understanding of HOW an engine works, I just don't know how to MAKE it work. How did you all learn? Where do I start?

And body work...oy va!

I have read just about all the messages on the list for the past three years, and frankly, a lot of it's over my head.

So, please point me in the right direction!

Thank you guys and gals,
Laurie Carter
Ilwaco, WA USA
'59 Crown

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