Bill, I think one of the core (AKA "freeze") plugs came out of your head. This didn't do any damage since you stopped right away, and it is only a 28 cent item. They are a little tricky to put in, but the man who rebuilt your engine should take care of this at no cost. Dick Benjamin ----- Original Message ----- From: <Imperial59crown@xxxxxxx> To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2004 8:27 PM Subject: IML: '59 continuing saga, must be a test > Well, on the way home from work last night I stopped at Kragen auto supply > who were very helpful in helping me find an air cleaner for my '59 Imperial. It > was one of those small ten inch Edelbrock air cleaners, but it fit my new carb > like a glove. Armed with my new air cleaner I went out and put it on the car, > and settled in for my first day of driving it since I got it back from the > engine rebuild. I drove down to the shopping center, and when I pulled into the > parking lot my horn suddenly went on and would not turn off, so I got out and > pulled the horn wires. When I came out of the store and went to drive the car > I noticed the steering wheel was all wobbly, moving from side to side, and I > could even pull it out a bit. I just said to myself this is just great, but > maybe I can fix it when I get home. When I got home I removed the bottom dash > panel from under the steering shaft, but could not find anything. Then I removed > the horn ring and the rectangle horn apparatus in the center, and the bolt > holding on the wheel was firmly in place. It seems like there is some bearing in > the steering column that has broken or given way near the top of the column, > does anyone know about this? I then drove the car to the last mechanic who last > worked on the steering to see what he thought, and he was pretty much in > agreement as to what I thought. Then on the way home I was within a mile of home > when I noticed the temperature start climbing, and I could smell coolant, so I > turned into the closest gas station and raised the hood to a cloud of steam, > but I could see no hose leaks anywhere. One of the mechanics came out and after > it cooled down added some water only to find it pouring out under the left > side exhaust manifold. This definitely did not look good to me. Then another > mechanic came out with a mirror and held it down under the manifold, and said it > either blew some release valve if it had one, or the head was cracked. This is > definitely not what I wanted to hear after just getting my beauty back. My > day ended up calling Auto Club and having them come out with a flat bed to haul > the car back to where I had the engine rebuilt, and I parked in front of the > shop which was already closed by this time. I am now envisioning not having the > car again for another few weeks. I hope things get better. It seems like the > more I improve the car the more things that are going wrong. I guess I'll just > keep singing "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow." > > Bill '59 Crown >