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Expert
Posts: 2932
   
Location: Lemoore CA | I was removing my carburator from my 59 Dodge today for either rebuild or replacement, not sure which I am going to do yet, and I found something I can't believe. Where the vacum advance line hookes in the the back of the carburator there is a 12mm adaptor that comes out of the back of carb and then the line goes in to it. METRIC!!! the adaptor is METRIC, the vacume line going into it has a standard size slipnut but the only wrench I had that would fit that adaptor was the 12mm. I was surprised to say the least, I thought it has only been in the last 20 years or so that US auto manufacturers having been tourturing do it yourself mechanics by forcing you to have both your standard set and metric set of wrenches with you when you try to do any work on a car nowdays, it is a pet peeve of mine to have to switch back and fourth between two different size systems of wrenches. I understand the reasoning that auto manufacturers do this is because many components for cars are made in foreign countries, but that dosen't mean I think it is good reasoning. They could specify that the places that manufacture the components use Standard size bolts, or at the very least use Metric bolts on the parts they make here. I will concede that the Metric adaptor could have been placed there by a former owner of the car, however that still dosen't explain the thread count and the fact that it threads in to both the carb and the vacume line easily, not to mention that this car has not been touched since the early 80's and the adaptor looks original. Has anyone else run in to any Metric bolts on a forward look car? |
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Expert
Posts: 3967
Location: DFW, TX | No, never, Mopar didn't install anything Metric during the '50s.
You sure your 7/16" wrench isn't a little bent?  |
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Veteran
Posts: 295
Location: Nebo, Western NC | 5859,
I rebuild carbs for a living and I, too, have encountered metric-size hex fittings in this position from time-to-time. What I have observed, however, is that regardless of whether the hex on the brass fitting requires a 7/16" or 12mm wrench, the fittings's male threads which install into the carb are all 1/8" pipe thread and the female threads in the other end of the fitting are all 3/16" inverted flare fitting size. Whether they were factory- or field-installed I really can't say. It is odd indeed. |
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Expert
Posts: 2011
Location: Ballwin, Missouri | There has to be something wrong with either the fitting
or the wrench. As 57burb said, they didn't use metric
way back then. Another thing, metric and standard fittings
do not have the same threads. That is really the tell-tail
of this situation. It's not hard to distort a fitting to the point
where a regular wrench won't fit anymore. Particularly if the
person who worked on it last didn't use line wrenches. |
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Expert
Posts: 2932
Location: Lemoore CA | Nothing wrong with the fitting or the wrench and as I said threads match up, I know it's hard to believe, read flightswepts post. |
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Expert
Posts: 2011
Location: Ballwin, Missouri | 5859 - 2006-05-10 12:24 AM
Nothing wrong with the fitting or the wrench and as I said threads match up, I know it's hard to believe, read flightswepts post.
That is weird !!! In forty years I have never ran across that, or I have never paid that much attention.
I guess I'll have to start checking these things out more closely. |
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Expert
Posts: 2478
Location: Dalveen, Queensland, Australia | Peugeot used Lockheed brakes for many years... and they had UNF threads on their bleed nipples and pipe nuts everywhere... no metric threads on the braking system at all until about 1975. Early Toyotas were the same.
But the nut hexes were all metric. |
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I can't believe it!!!
