Looking Good JC!

Hey Mr. E,
With the Steering Wheel on the Starboard side, Lorrie gets a lot of double takes. People sometimes comment: "The Steering Wheel is on the wrong side!" My standard reply is: "No, it's on the Right side!"

She is a BIG, gentle old thing. Her ability to move is not overly agile, but she isn't a slouch either. She can take off quite smartly, and can cruise at 60 MPH all day without breaking a sweat.

The biggest problem is that she has all the aerodynamics of a concrete Cinder Block.

Given a 10 MPH headwind, she can't go more than 40 MPH because she thinks that she's going 50 MPH and the Vacuum Advance on the Distributor doesn't completely advance, so her HP doesn't get completely kicked in (at least, that's what is suspected).

Have had occasions where I was traveling with another vehicle and in order to get up to an actual 50 MPH, we had to do a NASCAR "draft".

Lorrie would be right behind the Chevrolet Blazer and the Blazer would be directing the air up OVER Lorrie.

We got stopped one time between Onalaska and San Marcos for "tailgating". Explained to the Trooper the situation and he was sympathetic. Let us go without a ticket.

Anyway, it's supposed to not rain here today, so Lorrie and I will be out and about doing errands.

You have a GREAT day. OK?

JC

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Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

Hey Reed,
Thanks for the kind words. I'll tell Lorrie you said that!

She IS quite unique, isn't she?

One time, found a webpage (haven't been able to re-find it though) that made the statement that the 1967 Dodge P200 Postal Van was extinct!

E-Mailed the guy and said that Lorrie was a '67 P200 and that she was alive and well. He was skeptical and requested JPGs. Sent them to him and he acknowledged that to the best of HIS knowledge, Lorrie was the ONLY one of 3,500 built that was still in existence. He was somehow, some kind of authority on that kind of statistic.

As you may or may not know, Lorrie is the "chase truck" for Ms. American 3.14159, which is believed by many over on the Ford Muscle Galaxie Forum to be the ONLY 1964 Ford Galaxie 500, Four-Door, Hard-Top, Fast-Back, Police Interceptor ever built. At least she is the ONLY one that Google finds on the whole World Wide Web.

That means that on one hand, there is the only one of it's kind ever made here, and on the other hand, there is the only one of its kind still in existence. That makes both of them quite rare. Didn't plan any of that. It just happened.

BTW, Ms. American's "P" Code Engine is Black with Gold Valve Cover and Gold Air Cleaner. Have matched Ms. American's Engine color scheme on Lorrie's mighty 225 Slant Six Engine.

Anyway, it's coming up time to go feed the felines. Want to check the weather and the world news headlines before doing that.

Hope you have a GREAT day.

Hang in there.

JC

_________________
Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

Not sure how to quote from another thread without going back to look at the html...

BUT - remember this post by SlantSixDan about his flushing soup?
(SSD?)

I wonder how the Fritz/TP filter would handle all the crud from an
SSD Souper Flush ... e.g. could the Fritz filter unit (i.e. roll of
TP be shortened to provide a reservoir for crap during the flush)...

... etc. ?

Thoughts?

DCello





Post subject: (Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:25 am) Reply with quote
FrankRaso wrote:
I may even treat it to an engine flush


Careful-careful-careful. Those "engine flush" compounds you can find at the auto parts store can do a tremendous amount of damage.

I have long maintained that your engine is not a toilet (Chevrolet Vega, Cadillac HT4100 and V8-6-4, and Ford 3.0 owners excepted) and therefore does not need flushing except under specific and rare conditions as a corrective measure. Everyone's got a pet theory on how best to flush a crudded-up engine without pulling the pan. Some methods are harmless but ineffective. Some methods are potentially harmful. Some methods are harmless and effective. For best results, pick one of that last kind.

I do not believe there is any such thing as a safe, effective and fast engine flush procedure. You can pick any two of these three: Safe and effective (but not fast), safe and fast (but not effective), effective and fast (but not safe). The risks fall into two categories:

Softening/damaging engine gaskets and seals so they don't seal well any more
Sweeping large amounts of dirt and crud from its resting place into the oil filter, which plugs and goes into bypass mode, sending the cräp directly to the bearings and quickly failing the engine. I watched this happen to a Chev 305 once. It was quite a spectacle.



Those "5-minute engine flush" compounds mostly contain Butyl Cellosolve,
which is a specialized solvent that's very good at one particular task: Cleaning the mayonnaise out of a crankcase that's had coolant in it due to a faulty head (etc.) gasket. Their use in any other situation is risky.

My own engine flush recipe is a delicious blend of Marvel Mystery Oil (very light weight and good at dissolving gums and sludges), Kroil (best penetrant on the planet), ATF (detergent/dispersant with good lubricity), and Berryman B12 ChemTool (good at dissolving crud too tough for Marvel Mystery Oil). My procedure involves warming up the engine, draining the oil, changing the oil filter, replacing the drain plug (!), and pouring in the soup. For a 5-quart crankcase, I usually start with 1/1/2/1 (Marvel/Kroil/ATF/B12). Then start and run the engine in the driveway at around 1200 to 1700 RPM with no sudden acceleration and no load applied, for 15 minutes.

Shut down, drain (really let it drain, walk away for 45 minutes), change the filter again, repeat with new soup for 30 to 45 minutes depending how gross the first batch of soup was when it was drained and how quickly the second batch of soup cruds up. Check the dipstick periodically.

If the 2nd batch of soup comes out coalmine black and full of chunks, run in another batch of soup (and another new filter!) and repeat until chips, chunks and tar stop coming out when you drain it.

You'll note the filter is replaced before any attempt is made to introduce a flushing agent into the crankcase, and the filter is replaced again every time you drain a batch of flushing soup. Without doing this, you run the very real risk of inundating the filter, which will go into bypass mode and send all the loosened-up crud directly to the bearings and other critical parts: Goodbye, engine, it was nice gnawing you.

I've gotten amazing amounts of corruption and trash out of engines using this recipe and method. Other methods and other recipes may work better
for other people with other cars. And as always, be advised that if the engine is really tired and whipped, even a safe flush can cause additional problems in the form of "new" leaks.
[/quote]

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You mean there's a Slant Six FORUM!?

Loved this thread by the way - Laurie et al...

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You mean there's a Slant Six FORUM!?

Hey Mr. DC,
Am just assuming that the following is Daniel's post about his "flushing soup" because of the stylish writing and the extreme empathy for the engine that is evinced (something with which I can relate).
This all flush method sounds very reasonable, though it doesn't have much relevance when it comes to Lorrie Van Haul's mighty 225 Slant Six because the Frantz Oil Cleaner never did allow the mighty Slant Six's components to get all "crudded up".

As was noted in this thread, the problem with Lorrie's Oil was due to her having sat idle for sixteen years during which time the carbon in the Oil settled out into the bottom of the Oil Pan.

The removing, cleaning, priming, repainting and re-installation of Lorrie's EIGHT QUART Oil Pan was all it took to solve the problem.

Being preoccupied with other pressing matters, there has been a period of being remiss in not updating you all about Lorrie's condition: She is doing perfectly well!

The NEW Stewart Warner Oil Pressure Gauge was probably installed unnecessarily, as was the NEW Oil Pump, but that wasn't an absolute certainty at the time.
Actually, there is already a 3/4" space above the Frantz Filter Element which would probably be a sufficient volume to contain the "crap" loosened during the flush. Also, it would probably be sufficient to just change the Frantz Filter Element without changing the "soup" if it was found that there was an excess of "crap" loosened by the "soup".

BTW, doing that would be a lot less expensive than changing regular filters.

Lorrie is presently running eight quarts of Valvoline 10W30 Motor Oil. She is putting up 50 PSI at speed on the road and 40 PSI at idle with her mighty 225 Slant Six at operating temperature. And after having gone nearly 600 miles, the Oil is still too clear to see on the Dip Stick. Have to use the brown paper bag trick to see where the Oil level is.

Also, since having Lorrie's Starter rebuilt, starting her, even with the ambient temperature being in the low 20s, takes just a touch of the Start Switch after setting the Choke with a single pump on the Acceleration Pedal.

Once the engine starts, it instantly goes to a 700 RPM idle till operating temperature is reached at which time the idle settles to is turbine smooth 550 RPM.

Lorrie is beginning to once again earn my trust and confidence.

We have been out and about on a number of 40 - 50 mile round trips and she has been performing flawlessly.

BUT, there IS one question: Does anyone know where one might obtain Exterior and Interior Door Handles for a 1967 Dodge P200 Postal Van? Have done numerous searches and have come up empty handed. Lorrie's Door Handles are the "iffiest" part of her existence.

Anyway, would have commented sooner, but have not been receiving notifications that there was activity on this thread until this afternoon.

Hope this finds you all doing well.

JC

_________________
Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

Hey Mr. DC,
The most surprising thing about this thread was the finding that what was causing Lorrie to be hard to start was that the Starter was dragging. Had used the MultiTester on the circuit going to the Electronic Control Module and it would come out to be 12 Volts. Then tested it WHILE the Starter was being cranked. It was dropping to 9.2 Volts which wasn't enough current to make the HEI System work. Since getting the Starter rebuilt, the difficulty starting Lorrie has completely disappeared.

Anyway, hang in there.

JC

_________________
Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

Hello JC! Glad to hear Lorrie is doing well. I think your best bet would be to post some pictures of Lorrie's door handles or scans from the factory service manual. I don't have a clue what kind of handle Dodge would have used on the P200 series vans, but I bet it is near identical to a part used somewhere else in the 1967 Mopar lineup. I would not be surprised if the handle was identical to the ones used in the A series vans. Better yet, if you can get a part number off the handle then we could start checking NOS parts houses or at least cross-reference the number in interchange books.

Hey Reed!
Can't remember a time when she had been running better than she is now now. We go to Livingston and she goes right along at 60 MPH without breaking a sweat!
Don't have a FSM, but you're right. Pictures... Will do that presently.
That's what I would have thought also. Alas, have done search after search and have found all kinds of Door Handles used in 1967, but none even remotely resembling the ones that are on Lorrie.
Be ready to be surprised!
Have gone over EVERY SQUARE CENTIMETER of the Handles and the only identification that was found was on the Lock (where the Key is inserted) and it turned out to be the code for the Key Profile.
DANG! There just isn't any identification numbers anywhere on them. But I'll get JPGs of the one that is here on the bench.

A bit of history about this might be in order:

Lorrie's has two Sliding Doors. They hang on a set of rollers. Over the years they have become semi-difficult to open. In order to open them, have installed a Door Pull Handle. The technique used to open the Door is to use the Handle to unlatch it from the Door Pillar and then pull it open using the Door Pull Handle.

I had at one time thought that the Doors could be removed and completely refurbished. Alas, when attempting that, the conclusion was reached that the Doors were put in place at the factory BEFORE the Roof was installed, because there is just no way to take the doors out without first removing the Roof. No, HONEST!

So over the years (before installing the Door Pull Handles), the only way to pull the Door open was to pull on the Door Handle. This put a great deal of stress on the Axle of the Handle which was, in part, made up of the Lock Mechanism.

Well, the other day, the Port side Door Handle broke off!

Have figured out how to make it work again, but the Lock Cylinder was completely destroyed.

All of this is pretty hard to explain with just words, so let me go take some JPGs and we'll get serious about how this is going to have to be remedied. Finding NEW Handles, or even whole NEW Latch Mechanisms including Handles would be really GREAT. Alas, am fearing that this is going to be an exercise in futility.

Anyway, this will take an hour (maybe more) to do. But will get back to you ASAP.

Hope you are warm if it's cold where you are. Cool if it's warm where you are. And dry if it's wet where you are.

JC

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Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

Hey Reed,
Here are the JPGs of Lorrie's Port (left) Door Handle:

The first two JPGs are of the complete Door Handle





This JPG is of the Bearing and part of the Lock Mechanism



This JPG is of the Flange Mechanisms taken off of the Lock Mechanism



This JPG shows the beginning of the attempt to get the Handle working again. That is some "Fas-Weld" (steel reinforced epoxy putty) that was put into the hole in the handle. The idea is to drill a hole in the Fas-Weld, AND into the Lock Mechanism. Then tap the hole in the Lock Mechanism to accept a Bolt. Then to put a washer on the Handle and the Bolt into the threaded hole in the Lock Mechanism and tighten everything down. The Handle would be used to torsion the Latch and the Door Pull Handle (JPG a little further on) would be used to open the Door.



This JPG shows just the Handle Grip.



This JPG shows the end of the Axle that fits into the square hole in the Latch Mechanism which is on the inside of the Door.



This next JPG shows the innards of the Lock Mechanism. It be broken. AND there were a bunch of teenincy Springs. The four little flat pieces are what the Key pushes on to unlock the Lock. It is a REALLY crafty arrangement, but it just got old and broken.



This JPG shows the ONLY identification on the Handle. It is the Key Slot and am assuming that the numbers are a code for the Key Profile.



This JPG shows the little channels in which the "tumblers" slide. As you can see, it is not in the best of shape.



This JPG is of the place where the Port Handle mounts. The hole in the Latch Mechanism is square and that is where the Square End in a previous JPG fits.



This next JPG shows the location of the Door Pull Handle. After turning the Handle that is broken to unlatch the door, the Door Pull Handle is used to slide the Door back to open it.



The JPG is a close up of the Door Pull Handle mounting.



This is what the Handle looks like when mounted. This is Lorrie's Starboard (right) Handle.



This is a close up the Lorrie's Starboard Door Key Slot with a different Key Profile Code.



Anyway, that's what I've been searching for. It doesn't look like anything that has been found so far. Have found some Door Handles/Latches that they guy says that they are "rare" and he wants from $300.00 to $400.00 each for them, but fortunately they are NOT that for which I am looking.

Anyone have any ideas about these. Lorrie actually needs only one exterior Door Handle as the Starboard Door handle and the Rear Door Handle are in pretty good shape.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Hope you all are well.

JC

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Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

Looks to me like a 46-52 Chev/GMC pickup door handle might interchange.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Those look very similar to the handles used on the Dodge A series vans and the Dodge Panel and Town wagons of the early and mid-60s, but the wagons and vans did not have an integral lock.

Does this look promising?
http://www.easternmarine.com/outside-su ... dle-b2394l

You might also try looking for old Dodge brand motorhomes from the 60s and 70s, back when Dodge still built full size RVs. That looks an awful lot like an RV door or cargo trailer handle. In fact, judging by the two larger holes 90 degrees off from the holes you are using to mount the handle now, it looks like that might not even be the original handle to the van. It looks like those handles are a problem and someone has been there before you and replaced the original handle with the one you have now.

Hey Mr. SIBC,
Will do some searching using 46-52 Chev/GMC Pickup Door Handles and see what we come up with. This is all like a mystery, and we are following clues. One thing to remember though, Lorrie is the ONLY 1967 Dodge P200 3/4 Ton Postal Van that is found when doing searches. So it might be that we are engaging in an exercise of futility.

Have found only one other Dodge P200 Postal Van, and though it is registered as a 1967, it is REALLY a 1968 and is a 1 Ton model. The 1968 P200 had a different front end, with four windows instead of two like Lorrie has.

The fellow who owns the 1 Ton P200 posted some JPGs of it over on the DodgeTalk Forum in the Lorrie Van Haul threads, and also started one of his own, but he didn't keep it updated.

Am going to go look it up and see what Door Handles are on it.

Will let you know what is found.

Anyway, thanks for the clue.

JC

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Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

Hey Reed,
Actually, am NOT dissuaded about the lack of locks. When Lorrie and I are out and about, she NEVER is locked up when I'm not with her. Besides there's nothing in her to steal. The other thing about her is that her doors are difficult to open if you don't know how to do it. AND they are noisy when opening. As for someone getting into her and trying to steal her, I have done a dirty trick and labeled the Horn Switch as the "Start" Switch. Anyone trying to start Lorrie would succeed only in blowing the Horn!
Yes it does. Might have to do some modifications, and if worse comes to worst, that might just be the way to go.
Will give the 60s and 70s RV Door Handles a search. Another clue to track down.
Actually, it appears that the multiple holes was the method used to decide what position the handle was mounted in. On Lorrie's Starboard side, the Door Handle is horizontal. On Lorrie's Port side, the Handle was Vertical.

As for the Handles not being original, there is a clue that they ARE the original Handles and here is why I say that. The Handle on Lorrie's REAR Door is exactly the same as the Handles on the SIDE Doors, AND the Handle on the REAR Door can't be removed without removing the Latch Mechanism, and it is RIVETED (not bolted) in place and has not been removed.
You might be right. It would have had to have been someone in the USPS Maintenance Shop in Houston because that is from whom I bought Lorrie back in 1975.

Anyway, am going to proceed with the "fix" for the handle in the JPGs as a temporary measure while more searching is done. It may turn out to be alright and might be the way Lorrie will have to be dealt with regarding THIS issue.

Will just have to wait and see.
What will be will be.
Time will tell.
Be well.
JC

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Lorrie Van Haul - 1967 Dodge - P200 Post Office Vehicle - 225 Slant Six - Torqueflite A727 Automatic Transmission - Right Hand Drive Steering - Big Three HEI System - Frantz Oil Cleaner System - Bendix Stromberg Model W Carburetor

Hi JCA-
Your Door handles look Very Similar to a standard Jeep DJ or FJ Postal Vehicle. Look at these.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/POSTAL-MAIL-JEE ... 1230627486

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1964 Dart GT