Rizz just gave me a couple items.  Sorry about photo - it's a cheap camera I use at work to record disassembly of machinery when needed.


Spark Plug Gapper - stamped INDESTRO-SUPER , MADE IN U.S.A. , PAT. NO. 2,645,142  CF-71
0.018 to 0.035 in ten sizes
Pretty cool. I never had one of these before. Do any of you still use these?

The little box above it is a tin of Schrader "Valve Insides"  Five No. 4000  still has four of the five in it.
Patent dates 1916, 1917, 1919 - on the other side "Container Patented U.S.A. Nov. 14 1922"
Al.

Mine looks the same.
Snap-on CF-71 with PAT # 2.645.142

Sorry no image.

Once had a Schraeder tin, long lost now.   Think I used the plug gapper one time, found it faster and easier to just use a wire gauge.   Time was, cars would need new plugs every 10k miles, at least once a year.   I miss those years.

Quote from: john k on June 11, 2014, 07:42:41 PM
Once had a Schraeder tin, long lost now.   Think I used the plug gapper one time, found it faster and easier to just use a wire gauge.   Time was, cars would need new plugs every 10k miles, at least once a year.   I miss those years.

My father-in-law has had a little air powered spark plug cleaner for as long as I remember.  Tiny little sand blower, I think.  Plugs lasted through several tune-ups.

My current truck is a F150 Super Crew.  I bought it in 2005 new.  It has 170, 000 miles.  I had the dealer change the plugs at 140, 000 miles.  First time I just didn't want to do my own tune up. That 5.6 liter has aluminum heads, and the spark plug only has about 4 threads deep through the metal. Add to that the weight of a coil mounted on every plug and it adds up to easily stripped threads. The dealer quotes a price for adding a new heli-coil just in case.  So the price for a tune-up on that truck was $850.00, with the possibility of up to an additional $1, 000.00 for rethreading.

I think I will get a new truck next year.  Before this truck I always had Chevy vehicles. I have a son who is 6-1/2 ft tall.  I had him sit in the back seat of all the Ford, Dodge, and Chevy super crew types and the Ford fit best. If not a truck, then maybe a nice Buick?  I don't need to worry about how well my son fits now. He is 24 and on his own. (Sometimes they come back, though...)

I can upgrade because my company gives me a vehicle allowance every month and a gas card. (Have I told you guys how much I love my job lately?)  Because of my neuro muscular disorder I rarely drive, just to be safe. Its disconcerting to be sitting at a red stop light and hear your engine rev up because you didn't know that your foot was on both the brake and the gas pedal too!

What kind of truck would you folks favor?

Chilly

Chilly,  how about an Ice Cream Truck? Fully stocked!
Well,  I am no authority on modern vehicles.  I can only think of two things I would look for in a truck.  First, a bed that is low enough to the ground so you don't kill your back everytime you load/unload something (loading on ramps can be difficult with modern truck heights).  Second,  find a simple truck without a lot of fancy electronics to cause expense when things break.
Speaking of spark plugs and complexity - I was looking at the 3.7 V6 in my Jeep Liberty - I can't even see the spark plugs.  They must be buried under some engine cover or manifold.  I'll be getting it inspected next week and I'll ask my mechanic where the heck they are and if I can change them or if I need a degree in automotive technology.

Me, I'm all for anything in the 1972-1979 F-150 (Supercabs prefered) series.  I first fell in love with the seat, after driving 32.5 hours straight through to upstate NY in '74, getting out and having my back NOT hurt was (and remains) a first in any vehicle.  When the job was done I turned around and did the drive again, again straight through.  Same results.  My last Supercab kinda disappointed me, though, 'cause I only got 467,000 miles on it.  Now have a "new" '79 Supercab that I'm looking for a half-million when I finish the rebuild.

My late BIL and I drove similar Ford pickups in the 80's and he was a real cheapskate! I would tune mine up on a regular schedule, and he would take the points, plugs, condenser, etc. home and tune his. Often he would even use the oil I drained out of mine if I didn't dispose of it quick enough!

My current and hopefully last truck is a 98 GMC Sierra shortbed, plain jane model with 225,000 miles on it. I don't want or need another truck, much less a payment and something I can't work on!

Bought the wife a Dodge Caliber in 2007 and showed her that all I could do on it was battery, tires, wipers. and a few other simple things.

BY THE WAY- We will not have pissing matches concerning Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge vs imports here on Tool Talk!

Quote from: Papaw on June 12, 2014, 05:35:48 PM

BY THE WAY- We will not have pissing matches concerning Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge vs imports here on Tool Talk!

I'm sorry if you thought that was my intention, Papaw.  I was asking about real life preferences - I don't have any brand loyalty.  I've heard little things about all the trucks, good and bad. I pretty much think all domestic trucks are of such good quality now a days that nobody can complain too much. But all the stuff under the hood, holy cow!

We've (my wife and I) have only had a limited number of vehicles.  When we were young and starting out we couldn't afford much, and all repairs were "in-house." Heck, we finally realized at 27 that our family was huge when we couldn't fit our 5 kids, aged 0-8, in a  regular vehicle. If I missed work I didn't get paid back then. We needed to have at least one vehicle running. Luckily my FIL is a very good mechanic and an excellent welder. Over 20 yrs ago he built a 40'x60' metal building out behind his house.  I gave him a big anvil I had dug out of somewhere for a garage warming gift. It is always nice to work on cars over there, except he likes to do it for you. He has 2 lifts now, but he has had up to 3. Only one is used to work on vehicles - any additional lift is used to double up on parking, one up top and one below.

Anyway I've never sold a personal vehicle. We've used them up completely and scrapped them, given them to kids, and one I traded in for Bush's cash for guzzlers program (that was the last van, traded in on a new Aveo in 2009.)

As for trucks, our trade doesn't allow us to use personal vehicles for hauling work stuff. When I bought my Ford instead of a regular bed liner I put in a "Bedrug" and put on a matching solid tonneau bed cover, just deep enough to go over the side a bit. Mrs. Chilly insists that I didn't really want a truck, just something with a real big trunk. Heated leather seats with all the bells and whistles don't help me in the "real truck" argument. But I really like this truck - I just don't know when it will start  giving me grief. So I've been giving some thought as to what to get next, and hearing the opinions of you all seemed like a good idea....

Thanks,

Chilly

For the record, this ain't an argument about brands — except that I reckon it's the Ford seat geometry and firmness and "perfect height" and so on that made me fall in love with that particular series. At that time, I drove a '65 1/2-ton Dodge — which I quickly pulled the seat from, figured out the angle of the seating, cut a wood wedge to marry the floorboard to the top of the seat, and stuffed in a Ford p/u seat. Neatest thing about that marriage is when perfectly centered, the doors closed right up Against the seat on both ends - to the point where it was impossible to drop a flashlight down between door and seat, plus it had enough room for four, side-by-side.
  About the age... If I get one w/ electronic ignition, I swap out for mechanical distributer and so on. I get the impression that Papaw(?) tunes regularly, which I did too. I put a lot of miles on between job and home each day, as a rule, and I tuned once a month. With the 360/390 engine I got 18 mpg — and with a 400 I got 17 empty or loaded.
  The twin I-beam suspension is a dream, though I'm not miffed at my straight-axle 4WD. Biggest point is that I can WORK on those oldies, anytime and anywhere and any weather, and no longer need a manual. Oh, and I'm a big fan of "real metal" and as little plastic as possible. I won't go back to those 60's Dodges, but I look back w/ just a smattering of longing, sometimes.

QUOTE: "BY THE WAY- We will not have pissing matches concerning Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge vs imports here on Tool Talk!"

I think Papaw just wanted to nip off the bud of a potential problem.   There are people who are "brand sensitive".  I think the discussion was pretty well behaved.  The main point of everyone seems to be not brand but the need for a practical uncomplicated vehicle.

I'm soaking that black spark plug gapper in vinegar - it's starting to look pretty good!

Regards.
Al

Just making sure it doesn't start. I have seen forums get all twisted up in such foolishness. Car and truck forums often get bogged down with Ford vs Chevy, and photo forums with Canon vs Nikon.

Interesting that Ford did so well on the truck seats.  My uncle gave me his Ford Taurus when he stopped driving, and the seats in that thing would have made two boards set at awkward angles comfortable.  I had to get extra-thick padded aftermarket seat covers in order to drive it without back pain.