Thanks Pierre!  We will work on getting Dennis to bring his M38 up to the shop or at least get him to do a video of it.Also, we are still working on the reprint of the Oxy-Acetylene Handbook...struggling to get permission from the owners of the copyright.  It is hard to get in touch with the right people.  In the meantime, if you search the title in Ebay, you will see it for about $20 used.  Get either the 1943 first printing (cool) or the 1968 2nd Printing.

Love it Scott!  Seems like so much knowledge gets lost....then you go back and lift up the lid on this machine and all of this cool information was used to create these tools.  There is magic in understanding these old diagnostic tools!

Good point John.  I did not - but mostly because my jeep has none so it is an easy choice!  I was taught to plug the distributor advance when setting the timing (or use the advance port for the vacuum gauge) but not to worry about any other vacuum accessories - brake boosters or windshield wipers.FOD yessir! We were being loose cleaning that engine for sure.  I don't think we got any good images, but the inside of that carburetor is crusty!  We are going to have to pull the head of that engine - the valves look ugly....so I am expecting we are going to do an in frame overhaul - redneck style! 

Woo Hoo!  We live in a county that is pretty damn redneck.  They loved it!

Thanks Samuel!  Welcome aboard!

You are so welcome Andrew.  We all get so much satisfaction "reinventing" the wheel... seems like so many of the tips and tricks of working on these old machines are getting lost as the guys who grew up with them pass away.  The manuals are mostly great, but you sure learn a lot in the field, working and testing.  Enjoy!

We cleaned everything in ultrasonic, then I bead blasted everything.  The metal needs to be 100% clean.  The brass (aluminum) is not affected by the parkerizing solutions so you can leave the plug in place.  I don't think most of the kits come with replacements for those plugs in particular so unless you are sure, I say leave them.  It is a cool process - you are going to love it.

You are welcome Kent!  Thanks for being here!

Thanks!  Glad you and Maria enjoyed Weare!I appreciate the insights re online comments...must wear my online "armor".  I heard a guy say some folks want to get taller by cutting off other people's heads....rings true!As for electronic ignition, I have been doing some research and am probably going to pick up a set to play. There is no question that electronic ignition offers finer tuning/fewer tradeoffs.  Easy starts and better advance curves so you get more power.  The programmed duty cycle is higher so folks have better luck replacing vintage coils with the "new" high output coils made by the electronic points manufacturers.  Not a cheap proposition at about $280, but....cool I suppose.I am thinking this is one of those things where there is no "right" answer.  I enjoy navigating with a map and compass when GPS does a fantastic job with zero skill required.  I think I get to be a "better operator" broadly because of skills like these, but maybe I am just a dinosaur!

You are very welcome!  I am pretty sure that this particular Sears model cannot handle 24 volts.  If you start looking on Ebay, you will find several commercial varieties with 24 volt capability.  To my knowledge, 24v was never common except military so you may end up having to find a military version.