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Here’s an old Mopar story I thought was pretty cool. Last week end I attended my Uncles 85th Birthday celebration. He likes old cars so I drove my 48 Dodge club coupe to show him. He tells me he had one just like it a long time ago. He also tells me about how they rolled it one night returning from the drive in but he wasn’t driving. My Aunt was along for that ride too and no one was hurt. I ask if the doors popped open and they said no. They kicked out the windshield to get out of the car. The Dodge was repaired. Neither one could tell me what movie they saw that night. The B & W photo is from 1953

I finally got my hands on my uncles car. It's a 1950 Plymouth Special Deluxe. He got the car from my great grandfather in 1988. ive been trying to buy it from him since. i sold off my 67 Belvedere , theee years ago and got my hands on a 50 special deluxe since I couldn't have his. he ended up giving it to his sons about two years ago and they couldn't do anything with it. in fact, neither one of them had ever put their hands inside an old car, much less an old mopar. they finally let me get my grubby hands on it. it took a carb rebuild and a fuel pump replacement but I got it running in a matter of hours. New wheels, brake job and floor repair are first on the list. old original rims aren't holding air with a radial. probably going with an unpainted smoothie that will painted to match the roof, when it's done.

Hi, I just got aware of that topic. I think every possible source was considered in the comments, so it actually needs no further idea ... but I have a possibilty that at least might be worth to try out. I also have an PT81 and I also had that kind of vibration. Idles very smooth and runs smooth up to about 85 km/h - 53 mph. (Whatever smooth means with that old trucks ). The vibrations that occured deterred me to go 1 mph faster! In the meantime I had to remove and reinstall my transmission. I did not change something on the transmission that should have an effect on vibrations. But after I had reinstalled eveything, the vibrations where gone! Of course I was very surprised! I could have left it as it is, but now I was noisy. Screwed off the propeller shaft flange at the transmission side, turned it by 90 ° and .... had some vibrations. Did the same by another 90° ... vibrations. I tested every possibility (another 90°, turned the shaft from front to back, ...). Found back to a installation that doesn`t cause vibrations. In order to make it short: although my shaft and flanges seemed to fit without noticeable play, it must have had an slight effect on the unbalance oft the propeller shaft. Maybe not the perfect technical solution but very easy and cheap to test Best regards, Jan

I painted the inside of my rims with rustoeum, a couple coats, to fix the air leak problem. You might could try some type of rubberized coating also or 'Flex Seal'.

Stream ecologist (biologist) currently working on the habitat for 9 endangered aquatic species . MS degree has allowed me to work in my field since graduation 36 yrs ago. Unfortunately, at this point in my career I have to deal with more of the Engineering Firms and developers, so I spend less time in the field and more behind a desk.

OK....so I recently rebuilt the brake system on my B1B Dodge truck. This left me with a bunch of non-useable parts. I dissected the three hoses and the one old brake line. This truck was my daily driver in the early '70s and I mothballed it I think '74 or '75. It's been sitting for awhile. So I took pictures of these items and will try to attach them to this post. There is a photo showing the outside of the hard brake line and the degree of rust on the OD. I cut this tube lengthwise for an inch or so to see if it was rusted on the inside. I can't say it looked rusty but it certainly had a black coating on the inside that didn't seem to wipe away but could be scraped off. At this point I tipped the line and was surprised to see that there was still fluid in the line. I dumped the fluid onto a white card and it can clearly be seen that the fluid is contaminated with particles of rust of various sizes. Then cut the three hoses and found they all had different IDs. IDs were .070", .090, and .110 ". Must have been individually replaced at some time and all came from different sources The end of one hose fitting was completely pinched closed so I cut this fitting in half lengthwise and rolled the hose out of one half of the fitting. Looks to me like the inside of this hose fitting rusted and as the layer of rust grew it reduced the ID of the fitting and pinched the hose to the point were it was completely closed off. So what I learned from all this was that although the OD of the hose is about 1/2 inch, the ID is small enough that it could be easily closed off if it got clogged with debris like the rust particles from the hard line. Having the lines rust on the inside even though they are filled with hyd. fluid is possible. The ID of a rusting component can be reduced as the rust layer grows. Also, I once had a '65 Chevelle were the right rear wheel would lock up and skid when the brake was applied. Checked the brake on the right rear and all looked good. Pulled the left rear brake and found the friction material was contaminated with oil from a leaking axle seal. Recommend you check your other brakes for contamination as the right front brake may be trying to compensate for other non-effective brakes. Also, my daughter had a '87 escort where the left front wheel would lock up after the car had been driven for a while and making multiple stops during the trip. This was a disc brake situation. Traced it down to the brake hose going to this brake. It had a 1 inch wide steel clamp that wrapped completely around the hose at about mid length and held the hose to a bracket on the front strut. This clamp had rusted to the point where it choked off the hose ID. The thinking was that pedal pressure could go to the brake but once pedal pressure was released pressure would not be released properly because the hose was constricted. Maybe some of this will help you diagnos your situation. Regards Attachments (43).zip

I took this photo September 9th while in Moncton, New Brunswick. This piece of steel from a girder from the World Trade Center was on its way to Gander, Newfoundland for a ceremony on the 11th, commemorating the people of Gander for their help 15 years ago.

Some updating on this wandering trip. I got some great suggestions, followed as many as I could. Started at Niagara Falls, the wife's #1 request. Spent 2 days touring everything in the area, including a 5 hour tour with the best tour guide I can recall ever going with. Woke up Sunday morning with another - or more - high fever, another ER visit in the middle of the night. Got a little better, then visited the Pierce Arrow museum in Buffalo. Well worth the time, great recommendation. Then on to Letchworth State Park. Planned to stay 2 days, but we closed them for the season after one night. Again, great recommendation. Then headed for Vermont. Never been there. What a pretty place. I think everything in Vermont is in the middle of nowhere! Wife wanted to go to a Vermont Country Store. I never heard of them, but I guess they are a big deal. So, she plugged their address into the GPS for Manchester, VT. Finally found it, pulled in to find we were at their company headquarters, there is no store in that town! She was a bit upset. Went on to Mt. Tabor, where I picked up a 60's 90 hp Mercury outboard motor I'd located, then over a narrow Forrest service road, over the mountain to Weston where there really was a country store. I can assure you that cost more than the outboard. From there we went on to Stowe, and a huge high class lodge where the trade show, the destination of the whole trip, was located. Leaving this morning (actually feeling much better now) for central Missouri with a big trailer full of goodies from the show. Straight shot, no more sightseeing. Thanks to all for your suggestions. Even people we met who live on the east coast never heard of the state park.

A while back I purchased a pair of 6 volt L E D taillights from the Technostalgia Company. They have been making and selling both taillights and a brake light for P15s for several years.....but they are12 volt. (I believe Don Coatney has that set on his Plymouth.) Then I noticed on eBay they offered a 6 volt version......as my car is still 6V. When I finally got around to calling the company,they said they have stopped making the 6V type due to low sales. But, since I am acquainted with Todd, the company owner, i asked if there was any way I could get a set. He graciously humored me and had them make up one more set of 6V taillights. (I did not get the brake light). Thanks Todd and Technostalgia. The instructions say that if the only L E D items are the two taillights........then you "should" be able to keep using your original signal flasher unit. However, that did not work for me. So, I tried another flasher sent to me sometime back by, I think, Fred (Rockwood/Fargoes GoFar) in Canada. It is made from clear plastic rather than metal......and it worked for me. So, now, I have brighter tail, stop and brake lights as well as easier to see turn signals. The L E D bulb pattern you see when lighted does not look original......but who cares as long as they can be seen easier.

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. We lost our Dog and Cat within a year of each other - 16 or 17 years ago, both due to age and health. The best medicine is to go find a new friend at the shelter. We got two rescue cats a year apart after the others were gone. The oldest of these two cats - Sox - is now 15 1/2, and I dread the day when he goes. He is a Maine coon and the damned smartest, gentle, most handsome, friendly cat we've ever had. Acts like a dog...I feel for you.

Had a 1973 Dodge B-100 van with a slant 6. Swapped the engine out one winter. (outside) I don't remember why. It had a sometime vibration before the swap. Not the reason for the swap. Still had it after the swap. Annoying vibration, but not horrible, any not all the time. Years down the road. Spun a bearing, or maybe more than one. Replaced some bearings out in the yard. Ran it more miles. More time passed. While returning from NY to Michigan from leave after leaving a Thruway stop while getting back up to speed the oil pressure light came on. I was able to make it to a friends house to leave the van. Rented a car to return to Michigan, and looked for an engine. Found a Plymouth Duster with a frame that was giving up as a donor vehicle. Had grand visions of driving it back to NY to swap out the engine. That plan fell through as the rust out proved to be to much for the front suspension to keep the tires from rubbing in places where they should not. Borrowed a Toyota Landrover, and towed the van back to Michigan. Did the engine swap on base at the auto hobby shop. No more vibration. Difference was that this time I swapped the car engine flywheel, clutch disk, and pressure plate along with the engine. I was going to keep the larger clutch and pressure plate that was in the van, but just did the straight swap even though it was smaller.

That would be really cool if you could open the door and step through the gate, like a service door, without having to open the whole gate.

Cheers 59bisquik, Thanks for all your comments, as with most rebuilds, well mine anyway, there is not a big budget so just getting it all back together will be a challenge. As I mentioned before the drums, shoes and cylinders all look new, so I need to sort out a master cylinder, new hard and soft brake pipes and that will be that for the stopping side of things. If they dont seem good enough then the discs will be programmed in. I am not in any rush building this truck, just enjoying working on it and finding out about how its put together, solid old things arnt they ? Hone the bores tomorrow and blast all the water ways out then its a matter of putting back crank and camshafts and then waiting for piston rings to arrive along with all the other goodies I have in mind........... I decided to join a walking football ( English type ) today and now have knee strapped up and a big toe nail all black and ache all over, dont bode well for the honing job tomorrow.................Thanks again, Dave....thrashfit

Try using a heat gun or sneaking a hair dryer out to the garage first, no actual flames involved then unless softened grease drips into the heat gun.

Nice, this thread is back up on top. Always interesting to see the eclectic lines of work we all have. A few occupations I never new existed, but (duh) stuff that has to be done. I've moved up and over. Promoted to Chief Patrol Agent for the U.S. Border Patrol's Houlton Sector last year. While employed with Uncle Sugar (this time) I've gone from south Texas, to west Texas, to southeast New Mexico, to Michigan, to western New York, and now Maine. More specifically, we live in northern Maine and my indoor office is in Hodgdon, but the entire State is my worksite (uber cool, half the time I drive a desk, the other half I run amok throughout the State.) Worked in warehousing in NJ for a couple years waiting for USBP to hire me, before that a stint in the Army in Germany holding back the communist horde, then at Ft. Bragg jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. Before that I did general maintenance (anything mechanical, to include the airplanes) and gofer work for a crop dusting company in Santa Rosa, TX. High school before that with the obligatory grocery store bag-boy and stocker experience.

David, how about this one? '17 DB Roadster on a '27 chassis. 5 main D series 4 cylinder.

At the HAMB drags in 2013, I ran my Model A sedan with a cammed 218, two B&Bs, open headers, three speed, and 4.10 gears. Best time was 18.5 at 76mph. It was not pulling like I thought it should. I had to shift at 32-3300RPM. When I got it back home, found out that the linkage was binding/sticking and was not going past 2/3 throttle! I was disappointed with the time, I wanted to get into the 17's, and I really think it would have done it. After fixed it was pulling through 4500RPM!

Congratulations. These are my favorite cars with a beautiful dashboard. I have never been without a 50 Plymouth since 1965. Your car has one of the few visors that was actually made to fit this body rather than the universal type. There is no reason why the original rims will not hold air with tubeless tires. Best to use the brass valve stems since for some demented reason the valve holes in the wheels are oval. The brass stems also keep the wheel covers from creeping. The paint on your left front fender looks like somebody spilled battery acid on it but I see no rust-out and the bumpers and stainless trim are all in good shape.

shouldn't that read "I'm in NEED of house maintenance..."

I used a 1989 Dakota front clip. It slips right in. Got power steering and disc brakes with it. Put a 318 on it with only a slight dent with a hammer on the firewall to accommodate.

What a great way to bring back some good old memories for your uncles 85th birthday. Get to ask him a lot of questions about what he has seen over his lifetime, you will amazed at what this will do for his spirits and also his mind. They all went through some hard times and then the good time after war and also the depression. They gave up a lot and the current generation will never know what they did for this great country. They sacrificed a lot, worked hard to get their first home and new car, saw the advent of Intersate highways, phones without operator service, plane and jet travel, rockets and space travel going from witing letters to using a typewriter manual then electric, then to computers and cellphone and all the new gadets of today, microwaves instead of good old fashion mom making a home cooked meal, Fresh food and vegetable and not having bread and milk that can sit on the shelf for weeks. The milkman making a daily delivery to your doorstep, cream that floated to the top of the milk glass bottle, the paper cap, the fuller brush man and his brooms, the bread man, the iceman, getting letters in the mail that were hand written in cursive and not an email with accronyms and widgets. And the best of all live was better and people respected each other. Instead of travel at breakneck speeds they travels around 40-50 MPH and going to grandmoms and granddads house was a nice family trip. remember the times spent at the diner table talking about what happened the excitement of things learned and the conversations and also they did not have tv but listens to radio and had to use their mind to vision in their heads what was happening. The big bands and the swing music dancing while holding onto each other and looking into each others eyes and the smiles on each others face. This why the marriages lasted longer and there was a great bond between these two great people that you have posted a picture. And bet of all she is still standing with her husband even thought he is bound to a wheelchair. rich HArtung

Keep your property secure. Make a half car gate.

Very Cool! you obviously live in an area similar to ours...we have seasonal apple pickers.

Which of those cars is yours? DJ

I used Scarebird kit on my car. Installed a year ago I think. Easy. They send you what you need and include a list of the other items you need to get. I never did a disc brake conversion before and had no problems installing and it works great.