Leaderboard

In the early 1930s oil filters were standard on Plymouths. By the mid to late 1930s the lower end (business, Road King, etc.) models had dropped them, my guess being for production cost reasons. Implying they were always an accessory prior to 1954 is wrong. Periodic maintenance in the 1930s included dropping and cleaning the pan. For example the DeLuxe Plymouth Six Instruction Book for 1933 says The point being that sludge in the engine is bad regardless of the type of oil. It can come loose at any time and clog the bearings, etc. The solution is to remove the sludge from the engine, not to avoid oil with detergent additives. Those additives, by the way, are not sufficient to loosen old sludge. They are designed simply to keep new sludge from forming. The old sludge may loosen any time the engine is being run simply by the flow of oil though the ares where the sludge exists.

I would suggest as a first step that you remove all the hubs and drums in order to inspect the overall condition. Pull back the rubber boots on the cylinders to check for seepage. Assess the lining thickness. Clean dust and grime off the backing plate. If all seems serviceable, lube the contact points of the shoes and backing plate. Assemble, adjust, bleed if needed and top off fluid. If any issues are found, like leaks or worn shoes, repair as needed. Please don't rush this or take shortcuts. Brakes on older cars need to be in top shape to operate in modern traffic.

I'm getting to point on my 48 Desoto where I'm going to start shooting some primer. I took auto body and paint classes back in the 1980s and painted two or three cars with acrylic enamel with a hardener back then. I decided on maroon for my car and painted the rims and the firewall that color. I changed my mind on the color choice though, so I'll have to paint them again. I did all my painting with the conventional high pressure siphon spray guns back then. I just bought a super cheap HVLP kit for just $90 bucks at Harbor Freight. It's just for painting fences and maybe I'll try shooting some auto primer with it. It's just a single stage unit, but this demo on Youtube looks promising. There are better kits of course for around five or six hundred. Also I included an old 1988 pic of me in my car showing my painting efforts with the maroon paint.

DCM has door checks for your truck. https://dcmclassics.com/home/615-i-137-55-door-checksstops.html

Welcome to the forum. You said you have or had a 52 Merc. If you worked on those brakes then the 49 should be that different. The 52 Merc had the Bendix brakes with the wheel adjuster at the bottom and single wheel cylinder at the top. The Plymouth has the Lockheed brakes The big difference is the way you adjust the shoes to the drum. Your service manual will tell you how. Easy Peasy. As far as no brake light check the brake light switch, should be about 2 feet forward of the Master cylinder. Joe Lee

I swapped my rear end with a dana 35c on my 51.. had it rebuilt to 355 posi.. just had to relocate the leaf spring perch's over 1/2" ..

I use those same pins but six of them... one at each pan corner to keep the corner gaskets exactly where they need to be. One each side in the center. I have done this on many engines. I also use eight small push pins to hold the pan gaskets to the end gaskets as shown..two at each corner. I want the gaskets to stay where they need to be and not squirt out of place.

Here are the guide pins that I found very useful for installing the pan. They are made from 5/16" bolts and one on each side of the pan was enough to get all the holes aligned so the bolts could be started. Slip the pan over the pins, then hold the pan up with one hand while starting a couple of bolts. Of course, a jack could be used to hold the pan in place.....but that would be too practical....

How true, and we picked up cars for $40 and $50 and drove them with pleasure. Different times for sure.? John R

unlike Robert, I miss our pennies and one and two dollar bills but I am hearkening back to the days when the currency was worth more. A 20 cent beer when I need one , penny parking meters and when $2 would buy at least half a tank of gas. Alas, gone like our youth too soon.

Just about finished with the 2 basement bathrooms for my son.

Lots of topics lately on here about brakes. If you search, there is a lot of great helpful responses here. Most folks ask the same questions. I too did the same when I started to tackle my brakes for the first time. Most of our brakes are all the same.

You sold the car to the right person Don. Glad to see he is enjoying it and it makes you feel good about it.

far from new...…..and way far from good.....this was introduced back in the 80's was ineffective overall then and I suspect it to as much now...our paint shop experimented with it...was rated inferior quickly....they disappeared quickly

What about a Jeep Wrangler or Cherokee frame? Would that work to make a 4x4?

And a shot where you can see the door card with it too

Stock rear end. AAJ disc conversion. Went on with no problems.