MikeMalibu

I’ll confirm what Loren wrote. I have a HF cabinet modified with lights, gun, and cyclone vacuum connected to a 5 hp, 80 gallon compressor with driers/filters. Good for cleaning up small parts quickly. It gets dusty inside after about 10 minutes of blasting, and then I break for a few until the dust settles. The largest parts I’ve done are exhaust manifolds. For fasteners and other tiny parts, I use a vibrating tumbler. Easy - dump in the parts and media, then fish them out a few hours later almost good as new.

Yes, your skills will cross over. Multi-process welders are much more affordable now and plenty of instructional videos on YouTube.

I concur with the suggestions above and the video recommendations. Carter Auto Restyling on YouTube just did an inner/outer rocker replacement video. Same for Fitzee. Might be helpful. Suggest you first rebuild the sheet metal from the frame outwards before welding the outer rocker panels in place. Looks like you need inner rocker panels as well. Suggest replacing the body mounts before welding the outer rocker panels because that affects door gaps. You can do this.

I like your idea for a removable bracket to attach the visor to the gutter. Do you have a hold-down bracket at the center of the visor?

To Andy’s tip, I sent bumpers to be chromed without cleaning up the back side. They came back with flakey chrome on the back side (front side was perfect), so I cleaned up the surface, primed with epoxy, and coated with “chrome” paint. No problems after nearly 20 years, but could have saved time and had chrome plating if I had done some cleanup before sending out.

I’m in the process of putting a 5.9 Magnum and auto trans from a 2001 Ram pickup into a 1949 P17. Modifying the right side inner fender was one of the easier tasks, at least for my application. If you plan to keep the stock steering, get the left side exhaust manifold sorted out first. With the stock steering, the position of the engine is dependent on that part, the drive line angle you want (or need to accept), and the position of the radiator and fan. A smaller size trans helps and a pusher fan helps, neither of which I’m doing. Basically, with the stock steering and 60/70s manifold, you slide the engine forward/down and rearward/up until your satisfied with the driveline angle and modified position of the radiator/fan. Then fab and set the engine and trans mounts. You’ll probably need to modify the firewall. I modified the core support to position a puller fan and modern radiator, modified the firewall, and modified the tunnel/floor. The alternative is to replace the steering to open up the space for the engine. Neither approach makes for an easy swap.

I fit a 2001 Magnum 5.9L (360) and 46RE tranny into my 1949 business coupe. Those instructions with Butch’s kit didn’t work in my application. I’m keeping the frame and steering stock, at least for this phase of the build. I lowered the mounts below the top of the frame to keep the drivetrain angle at 3 degrees, otherwise the tranny tail would be too high in the cabin The drive side mount is about an inch in front of the steering box. I had to cut the right side mount narrower to fit between the frame & engine. The engine is offset about an inch to the right. This setup only worked because I found a HiPo exhaust manifold that wraps around the steering column. The new radiator is for a 70’s MOPAR. I modified the stock core support to hold the radiator & electric puller fan in the stock location. The fan motor is offset to the left to clear the engine’s top pulley. The main pulley fits in the grove in the frame’s cross member. I had to cut holes in the firewall to clear the back of the heads. Maybe my car’s engine bay is smaller than others because hammering dents in the firewall wasn’t enough clearance for the heads, even if I moved the engine forward. Rather than patch the firewall holes, I decided it was easier to make a new one. I’m working on the floor now, which needs most of it replaced. Hope this help

A big part of Fitzee’s character is his voice.

Where did you buy those mounts, if I may ask?

Thanks for the link

I’m rebuilding the hinges now on my ‘49 P17. The original pins measured approximately 0.34”+/-. Replacement pins were too loose. My first thought was to bore out for a bushing, but decided to just ream the hole for a 0.37” pin. If that failed, I could go larger for a bushing. I used a 9.4mm & 9.5mm core drill bit to get close, then used a hand reamer for a tight fit on each pin. That was easy. The more difficult part was dealing with the flanged holes in the bracket for the pins. The bracket is not thick enough to hold a bushing unless brazed in place, and the flange walls are not thick enough for the 0.37” pin. I used TIG to run a bead (1/16” rod) around the flanged holes to thicken the side wall, then bored & reamed to 0.37” to set the knurled head of the pin. Seems sturdy. I haven’t mounted the hinges yet to test. I did find some pins that measured 0.342 and was able to ream one of the hinge tongues from 0.341 without enlarging with the drill.

Yes, the slanted lenses are for the ‘49 business coupe, P17. You have two left lenses.

I had to use a torch and PB Blaster over several days to free up the hinges

For me, the question was the cost of rebuilding the L6, tranny, and rear end verses the cost of buying and installing those three from a low-mileage Magnum V8 vehicle. If you can do or want to do a lot of the work yourself and with friends, then the V8 cost is significantly less for mostly positive advantages. When the car is parked with the hood closed or on the road, few can tell either way, but you’ll know the difference.

Don’t throw away those parts! They can be restored. Check out the videos on www.muggyweld.com. Fill the pits, repair the cracks, then paint, powder coat, or chrome finish.