Jump to content

Steven Dell Brown

Members
  • Posts

    12
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation

6 Neutral

About Steven Dell Brown

  • Birthday 12/16/1970

Contact Methods

  • Website URL
    steven@stevendellbrown.com
  • Occupation
    An Aviation Guy

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Central Florida
  • My Project Cars
    1949 Plymouth P18
    Scary Delux
    More Door Sedan

    Those guys - "It can't be done."

    This guy - "Hold my beer..."

Converted

  • Location
    Polk City, FL
  • Interests
    Anything vintage

Recent Profile Visitors

640 profile views
  1. So who's thee go to guy or guys here for flathead build questions? We'll soon be pulling the 218 out and want to do some mods. We hope to come across another 218 or 235 to breakdown and build.The one in the car now runs perfect so we don't dare tear into it unless we have to. Just planning some "bolt on" mods for that one and fix a few minor Jerry-rigged items. As for the one we want to break down and build, well, as the pile of beer cans gets higher the ideas get bigger... I've never put my hands on a flathead before now so I'm wading into weird waters for me. So far I don't see anything on them (or the entire car for that matter) that's the least bit complicated. But, I learned years ago with an air cooled VW that sometimes something can be so simple it's complicated since we (me) tend to over think when we don't know.
  2. I have no interest in what it's worth to anyone else but me and my son. Not looking to build and sell, I'm looking to enjoy the build and enjoy the drive. As for million dollar or even 6 figure muscle cars, in my opinion, that's gratuitous, stupid and meant for the likes of any ass clown with more money than they know what to do with. I see it almost daily with aviation where some nimrod who wants to impress the masses can take a mid 60's airplane and dump hundreds of thousands into it and all it proves is that they can sign a check. If we can't have fun with it then I would haul it to the nearest scrap yard and take my 50 bucks and get lit. If buying, building and selling is someones thing then I wish them all best of luck and much success. That's not my goal by any means. I plan to make memories with my son that will be carried on with his son and his son and his son... This is my opinion.
  3. Thank you for the kind words and well wishes. I will update here as we move forward.
  4. That's interesting and makes sense as to why one might be in this condition. I have no idea where the car spent most of its life so anything is possible. Given the fact that everything else on and including the frame (other than sheet metal) are in pretty good shape my guess is that it sat with flat front tires for a long time at some point with the cross member sitting directly on the ground. Just a guess. I suppose at this point, how it got that way is irrelevant. Don't think I'll waste much time digging into the past to find out. I could spend a lot of hours that would be better spent on something else.
  5. Going to keep it 6 passenger. I've seen a lot of different "custom" seats made for cars, especially rat rods, but I like the big bench seats. Not sure how what we'll cover them with yet. That's a a ways down the road. Right now we've covered them with blue shipping blankets. As for the bumpers, will probably stick with the ones that are on there. That could change though depending on what we run across down the road. Stay tuned though, anything is possible as we continue to think out loud on what we'd like to see in the finished product. Just looking to have fun with the build. I have mad respect for the guys that tackle a full on restoration. We do it with aircraft so I know first hand how tedious it can be, especially to do it right. But for this build, we're not shooting for a restoration but rather a mild custom/rat rod.
  6. Well, I'm in search of a donor car and reached out to some junk yards out west thanks to tips from a few guys here. Thanks for that. In the meanwhile we'll be pulling of everything from from the firewall forward. I have a good friend who's one hell of a fabricator who checked it out and wants a crack at repairing the cross member. Figure it can't hurt since it has to come off anyway if he can't make it happen. The more I research, the more I like the idea of mild modifications to the stock front suspension and brakes rather than going with something all together different (assuming of course we don't find a car in better shape). The plan is to remove the springs and bag it. I want to see it lower but I like the ability to bring it back up when needed without breaking out torches and wrenches again. We're going to stick with the flatty in it but will do some mild mods to it as well. Dual exhaust dumped out of the passengers side fender just behind the tire, dual or triple carbs, 12V upgrade (didn't plan to do this but with the air ride system it's a necessary "evil") and we're kicking around the idea of a very small turbo. With the addition of the turbo we're not looking for the horsepower gains, just a cool sound and unique addition under the hood. Already got a guy working at the drawing board for this one. As for the sheet metal, we're going to strip out all of the patches and do a light sand blast then apply a spray on rust inhibitor. After that we're going to lay over the top custom made pans using primed aluminium and leaving the rivets exposed. I work in aviation managing a shop that, among other things, does aircraft restoration and modifications so this can be done in house. We are going for a mild rat rod so this will give it a cool look for all the repair work. I've attached a few photos of one example of what we do so you can get an idea of the finished look. A lot of work but it'll be cool and strong. Thanks again for every ones input. It's certainly helpful with finding out what the options are from those who have already done it.
  7. Thanks for the tip. I emailed them yesterday thanks to your post and I'm waiting to see what I hear back.
  8. I appreciate the input for sure but at $4K+ for the Revo heck no! Looks like a great product but damn. I can do a lot with 4 grand (assuming I had an extra $4K laying around). A lot of other ways I can go and spend a fraction of that on the front end. None of them easy or "cheap" I know. We are weighing all options.
  9. Amazingly none of the front suspension or brake parts are rusted out (perhaps they were replaced along the way but given the dirt build up on them I doubt it) and the rest of the frame is in good shape. I could be wrong but I suspect the front end of this car sat on the ground at some point for many years. The floor pans are rough too but I've actually seen plenty of others in worse shape. As for cutting and welding in a subframe/front clip I certainly wouldn't tackle that alone. I know a few guys who have done several that know what they are doing (at least a whole lot more than I do). I do have a mid 90's S10 that's intact and rolling. Motor is shot in it so I picked it up for a few hundred bucks. I could do a full frame swap. No easy, quick or cheap answer I know but I figured as much before we ever got started. This ain't for faint of heart or the broke (that part comes about mid way through the project).
  10. Finally getting under the the front end and it looks pretty bad. Not sure there is anything left to patch up. Every piece in the front suspension, brakes and frame all look good. Definitely restorable but the cross member itself looks like it may be too far gone. After looking at how the front suspension is built I can see why most would advise keeping it stock other than relocating the upper shock mount and upgrading to disc brakes. Looks like I may be in the market for a donor car. Would you say this cross member is too far gone to repair and salvage? I plan to keep the 218 in it but we do want to lower it.
  11. Thanks for the quick responses! Man, after checking out the thread by casper50 I feel so much better about my heap. It's not near as bad as that 47 when it started! I'll work on getting some good pictures of everything posted so folks can see what we have to work with. I've already been in touch with Mr. Akers at RustyHope. I'm only a few miles away from his shop so that will help. I hope to go by his place soon and pick his brain in person. Please, keep the advice and insight coming. It is greatly appreciated. I hope to be cruising around with my son as soon as possible. Even if that means throwing something over the holes in the floor!
  12. Hello all. My name is Steven Brown and I am new to the forum and I , along with my 17 year old son Noah, are the new owners of a 1949 Plymouth Delux 4 door sedan. Picked up the car for next to nothing and trailered it home. It was sitting at the edge of field with weeds growing up around it so I stopped in and next thing you know, I'm dragging the thing home. Once we got it home and got a better look at everything I started to realize I might have just purchased a heap. The good news is, with little effort we got it fired up and moving under it's own power. The old six runs smooth and strong and is still on 6 volt positive ground. Vacuum advance is no good so we have to ease into it but it'll pick up and go. The bad news is that the brakes are not intact and it has some serious rust issues. The floor pans are pretty well shot. Once we got the ragged carpet out we discovered that the carpet was all that kept us from driving like Fred Flinstone. The frame looks ok except the front cross member is done. Now I'm sure the floor pans and trunk area can be cut out (what's left of it) and replaced but the cross member has us questioning what we want to do since it needs to be replaced and it need brakes. I doubt we will go all out to restore it to showroom condition. It's just something my son and I plan to have fun with and I can teach him a thing or two (and learn myself too). It will probably end up being a mild rat rod. We want to leave the flathead 6 in there and even leave it 6 volt positive ground. I love the sound of that starter as it groans to bring the engine to life. My question for the folks here is would we be better off to hunt down a replacement cross member and stick with 4 wheel drum brakes or should we go with another front clip and change over to disc brakes. I've never done this so I'll be relying on the help of those who know to guide us through it and help us out. I do have a mid 90's S10 that doesn't run so that frame and running gear is available to us. Is there a better option than the S10? Is just using the front clip the best option or the whole thing? I'm sure many guys have gone either way so I'd like to hear your experiences and advice.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Terms of Use