Smokeywolf Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Sorry a bit late in posting just found the thread The car is a 39Dodge B/coupe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopar Mick Posted February 15, 2015 Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 Looking real good Chris. Did you replace the water distribution tube before re-fitting the water pump? Good time to do it whilst the engine is out of the car. Body looks in pretty good condition. Keep up the good work. Mick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted February 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) So i got a little bit more done. There wasn't a very good place to attach the throttle return spring on the piece of linkage that crosses the cylinder head to the carb. I grabbed a 1/4" flat washer and hack sawed it in half. Then welded that to the underside of the linkage rod (Pic 1). To connect the other end of the spring i made a small bracket out of 1/8" thick steel that mounts to the intake manifold (Pic 2,3). This actually works very nicely now and i know that the spring has two sturdy attachment points. I then turned my attention to the rotted out running boards on the car. I was able to remove the passenger side one (Pic 7). I'm going to end up fabricating a new set from 18 ga steel. As i was fighting with the running board to release it from the rusty crusty bolts holding it. I uncovered a very high class piece of metal work the previous owner had done . He riveted that flimsy little piece of steel on and filled the rest back up with bondo. I then saw what was hiding underneath (Pic 4,5,6). I'll have to fabricate some new patch panels for that area as well. Next steps are to remove the driver side running board which is as shot at the passenger side and uncover any more A+ sheet metal work. Smokeywolf: Thanks for the info on the lights, yours look really nice. Mick: I didn't replace the water distribution tube, but i did have a look at the one in there and it still looked good and rust free. I was pleasantly surprised that when i looked at the internals of the engine i found things where pretty clean and in good shape. Someone had the engine bored .030" over not to long before i got it. Thanks for looking, -Chris Edited February 17, 2015 by 1952B3b23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathbound Posted February 17, 2015 Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 With your metal skills, those repairs & new running boards should be a piece of cake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted February 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 With your metal skills, those repairs & new running boards should be a piece of cake. Thanks for the compliments. The metal work is my favorite part so I'm looking forward to it. The front lower portion of the cowl (where the front fenders bolt) will need to be replaced too. I'll have to post up some pics of those areas. -Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted March 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 I've been plugging away at some metal work that needs to be done on the car. The first area i tackled was the drivers side lower cowl where the front fender bolts onto the car (Pic 1). This spot is badly rusted/rotted so i decided to replace a good portion of it. I crafted the patch panel seen in pics 2-6, in two pieces, then TIG welded them together and metal finished it so that the seam has become practically invisible. To make the patch panel i used a leather beater bag, shaping mallet, and my english wheel. I then used some sheet metal screws to fasten the patch panel to the car and outline where i needed to cut. I trimmed everything out and went ahead and tacked the panel in using MIG. I was then able to fully weld the top and right side (door side) of the patch panel with TIG. Unfortunately i had to use the MIG welder for the left side seam of the panel, it was to awkward of a position for me to TIG weld. I still have to finish the radiused portion of the panel (which is the part that's completely missing right now). I already have that piece made but it needs to be tuned up to fit the opening better. I also have not finished dressing all the welds yet to make them look better, they just got a quick round of grinding while i waited for other areas of the panels to cool. I'm not sure how far i will go with the weld dressing since a good portion of the panel is hidden behind the fender and i have a bunch of other areas on the car that need metal work. I also patched up the hole that was in the top of the cowl from an arrow that someone had shot at the car (Pic 7,8). Stay tuned for more metal work, and thanks for looking, -Chris 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casper50 Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 nice. one bite at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted March 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 nice. one bite at a time. Thanks. I'm slowly chipping away at it, hoping to have it back together for some summer time cruising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted March 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 I got a little more patching done, the radiused portion of the patch panel is in. Pic 1 - Before Pic 2 - After -Chris 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fstfish66 Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 loooking good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted March 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 loooking good Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted April 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 A little bit more progress, im finally done with the passenger side lower cowl repair. This is the area where the front fenders bolt to the car and it has certainly seen better days. I've attached before and after pics. If anyone is wondering all the patch panels are hand made by me. Thanks for looking, -Chris 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fstfish66 Posted April 19, 2015 Report Share Posted April 19, 2015 nice job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted May 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 Thanks "fstfish66". I've been chipping away at the car. I started the process of removing the king pins and currently have the front spindles off to a machine shop to ream the bushings to size. I will hopefully have these back this week and can reassemble that. I also replaced the 4 tie rod ends on the long and short tie rods, not the most exciting stuff but it definitely needed it. Every tie rod end was completely busted. I also fabbed up some upper shock mounts to improve the handling of the car. The upper mount is now attached to the frame where it should have been from factory. I made the mounts from 3/8" plate with a 5/8" bolt to mount the shock. I first drew a paper template (kinda looks like the lock-ness monster haha) then cut that out of 18 ga sheet. I was then able to use the sheet metal template as a guide to cut the pieces with the plasma cutter. This was much easier and neater than free handing it and having to go back and grind a ton to get it to a nice smooth shape. They're now welded to the frame and looking pretty good. The shocks im running are just a NAPA brand, part number 94038 and where about $26 each. Thanks for looking, -Chris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathbound Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted May 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 Thanks deathbound. Can anyone recommend a front sway bar to install to replace the original? I've heard of people installing ones from jeeps, are there certain years that work best? I removed the drivers side sway bar link this afternoon and found that it was broken inside of where it passes through the rubber piece attached to the frame. Perfect time to upgrade. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1952B3b23 Posted May 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 Can anyone give me some tips on removing the various switches/ controls off my dash? I tried unscrewing the knobs and couldn't get them to go. I want to replace the 75 yr old wiring and being able to remove the headlight switch and such would make it much easier. Thanks in advance, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathbound Posted May 14, 2015 Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 I think this member:http://p15-d24.com/user/236-townwagon/was selling switch nut removal tools. As far as the knobs, not sure about the '39, but the knobs on my '38 have a small hole & you depress the "spring steel", which allows me to slide the knob off the shaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted May 14, 2015 Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 (edited) Here is the tool from his ebay store. I bought one from him and it works for my '48 Dodge D25 and for my '38 Chrysler. He has other similar tools so if you want to look at them all just go to his store and in the search box put in tool. If in doubt if it will work for you, just contact him and ask questions. The tool I got looked like what is on the site, is well made, and it works GREAT! http://www.ebay.com/itm/1948-1949-1950-1951-1952-1953-Dodge-Pickup-Panel-Truck-Wiper-Switch-Nut-Tool-/151435671163?vxp=mtr&hash=item234244f67b Edited May 14, 2015 by RobertKB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 He's also a member on here although I don't know how often he visits. I bought mine direct through here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathbound Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 He's also a member on here although I don't know how often he visits. I bought mine direct through here. Yep, mentioned in post# 93. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Yep, mentioned in post# 93. You mentioned that I bought mine directly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathbound Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 You mentioned that I bought mine directly? That he (townwagon) is a member on here that sells the tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadkingcoupe Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Can anyone give me some tips on removing the various switches/ controls off my dash? I tried unscrewing the knobs and couldn't get them to go. I want to replace the 75 yr old wiring and being able to remove the headlight switch and such would make it much easier. Thanks in advance, Chris I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong....BUT On a 1939 Plymouth the knobs are held on by an integral "spring" clip. There is a slot that runs down the barrel of the knob and the clip needs to be "decompressed" by sliding a mini flat head screw driver away from the dash up towards the driver. Once that is done the knob slides easily off. After that you simply unscrew the "bezel" The tool mentioned in this post is for later years. Not necessary for a 1939 vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 It works on my '38 Chrysler as I have used it to remove bezels that were otherwise hard to remove. Yes, the actual knobs are removed as mentioned above but that is only part of removing a switch or cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.