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'50 Plymouth arrived


matt167

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Finally, snow broke and melted, and I got my '50 Plymouth home. Brakes need work, they stop but don't sound good. It's probably rust but I have to be sure. I don't think the guy was 100% truthful although he wanted to seem that way.. But I can work with it. I planned on Scarebird front brakes anyway, but I might have to rebuild the rears. It does drive pretty smooth and the engine feels strong

50ply.jpg

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46 minutes ago, matt167 said:

Finally, snow broke and melted, and I got my '50 Plymouth home. Brakes need work, they stop but don't sound good. It's probably rust but I have to be sure. I don't think the guy was 100% truthful although he wanted to seem that way.. But I can work with it. I planned on Scarebird front brakes anyway, but I might have to rebuild the rears. It does drive pretty smooth and the engine feels strong

50ply.jpg

Make sure you replace the brake lines,the brake hoses,and the wheel cylinders.    This isn't the place to cut corners.

 

Seriously nice score,though.

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Yes, it's original paint. Rockers are gone but everything else is solid. The guy told me he redid the brakes, except the lines but the rubber hoses are new. If that's true it will be obvious once I get into it and I'll just run new Nicopp line, along with whatever it needs

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Mechanically 100% and then just drive it. Probably scarebird front discs.. I'm going to repaint the wheels to a more stock color and put the caps back on and also repair the trunk latch. I have a bypass spin on oil filter mount that I'm going to install since previous owner removed the disposable  and didn't replace with anything.

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2 hours ago, matt167 said:

Mechanically 100% and then just drive it.  .

LOVE it! Not everything needs to be restored or modified,and seeing basically stock unrestored cars being drive around will probably inspire some people to look for their own old cars to fix as "drivers". People that just have a casual interest in old cars are intimidated by the complexity,expense,and time of a restoration,but showing them it's ok to just put one back on the road without spending tens of thousands on a restoration is ok,too.

 

Plus,even some people that might prefer a restoration just don't have the tools,the time,the experience,or even a place to work with the room needed to do a restoration may even come to understand a presentable,if not perfect,car you can drive beats the  hell out of something you MIGHT be able to drive several years from now if everything goes perfectly.

 

AND....,IMNSHO,it's driver cars that people see running around locally on trips to the store,etc,etc,etc that pulls new blood into the hobby,not show cars at car shows. People that go to car shows are already interested in old cars.

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2 hours ago, matt167 said:

Mechanically 100% and then just drive it. Probably scarebird front discs.. I'm going to repaint the wheels to a more stock color and put the caps back on and also repair the trunk latch. I have a bypass spin on oil filter mount that I'm going to install since previous owner removed the disposable  and didn't replace with anything.

safety items like brakes is showing good judgement.  Painting the wheels shows good taste...lol  (how many going to kick that comment).....the oil filter being put back on the car will help give peace of mind.  I am currently working a car to be as found with only regards to safety and dependability being addressed at this time.   One that I can take to town and park while I go shopping.

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The 50 is my all time favourite.  I have not been without one for 54 years !     You never get tired of that beautiful dashboard especially if the radio is installed.

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On 4/2/2018 at 7:12 PM, matt167 said:

Finally, snow broke and melted, and I got my '50 Plymouth home. Brakes need work, they stop but don't sound good. It's probably rust but I have to be sure. I don't think the guy was 100% truthful although he wanted to seem that way.. But I can work with it. I planned on Scarebird front brakes anyway, but I might have to rebuild the rears. It does drive pretty smooth and the engine feels strong

50ply.jpg

 

That's a good looking car.. Hard to find around here in that condition.. 

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When I got my '51 Chevy, it was in similar condition except the paint wasn't as nice, but I wanted a nice car. So for years I worked on and off, and eventually got it painted but the color wasn't what I wanted, then because I put everything into asthetics, it always had a mechanical or electrical issue of some sort that prevented me from taking it far. Eventually it just sat around and I ended up selling it.  So, I'm not going to do the same thing again.

 

It's funny, because when I was looking for an old car right before I bought my '51 Chevy, a guy local had 2 old Plymouths, a '49 4dr and a '50 2dr, both in really nice shape.. For $1,200 for the pair.. The deciding factor with those though, were they were locked up and I was allowed one car only, and the Chevy turned over, so I got the Chevy

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4 minutes ago, matt167 said:

When I got my '51 Chevy, it was in similar condition except the paint wasn't as nice, but I wanted a nice car. So for years I worked on and off, and eventually got it painted but the color wasn't what I wanted, then because I put everything into asthetics, it always had a mechanical or electrical issue of some sort that prevented me from taking it far. Eventually it just sat around and I ended up selling it.  So, I'm not going to do the same thing again.

 

It's funny, because when I was looking for an old car right before I bought my '51 Chevy, a guy local had 2 old Plymouths, a '49 4dr and a '50 2dr, both in really nice shape.. For $1,200 for the pair.. The deciding factor with those though, were they were locked up and I was allowed one car only, and the Chevy turned over, so I got the Chevy

Ahhh,the perfect getting in the way of the practical!  It's a old sad,sad story that most of us are familiar with. We all start out with stars in our eyes,but those of us who weren't born into cubic money end up having to face the reality in the end that states "No matter how pretty it is,it's junk if you can't drive it."

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Well, I had the car out for a local cruise.. And it came home on a flatbed. Quit right in the middle of the road probably 3 miles from my house. I had a fire extinguisher and my cell phone, but I didn't think I'd need any tools, silly me.. Anyway, the points are fried and under the dist cap is a carbon mess.. I probably could have cleaned them up and got it home but no tools. Now I'm just waiting on new. The coil wire does not fit the cap well so I think that's what caused the burn

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Found gold in the glovebox. Receipts galore, including a receipt for a .060 over rebuilt engine from From Fuller Engines. Receipt's for the engine install suggest around 1975. The engine number matches the card but it was ground off and re stamped as many re builders do, so I don't know displacement. The car was put away from 1980- 2017 when it was sold at the old lady's estate sale.

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5 hours ago, matt167 said:

Well, I had the car out for a local cruise.. And it came home on a flatbed. Quit right in the middle of the road probably 3 miles from my house. I had a fire extinguisher and my cell phone, but I didn't think I'd need any tools, silly me.. Anyway, the points are fried and under the dist cap is a carbon mess.. I probably could have cleaned them up and got it home but no tools. Now I'm just waiting on new. The coil wire does not fit the cap well so I think that's what caused the burn

I always made it mandatory that I carry a dist cap,points,rotor,and condenser in my trunk of any points car I drove. As it happened I never once needed them,but it was a great comfort to know they were there. Especially back in the pre-cell phone dark ages of the 1960's. I usually carried a spare coil,too.

I still do it today,though. Cheap insurance. Especially compared to what roll-back rides cost these days.

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Well ironically, the guy had the old coil in a box in the glove box. And a new set of points that he did not install for some reason ( he told me filed and gapped ).. The real reason the car died is the rotor is burned through. The tang is actually missing. He did put a brand new cap and condenser on but who knows about the rotor.. If I had a screwdriver, a rotor and a file I could have drove it home

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Ahh the joys of finding all the hidden problems of a new-to-you old car. I’ve been there. My suggestion is get it up, wheels an drums off and go through everything. Then start venturing farther from home in confidence. 

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Got it running again. Fixed the coil wire that did not fit right by making an entirely new wire and put a new rotor in it and it fired off on the first revolution running smoother than ever... I still have another cap to put on it but the cap is actually ok, and a set of points and plugs but at least it runs

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On 4/4/2018 at 12:14 PM, Plymouthy Adams said:

I am currently working a car to be as found with only regards to safety and dependability being addressed at this time.   One that I can take to town and park while I go shopping.

NY spring hasn't been too promising, but I use my 51 as a daily driver weather permitting.

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26 minutes ago, 51cambridge said:

NY spring hasn't been too promising, but I use my 51 as a daily driver weather permitting.

As far as I can tell,spring hasn't sprung anywhere in the country. Here it is the end of the first week in April,and it's like the first week of March usually is.

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