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I got the GPS installed today

I thought I would share a few successes that I have had recently as I have been completely restoring my 48 Plymouth Special Deluxe sedan. I will start with the stainless steel fender moulding trim that was really in bad shape. Both of my front two fender mouldings (left & right) were severely creased inwards and looked horrible. I was able to restore them to where you can hardly see any deformities. I took two pieces of Oak wood and filed them with a couple wood rasps to conform to what the moulding should look like. For my mold, I used a section of the moulding that was not creased that I wanted the rest to look like. Then I filed one piece of wood that is cupped that the outside face of the moulding would lay on. I file the other piece of wood a little rounded with a little bit of a point would was fit inside the moulding. Then I sandwiched the moulding between the two pieces of wood and placed them on some carpet. I would then start hammering the top piece of wood into the moulding - starting where the crease was just beginning. I would then move back and forth with nice brisk strikes of the hammer on the wood. It only took about 15 minutes worth of hammering to straighten out the crease into the original form. I thought I might leave all kinds of noticeable dents/dings in the moulding, but I was surprised it didn't. It's not perfect, but unless I point it out you wouldn't even notice. Here are a few pictures that show the before during and after.

This is a chart of Plymouth carburetor I.D. numbers from 1928 to 1974. This company sell rebuild kits, and there is some great info on their site. https://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Kplymouth.htm

For those of you who are OCD clock watchers... A holder for your pocket watch.

I came across this rebuild tip from the Cascade Pacific Plymouth Club https://www.cascadepacificplymouth.org/500-CarterBBCarburetors.html

If they're a little wonky they'll better match their owner... 🤣

I went for it yesterday on the first running board top skin. Those long beads are tough to try and keep straight. Did I? Mostly.....at least its gonna be Rino Lined and not gloss back!

When I bought my 34 it was all stock EXCEPT the exhaust, the previous owner had found a Fenton split exhaust manifold and converted the otherwise stock vehicle to dual exhaust which would have been OK except the mufflers used were in my opinion obnoxious !! Now I could have lived with the duals I could not live with the exhaust note so I brought it to a custom exhaust shop and asked what can you do he said options were two new mufflers or convert back to a factory style single exhaust, we agreed that option #2 single exhaust was the best option and to work they went. they fabricated from scratch a two to one pipe to go from the split manifold to the stock size muffler which they neatly tucked up just ahead of the axel, now I don't know if that's the factory configuration but it sure worked out great and now the obnoxious sound is gone !! I'm a happy guy !! that old flat head just did not sound right with those pipes. Now it sounds like a 34 Plymouth should. So you know Arizona is not the exhaust capitol of the world due to our dry climate so this shop stays mostly busy with classic and custom exhaust, they didn't even bat a eye when I rolled up in the 34. it only took them about a hour nice to see true craftsmen at work real artist. The name of the place was Madd Hatter Exhaust they have been there over 25 years.

New to the forum. I have wanted to get into mopars for awhile and finally got the opportunity last week. I got a great deal on this running and driving 1953 Dodge Coronet with the 241 hemi and gyro-matic fluid drive. The body is extremely straight and it has little to no rust. I have been doing research and will continue as time allows on various aspects of the car. For now it is in my father in laws barn but when I can I will get up there an perform some maintenance before really taking it for a long drive. I plan on draining fuel (hopefully the tank has a drain plug) , flushing the brake fluid, possibly rebuilding the carburetor replacing the points and plugs. It definitely needs 4 new tires also. I will be posting much more frequently when I can actually get my hands on it and start driving/wrenching but was eager to share the good news. My other vehicles include 95 f250 99 corvette and 76 C20 suburban so this is by far the oldest and honestly possibly the coolest. Any pointers for other things to look out for in these old cars and good resources of transmission and other parts other than the obvious big ones like mopar mall and Andy Bernbaum? Thanks Matthew

I'd like to get one of those for the pocket watches I have. Joe Lee

I may have posted this in wrong section, sorry if I did. Howdy, Today I was reacquainted with a old friend CARNAUBA WAX !! over the past few years I have fallen victim to the convenience of spray waxes and I admit the results have been good, their fast and easy and for what they are they are effective and I know that due to advances in technology and synthetics probably longer lasting when exposed to the elements , however that being said there is something to be said for good old fashioned carnauba wax !! I asked Santa for some carnauba wax for Christmas and the jolly old elf came through he did provide me with liquid wax as opposed to paste wax but that's ok he brought me Mothers Liquid Gold Brazilian Carnauba wax Today I got up (beautiful day in PHX) and gave the old girl a application, my oh my how satisfying kinda like going to the barber and getting a hot lather shave !! the memories flooded my brain of the countless vehicles I used to wax the old school way before the advent of quick waxes !! This is not a endorsement but the Mothers went on smoothly and came off just as well !! now the finish on the 34 is pretty damn good so the wax did not have to perform any miracles . the results were great and the smell of good old fashioned wax as opposed to the foo foo smell of the quick waxes was pleasing. So the carnauba my not be as long lasting as the new synthetics but were talking about a garage kept veh so I think I'm good for 6 months. It was a bit of a work out but I needed to get these old bones out of the Lazy Boy after holiday meals and Christmas cookies.

Hauling a load to Goodwill .

Those red and green felt washers that you can buy at this parts store actually work good.

So I opened up the paint booth today. Was a balmy 55 degrees out. There were no bugs injured in the process Actually came out OK, the fenders were total junk. A before pic of the passenger fender, the best one of the two. They are still rough, they are stronger now then when they were new ... I love them. I will work them over before I put final paint on them .... I see a few dents already that I classify as character and will be left alone.

You guys realize I also own a beamer and that's how I pronounce it and I don't care what the hoity-toity types have to say about it.

One more step forward!

Sorry I spent a lot of time out at sea. I read every book on the ship that wasn't a tech manual and started reading the dictionary.

Probably the same way many of us have done with many engines.......put oil in the engine, start it and verify oil pressure is indicated in a few seconds. Done. An overhaul should include applying assembly lube to the bearings and moving parts and that offers lubrication until the pump fills the galleys.

Glad to hear your thoughts on this. I stopped by the machine shop and his thoughts were the same. He was a bit perplexed as to how it could have happened. The machine shop owner gave me 3 options. 1) try to have it welded and repaired in place, 2) pull the engine, find a replacement block and he'll eat machining cost to get another engine going, 3) run it as it is and if there is an issue on the next year, revert to option 2. This is after I've sat on this engine for 2 years after they did their work. We'll hopefully fire it up this week.

WE used burlap under the foam. The wife and I went to a local upholstery supply house, got a good price on every thing needed and they were a wealth of information. here's a couple of pics.

I don't know if anyone has posted this before, but here is a well recommended supplier of replacement automotive glass for Mopars and many other classics. https://www.vendio.com/stores/bobsclassicautoglass/

On another topic for carburetor repair. Whenever you take a carburetor apart from an engine that was running, shake the float. Sometimes they develop a pin hole and they fill with fuel. There's some debate as to why this happens but I don't think it matters. Only the detection and the repair matter. If you suspect fuel in the float get a pair of pliers and hold the float in them then take a match to the float. When you heat it the fuel will want to come out and it will identify where the hole is. Note where the hole is and continue heating with the hole on the bottom till there's no more fuel in the float. Now you can repair the hole with a soldering iron and electronic solder. In the good old days they sold a lot of floats, then they went to the black foam plastic floats. Those days are gone but it's no big deal to repair a float that has only a single hole.

Or, park with trans in reverse. If it's properly assembled OD is locked out when in reverse.

APRIL 5th 2025 CLEMENTS TAILGATE BBQ in CLEMENTS, CALIFORNIA Home of the largest meet up of Dodge Pilot-House Era Trucks in the WHOLE WORLD!!! MARS AND JUPITER TOO!!! We get invaded by Vintage Cars and Trucks from other makers, BUT WE DON'T CARE! CUZ WE ARE COOL TRUCKERS AND DON'T MIND THE WEIRDOS! ...at least I don't.....lol Looking forward to seeing everyone again!!!! Woohoo! Its on a private ranch, my ranch, no admission, no tickets to buy, plenty of clearance for everyone!! Bring a chair, something to cook or share, or eat the free provided by ME ! Big Blocks, Small Blocks, L6, Straight Six, Old Hemi, New Hemi, Modern Hemi, Don't care, just love your ride and share the story! Timothy A. Estrada aka 48Dodger

Our D24 sits for at least 6 months here for the winter. I do the same as all the responses so far. In addition, just before I park the car for the winter, I add fuel stabilizer and make sure it has run throughout the system. And already knowing I'll have to crank it a bit before it starts, I'll do that until I see oil pressure. If it hasn't started by the time the oil pressure shows up, I'll put some gas down the carb that has some Marvel Mystery Oil added. I don't just pour it in with abandon, though, I kind of tease the engine until the fuel pump catches up and it starts on its own. My thought is that putting too much "raw" gas down the carb cleans too much oil from the cylinders. That could probably be debunked, but that's just how I've always done it.

Im strongly leaning toward YES this year

Good question. What would be the best way to find out? I do have this beast that I've been wanting to play with...

Word of the day is "ameliorate". I looked it up. Learn something new everyday. LOL

I likely won't make it this year. I'm planning another trip to Back to the 50's this year. However, I do have big plans for next year...

They clamped the muffler but welded the the Two in to one Y pipe they had to fabricate to accommodate the non factory split manifold. from what I can tell from pictures of another 34 I found on the internet they moved the muffler further back than the original which was positioned between the widest opening of the X frame I however I like their positioning a little better as it is tucked up further to the body. I'm ok with this slight deviation from original since the originality was already breached with the split manifold.

As noted, what is shown as the ball joint does not come apart. The end of that ball piece is bolted to either the bell crank or shaft. The threads on each end of the rod are both right hand (it does not work like a tie rod), so to adjust the length of the rod, you would have to detach the ball joint from either the shaft or bell crank. Loosen the lock nut at the end of the ball joint where the rod threads into it and make your adjustments.

So, I couldn't stand it... I got a 12 volt internal resistor coil. I also cleaned up the points to give me a chance to at least start the car. Frankly I was expecting it to be the same as before but I was pleasantly surprised. The idle was nice and smooth, I checked the time by the vacuum gauge. Cold, I was hovering just above 15. And it is very cold outside, so I let it warm a bit and tried a drive. Back to normal, plenty of power, no hesitation. After that I had vacuum closer to 20. Obviously it needs good points in it but now I feel more confident that it's not going to burn up the next set. And it seems to minimize the worry about something internal. We're about to get an extreme winter storm here but I need to now change the oil since I've had lots of starting and stopping mixed with crappy combustion. For today, I think we have the answer.

I think the harder they are to free up the better they were when parked. Think about it- a bunch of worn parts have more clearance to get free. Nice tight parts can't handle it

Agree- pot metal. I had mine powdered coated to match the dash and the coaters confirmed it.

I'm going to chime in and guess it is some form of Pot Metal that was commonly used to inexpensively cast various (often intricate) parts. If you look up the definition of pot metal, you will see that it is not magnetic and is basically a mix of iron, zinc, copper, lead and other scrap metals.

My rule of thumb on oil shelf life is that it can be used on equipment older than the packaging...older machines are designed to operate with more contamination than newer machines (I've heard that some engines had optional oil filters back in the day), so that older engine oil should be fine in older engines, as long as the packaging is still sealed. The additives in the oil (i.e. detergents) begin to break down when exposed to oxygen and heat cycling, so the clock really doesn't start ticking until ya crack that seal. As a fun exercise, pour that older oil into a clear container, and you'll probably see a thin black stripe exit the oil package at the end of the pour. I have seen this on high grade oil that has sat on a shelf for as little as maybe 6 months. From what I can tell, this is contamination from the refinery that settles out, effectively just fine dirt, that'll get trapped in a filter or settle in a reservoir. Much like real life, engine oil is never 100% "clean", even straight from the refinery taps, as refiners have a target window that they try to achieve for their products as to contamination percentage, size, density, etc. But yeah, considering the vintage of the containers, selling them as collectibles could yield quite the ROI percentage wise...that profit could be used to purchase a whole case of oil AND a slice of apple pie...but shipping that oil without incident, wellll good luck with that ⚡

VINTAGEPIC: Polaroid of a B-1or2 with youngin, found by Roger Jones on FB

This is it so far dear sir

Somebody's got to say it. Merry Christmas to all y'all.

My Wife and I would like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas! 🎄

Hey all, I too would like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. I would also like to wish the families of members no longer with us a Merry Christmas as well. They may not read this, but they are remembered fondly. Joe Lee

All the best to everyone here this Christmas and in the New Year!

The only relay in the mopar injector circuit is the one that feeds 12v to all the injectors. The computer uses injector drivers (solid state device, not a relay) to trigger the injectors on/off via the ground. Those usually either work, or do not work, very rarely are they intermittent. Either the coolant temp sensor, the one for the computer not the dash gauge, is flaky, you have a leaky injector or the PCM is wonky. If you have the ability to measure the fuel pressure at the injector rails you can see how fast that pressure bleeds down, if it's quick you have a leaky injector(s). Have you run the codes?

"JEEBUS" No. 2 ! Looking at all the heavy corrosion found in the tappet chambers on the previous page, this engine needs to be removed and placed on a stand and disassembled. Even if it turned over, it's in no shape to run with all that crap in there. There is likely corrosion that you can't see that is locking up the rotating assembly. The block needs to be thoroughly cleaned - baked, tanked, blasted, and inspected before proceeding. You might already have a boat anchor on your hands, but you won't know until you can have a shop inspect it. I'm trying to save you time from making more snausage here. Hopefully it's still good!

Since the Fluid Drive is a fluid coupling, as you reference, there is no direct connection between the transmission and the engine. This is why you MUST have a working Parking Brake on FD equipped vehicles. If parked on a grade, even with the transmission in low gear, the vehicle will roll. At very low speeds there will be no power transfer through the Fluid Drive fluid coupler, which will allow the transmission to spin with very little resistance. When the engine is running the internal fins on the Impeller side of the FD will force the oil in the FD unit to transfer power to the Turbine side (output/clutch). The higher the RPM the more power will be transmitted through the FD.

When starting cold I give the pedal a couple of pumps, then step on the start pedal and crank it right up. When starting HOT I have found that it starts better with the throttle slightly open. I used to use the throttle knob for that purpose, then found it easier to use the throttle pedal. After a few 2 footed starts I learned to use my toe on the starter with my heal on the throttle pedal. Quick and easy hot starts that way.

Really jumping on the guy. But I'm guessing that someone "shaved the deck" and he needs the complete latch/lock assembly. So maybe the junkyard is the best source. Expensive? Relative term. Call and find out. If a supplier is outrageous, we would. in the spirit of brotherhood, warn the poor soul. Be kind to the newbees. We were such once, and asked questions that made the oldsters roll their eyes.

Made some good progress the last couple of days, the bed is coming along nicely. For the moment all of the mounting hardware is temporary. I will be replacing each bolt one at a time with painted bolts, washers and nuts as needed depending on location. I do have one question. The hinges for the tailgate have a outward taper to them. Both have the same angle and looking closely at the hinges themselves it appears they were designed that way. I looked back through a bunch of pictures that I've collected over the years and it would appear that other trucks have this same setup. Can someone confirm that the hinges are indeed angled? Thanks.