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I have done enough on-line deals that I can say that statistically, 1% of the population are crackpots that will complain because they wanted something for free and that it took too long for it to be delivered and that the quality was not as advertised in the first place. Ebay took steps to give vendors some recourse against crackpots when they modified their rating system to allow for rebuttal against negative ratings, which was kinda helpful to identify crackpot sellers and buyers alike. On the other hand, I have heard stories about how some vendors have "volunteers" who pad ratings on Amazon and Yelp, witnessing odd spikes in positive feedback immediately after negative feedback is posted. So when somebody tries to tell me about a vendor's on-line rating, I argue that those results may be skewed by bias on both sides by crackpots who are trying to game the system. I have found a downside of leaving realistic reviews is that I have been contacted by other customers through vendors' websites, and half of these contacts are by crackpots who cannot be bothered to do their own basic research (does this u-joint have grease in it?) or have no idea what they are doing but want their electronic device to be a magic genie of answers (will this pressure manifold work on my ancient air compressor that I don't even know what its model number is?). So it boils down to good customer relations, where the customer also has the responsibility to deal with any complaints promptly and realistically.

My 51 Plymouth has baffles, my 53 Savoy did not.... my 52 Dodge had baffles. I have not seen baffles in the B series 1/2 thru 1 tons. Here is a factory picture out of the 1949-52 Dodge shop manual showing a baffled oil pan.

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Found this 1950 Plymouth Special Deluxe on Kijiji a few weeks ago a few hours from me, and for 400 bucks I couldn't say no. Complete car with floor rust but solid other than that. Interior has mildew but going to try and tidy it up. Original paint will buff up. Cleaned off the massive amount of algae for now. Last insured 10 years ago.

Well, FWIW, my guess is a baffle to keep the oil in the area of the pickup during hard braking or descending steep hills.

Today was front bumper day. My buddy came over and helped wrangle the doghouse on and off a few times. We jacked up the front and removed the wheels, measured and sanded the rad support crossmember and ‘54 frame stubs, put on the tins, cribbed up the bumper, and tacked a couple pieces of round stock in place. Then we pulled the tins off and connected the 54 frame stubs to the crossmember with 3/16” plate. Then we got excited and forgot to paint all the new stuff and put the sheetmetal back on again. I had never had the fenders in place since I swapped out the 1989 v6 springs for the moog coils and I was really crossing my fingers that it would not still be too low to turn the tires. Thankfully the spring swap worked out beautifully. The tires look nicely framed by the wheel arches but still have plenty of room to haul passengers, hit bumps, and turn into driveways. Another nice surprise was that the water pump pulley clears my electric fan with just enough room. Never had the nose on with the rad installed before. If I was running rubber motor mounts I would have to really watch out for trouble as they broke in but I think the polys will limit my motor travel pretty well. So here’s pics at full drop which looks pretty cool but rides on the rear bumpstops, and also around where I think I might want a regular cruising height, with the bags inflated but not too firm yet.

The Amp meter gauge is fine, just reverse the connections., so it reads positive when running the engine and charging. As to the lights staying on - sounds like a wiring issue. Did you change your wiring harness ? Also know that there is a switch on the door pillar that runs the dome light, is it on ? Yes the dash lights need to be 12 v equivalents. The horns should be okay as long as you only use them in a short burst. Fuel gauge can use a runtz resistor to drop voltage. Heater and other motors will need a 12 v motor or a steady state voltage reducer - since the load on them is variable. If you have a two speed fan switch you could just use the low speed which is about 6v full using 12 v input. Hope this helps.

Again, thanks for all the input over the months. Quite helpful. What I need to learn now is what's missing in my heater assembly. If anyone could share pictures of what goes on under the hood from the fan motor to the firewall I can see what I can do to get ready for winter. As a follow up to all the things I have addressed since I last shared with you; I replaced the speedometer cable assembly as the old cable bit the big one and died in the housing. A crazy noise that was the last squeals of the cable are gone now. The windshield wipers work, so new blades are on the way. Changed the motor oil again, as soon as it got ugly and the fresh oil has the motor sounding sweeter, and the smoking is less with each tank of gas (350 miles now since it was dead on the trailer when it arrived in August from someone's barn, to mine). The fresh oil in the transmission removed yet another bothersome noise, and the shifting improved. Greasing the lube points eliminated yet another untraceable noise. The car never locked up the drive line again, and I NEVER touched the kick down switch on the shifting lever (which my wife is quite happy about). All in all, from so noisy and so smoky and sluggish to a sweet start and drive, the car has went from a nervous run to town to a cozy couch on the road. Thanks again, Russ

No - the truck engine I found had an oil pan that had a threaded boss on the side of the pan where the pipe for the dipstick threaded in. If it were me I’d use the baffled pan, better oil control and you cant tell what’s inside looking from the outside - right ?

Truck engine uses threaded boss on the side of the pan.

I'd join the AAA or similar organization that has road service and towing. One mishap and the membership pays for itself.

EXTRA, EXTRA. Read all about it http://theoldmotor.com/?p=150241&fbclid=IwAR0J_rjOu1g-Tq9YZQTW21meWCI6m-gNW-ppzUIrWRAyu1iNICgJIlV7RbI

nah...I would not say your age is showing, only that you have druthers.....I also have a number of convertibles, I do not own nor want to own any American convertible that is pre 60's and only a few that are early 60's.....the tops when in upright position is nothing but one big glob of eyesore...put the Carson top name on it and its becomes double hideous....again, not to slight anyone here, just affirming his position is shared by others....

The Signal Stat 900 doesn't have an integrated flasher relay - that is what determines if it can be used with LEDs. In fact I have a Signal Stat 900 running LEDs.

I think your goals are realistic, but like DrDoctor - I think your initial estimate for cost is on the low side especially considering you will be farming out the work. I actually have similar goals to you, except currently a much longer commute (and I'm only aiming for a "fair weather" daily driver) - but I lucked out and pickup a car that had most of the heavy lifting complete on the drivetrain - upgraded flathead, T5 trans, upgraded brakes, etc... I basically just had to wire it up, work out a couple of kinks, and I have to yet put an interior into it. Paul - Those of in the midwest aren't going to pick up anything worth a damn for $1500. In fact that is cheap enough that I probably could have bought it and trucked it across the country and sold it for a profit. For that money we get rusted out junk with no floors and no titles (most of the time).

Anyone who can't make a daily driver out of a late '40's /. Mid 50's mopar is throwing money at foolish choices. This week a no rust, no dents '54 Plymouth Suburban, a completely stock vehicle sold on CL for $1500. --Disc brakes/dual pot MC. $750 --Electronic ignition. $150 --Electric wipers. $100 --12-volt conversion (if necessary/really helpful). A good kit at $180 --Radials. $800 --Shoulder belts. $150 Now tell me, where will the other 10K go. Now if an expensive paint job is added, A/C, fancy upholstery, new engine by others, then some $$. Will be spent, but hardly $10K. I've put two dependable '50's mopars back on the road, so I know what can be done. The perfectionists make this hobby far too expensive. IMHE. My two daily drivers.

Don’t you just hate it when they follow you home like a helpless puppy, or kitten??? And once home, you just can’t turn them back out into the cold, cruel world. it’s the nurturing instinct in all of us – you’ve just got to keep it, and nurse it back to health. Best of luck . . .

Wow 400 bucks! SCORE!

Nice score. What a deal!

I haven't received the stainless one ordered yet from Rock Valley, takes a few months. I believe the cost to install a drain plug was around $20, also installed a new sending unit that will work with current fuel gauge from around $25.00. The tank was not cheap, however the car sits most of the time in an attached garage and was concerned with gasoline in an 80 year old tank. After the issue with the tank sealer, and the fuel cell taking up space decided to go with a stainless one. Their phone # is 1-815-645-2271 & 1-800-344-1934. Tanks are grouped by years and capacity and probably priced differently. For their literature, their tank models for 1941 to 48 Ply & Dodges are 619-1050 (stock capacity), 619-1050-TB and 619-1050-TPI with pump installed.

What a deal !! Does it run ?

like Kit De Luca, it has potential.....should clean up nicely....?

I think a few venders have gotten a bad rap due to inferior products but I also know a couple have tried to up the quality. I also know some care less as there is that next man with money to spend and they have made money on S&H to the tune of if returned they still making money....but, SHOULD THE CUSTOMER be liable for the return postage on an outright lie by the retailer....good question, one I think is not properly addressed by the retailer and apparently a subject not well received here. Sure the simple answer is to return on your dime and be out for way more than the cost to eat the cost themselves. This is not right and NEEDS be addressed and the forums in just the avenue for this. There is no libel when the truth is told. The forum at large needs to pass on such inferior products but I also agree, we just do not need a pile-on from everyone every time and if you do not have a personal recent experience with the EXACT product in question, stay out of the dogpile.

You are going to have some fun with this! Looks great!

Awesome! Sometimes it pays to not be in love with a Chubby or Furd!

take the two screws out on the outside bezel and the handle will pull straight out. It looks like your spring has broken. You'll need to find a donor or have one made.

I used to drive those things in the army on occasion,and due to their brakes,steering,handling,and braking,any speed above 45 MPH is just too damn fast. Yeah,you can get one to safely go faster by replacing the suspension,steering box,brakes,and the front and rear axles,but stop and reflect for a moment on everything you have to replace and what you will be left with when you finish spending all that money and all those hours on the modifications. Rolling a boulder up a mountain would be a more sensible way to spend your time.

Understand that completely watertight is probably unattainable, for now I will settle for closing the 1/4 inch gaps between the vent and the window and getting some kind of seal into the cowl vent (nothing there now). First priority right now is stopping the progression of the rust on the floorboards so I can start repair work, have to get it to reasonably dry for that to happen.

The reason I try to use or clean out the old grease nipples is that here in Oz that bastard metric system has meant that there are metric grease nipples and their threads are different to the pure imperial ones...........how I hate the metric cistern.......lol...........andyd

That "slot" is for the dipstick, as for that "V" in the rear baffle, its just a way of strengthening the baffle.........I'd run any pan with a baffle instead of a pan without a baffle........whilst its not a 6 cylinder flathead I reversed the pan on the 318 Poly when I installed it, added a baffle at the front to stop or at least restrict oil flow to the front away from the oil pickup, and installed a dipstick on the opposite side of the pan, this together with a remote oil filter using a common Z9 filter with a remote oil cooler in front of the radiator has increased the oil capacity by about 2 litres.............still working o/k 40 yrs later....... I have no idea which pan is "correct" but I'd use pan #1............Andyd

I have to also agree with Don here. There just isn’t enough spring pressure or fast ramp on these old cams. 30k on my flathead and no flat cam. But it certainly can’t hurt to add zinc, just not needed. All my Hemis get it though, but that’s where it is needed. Don’t add too much zinc or it can do damage. Adam

Bad Bendix starter gear. It turns the engine over and then spins. When it retracts it gets a different bite, till it spins again.

I agree that would be good if it worked as it should. Ebay has such a system. Twenty years ago the ebay rating system worked well. However these days I see that several venders can somehow erase any bad reports and that allows them to maintain 100% positive ratings. John Lydgate > Quotable Quote “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.”

It would be nice if our Mopar vendors would have a "reviews" or "rate this product" or "comment section"on their own web site so folks don't have to spill out over forums. (Kinda like The Home Depot) it could be a helpful tool to their business as well Then if a product subject came up, the go to answer could be check the rating ? with that, I have had feed back for some of our vendors and the response has always been positive.

Those are factory baffles in the first oil pan... a more deluxe pan to keep the oil in the sump on slopes while moving as mentioned.. The U-slot is what the dip stick slides into.

Conn47D24, If I had to offer a guess, and that’s what this is – a guess – I’d say that the flat plate welded into the first sample oil pan is a make-shift windage tray. Why did the individual that did this feel it was necessary??? Well, that’s anyone’s guess. In a high-performance engine, it makes sense, but in an I-6 flathead – I just don’t see the reason for it. Regards . . .

personally if I felt it necessary I'd clean the old ones before installing some likely lesser quality new ones.

yes it's typically a mechanism issue rather than the handle itself. I'd start with oiling everything and see if it just needs to be freed up.

It could be the spring or springs are worn out in the mechanism mine were bad and a member hooked me up and fixed the problem

I don't know if your handles are the same , but , some have a long square shank that gets bent or twisted and can be straightened .

Is the 10-30 oil detergent? If so, better clean the pan out. Put a pcv valve in it instead of the road draft tube and that should help your crankcase smoking issue. Adam

From what I've gathered it's a '49 1-ton. It does have a late 70's Chevy 350 in it and what appears to be a TH400 trans... I spent some time yesterday draining fluids and prepping the motor to fire it up. Need to do some wiring work and get the front end put back together. It has a new master cylinder and booster so I'll probably scrap the front drums for a Scarebird disk set up if I can. Need to do some more research on the correct setup for this. If the drums are OK I may just leave that as is for now. Main motivation at the moment is to get it running and then go from there. I do have the front clip and all of the emblems. All of the important parts appear to be there. The steering needs to be reconnected but it does appear to be original. I can get more pics today of the steering and rear end. Need to get the ID's off the motor, trans and rear end. I just picked it up 2 weeks ago and began the work yesterday. Will continue some of that today and hopefully have a fully functioning truck in the not to distant future! Wish it had a Mopar power plant but I couldn't pass it up!!

I 100% agree that thread did go overboard on some posts and we do have to give the vendor a chance to fix a problem with product before a rant, but if it’s ok I would like to say it’s also good business for the forum itself to educate members on what products to avoid when doing a build. After my own parts issues I try to spend a lot more time seeking out information on either the vendor or if possible exact parts I’m after from said vendor and nothing is better then others first hand experience, and this site is a wealth of information. I guess what I’m hoping is we just don’t lose the freedom to protect others from parts we should just avoid, it’s a big part of what the community should be about.

Yep that is a pretty good distance from my place - but my girlfriend's parents are in West Salem right by Dragway 42 and I make it to Hartville Hardware once in a while.

Just powered this sucker up to do some systems testing...I offer a salute to all vets.....the second picture, last flight of the Hanoi Taxi as she flew from here into retirement...

Proud of my dad, who turns 97 tomorrow! As a Registered Nurse he served in WW2 in the Pacific and Korea in a MASH unit.

If you go on to YouTube and look up "Chrysler Master Tech- 1949, volume 2-6 Transmission Fundamentals" I watched it and found it very helpful. Doe a good job of showing the linkages.

There should be two linkages that connect to the transmission only a couple inches apart from each other onto two levers that come out of the transmission. I tried to take a picture of it, but it came out lousy. I will try and take another picture.

Two of the early voting locations in my county are within spittin' distance of some of the finest smoked bbq in the state... So I did my duty and rewarded myself with a half chicken

Drive to Wisconsin because we don’t get charged. My wife and I save all our change through out the year and cash it in March for vacation money.