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or at least somewhere around here... After a long hiatus from being away at school, I finally got to get the 53' going again! There was a thread somewhere around here about how to bring the flathead into the future, well recycled 90's tech will have to do! As some of you may remember, my 53' was turbocharged before with the stock carburetor, well as any tinkerer would know that is never enough. So here is what I have affectionately named "MK-3" What it is, the same turbocharger I had before (really odd japanese performance thing), paired with a GM TBI injector run by a sunbird turbo ECM. It is a heck of a lot simpler than you would think. Throttle response so far is amazing, starting is awesome, and it was pretty cheap to build.

Installed the new Fuel sending unit and now the fuel gauge works just fine. Then took the car out for a leisurely stroll. Put about 20 miles or so on it. Made a small carb adjustment and putted around happily. I was perfectly content to putt around at 30-35 mph. It felt so fast! LOL! No, it was very relaxing. Acceleration was smooth, and I did run it up to 50 mph for just a brief moment and then back down just to see how it would do and it performed perfectly!! Had a smile on my face the whole time and got lot's of thumbs ups from other on the road and on the side of the road. The braking is much improved after installing the new rear cylinder, re-bleeding the system, and making some minor adjustments to the pad distance from the drums. I may have had them pulled in a bit too far. Better ride too with the new shocks. There is a noticeable amount of play in the steering wheel, not so much to make me drift all over the road, but enough that if I look down at the instrument cluster too long I find myself encroaching one side of the lane or another. Going to look into that and see if there are any adjustments to be made to tighten it up. If not, its not bad enough to warrant changing out the gear box, steering linkage, kingpin or what ever else is involved. Haven't read the manual on that part yet. Just mussing out loud. I also think I may need to make a minor adjustment to the Clutch. Occasionally when at a stop, when I shift into First from neutral I will get a light grind, but never when shifting up through the gears, or down shifting to a stop. Probably something minor. I also ran with the headlights and running lights on the majority of the time to see how the alternator was performing. It never dropped to the discharge side and stayed right around the 0 mark between Charge and Discharge. When I got home I took a walk around and all the lights were still bright. Important since I plan on driving it to a friends house tomorrow night and I would hate to have the lights drain out the battery if the Alternator wasn't operating correctly. And finally (and it's petty I know), the radio doesn't work. Not that there are a huge selection of AM channels to choose from, but a little background noise would be nice in the future. I checked to make sure that the antenna was plugged in, and verified that the plug into the side of the radio was getting power. So now it's a matter of what is wrong with the guts of the radio. As is the custom of the Service Manual - it did not have anything enlightening to say. There was an intriguing mention of a Distributor Suppressor, but that's in. No mention of where it is, or what it does. The symptoms of the radio are as follows. Turn the switch on and all the way up, scroll slowly left and right through the bandwidths, and receive total silence. Not even static. Again, it's petty, but its on the list of things to do. Rather, the list of things I'd "Like to do". Drivability and safety first. Fun stuff later. I was grinning ear to ear, that's for sure. I can envision the finished product in my mind. Still much work to be done though. The journey continues. . . . . Cory

OK, here's the photo: Got on my side on the cold garage floor... 27 degrees out, (minus 5 south of us in Windsor)... But hey, I wanted that photo anyway. I should have taken a picture when I put in the switch. Now I know that I wasn't dreaming about installing the switch. So the lever, that corresponds to moving the selector up, contacts the switch. I think the lever moves forward, so I think I wired into the normally closed part of the switch. For a three-speed, the levers will work differently, and if you don't want the backup light to come on when you shift into second, you will need a switch for the other lever, and wire the switches in series.

Found some time and pressed the old bushings out of the stub axles.

Ok.....made a less than awesome video about the frame mount/ shackle hanger.......but I want to get better at making videos. So I made a short one for the part I pulled for Martin. I hope he saves the one he has....I'm pulling for him. What I'm hoping is, that by having the knowledge a back-up part is ready to go he'll get a little braver and intimidate that broken shackle to break free and move on. lol The Part I Pulled 48D

I hereby claim responsibility for the E-Z-out attempt. Since it's broken off on both sides, it would screw out either direction, IF it turned that is. Yep, drilling it the answer from here on out...

passengerside rocker moulding straightened . I have quite a few hours in this one rocker mouldings . lots of dents . these pics show where the dents were and after metall filing the dents out . tapped all the dents out.......... then metal filed to perfection . then started sanding with #80 grit and work my way up thru to 1500 grit wet sand paper. They"ll look better than brand new , when I'm done. john

Here is the pressure pot for the pre lube. Kind of cool. Distributor arrived this week from VPW, what a gorgeous rebuild!. Plan is to spend Monday getting DD running.

The quickest way to tell a Custom from a Deluxe D24 is the stainless steel trim spear on the rear fenders. Custom has it, Deluxe does not (many more Customs were built than Deluxes). Mechanically and electrically, they are exactly the same, the differences are the trim. Back when these were new, the dealers installed most of the options, so depending on what bells and whistles it has there may be some extra wiring on the car, but the basics are the same.

Last summer Mark Duggan, Gene Herman, and I took a long weekend and did a tour of central Vermont in our P15's and D 24. To say we had a good time would be an understatement. Might it have been better with a few more participants? I believe it would. With that in mind we have begun planning for Summer 2015. We are looking at the 2nd or 3rd weekend in August (actually Thurs-Sun) for a touring style event. The emphasis will be on driving scenic byways. The location will likely be southeastern NY, and possibly adjoining PA and NJ. or the Hudson River Valley area. Both areas have good driving roads and interesting attractions. We will be firming up the location and lodging etc in the spring. But since there is no Plymouth Owners Club event, and the Walter P Chrysler Club is meeting in Springfield Illinois, we hopped there might be some interest by folks from this forum for such an activity. There will be no judging, but there will be a tailgate event Friday evening, a chance to maybe buy or sell some parts, some comraderie, many chances to swap lies and kick tires. So given that, consider this post to be a gauge of your interest in joining us this summer.

Baring something unforeseen this summer Darlene and I are planning a round trip across the USA to Maine and home. Here is the current line{s}. Early June: A. Fresno, CA - Santa Fe, NM - Wichita,KS - Branson, MO - Indianapolis, IN - Hagarstown, MD - Montpelier, VT - Portland, ME Late August: Portland, ME - Montreal, Canada - Niagara, Falls - Northern WI, MI, MN, Winnipeg Canada - Yellowstone, WY - Grand Junction, CO - Grand Canyon, AZ - Las Vegas, NV - Fresno. Will do as Niel suggested, print out the member map and take it along. Thanks Neil. Thus we would like to meet members as we drive along, lunch - just stop by, etc. REQUEST: PM or respond here to places of note, for us to consider. We're not much interested in large cities prefer the beautiful 'local color' nature areas, like the off roads more than the interstate, like unusual museums, etc. Our daughter lives on the north side of Indianapolis, Westfield thus Indy. Darlene has a sister in Winnipeg. We spend summers in Bath, ME with our oldest son and his family. Thus the trip via car instead of airplane. Next summer may do a similar trip but stay south Phoenix to Atlanta, etc. Time that so we hit GA for the armadillo season.

Aw, do I gotta crawl under the car again to replace the shift lever tension spring? Shees! Can it wait 'till Spring? That spring looks kinda rare. What if Ace doesn't have a match? So far, no symptoms. The spring probably won't fail until I'm on the road in the middle of nowhere. OK, replacing the spring is on my to-do list.

Chet, as things develop we will be communicating via this site, the POC site and other venues maybe trying to get some regional or local clubs involved Bob D is acquainted with some of the Hudson Valley Region guys, maybe they might get involved.

If you want color, delta Colorado is amazing in the September October time frame

I added a backup light to my 47 DeSoto. On the steering column under the hood, I mounted a microswitch that was activated by the shift lever when I moved the selector up to the reverse position. Since I have a semi-automatic transmission, the shift lever is moved up only when shifting into reverse. A three-speed transmission would need a second switch for when the selector is pulled toward the driver, and both switches would have to be on for the backup lights to work. When I modified my steering column in the process of installing power steering, I no longer had a steering column jacket for mounting the switch. I think I mounted, or intended to mount, or dreamed I mounted, a switch at the side of the transmission to be activated by the appropriate shifting rod and lever. Again, I only needed one switch. The shifting levers are different for the 3-speed transmissions. Dang! I think I have photos somewhere. (extensive search to begin)

I have a 47 D-24 custom club coupe, ....nowhere......I say nowhere, on my car or any other custom I have ever seen in person is there any "script" denoting its status other than Dodge. And it is not missing either.

I'm going to clean everything very thoroughly and then protect it with owatrol, the same stuff i use for the car's original sun burnt paint (and pretty much everthing else...). it's a product based on linseed oil, dries like a clear coat and will preserve the original worn look of the parts. new parts and fresh color look out of place on a car like this, in my opinion... every time i service the bushings with fresh grease i can can control the metal parts and put fresh owatrol on if necessary.

Awesome video! As far as that all coming out, IT WILL. I can't guarantee the condition it will be in, but it won't be stuck in the mount. I really appreciate the knowledge and effort you guys have put forth to help. Thanks.

geez you need a hobby,,,,u have way to much free time,,lol

Whatcha wanna know? Theres a story behind almost every new part! For those of you just tuning in- MK-1: literally threw a $5 turbocharger on, blew right through a stock carb. worked fine until it hit 3+ lbs boost and would never start for crap MK-2: added dual TBI throttle bodies, ran really super crappy and never completed MK-3: current iteration, only one throttle body using a single 454 injector, just needs a little more tuning I found the turbo about two years back on an old subaru motor that ran out of oil, bought it for $5 for a desk ornament and found a big glob of RTV in the compressor, the thing hadnt spun once since it was installed! Turned out to be a JDM high performance (like 425 horse!) turbo that never belonged in the states to begin with? But MK-1 had an issue with excessive ping and absolutely chugged fuel. Decided to go to fuel injection, using the ECM out of a 90' sunbird (same computer as the Syclone or Typhoon) and throttle bodies out of old 90's GM cars. Problem with the dual bodies- excessive fuel and air, and rather uncontrollable. As it turns out the single throttle body has about the same bore as our own factory intake manifolds, so with some creative machining it bolted right on and ran, but needed a bigger injector, hence the 454 injector.

If i recall correctly 1940 had a unique piston length, 99% of the rebuild kits for 1940 have the wrong piston and you have to use your old one over again. I have a couple spares i can measure for you this weekend

Thought I'd post this here; My log cabin project. Been going on since Spring of 2010, still going on. I hope to have it finished sometime this coming year. I used all handtools other than cutting the doors out which was a lot easier than a crosscut...which I have used cutting the logs to size. It is a 220 sq. foot one room cabin with a half loft, two porches and small wood stove. All cedar logs were fell on our farm, and the floor boards are sawn up from some of them. I made my own doors out of barn lumber and used the same lumber for the porch floors. My buddy and I got the tin put on in one day, and no leaks. All that I have left is windows in the loft, finish my stove pipe, get my lock on the porch door, insulate the rafters, put planks on the gable ends, and chink. With all hope I'd like to finish it this year. cabinporchdoor.htm

geeze, I ignore the forum for a few hours and THIS happens! IF I still have my house (putting it up for sale in May) I've got floors and such for anyone who want a free place to stay. Good neighborhood to keep the vehicles safe overnight. Potentially I might be in my new place by the show (doubt it) and then would have lots of space for vehicles, just a bit of a longer drive. I tend to leave around 6AM for the show. Regardless I'm up for meeting up w/ everyone and having a mini show at a place of dead animal servings. I'd also like to get as many of us parked by each other one day. AS Ed said, it's a 3 day event...and needs to be with that many vehicles. Friday and Saturday are a mad house with Sunday being a bit more laid back and also a swap meet.

This one is a work in progress......

Attached is the only method of transport not allowed to attend.

What about motersicles? (Or are they enginesicles?)

Very much looking froward to warmer weather and 2015 cruising! Wife and I had a great time last year and both she and I are looking forward to it again this year. Probably also good to mention that we accept modern car drivers as well, but they get placed at the end of the line up. So, If you feel like joining the fun, we'd welcome you. (someones gotta pick up the parts that fall off).

I have had wiring harnesses from YnZ for two cars and have been very pleased. I will be using them again for my present project, a 1951 Dodge D39 Business Coupe.They do offter complete packages. http://www.ynzyesterdaysparts.com/

Started 1986 Circa 1992 Finished 2005

I purchased my truck in May of 2006, on Mothers Day in fact. Here it is just after I got it home By August of '06 I had the engine all tore down and over to the machine shop. I then began more disassembly on the truck itself. By the end of September of that year I had the engine back together; And then the focus went back on the chassis. I stripped it to a rolling chassis and began cleaning. From Oct, '06; After I had a good coat of POR15 on the chassis, and had it top coated to protect the POR from UV, I could begin the reassembly and overhaul of the brake system, complete. Once I had the drivetrain all back in, and all new brakes, it was time for it's first test drive... Jan, '07 From there the body work began. Lots of sand blasting, beating dents, sanding, filling, sanding, priming, sanding, priming, sanding, etc, and finally paint. Eventually it all came together and it was time for it's Maiden Voyage on the street. Now fully licensed and insured it came out of the shop, almost whole. June, '08 Now I had room to begin work on the bed. I also had a goal to be ready for the WPC meet in Farmington, PA that July. And I made it. Here's the complete truck again. I got it all together July 4th weekend, 2008 A few days driving it back and forth to work to work out a few little bugs and it went on the trailer for the trip to PA, and it's WPC debut. From then on it's just been smaller projects. The interior was done over the '08/'09 winter. Only the seat had been recovered during the initial build. I had to replace the clutch the next winter, Jan, '10 as it began slipping badly over the previous fall. Disc brake conversion also done that winter, Feb, '10 Other than that I just drive it all over during the summer months and do little maintenance over the winters. Merle