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My outfit for our tradition Christmas Eve costume party. He’s a clown....that Charlie Brown............lol!

I agree with Sam,and will take it a step further. To most/probably all of US,finding and rebuilding our old cars is the big attraction. How many others have you known that have brought a junker home,tore it down,and spend a year or more rebuilding and tracking down original pieces that were missing or two bad to rebuild,and then turned around and sold it within a year of getting it on the road,and then seen dragging another one home. To us,the whole damn "adventure" of tracking down,dragging home,and bring back to life a dream of our youth IS the attraction. To others who have no interest in anything but owning and driving a restored/rodded,shiney "new old car",just writing a check is the obvious way to go. Don't believe me? Wander out into your garage and start adding up the cost of all the tools,spare parts,building your own jigs,etc,etc,etc,and by the time you are through you could have just bought the damn car from one of those tv auctions and been "driving today". Speaking personally,I am no longer even sure I am attracted to owning the old cars as I am to owning the necessary tools to work on them and do anything that needs to be done. I have sold cars,but can't honestly remember selling a single tool in my entire life. Frankly, I can walk out into my shop and get the "warm and fuzzies" just from looking around at the tools I have accumulated over the years,and my favorite ones are alway the ones that are only useful for one thing I almost never need to do. Just knowing I have it IF I need it gets me a little dizzy.

Sam you make a good point....I place myself in the realms of reality and with a bad case of caritis. I have way too many cars here, I have them and also accumulate the parts and pack them with their associated project. Will I ever get them done, realistically and with full knowledge of mortality...the answer is a frim no. Do I even care, not at all, they bring me joy just having them here, keeping me active and alive as I search out parts and prepare build plans for each one. The journey is the fun as I have so many times stated....once you arrive, you are just in one place....where is the fun in that. Merry Christmas all, out to stoke the heater and stage the next subassembly for my lift I am erecting.

I purchased one of his kits a number of years ago and just now getting around to geting them installes. I found the kit a lot easier to install than I thought it would be. The only thing I had someone else do was the tapping of the spindals. I took them to my local machine shop but I don’t remember what the cost was. I did upgrade to the Jeep master cylinder. I’m still working on it so I can’t coment on exactly how it will work but I don’t anticipate any issues. I’m also adding my dual carb set up. I had Charley build the intake and exhaust manifolds for me. They fit perfectly. I can’t wait to get it back on the road. To sum it up I don’t think you can get a better kit anywhere than Charley’s.

I amended my post to read "that would have cost a half million to build in a custom shop." We must keep in mind that not all vintage car fans are gearheads who know how or love to crawl under their vehicles. For these owners the only avenue is to pay someone to build and maintain their cars. As I mentioned earlier....it's all relative. The person who is in a position to pay a shop a few $100K to build a restoration or custom vehicle won't blink at buying an old Mopar for a fraction of what a show paint job or interior would cost. I don't disrespect those well-heeled owners, I admire the effort and years they spent achieving their success. If one of them wants to pay a good price for my Plymouth....I'm fine with it. But my P-15 probably isn't nice enough to get their attention. ?

I noticed in the last 10 years or so ebay prices have risen steady. Lately it seems almost to much. I only buy what I need now, no extras like back in the day. The younger people think $10 hamburgers and $2.50 Cokes are a deal as well. But really now the last several years have been a boom for most people financially. The Christmas bonusses must have been good this year! I think Plymouth - Cranbrook is right allot of these sellers are just hoping for the best. Merry Christmas everybody!

I don't think I have much to worry about. The car is on a 14,000lb four post lift. The rear of the car is raised off the runways using a 7000lb rolling jack on the safety lock. The bottle jack is only used to prevent the axle from "bouncing" while pounding on the hub puller dog bone. On any lift with the rear axle just hanging by the leaf springs you lose way too much hammer impact to the hub puller. You'll never get the drum off easy with the axle and drum bouncing while pounding on the dog bone style drum puller. This is the reason I always lightly support the axle with the bottle jack by the backing plate. The bottle jack is not used for safety at all.

One of my old heaps. IMG_0592.MOV

I have had 2 busy days, dinner is cooked and people are fed ... I need to rest and eat later. Not big on presents for Christmas ... or just a tightwad. I know my wife birthday is Dec 8, as a child growing up 5 brothers/sisters. Often her Birthday was passed over and combined with Christmas ... I tend to pay more attention t her on her B-day then xmas. She told me she wanted to spend x amount of money on her self this year ... perfect, buy your own gift .... she offered to buy me some new jeans to replace the pair I caught on fire grinding welds A few days ago a friend called up, needed a ride to the dollar store to buy a heater. I thought he would not get a decent heater from there. Sent him over my garage heater and said Merry Xmas. I have been wanting a propane heater anyways. Christmas Eve morning, got a call from my neighbor. I know he lost his job as a EMT about 9 months ago. Sure he has been dealing with depression, possibly ptsd as is a marine. He reached out to me and asked for some help, needed a ride home from the hospital. I think he finally hit bottom and ready to get back on with life. I have been taking care of him and a long battle ahead. Just happy to have my friend back. All in all I think was a fine Christmas for me. I hope you all had a great day also.

One thing is for sure, prices that are out of line come down and sometimes very hard! Years ago a Ford 1963 1/2 Galaxy 500 Fastback with a 427 and a 4 speed would bring $150,000. I knew a guy who had one who had bought it new (the late Charles "Kong" Jackson). By the time they had settled his estate, everyone who wanted one had bought one and the price fell to a more reasonable $60,000. Then there are the "Tribute" phony cars built to cash in on the bubble. You know the ones, "One of the 300 built out of the 900 still in existence!" A flathead Plymouth is not by any means a "Flash Car" like the Galaxy it was just a good value transportation car for a workingman and his family. Why would one ever sell for 20 times its original price? First of all they are not that special. Second of all they are not that rare. Third the prices I've seen are the average price for a new modern car. Now I am not saying I wouldn't lavish that much money on a car that was special to me....I am just saying I'd be loath to buy someone else's car for that much.

It seems to me that most of the cars sold at the TV auctions sell for far less than it cost to build them. Somebody is losing their.....shirt. I've often considered how easy it would be to pull $100K out of the piggy bank and bring home a neat collection of three or four cars that would have cost a half million to build in a custom shop.

You only need one buyer...... When a new GMC pickup can cost $100K what's $20-30K for a collector car that nobody else in your circle of friends has? It's all relative. ?

$39,500 for a 49 Plymouth! Whoever would pay that would prove the old adage, "A fool and his money are soon parted".

WDT arrived from VPW. Not super impressed with how it looks quality wise but I've attached all my measurements. The top measurement that got cut off was 23.125". In my opinion after looking how crude the new one is, anything in the ballpark is going to be good enough. . I'm not going to get too crazy with this side project. Trickiest part from a remanufacturing position is going to be the width of the ports/top section. A good challenge ahead. My brass supplier is closed until the 27th so onto other projects while I wait....

I’ve been running the Rusty Hope kit on my truck for several years now. I cross referenced all of the part numbers given in the kit. Most of them covered many years and makes, but I narrowed it down to a common year, 1985. ‘85 Buick LaSaber calipers, ‘85 Dodge Diplomat Rotors, Ford F-150 bearings, etc... You can send him your spindles, or you can drill and tap them for ourself if capable. Again, the drill and tap specs are in the instructions. I don’t recall the specifications anymore. I did them myself, but I also had the tooling available where I work. If you don’t, I’m sure you could find a local machine shop that could do the work cheaper than shipping them back and forth to Charlie. I pulled mine off when I drilled and tapped them, but I also wanted to replace the king pins at the same time. Otherwise, with a good drill, and a steady hand, you could do it in place without removing them. I am still using the stock master cylinder and it is working fine. I realize that I am not gaining the added safety of a dual chamber M/C, but I’m OK with that for now. It stops straight and true without any issues.

Trying to rig the rockers,,,,,,not easy.

Remove the front valve cover and set it so #1 is TDC. Confirm the exhaust valve starts to open as you continue turning the engine over by hand. If I remember the spec correctly it should start to open around 12 degrees ADC. (Check the shop manual for the exact spec) If it isn't correct the timing chain is installed incorrectly. If OK back up to TDC for #1, pull the distributor cap and it should be around 7:00. If it is off 180 degrees, pull the distributor and rotate to the correct location. If neither, oil pump is not correctly installed. Need to pull it and rotate so the distributor drive slot is correctly aligned. Then reinstall the distributor to the correct orientation. Lastly correct the location of the timing marks on the damper. Are you using the pointer on the front of the timing chain cover or some other location for reference? Once you know it is all properly set up it will make tracking the issue (if it still remains) easier.

I'm with Plymouthy. The stock cast iron intake is an excellent piece for the street hard to improve upon. As for TQ's they are my favorite carb. Excellent mileage and tons of airflow if needed.

stick with cast iron...it is a proven consistent runner for the street and that occasional strip run...and same with the logs....if you running stock the cam is set up for cast iron even if factory performance with the split duration....if however you want to run headers and change the intake...the cam needs changed to gain the benefit of the better breathing and recoup your outlay of cash......keep in mind that the horsepower gain in on the upper end of the rpm with the cam change and you loose 20-30 HP where you operate on the street.....if you just want the 4 bbl, again cast iron is very adequate and you choice will now be what carb to run...personally, I would go with the TQ....set it up once it stays tuned like forever....but don't expect it to be right out of the box...or from the factory either...they had to detune a bit for emissions..I just looked again, you set up for the TQ now...and if you have a center dump on the right side....you win win already as this appear to be truck logs....they are very adequate...

I never thought we would ever experience what this past year has delivered. It has been a difficult few months, but we will get through this. so to all a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Well folks a few months later, I think I have a solution. I approached a retired friend. He can fab stuff up. He’s pretty well equipped. I asked if he’d realize an idea that I had. He built me a bear proof bin. All corners pinned or welded. Nowhere to pry with teeth or claws. Recessed top latch. Angle iron on all bottom surfaces. Drilled for anchor bolts. I’ll drill into my cement and bolt it down. I can easily open the top to add garbage. I can swing open the front door to wheel my garbage bin to curb on garbage day. Next year it will be put to the test when the bears come back around.

You are likely better off rebuilding the original made in USA fuel pump, versus buying a new pump today that is made overseas. Take your pump apart and look at it. In particular pay attention to the large diaphragm gasket shape. Compare it to pics of pump kits on e-bay or other web sites. You should be able to spot a matching rebuild kit. Make sure you are not buying a kit or fuel pump for a car that may use the fuel pump action for vacuum wipers. I found that if was difficult to keep the fulcrum pin in place after the rebuild. Several attempts at staking it in place, left me stranded roadside. The pin still found a way to walk out. JB Weld on both sides of the pin has worked well. 1500 miles and it has not walked out again. Some kits have a machined groove in the fulcrum pin. A c-clip is used to retain the pin. That seems to be the case the with kit shown below: Looks like a pretty good selection here: https://www.then-now-auto.com/product-category/fuel-pump-kits/desoto-fuel-pump-kits/ It's likely this one: https://www.then-now-auto.com/product/fpa48-fuel-pump-kit/ Ebay: This will probably be fine as well: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1941-1942-Plymouth-Desoto-Dodge-Chrysler-NEW-fuel-pump-REBUILDING-KIT-41-42/173237001394?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item2855badcb2:g:ZUQAAOSw64ha333R&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACgBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickkSG%2BOFgrj2Yvbvmrj2TAdM7fHpCF4nnDEyxazae7NqCed5ZVRbywI1YMWFoyjZxcQ0EmYGOTq3Uynogg8ijVnr3gMYdArnxrtOSeLSv0C1z2tnfqz3E5JTqDzBeUl1CyWep%2FKJrrX97yBTtIRW7o2PdF0oDn5WdVw2td1lLnk9Ce2AK6cru1xvNGLHIACENN3bkSPKFgRRT5pzaRytvqhGGQgfquLejpDDykqhkUdvmXaHuBgAFSgcN%2BbJanSSDUKs0%2BiWjGKCaH9tCRj1sxh4tWdZw4F2%2FByMSoKYWBUUd1heVSQxP%2F2ixGELlE6bcUv7VI2GE7cio06Vj5BccRF9bzevIoAwLD8Ea3HGGPxAo%2BVGeogHb%2F24oOzMHuCcxXzuLzssyFthN4SwK2EKCXQgNzemMMBoFBGaHEWoJlZ8cYuo63gd0yT1sJ4rO4odXdkgBJ%2BA8MAVedvNN8fVUpfsOGKm1yIh1%2FVXs8jHXsKMupkdyoq0haf8mg3CODRnSp39IWaUltM6NiJZ1ZuLtG0yjtm8gsn9iuRHMIzhltTqqOtBsL%2FpUey26MjhixqLBJPSRISZ8gmFUFVUCDfcwE4WiOYzwnca0HFEBz2D4vPIptM2upJA%2FmlLNEbxSyrNZqDn%2FERdcpEdKkmZOecOvRnNfyHqQfQftnz9TUG9MS7jI7tnbvOa1rm9CMMtvfJvypBcmX%2BZ863ofsb5%2FtrNNnKDMTHyN8E3%2Fxvva7Yd3kGqifg%2F5zXXVd90A0KkqmZrVdGU5WwVAixP8UvTn%2BM7%2BtCrQzvM2HseTBWflWfbPfibXw%3D|cksum%3A173237001394c93b7486192d45acbba4b7b48cfadeab|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524

There should be two check valves in the pump that can be removed as well as the push rod that operates the pump. If the check valves are correctly installed and are not plugged, they should not impair the flow of fuel being pushed by an electric pump. They are very low pressure valves and broken or rusty springs or a little dirt or rust can prevent them from functioning properly.

Brad; Using one of these trucks as a daily driver has actually been a great experience. I will tell you that while it wont do everything a modern truck will do....... it does what it was intended to do better than most newer trucks do.......and reliably. It has given me a whole new perspective on quality of design and construction. You will probably find that you develop a bit of play in the steering fairly early on. My suggestion is to make very small adjustments until you get it where you want it. Adjust and then drive for a while. Once you have it where you want it ....it should stay there for several thousand miles. Mine has. One thing I can tell you about using one of these trucks on a regular basis is that they tend to get sweeter with use. Mine runs and drives better the more that I use it. In more than 5 years of daily use it has never left me stranded. I don't even have an AAA membership. Jeff

Thank you boys ..never seen the like here in England (uk) ..but it makes sense ..I’ve fitted a new tube at the bottom of tailgate and was going to weld up hole but I’m going to sand blast the door and keep it ..now part of the truck ? I got new bed rails from dcm classics over with you ..but I worked out sizes of oak boards and had them cut out here I’ve just got to router the edges of boards so channels sit in flush .. do any of you know if ford or Chevy steel wheels of 1950 are the same as I have only 2 original would love to find an original set with dodge centre caps ?..thanks Paul

It's good to see that my video is still getting some play. You don't have to do your valve adjustment with the engine running, but I have found that it is a little more accurate. You can also adjust the valves with the engine off. The procedure should be in the shop manual. (edit: I just checked the manual and it references adjusting with the engine running) The engine should be hot for a proper adjustment. If you go to the "Resources" tab at the top of this page there is a Tech section with a valve adjustment procedure for engine off. You don't need any special tools, but they help. You will need 1/2" and 7/16" open end wrenches. If you get yourself a set of tappet wrenches you will find that they are easier to use. They are longer and thinner and work better for reaching into the valve area. Also, longer bent tip feeler gauges make things easier as well. Again, it helps with the reach. These tools also help keep your hands further away from the hot exhaust manifold. And speaking of that... a good pair of gloves is a plus too. I'm not familiar with your truck model, but on the Pilot-House trucks the inner fender panel comes out, and if you pull the right front tire you have fairly good access to the valves. Maybe Ed can chime in on the earlier trucks. And again, on the B-Series trucks the clearance specs are; Intake .010" / Exhaust .014" / HOT. When you adjust the tappets think of the upper part as a bolt that's screwing into the bottom section (because that's basically what it is). Screw the upper part into the lower part to increase the clearance, and screw it out to reduce the clearance. Merle