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One last picture taken this afternoon. I had the ‘53 out for a 40+ mile run today. Main reason I’m posting is to show the topography of where I live. The city I live in (Lethbridge, Alberta) and surrounding area is on the prairies, looking their worst at the moment but much better when green. Lots of farming and ranching. Above the car you can see the Rocky Mountains which are about 80 miles from where the car is sitting. It’s a beautiful part of the world. 60 miles south is the US border and Montana.

3-12-21: Yep, you read it right...the B-1-C! Still have my B-1-D, but picked up this '48 B-1-C today about 2 1/2 hours away. The guy I bought it from did all the dirty work: got it running good, restored the interior, new wood bed, new tires, new brakes all the way around with lines and a master cylinder, and left the original paint on the outside. It's not perfect as there is a little bit of rust, but overall I'm very happy with it. As you can tell there's lots of bumps and bruises, but that's the way I like them. I will drive it to work and be able to work on my other one in peace! ? I'm super tired from the trip over there and back, which by the way my 96 f150 with 228,000 mi performed flawlessly. I didn't have one single problem. I'll post some pictures for now, but will give you more updates tomorrow. ?

Back in business! short trip with my best friend but, we had fun. Yeah, it was actually an undersized throttle return spring issue ? how embarrassing

Ten years ago anyway, the owner of SMS Auto Fabrics (Canby, Oregon) also owned a textile mill in the Carolinas. At the time SMS was, and might still be, the largest repository of OEM auto interior fabrics anywhere in the world. They didn't have the correct broadcloth wool for my `49 Plymouth but did have a sample book, the swatch from which was a perfect match to the piece I brought with me to their shop (pulled it from under where the front seats folds forward, so it was effectively still like new). I left them a deposit and was told it would take about three months. It ultimately took six but they absolutely nailed it: the weave, the color, the pattern, all spot on! At $90/yard they didn't give it away, but all in all, I thought it was fair, given that they literally had to create the fabric from start to finish. Your car probably came with mohair but if they can reproduce the broadcloth wool I suspect they can handle mohair. If you're looking for originality, I doubt others can match what they can (or at least used to) offer.

I can't recall if I have ever accessed this topic in the past, it has been around for quite some time. I have been messing with cars since I was 14, actually bought my first car, a '40 Chevy three weeks before my 14th birthday which was in 1948. I have had several cars through the years, none of which were DPCD's. Lots of Chevy's and a few Fords. My father preferred Chevy's, however, he had a '37 DeSoto 4dr sdn in 1939, we went to the Worlds Fair in San Francisco. My father did buy a '36 Plymouth in 1943, it was a terrible car, would not start most of the time during cold weather. My father parked the Plymouth in front of a beer bar he hung out in one evening, when he came out the Plymouth was gone, stolen. The car was found out in the desert west of town a few days later, someone had torched it.. I always suspected that the disappierance of the Plymouth was a put up deal. Moving forward to the 1950's, I bought a '36 Ford DeLux 5win cpe in September 1952, the car had belonged to one of my high school teachers, the odometer had 51 K. I still own the car, never intended to keep the car for so many years it just worked out that way. I have driven the Ford over 94,k during the years I have owned it. Through out the years I always had a latent desire to have a 1930 model convertible. I had several chances to buy a convertible, however, I like cars that have warm air and sweet music.. (Heater and radio) which most '30 model open cars don't have. Everything changed for me in 1995, I was in Montana visiting my daughter. Cruising around the farm area around my daughters place I stumbled onto a '39 Plymouth P8 RS convertible coupe. The car had been sitting in an open field for 38 years, a complete car with the engine sitting in the grass in front of the car. After some discussion with the farmer that owned the car, he called it his high school jalopy, he gave the car to me. In my wildest dreams I never thought I would own a Plymouth, leave long a Plymouth convertible. It took me sixteen years to rebuild the Plym, the most difficult project I ever undertook. A significant amount of the body, trim parts for a '39 Plym conv are one year only. Wm

Get yourself a can of Pringles..."dispose" of the contents...take the plastic lid and a ball point pen...set the lid over your carburetor opening...apply downward pressure to the lid perimeter by holding with the kung-fu grip...firmly trace the desired inner diameter to cut with a sharp utility knife...trim the desired outer diameter...if'n ya don't like the results, get yourself another can of Pringles and try again

After spraying PB blaster on several times over the past couple of weeks, I finally got all the lug nuts/thimbles busted loose. I was able to break the driver's side loose with a wrench, but the passenger's side nuts/thimbles would not budge...even with a 3 foot cheater bar. I ended up purchasing a 3/4" drive cordless impact wrench and that took them right off.

Plate looks way better! ? I know you are not keen on the tailgate grain door but I really like it and think it adds character to the truck. Hopefully, it will grow on you. Keep the updates coming!

What,you don't actually think some cop and his pal with a storage area would actually seize a car as stolen,store in in the pals storage yard for a year,and then get a title for it in one of their names as an abandoned vehicle due to the storage fees,do you? Why,I NEVA!........ Well,I did once. Had a local cop wake me up as I was sleeping in my tow caar at a closed gas station in Tn,and tell me to follow him to the station because he was arresting me for vagrancy. UNLESS,of course I would pay the $100 fine in cash on the spot,in which case he would let me go if I left the county immediately. Well,I didn't have the spare 100 bucks to pay him. I was still in the army and had just gotten back from 3 years on Okinawa,and had to report in to Bragg in just a few days. I had no money to spare because while visting friends in Reno,I bought a 56 coupe de ville,and decided to "play Hud" driving cross-country,instead of just flying,like any sane person would do. Along the way,I bought a 33 Plymouth 2dr with a 324 Olds and hydro while doing a little partying in a little town in Arizona,and was towing it behind me. Stopped at a closed gas station just off the interestate in eastern TN,and was awakened by a cop tapping on my window with his flashlight. He announced that unless I gave him $100 in cash,he was going to arrest me for vagrancy. Since I didn't have 100 bucks to spare because I had just gotten back to the US ,and had decided to buy a 56 coupe de ville while .in Reno visiting a buddy teaching ROTC there. I had decided I wanted to drive cross country and "play Hud",instead of doing the sensible thing,and flying home. Along the way,I stopped to spend a few days with a go-go dancer I happened to meet in Arizona,and bought a 33 Plymouth 2dr with a 324 Olds and Hydro in it,and had the 33 hooked to the Caddy with a tow bar. The arrest happened on a Friday night,and I sat in a cell with the light burning 24/7 until 8 AM Monday morning,when he came to let me out before the Judge showed up. He also told me I had 30 minutes to get out of the county or he would arrest me again,but for car theft this time because I didn't have a notorized title for the Caddy in my name. The paperwork was still being processed in Reno. . When we got to the impound yard where the Caddy was,there was no 33 Plymouth OR tow bar,and I was told by the impound yard people there was no record of a 33 Plymouth EVER even being there,and reminded once again the clock was ticking on my car theft arrest,which would have meant the army would charge me with desertion instead of AWOL because I had a TS Crypto clearance and was in SF. He didn't know that,but I did,so I had to bite my lip and drive off. I did have big plans for that boy after a couple of years had passed and everyone had forgotten about me. Got out of the army after coming back from VN,and was working construction and trying to save some money for a trip I had planned,when by chance I discovere the house I was helping remodel belonged to a family from that same Tn town. So I asked them about "good old,Captain Bill,with the MP insignia on his tie",and they laughed and told me he was in prison. He made the mistake of stopping someone else with out of state tags and trying to pull the same scam on them,but the guy he pulled that time was the nephew of a powerful congressman in DC,and it didn't work out too well for him. This stuff DOES happen.

them heater controls look to be mounted for the passenger's benefit... Horkey has replacement tailgates... DCM has some tailgates...maybe them shiny strips could be dulled with some vinegar or terlet bowl cleaner, they pop too much with the bed sheet metal paint, kinda like the mouthy know-it-all answering questions that nobody asked ? EDIT: maybe pull a strip out and practice on its backside...you can adjust to get the look ya want, then flip it over and treat them all ?

Today I went to evict the rodents nesting in the cab of my new treasure. Also removed the remnants of the rotten flatbed and sprayed PB Blaster on all the lug nuts. I ended up filling (4) 45 gal trash bags with the material from the rodent nests. Sorry about the sideways pics.

The best pictures for that (and a lot of other things) were posted by Don Coatney, but a lot of his photos were hosted on an external site, and so after he passed away, those links are now broken. But here is one that I copied from one of his posts. You will see it there, attached to the lower edge of the bell housing.

I know there has been a lot of owners that hate the Champion Sparkplug the J11 plugs for our flathears. But I was doing some lookinf for anther owner and noticed something very informative in my 1937-53 Napa Parts cataog that lists the various parts used for all major cars. They have a section for Chrylser, Dodge, Desoto and Plymouth. So this is what they lsit as replacement plugs for Dodge: 1945-54 Champion J8, AC 37-54 #43, Auotolite 37-54 A-7 Plymouth same as above for Dodge but 37-49 AC #45 50-54 AC 46 Desoto 46-54 Champion J8 AC 37-53 #46 Autolite 37-53 A7 Chrysler 35-42 6-8 cylinder Champion J11 46-54 6 or 8 J8, AC 35-51 6 or 8 #45 52-53 #46 Autolite 35-51 6 or 8 AL7 53-53 6 or 8 B-9. I do have an autolite catalog a Blue Crown Catalog and a Chamipon Catalog to cross reference against In my Autolite Sparkplug Catalog that covers 1930-39 There is a chart to compare the Autolite, AC and Champion plugs and the Champion J11 is not even listed as being a plug to cross over from an Autokite, The Champion J8 is listed to be equal to the Autolite A7 In my Blue Crown The Champion J11 is equalt to the Autolite A9 which is a hotter plug. So maybe w have all been using the incorrect Champion Plugs with the J11 plugs that people have been told to use. Ant I think the J8 was replaced with the J8C plug. This is a good topic for discussion. I am using the Autolite A9 plugs in my 1939 Desoto. Rich HArtung desoto1939@aol.com

Chris, Glad to hear you will make one. That is what differentiates us (P-15, D-24, or Chrysler, Desoto) folks on this Thread. We are the mechanics that keep these beasts rolling. Tom

The dogs? Ours prefer Ruffles but some are not as fussy.

My trucks still have their carter's so I can't help with that side of it. However I'd be willing to take a look at your carter if you want to try and retain it.

John points out some good things to consider. Once those are sorted then you can address the other issues mentioned. In my case the original engine is still in my car and it runs decent. Some oil leakage and maintenance issues like yours though. My plan is to take the core 230 I bought and rebuild it paying special attention to sealing and the other idiosyncrasies these engines have. I do plan to hot rod the 230 and I'd rather do that then break my original 218 hot rodding it. My clutch linkage needs new bushings, the brakes will get updated to discs and a dual reservior M/C. Things like that are not necessarily something that has to be done all at once so you can do it in groups having fun and not breaking the bank. Plenty of resources hear to help, the search function is your friends and lots of experience also to help sort out the questions that will arise. Good luck.

Can't say about Champions, but the Autolite 306's fire up within 2 revolutions. Almost instant. Been running both brands over the years and never really had a problem. Only plugs I ever had an issue with was Bosch platinum, the ceramic around the center electrode fell apart on two plugs causing my 413 to ping. But I got into the habit of new plugs every year on my carb'd cars so that might account for my lack of issues.

3 possible locations: between #5 & #6; below carb facing the firewall; below carb facing inner fender...although I have an older intake that has no tapped vacuum port. I see no ports from the picture that you posted of that part of the engine compartment ?

Terry my suggestion have your car looked over by an experienced restoration shop. Have the shop inspect the frame , the suspension and the fuel system as well as wheels and tires . If these parts are safe and sound next have a complete brake system check . If problems are found in these areas do not drive the car. Have it brought back to home on a rollback . If no problems are found enjoy the drive home.

Whattaya do with the pringles?........lol.

When I first started my '48 1/2 ton in '96, I used the J8 plugs that were in it for a few thousand miles. Those J8s were made in the early 70s, Dad put them in when he drove the truck til he parked it due to a variety of issues + not having time to work on it in the late 70s or 80s. I replaced them in 2002 with new J8s as those decades old plugs were worn to the nubs, but the new J8s fouled up in a hurry in weather below 60°F. Around 2004, I changed to the Autolite 306, and carbon fouling went away. I did not have the time to figure out what was going on in the flathead, but about the same time, I had a Champion grenade in my '92 John Deere 425 Kawasaki 2cyl, another Champion grenaded in a Troy-Bilt rototiller with a Briggs & Stratton, and had heavy carbon fouling in Grandma's '86 Diplomat. Replaced all those plugs with NGK and AC, and those problems went away. Champion wasTHE spark plug for a very long time, but these quality issues in the early 2000s soured me on them...does Champion make a better plug now? Does compression play a role in carbon fouling? I recall how surprised Dad was when I told him that smooth running flathead I had revived after sitting for 20+ yrs was using the same Champion spark plugs that he put in it before I was born...I do not know if that kind of quality is even possible these days from Champion, as I believe their materials cost cutting to improve profitability has been miscalculated to their reputation's detriment. But if the Champion J8 is made nearly as good now as it was in the early 70s, I would run them again in a heartbeat...cold startups were less than 10 seconds, wear was good, any fouling was serviceable within reason, a good value if the quality has improved.

This is a great picture, ...... the endless expanse of the prairie blue sky, majestic Rockies in the background with Mopar icing! ....that would have been an epic 40 mile “”Belvedere “ tour to say adios to winter. ??

Jimbob: [bounces in reverse] B: I like it! J: HEY ? ...and then your co-pilot bails out before ya get the parking brake set ? When I first got the 1-ton rolling after its 4 yr hiatus thanks to that tow truck snafu, the gas pedal pedal would hang up like that...I got pretty good at the driving calisthenics, could even grab the pedal going through a turn while downshifting...then I fixed it after the shifter knob caught me under the chin after hitting a bump in the road ?

Mine had a grain door too when I first got it. If you end up swapping out yours you could always donate the old one to Mark for his collection. ? As for the nice looking bed wood and strips. I agree that it is out of place with the rest of the truck. I would probably scuff it all down and painted it black as it would have been originally. Maybe a flat, or satin black so it doesn’t stand out so much from the rest of the patina. Then use it “like a truck” to give it a well used look.

When I got my 51 it also had the grain door fabbed into the tailgate. I looked high and low for a tailgate and finally found a good used one in Phoenix. That was 24 years ago, now I kinda wish I had hung onto the original tailgate and used it instead. Now I think they look kinda cool and help tell the story of the truck. Brad

Bought my first one for 550$ out of some guys field Second for 600$ from a kid who was scrapping cars Third bought at an auction in the middle of nowhere for 650$. Guy I bid against was going to cut it in half for yard art Dad and I worked on his old trucks growing up so that got me into old cars. Wanted a few of my own. First year I got a job I bought him a fully restored '67 C20 as a thank you and retirement gift. Would like to pass mine along sometime as well. All labors of love but I can't bear to see them rot.

Maybe that is part of some folk's train of thought. Climate change. Fossil fuels getting used up at record rates. Maybe they do have a different long term outlook. Housing prices are indeed going nuts in a lot of areas of North America. Up here in Canada too. It's hard to believe how much prices have escalated in 15 years. In my town we saw a 20% price increase in the average house sell price here, just in the past 12 months. Other areas here, even considerably more.

So i bought a parts truck. Had 3 speed floor shift and floor park brake. Thought they looked very similar, sure enough the shifter housings interchanged, and with it was the casting for the park brake. Was an easy swap. I got very lucky. That rarely happens for me.

3-13: That plate looks much better huh? ?

3-13-21: Out screwing around, finding out a bit more about the truck. Seems my eye isn't so good...plugs were OLD and beyond black. I put some used ones in after a brass brush cleaning; much better. With this ball and ball carb it seems to like a partial choke...much like my other truck. I messed with the idle mixture a bit to no avail. I'll probably have to check the timing as well for sure. Otherwise runs and drives good. A friend of mine welded up the worst of the exhaust leaks.

Here is a quick update on this adapter for a Dodge Deluxe w/ Fuild Drive. Just need to cut a new hatch to access the MC and connect the new brake lines. Take note; the bolt hole near MC was slightly off center. I had to widen the hole about 1 mm to make a perfect fit. This of course might not be the case for everyone, your vehicle might match up perfectly. Just depends on how well the template matches to your vehicle.

these reproduction u-joints with the central grease point could work if low profile 90° zerk fittings could be sourced, but those are hard to find these days as well...agreed that it is infuriating to have an online vendor reel ya in with a sale only to say "on back order" when a delivery date is requested. Updating the entire affected driveline is almost the last resort to source the spicer-type u-joints, short of updating to a newer rear axle, but it sure would be nice to find a crate of Cleveland-type crosses coated in cosmoline

Not trying to be critical here but shouldn't getting the engine running be a priority? Then fuel delivery, brakes, suspension...after all that is dealt with, then the paint...not fun to make it all look nice then find out that the block is more incontinent than the old sailors home on game night ?

Marc, guess what we all had in common was youth. Thinking we had all the time in the world. LOL The fresh air unit is a very tight fit is all. You can do it. Back at it today with Temps moderate again.

My steering shaft didn't have a blind spline up top so the steering wheel could be put on in any position . You just need to put things together loosely to get the pitman arm correct and then try it out and change things as needed . It helps to count rotations and center things that way . If you need any more photos let me know .

My first post in this thread was back in Jan 2012 when I still had my previous 48 Plymouth Club Coupe. Ended up selling it a few years later to help my daughter through a rough spot. About two years ago I started getting the itch to find another car and came across my current 37 Plymouth Coupe. While the 48 had a hot rod flathead and overdrive the 37 is powered by a 360 5.9 Magnum and 727. Found it in Detroit. After several conversations with the owner I flew to Detroit made the purchase and drove it back home to Dallas. Have made some updates since then like a new intake/carb, redid the A/C, new gauges, rebuilt the transmission. I drive it a lot putting about 8 thousand miles on it last year.

My experience with these isolators was in the late 70's when I was working on an Oz 1940 Dodge Coupe that I'd sold to a mate, when doing the steering I realised that it needed these isolators, I went to the state parts distributors and just for a laugh asked them if they had any...........one of the original ones still had a legible part number so they checked their listing and found they had 5 or 6 sets.....I bought 3 sets......they were as surprised as I was that these were still on the shelf.............after swapping a new set into the 1941 Plymouth Coupe I had from 2007 to 2013 there was a marked improvement in the steering feel............andyd

Looking at his profile, I see that he is in Canada. If that is the case, the Canadian Dodge is really a Plymouth with Dodge trim. Wheelbase will be the same. If a Canadian car it will have the longer 25” engine whereas the US Plymouth and Dodge had the shorter 23” engine. Check under the hood as mentioned and get the serial number. Pictures really help as well.

If the plugs look clean,NOT NEW,the engine shows compression when your turn it over by hand,and the oil looks to be used and good,not new,it looks like a hell of a deal to me. Let's face it,the trans,bellhousing,and pedals being a part of the deal really sweetens it,and 500 bucks ain't what it used to be. . Neither is the ready availability of complete motor and tranmission units. The trans is easy to check. Put it in neutral and pull the top plate with the shift lever,and look at the gears and brass rings. Truthfully,that trans and bellhousing witht he pedals,clutch,and pressure plate is probably worth 500 bucks these days to a lot of people. OOPS! Just noticed it was from a 1950 pu. Wouldn't that make it a 218?

Updating, changed some gears, bearings seals, threw on some color now I am close to reinstalling the transmission back in the truck. I got more intimate with it than I planned on, I ended up building a transmission top holder for my vice to hold it while I worked the top over and I fixed some “worn” parts while I was at it Definitely not perfect but overall, I think it’s better than it was.

I think the stock look can't really be improved on, however "modern" upgrades can make it more enjoyable to drive. Things I have done to my 1940 Dodge and 1940 Plymouth wagon: radial tires front disc brakes turn signals dual carbs with dual exhaust RadioRad for modern tunes larger displacement flathead overdrive passenger side mirror upgraded rearend (from 4:10 to 3:73) HEI distributor front shock relocation Things that I plan to do on my current build (1952 Plymouth Suburban): 12 volt electrics Automatic transmission w OD Mopar V8 HEI distributor Ranger rearend with 3:73 and parking brake A/C Integrated music system w bluetooth (built into the stock dash ) multiple speakers lots of sound deadening and insulation air shocks for ride height adjustment electric wipers beefier sway bar front shock relocation The inside of the the '52 will look period correct. I plan to use original gauges, steering wheel, etc.

Hey guys I replaced the steering box insulators today,the job took about an hour. I jacked the front end, cleaned the area and pulled the bolts. I cleaned all the hardware and installed the new pads.I torqued the bolts to 48ftlbs(between 45-50ftlbs). I had no problems aligning the bolts with the steering box. I took some pictures along the way. Before the cleaning As clean as I could get it Outer plate off Steering Box Unbolted All Parts For The Job New And Old Pads Steering Box With New Pad

I'm asking for some identification of some firewall components. I have numbered the items to identify if you know what they are. I think #3 is the fuse and unconnected wire to the cigarette lighter? And #4 is the top terminal on the voltage regulator. So 1 through 6 is you know. Thanks,, Eric