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One of the projects a couple of years back while trying to get the 47 P15 back on the road was a complete brake job. When the rear drums came off everything was covered in grease. The PO told me they had done a brake job and I could tell that the shoes looked new. They must not have replaced the seals. When I see stuff like that I always say to myself "I can fix that". And I did. After new seals, bearings, cylinders and shoes everything looked and worked like new. Well - A couple of days back with the car in the air for another project I noticed a drop of oil on the floor under the left rear wheel. So I pulled the drum off and everything is covered in grease. The new seal must have failed. Pulled the other side off and the same thing. Covered in grease. Turns out I did the same thing the PO did. Didn't check the vent and it was plugged. It's clear now and new parts are on order. I can fix that - I think

I checked the head in the shop a minute ago and it is 1/2 NPT for the temperature adapter...the adapter itself will be straight threaded internally as the gland nut job here is to seat the bulb against the taper in the bung for a seal. To bypass install of temp sender at this time, a 1/2 NPT plug will seal...use a bit of teflon tape....this is a non pressurized system pre 51.....so you not having to crank it down much to seal

And some of the worst offenders have moved on. While I am not a fan of Ford engines in general I am of the camp that it is your car, do with it as you please and if the occasion every arises that I feel so offended by your plans for your car I'll make you an offer that will entice you to sell to me me so I can "save it". Never happened and never will though.

I would not order anything before inspecting thoroughly what you have & what you need. These old Dodges do not have readily available Drums like a ferd or a chubby. You could easily order $200 worth of shoes just to find out it is your drums that are bad .... You really need to know exactly what you have, the condition of each part & a good idea how long each part could last before being replaced .... to make a educated decision about fixing your brakes. About the charger, Most phones need 5 volt to charge. I would be more concerned about the positive ground of the vehicle and if it would work with the phone? A example is our 6 volt positive ground radios can be gutted and converted to a negative ground system .... But we do not have a inline converter to switch the radio without damage to the radio. So just a WAG, the 6 volts is enough to supply the 5 volt requirement ... Possibly destroy the phone when the generator is cruising down the highway supplying 8 volts to the battery ..... I would be more concerned of the reverse polarity on our vehicles. Most of us have a old junk phone lying around you could try and see if damages the phone before trying it on your good phone?

Works for me. I mounted a 6V to 12V converter tucked up behind the glove box. Tied into the fuel gauge power wire. Powered by turning on the ignition switch. 2 years later it still charges fine for me.

Cant say I blame you I just thought @Kilgore47post comes at a perfect time for me. Obvious from the photo I have lots of work ahead of me ... Everything works fine as is, I just need to get the frame stripped & painted then run the new wiring, brake lines, shocks .... then work on the mechanical. Brake hydraulics, shoes, drums are done. I need to go through the drive line & ujoints, change the oil blah blah blah .... Not once did I think about a truck parked in a field for 20 years would have a plugged vent. I really do appreciate the tip & will check that while I'm here.

I vented earlier today, but that was at the grocery store, lol. As I age I am more and more fond of checklists. Must be the military coming back to haunt me. When I run across something like this I add it to the list. One day it might help me. Thanks for the heads up.

The above photo IS NOT of the original poster's car. That photo is my P15 and it works perfectly.

That's for a universal 12VDC starter switch. Ebay had more info than NAPA. https://www.ebay.com/p/1630301666 Was interested in the solenoid.

Not sure this thread isn't too confusing to sort out, lol .

Part of the twice yearly tuneup. Where I grew up you'd do a tune up in the fall to set things up for the coming winter and a tune up in the spring to set things up for the summer. Checking dwell was part of it. Where I live now, in addition to not having to shovel snow, I only have to do a yearly tuneup.

I have to agree with @Adam H P15 D30 I can see trying to stay period correct with your build .... with your 360 that bus left a long time ago. You could pick up a Ford Explorer 8.8 with disk brakes and many many options of gear ratios, you can get your parking brake back, you can buy brake parts from any local auto parts store. The swap is pretty straight forward, buy a rear end from the bone yard, try to get all the E-brake cables that go with it to modify to your use. Grind off the spring perches and weld on new ones .... Tractor supply use to sell spring perches for $20 ... I dunno about now and sure there are other options .... The U-joints depends with what you have now. I could name many more reasons to make the swap .... While I can not honestly think of 1 reason to modify your original rear end. IMHO .... agree or disagree .... Beefing up a stock rear end is like putting lipstick on a pig.

I finally got my 1939 Plymouth out for a decently long ride. I had a long painful time getting new window glass for my rear vent windows. Lots of problems getting the tinted glass and rubber that wasn't a horrible fit. Didn't want to take it out without the glass in except for short local drives on sunny days. I started that job last January and just finished on Friday. Yesterday I drove it to a car club meeting. All back roads in Vermont. Very hilly and lots of curves. About 2 hours each way. The temperature was in the mid-90s. The temp gauge went up and down like it's supposed to, and never went over 190 degrees even on the long uphills in third gear. The car drove like a dream. I'm a happy boy. One of the club members drove his 1931 Chrysler dual cowl phaeton. A beautiful car. Pete

Keep your eyes peeled for spare old crusty distributors and carbs. All the little screws, nuts, washers, ground isolating parts and more can be salvaged and reused. I have 4 or so distributors and carbs that are discarded by most folks. They’ve been great for spare parts. Yep on the micro wrenches. Good to have. Another tip is pull the distributor and repair it on the bench. Much easier when you are trying to deal with micro fasteners.