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My Great Grandfather, and guessing my Great Grandmother with the '55 Dodge (I'll be inheriting this summer) and what I believe is a '55 DeSoto. The truck was my Great Grandfather's then my Uncle's, and then my Parent's, and soon to be mine. My Dad just told me that he is getting too old to work on too many toys, and he is giving it to me. It is in a little worse shape than here, but pretty much original. I'll post pictures of it's current state, in the correct area, when I get it out of the barn, but from what I recall it definitely will need a gas tank and fuel pump, amongst other things.

Just installed a Red Crown Gasoline light in our carport to go with the truck. I am pretty happy with the results.

Also had them flip the flywheel starter ring.

I have an admittedly tight focus on the KT Keller cars, so that's what I research and play with. It's all about having fun after all and those are the ones I like. I am a huge fan of Overdrive transmissions because they don't really change the charm of the cars and actually add to it. When you put one in your car your speedo will be off at all speeds because the speedometer pinion gear was selected for a 4.1 ring and pinion. The good news is you can swap out the pinion from your old three speed to the O.D. and all will be back to normal ( assuming your speedometer doesn't need service ). But what if you changed the rear end ratio or the tire size? I don't advocate changing rear axles because I don't see much to be gained there. You can easily change the differential carrier ( aka 3rd member ) in a Plymouth if you want another ratio. Where I live there's lots of open road with highway speeds of 55 to 70 so optional ratios, tires and O.D. go well with my Plymouth. My P17 Coupe came with 6.40-15 tires ( modern equivalent 195/75/15 ) and a 3.73 final drive ratio so the speedometer pinion would be a 17 tooth gear ( p/n 652-848 ) for an example. Chrysler designed the pinions to use the same 6 tooth gear on the output shaft so you only need to change one gear to correct the speedometer. One thing you find out right away is selecting speedo gears is not an exact science. You can get close and you might hit it right on the button but you more likely will be over or under by 2 or 3 mph. That's why the Highway Patrol has an enforcement tolerance. So let's look at tires first 6.40 15 = 195/75/15 standard tire for a P17 6.70 15 = 205/75/15 standard tire for a P18 7.60 15 = 225/75/15 an optional size tire Final drive ratios 3.90 very common on long wheelbase cars 3.73 standard ratio on many optional on all 3.54 optional Chart of ratios & tires vs speedometer pinions 3.90 6.70 15 17 tooth pinion 3.73 6.40 15 17 tooth pinion 3.73 6.70 15 16 tooth pinion 3.54 6.70 15 16 tooth pinion All 7.60 15 16 tooth pinion So you can see you're not going to get an exact reading but you can get close enough to avoid a ticket. The part number for the 16 tooth pinion is 652-846. I have found that if you have the number for an obscure part the parts house will look to find it in their inventory but they are likely to blow you off if you just say "I need a 16 tooth speedometer gear." Happy hunting!

Yup, between 65 and 70. When I had earplugs in, I tended to go faster, haha....

Another vote for making your own. It’s like a puzzle to solve. You screw a few up. You learn. You get better. Building and shaping your first ever 3 ft line across the left rear axle housing? Order two 25 ft rolls of 3/16” brake line tube. 😄

preformed and then curve and bent to fit a box for shipping, you better off making your own tailor fit set.......

with all due respect, items needed to exact this repair is common at any hardware store or big box building supply, TSC etc that one can walk in, get the item, pay and immediately got to work repairing. While mail order from many companies and sites are MOST BENEFICAL when you dealing/needing bulk quantity, I have to state IN MY OPINION this is not the best option for this particular thread. Heck if it boils right down to it, one can find where a person may park a chevy/gm product and find where these have fallen off and free for picking up. Ok so the last part is a joke...maybe real at times, but still intended as a jab/joke.

SURVIVOR: saw this Dodge between Lake Graham and Newcastle

Likely not a "factory" accesory, more likely a mass produced catalog or dealer option, these aren't listed in the Accesories section of the manuals.

Just use a torch to get the plug red hot....that oughta bust the rust loose................. 😲 🤣

John-T-53, thanks for all the pictures. I’m sure a lot of us would like to make the tailgate and BBQ. Just not practical for most. However, your pictures really let those of us who can’t make it live vicariously through your pictures. The most and best of the bunch! I would love to bring this old girl to the BBQ but it involves border crossing (not a problem with a passport) and a three, four, or possibly five day drive depending on weather and lack of problems. It doesn’t have a tailgate but does have the next best thing…..a big butt trunk.

you may be onto something Sniper, I am going to say a rolling wheel gathers no red paint.....

See now a song comes to mind I see a black wheel and I want to paint it red Apologies to The Rolling Stones

I use the in my opinion a lot because most of my unsolicited comments are just that, an opinion and in no manner saying good bad or indifferent....but just as I see it. The fact I will then state the whys and wherefores of my opinion is to say that it is not just a whim or silly notion and give some background, color and size ratio etc...technically I could care less one way or the other what anyone chooses to do as it is not my car no more than if a person likes or dislikes what I do with mine. Big hobby folks, I will admit at one time it would rankle me see what some folks may do...but hard lesson to learn is JUST NOT MY BUSINESS....the red wheels, there is NO WAIVER here......lol

•pinched tube on intake manifold appears to be the vacuum source for the vacuum windshield wiper motor •intake manifold appears to have a partial PCV setup •spark plug wires appear a little on the long side...universal sets with 90° boots can be sourced

I dunno, call me a snob but I's rather spend my tool money on real quality tools. Like Starret or Mitutoyo. Yeah, they cost a bit more but are definitely quality tools.

It’s good to learn with these old bombs. When you get that perfect double flare you’ll then realize that you forgot to put the nut on. Oops . I enjoy making up my own fuel and brake lines. I agree with Plymouthy Adam’s, you’ll have to reshape them anyway after unpacking them.

My 93 F250 rear shock upper mounts sit about 2 " inboard and below the frame rail. To install these on my truck would require mounting them on the inside of the C shaped frame, open side of the frame is on the inside so I would guess the standout to the shock stud to be about 4 inches. you'll have to wait till it stops raining and dries up a bit if you need more accurate measurements.

The engine pictures are current, but it's not done under the hood. Planning on using a fuel block and hard lines. I set that up before I was able to find the right fittings to use on the hard lines. The filter is in a temporary position. As an update, I have been able to put some of the stainless on the strips that are on the glass. Slow going and hard on the hands.

The drag links I'm familiar with had one end with cotter pin and slot cut into the end that a wide screwdriver blade or drag link socket fit into for adjusting and the other end would be a tie rod style. If the end that has play is similar to the tie rod style Sniper put up, replacement is your needed. If the other style, I believe some replacement sockets and cup, spring may be available. Post a pic of the bad end if you can.

VINTAGEPIC: saw this Dodge on the FB

I think I’m a year with the electric 6V boost pump in Chrysler. No complaints. It will push through vapor lock. I have done so with it. I do like it spliced into ignition switch (wire to fuel gage). Then I cannot leave it on when I park the car. I have left the heater blower and AM radio on by accident. They were wired to direct non-switched power sourced. Dead battery the next morning. A sure way to ensure premature death of an otherwise good 6V battery.

Hopefully this post skirts the rules...i have been unsuccessful finding arm rests. My last hope is that someone can send me one for templating and I can ship it back. A friend suggested making them out of wood. But the shape is fairly complex and I'm not a good woodworker. If anyone has any other suggestions, my ears are open. Attached is a pic i found online. Thanks, Andrew

I did.

Last year redid the wood bed of my truck. Some of the carriage bolts and nuts I was able to reuse by just a quick brush and repainted them (the heads only) with the POR15 Black Glossy Paint. I used it on my bed strips as well and all these parts were steel. I looked online for hardware, E-bay, Ace, Grainger to name a few after taking inventory on what I needed that was not salvageable for hardware. I found the best prices for what I needed at Menards online. Based on prices everywhere I decided to go with hot zinc dipped hardware and added the sizes for carriage bolts, washers and nuts to my online cart. Menards will pull your order and have it waiting for you at the pick-up counter but they charge extra for that, so I printed my online cart list and went down and grabbed them myself.

Same here. If you decide to delete the mechanical pump you might consider modifying the fuel line inside the engine compartment to get it away from the exhaust manifold. Here is how I ran the line across the upper firewall and over to the carb.

By turning the ignition on and then off you did the same thing the points do when opening and closing, letting the coil fire a plug, and if a gas mixture is in that cylinder when it fires it'll rock the engine. That's my guess.

and as such when it is no longer original (as in not broken on assembly) toss these for some fresh hardware preferably stainless steel, BUT if you are a purist, and must stay with the stock stuff break out the molasses and let the big dog eat, weld the breaks, chase the threads and when completed apply for social security......enjoy a few pancakes while soaking your nuts and other hardware

well, .008 is within factory specs..just at the upper end..you can ride as is..and monitor this and address should it change...or go the added step to reduce this now while you are working this issue. The problem with many values and ideas expressed here is they do not reflect the values and standards of the engineers and it was well known, Chrysler aligned the company with the best engineers out there. Some folks just like to yell out, close enough and throw in the towel as it may be labor intensive.

So in 2005 I bought 4 uniroyal 205 75 r15 radials from Walmart,at 52 bucks with mounting balancing and unlimited road hazard warranty, mounted on new 15 inch aftermarket rims,if memory serves I ran them for 2 years. They were a bit short in diameter compared to the 6.00x16 original size. In 2007 we decided to drive to Charlotte, NC to attend the POC event there. In preparation for the trip I mounted a pair of 225 75r15 on the rear to drop some rpms going down the road. I put the 205 take offs in a black contractors trash bag and stored them under my work bench in the garage. Three years ago, I replaced the fronts with the stored pair. After about 45000 miles the fronts showed equal wear, at about half tread depth, no scalloping and no visible checking or bulging. The reserved set still looked new with 80 % tread and no visible faults. They have about 9000 miles on them since re mounting. The rears now have about 60k on them. They show as good condition with about 1/2 tread left. They came from Pep Boys and are what was then their Cornell house brand, according to the paper work their out the door price was 115 for the pair. Looking back, my father would be proud of my parsemoney in this matter. Others would call me a cheap SOB. Whatever, I think, I will let them ride for the season. Looking on line, both the 205 75 and 225 75 sizes have been relegated to trailer sizes through tegular retail sources, so not good news. I loath the thought of dealing with Cocker...

For the speedo pinion seal, I found a Honda #91204-HB3-004, is a perfect fit.

SURVIVOR: saw this Dodge between Lake Graham and Newcastle

Pro tip. If you have a bunch of transmissions and go hunting through them for the proper gear to match the 3.73 you swapped into your coupe make sure you reinstall all the wrong ones correctly. Otherwise later on when Dad goes to install one of those in place of the OD he's not selling with the 50 Plymouth bad things will happen to the new owner. Like the tail housing exploding....

My point was that O.D. cars had final drive ratios in the neighborhood of 4.10 ( some places say 4.30 ) and the speedometer pinion that went with it. Thus no matter what gear you were in the speedometer would read incorrectly. Which is true even if that line was unnecessary ( my bad ). All transmissions that have speedometer gears measure the driveshaft rotation speed. Some exceptions are for example VW Beatles measure left front wheel speed and SAAB 99/900 which have the gear on the differential. You can buy speedometers that measure GPS signals and the are dead on with no connection to the wheels or driveshaft but they are really pricey. What I was trying to get across was that you can correct your speedometer reading with an easy swap of the speedometer pinion gear. If you want an O.D. transmission ( R10 G1 ) you can change the speedo pinion with the one in your old transmission. However if you swap differential carriers to get the ratio you want, you need to score the speedo pinion from that car. There is an exception here in that the 3.54 ratio is usually in an automatic transmission car and that speedometer pinion is not the same design as the manual transmission. Slight changes in tire size can get you closer as well.

Been a few years since I replaced the glass in my '48 P15 front door but I'm pretty sure I recall that piece slips off the stud. Most likely yours is rusted to the stud, may need some solvent and persuasion....maybe some heat?

I like the mounting on the rear of the bumper. It looks slicker than the factory mount on our car.

we made the license plate holder. thank you for your help.

That number doesn't come up in my 51 Mopar parts book so it looks like your 49-50 only is right. I just inherited a bunch of Dads books I'll see if he has a 50 Plymouth parts book

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER Thanks for tip Los. I pulled the sender and measured the gas level, it was at 2 1/2" in an 8" deep tank, which matches the fuel gage reading of about 1/4 tank of gas. Looking in the tank from the sender hole I couldn't see any water, but it was probably back by the tank drain, and the drain plug is stuck and I can't remove it. The one thing I didn't do last fill up was to put Stabil in the tank. It keeps the gas good and also helps with condensate. When I measured the gas level, I stirred the gas in the tank then I smelled the gas. It didn't smell bad, but it smelled weak. The strong smell wasn't there. It smelled lite, like half of the normal gas smell. I have new fuel filters on the way to replace the one before the prime pump at the tank and the one before the carb and when I change them, I'll take another crack at removing the drain plug and hopefully know for sure about the water in the tank. So tune in next week for another exciting episode of "As the Wheel Turns". Joe Lee

I used rust cure formula 3000 on the inside of the car, once I was refreshing the interior. Apparently, there were some studies performed by Canadian DOT, or something like that, indicating that liquid rust proofing really works if applied frequently. Some of our Canadian members might know better. I am planning to use it on the outside, as well, but just did not get around to it, yet. However, I would not be able to test it since the car is not driven in adverse weather conditions. Thus far, the only thing I can say is that it really does not drip and spreads very well

Hunkering down around the fire whilst a cell passes overhead.... and opinions being expressed over which (wet) wood pieces to burn...lol

Here's my pics.... Heading out of SLO county on the 41.... "El Puto Cinco" Joe's Truck awaiting its dismount Bud's Truck just having rolled out of the trailer

There is a youtube channel I watch sometimes ..... guy is a pretty fair mechanic and has interesting content. What he uses is bar oil for chainsaws. He thins it down with paint thinner then uses a pump up garden sprayer to apply it. The paint thinner evaporates leaving the sticky oil. Then he drives the vehicle down a dirt or gravel road and coats the fresh oil with a layer of dust ..... just helps give the oil a protective layer to keep it in place. This is what he does to his daily drivers, not sure he would do it to a classic car ... that he would not drive in the winter. I like the idea because it is cheap, easy to do, and it is not permanent. He says he needs to repeat the process after about 3 years .... If he needs to work on it he has a lift and can just raise it up, pressure wash it to clean it and when finished just apply more. Compared to spraying undercoating on that is permanent and a pita to get rid of .... I would choose this method if I needed it .... Texas I do not need it.

Ray, where is your original post? This one? Just reply to it with all your updates.

The decline of the Champion Spark Plug and the death of a company. The Champion electrode was made from mainly tungsten powder at a company called Fansteel in North Chicago. They mixed, pressed, sintered, burnished and then brazed it to the copper sparkplug core before shipping them out to Champion for assembly. The company also made many other items like the Lynx golf club casting, High end tungsten darts (Black Widows & Diamond Backs) as well as supporting WW1 & WW2 military needs, they downsized in the late 80s and were dismantled early in the 90s along with VR Wesson a sister company that made carbide cutting tools. Fansteel Inc.docx

Champion spark plugs...ran them for years in everything from V8s to single cylinder lawn and garden equipment...then in the late 90s, they needed to be replaced more often from electrode wear, and by the mid aughts they were blowing apart in the small engines, larger engines were fouling and hard to start in cold weather. Switched to AC Delco on big engines and NGK in small and haven't had a lick of trouble since.

I looked at the license plate mount this afternoon, and tried to get the old plate off to be able to get a decent picture. It isn't quite as I remembered. The center (vertical) bracket hooks under the bumper, and the center bumper bolt passes through it, securing it to the bumper. Then there is a horizontal c channel bracket fixed to it (welded?), with long slots, to accommodate various mounting points for the different shapes of license tags used during that era. This is the best I could do, as the tag mounting bolts are rusted fast, and just turn on the back side. (I could have broken the tag off, but didn't want to ruin such a perfect license plate.... )

I don't know the specific number but the carb on my '48 P15 is perfectly happy with the pump with no need for a regulator or return line. The Carter pump is the full-time pump on my car, here is the mechanical pump: 😁

Well, same here, the pup eventually become family and usually cause less trouble or heartaches. My little dog asks for nothing, gives all. I have had a number of dogs over the years and yes, they all been good animals. But this little guy, he is very special. He was 14 last Christmas...I have had pugs since early 80's....they my favorite breed. Here he is doing his Don King impression.