Leaderboard

We went for a US car show here in Germany today. They awarded 5 trophies, Best of Show, Rat Rod, Modern Car, Longest Distance and Oldie but Goldie. There were a lot of awesome cars here, 59 Cadillacs, 50ies Corvettes, Chargers, Cudas, Mustangs, Lincolns... but hey, the ol‘ Dodge made it !

Okay, all it needed was a longer magnet with a DIY self-straightening WD-40 spray can rod. It was at the very far end of the cylinder 😱😅

I spotted this B1FA whilst I was procuring a “new idea” sickle mower this past weekend. the look on Julie’s face (“oh crap”) when she saw me spot it, was priceless 😂

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

after not having ice harvest day in 2024, we were back at it today. good clear 18" ice, blocks were 300 to 325 lbs each. pretty mild day, high 20s (after about 8" of snow overnight). filled the ice house, too, so a successful day. 25 blocks on this load. ended up getting a second load of 20 blocks to fill the ice house. (the first load was roughly 8,125 lbs of cargo...)

Hi all, some months ago I picked the brains of this Forum for my stock 1948 Dodge D25, and can now report on the results. The car now has Moog CC850 coils in the front and the rear leaves reset by a local guy here in Oz, and I couldn't be happier! The CC850's appear to give what I would regard as a 'standard ride height' from back in the day, and the transformation in the car's ride and particularly steering (due to less roll at the front) is far better than I'd hoped for (the car has standard 15 x 4.5" rims and 6.70 cross plies). For anyone running a similar 'stocker' I can definitely confirm that you will have a 'standard' look-no need to cut down the coil unless you want to lower-that does not sit too high, and drives beautifully. Thanks for the great advice from the Forum! Cheers, Nigel Bailey

Finished setting up the lift last night. Just put the 50 on it a few minutes ago. Still need to move the tools to this shop. More news later

I went and did it again. I FINALLY started to realize that maybe I should "thin the herd" - and I was actually doing it. I sold a couple of old cars and my motorcycle and I was trying to convince myself that I felt good about it. I was actually starting to believe that - BUT THEN IT HAPPENED - AGAIN!!!!! I was innocently browsing Facebook Marketplace (mistake #1) and for some reason I opened an ad for an antique car which I had ZERO interest in - NONE But as I was scrolling through the pictures in the ad (mistake #2) I noticed a car in the background of 2 of the pictures. Of course, I HAD to message the person running the ad asking if he'd be interested in selling the car in the background (mistake #3) I got a reply in a few minutes saying "Yes, he'd sell it, and when would I like to come see it. I immediately replied that the next morning would be a good time to go look at the car (mistake #4) The next morning I go look at the car (mistake #5) and now as they say - "The rest is history" It's a 1949 Chrysler Woody - 1 of 850 made. Picture after a little cleaning

I met Arthur one time about 7 or 8 years ago. He had a 55 plymouth front bumper he wanted $150 for. He was in Coinjock, N.C. and I live about 40 miles away, so I went to his place to check it out. He had a whole lot full of cars and trucks plus a quanset hut full of cars. One was a 32 ford coupe with a Hemi in it. Anyway, I had to take the bumper off the car so he got me a piece of card board and some tools. He was in pretty bad shape. He was bent over, limped, and generally in rough shape. After I got the bumper off, I said "You'll take a check, right", and he said "hell no, I told you cash", which he had. I started laughing and handed him $150 and he started to laugh. I stayed another hour or so with him listening to his biker and Viet Nam stories. He was quiet a character and I wish I could have gotten to know him better.

As a follow up here.... After taking my time and being meticulous in double checking my work. I'm happy to report the engine fired off and settled into a melodic rumble with no fanfare. Minute leaks at the waterpump bypass and fuel pump were quickly handled. After stationary break in was completed, a short test drive shows promise.

Finally got some more welding done. Enough to allow a test fit on the motor. Everything seems to fit with no clearance issues. I was concerned about the firewall but it clears it.

I got the GPS installed today

It took awhile 50 years to be exact but my dream has finally been realized , fat fenders and running boards !! All went well, sales transaction, (private party) title transfer and registration with the 1934 vintage stamped from copper license plate, any way I am very impressed with a few things 1. how quickly and easily it fires up , I was a bit skeptical of the 6 volt system 2. how well it rides and steers even with the bias ply tires. 3. how smoothly and quietly that flat head runs, it actually rides better and quieter than my 56 Olds. I named her Fannie Mae . If your from the Midwest and love chocolate you may recognize Fannie Mae as the big chocolate company from Chicago. she reminds me of a big box of assorted chocolates and caramels , this color combo may not be everybody's cup of tea but it works for me and turns a few heads. I've heard some people say it doesn't show up on Plymouth color charts some say it is a factory color carrotine # 4 I think also referred to as the burnt cars ? I'm sure you here would know better than me I'm a pre-war Plym newbie !! I'm learning more daily and as I dive in hope to learn more, I'm not sure what's 100% original to the car and what's not (I'm not a stickler for that) I hope to lean on you guys as I try to learn. here's a few pic's of Fannie.

Thank you Tod for locking. Just to clarify the reason for no political/religion threads is because inevitable someone gets pissed off and it turns ugly. I have seen other forums destroyed by this behavior going rampant. Unfortunately "if people act as adults" is not a given based on my experience. 😒 Robert, the idea is P15-D24 is a safe haven from the the many "outside forces" that can distract us from the primary objective, keeping our mopars on the road!

This is a factory option turn signal indicator bezel which I've had sitting around for many years. I recently got it fitted when my car was re-wired and I'm really pleased with it. Video here: IMG_0451.mov

Got the wagon done and have been putting some miles on it. The wagon is a fun old ride and gets more attention than my 50.

I managed to finally find time today to install the rear fenders. Overall the job wasn't all that difficult. Biggest issue was the lower front bolt on each fender. It took a little bit of pushing and pulling along with a few choice words to get the holes lined up but I prevailed in the end This is the first time since 1996 that I've seen this truck with all it's sheet metal in place. Once the fenders were on it was finally time to take it for it's first real test drive so I drove 4 miles to the gas station and 4 miles back. Guess what, it drives like an old truck 😄 It became obvious pretty quick that the speedometer was not accurate. I had my phone GPS open so I could see how fast I was going and where the speedometer read 30 mph, I was actually going about 45 mpg. Not sure how I'll deal with this just yet, but I know I don't want to leave it that way. I think I hit the top speed of 47 mph. I didn't want to push it because the 29 year old tires are hard as rocks and I haven't really set the toe-in yet other than an eyeball setting when I was installing the steering components. Once I got back and parked it in the shop I found two leaks. I have a glass bowl filter right off the gas tank that feeds the electric pump and it was dripping gas. I tightened the bowl retainer nut a little and that seems to have resolved that problem. The other issue was the brake master cylinder had brake fluid all over it and it was dripping on the floor. It did not appear to be coming from any of the fittings. It's possible I had over filled it. I'll look at it again tomorrow and monitor it to make sure there isn't something I'm missing. Other than the ABS headliner and rear window surround panel the truck is pretty much done. There are a bunch of minor details I still need to take care of but, assuming the brakes are ok I think it's a driver now

I bought Alshere59's 1950 Plymouth. He gave me a super deal. Won't be able to start working on it for about two months. The shop I'm renting has asked me to move out by the end of the year. So I decided to build a shop and it will be about two months before it's done. Probably shouldn't be spending this much money but I'm old and I need a place to work on stuff and not worry about the owner changing their mind. The new shop is not going to be big or fancy. But it will be big enough to work on one car at a time and have a lift. I shouldn't be starting another project but I'm too stubborn to stop working on stuff yet. This is a perfect project for me. The mechanicals are good. All I have to do is paint it and then put it back together. I think I can do all that. It may need a few adjustments here and there also. This is a picture of the dirt work and the day the car got here. Had the car transported from Ohio to Texas. That's a story for another time. More news latter.

The construction is done. Took three months. They did a great job as usual. Now I go to work. Hang stuff on the walls - install the lift - add the air piping - - -. That door does not seal good. I may consider a different door latter.

I'm happy to say the truck now has a bed I think all told, it took about 3 hours to get it picked up, and fitted onto the truck and another couple hours fiddling with the mounting hardware. Out of the six bed mounting bolts I had trouble with two of them. The front two on the passenger side had a problem with the repro channels being twisted so that the bottom holes on the channels were 1/2 the diameter of the bolt towards the rear on the bottom holes. It probably took me an hour to get those two bolts in and aligned properly. Once they were in I snugged the bolts down. I don't know what torque setting I should use so I need to look into that before the final tightening. Without the tailgate the bed weighed in at 257 lbs. Lighter than I was expecting, but after thinking about it, there's not a whole lot of heavy structural metal in the bed. The two heaviest pieces are the sides. The rest is just formed sheet metal pieces. We have wintry weather coming tonight so I took the truck out to get some decent pictures. It will be the last time it sees the sun until I get the rear fenders installed, wiring done in the rear, and the ABS interior panels installed. Getting the bed mounted on the truck let me breath a sigh of relief. It's only taken 29 years to get to this point 😮 Even better is I now have more room in my shop 😄

Some of you may have seen my thread on my sticking throttle on the original ball and ball carburetor on my 38 plymouth. I had rebuilt that carburetor so many times over the last 25 years I don't even know and I was tired of the strip screws and gas and vacuum leaks. So I did a little research online and found that Daytona parts company in New Smyrna Beach Florida sells a UN2 Universal single barrel carburetor that is supposed to be a direct Bolt on. I figured since I lived an hour away I drive up there and see the carburetor in person. I'm glad I did, I spent 45 minutes with the owner Ron and he gave me a lot of good advice on an electric fuel pump if I choose to add one and basic setup of the carburetor to make it quick and easy. I handed the man $300 cash and headed home. I didn't have much time but I wanted to see if the carburetor fit. I already had the old one off because I brought it with me and I dropped the new one on and following Ron's advice I literally had the carburetor installed and the engine running and idling beautiful in 10 or 15 minutes. I hooked up my vacuum gauge and adjusted the idle mixture until I had 50 psi and the car was idling smoother than I can ever remember. I had to make a quick adjustment to the adjustable throttle on the carburetor and then the linkage bolted right up. My choke cable fit perfect and my stock air cleaner also fit perfect. I have not driven the car yet but letting it idle and revving it up in neutral it already seems to run excellent. I'll update once I get a chance to drive the car but so far I am extremely happy with this carburetor and I'm really looking forward to not dealing with that old one again. I'm going to try to attach a few pictures of side by sides with the old carb and with the new one installed.

I thought I would share a few successes that I have had recently as I have been completely restoring my 48 Plymouth Special Deluxe sedan. I will start with the stainless steel fender moulding trim that was really in bad shape. Both of my front two fender mouldings (left & right) were severely creased inwards and looked horrible. I was able to restore them to where you can hardly see any deformities. I took two pieces of Oak wood and filed them with a couple wood rasps to conform to what the moulding should look like. For my mold, I used a section of the moulding that was not creased that I wanted the rest to look like. Then I filed one piece of wood that is cupped that the outside face of the moulding would lay on. I file the other piece of wood a little rounded with a little bit of a point would was fit inside the moulding. Then I sandwiched the moulding between the two pieces of wood and placed them on some carpet. I would then start hammering the top piece of wood into the moulding - starting where the crease was just beginning. I would then move back and forth with nice brisk strikes of the hammer on the wood. It only took about 15 minutes worth of hammering to straighten out the crease into the original form. I thought I might leave all kinds of noticeable dents/dings in the moulding, but I was surprised it didn't. It's not perfect, but unless I point it out you wouldn't even notice. Here are a few pictures that show the before during and after.

Went to a local swap meet, in mid 40 degree mist and rain. Normally lots of buyers and sellers, but the weather really thinned it out this year. Stopped by the license plate man, did some horse-trading on a nice set of ‘54 car plates and about 7 pairs of nice, newer plates. Bargained my way into a really nice set of ‘51 farm truck plates. Now, all I have to do is get the truck to look and run at least as good as the plates look.

Today's update has resulted in several changes short and long term. Most importantly the Classified section is currently not available because of some incompatible code that literally crashes the site. IPS is the vendor that supplies the core software for the site, including the forums, downloads, gallery, blog, and store. As a result when an upgrade is done the optional modules will work without any issues. Other features like the links and classified page are from third party suppliers. Unfortunately the author for the classified section has not updated his code to work with current version, and ISP server environment and it causes a fatal issue. They have a new version in beta but I'm concerned about the long term viability (and interest) of the publisher and will be switching to a different publisher for the classified functionality. If you has a paid ad running and didn't get your full 30 days, contact me (info@p15-d24.com) and I will get you a free ad when the new software is up in running. The bigger issue to consider is while many "neat" add ons are available add-on software support becomes a critical problem when the original publisher loses interest or just doesn't make enough money to be worth his time.

Want to introduce my 1949 Plymouth P17 business coupe It's mostly a survivor with a not so good Earl Sheib paint job that a previous owner got a long time ago probably the $29.95 version,which I think it adds to the character of the car and it did polish up nicely It has upgraded front disk brakes,a BW r10 overdrive and relocated front shocks. It's a work in progress I still need to repair axle leaks ,transmission leaks and a fuel sending unit . But it's a strong runner and fun to drive and it gets a lot of attention at the local car shows among the sea of GM products 😀

Hi Guys, I just wanted to double back and let everyone know what the culprit(s) were. Yes, the distributor needed a full rebuild. The breaker plate failed and was causing the points to bounce. Also, someone dropped the original point locking screw into the bottom of the distributor housing, and it was lodged into a heavy old cake of grease. This was the causing the mechanical advance to hit the screw and not function properly. So I rebuilt the whole distributor and set it up on my distributer machine. I was also right about fuel being the issue as well. The flexible fuel line from the body line to the fuel pump was so rotted, there were holes worn down to the webbing. With these fixes, the car is running better than it ever has. Thanks for all the advice and suggestions, Jon

Well I had a hailstorm that was destructive to my property so to get me out of my depression with this place I drove the truck on the property for its first time. 1986 was the last time it started easy and ran good and had brakes. I was so excited I ran out of gas shortly after backing it out of the garage. Looks like the tank needs at least 3 gallons on my hilly property. Ha. I forgot to look at the gauges as well I was so distracted. Jeez. I was more worried backing up with a droopy side view mirror. My neck is a little stiff rubbernecking out the door and looking at that mini rear view mirror and rear glass. Still things that need adjusting like the emergency brake and bench seat etc. A lot of paint touch ups needed. Was a little concerned I had bought wrong tires but they turned easy and there was no rubbing. They are Michelin’s truck tires P75 215’s. I asked for a harder tire and as skinny as it could go on the D-30 rims. I didn’t want bias ply. I like the stance.

If my starter ever needs replaced I will have my son do it. He needs the character, lol.

Continuing 2024 adventures. After this last winter's work, aside from still running a bit rough before it warms up, the ole Dodge is in finer shape than it has been since we first got it back on the road way back when. We went to a friends' place in Hammond for an afternoon social yesterday. He's a sculptor, not necessarily "famous" but his bronze bust of Joshua Chamberlain is in the U.S. Capital building, and Maine commissioned his work for the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial and the Maine State Peace Officers' Memorial at the State capital in Augusta. They have his works scattered about their property - hence the bronze moose in the background, there are two, one on each side of the driveway. Their property is a photographer's paradise, but not necessarily for automotive themes.

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.

cold, wind, snow, rain.........this is a family site, enough of the four letter words.😁

I welded a bracket on the log to imitate the boss on the factory manifold. It seems to line up correctly but I’ll know for sure when I get it back on the motor.

Was able to get my dash clock working. Just needed to file the contact points for the electro magnet winding mechanism, has been a really good,productive day. Moving forward,slowly, but moving in the right direction.

Short version is that I bought it. I kinda screwed up because I had a meeting with a contractor this morning that took long enough that the banks were closed so my pocket full of cash wasn't all that impressive but I'm okay with what I paid for it. I'm going with the "kicking myself later" thought process. Also.... I found the original air cleaner assembly. The original spare tire carrier is in the bed. The title VIN matches the dataplate on the firewall, the mileage is shown as actual on the title (58,xxx) He hasn't found the key but we hotwired it so I've heard it turn over briskly, heard the fuel pump kick on/smelled fuel. (He showed me the massive number of keys in his briefcase and promised he would have one of his guys go through them and find the key that went with the truck). It rolls freely, and goes in and out of gear just fine. Oil was clean and to the proper level on the dipstick. Rear brake cylinders will need to be replaced, which is why the brakes were down. He said he has another 54 parts truck in Virginia so if I need something, I'm supposed to just give him a call and he'll get me what I need. The more I looked at it, the more I liked it and again, when else am I going to find one I can see personally? So I bought it. The Rolls Royce behind it had a stuck brake so it needs to be freed up so they can get it out. I will deliver the balance due tuesday after work (banks are closed on monday) and get the title. I'll make arrangements to have AAA bring it home wednesday after work. I really don't think it will take much to get it going but I'm sure you guys will help me if I get stuck, right? I spent a few hours with him one on one when he invited me to see the other cars in the pharmacy in the neighboring town. He can't drive right now for some reason so I drove him around. He told me he barely made it though high school but somehow he's done really well. When you can outbid Jay Leno for a car in the $250k+ range, I'd say you're doing okay. And there are more cars in Virginia, he is going down there thursday to meet with folks to sell those and check on some real estate developments he has going. As Los Control said, he's just divesting himself of most of the cars because he knows his sons don't know or care what they are. He doesn't need the money (obviously!) but he has a history with each of them in some way or another, he bought my 54 from a very good friend when his friend's health started to fail. Now his health is failing and he is trying to get them new homes before he runs out of time. Anyway, that's probably more than you needed to know but it's been a very unique adventure. More to follow when I get it home. First order of business is to find a good rear bumper and brackets to protect that sheet metal out back! Thanks for the opinions and responses.

1952 Dodge 1 ton.

Problem solved. The original grease fitting hole is a little less than 8mm diameter (about 7.9). So I got an 8mm and were able to press it in with a small socket over it and using a 2 leg puller around the control arm and turning the fitting in. Pretty happy with that.

So I opened up the paint booth today. Was a balmy 55 degrees out. There were no bugs injured in the process Actually came out OK, the fenders were total junk. A before pic of the passenger fender, the best one of the two. They are still rough, they are stronger now then when they were new ... I love them. I will work them over before I put final paint on them .... I see a few dents already that I classify as character and will be left alone.

This is a chart of Plymouth carburetor I.D. numbers from 1928 to 1974. This company sell rebuild kits, and there is some great info on their site. https://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Kplymouth.htm

For those of you who are OCD clock watchers... A holder for your pocket watch.

While pulling out the P15 for an afternoon drive today I discovered that a few days ago an absent-minded old man had driven away from a gas pump with the gas cap sitting on the rear bumper. The poor idiot proceeded to blissfully enjoy an extended drive and in the process launched the gas cap into places unknown. What an idiot.... In case anyone needs a gas cap, a Gates 31620 is a perfect fit, it is chrome and vented. I found one at my local family-owned auto parts emporium but this part number will return some hits from online vendors. Note to self.......hold the gas cap in left hand while refueling, don't put it down anywhere.

Drag me in to this will ya? Lol. I am still enamoured by old cars. Their simplicity. Doing the needed repairs and maintenance on them. It’s not much work to me. Keeps me outta trouble. Yes I still work full time. Another number of years before retirement for me. I don’t grasp the “time is more valuable after retirement”. Maybe I will get it once I’m retired someday. Yup, my old ‘38 is an old car. Old technology. Old axle. Old brakes. Ancient generator and regulator. Electric wipers were unknown still. But I like it. It takes me back to a simpler time where gas stations were all full-serve with energetic people who wanted to check your oil. Top up your rad. Clean your window. I’m not even allowed to do these things at a Costco gas station. They took away the paper towel. Get in, take your money and get out asap. Build your hot rods. Resto-mods. Or Keep it stock. Whatever you like. Whatever makes you happy. Have fun!

Saturday I had to say goodbye to the truck... He left for paint! 😁

Last year the weather cooperated and I was able to take a ride on Christmas Eve with no snow and mild temperatures. (-3 Celcius) This year I am not so sure as we have already had a skiff of snow that has thankfully gone and some colder temperatures. I try to run the car right up to snow so will have to keep a close eye on the weather. Today was around 6 degrees with only a light breeze so I headed out to inspect some of the SPOOKTACULAR creations around town. Caught this one as it was being set up so hopefully the halloween weather on Thursday does not include the rain scheduled for 4:30 local time. Happy Halloween everyone.

Great news. We made it!!!!! 1,300 miles, 7 states in 3 days. We removed the spare tire, all our luggage and put the seat up as much as we could and she didn’t rubs (as much). The biggest thing was having a full tank of gas which dragged the rear end down so we just kept her with 1/2 a tank. The gear oil leak seems to be coming from the Speedo cable area but regardless given that she ran amazingly and brought me back home I plan on removing and replacing the seals on everything that goes into the gearbox from the sensor, Speedo, to the solenoid, etc. I am also going to order new springs and shocks as well. Any advice as to the best place to source them? And Thank You to everyone that helped us on this adventure.

Thanks Sniper. I know I have a long road ahead. Brakes, fuel, glass, etc. The gas tank is my biggest concern. Haven’t researched it yet, but I don’t think it’s being reproduced. To fill it up, you have to tip the drivers seat forward. So I don’t think the truck tank will work. Anyway, I’m looking forward to getting it running and driving.

I buy bulk of ebay...have my shop riveter grinder machine..

Thought I would leave a few things here about Arthur, aka Knuckleharley. Have had a few pm conversations with him over the last few years up until he went quiet on the forum some months ago. He had no close family that he had connections with so without that I wanted to leave a bit more about him here as a bit of remembrance. Arthur Hines got past 75. He never thought he would get past 25. In his earlier life he spent some time involved in the Vietnam War ( as you guys know it in the US, or the American War if you are from SE Asia ). As Plymouthy's post shows, he was in MACVSOG. Look it up if you need to...Special Ops then was a top secret group operating across North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia running offensive ops against the NVA. Mostly 6 man teams running around poisoning their food supply, getting into their ammo dumps and salting them with 'ammo' that exploded when fired, pow snatches, hits on NVA officers etc, etc, etc. If areas got to hot they would send in a Hatchet Force Team to assault the NVA positions. This tended to make them a bit shyer chasing the 6 man teams...On one occasion he remembered being on morning parade with 6 MOH winners. When you consider how hard it is to get medals in covert operations, this says a lot. There were about 30 men in each FOB recon company at any one time. Some months the casualty rate was over 50%. Medal of Honor winner and friend of Arthur's, Franklin Miller, co-wrote a book called "Reflections Of A Warrior" covering these times. Arthur is mentioned a few times in this book. Knuckle has been a member since 2006. He had a bunch of mopars, '33 and '48 Plymouth coupes, '33 Dodge 4dr, '42 Dodge coupe, 49 Chrysler Windsor coupe and a '37 Dodge 4x4 truck. Also a bunch of non mopars - '32, '34, '38 and '53 Fords. Mostly coupes. He had got crook years ago with lymphoma, from all the 'friendly fire' agent orange that drenched him in the jungle. Not having family, he had arranged his estate to leave money to a couple of local charities. One for animals I believe. Anyway, that's a bit about Arthur...RIP.

That picture was taken with the car running on choke. Idle is set to about 600rpm when warm. I run a tach because my car's hopped up with vintage speed equipment... and I race it.

A legendary attribute of early Rolls-Royce Motorcars was the ability to balance a coin on the radiator whilst the engine was purring quietly. While there is neither a R-R or 5-shilling coin in this video, here is friend Jerry's 1950 Plymouth with a Canadian Loonie riding the fresh air vent, radiator and cylinder head!