55 Fargo

Hi Bob, the odometer is not working in the speeedo I have in the car, the 1 out of the car works, so that is my answer. What I am looking for is should I attempt to clean the speedo and re-lube all of the moving parts before using it again. The speedo for the 46 to 48 Chrysler looks the same as the Plym speedo, is it not?........Fred

Hey all, this winter will be pulling out instrument cluster on my 47 Chrysler, this is for a few reasons. 1 is to swap in another glass, to change temp gauge too, so all has to come out in order for me to dot his, something I do not look forward to. I have another speedo on my bench right now, it works well, by my bench testing, the speedo in the car works, but the odometer is stuck, the trip odometer works. Now I can clean either I suppose, what should bea course of action? I notice the green is on the speedo needle, is there not supposed to be red on this too? I will be doing this soon, or later not sure yet. This winter or at least before next spring, my seats will be going to the upholsterer ina week or so, I have to finish my door panles, and insulate and sound deaden the interior, I will also be ordering a headliner to too, oh the carpet needs to go in too. So I got some work ahead......Fred

Sorry to hear about this News Arthur, hope all goes well in your Fathers treatment and recovery......Fred

That sucks Joe, sorry to hear your having a tough time with this paint. Dezeldoc is right, his correction method sure sounds like a good plan. Don't suppose if you tooka sample of the color you need and have it scanned by a Body Supply Shop Jobber, could they reporduce it that way, or is this what you have done already without success. I would lean toward Dezeldoc's method.....Fred

How true Frank, I boughta 2005 Caravan in July 2004, the vehicle was built in June of 2004, the rear brake drums had no paint on them, all rusty. I found this out as I wanted factory Aluminum rims, this vehicle did not have them. The ordered me a set, well they brought in some after market wheels, that looked awful, thats when I saw the rusty drums, this was a vehicle brand spankin new.

Here is a scan from a Chrysler Shop Manual, for the 25 " engines. It is noted, that on some models the "nut", is and will be on the flywheel side...Fred

Hey Michael, not to criticize you for your thirst for knowledge and info, but I think you answered your own ? Life is short, but impressions last forever. I ask a lot of questions too, one thing I do is re-search, sounds to me like you are afraid of making mistakes on this project, some of your car will no doubt not be as it rolled off the line in Detroit, Dallas or Los Angeles. With some of the negatives you have recieved, I think My Friend you need to have a look at "your part" in this, correct it, and get on with things, this a great forum, and will continue to be, even if you sell your show piece once your done and vacate this wealth of Mopar Information Oasis. All the best....

Hi Neil, if using a 1/8 plexi-plastic, you could cut the notched ends with a radial arm saw, or sldiing compound miter, ora file, or maybe sand paper. if using metlas, a hack saw, file, grinder etc. Table saws scare some people, as they tend to grab the object being cut. You would not have liked my Profession in the old days, meat cutter, especially doing some sloppy chuck roll through a band saw into steaks, and having to work fast...

I also installed my flywheel to crank bolts as per Don Coatney, I did this when I pulled the clutch housing/flywheel to correct a leaking rear freeze plug. I have had no issues, these bolts were previously installed this way on my 8 bolt crank flange /flyhweel engine.....Fred

Thanx Robert, but will give full credit to Ed P. of Winnipeg, he is an Old Mopar Guru, he is a retired Mechanical Engineering Prof. This Man has re-produced all types of items from the replasticizing of the glove box doors, fire wall tags, shifter knobs etc. He even did his own upholstery in his car, and it is top-notch.

No, you use self tapping hex screws 1/4 or 5/16, attach clips, the rocker trim slips over the top of the clip and clicks over the bottom of the clip, as an OEM clip would.....Fred

This can also be done by making bends in some 16 to 18 gauge tin or aluminum, did make a few of these too, they fit into the rocker, then bolt or screw on under the rocker to hold the trim tightly to the rocker panel....

The end dado cut can be done with either a radial arm saw, table saw, or even a router,these cuts were used with a table saw. Thanx for the car compliment....Fred

Her is a pic of the home made rocker trim clips, they actually work quite well. This prototpye is made from a very tough plexi., This clip you will need to drill a hole through, in order to bolt it to the exterior of the rocker. The nice thing is this material is tough, and will never rust, might work well, very easy to manufature at home.

Thanx for the comments Guys, she is coming along, I even have new glass for the dash it will go in soon, the dash door will be getting re-done by a gent up here in Winnipeg, he makes the knobs too for shifters, Cowl Vent,lighter, window cranks, dash pieces, he does steering wheels too, does very nice work, but is costly. He emailed me today, to tell me a the dies he made to remake the shifter knob bezel is working well, so will have the shifter bezel too. I have a nice working temp gauge and sender to go back in to, that way will get rid of the after market gauge, the dash will then be complete.....Fred PS, I was given, by the above noted Gent, a tip on how to make rocker trim clips for our rocker trims, using flat stock 1/8 x 1 inch steel or aluminum, I have made a prototype from a wood paint stir stick, it works great, now will make up the clips.....Fred

Looks great joe, give yourself a pat on the back, you done good, my Friend....Fred

Hey all, installed my "dummy radio" to day, along with new lighter knob, and shifter knob, still need a stainless shifter knob dbezel, like hens teeth. Also bought some fair condition rocker trims, here is alsoa pick of them being held on with clammps. Everything is an improvement, but hardly a show quality car...

Is what they cal one of them thar plahseebo fixes, might as well use them little sugar pills, instead of the real valium. A lot of these products no doubt are marketed to stae there performance, and /or ability to enhance performance, or solve problems that should otherwise be corrected by common sense service. One thing items like STP and Lucas will do is thicken the oil, to a denser viscosity, alleviating some oil burning, blow by, maybe knocking etc. I have tried one home made remedy touted and suggested by Lou Earle, the dishwasher detergent treatment to the cooling system to clean it out, and do an internal wash of the water jackets. I found this to work very well for me. I would guuess these or certain additives will do something, but probably not the amount of something or expectations to the best of the owner wishes. Now here is an aexample of "you are what you eat". A guy I work with tells me the other night, his mechanic changed his antifreeze, and flushed his cooling system on his 5 YO Dodge Van, the van had only 45000 miles. Now this Guy keeps his vehicles in meticulous form. He swears to me his Van has way better heat, now with a flush and new coolant, I remind him the outsdie ambient temps are 30s and 40s now, and not -20 or -30, he still beleives his new coolant is responsible for his heater throwing more heat. I think his mechanic is full of hot air, unless his heater core was partially plugged, and in his case it certianly was not

Hi Bob, I used new SS screws with trim collars, to fasten the kickers for a preliminary fit, now they will be recovered with the same material as the door panels, which is dark blue, will use some 1/4 inch foam on there first. In some ways I would not mind evn the door panels going on this fashion along each bottom corner, as the clips are not so great in each corner , as the panle holes were hard to get right in these corners for some reason, so may use a screw and collar on each door panel bottom corner. Here is a pic of the rear panel, with all the holes and cut out for everything, including the dome light switch...Fred those gasket hole cutters are great.. Here is a pic of the kick panel srewed on, steering column will get paint, new carpet will look better too. Bumper pan installed, will pull prep and paint as car body next spring. SeFront seat bottom, is actually a nice specimen, it will be getting the re-upholstery soon, would like the driver side a little firmer though....Fred

Right on Robert looks great, and will look fantastic with new color on her. This was done pretty quick too, can hardly wait to see the finished product.....Fred

Cut a sample out of a trunk inside support, about 5 inches long and 3/4 of an inch wide. Going to send this out to Robin ASAP, apparently there is a postal strike in the UK, hopefully it does not take too long to reach him. Another interesting tidbit, compared the Red Sumac sample from parts car, to painted surface where I used Tremclad Rust Enamel Wild Raspberry, it is almost a dead ringer for color match, funny how that is.....Fred

Some of those old Ditzler numbers are obsolete, some are not, phone a PPG dealer for further details, and too see what is available..

Thanx Norm, I am 5 or 6 clips short:( of the entire amount I need, hope to find some in the shed, nut may have to open the wallet:eek:....LOL