Sam Buchanan

According to the posts in this thread I paid too much for my '48 P15. But the car doesn't need a $5000 interior, or $6000 of body and paint work, and the engine probably has less than 3000 miles since overhaul thirty years ago. I put six months of hard la......ahhh......loving attention into the mechanicals and now have a ride that my bride and I are thoroughly enjoying. The car is now worth........shoot....I don't care what it is worth.....I wanted a vintage car that I can drive and now I have one. The money I've spent on it is 'toy money' and is insignificant enough in the big picture that it gets lost in the financial noise. This project would have been absolutely no fun if I had constantly been worried about whether or not each dollar spent was going to bring a return. I'm quite sure I'll never get all my money out of the car.....and I'm fine with that.

The feature of my '48 P15 that gets the most attention is the 'suicide doors' .......folks love 'em.....they have to get in to try them out.

Two items to check on the shifting problem: 1) Clutch adjustment 2) Shift rod adjustment These could have been disturbed or changed in the course of the clutch repair. If the clutch isn't disengaging fully or the shift rods aren't traveling fully there will be difficulties shifting. Make sure both are in spec per the service manual.

Cutting a new screen is always an option: https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productdetails.asp?RecId=734&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=2575&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhebrj8jt5QIVBpyzCh2bWAA0EAQYAyABEgKRAPD_BwE

If the screen is hard to source just put a filter ahead of the pump.

Ok......but I would not hesitate to use the TinyTach on a positive-ground car and would expect it to work the same way it does on a negative-ground vehicle or one with no electrical system. The factory reply is dubious because the tach has no connection to the vehicle's electrical system. Have to wonder if their reply is due to having never tried the tach on a positive ground vehicle and not wanting to make an official endorsement.....but there is bound to be some old positive-ground tractors out there using this tach as an hourmeter..... Whatever........ 😀 Update: I called Tech Support at TinyTach to get a definitive answer about this device on a positive-ground vehicle. The tech person is on a hunting trip and will call me later. I asked the person I was talking to (Connie?) if the polarity of the vehicle made any difference...she asked what kind of vehicle. I told her Plymouth with positive ground electrical system. She said no, the tach won't work on any car. What?? (see linked instructions) She then acknowledged she didn't know the answer and I would need to talk to the tech engineer. I'll report back when I get an answer so we can put this to bed.

Maybe this question would find more exposure on the truck side of the forum? https://p15-d24.com/forum/6-mopar-flathead-truck-forum/

Wow.....that was brutal. 😁 I sure do like that old-fashioned cowl vent, however.

We get wiser....not older........

That sir....is some nice work.

Cure the paint.

I don't recall the gage of the mild steel plate but it is approximately the same thickness as the gasket that usually fits between the manifolds. I tried the plate with a gasket but that messed up the manifold hole spacing at the crankcase. The gasket was removed and a liberal coating of red RTV on the exhaust manifold took its place. So far the joint is gas-tight since the two manifolds get cinched up tightly. There is no need to seal the intake side of the block-off plate. No corrosion treatment was used since I assumed it would be quickly eroded by exhaust gases. With all new hardware the intake manifold can be easily removed if service is needed but I think we should be good for a long time. A stainless steel plate would probably be the ultimate option.

A block-off plate will fit with the flap in the closed position. However, I ground the welds on the flap, removed the shaft and replaced it with a 5/16" bolt which is a nice fit where the shaft used to be. If you go this route use a narrow nut on the inboard end of the bolt and trim it close so you can still access the manifold stud nut behind the heat riser (the one that is often forgotten!). Instead of securing the 5/16" bolt with a nut, I cut it to length so it would be flush with the heat riser and plug-welded a steel strap to the head of the bolt. The strap is secured to the manifold with a 3/8"-24 bolt in the hole that was previously used for the heat riser spring stop. This gives full access to the hidden manifold nut/stud.

You will probably be fine, the engine may just need a little more time to warm up the intake for smooth throttle response on cold days.

I may have misunderstood your question. I have a blockoff plate on the exhaust manifold that prevents hot air from entering the plenum in the intake manifold. Rereading your post makes me wonder if you are referring to deleting the heat riser flap and leaving the intake exposed to hot air all the time. I suspect our engines are tuned so mildly that whether or not there is hot air in the plenum doesn't impact power output very much. But it probably has an impact on driveability under extreme conditions.