Sam Buchanan

Glad to see that, my new set of cables should be here in a few days, thanks for the referral! Sure is nice to see a vendor charge a very reasonable fee ($3.97!) for shipping instead of using "shipping" as a backdoor way to jack up profit margins. One of our best known vendors charges $14 even if you are just ordering some paper gaskets.........Com'on Man..........

Yes, paint would be a good option. What I was wondering....is it worth the effort to use a catylized automotive finish ($$$) or is a single-stage finish over primer durable enough on the material the old wheel is made of? I've used the high-dollar two-part stuff on other wheels but would like to avoid the considerable expense if a simple enamel gives good results.

Drove the P15 around town a bit to dry it off (don't need much of an excuse to drive the ol' girl around town) after scrubbing the engine bay and whitewalls and was surprised upon return to the shop to find my hands black from the steering wheel, apparently caused by moisture on my palms. I don't like steering wheel covers and have had steering wheel reconditioning on my to-do list. It got moved up the list today. I've refinished plastic-type steering wheels by filling cracks with body filler, thoroughly sanding out blems, priming and painting with automotive finish. This has always resulted in a nice finish. However, the P15 wheel is older than the other wheels I've refinished and appears to be made of some sort of rubber-based material. Question to those who have gone down this path-----what method and finish materials have you used for a nice, durable finish? Update; Have found some good threads in the archives but if anyone has a material list they really like please don't hesitate to reply. Another update: The forum search engine can be a bit finicky when searching for phrases. Here is how I got a good search return using Google: http://site p15-d24.com: steering and wheel

The reason I made my shop stands 15" is because that about is as high as I can get the frame rails with my floor jack without going to extra effort. If I need to go higher it is just a matter of adding more 4x4 blocks to the stands. Yep, there are probably several items in my shop that could stand an upgrade....

Excellent! They look great and the prices are indeed reasonable...think I need a set. Reason I mentioned neg ground is the lengths of your cables look similar to what I need...just the wrong color. I need one black and two reds.

Are the cables "off-the-shelf" or custom-made? I have neg ground so would need the colors swapped.

Love this photo! Reminds me of the days when I was learning to drive in our '56 Savoy.

I still have three sets of jack stands available when adjustability is needed. The wood stands are the same height as the regular jack stands when I have the floor jack up all the way. Yep, it's the tuggin' and yankin' that makes me very nervous when the car is on regular jack stands,...our wood solutions should keep us safe.

For the past few months as the '48 P15 has been returned to road duty after a five-year hibernation I've been working under the car. I'm one of the poor slobs that doesn't have a lift in the shop and I hate having my life dependent on somebody having a good day on a jack stand production line (even though I always leave the floor jack in place). Enough already....time to put something substantial under the car that I won't have to think about. Some quality time was spent this afternoon making 10" lengths of 4x4 treated pine out of longer lengths of 4x4 treated pine. They were stacked up semi-neatly and secured with scrap plywood and #7 coarse-thread drywall screws. I now have something to put under the P15 frame rails that can't be easily kicked out of place and won't tip over. Four courses of 4x4 yield a stand that is ~15" high which I what I've found works well with the floor jack I use. As you can tell, no effort was wasted on making these "shop stands" cabinet-quality......relied on the Gorilla method of construction......ugly but strong.......

Pedal linkage should be good, I made the over-center spring tool and set everything up per the book. The clutch works fine just has some chatter if you use throttle to get rolling (starting on a hill).

Joe, I peeked under the car today and yes, the left side looks tight, and the bolt head is very close to the clutch fork arm. I'll need to take a look at the bell housing clearance to see if the engine can be jacked up enough to insert the upper mount. Looks like I would need about twice the vertical clearance as the mount is long. This may stay on my low-priority to-do list.....

How about a bushing in the bracket that is long enough to torque the bolt but leaves the bracket free to rotate....

Must admit I hadn't considered sacked out motor mounts but can see how that would let things flop around. What is involved in replacing the rear mounts....can everything be left in place as the engine is jacked up just enough to slide in new mounts?

The clutch in the '48 works nicely except for minor chatter when pulling away from a stop. I've tolerated it so far and it really isn't much of an aggravation but plan to put a clutch job on the low-priority to-do list. I've spent some time in the forum archives and poking around the usual parts vendors but wish to pose the following request for up-to-date info. 1) Are there any sources for new (rebuilt?) clutch discs other than Kanter and A/B (and their associated eBay stores)? I've tried searching the big-name store sites for discs, even for later model Plymouths up to '56 but haven't found anything. 2) Is Tennessee Clutch in Nashville still a good vendor for a rebuilt disc? 3) Is it necessary to pull the oil pan on the 218 to gain access to the flywheel bolts if it needs refacing? I just had the pan off........... Thanks in advance!

I agree, that wire definitely doesn't meet AC 43.13 standards and wouldn't fly on either of my aircraft. But since the wire probably isn't necessary I decided to leave it instead of redoing it properly. Nice catch!

Just to come full circle on this little job, here are some photos. These will be old news for the veterans on the forum but may be helpful for those who have not yet replaced the valve spring cover gaskets. The cork gaskets were secured to the covers with Permatex #2 which is a non-hardening sealant to keep them in place when the covers were reinstalled. I also doped up the fiber washers that came with the gaskets for the bolts that secure the covers. I removed crud on the covers and bolts that might inhibit a tight seal. As a belt-n-suspenders approach I drilled the bolts for safety wire. No, they probably don't need it....but I like it. An unexpected bonus was finding the overhaul tag, something I had not yet seen since I hadn't previously pulled the inside fender liner. Turns out the engine was OH'ed in 1987 in nearby Huntsville. I suspect the engine is very low mileage since the overhaul because the car was painted and an interior installed prior to the twenty-year period when the family I purchased the car from used it sparingly. I now have good reason to believe the paint and interior date back to '87. Also visible is the fuel pump block-off plate I added when installing the electric pump near the gas tank. Hope this is helpful for those contemplating replacing the cover gaskets.

Permatex #2 is my go-to for most jobs, the cork gaskets will get stuck (only) to the valve covers with it.

Yep...been several times with this project things have gang aft agley....... (brakes!!). ?

To close the loop.....got the gaskets via UPS (arrived overnight) from O'Rielly's warehouse in Nashville. They appear to be the correct gaskets, FelPro VS4253C. This is the same set that Rock Auto sells.

Yes, that gasket would be easy to fabricate and I've made several gaskets on the car thus far (and for several other automotive and aviation projects). But if I can find it at a reasonable price I just as soon let some else make it. Your cross reference is a valuable resource and I have it bookmarked. I did find, however, that apparently NAPA no longer stocks the valve cover gasket set. But, even though the set didn't appear when searching per vehicle on AutoZone's site, it did show up there when searching with the FelPro part number. So doing multiple searches via different channels can often find results.

I agree, and have worn out the door hinges at a couple of local parts emporiums. (It's HIM again!! ? ) And some items (such as the gaskets at O'Reilly's) are available online even though you can't get them in the store. But the store will accept returns if needed. Anybody need a set of cork valve cover gaskets for a hemi?

Yep, I checked some chain stores but not O'Reilly...my bad....... Ordering from MoParMall was very easy, getting the parts wasn't. I'm sure they are fine folks.

I'm in the process of trying to conclude a saga involving the purchase of valve spring cover gaskets for my 218 P15. Three weeks ago I ordered the gaskets from MoParMall (Atlas Obsolete Motor Parts, Murrieta, CA) because I could save a few bucks on shipping over ordering from other sources (three-day Priority Mail). I received notification a shipping label had been created, then....radio silence. Ten days later I called and the nice rep was unable to find out what happened to my order. She said a fresh order would be placed, and it would arrive a few days later. More radio silence..... After another call I was assured the gaskets would arrive later that day. They did. Unfortunately, I don't need valve cover gaskets for a Chrysler hemi! Another call to a friendly rep resulted in the third order being placed which arrived two days later. Unfortunately.....I don't need valve spring gaskets for a 25" engine..... Another call resulted in the friendly rep pulling what they had in stock and it turns out all they have in the correct length is NOS that is as old as my car. I suspect the inside and outside dimensions got messed up when the repops I received were made which resulted in them being too long. Guess I will order gaskets somewhere that will cost less than the shipping cost..... Oh well....the car is running beautifully, it just likes to mark its territory.

Saying anyone who doesn't agree with our own opinion is merely cheap and/or lazy is a.........cheap and lazy argument....... I have no problems with anyone who wishes to install an inertia switch, just keep in mind they are known for reliability issues and false trips. That is why they have an easily accessed reset button. They also need to be installed so the inertia of a sudden stop will trip the switch....oh wait....some accidents involve hits from the side, or rear......and the primitive suspensions on our old cars can transfer road irregularities from all directions.... Guess we better install airbags while we are at it.......

Now don't go inserting logic into this discussion........ ?