Tim Larson

GREAT thread! I spent too much time reading all of it between last night and this morning ?. If you ever get up to Osakis you should stop for ice cream at the Tip Top. I get a few comments when I take my ‘52 Merc to town. Now I’m extra anxious to get my ‘49 Special Deluxe back! Changed the coil this morning while my mechanic is on vacation. Had to be content with smelling the interior of the car today instead of being able to drive it. You live in an area that is perfectly suited for drives in a classic car! SE MN IS beautiful. Looking forward to following this thread.

Really fun thread! Going to go through it all as I have time. Driving these old cars is so much more enjoyable than anything "modern". Can't wait to get my '49 Plymouth back - hope it isn't too long. I'm in central MN if you're ever in the area.

The engine looks pretty good. I'll share some pictures of that when I get a chance.

Went to get the car tonight, but the starter wouldn't turn the engine over. I could hear the starter spinning, but it wasn't engaging the flywheel. Did not have this happen before...

Thanks! The Merc is "ok" compared to the Plymouth - ha! It's an original '52 (other than engine rebuild in 2007)

The end of June I bought a 1949 Plymouth and it is a beautiful car. The brakes need some work and the engine died after driving a little while, but o don’t think anything major is wrong. The car is in wonderful shape for its age and is very original other than being converted to 12 volt. I’ll try to add some photos.

I don’t think I left anything out. I did start the car after dark, but could not see any electrical sparks or anything of that nature while the engine was running. I’ll update this post once I figure out more!

I believe this same situation might have been an issue on my '52 Merc. I know my mechanic replaced a wire on the distributor when I was having trouble in the past. I agree that it probably is something simple - the whole operation of motors in this era are really not complicated - everything just needs to be working together properly. Thanks!

Your description of the situation leads me to believe you think it could be the coil, as well.

I think the wires are original to the car and some don’t fit that tight on the end of the plugs. Definitely something to check!

I have owned the car the car for almost two weeks. It had this issue with not starting when warm/hot after I got it home. It did not act up when test driving...

The temp gauge showed a little above 160, but not too much when I was going on the highway. I’m not sure about the me heat riser...

Would a compression issue show up more when the engine is at operating temps? Or would it always cause problems?

Yes, this did nothing... we checked an there is power at the coil. There is power to the plugs when cranking. There seems to be dampness on the floor under the fuel pump when it’s sitting in the garage. Is that possible?

My '49 Plymouth starts great from a cold engine, but after driving it around for approx. 10 miles it started to backfire and then the engine slowly lost power and then died for me. After it cooled for about an hour it started fine. Since I got the car I've changed oil/filter and changed spark plugs. There is fresh gas in the tank and before starting the engine I can see fuel spray into the carb. - this is from a cold engine. There are no heat shields around the carb or fuel pump. I'm taking it to an experience mechanic next week, but has anyone ever experienced this before?

I do still have my ‘52 Merc and I did replace the wheel cylinders and brake lines. I’m not to concerned about the difficulty aspect. I’ll give the service manual a thorough read through and then start tackling the project.

Thanks so much! Appreciate the suggestions

I have a repair manual coming in the mail - hopefully next week. I will probably try bleeding the system as a starting point. Thanks for the suggestion.

I bought my first Plymouth last weekend - a 1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe - Two Door. I'm working on an oil change and general tune up, but the main thing that needs attention is the brakes. When initially stepping on the brake pedal it goes right to the floor, but with some pumping the brakes do activate and the stop light on the back of the car does work. When taking off in first gear it seems that the brakes are grabbing a bit since it is not as smooth a start as I'm used to with my '52 Mercury. The master cylinder has plenty of fluid. I have done brake work in the past, (replacing wheel cylinders/lines/etc.) but am wondering if I would be better off taking it to a mechanic that is experience with older vehicles in order to just have it done right with limited frustration on my part. Any tips would be appreciated! Tim