47heaven

Hey guys...thanks for all that feed back. I really do like the sound it makes. I mean, it sounds like a "guy's" car. I just wanted to be sure that it wasn't going to cause some damage down the road. I will do the checks on the spark plugs..etc., just to make sure all is well. And it really is more of a popping and rumbling sound, rather than a backfire, now that I've heard it better.

A while back, after I had my second pipe put on, I noticed that when I would coast in third or second gear I would hear the small rumbling and backfiring in the mufflers. I would say it's more of a rumbling/popping sound. Not as loud as the rapping on the lowriders, but you can hear it. I asked Norm (Normspeed) about it and he said that he wouldn't worry about it...that it sounded cool. He's right, it does have a good sound to it, but I'd really like to know if this is normal or this a sign that something needs to be adjusted. I was told it was unburned gas igniting in the glasspack or muffler. Is that supposed to happen?

After doing some calulations I figured that my P15 gets 15-17 mpg. Is there any way to make them get better gas miliage or is that the best it gets on these things? At least it's better than what a SUV gets, I heard.

I knew the photos would be too graphic to just outright post on here, so that's why I left links so you guys could make a decision to see them or not. Like Old Guy 48 mentioned, even though they are horrific, they serve as a important wake up call to what we are driving and what kind of injuries we could obtain having an accident in a car like ours. It wasn't mentioned what the accidents were caused by, but all I know is that they are from Orange County, California. In all actuality, they scare the hell out of me. They make me look at my P15 in a whole new way. I, like many of you, don't have disk brakes or seat belts on the car. Not that I don't want to, but it's just not in the budget at this time. I do drive with caution, but there are many others that don't, and those are the ones I worry about.

I was trying to find these pics on the internet when this was a "hot topic" a few weeks back. These photos demonstrate the grizzly results of just how cars from the 40's and early 50's panned out in serious collisions. They also clearly demonstrate how the doors would pop open and how the stearing wheel and column would move up. WARNING: These are from actual police accident photo files of fatal car accident scenes and are very graphic. Look at your own descretion. http://flickr.com/photos/brzy40_2000/355432184/sizes/o/ http://flickr.com/photos/brzy40_2000/355432186/sizes/o/ http://flickr.com/photos/brzy40_2000/355432188/sizes/o/ http://flickr.com/photos/brzy40_2000/355432189/sizes/o/ http://flickr.com/photos/brzy40_2000/355432187/sizes/o/ http://flickr.com/photos/brzy40_2000/355432181/sizes/o/ http://flickr.com/photos/brzy40_2000/351108602/sizes/l/ http://flickr.com/photos/brzy40_2000/351113890/sizes/l/

Those are nice, Tony. I did my panels, but used the same stainless on them. That bottom strip was a real booger because I had to open the pinched flaps with a screw driver, take out the old material and then mount it to the panel and stick the material back in and pinch the flaps shut. It took about 1-2 hours to do each one. From there I pulled the material and stretched it tight over the panel and glued the overlapping parts to the back. I never could figure out how to get the three creases on there, but after seeing what you did, it makes me want to do it all over again. I may drop a line and ask you some questions about it when I do. Darin

I thought this would be an interesting topic to bring up. I know that when we go places in our cars and maybe stop at the store, the gas station of even somewhere to dine, it's interesting to see what kind of people come up and ask about your car or even give you compliments. A car like mine, which is in original, stock condition, I find, tends to attract the attention and appeal to people who are in their late-30's and up, especially seniors. For some reason, the car just seems to mesmorize them and they get that twinkle in their eye and a warm smile, as if they had just seen an old friend or something. I had a few guys, maybe who were teens in 1950's, who told me they or a friend had a car like mine back in high school or their parents had one...etc. I had an older couple from Columbia commenting on it to themselves in Spanish at the gas station the other day and the wife was asking the husband what year the car was and he said it was a 1948. Of course they didn't know I spoke Spanish and I turned around and told them that it was a 1947. They were surprised I spoke Spanish, being Anglo and all. I asked them if there are cars like mine in Columbia and they told me there were, but many aren't well taken care off, the gentleman told me. The funniest comment I ever got was from this one old lady who saw my car at IHOP and walked over as I was getting out. She said, Boy, do I remember this car." I asked her, "Oh, did you have one like this?" and she said, "No, but a boyfriend I once had did." I said, "Oh really? Do you remember the speedometer changing colors as he drove at night?" Laughing, she said, "Honey, I wouldn't remember. At night we were in the back seat more than the front." Then, winked at me and walked away. I sat there stunned. Not because what they did, but because a woman probably in her late 70's told me that. Also, I've noticed what kind of people give you respect on the road. As mentioned before, most people in their late-30's and up will tend to let you go first at a stop, let you pull out to turn into the street ahead of them or let you change lanes ahead of them on the freeway. Usually, I find that the teens and college-aged kids are rude drivers and will cut you off or not let you in as the older folks do. Of course they do that to everybody...old car or new. You sure can see a big difference in the respect and appreciation between the age groups.

Norm, I took the car out yesterday when it was hot and it stayed pretty cool...not going over 180 the whole time. Maybe removing the thermostat and adding the additive really did help things, but you are right...the real test will be tomorrow or when the 100 degree weather comes around, but without air in the car, I'm sure I won't be driving it too long. By the way...the NHRA Twilight Cruise is tomorrow at the fair. I plan on going to it. Maybe see ya there???

Fred- My car is a driver and I wouldn't want to take the time to make it a show car...mainly because of the cost involved. Also, most shows, I have found, are politically rigged anyway. If you enter your car in a car show for the first time, and your car is better looking that Joe Blow's, who happenes to be friends with the judges or organizers, Joe Blow will win anyway. It's that easy. My plan was to may my P15 look nice, be dependable, safe and not cost me a life savings to have restored. So what if my new wiring isn't braded or my system is now 12 volt or I didn't uses the exact style bolts, screws and nuts. Who's going to see that anyway...who's goning to care? So what if it isn't "off the frame" restoration...again, who is going to really know or care? The thing is that my car, even though is not perfect, is painted, upholstered, has the engine rebuilt and I'm out enjoying it and people give me many compliments. Not sitting at home with it on racks because I can't find the exact screw and bolts that went into it before. Hell, I'm certain that some people on here laugh at the things Norm and I rig up on my car, but hey, it works and we are both out driving our cars. You car looks great, in in all honesty, I would rather have a '46-'48 Chrysler coupe over a P15, but my car is a part of me now and plan to enjoy it for as long as I can. Keep up the good work and let's get that bad boy finished! Darin

Hey, you can't beat Norm's guarentee!

Sounds like he and AB may be related.

Thanks, Don. I was wondering if the fan was to also be used at higher speeds. It came in handy today because it's hot and muggy out. Yes, I'm using both. Would like to find a 6-blade fan, if possible. Got to keep that baby cool.

Thanks! Glad to be back. Oh yeah...the needle on the temp gage was at 221...probably even past that. The engine got to the "boiling over" stage. That is when the mechanic said that the gasket probably was blown, but it may have been blown before then because I recall seeing oily residue in the water. The radiator cap is 7 lbs. I couldn't find a vintage looking one that was non-pressured.

I was going to put in a recovery tank too, but I've been told it's not necessary. You are right about the anti-feeze spurting out. You would think at what anti-freeze costs that you'd want to recover it. I'm still debating whether to do that or not, but I really can't see any room to put the recovery without it getting hit by the fan blades.

Well, as I just stated in another post, we took the theromstat out and also added a wetting agent sort of like Water Wetter. I'm going to test how warm the car gets today while it's warm out. There is a 7 lb pressure cap on there and no recovery tank. I was told that it's okay to use that kind of cap, since I couldn't find a no pressure one at the time.

Well...I don't know about the "little hottie" inquiring about his "tool box," but I did see her reaching for something that looked like mace. The trip to Mt. Baldy came as a spare of the moment decision. I wanted to see if I could conquer it with the new rebuild since the last time I was up there and blew the head gasket with the prior engine when it overheated. The car did pretty well going up, but many times I had to shift up to 2nd to climb the grades with some speed. When I tried to go down to 3rd, the car would bog down. Pretty soon the temp gauge started climbing from 180 to 190 then to 195. All of a sudden, I started having bad memories coming back. I told Norm that the temp was going up, but he assured me that it was still in the safe zone. I switched on the electric fan and that seemed to keep the temp stable, but as we neared Mt. Baldy village it was at 200. As we were looking for a place to park, the car started stalling. The engine was just too hot and probably was vaporizing the gasoline before it hit the carb. Nonetheless, I was able to park it with what starts were left on it and we went to go eat at the Buckhorn Lodge. It was biker day...motorcylists and bicyclists. After lunch, the car had cooled down to 180 and started up without any problems. We took the mountain backroad to Glendora and the car stayed at 180 all the way back (of course we were on either level ground or going downhill). I told Norm that I got tired of this heating thing and wanted to see what we could do to improve it. When we got back, he retarded the timing and we decided to try running the engine without the thermostat. I also wanted to try Water Wetter, which has been recommended to me by a few people on keeping the temp down. So we are just basically trying to see what has been the main cause of the heating. I mean, the radiator has been rebuilt, with an extra core added, mind you, and it still was getting hotter than normal. I think Norm meant that I didn't need the throttle, but I know the choke is still needed out here in California. That's why I wanted to see if we could get it hooked up. Both Norm and I put our heads together on this one. It doesn't look the prettiest, but it works and it's covered by the air cleaner. Well, Norm, the ride home was great and the temp stayed between 160-165. I'll take it out tomorrow when it's hot out and see how it does. I'll report back with the results. Let's hope this did the trick. Thanks again, Norm.

KInd of like the other "malt shop" links I have seen before. Some nice cars, but I like the "before" pics better.

Hi Norm- What I have is this: D24 engine block P26 crank and head I believe the mechanic had put the thermostat housing from the P26 back on the car because it went with the P26 head. I have no idea if that was the right housing to begin with, but it's what was on the car when I got it. I'm trying to find the posting that goes back to that discussion, but not having a lot of luck. I recall it was when I posted pics of the my engine after the rebuild last summer. I guess I need to know how the housing would be a contributor to the heating? Anyway, I've posted another pic of the engine so anyone can see if what Norm is saying makes any sense to anyone because it's not really making sense to me. Anyone can feel free to chime in with their opinions.

I would wager to say that yours were already missing when you got the car. Below is a '48 and the smaller grille trim is there.

Yeah...he did do a good job I have to say. Anyone interested in his work, let me know and I will give you his info. I think he speaks more English then he leads on, but since he knows I speak Spanish, he doesn't try to speak English with me.

Brandon...there's a guy in town, well the next town...I recently moved, that can take stainless and turn it into chrome, just by polishing. He a Mexican guy that speaks very limited English, but he knows his stuff and he does it out of his garage the old-fasioned way and he is extremely very reasonable on his price. People always ask me who did my chrome (referring to the stainless) and I tell them it's not chrome. They really find it hard to believe...well, see for yourself:

That's it JD...I sent you an email. Thanks!

Poor Plymouth.

A couple years ago I bought one of these from Stovebolt. Since then, I have misplaced the paper showing the timing and adjustment specs. Does anyone have a copy of their's that they could scan and post or email? I think that this may be attributing to my heating problem...since the whole cooling system has been redone and gone over. Thanks, Darin