Plymouthy Adams

Thanks for sharing those pictures, the larger mirrors on these vans is a must for sure....the position you have these mounted I was going to cut aluminum blocks, drill, countersink the frame, tap the block and mount mirrors here also. With the cover cap you never know the support block is in place. Sadly the only mirrors I have to place here were again, the swan neck and the heads just are not ample size for good view for safe driving and do not come with convex mirror head. My bud has a single stem mirror arm 10" length and 5 x 7 mirrors he plans to use on his truck and van but not mocked any of them up yet, also not listed as convex mirror in the set. He has offered them to me to test fit and function. I may do that this weekend. In back of my mind though, I feel these may vibrate/shake when traveling at speed or shudder a bit when closing the doors. I think the fender mirror scream Brit and I like the look, but as the van box is wider than the cab....they are not at all effective even with the greater offset over the original Lucas style. Do you recall if the far side mirror was visible without the glass division bar being seen mounted in that position? Swapping the mirror heads on the ones I show is so easy and allow for proper use of the convex mirror so that is a win also. We still on the fence here for mirrors, the fender mounts are clearing going away and the indicator lights are in concrete so to speak.

Nearing the goal, I hit a major snag with the build....while it was originally fitted with fender mirrors I figured they had some saving grace....NOPE !!! Basically driving blind. So the wing mirrors as useful as tits on tree trunk, I am backing up to punt. First off, how to fill the holes in the fender this late stage with fully painted car...proved easier than the relocation and selection of mirrors. I looked at tons of photos of these cars/trucks/vans and station wagons and all had either a peep mirror or fender mirrors. One had swan necks where I thought of locating them but they are not without issue and totally look anemic and still the very small mirror head. So plan B is shaping up....the indicators are used and rough so new ones are on the way to me. Mirrors are a bit large but unless you have driven one of these....the mirrors need to be large for safety. Before mounting these I will get the damaged set out of the yard, the mount bases are good, and see if I can alter the shape and shrink the physical footprint a bit. The tape is about twice the size of the mount bases and look a bit out of place but they protects the paint for mock up.....keep in mind, this is right hand drive....if not for the over ride on the reverse camera, my drive to town I was totally blind on the left and rear. This is the current mockup I am reviewing for now.

Thanks, I help mums with the cooking and prepping during the prep of the meal when she needs that third hand. I only do two things from start to finish, baking of a couple pies, this year they are raisin pies and I then cut up some fresh fruit to blend with the starter can of fruit cocktail. Both my tasks are completed, and I just basted the bird....as it is a few hours to time to dig in, I sampled one of the pies with a hot cup of coffee.....off to a good start.

Wishing all a good Thanksgiving, the enjoyment of a great meal, visiting with family and friends. Be safe, and do something nice for your old Mopar over the following weekend...!

set the rear axle is thrust and centerline of the chassis.....square the fronts to the rear after that, when squared and thrust is correct the toe of the front will then be neutral, divide the total toe by half and adjust each front wheel toe that amount with regard to centering the steering wheel at the same time, issues with this, no tools/parallel bars to do this, suggest an alignment shop. Get the location of the trammel points and check the square your frame. Parallel bars will tell you if you have a bent axle or maybe you just have one bent rim....combination of both....you must verify all components individually before treating as an assembly

if it was not there how the heck could I steer the car....?? I lost those tough Fred Flintstone feet many decades ago...

I beg to differ....lift the car to a comfortable working height, then lift the car off the lift......lol Yeah I am spoiled.....

I believe you would have found that the stock rear axle in 53 for OD equipped cars to be 4.1 Now High Drive would have coupled to the 3.73 short wheelbase cars and 53/54 conventional drive train would have coupled to the 3.7 also with expected ratio of 4.1 for hilly locations. The 54 model automatic also got the 3.73 stock gear. The 3.54 I personally have never seen stock in this era Plymouth. These are usually in the one of the three big sisters.

Allpar site has this engine detailed pretty much...interesting read...been long time since I accessed it though

I also believe that teaching one to fish is more rewarding than feed them. It is obvious to anyone whose has been on this site to spot those that will not put forth any effort other than asking. Answer in good faith with facts or move along Betty.

I agree, but knowing is there and should not be is enough to set me to the task of cleaning. And a million years from now it would still be nagging me to get it cleaned.

as it is on the other end of the same crankshaft as the damper and it's bolt, most mechanics would say yes....for ease of turn by hand at the damper or with use of wrench, remove the spark plugs.

from where I sit, does not bother me in the least....? but as you are now aware of grit and grease in an area that is not kosher, the manner you attend to this is strictly on you...clean it or ignore in....personally, I would clean it.

careful, could be like saying Beetlejuice too many times..?

If you plan to send these out, save some headache and let them source the kits, this manner, if the carb fails they cannot say you send kits that were not appropriate for the build. Will not say this or that shop will weasel out, but the buck gets passed in these cases daily and you left on the hook. Simple carb, why not do your own repair.

tell him you looking for the Phleagle valve for a 1961 Shopskotch corn planter...bet his friend could help with that.

And unlike we of today, bet he never complained, my father did not and while just a couple weeks from a commissioned officer in corp of cadets he suffered an injury, surgery did not go well on the knee, they put him out on a medical. I so far on this family limb have been the only one to retire from the military. Belated thanks for your father's service....thanks to all our veterans today, stay safe and have fun.

few veterans out and about yesterday at the swap meet....somewhere I have slept for a decade it seems...both my grandpas were in the trenches in France

if you have fabrication skills, tools, time, space and a bit of spare change, you are then only limited by your lack of imagination

we can tell the old folks here...they still seeing appointments of the car...

I'm waiting for the time I am asked, "you want fries with that"

them some awful clean bottles, can't even see them.....?

Unless you are installing this distributor in conjunction with the install of a performance cam, there is no change in the timing of the distributor in regard of stock degrees and relationship to TDC. Some data is missing from your build or you forgot to capture the puff and flash of the smoke and mirror placed in the box by the seller and lost when you opened it. OR you are confusing the total mechanical advance of the distributor with initial timing which at this point I have to ask what is going to your response when you rev and then add the total vacuum advance into the equation. 18 degrees is not right for stock timing for the stock cam in your car and will give you much grief if you try to establish initial timing at this spec. 18 total degree of mechanical advance however sound dead on for the application. Where did you get this distributor, what documentation came with it and could you share that data sheet with the forum...

The cops would just think you gesturing.....HAVE ONE ON ME FELLOWS!!!! Snow is a four letter word you know and this is supposed to be a family site.

keep it stock keep it running....the higher rpm and lower speeds are relevant more to gearing than HP/torque limitations. Based your changes in gearing on terrain of travel area. Many are happy with rear gearing changes, many opt for factory style OD or other transmissions with OD incorporated. Based on how much change you wish to do to other segments of the car if this will or will not work for you. If concours is important to you.....apply none of the above.