Norm's Coupe

Rodney, sounds like a fun night if you can get tickets. BobT. I don't know if those older people were bothered by the loud music or not. I doubt it. Remember those older folks are about our age too. We ain't no spring chicken any more. So........they were there to enjoy that loud music too. I really think the people our age should make it to Branson, MO at least once. They have some of the old timers performing there too on a regular rotating basis. Just have to check the Branson website to see who's performing when, then plan accordingly. We had a great time there a couple of years ago. And yes, when you looked out over the audience, it was just like looking at the performer. Lots of gray hair, and those that weren't gray just didn't have any hair. But........everyone was rockin in their seats.

Frankie has a good point about jumping overboard. As for being claustrophobic, I can understand that. Many people have a fear of some things. Like a friend of mine is afraid of heights. He's always been that way. But........back in the early 80's we helped another friend put a new roof on her house. The woman's brother also helped. Really didn't expect my friend to go up on the roof. But........before I knew it he was standing beside me asking what he should do. When I ask what he was doing up on the roof he said, he was ok once he got up there. It was just the going up and down part that got to him. So.........once you get in the chunnel the fear of being trapped may go away as well.

Edwin, Glad to hear you were able to get a suitable radiator locally. At least this way you'll be back on the road again soon.

Hundley has been around for a long time. At least before I bought my coupe in 1995. Haven't heard anything bad about his rubber sill plates, except the price. At one time you could even send him your steel backing and he would mount the rubber to it for you.

Tim, Now I see a bunch of pictures up there. The 54 2 door is looking nice. Didn't realize you had painted it. You were checking into skirts. If I had a 53/54 Plymouth 2 door, I'd put cruiser skirts on it. May not be original, but would look sharp on that body style.

Tim, I saw three pictures of the 51. Is that all that you posted? I also see you have no friends listed.:D Actually, this setup is also similar to the albums on the Old Cars Weekly forum. Guess it's still the same over there, haven't visited it for sometime now.

Bob, Are you talking about here on the regular forum, or when sending a PM? Looks the same to me on replies here on the forum.

Looks like the profile page has changed since GTK upgraded the system? You might want to take a look at yours. Looks like you can even create an album on your profile.

I didn't write the tax laws. I would do even without the tax write off if the law wasn't on the books. While we do it because we feel we are helping out, at the same time we may as well take advantage of the write off. Even the church says, "those that give will be rewarded". So....in this case you may as well take advantage of the reward the government gives you for doing something good. After all, the government takes more than it gives. Plus, we could just throw those things away instead of giving them to a place like Goodwill. So........this way we both benefit from giving.

I use to have one of those plaid metal picnic baskets with the lid too. Mine was brown and yellow though. Gave it away a few years ago in one of my clean up modes. Funny you mentioned shopping at the Goodwill store. We make a couple of trips there each year to donate stuff we no longer want. Usually keep a pile of stuff in the basement until it's a trunk load, then take it over and drop it off. It's been years though since I went in a store to check it out. Wife did say about a week ago she was thinking of doing just that. So.......don't forget to donate things you don't want too. Just drop them off at the door. Here, someone will even come out to the car and help you unload the stuff. They'll even give you a receipt if you want so you can deduct it off your taxes. So.........you not only make your house bigger by donating, you also can get a tax write off for getting rid of your unwanted items. They will take just about any item you have, including your old clothing in good condition.

Tim, In that case maybe it's the just the wagons and 4 door sedans that are different in the rear. Just looked at some old pictures of my older brothers 53 Plymouth Belvedere 2 door hardtop he had, then compared the wheel opening on my parents 53 Plymouth 4 door they had. Don't really have a real good view of my parents car from the side, but it looks like the wheel opening is probably smaller than on my brothers hardtop.

I will probably stop by sometime at the meet in Oconomowoc too, as it stands right now. Not sure about driving the coupe out there though. Will probably be one of our every day cars. Even if I did drive the coupe though, it would be parked outside the show area. I would just be there as a spectator and to meet up with those on the forum, not to enter the show with the coupe. As Tim mentioned, that way I can come and go at will. Don't want to spend a whole day or weekend at a car show.

Ed, if you're planning to drive the coupe to the POC meet, it's only about 1 1/2 month away. Time to get crackin.

BobT. Seems you are partial to the topless ones of all shapes and sizes.

I've only had my 48 up to about 55 or 60 MPH. Seems to handle that speed well.

How well can you trust the shop you took it to for the alignment? I was told I needed new ball joints on one side of my van when I only had about 25,000 miles on it. Told the shop to just put the tires on and balance them. Then went to another shop and they said the ball joint was OK. Now about 14 years later and about 50,000 miles in between, I still have the same ball joint on the van and you can ride a smooth road with no hands if you want. Some of these shops just like to add up extra charges to the bill to make more profit, when the car doesn't really need it.

I think it would be nice to meet others from the board in England. But if it were me, that would be it. Just meet those guys. Then, I'd either be off to Ireland or Scotland, or, I'd hop the train and take it to Paris and see what I could of the mainland Europe from there, instead of looking for car stuff. You can see car stuff in the US. That would be far more exciting taking that train under the English Channel than looking at car stuff.

Tim, I really don't think there is a difference between the 53/54 Plymouth bodies, other than things like tail lights, etc. So........the skirts should be the same for both years. Try Agape.

Shel, I know you are trying to save the cost of labor on this job. But.......if that is your daily driver you depend on, I think I'd rather just take it to a shop and have it done. Lets face it. If you are not sure how to do this, you are going to take a lot longer than a shop would to do it. Could end up taking all day if you are going slow because you are unsure. Plus, while it's in the shop you could be doing whatever else needs to be done around the house. I never work on my modern cars. Don't even change the oil in them myself. When they need a repair or oil change, I take them into the shop. Just this past January I needed new rotors and pads on the front of my van. Yes, I could have put those on. But........I took it to the shop down the street and paid him to do it. Dropped the van off around 9 AM, and by 11 AM I got a call and was told the van was done and ready for pick up. I got a lot done while the car was in the shop. Didn't bother to pick it up until sometime that afternoon, after I had finished doing the other things.

If you want reproduction original style (if they make it for your model), it's going to cost you. But.........if you use either rubber stair tread or rubber floor runner matting. That should be cheaper than buying it from an auto parts vendor. It's usually sold by the foot at hardware stores, big box lumber stores and sanitation supply houses. Just look for a pattern that is close to what was original and use that for the running boards.

I can remember paying only 2 bucks for those things. :D

Well........I'm glad you and dezeldoc like them. Mine wasn't one of the cheaper ones. The bleeder is a Power Bleeder by Motive Products, one that is advertised in a lot of the street rod/custom magazines. As far as newfangled technology is concerned, some things are simply better left alone and not trying to improve them. For example, we all like our old cars because they are a not simpler and easier to work on than the newfangled cars are. Or, are you and dezeldoc going to apply all the newfangled stuff to your old cars. If so, why not just buy a new one? Also, I never said I dread bleeding brakes. It isn't that big of a deal, even doing it the old fashioned way. You can bleed brakes just as fast using the old fashioned way. Shel, I also bought one of the vacuum pumps similar to the one you posted from the auto parts store, prior to buying the Power Bleeder. It wasn't any better in my opinion either. Still had air in the lines after 3 times around.

Bill, Don't remember if it was my 80 Olds Cutlass or my 81 Olds Cutlass company cars. But.........on one of those the same thing would happen. Had no brakes when the engine was cold. Since both were under warranty I don't remember the exact problem, but it was some problem with the power booster itself. Dealer fixed it and all was good. Also remember something about having to do with the vacuum system not working correctly. At any rate, it had nothing to do with the amount of brake fluid in the car, or leaky cylinders. Like you, I did have just a small amount of pedal, but it felt like the car was not going to stop. Brakes worked fine when the engine was warmed up a little. Try warming yours up before moving it to see if the problem disappears. If it goes away, look at the vacuum system for a problem. All the above assumes you are not leaking fluid someplace.

Ken, were you talking to me? If so, PM me about it. I'll have to double check and make sure I have it in the garage. I may have tossed it in one of my clean up modes.

dezeldoc, The other forum member I bought the tank from bought it new. He liked it so well he only charged me half the price he paid, and paid the shipping if I remember correctly. That said, I still think it's easier and cleaner to do it the old fashioned way. For one, don't have to clean out the bleeder tank when you're done. The old fashioned way, you just toss the bleeder line and jar in the garbage. Also nothing to take up storage space in the garage that way. Those plastic hoses are dirt cheap. Guess I'm just an old fart that is stuck in the 50's.