Norm's Coupe

Bob, Really bucket seats are no different than the bench seat we sit on, except they are more comfortable to sit in. As far as sitting lower in a bucket seat, that's solved by building a pedestal frame for the bucket seat to mount to. Then you can sit as high as you did with the original seats. You can also get bucket seats like in my wife's car or my van. Just by lifting a lever the seat will go up or down, and you can also adjust the seat bottom tilt of the seats with a knob. Then of course you can adjust the seat back too. If my seats had been bad when I bought my coupe I would have replaced them with modern buckets in the front.

Tim, if someone is in my driveway and blows a horn to bring me out of the house, they'll have a long wait. I never go out if someone blows a horn for me. They can come to the door. When we were kids, my cousin and I would go cruising together at the drive-in's a lot. If he was driving that night, he'd pull in the driveway and blow his horn for me to come out. Never once ran out the door to answer that horn. Made him come in the house. He finally stopped blowing the horn.

So Tim, you plan on putting everyone to work on your remodeling projects when they get there?

As you can see. Those Ebay sellers have nothing on me. The one on the extra steering wheel I have on the garage wall also has one of those. The horn button doesn't look good in that picture, but must be due to the light. It's a good horn button. I don't have to worry about breaking the one in my coupe. I don't use a horn in the modern or old car anyway.

That's the key. Just keep shopping around and you'll usually find someone or place to make parts for you. Back in the 90's I needed inner rocker panels made. I measured the length, angle of the bends etc., then just drew a sketch on a piece of notebook paper. Then let my fingers do the walking and started calling local sheet metal shops to find one to make the panels. After about 5 or 6 calls, found small shop on the south side of town. Took him the sketch that same day. The next afternoon my inner rockers were ready for pickup. Total cost: $20 for the pair. Said he used sheet metal left over from some other job they did for some factory. All he charged me was a little labor cost. Paid cash which he stuck in the drawer and said that money goes to his employees picnic fund.

My car is a hobby, not a business venture. If you use it for a business, you then also have to keep track of everything you spend on it, mileage, keep track of the profits and losses, for tax purposes, etc, then that becomes a job, not a fun hobby. For myself, I don't believe in mixing my hobbies with business. A business requires constant work on that business to keep it up. A hobby is supposed to be relaxing so you only do it when you feel like it. I also don't mix business with any type of social event. If someone ask how business is during a social event, I simply say, "OK" and change the subject right away. If someone ask about a problem our products are supposed to solve, I will usually say something to the affect, "I'll check on that and get back to you during the week", and again immediately change the subject. As far as adding a sign (magnetic) or otherwise, you are also now using the vehicle for business purposes and the insurance rates go up. (Ask BobT). Not only that but you are a target for the scam artist with a sign on your vehicle. Those looking to make a fast buck may try to get in an accident with you so they can sue you. If the vehicle has a sign you are telling them it's a business and the pockets are deeper. You're better off without a sign on a vehicle.

Back to the original topic. I found this in my coupe when I bought it. This dates back to the 30's.

Bill, gotta keep coming back to this one to keep up. Now, how about the price of eggs today, compared to 1948?

Don't know how it will look with a regular paint brush. I used small foam throw away brushes. With those I have no brush marks at all, it just flowed together as the paint cured to a smooth finish.

Bob, I used the brush on can too. Did you get the gloss or flat finish. The gloss looks nice when it's cured. I also used it on the lower part of the front fender wells in the engine compartment. Still looks good today after 11 years. Boy that's a long time ago. Didn't realize I did it that long ago until I read what I wrote. Time flies.

I just found about the tornado's a few minutes ago on the news. Glad to here you are ok Don. Tim, those same storms on on their way to your neck of the woods now.

Bob, just make sure you get all the grease and oil off the area or the XO will stay sticky. However, you don't need to scrape the undercoating off. It will bond to that and cure as it should.

Do you have a Plymouth service manual that covers 1946 - 1954? If so, the wiring diagrams for each year are in the back of the book.

Greg, I don't think you can get access to the speedo springs without removing it from the dash. Once it's out of the dash you can get to any part of it. You don't have to remove the whole gage housing. The speedo will come out by itself by removing just a few screws in the back. Then gently pull it out. You may have to twist the speedo unit a little to get it out though. Also be careful not to break the speedo needle. That's how I got mine out of my coupe some years ago. I also had a gage assembly I bought at a swap meet. The speedo needle on that one did the same thing as daddy023 said his did. Did the same thing with that one. Pulled it out of the housing and put it on the bench. Lubed it with penetrating oil (real stuff, not WD40) and let it sit overnight (or maybe a day or two), then came back and started working it. First by hand, then by drill for more and constant speed. Then it started working like it should. Sold it on ebay and the buyer said it worked great in his car.

The one I mentioned was about the size of the one Don Coatney pictured, but like I said, you had to be tied to a fence to listen to it and did not need batteries to make it work, just something metal to hook the alligator clip onto. I remember all the to do about Crystal radios back then too. Guess mine could have been a form of that type. Like I said before, I didn't care back then about how it was made, so I really don't know.

Bob, your steering wheel isn't cracked anywhere near as bad as this one was cracked when I took it off an old rolling chassis I had. So.....you're right, yours is fixable.

That may be easier said than done. Look at the steering column it's attached to. It's a modern type column.

As Shel mentioned, the clutch alignment tool is cheap. All you need to know when buying the tool is the number splines (number of grooves in the transmission shaft that goes into the bell housing). You can count those when you drop the transmission to remove the bell housing.

Bob, I wasn't sure if you were just kidding or not about the steering wheel, so I posted that. Good thing you don't want to install a wheel like that one. I think they run around $350, plus the adapter to make it fit your car. You could fix your old one for a lot less, under 20 bucks if it's cracked.

Glad you enjoyed the joke. Hope others did too. However, I can't take credit for that joke, just for posting it. Actually, about the same time Merle posted that Easter bunny picture, my wife got an email from one of her lady friends. The joke was in that email. She showed it to me, and right away I thought it was a perfect joke to go along with Merle's picture. So, I copied and pasted it here.

I've decided to not mess with installing new boots should I need them. If and when that time rolls around, I'll just have the U-Joints replaced by modern ones that don't need a boot, by a driveshaft shop.

Those wheel frames for the saw tables have been around for several years. But, after making that last post, I finally came up with a much cheaper way to do it. I'll just pick up 4 regular non locking caster wheels and a few feet of angle iron. Drill two holes at the top of the one end of the angle iron, then mount the casters to the other end of the angle iron. Mount the angle iron with the wheels to table leg with only one bolt so it swivels. Then when I want to roll the table, swing the wheels down, then lock them into the down position with a clevis pin through the second hole and to the table leg. Roll the table to where I need it, then pull the clevis pin so the table sits on its legs again. Should be able to do that for about $20 or $25, instead of $50. This way the table will be the same height as it was originally.

Bob, that's a street rod steering wheel. If you can't find a used one, you should be able to get it from one of the street rod catalogs.

Here's one base you can buy. Found this one on Amazon for $70, but you can buy them in the big box lumber yard for about $50. They have universal adjustable ones that will fit any table. http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Fox-D2057-Adjustable-Heavy-duty/dp/B0000DD6B9

Don, That's why they make locking wheels. That said, you can buy saw tables today that are on wheels that retract. That's the type of setup I plan to add to my table. That way it sits flat on it's legs, not the wheels. The wheels are only down to move the table. That said, I've never come close to cutting a finger tip. Maybe a fingernail, but never a tip. Not afraid to get close to the blade, just make sure I'm careful when doing so. I rarely use a pusher board to push anything through the saw. Usually, I'll push the board through within about 2 inches or so, then walk around to the back of the saw and pull it the rest of the way through. I have stands to support long pieces of wood. I do hold onto the backside with one hand though as I walk around the table to the back. My garage isn't OSHA approved.