Norm's Coupe

That's one reason we're staying put where we are. It's too hot in the south, and cold in the north. There's always something wrong with the place you move to. No place is perfect. So........may as well stay put.

Tom, If you can't find a metal plate from someone, you could also make one of those, as long as you have one to use as a pattern. Would be the same on both sides, just flip them around for left or right.

James, I know the ones you are talking about, but Lucky Devils is a lot larger (wider) than the normal ones. The narrow ones were on a lot of cars back then as aftermarket items. They were also shaped differently, sort of like the plastic ones you see today. Since no one has seen ones like Lucky Devils, maybe the previous owner made them. Looking at them, you could easily shape some stainless steel to make ones like he has. Especially hanging over the door like that. The old aftermarket shades fastened in the window track opening, not hanging over the door like his.

For the door armrest, you could pick up some foam used for seat cushions. Cut it to fit, then cover your old armrest. But.......not sure about the 40 and 41 Plymouth, but the 46 through about 52 Plymouth armrest are the same. In fact, even the 53/54 Plymouth armrest are the same size, except for the mounting hole spacing. I replaced mine with 53 Plymouth armrest because I like the stainless trim. Just move the mounting holes over a little on the armrest and they bolted right to the door like they belonged. As for the rears, I believe those are just made out of wood, then a little padding on the top, then covered. The ones that were in my coupe were in great shape, but I left them out because it looked better that way to me. Still have them, but don't want to ruin them by taking them apart. Of course, there's always the other option. Finding good ones out of a parts car somewhere.

Rodney, Actually, you may be able to cut down on moisture from the dirt floor without the calcium chloride cost and mess. Calcium chloride will turn into a sticky chunk when it gets full of moisture. Instead, put down about 3 inches of crushed limestone gravel over the floor, then a tarp over that. As the moisture rises from the ground, the limestone will soak it up, then eventually dry out during the real cold or real hot months of the year. And, you won't need to keep replacing it. There's a classic car dealership in Manitowoc, WI that usually has lots of cars for sale on consignment. All the cars are in very large tents. The floor is as I described above. It not only soaks up the moisture rising from the ground, but it also will act as a filter to keep oil, etc. from soaking into the ground. Limestone is a great filtering material. The dealer I mentioned did this because it was the only way the DNR would give him a permit to have the cars parked in those large tents.

Merle, I wasn't talking about trips like you mentioned. I was talking every day in my younger days. Back then, just working locally in Milwaukee I'd put on at least 100 or more miles per day, 52 weeks per year. Usually only worked in the Milwaukee area about 3 or 4 days per month. All the rest of the time I'd be somewhere between the Canadian border down to the southern tip of Illinois, or from Kansas to Ohio. Did that from 1968 to 1990. Traveling gets kind of old when you do that, it's no fun anymore. Same goes for eating out. Had my fill of that over those years too. All the menu's start looking alike after awhile, and no matter what you order it's just ho hum. As for motorcycles. I had two from 1979 through 1988. Only put about 800 miles on the first one and about 1200 on the second one. Just didn't have time to ride them as I was gone all the time. That's why I got rid of them. Usually the wife gets me to go somewhere in the country on vacation, plus our trip to Kentucky. This year I got lucky though. Got away without any trips, except to Kentucky. That said, I did tell the wife I'll take more time to take more trips next year.

Truer words were never spoken.:D After being on the road so much when younger, I like to stay close to home now. Just ask the wife. She'll tell you it's like pulling teeth to get me to go somewhere. Traded my van in on that new car August 21st. I just flipped a whole 800 miles on the odometer in it the other day. In my younger days I'd do that in a week or so.

As mentioned, I've never seen any like that on a car before. Not even when I was growing up in the late 40's and 50's. That said, I'm wondering after thinking about them. Seems as though I've seen short windshield visors on big rigs before. Wonder if those were actually made for an old big rig truck?

Anyone looked at Lucky Devil's album? Has these side visors on the doors. Have never seen any of these. Anyone else see them before?

I live in a house far away from Oklahoma.

Ed, I've noticed that problem with a lot of ads on Craig's List. I think people put a cheap price in the title, just to get you to look at their ad. Then when you open the ad, the real price is there and is usually much higher.

Tim's advise about the tarp is a good one. Also his comment about condensation forming is what I mentioned before. That can happen even if you do have the vapor barrier under the floor. That's caused by rapid variations in temperature. If I use my small side door to enter my garage in the spring and fall when temperatures vary a lot, nothing happens if I close the door behind me right away. It still nice and dry in there. But..........if I open the overhead door, it's instant fog and moisture forms on the cars, and the floor from condensation. Then it takes almost forever to get it dry in there again, even using fans to dry out the floor. My garage is insulated, but I don't heat it unless I'm working out there. Even when I don't heat the garage, it's usually warmer in there during winter, and cooler in summer than the outside temperature. The best way to stop or cut down on condensation is to install vents in the garage. I haven't done that myself. But.........by installing vents in the garage, you keep the inside of the garage the same temperature as the outside with a steady flow of outside air. By keeping the temperature the same, you will cut down on condensation when the outside temperature changes rapidly. I do have vents for cross flow of air in my shed. There is never any condensation in there. Of course, if you install vents in the garage, you'll want to use the type of vent that can be opened and closed, so you can heat the garage when you want.

Unfortunately, that's the part I don't remember. Must be having one of those senior moments. About all I can remember is, "I think" they are in the eastern part of Michigan. Not sure about that either. I do believe they had a website though. Maybe run a search for something like "adjustable speedometer gears", and it might pop up.

Changing wheel size will change the speedo adjustment. That's why that place I mentioned makes the external gears to adjust the speedo.

If your speedo is off due to the gears in the transmission, you can fix that without changing the gears inside it. There is a place in Michigan that sells gears you can mount between the transmission and speedo cable that will allow you to adjust the speedo, without changing the internal transmission gearing. Forgot the name of the place, but they advertise in the custom and street rodder type magazines. Maybe someone on the forum knows the name offhand and will post their name.

Pick up a bottle of HEET and dump it in the tank too. That should take care of any moisture you may have gotten in the tank. Even if that's not your problem starting, it won't hurt anything to have it in the gas. So........it's worth a shot. I've had those problems myself with moisture. And, if you recall, about a year or so ago Greg G said he found a lot of water in his tank that gave him problems. This reformulated gas is real junk.

You only need to come through on promises if you make them. That's why I don't make them.

Actually, Gil's floor pans may need a little trimming too. I know of one person in northern Illinois who had to trim the pans he got from Gil. This guy has a P15 club coupe also. That said. Gil's pans are still good. Even buying floor pans from the top old Ford vendors, you still need to trim them most of the time to make them fit.

Robert, Probably the reason things don't rust in your garage is because you keep an even temperature in your garage year round, by heating it. I don't keep my garage heated. Because of that condensation forms when the temperature goes up or down real fast in spring and fall. Basements can be damp too in a lot of areas. There have been lots of people around here that have had their heat exchangers in their furnace rust out from dampness. Especially if they don't have a pilot light burning all year round. If I didn't heat and also didn't allow the A/C to also exchange the air in our basement, it would be damp too. We also have a dehumidifier down there that comes on when the A/C or heat isn't enough to control the dampness, especially when we are not running the heat or A/C. Because we control the dampness as explained in the basement, I can also keep unpainted steel items in it without them rusting. I have a P15 glove box door down there that was blasted about 6 or 8 years ago. It also has not formed any rust on it. If it were in the uncontrolled heat in the garage, it would probably be rusted by now. Maybe Joe isn't controlling the heat/dampness well enough year round in the basement, that would explain the rust on his flywheel.

Tim.........you flip the cards. I'm going to raise my hand now to be excused to go play the keyboard for awhile. That's much more relaxing.

Actually, I think the original question as to "Why didn't Chrysler Put a V8 in the Plymouth", is a mute one. Although I don't claim to know all, I do know the answer to this question, and, I know it's the correct answer. The answer is really a simple one, and I don't need to look it up. Chrysler put a six in the Plymouth for the following reason. The management at the time decided that's what they wanted to do. So, they did it. Plain and simple. The same answer applies to any item a manufacturing company decides to make. Of course, the reasons for making those decisions may vary. But.....unless we sat in (or know someone who did) on those meetings and discussions, that's the only reason that we can honestly say is correct. Any other answer is just speculative.

Usually, when I buy a car/vehicle I have a mental vision of what I want to do with it. So.........the question here is just that. Why did you buy the truck, and what did you think you wanted to do with it, when you bought it? Normally, that first vision is the one you really want. So........whatever that was, is what you should do. Otherwise, if you do the opposite you probably won't be happy with the results after spending all the money and time on it. So.........as mentioned. Only you can really answer this question.

The floor on the drivers side of my coupe looked worse than yours, and I was still able to patch it in myself with just plain sheet metal and shaping it, and I'm not a body man by any stretch. But.........since you've already spent the money on new floor pans, you may as well do a complete job. Installing new floor pans alone will not stop drafts, water, dirt, fumes, etc. from getting into the car. Looking at the pictures I see you are missing the draft boots on the brake and clutch arms. Without those, you will still have nice big holes in the floor, even with your new floor pans. You can find new draft boots at Steele Rubber.

It's nice to know that people are so concerned about how often my coupe leaves the driveway. It's comforting to know that it's so popular and well thought of.

No offense meant. The guys may say the same about you. It may have been 12 PM in the post above, but.........your other post were during working hours also. As for myself, I have to be on a computer most of the day for work, like many others. So.........it's easy to bounce back and forth to the forum if I want. In fact, I'd venture to say that about 90% of people who need to work on computers at work do the same thing, or just surf the web in general while working. It's called "multitasking". That said, there is that very "old saying" out there. All work and no play makes Jack a dull person. (No offense meant to those named Jack. That's just how the old saying goes.) A little play during work keeps the worker's moral up too. Without it, work would be a real drag. I do agree with Robert though. I'll second his last response. It's time to kill this thread. Not only is it causing a little rift, but also some of the language used in the last few posts. That's uncalled for. This is not the Hamb or Jalopy Journal forum.