Norm's Coupe

Michael, Some of the guys may have given you a little business in the past. But........as they said here, your dash is not wood. It's just painted like wood. That is unless some really good woodworker made a wooden dash for your car at one time or another. Like the one below that is all wood.

Michael, I can understand someone that is not a mechanic asking a lot of questions like this one. But.........as I understand it, you are not working on the car yourself. You've taken it to a shop, where so called mechanics and body shop people are doing all the work for you. If they don't know where a fuel line goes from just looking under the car, I don't think they are much of a mechanic. So........I'd pull my car out of that shop and find a real mechanic that at least knows basic things about cars. Just my observation from the side lines, you do what you want. Fuel lines run in about the same place on all cars since they were invented. They still run about the same place today on new cars. So.......just because this is an old car is no excuse for a mechanic not knowing how to run one.

I normally don't have any trouble starting my coupe. Ever since I put on the last Carter manual fuel pump, I don't even need the choke anymore. That said, I've had a lot of trouble starting my lawnmower a lot of times. After giving it a tune up, checking and cleaning everything it still gave me lots of trouble. When I did get it started it would be OK for about one pass or so across the yard, then die. Then not start again. Always acted like it was running out of gas. Finally, I paid closer attention to fuel in the tank. Looked really thin, like water. Added a small amount of HEET to the tank and it started right up, and, kept running fine after that. About a week ago went out to start up the coupe to move it. Started right up just like it always does. But.........all of a sudden it coughed a few times, then the engine died. Then would not keep running when I tried to restart it. Just like the lawnmower does from time to time. Have about half a tank of gas in the coupe, so.......got out the HEET I keep around for the lawnmower, dumped a bottle in the tank. Car started right up and kept running as it always did. This all started when they made the last reformulated gas changes about a year or two ago with the lawnmower. However, was the first time in the coupe. But........I haven't been driving it as much this year, so the gas is older. This stuff looks like water when it gets old, and probably is. It doesn't even have the strong odor of gas when it gets like that. Has hardly any smell at all. So........maybe this is the same problem some of you are having. Try a little HEET in the tank when you have trouble starting. I keep the stuff around all the time, ever since I started having the problems with my lawnmower.

I have the ECI disc brakes, but not the master cylinder. However, I did have a question after getting my kit from them. Suggest you give them a call Monday to ask them the question. I found them to be very helpful when I ask them a question, both before buying and after.

Not much for pecan pie. But.........don't put a mincemeat pie in front of me. That's what I'll be eating tomorrow. I'm surprised no one mentioned that one.

I don't know the Chrysler numbers, only have a Plymouth book so can't verify numbers. But.........you have two size hood bumpers on the P15. The ones along the top edge of the fender are flatter than the two at the lower front of the hood. Those two are taller. That's probably why they have two different numbers.

Actually, that's not Don under the car. Don does not have curbs in his neighborhood. Either he or someone else took the original car out of the picture, then dropped his car in it's place by photo editing.

Bill, The seats in this 41 Plymouth came out of a Ford Explorer.

I believe that's where JC Whitney gets their headliners. I use to get them there too when I was selling complete interior kits. I had ordered mine through JC Whitney prior to the time I started selling interior kits. My headliner was shipped from LA with JC Whitney as the shipper. For the record, I no longer sell the kits. Took too much time from my day job.

Bill, You can get one through JC Whitney. They are made from the original patterns. You can order vinyl or the nap type in colors. They will also send you samples of material in the colors you request for a match, prior to ordering.

Well.......I think that floor looks like it's in pretty good shape myself. Looks like mostly surface rust, except that small spot of rust through on the drivers side. I would just clean that up and weld in a patch on the drivers side, then paint and undercoat it. Would be just as good based on the pictures and a lot less expensive. A small piece of sheet metal is only about $5 or so.

Bill, You could probably sell the chrome wheels on Craigs List. If you don't want to mess with that, just list them here in the parts section. There is one other possibility though for the chrome wheels. How would you feel about picking up a set of center bullets (like the old time Cadillac centers). You can buy just the center bullets from places like Speedway, etc. I'm like you though on chrome wheels. Don't mind them on a car that doesn't belong to me, but..........they really aren't retro. I like the painted wheel and a full hubcap, or the baby moons with trim rings too for our cars.

Did you guys never hear of the old saying? "Get a room".

Don, what's this double date stuff. That's nothing to get excited about. When I had my 52 Dodge more door back in 63, I had five couples in the car all at once. If you're going to go big, do it right. Had 3 couples in the back, another couple in the front, along with my girl and I. By the way, I could do the same in my club coupe today. Don't really need a more door to do it with. Ya just gotta know how to pack em in.

Bill, If I was going to paint the chrome wheels, I'd sandblast them first to get the chrome off them. But.........why paint them? If you want to stay with Vintique wheels, just buy a new set of primed ones. Then just paint them whatever color you want. Then sell the chrome ones to at least break even. You can use the same center caps on the primed steel Vintique wheel as you have on the chrome wheel.

I also use a creeper. Mine is one that is lower, and, it's nice and soft. Can just roll under the car on a nice warm day and take a little nap. Maybe for those who can't get the car up high enough aren't jacking the car up by the frame. I use a 3 ton floor jack and jack it up almost as high as it will go, and that gives me lots of room to roll around under there. I also use a roll around mechanics stool when I can. Much better that stooping down.

To be honest Don, I forgot where I got that information. Got that back in 1998 when I was buying parts to rebuild my engine. At that time I was still a member of the the POC, so it could have come from someone there. But.......I really think I read it in the service manual or the people at Gasket City who specializes in old car gaskets gave me that information. Evidently Robert has the same information about the difference being either a Canadian engine or US engine.

Back to the top. Are there really only 79 people on this forum? That's not what the stats say. Don't be bashful, vote. You don't have to make a reply post. If you only vote, no one can see who is voting. This poll will close on 12/16, then it won't allow anymore votes afterward.

I see them running around here too. But.........never seen one in a small independent shop before. After all, like I jokingly told the owner of the shop; "Those aren't supposed to be in a shop". At least that's what they advertise. He laughed and said this one needed a new coil and fuel pump. May as well buy a Yugo and save a bundle of money, even with the repairs.

I don't know if the head on my 218 was ever shaved before I bought the car. But........in order to get it flat when I rebuilt the engine I had to take off .035 on my head. Plus I had the shop take another .010 off the block. I still use standard size plugs.

Greg, We have to remember. Back then there weren't as many lawyers out there, and people were not as sue happy. So..........we didn't need all that extra coverage like we have today. Times were much simpler before the lawyers took over. Disclaimer: No offense to those on here that are lawyers.

Now, how could one drive down a railroad track by accident. I would never do that. But...........I did do it on purpose twice in my 58 Chevy while in the army, stationed in Granite City, IL. The first time I did that me and a few other guys from the Depot were going out to have a good time. Well........I turned down the wrong street. Was one block past the street I was supposed to be on. So.........when I came to the railroad switching yards I decided it was closer to ride between the tracks, than to go all the way back around on the streets. Made it almost all the way to the other street before having to stop. Right smack in front of me sat the railroad station building. Now, why did they put that thing there. So.......I went up on the tracks and went around the building. The second time was still stationed at Granite City. Me and a few guys drove up to Alton, IL to have a little fun there. Was supposed to be a live wire town back in the early 60's. Well.........again, took a shortcut to another street down the railroad tracks in my 58 Chevy. That time I did not have to go around a station house. Was young and invincible back then.

All these stories about wheels coming off, reminds me of the story my brother in law tells from time to time. The 1917 Crow Elkhart you see was built by my father in law. He drove it in many parades in the 60's, then my brother in law started driving it in parades in the 70's. The last parade it was in was sometime in the mid 70's. My brother in law was driving it down main street for the 4th of July parade in their local suburb. Well, as he drove down the main street of Elm Grove, WI, the right front wheel came off and rolled down the street, hopped the curb and went through the hardware store window. Luckily my brother in law and his wife (who was also in the car), and no bystanders were hurt or hit by the wheel. And, there was no damage to the car. Only thing damaged was a little pride, and of course the window.

Even if you did leave a number for the seller, I doubt he would call you back long distance. Especially this listing. I just looked at the listing myself. If they were really that interested in selling, they should have some sort of price on there, even if it is too high for the car. I think this seller is just fishing now to see how much people will offer. I never call on something for sale unless there is at least some sort of price on the item. Same at swap meets. No price on the item, and I keep walking. That aside, it does look like a decent car on the surface. Who knows what kind of worms come with it though. Not much into wagons myself, but........a car like this could easily be converted to a sedan delivery, which would really make it a neat car.

I'm assuming you are talking about you have a hole in the oil pan that needs plugging. Yes, the pan should be pulled to weld in a patch. Otherwise, whatever oil is inside the pan will catch fire when they weld it.