BobT-47P15

I've had this 1947 Plymouth P15 convertible since 1974 and it has had numerous repairs, new interior, new top, 3 paint jobs (all same color), new wide whitewall radials, new radiator and several different motors. I bought the current motor about 25 years ago from a guy near Tulsa. OK who, was removing it ...to be replaced by a later model V8 in his 51 Plymouth .sedan ,Best I can recall, he said the motor for sale came from some 1957 model Mopar vehicle....but I did not pay much attention to what that was as the motor ran well and he said he had rebuilt it. So now I think it is ready for replacement of the spark plugs, coil, distributor and related items. However I don't know what to say i need. The number on the engine boss is P30*85983* There are stars between those numbers instead of asterisks. I looked thru some likely old car and old mopar stuff on the net but could not locate any good hints. I think I will try to take the car to a local auto electric shop and see what he says. Any other thoughts? I'm not doing much with the car as am now 82 but want to keep it going. Hope all you good 0od Mopar folks are doing well. Bob Toft Joplin, MO+ '

Hi. Welcome to the Forum. As I recall, I think the Gyromatic can either be shifted like a standard transmission or left in high gear like an automatic....but will be slower on the takeoff than shifting. Someone will tell ypu if I am wrong........ Have you gotten a parts manual and an owner's manual for the car yet. Those 2 things are very necessary to have. However they won't apply to the modified things like the carbs. There are two engine lengths in old Mopars.....23 inches long in Plymouths and Dodges and 25 inches long in DeSotos and Chryslers. Some parts will interchange between the cars and engines....some will not. You just have to learn such things as you go along. I like the loojks of your car and wish you much success in rejuvenating it. Bob.

YES.....some good thoughts there. We will have friends and relatives over for dinner Monday....will attend an evening church service tonight. Some light rain here in southwest Missouri so far....the Plymouth will stay in the garage. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. Bob

Thanks for your thoughts on this leak, gentlemen. As Greg said, i havent done much posting the last few years. The car has sat a lot. I start it and let it idle until warm every so often. It’s more difficult to find mechanics familiar with older cars as many are not able to do the work due to old age, etc. Will try to clean up the floor and inspect things to see if I. can locate the problem.

Has started leaking some oil at rear of engine. Have not crawled under to look yet. Thought I would ask better mechanics than me for possibilities. The car has been sitting a lot in last few years. Thanks for any info. Bob in Joplin, MO.

Thanks for the report Robin. Indeed it looks like a good show. Cheers from Joplin, Missouri … right on old Route 66.

The rim in the picture looks like a Ford item and uses the "outside" style cap.

Check fender skirt depot in tempe, arizona

You could, if desired, use a narrow trim reng with the 9 or 10 inch cap….but need the 10 inchers for the wide beauty ring that covers the entire wheel.. The ise of the smaller hub cap on the cheaper Deluxe model is only one thing —- the dadh is less fancy….only one insode sun visor….only one arm rest…and some other things I can’t recall. They had to reduce their biilding cost some way.

You can usually buy a p15 color chart on ebay.

Good looking car. If it is Canadian built model…is the grill the same as the U S model or specifically Canadian?

Hi Martin. If you get the car jacked up and lubed…maybe you could ask a friend from work to come by for a while to turn the wheel. There are gears in the steering box. Also an adjustment on top of the box. Do you have a repair manual for your model?

The plastic center piece comes out with the round chrome piece when you remove the 3 screws from the back side of the wheel. Sounds like you may need to acquire a better parts manual and repair manual for your car…. Whether it is a DeLuxe or Special DeLuxe, parts and diagrams for both models are shown.

I have always heard that the right side mirror is useless for vision. There are some other outside mirrors - the type used by Robin In the U K on his P15 convertible - that are good usable mirrors for both sides.

And/or you can buy a paint chip color chart on eBay for some price. There are two P15 colors exclusive to woody wagons and P15 convertibles: Sumac Red and Charlotte Ivory. Here are some charts. Far as I know, you can not purchase paint using the exact original formula, but with a good example they can get pretty darn close.

Has anyone notified our esteemed Moderator in Chief about this new stuff? I suspect he can fix it.

Merry Christmas to all you "old Mopar" fans. Hope everyone had a good day and maybe even got to drive their old car a bit.

One turn signal/brake light diagram. Another diagram.....

P15 factory wiring diagram. P15 Special Deluxe horn center diagram.

Hi Jon. Welcome. Nice looking car. Once you get the wiring sorted out, you can have 3 rear brake lights plus turn signals. Regarding the brake light currently on the car the Technostalgia company mainly made and sold 12 volt units. However they did make a few 6 volt lights (I have one of them) but not sure how to tell which one you have. They appear to still be in business in Gibsonville, N C with phone of 866-258-5670. They stopped making 6v lights as they did not sell very well....they could probably tell you how to tell which light you have. You may need to find a different turn signal flasher unit due to the current usage of LEDs vs regular old fashioned bulbs. I replaced my original flasher with a clear plastic unit which I had been given by a fellow from Canada.....the writing on that flasher is rather worn off and I cannot read a brand name. I see you have a set of genuine Chrysler Corp chrome wire wheels. Are they 14 or 15 inch? I personally like them (and have a set of 15s on my car).....and they are rather pricey these days. If your horn gets re-wired and keeps honking when it shouldn't, you may need to remove the horn center and ring to check the works in center of steering wheel where contact is made. Good luck with all those "fun" projects. My car

I like the original engine color scheme of black and silver. It looks good once everything is cleaned and has shiny paint. I used POR 15 rust paint (the smallest can) and applied with a small brush. I like the shade of silver and using a brush gives you a bit thicker coat of paint than a spray can. Black is just good quality spray paint. Just my two cents worth. Looks like you are doing good work and accomplishing quite a bit. Bob.

At one time several years ago, the rear brakes on my P15 locked up when I applied much pressure with the pedal. I would have to open a rear bleeder briefly to release them. Cause - as I finally found out - was the inside lining of that little short rear brake hose was collapsing and blocking return of the fluid to the master cyl. So...you might consider replacing the front hoses if you have not already done so.

I don't think it's going to work too well for me. The P15 is a '47 model.....so, add 100 and you arrive at 2047. That's another 26 years. I'm 78 now, so add 26 and I would be 104.

Hi Andy. I looked up the Penrite lube. They say the steering box lube has been replaced by Penrite Semi Fluid Grease and it appears to only be available in Australia.......6 containers to a case. Seems that quantity might be a tad more than needed for a refill. They don't list a price.....which would probably be in Australian currency. Then there is the shipping cost.

There is a business in Nixa, MO (near Springfield) that says they rebuild both power and manual steering boxes. No idea of the cost. One of this company's names is "High Impact Metrics", 607 W Kathryn St, Nixa, MO 65714 Phone (417) 374-7627......this place deals with manual boxes. The other name for the business (that also works on power steering units) is: PowerSteering.com......same address, etc. Springfield is in southwest Missouri. Might give them a call.