BobT-47P15

My rather clever sister Joanne saw this beer in a store......then modified the label slightly to add the car picture. Bet I'm the only guy on the block with this particular item. The beer is named for it's creator, a man named Bob, who evidently graduated from brewing school in 1947. It's also made about two hours drive from here-- in Kansas City.

Max and I played music for a private party at some friends' home (out in the garage/shop building) which they heated with propane heaters. Some mood lighting from beer signs and Christmas lights..... some good food.......some friends.......and you have the start to a hopefully good year.

Neat...........

This may sound strange, but I began getting smoke out my oil fill pipe......which had never happened before in many years I've owned the car. Came to find out the carb (which was an old one that looked good ) was not quite right and was dumping gas into the crankcase. Therefore causing the smoke out the filler tube......when I would stop the engine after even a short trip, the smoke would just keep coming out the tube. May not be your problem but another possibility given these old cars with equally old parts. Prior to the fill pipe thing, my engine would use a little oil (seemingly out the blow-by road draft tube) and would also drip on the garage floor. Which means I at least need some new seals and probably pan gasket. Just some other food for thought.

Do you have yet a Parts Manual for your suburban? Often those show pictures and maybe even give dimensions of certain items. I've occasionally been surprised at info found.......then again, sometimes they give you very little to work with. If you can find the thing you need on an original, nice vehicle, be sure to study it, take pictures and measurements if possible. Write it all down to save for future reference. (Wish I had written down more stuff I've bought for or done to my car.) (I had a 54 Plymouth two door wagon back in the 1970s which was still in pretty good condition and did not need things replaced, so unfortunately no experience with parts there.) It was left sitting by the next owner for 25 years or so, and consequently went downhill greatly. He finally dumped it off........but I think some car person ultimately bought it and may be currently restoring it. Be interesting to see if it ever turns up again. What the last buyer got..............

Here's hoping 2014 will be a better year in numerous ways than this one has proved to be. Happy Old Mopar Hunting everyone.......................... Bob Toft

Does anyone here ever check with Antique Auto Supply, Arlington Tx? They have several buildings full of NOS parts for all makes, best I know. Have met the owner.......seemed a nice guy. Link to their site: http://www.antiqueautosupply.com/

Hi Welcome Sounds like a unique project alright. Have you called or looked at a Steele Rubber catalog? They tend to have a large selection of good quality rubber pieces. Maybe someone will join in who has had more specific suburban experience. Some things are pretty tough to find.........but sometimes other things can be substituted and work perfectly. (Not exactly a definitive answer, you see). Link to Steele website: http://www.steelerubber.com/ Good luck.

I think son in law Dale was going to use the bottom edge of an old door to make a patch panel in that area. The door already has the curvature......just have to cut off the inside of door stuff, trim to size, etc, to make it fit.

Casper.....do you have any auto upholstery shops near you? If so, you might ask what wholesale supply they get their material from. Sometimes those suppliers have older material still on the shelf and will sell to an individual. Or, sometimes a local shop will still have some old stuff that never got used.

Well, just guesstimating.......if the seat is approx 5 feet wide.......then 5 feet length of material for the bottom......another 5 feet length for the backs.........that's 10 feet. So, 5 yards (15) feet would sound like enough in the length department. 54 inches wide is 4 feet, 6 inches wide. So it would seem like the width would be enough to wrap around the cushion. The ends of the seat frame are covered in leather or vinyl. So, I think I would buy the material you like at that reduced price. If it doesn't end up being enough, you could probably sell it to someone else. Just my thoughts.

Saw this the other day at a True Value hardware store.......at least that's where I think I saw it. One of their nice promo models they put out. Just tossing it in as info for anyone who might be interested in checking at their local True Value store for one. I know we have a few pickup fans around here............

I think he was taking note of your good fortune.........how often do ya find a decent, cheap car then a good motor for it right in your own back yard????

The convert should be back in 2014 from this.......... Tornado flying debris that went in thru the grille and into the engine bay as well. Dale had to clean each radiator opening with a pipe cleaner to get it out. To this................The return will be duly announced here.

Interesting history there, Don. I know it's been fun and informative over the past several years. I've learned numerous things about my car that I never had known....being that I'm one of the world's worst mechanics. So.....thanks to all the contributors, new and old. Merry Christmas to all and a Happy Mopar New Year.

Depends (in my opinion) what the bolt was mounted on. If on a bracket like shown above on rear of the top grille bars.........I think you could drill out remainder of stud and maybe insert a bolt from the back side. Or, if not enough room to do that, take a piece of threaded rod of appropriate diameter, put nut behind the bracket, then one in front to attach it. Maybe some Loctite to hold nuts securely. OR some soldering work. Just my guesstimate on a fix. I'm sure others have more ideas.

And........link to a page on the net with pictures of many, many 1950 Dodges in all sorts of color schemes and originality (or not)........................... https://www.google.com/search?q=photo+of+1950+dodge&tbm=isch&source=iu&imgil=WZ4ppuMl5lB0TM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcQHXii0pOOG6Bv61WTvkVJmsmZxbVQplOX0zUaaIeJBFf5qHNQbqg%253B400%253B312%253BE1oGN4bC9TBnnM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.oldcarandtruckpictures.com%25252Fhantscountycarshows%25252Fwindsor2006%25252F&sa=X&ei=JBSwUoThGcrCyQG9x4GABg&ved=0CDYQ9QEwBQ&biw=1024&bih=672#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=WZ4ppuMl5lB0TM%3A%3BE1oGN4bC9TBnnM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.oldcarandtruckpictures.com%252Fhantscountycarshows%252Fwindsor2006%252F1950_Dodge_coupe_fv%253DKRM.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.oldcarandtruckpictures.com%252Fhantscountycarshows%252Fwindsor2006%252F%3B400%3B312

Back side, from yet another ebay ad. E Bay can sometimes be a good source of parts information when sellers send in useful pictures. And sometimes their explanations of what or how the part fits are good.

According to pic in this ebay ad.......the bars seem to be separate............ Another ad.........back side............

It looks as if the top bar should come off by itself....but ..........

I think those folks know about the vac cylinders........have talked to them a time or two, but never had them do any work on mine. Son in law may have found some fellow in Kansas City but haven't heard the outcome yet. Of course, it's nice if the cyls work properly.......but I've been putting my top up and down manually for several years. And, there are also the counterbalance springs that attach to the top bow system....do you have those? I have some that are not the originals and they don't do much since they aren't of as heavy wire as the factory ones....not as much tension.

A good buy........now with a motor to boot.............keep us posted on progress.

Looks real good.

Do you have a Parts Manual for your 50 Dodge? If not, you ought to get one. Available in original or reprint form on eBay, usually. It will have a name for the various parts and pieces that go on the car. What the seller is calling it may be correct.

Or.....just wear sunglasses. I used to buy and sell some 40s and 50s Mopars back in the 70s. At the time, I didn't like visors so I always removed them.....sold them at swap meets.......as I recall, for the princely sum of about $35.