Pete

I spoke with Pertronix support a couple of months ago. He said that resistor wires were mandatory to avoid interference with the Igniter. I've read elsewhere that you do not want to use both resister wires and resister plugs as that is too much resistance. In other words, if you are going with the igniter, use resister plug wires and non-resister plugs. Pete

Thanks Rich, Good stuff. I run a fused relay with 10g wire on the headlights. You are correct on the 2330 bulbs. The pins are off by 90 degrees from the sockets in our old Mopars. I believe those were used on Harleys, and perhaps F*rds. I've used the 2531 50/35 tungsten bulbs. They are not nearly as bright as the halogen 50/35 bulbs. I have good sockets for 2331 and a couple of spares as well. I've dealt with Don Axelrod in the past and found him to be a good source of advise and old parts. Pete

They are not the same wattage. Keep in mind that the issue discussed was for 1939 Plymouth. These have the old style headlights with separate lens, reflectors, bulbs, etc. If you keep these original but want a brighter bulb, you need to use a Mazda 2331 bulb. There are limited vendors who supply halogen 2331 bulbs. The vendor I mentioned above has 2 versions: 35w/35w and 35w/50w. Yep, these draw a lot of power. The calculations I used: 6 volt electrical system (positive ground) Bulbs: 35/35 watts 50/35 watts ********************************************* For 2 halogen bulbs: 70 watts 100 watts Amps = watts / volts ********************************************** 70 watts / 6 volts = 12.7 amps for 2 halogen 35 watt bulbs 100 watts / 6 volts = 16.7 amps for 2 halogen 50 watt bulbs So I went with an alternator so as not to tax the original charging system given what else it needs to do. Changing back to tungsten bulbs and generator would take about 30 minutes if I choose to do that. My ammeter certain shows the different between the tungsten and halogen bulbs. Pete

I had my 39 P8 rebuilt over the winter. It had a brass WDT, which surprised me. It has the original 39 engine. Not sure if the WDT was original. It could have been replaced when the engine was last rebuild in the 1950's. Anyway, the tube was brass. It came out fairly easily, and looked almost new so it was reused. Since the rebuild the car's previous overheating issues seems to have gone away. One note: you may want to replace the water pump bolt closest to the generator with a stud. I had to remove that bolt to change the upper generator bracket when I installed an alternator. Because those threads go so deep I had to remove the fan and pulley to get that bolt out. A real pain to be avoided. Pete

Halogen bulbs draw more amps than tungsten bulbs. They often need an alternator to supply enough power. LED bulbs draw less than tungsten. I run halogen bulbs in my P8. I got them here: https://www.lbcarco.com/ Good people to deal with. Pete

I lived in Minnesota in the '90s. An out-of-stater moved there to work with us. After a number of months he asked why so many people had burglar alarms on their cars if crime was so low where we lived. He had been looking at the AC power plugs that extended through the grille to plug in the block heaters. Pete

I've been looking into a Pertronix setup for my 39 Plymouth. I got the coil dimensions from their website and measured the diameter my my current firewall mounted coil. The Pertronix coil is only slightly smaller. Might not even need to shim it to fit the stock bracket. Pete

FYI: I've run only non-ethanol gas since the rebuild, so I think I've good on reading the plugs. As I like to tour I will eventually have to fill up with ethanol gas. Another reason to open it up a bit more. Pete

I've been looking into jet sizes lately. This may or may not help. My 39 Plymouth P8 Carter B&B carb came standard with a .053 main jet. After whatever engine mods by previous owners it seemed to run a bit lean, but close. One of those mods was boring the engine out from 201 to 218. I recently had the engine rebuilt, which included cleaning up the cylinders by .030 and higher compression by further shaving the 1950s Dodge cylinder head. It ran even a bit more lean, so I increased the jet size to .055. After that, the plugs looked better, but not where I would like them, so I'm going to go to .057 and see where I am. Pete

I run a 6v positive ground Airtex pump on my 1939 Plymouth. I use it for priming just like Wraith said. I use the 3 - 4 psi one, as that's the pressure these old cars want to see. Works very well. I use just a rebuilt NOS mechanical pump for almost all of my driving. Handles the steep mountain grades well with the Airtex off. I used to have a Carter electric pump, but I could not run just the mechanical pump on steep grades unless the Carter electric pump was switched on. It seemed to have a restriction in the flow when it was turned off that the pulse pump does not have. I spoke to a tech support guy at Airtex not long ago. He was one of the rare ones that would tell you the truth, not the company line. He said that Airtex was bought by the company that owns Carter, and is in the process of discontinuing the Airtex pumps. He said that if you order an Airtex electric pulse pump you will likely receive a Carter pulse pump, and that Carter only makes one part number for both the 12v and 6v applications. He pretty much said those were crap. The Airtex pulse pumps currently listed on Amazon still use the old picture but are not the pump that I use. I ordered one and sent it back. Pete

If I remember correctly, the button will only depress if the key is turned to a certain position. Pete

Keith, Nice work. I'm planning a similar project for my '39 Plymouth. I like that USB charger. Where did you source it from? Pete

I have this arrangement on my '38 Dodge pickup. I use a needle nose pliers to push the two flat parts of one of the spring clips together so they will fit through the small square hole. Pete

They were an option on all 1939 Plymouths and likely other years as well. They are listed in the sales literature. Pete

I've used Bernbaum a lot. Sometime eBay, sometimes by phone, sometimes directly on their web site. It appears that the shipping costs (USPS) are set by weight and distance. For small light items it's $13, bigger heavier items it's $19. I'm about a 2 - 3 hour drive from them, so it may be calculated by zone. Pete

K&N E-3402

Hi Dodgefran, Each headlight shell has 3 connectors for holding the reflector to the shell. Each of these connectors has 3 parts: 1) a small bracket that slides into a metal "pocket" on the inside of the shell 2) a spring that attaches to the bracket 3) a "T" shaped clip that slides through the spring and holds the reflector to the bracket Your best bet to find these parts is: Donald Axelrod Headlight Headquarters 35 Timson St, Lynn, MA 01902 Phone 781-598-0523 hdlthqtrs@aol.com He's been in business a long time and specializes in headlight parts for 1939 and earlier vehicles. I've also found some of these parts on eBay, but they are few and far between. Pete

HI. I have a 1938 Dodge Brothers RC pickup. I kept the headlights looking original. I had the reflectors re-silvered and put in 2331 halogen bulbs. Works well. It did require an alternator to provide enough amps for the halogens. Pete

When I was first learning to drive my father was into sports cars and the occasional muscle car. I really enjoyed driving those cars and still appreciate them, but I guess I got that out of my system early. I remember having a discussion with some coworkers years ago talking about what cars they would like to have and why. Most were muscle cars. I pointed out the bouncing down the back roads in a pre-war car can be just as fun as zooming around. Amazingly, they seemed to get it. Pete

Thanks LC, The tall metal parts of the fence came with a gazebo. It was made in China junk and didn't last too long, but the uprights found a useful second life. My wife's father made the wooden gate many years ago. The rest is found pieces -- rope, tree branches, etc. It's cheap and functional. I suppose it's a Vermont hippie fence. The rectangular fenced garden is where she raises tomatoes, onions, garlic, etc. It's just a simple wood frame with netting, but it's worked okay for a number of years. Until the bear finds it... Pete

Some bonus pictures from our wildlife cams: Pete

Our Vermont gardens -- working gardens really, mostly for growing veggies. My wife does 99% of the garden work. I do ALL of the remaining 1%. I spend a lot of my time on the vehicles in the background. ? Pete

I got this speaker for the same amp: https://www.retromanufacturing.com/collections/dash-speakers/products/5x7-inch-standard-series-dash-replacement-speaker?variant=31332590350 It should fit right in the dash, at least it will on my 1939 Plymouth. It has two voice coils so it will do stereo from the single speaker. It's 5 x 7 inches and has low power requirements, so it should be a good match for this amp. Also, Retrosound has a unique mounting system that is very flexible for custom installs. I've tested this amp & speaker together and it sounds good. I haven't had time yet to install it in the car. Pete

I asked a number folks who either have higher end old cars or restore them what they recommend for insurance on their collector cars. Each one basically said they are all pretty much the same. Then I asked each of them which insurance company they use. The all said Hagerty. Pete

A number of years ago I was working with a co-worker at a different site. We got to talking about WWII and I mentioned that my father and uncles had served. He said his father was in the war, too. I asked which branch. He said, "The Luftwaffe." His father was a navigator on a German bomber. It was shot down over France and he spent the rest of the war in a POW camp in Monte Carlo! After the war he moved to the US. After my mother died my father told me that she was an agent for the FBI during the war. She never said a thing about it. I had no idea. Pete