Dan Hiebert

Yeah, passing stones hurts, but your wives will be more than willing to tell you it still doesn't hurt as much as childbirth... Glad to hear it went well, and that you're doing well, too.

I bought one of those hub pullers from Northern Tool in many years ago. Earned its keep many times. It has been mentioned several times in the thread, proper tools (hub puller, BFH) and brute force are required. I've pulled the rear hubs off the D24 four times, one of which was a mere week or so after a previous removal, and each time required a goodly amount of effort, but not a significant amount of time.

If I understand the question correctly; I assume the P15s were not available with a rear fender spear. So if someone wanted to dress one up with one, they would not be able to find a trim spear with the same cross section as the rest of the trim on the car, simply because it doesn't exist. But, since the rear fenders are the same across all 1948 Chrysler products, one could either use fenders from Dodge, Desoto, or Chrysler, and the spears from any of those cars. Or - drill holes to mount said trim in the original fenders. Would probably boil down to good old personal preference. We'd have to see the trim Seaside Pete is actually referencing to know which car it came off of originally, but if he is actually referencing the photo, that is indeed a molded feature in the fender, not a piece of trim.

There were some problems when Coker first started making their WWW radials (drat - seems like yesterday, but its been about 20 years now!), but I have not heard anything adverse for quite some time. Haven't had the chance to socialize with the old car clubs here in Maine so far, but back in western NY the vast majority of folks running WWW radials were using Coker products, including the nostalgia radials with no complaints. My only comment on whether or not to put them on you car is that its your car. I'm not generally concerned with historical accuracy, I like the original looks, but I also like some of the frills you could order (which were actually rather sparse in the 30s and 40s), or get dealer installed or aftermarket. You can see on my avatar that our '48 D24 has WWW bias plies, which were not an option when new, and Coker wasn't making radial WWWs when we put the shoes on her. (They're Coker's Firestone reproductions.) When it comes time to replace these, we're putting Coker WWW radials on it, just haven't decided which ones, yet.

Only theme options I get from the drop down is the "P15D24PH (Default)" of these lovely southwest colors....

I've taken US 202 on some of my work adventures through Maine, it is indeed a nice drive. One of the routes I take to get to Rangeley from Houlton goes through Winthrop, too. That Fast Eddie's has a popular cruise night every Wednesday during the summer, at least it was Wednesday this summer. Returning from a trip out there last month and passed the place one evening when the parking lot was pretty full of nice old cars, but didn't have time to stop for pictures. There's only one highway in Maine (I-95), getting off the beaten path is pretty easy around here...whether you want to or not.

It's your truck, go with what you prefer and surprise us! BUT, since you asked, you said those are temporary so I won't comment on generic white wagon wheel rims. I like contrasting / complimentary colored solid rims, or artillery rims, on older cars. Our D24 is plain ole gray with bright red rims. I like the color of your truck, it's one of those colors that almost any other color would compliment, but I would trend towards a medium color, vs. too dark or too light. I don't like the current fad of having rims too dark to tell what they even look like. Red, orange, blue, green, maybe. Your (or your significant other's) favorite color?

Well, for what it's worth, I like it. I'm probably among the furthest removed from being computer literate, so all the nuances tend to be lost with me. I have "Computer Alzheimer's" anyway - I usually have to learn/relearn what I'm doing every time I visit sites. Something new to explore and keep the mind sharp - if that's possible

Grasshopper walks into a bar, the bartender says, "Hey, we have a drink named after you". The grasshopper says...you have a drink named Murray?

My brother and I used to visit our grandparents in Jones Ridge, IL every summer in the '60's and early '70's. The place was so small (pop. @ 12 or so), that initially, there was only one party number for everyone that had a phone. Caller just had to chance that the right person would answer, but since it was so small they would usually just talk to the one who did answer, and they would relay the message to the intended party. Or, I distinctly recall my grandma (my grandpa never answered the phone) sending me or my brother to run to someone's house to get them to pick up. Then, for a while, they only had to dial 4 numbers for local calls, which didn't happen much, since they preferred just to meet at the fence, the tavern out on IL-3, or the grain elevator. But my grandma would prefer to just pick up, wiggle the hang-up thingy a few times to get the operator to pick up and ask for so-and-so. That's why I always get a kick out of Lily Tomlin's telephone operator skits..."One ringy-dingy...two ringy-dingies...hello, is this the party to whom I'm speaking?", that's who I always imagined my grandma was talking to.

Cool. I had a Peugeot bike when I was in high school. Used to ride it from Presidio to Shafter, TX, and back on a regular basis to explore the old mines and ghost town. It was a really good bike, luckily I never had to deal with tires or parts. Imagine trying to find those in west Texas long (really long) before the internet. Gave it to the neighbor kid when I graduated and went off to the Army.

One of my coworkers has an old MG. He rather enjoys it, parts are still relatively easy to find, and there's a huge fan base/support group. Only problems he's had are his size vs. the size of the car (or vise versa), and the electronics. I've never really been interested in British cars, but I don't have anything against them.

Back to your question, White Spyder, asking what we would do in your situation. I've never had a car that we owned outright "totaled". I assume the process is that insurance totals it, which usually entails them taking possession of it. And instead of the insurance company shipping it off to the junk yard, you get the opportunity to buy it back - for their price. The obverse being that they won't pay what it would take to repair the car anyway, so if you want to keep and repair the car, you're out of luck either way. To me it would depend on my attachment to the car, just how much damage there actually is, and whether or not I could reasonably find a replacement. Personally, my abilities are only "OK", I can find another good D24, I can certainly find another classic Beetle, (not yet announced here that we bought a decent 1970 Beetle for a daily beater), but probably not another good Terraplane within my capabilities (it took us ten years to find the one we've got). To shorten the story, I'd keep the Terraplane, but probably not the others. So - I'd keep the Delta 88 (no that many), and find another MR2 (many out there).

I'll admit that I would be tempted to yell that out, too! I love that look. How many people nowadays would know about the Cunningham's Desoto? Especially when Fonzie suped (soupped?) it up for Richie's race challenge? Howard, upon seeing his modified car - "My Desoto!"

Ooh-rah! I'm liking what I'm seeing with your car, and echo your painting sentiments. Not as hard as professionals would lead one to believe. The desired result is totally dependent on the amount of work one is willing to put in. So if all you're lacking is a decent paint job, just tear into it, you'll be surprised at what you can do, and the results can be very satisfying.

Apparently OK, driver was "ejected from the vehicle", transported by ambulance to the next town for treatment of minor injuries, suffered scrapes and bruises. Hot rod or not, I too cringe at seeing this happen to any nice old car. But second silver lining is that every once in a while, someone driving like an ass gets their comeuppance.

Article doesn't mention, but the dealership is "Norm's Used Autos"....same as the plate on the front bumper....hmm

From a local newspaper. I hadn't seen this 1947 D24 out and about, looks like I won't be seeing it any time soon, either. Silver lining - could be a source for some parts in the near future. Story yesterday: Driver departing parking lot of used car dealer in Fort Fairfield, ME lost control of the car and hit the post. Excessive speed (strong indication it doesn't have original engine) and reckless driving cited as factors in the crash.

Looks like the track on the roof is no longer used. End curves are still concrete, but the rest has vents and expansion joints, and looks like "normal" roofing. No tire tracks, either. (Google Earth)

I too would walk away from something with a "tampered" VIN unless the owner has documentation that the State knows about it, which is possible in some States, and in some cases is merely having a state law enforcement officer run the number through NCIC to verify it isn't stolen. We used to encounter vehicles with several different VINs because they were cobbled together from junkyards when I was working in Texas and New Mexico. This depends on the State, but each State usually has a determination of which VIN the vehicle would be titled under, i.e., the dash tag, frame, etc. (All modern vehicles have "secret" VIN locations, too.) Once in a while, one of the VINs would be from a stolen vehicle, which elevated the issue (duh). I've noticed southern states tend to me more liberal with this, northeasterly states tend to be kind of sanctimonious about it. Federal VIN tampering laws only pertain to vehicles manufactured after the date when VINs were standardized Federally, don't remember it exactly. State laws tend to follow suit, but some made it retroactive to all vehicles. Each State is different, and run the gamut of easy to deal with to a total PIA, you just need to be familiar with your State's requirements. In most cases, suspect titles, VINs, registration, etc. can be overcome with a little legwork. Depends on how much effort you want to put into it. All this stuff is supposed to prevent theft and other illicit activities - not to prevent an enthusiast from resurrecting or maintaining an old car.

We can't make it, taking grandkids back to Texas that week. To ponder aside from the show, the Cole Transportation Museum in Bangor is worth a side trip. Planes, trains, automobiles, farm equipment, snowplows, etc. Something for everyone, they have one of Bangor & Aroostook RRs famous BL2s there. Fort Knox is close and right next to the Penobscot Narrows bridge and observatory, which could be a good cruise destination or stop. The Coastal Route (US1) along Penobscot Bay is a great drive, but you'll need patience because all of New England thinks so, too. I'm a bit jealous of you'uns that'll go, but that is the only two weeks I could take leave from work this year to make that drive to TX.

95% Missed two YOM. I started this antique auto thing as a pick-up truck junkie.

In all of my antique auto ventures, a service manual is the second thing I get (after the vehicle), in a couple of instances, I got a service manual beforehand to see what I was getting into. I have a couple old Chilton's that get me by until I find one. Although I haven't found one for our Terraplane, yet, I do have a Motors Manual that has a valuable amount of material.

As Don notes, the steering box uses 90wt gear oil, not grease. Although some have had success filling the steering box with grease, I would not recommend it, as it does not give full lubrication to the gears. The fill hole is the one to the right of the big adjustment nut / cover on the photo you attached. If your worried about it, that hole at the bottom of the worm gear housing, lower right, is actually a tube that runs into the end of the steering shaft, and is to allow the horn button wire to pass through. It does not leak.

I'm with Don. If you're looking for NOS, you should call and ask a few questions. AB has always advertised that they have some NOS, but also to call about it. I bought some NOS parts from AB when Andy still owned it, had to call because they weren't in the catalog and he was one of the only games in town at the time. I got what I needed, no problems. I'm always skeptical about parts advertised as "NOS" anyway, I don't think NOS means quite what it used to lately.