mrwrstory

I think it's a very fair price IF it looks this good up close. Rust and rust repair is the biggest concern. Check the bottom edge of the trunk opening, the spare tire well, look under the carpet at the interior floor corners where the toeboard meets the cowl structure, the master cylinder access panel(under the driver's feet) and of course the door bottoms and rocker panels. Some rust is to be expected and some repairs done right are quite acceptable. However, huge holes or gobs of Bondo indicate expensive repairs may be needed if you want it to be right. Good luck. Let us know. Send pics of questionable areas. This gang of knuckleheads will steer you right:D

Like in Del Mar???? Nah, 'tho I'm threatening to fire the engine before the end of the year.

cool!!!! thanks!!!!!!

When I hold this little spring steel clip in the place that seems to make sense, it doesn't look like it does anything. The contour on the bottom, (as viewed here) matches the contour of the hinge. Am I missing something?

Sanding the back of the Special Deluxe badge worked great. - The escutcheon for the center of the dash was a lot more work. Patience paid off. Not perfect as the rehab now highlights some of the flaws that I could not sand out. Still pretty satisfying. - Both of the plastic pieces are painted on the back surface with a medium metallic gray, same as parts of the engine, trans and suspension

Man, that was quick,....THANKS!!!

re attachment of the vertical chrome pieces on the gloove box door: The studs are a little oversize via the plating, They are also quite short. The holes are a bit smaller via the paint. Therefore they don't yet snap into place. I'm thinking they should be "staked" in place. However, before I start bangin away, I'd ask for confirmation.

Started here with modeling clay. one hour of working w/lacquer thinner a good two hours more of pikin and scrubbin - - the back has been repainted and is drying. Finished product tomorrow.

As Young Ed suggested, careful picking and prying with dental picks got the speed nuts off without damage to the stud or the nut. Careful sanding with 800 wet/dry eliminated the first layer of paint, leaving the paint filled script intact. The larger dash center piece is a different animal. I was able, with a soft brass wire brush, to remove about half of the paint in/on the textured area. I know the risks of solvents and plastic. However, lacquer thinner works without apparent affect on the plastic. I'm about halfway done. The trick before me is to completely clean the little diamonds in the texture and sneak up on the "Plymouth" lettering without damaging it with solvent. I'm planning to pack the depressed lettering with modeling clay and hope that will protect the paint fill from the thinner. I'll let ya'll know and post pics in a day or so.

First question: Does anyone know if these plastic dash parts are reproduced,...and if so, who and where? - - Second question: Does anyone have any tips for removing these speed nuts w/o damaging the plastic studs? I'm thinking carefully cut off the speed nuts and find new ones. - Third question: Does anyone have any tips for restoring the back side of this plastic emblem the goes on the center of the dash? - Thanks in advance for any input offered. And, Promise Pics and a P-15 Plymouth Progress report via "I'm back",...by next week.

To cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Both the P-15 Delivery and the Bug.

I've always had lowered cars. My take is that the lower, the cooler,...well almost! But what goes along with coolness is decreased ride quality and the increased need to be vigilant about roadway topography. Having critical parts above the frame line gets you pretty good protection. Bottoming on the frame sounds awful but pretty much does only cosmetic damage. Bottoming on the "bump stops" occasionally is no big deal for me. It's severe driveway transitions that make me pucker. How much, where and what distances you plan to drive your delivery are factors too. But again,....it costs to be cool! My lowered P-15 had about 4.5" clearance to frame at the cowl before I did the new suspension. I have reduced that to 3.5" but with all the hard parts above the frame line". I also have the option of getting back about .5" with suspension adjustment. - Are there more pics of your delivery available? I'd love to see more of what you have done and how you did it.

nah!!!!!

new 2"springs won't get you much lower than old used stockers. Plus, cutting the coils will yield a little firmer, more comtemporary, ride. Suspension travel will be reduced in either case.

On the cheap is, cut the coils. Be advised the cool factor is inversely proportional to the ride quality. Next option is dropped spindles from Fatman but that very quickly gets costly 'cause,..... why not do disk brakes at the same time. Then, why not do something about the shocks? What you see on my P-15 is both spindles and springs.

The '40 sits in the driveway waiting for the knife,....or the wrench. Yeah,..."knife" was to inflamitory a word. Sorry! Didn't mean to push any buttons. But,....it still will be modified for performance while retaining the stock (except for wheels and tires) appearance.

The '48 has been "under construction" for way too long. 360 engine and OD trans were pulled last week for final appearance freshening. I'll have plenty of P-15 project progress pics to preuse pretty soon The '40 sits in the driveway waiting for the knife,....or the wrench. I've promised my wife I will only work on it after the '48 is running and one of my cars has sold

I agree w/most of the previous commentary,...under scoreing, "Chevy parts don't fit"; duh! he's a builder?????? (probably would say the same about a flathead 6). And for a few hundred,... if it's a complete 341" go for it. Know that the DeSotos are smaller and lighter than the Chryslers but larger and heavier than the Dodges. And, probably less popular than either. Check http://www.hothemiheads.com/ The upside is, engines don't take much room. Build a dolly, put a wood frame with a top on it and you have another 30"x30" horizonal surface that you can stack stuff on,..... and it rolls. If in the future, you decide not to use it you should be able to easily recover your money.

I use Satin Rustoleum a lot. First wire brush, clean w/lacquer thinner, prime with SEM black etching primer, paint with SEM trim black or Rustoleum Patio/Outdoor Satin black. The etching primer and trim black are quite thin so the result looks a little more like black oxide. I punch a "cross" in a piece of cardboard with an eXacto knife that I can press the bolts into,........for a holder. Nuts and washers I use double back tape. The marks you may make during installation can be touched up with a Sharpie pen

Keep the trans,....just in case and give me the Lab.

I'd liek a tutorial on that two.

Where are you? How 'bout a coupla pics

I was thinkin 'bout something like that,...like, an exhaust dump at the lower portion of the front fender near the cowl. Do a baloney cut on the pipe flush with the surface of the fender. The bigger challenge is to get a block-off plate and headpipe route to the muffler stuffed into the space that already looks tight. Haven't given up on that idea just yet 'tho. Lotsa smaller incidentals and then the next BIG step is to pull the engine and trans to install new trans seals, install the torque conv. and paint the engine/trans package.

It took me forever to rediscover how the cool shift mechanism I conceived, years ago, went back together. Thank goodness for copious digital pics. I then had to fine tune the R&P mounting tab on the cross member to get a good angle and simple connection between the steering rack and the steering shaft Good clearance now for the starter (whose idea was it to put the starter on that side anyway?) Now all I gotta do is figger how to get four exhaust pipes through there.

Forgot to say thanks guys for the response to my tag question. THANKS! I'll have to get me a repro one.