DLK

I just worry about taking too much finish off. My 50 Dodge has had water spots on the hood and fenders that are embedded under the wax. I am reluctant to use a rubbing compound in case my finish coat (the car was repainted in 2001) is too thin.

Glad you didn't sell her. I sold my P-15 in 1999 thinking I was over the old car bug. It was a big mistake I should still have that car. Of all the cars I owned before or since I miss that 47 Special Deluxe the most.

With my "toy" wipers I had to rely on Rain-X to get my 50 Dodge home from storage (65 mile drive). We have had lots of crummy weather here in Minnesota. Car ran fine - now that I have it back no excuse not to get to work addressing ongoing issues and paying more attention to posts here on the forum. I hate taking it out of commission but figure I need to get the leaky fuel pump fixed and address my ongoing wiring issues before venturing out too far with it.

Most important - she seemed like a classy lady in addition to her natural assets.

I decided to go the original route and spent over $200 to have Turnswitch (recommended by some here and elsewhere) rebuild my MOPAR 803 radio with new capacitors and solid state vibrator. When I put it back in last May it worked great for about 2 months. Then it developed a constant buzzing sound, the volume control did not work right and finally in September the off-on button gave out and it was dead. I brought the radio back in September and they still have not found the cause of the buzzing or fixed it. I think now my $200 would have been better put toward a modern conversion.

I really chuckle when I read these discussions. I lean toward original wherever possible but recognize that it is a fight we are going to lose with the younger generation and wouldn't mind a few upgrades under the skin. Most of my kids friends wonder why I would drive a 50 Dodge sedan with a flathead and fluid drive rather than a 69 Road Runner or Charger with a 440 or Hemi. As I tour the backroads at 50 or 55 I just enjoy driving an original car that is not that common and that starts a discussion with people over 50 wherever I stop. Plus I don't have the kind of hobby money to sink into that muscle car.

Ed if you have done this - how hard was it? I have read here and elsewhere that some of the replacement units are junk so I was thinking of rebuilding mine and carrying a new unit as a spare. I suppose if I read enough threads there probably are recommendations on where to buy a decent new pump.

Last spring when I decided to tackle this project I went through many old threads on this board and decided to do the front half of my car wire by wire because of the high cost of a Rhode Island or RNZ harness. I bought spools of wire from Brillman Co (recommended here) and it seemed like a simple enough job. I pulled out all the old wires and started in. Unfortunately I ended up getting some wires incorrectly connected. So I put my car in winter storage with parking lights and turn signals that do not work right. As I look to 2011 I really should redo the wiring to the back of the car as well as fix what I already messed up. When I got an estimate from RNZ a couple weeks ago (big $$$ just for the rear) it once again put a damper on any thoughts of going the professional harness route. My suggestion is if you do this yourself you need to do a better job of labeling the old wires than I did. Putting on and soldering the connectors after cutting your wire really is not that difficult. And if you are sticking with 6 volts err on the side of heavier rather than lighter guage wire.

But what about the quality of those repro parts? It's my experience that these foreign made brake and other parts are poor quality compared to disappearing NOS parts.

Owning this car has been great despite the nagging issues this year. To be honest before I started shopping last year I had never seen a Wayfarer or Cranbrook fastback sedan that I can recall and was really looking for a P-15, D-24 or Chrysler Windsor from 46-48. I do enjoy the comments at the gas pump or around town - there are plenty of others who haven't seen one like it either. Then to have my best friend's wife pull out a photo album with pictures of her standing at 3 years old in front of her Dad's 49 Wayfarer sedan. I'm already looking forward to 2011 with hopefully more driving and less out of pocket expense. And Ed thanks for the tip you sent me on adjusting the master cylinder rod play.

It was 82 Saturday when I joined the local WPC club for a 140 mile fall cruise around Lake Pepin between MN and WI. It was gorgeous even if leaves were a bit past peak. I guess I am a better fit with the Plymouth Club - I had the only car in the caravan older than a "Forward Look" 55 DeSoto. My electrical problems finally seem behind me but I needed a tow due to brake issues. It seems when they rebuilt my brakes they adjusted them so tight they were engaging without pressing the pedal. I wondered why my car had no zip going up hills. About 70 miles into the drive I noticed obvious fade when I pushed the pedal and in another 10 miles I had smoke coming out of the rear wheel wells. Thankfully my insurance paid the tow and the brakes are now adjusted properly and the car seems no worse for the strain. Too bad it's time to put it to bed until spring.

I raised the white flag and drove it to R&S Automotive who currently is going through the charging system. Unfortunately they found three leaking wheel cylinders and a leaky master cylinder as well. I guess better they find them now than I spring a bigger leak on a hill or in an intersection.

I actually took the car to a club outing and put 78 miles on it yesterday. The aggravation continued. It charged all the way to our first stop (21 miles) then worked intermittently for the rest of the trip. Someone in the local Plymouth club also brought up the ammeter which I guess I should have considered. I am going to redo all the ammeter connections and see if I can do a voltage test as well. At least with two gennys and three voltage regulators I will have extras to carry in the trunk although I could have used that money in other places. I wish I had made the pos-alternator switch but with $225 in two rebuilt generators it seems kind of late for that.

I have posted a number of times on my ongoing charging issues and swore I would not provide any more evidence of my electrical ineptitude. However having tried two rebuilt generators and three voltage regulators I think I have a troubleshooting hint that may help someone identify my problem. All along since putting in the first generator I have had a problem where eventually (it could be 2 miles it could be 70) the car would stop charging. It has prevented me driving at night and kept me away from numerous club events and shows this summer. Having tried a second rebuilt generator and having the same issue I ran a jumper wire from the field terminal on the generator to the block. The generator immediately started charging. I took the car for about a 4 mile drive and before turning in my driveway it stopped charging again. I ran the jumper wire again and bingo it is charging (for how long I don't know). I already have a ground wire from the generator to the voltage regulator so that can't be the issue. Could anyone offer any theory about what is going on? Just email me if you are tired of responding to me on the forum. thanks

So did they have vacuum or electric wipers with that top mount?

Just a guess - they don't work and he doesn't drive in the rain. He bought the car about 5 years ago and has pretty much just driven it. The inside is all original - showing wear but presentable. He told me 39 was the first year with 3 on the tree.

Does it matter where you mount these units. Since electric pumps are better at pushing than pulling (I remember reading that here or somewhere else) can it still be mounted near the engine or does it need to be under the car back by the gas tank?

I'll second that. If you are going to rod it nice to see it without a Chev 350.

I went to a show and parade in Lindstrom, MN today with my 50 Dodge and saw this beautiful 39 Plymouth. The car is all original (except the outside paint). What an attention getter it was. Even the push button radio worked.

Hopefully your generator problems are fixed faster than mine. Finally I took a 70 mile drive with my Dodge and it's reinstalled (for the third time) rebuilt 6v+ generator and it charged nicely from beginning to end.

Driving my 50 Dodge through North St. Paul on CRUZE night August 6th.

My memories from the 60's were all the "gimmicks" to increase gas mileage and performance that Whitney sold. One that stands out were the fire injectors which were to replace your standard spark plugs and increase both gas mileage and performance. Over the years apparently many people were suckered in by those false claims and made Whitney some money.

Well I went for a 25 mile ride last evening and as the usual charging for first 9miles - not charging for 3, then on the way home charging for 8 then not for the duration, except for about one block just before I got home. I finally think I have proof it is the generator. When it is charging an inline ammeter on the armature lead out of the generator shows it charging and when it is not - it is at zero even when I run a ground wire from the field terminal on the generator to the block. Now the problem is to have the generator shop SEE it not charging. Running on the bench for 5 or 10 minutes it has always been charging just fine. Rather than a bench test I am taking the CAR into the shop tomorrow and will drive around the the area until it is NOT charging and pull into the shop. If as I suspect there is an intermittent short in the generator it is so difficult to convince the shop when it tests fine for them. What really hurts is I spent $135 for the rebuild and the real problem which I understand is hard for them to replicate apparently was not fixed.

Don as always you have a good point. It was charging fine for probably 40 miles after I put it back in the car before it stopped. Thanks for the link.

I did not and will take that up with the repairman tomorrow when I bring my generator and vr back in for bench testing.