PhilJohnson

One winter I was welding my 53 Willys in 10 below zero weather. The only advantage was it made welding replacement sheet metal in a bit easier with a stick welder I really want to put up something, even if it's a car port, just so I can heat it and be able to work on my project cars all winter long. Hopefully I'll have something worth posting here in a few days. I think though it is time to invest in a dust mask and some ear muffs. My ears are still ringing and I have the wonderful taste of metal in my mouth

Your floors look about as good as mine do. I did a little to mine today, cleaned up the gas tank. Want to get it repainted. I wasn't going to mess with any body work but I think I may just have the motivation I need to start on it. I do have a little garage envy. Must be nice to have a place to work on something that has a roof over your head. I have the great outdoors to work in, except most of the time it doesn't seem that great

I have no wife or girlfriend, so needless to say my place is full of cars You'll have to post pictures of that puppy.

Looks like you're making good progress

Looks like your new place is coming along nicely. Doesn't look like that old convertible got hurt too badly.

My vote is for 65-66 Ford F series. It has styling that could have came from the late 50s yet has Twin I-beam suspension, gearing good enough for highway speeds, and parts are readily available. Get one with a 300 six and a 4 speed manual and you have a pretty much bullet proof combo. Plus I see them for sale for cheap all the time on Craigslist. This was my only working vehicle for over a year, a 65 F100 with a 240 six and 3 speed manual. I drove it 20 miles one way to work 5 days a week, it started when it was over 20 below out side, hauled many loads of scrap with it too. I replaced the brake shoes and front wheel cylinders, one brake line, and a rag joint in the steering in the last 20,000 miles. I bought a disposable beater for this winter while I attend to a few minor issues here and there that didn't get done because I had to drive it every day. I only paid $650 for my truck, pretty cheap transportation I'd say.

That was my guess too. Mopars are the cheapest way to enter the old car hobby, but unfortunately it really bites when you go to sell. They just don't fetch the big bucks like a 50 Mercury coupe. Good luck on selling, sometimes all it takes is the right person to see it.

I'm thinking he is talking about your first photos you posted. Anyway, looks like you are doing a great job It's obvious while you might be new to old Mopars you definitely know your way around metal. I actually want to go the other way on my 50 Dodge, I like it a few inches higher over stock.

Well I just got a little closer to that goal today. My title came in the mail today Everyone told me good luck trying to get a legit title from the state. Well all that well wishing paid off The process of titling an untitled car isn't all that difficult, just takes time and calling different DMV people until you get one that is helpful. A little verbal arm twisting and naming statutes goes a long way too. It cost me 100 dollars (cost of the bond) more than what it would have to register with a clean title. The guy I bought the car from was a really great guy (West Side Auto Sales Eau Claire) and he actually gave me a hundred dollars towards the bond. The car had originally came with a title for a 51 Dodge and the vin was nowhere near a match. We tracked the owners back into the early 80s so it's been mis-registered for at least 30 some years.

I worked on the 50 Coronet yesterday, finally took off the starter. It had been dragging really bad. I've gotten rid of almost all my other projects so now I have more time to concentrate on the Dodge. Progress has been slow, slowed down even more by the fact that now the fuel pump arm has fallen off the darn pump I think I'll have to pull the pan to get it out. I sent in my bond, hopefully a new title will be showing up soon My goal for this year is to get it driveable before all the leaves fall off the trees. So I've been doing a little bit each week. Last week I cleaned out the car so I could work on it. The poor Dodge had been used as a tool/parts storage shed for nearly 8 months I really need to get a garage. The only major monkey wrench in this mess is the transmission. Still trying to figure out what the mystery click and the clunks are. Probably won't replace the transmission this year, since it does shift fine and moves ok. I really want to get at least a hundred back road miles on it before the year is out.

Ha, that wasn't what I was expecting

Never had a flathead V8 but I've had a few Mopar flat sixes and Stovebolt motors. Chevy ingeniously designed the valve cover so when water leaks through the hood's center line it goes into the motor. Every single one had a gallon of water in it. There isn't a big difference power wise between the 216 or 218, or 235 versus 230. I guess overhead valves made a Stovebolt seem more modern but the oiling system is really prehistoric. Plus when everyone else ditched babbit bearings in the early 30s Chevy decided to keep babbit bearings until 1953. The mopar six is a better motor, it has better oiling, better bearings, and more durability. Some of those old babbit pounding piles would give up the ghost in a large truck after 30,000 miles. I got one right now in my 51 2 ton dumptruck. Unsurprisingly the motor is about shot, another babbit pounding 235 is going in, I got the motor for free. If I had the money I would have went sbc.

Awesome trip Someday I hope to get my hands on a Model T.

I have a clunky and clacking M6 in my Coronet at the moment (car clunks and clacks as it comes to a dead stop). I have the option of picking up a 3 speed manual (unsure if it came from a Plymouth or Dodge). I've heard that some fluid drives had regular 3 speeds behind them. Do three speeds have different input shafts for fluid drives versus a standard clutch? I was thinking of just putting the 3 speed in place of the M6 transmission and re-using my current clutch/flywheel setup.

Did you try that guy over by City Point? I know he has a couple of old flathead mopar sixes. I also know where there is 53-54 Cranbrook up the road from Brad's house. I'll keep my eyes and ears open. I usually stumble across old stuff quite a bit.

Awesome score, it looks like you have more ambition than I do. My poor 50 Coronet has been sitting in the front yard all summer waiting for me to work on it. Good luck

My transmission is still clacking and clunking on my 50 Coronet. I have no idea why but I'm thinking maybe going with just a plain 3 speed would be the way to go. I have a source for old Mopar parts. I'd like to know if I can go to a standard using all factory parts. I've been searching the net high and low but haven't found much out for what I'd need to get.

A few more pictures: This is the car with the old weatherchecked whitewalls:

I bought this puppy a while ago for the grand sum of 500 bucks, after tearing apart the starter I got it to run. I've been driving it around for the past month, mostly to my parents and to the salvage grocery store. The old weatherchecked white walls were making the car shake really bad. So I mounted some tires I had laying around by hand. I put on some 235s on the back in an effort to reduce RPMs. I wanted to put 235s up front but I could only scavenge two of them so I used 215s in the front. Somewhere along the line someone installed air shocks in the rear. To my surprise the shocks held air. As you can see the car has a bit of a rake to it. I am slowly trying to fix it up to replace my truck's DD status. The Plymouth is much better on gas than the 65 Ford. It needs the brakes redone and has various small electrical issues. Could use some carb work as well. I noticed it didn't have an oil filter either.

Rural New York looks a lot like Wisconsin.

My 51 Plymouth's charging system wasn't working right. The needle was bouncing back and forth from 0 to 40/50 amps. Finally the generator quit charging. I filed the points in the voltage regulator (they looked pretty bad) and adjusted one of the point gaps to the point where the needle quit bouncing. What is normal amount of amperage for a stock generator at idle and and speed? It is 15-20 amps at idle and around 40-50 amps at cruising speed. I am in the dark, sorta guessing how this stuff works. Is there anything I missed or need to do?

I bought a 51 Plymouth Cranbrook a couple of months ago. Got it running and it moves pretty decent. Trouble is the brakes are all shot. I know to remove the rear drum one must use a drum puller. After removing the rear wheels I noticed that the rear drum appears to be riveted onto the rear axle hub. Could I grind off those rivets and simply remove the drum like a modern car? Another question I have is where can I get shoes. Seems like none of the parts stores carry them

Been trying, ain't easy that's for sure. All the pink spots are body filler. A few bits of my own "repair" work. Arc welded sheet metal: The attached photo is the sill plate repair I did. It is made out of a cover from an old IH bailer, computer case, and a bed frame. All arc welded as well.

The most far gone car I've ever tried to fix up was a 53 Willys Aero. I still have the car, seems no one else thinks it is worth fixing. The previous owner was going to cut it up into patch panels for other projects. Being a uni-body it has been quite the challenge. Not having a garage and a rainy summer/fall last year plus a snowy winter has meant not much is getting done real fast. A few pics of what I'm dealing with: In the second pic there is a piece of dog chain visible wrapped around a piece of angle steel. Somewhere along the line someone welded a piece of angle iron from the rear front leaf spring mount to the front of the uni-body and bolted the trans crossmember to it. Over the years the weld let loose up front and thus the crossmember hung down. The first time I got the beast running I decided to take it down the road. The trans kept popping out of gear because the crossmember hanging down on one side. Wanting to take out the car for another drive I got a piece of square tubing and a dog chain and did a quickie jury rig fix. Second problem arose, car was so rusty that when I sat on the seat the floor would sag and hit the driveshaft. A piece of strategically placed wood solved that problem. There is a ton of poorly done body work on the car. I swear most of the car is made out of window screen and body filler I took out a 10x10 square of window screen/body filler patch out from behind the door. Wood was also used to "fix" the rocker panels. The sheet metal was actually nailed to the wood. I'll never know if the hack who did this was poor, didn't know any better, skill-less, or trying to pull a fast one on someone. I've been trying to piece it together out of what ever I have laying around. I've arc-welded in some patch panels but sometimes it is really frustrating. Tons of warpage not to mention that welding almost 60 year old rusted paper thin metal blowing through at least a few times is pretty much guaranteed. Few more pics:

My winter beast: I did manage to get it stuck in the middle of the road this winter after a particularly wicked blizzard. Had to fire up the 51 Chevy to pull me out. The motor had been making weird noises for quite some time. Luckily for me it had one final hurrah before it gave up the ghost in the driveway. I have another 235 that I plan on swapping in once the weather gets nicer.