Jim Yergin

I thought I heard a loud sigh of relief yesterday. Congratulations. Jim Yergin

Greg, Congratulations. Jim Yergin

Jim, According to the parts book Chet has on his site which only covers 1936-1948 Plymouth's, the 1936 Plymouths used a radiator cap with part number 649815. I did a search on PartsVoice using that number. It showed that Len Dawson (http://www.dpmotorparts.com/), Collector's Auto Supply http://www.collectorsautosupply.com/) and Vintage Valley Auto Parts http://www.vvap.com/) have that part. The information on each of those sites indicates that later 1935 Plymouth's used that cap. Hope this helps. Jim Yergin

I don't know about P18s but according to the parts book Chet has on his site (1936-1948) the lower control arm bumper used from 1939 to 1948 was part number 1124470. Both Collector's Auto Supply (http://www.collectorsautosupply.com/) and Valley Vintage Auto Supply (http://www.vvap.com/) indicate that they have that part. Do you have a part number for the P18? Is it the same? If not, you may want to check those two suppliers using the correct part number. Jim Yergin

Greg, While reading your post it dawned on me that we have sort of come full circle from the old manual control on the spark advance used on the really old cars. Then you could tune the car to match the driving conditions and the gas you were using while driving the car. The only difference today is that the computer does it instead of the driver. Puts a new light on the concept of "progress." Jim Yergin

Nice tip Robert. Looks great. But what does it taste like now when you brush your teeth? Jim Yergin

My house was built in 1823. A few years ago I had to replace a window sill in the second story. When I removed the old sill I found a carpenter's caliper laying under the sill. It was obviously hand made and had the name "Harry" scratched on one leg. I often wonder how long Harry looked for his missing tool. Jim Yergin

Jay Fisher reproduces them. Not cheap but high quality. His contact information can be found in the links section of the main forum under the "Body" listings. He had a space at Hershey. Too bad you missed him. Greg is right about the passenger side mirror. I have them on my '41 P12. I find the driver's side useful but the passenger side is just for looks. No way to use it from the driver's seat. Jim Yergin

Bob, I hear that is also because they are now laying on top of old Plymouths. Jim Yergin

Rodney, I think Chet said he was going up to Hershey on Friday. Maybe you two can cross paths. I am going to try and go tomorrow. Good hunting. Jim Yergin

If nothing else you could use the right hand drum until you found a left. Gets you back on the road sooner and would give you a chance to look forward to once again having to remove that drum (forgive my poor attempt at making light of your predicament). Sorry I don't have an extra left. Jim Yergin

Greg, I belong to the National Woodie Club. The club does not have judging at shows and welcomes all "woodies." Here is a statement from the club regarding membership. "Membership in the National Woodie Club is open to anyone who owns, drives or simply appreciates the wooden car. The club recognizes wood-bodied cars of any year, make or model, American or foreign, original, restored or modified." It works for us. I find the eclectic collection of cars refreshing. Jim Yergin

Norm, I believe that is actually a picture of what Rebecca has. I sent her those parts because she was missing them. Jim Yergin

I drove the woodie to work today. As I parked at the office, a couple were getting out of their car. They complimented the woodie and asked what year it was made. When I told them 1941 the woman asked if I had purchased it new! Geez, I am "only" 55! Jim Yergin

Rebecca, That is very impressive. Thanks for sharing. FYI, even after posting something, the author can go back and edit the posting. Just click on the edit button. I know with my typing skills (or lack thereof) that is a useful feature. Jim Yergin

I finally got my brakes to work. Because of Tim's suggestion about having separate residual valves for each front caliper I did some searching on the internet. I found that it looks like just one residual valve is adequate for both front calipers. However I did come across this information about removing the master cylinder residual valve: "Note that there is a thick rubber washer in the far end of the master cylinder tube, that probably did not come out when the other components were disassembled. This is the washer that the residual valve previously sealed against. It is important that this washer be left in place in the master cylinder. Because of it’s thickness it will provide proper spacing for the length of the return spring to properly operate with the new disc brake assembly." When I removed the residual valve from my master cylinder, I failed to reinstall the rubber washer. I have since reinstalled it and now the brakes work. This whole process has convinced me that I want a dual reservoir master cylinder designed for disc brakes so I have ordered one from ECI Brakes along with their bracket to install it in my '41. Jim Yergin

Rodney, I plan on stopping by the hotel parking lot around 5:30 PM while on my way up to Connecticut. I hope to see you there. Jim Yergin

Joe, I hope you have a good time on your vacation. Hang in there on the painting, I know you will get it. I always like to remind myself of Ben Franklin's observation: "Things that hurt instruct." Our frustrations are just part of the learning process. Jim Yergin

Greg, Looking forward to seeing you Friday evening in the parking lot. Jim Yergin

Nice looking car. Thanks for posting the pictures. Jim Yergin

Tim, Thanks for the reply and yes I do have discs in the rear too so I have 2lb residual valves on both lines. What has me puzzled is that the brakes had a good feel and stopped the car fine before I removed the internal residual valve so wouldn't that mean I had adequate volume of fluid? Would removal of the valve change that? I am thinking about replacing the valve but then I am afraid the binding would reoccur. Since removing the valve there has been no binding but then again the stopping power is greatly diminished. Jim Yergin

I had a thread about my four wheel disc brakes occasionally binding up in my '41 Plymouth. It was suggested that the problem was the 10lb internal residual valve in the original master cylinder. I removed the internal valve but now can't get the brakes to work properly. I have repeatedly bled them but can not get them to work properly. They slow the car down but will not completely stop the car. I have also extended the master cylinder push rod to the fullest extent possible. Would the removal of the internal residual valve be the source of the problem? I have 2lb residual valves on the front and rear lines. The only thing I did was remove the internal residual valve and before that the brakes worked fine except for the binding. Is it a bleeding the air issue? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Jim Yergin

I like to use http://www.partsvoice.com/ Jim Yergin

Greg, It turns out that I need to be in Connecticut that weekend. However, I am hoping to stop by Westminster on Friday evening on my way up. Unfortunately I probably won't be driving the woodie but I am looking forward to at least saying hello to everyone in the group at the parking lot on Friday. Jim Yergin

Joe, Last night I believe I finally got all the air out of the system. The barbed fitting I was using to connect the pressure bleeder to my master was leaking. Replacing it made it easier to bleed the system. Because of the rain today I have yet to really determine if the locking problem has been fixed by the removal of the internal residual valve. Hopefully it will be dry tomorrow. Jim Yergin