Jim Yergin

Andy, My '41 P12 originally had the die cast headlamp doors that Roadkingcoupe described in his #1. I replaced them with the stamped steel ones that he described in his #2. No pitting or re-chroming needed with the steel ones. The steel ones do not have that inner piece you are talking about but incorporate that ring as part of the surround. Here is a picture of mine along with the section from the '41 manual showing what you described. Here's what the manual says: "1. Remove the screw at the bottom of the headlight rim and unhook the rim at the top by pulling it outward." Jim Yergin

Got my transmission re-assembled but then discovered that it would not go into neutral. Thank goodness the discovery was made before I put the transmission back in the car. Found that when I removed the input shaft retaining collar and pulled the input shaft out just a little bit the transmisson would be in neutral. Decided that the problem was the fit of the main shaft into the input shaft. Disassembled the transmission and removed the main shaft. In comparing the end of the main shaft to the one out of my regular 3 speed I could see that the repaired tip of the O/D main shaft did not have the same taper as the regular 3 speed. So I took it back to the machine shop this morning and asked them to grind in the taper. I figure without the taper, when the retaining collar pulled the input shaft in tight there was too much interference with the tip of the main shaft and the resulting binding kept the transmission in high gear all of the time. If nothing else I am getting pretty adept at assembling and disassembling the O/D transmission. Jim Yergin

If that is the wrong part number and you have the correct one then I suggest you do your own search on www.partsvoice.com or, with or without the part number, you contact the vendors listed and see if they can help you out. Jim Yergin

Ed is right about there being two different types of synchros. I think the change was made in the mid 50's. I just changed the input shaft in my '53 transmission using an input shaft from a '41 transmission. In order to remove the input shaft I had to drop the countershaft. In order to drop the counter shaft I had to remove the main shaft. Not difficult but re-installing the countershaft can be a little tricky. I used a 3/4" hardwood dowel as a dummy shaft to hold the bearings and thrust washers in place when installing. Others with more knowledge and experience may have other suggestions. Jim Yergin

Karl, According to my reference material, the gearshift control cable for a 1940 Dodge is Chrysler part #860960 According to PartsVoice these vendors have the part: BRAD'S N.O.S. PARTS WEST COLUMBIA, SC 29171 (803) 755-0066 SILKE'S AUTO PARTS INC. JACKSONVILLE, FL 32217 (904) 737-8600 COLLECTORS AUTO SUPPLY http://www.collectorsautosupply.com/ OROVILLE, WA 98844 (800) 414-4462 DECEPTION PASS MOTOR PARTS http://www.dpmotorparts.com/ ANACORTES, WA 98221 (360) 299-2582 Hope this helps. Good luck. Jim Yergin

Joe, I orginally installed my engine and transmission together with the engine hoist. It was a little tricky getting the rear motor mounts over the cross member but I did do it without the front clip installed. When I later had to remove and replace just the transmission, I jacked up the car and placed it on stands under all four wheels in order to provide adequate space under the car. Then I used my Harbor Freight transmission floor jack to lower and raise the transmission. Works pretty well. The transmission jack is available for loan if you need it. Jim Yergin

Joe, My woodie is a bear to push around if it has to go up even the slightest incline. On a flat surface it is not too bad. Check this video out. Jim Yergin

Rodney, With that kind of luck, all I can say is you should be real careful if you ever have to go in for surgery. Jim Yergin

Joe, When it comes time, you are more than welcome to borrow my lift. Jim Yergin

Joe, Here is a before picture: Jim Yergin

It turned out, after removing the remains of the roller bearings, that the original surface on the transmission shaft was damaged. I asked my machine shop about sleeving it as suggested by James Douglas. I was told that it was too small of a diameter to do that. They suggested that it be hot spray welded, creating a hard surface, and then ground to original specs. I had them do it and here is what it looks like now. I am now waiting on some replacement snap rings before I reassemble the transmission. With the arrival of Spring and the return of decent weather, I am anxious to get the car back on the road. Jim Yergin

The problem I have with the ad is the statement that the car is "very unique." You see that term used all the time. There are no varying levels of uniqueness. Either something is unique or it is not. Just my pet peeve. Jim Yergin

Karl, Yes, you can remove the drive shaft without having the transmission fluid leak out. The seal is behind the emergency brake and driveshaft fitting. Sounds like a good way to test for the noise. Jim Yergin

Joe, There are Tractor Supply stores in Leesburg, Warrenton, Marshall and Culpeper. Let me know if you need directions. Jim Yergin

I think it was in '42 that the M/C was moved to under the floor and behind the pedal. In '41 it was still in front of the pedal and reached from under the hood. Jim Yergin

Don, On my '41 P12, the M/C is mounted on the inboard side of the frame bracket. Jim Yergin

Joe, Did you go to the HF in Dumfries? Made a few trips there myself. Last time it was for a scissors transmission jack. Bit of a drive but it is nice to have such a source accessible. Looking at the extended forecast for the possibility of rain through next Tuesday, I have to attribute it to your sandblasting plans. Hope it doesn't put too much of a crimp in your plans. Jim Yergin

I don't know if all dual heaters had this set-up. I only know that my set-up is designed for dual heaters. In taking these pictures last night I realized that there are four hard lines not two. I had forgotten about the two hard lines that run from the heater control valve on the back of the head over to the two heaters. Hope these pictures help. Jim Yergin

Rich, I have the metal line set-up on my 1941 P12 Plymouth. I found it on eBay a number of years ago. It is for the dual heaters. It has two pieces. One is the metal line back to the rear of the engine and then the second piece that splits it out to the opposite sides of the firewall to each heater. The connections between the two metal lines and to the heaters are short pieces of rubber hose. The fitting at the front of the engine is supposed to thread onto the heater outlet pipe on the water pump. My set-up was missing that connector and I substituted a connector I found in the hardware store. I will try and take some pictures and post them here. I don't think it would be too hard to fabricate the set-up. Jim Yergin

Thanks James, I will check it out. Jim Yergin

James, Unfortunately my problem turned out to be more than just the brass rings digging into the shaft. I "whacked" away on it but it would not release. I finally ended up using a cut-off wheel and cut the input shaft around the shaft to get it a part. Turns out that the the bearings failed in the input shaft collar where the transmission gear shaft fits. I assume that the oil hole in the input shaft collar got clogged. Some of the roller bearings actually ended up welded to the shaft and prevented it from pulling out of the input shaft. It appears that the roughness on the end of the shaft is additional metal from the roller bearings rather than gouges in the shaft. I plan on taking it to machine shop to see if it can be cleaned up. Unfortunately, this shaft is unique to the O/D so, unlike with the input shaft, I can not use the one out of my back-up non-O/D transmission. I am surprised that there was no horrible noise coming from the destroyed bearings before I removed the transmission. Jim Yergin

James, Your input shaft looks longer than mine but yes that is what I am talking about. Jim Yergin

I finally got around to trying to replace the third speed stop ring in my O/D transmission because it was worn and prevented the transmission from shifting into third. However, I can not separate the input shaft from the main shaft. I ended up removing both of them as one piece but they will not come a part. Does anyone know what would be holding them together? I have a parts transmission that I can use to replace the input shaft and the main shaft but the O/D main shaft has the "fast second" gear on it that I installed and I need to get the shafts a part to remove that gear. Jim Yergin

Rodney, Have a great time. Is the weather in York supposed to be as warm as it will be here? Jim Yergin