Desotodav

You might be right there Hank! I had the old blue truck 'Ernie' out for a drive today. I drove to a car show just over an hour to the north, and then returned home via the Mt Gravatt Lookout - about 10 kilometers south of Brisbane (Brisbane City in the distance to the right center of photo)... I recall that my door windows were fiddly to get adjusted right Joe. Keep chipping away at the project mate as you are doing well. Maybe you and I need to start a 'blue club' Joe?

Very nice Joe. Good job mate!!!

Many happy returns for the day Merle. You've only got about a month more than me on this planet! Desotodav

I'd be putting the Spitfire head on Don as I don't reckon that I could have something that good sitting around my place without being on the vehicle! Surely Murphy's Law doesn't apply all the time! Just as a matter of interest though (for someone not very mechanically minded like me) - I believe that the Spitfire head will increase your compression, do you have to do any other minor adjustments like changing the timing or modifying fuel mix etc after you put a performance head on? Desotodav

It's a funny argument where one says that their speedo was showing less than they were travelling at when one is pulled over by 'the law'. Here in Oz a vehicle can be 'defective' if its "speedo cannot be reasonably relied upon to be producing accurate results". I guess then it all boils down to which of the defective vehicle ticket or the speeding ticket is the lesser amount - and you just hope that you don't get issued with the both tickets! Desotodav

Most of ours (in Oz) are a bit different to your trucks over there - our lights are mounted to the back of the headliner, and we have 4 brackets to secure the headliner to... Desotodav

Nice shots of you and the granddaughter Paul. You should probably put that center dividing bar on your windscreen before you make the BBQ trip as that will pull your windscreen in nice and snug and probably cut down on your wind noise! Desotodav

I had never heard of a 'hoopie' Tim so I looked it up... http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hoopie . Very interesting! You American guys talk funny! Desotodav

I'd forgotten about those great videos of yours Tim. I dropped down to the shed this morning and took these photos... Desotodav

Nice job Joe. Boy the old truck has sure come a long way since you started. Keep up the good work mate! Desotodav

Geez you're right there Don - you selling off some of your evening wear from the old days? LOL Desotodav

I had a window fitter install all of my fixed windows.He uttered a few swear words when he broke one of my rear corner windows whilst thumping it with his fist getting it to pop into place. Even he was surprised at how difficult the corner windows were to install. Lucky that I had a spare. I installed all of the moving windows myself - fiddly but do-able. Desotodav

I didn't get much time to work on my truck today as I was out trying to earn a $. I did get the dual horns back from the painter all painted in gloss black now - so I put them back together. I have to admit that I am inspired by the 'WOYCTD'. I hope to be working on restoring my 53 Dodge 'coupe' truck for this special day next year. Desotodav

Well done on the visor purchase Kevin. I wonder who your bidding competition was? - he was obviously very keen on the item as well. We have different visor mounts here in Oz, so our visor mounts work on either side of the truck. Desotodav

Thanks for posting the photos Bill. I still plan on fixing the ones in my truck which are similar to your car ones - now I know just how to do it! Desotodav

I agree with Chris and GTK. It's much easier to pull the front clip and drop the gearbox. You should probably pull the 2 inside floor panels as well to make it easier around the pedal area. Desotodav

Good on you Paul. That happy moment has been a while in coming. Now the real fun starts! Desotodav

Sad news indeed AndyD. I rather preferred the old Plym to the Dodge. I look forward to meeting the new owner here. He picked up a gem of a car! I hope to be down your way June/July. Will be in touch before then. Desotodav

Geez Kevin - looks like you will need deep pockets as the price is soaring with a few days still to go!!! Sure makes me glad that ours were totally different visor mounts here in Oz. Desotodav

I saw a comment recently that said "the cost of restoration is not in pulling a car apart - it's in putting it back together". How true that statement is for the most of us! Desotodav

I thought that I'd tag onto this old thread to keep all of the dual horn information together. I had been looking to obtain a set of dual horns for my truck for quite a while and had all but formed the opinion that I didn't want to pay the ridiculous prices that the occasional set that I did see sold for. With the help of numerous members here namely David A, Aussiedodgegirl, TodFitch, and HanksB3B I have been able to complete my dual horn project and post information here for future reference of other enthusiasts. I managed to purchase a set of dual horns on Ebay USA that were eventually advertised at a reasonable price as '41 woodie twin horns'. The horns were 6 volt and marked 'The Electric Auto-lite Co.'. They were not in working order, but (apart from surface rust) appeared to be in good shape for their age. I received the horns a fortnight or so after purchasing them and set about to turn them into an exact replica of the horns that DavidA purchased a while back (photo 4). I sandblasted the horns, had them painted and then set out to make them work. I found that the coil part of both horns tested fine but the contact points showed areas of concern. I removed the contact points, cleaned them up and eventually got them working fine (photo 5). I had earlier obtained the exact measurements from DavidA for the 'Z' plate which connects the horns to the firewall mounting bracket and was able to get them made up by my friend Aussiedodgegirl's husband. I used mounting pieces from my other horns to attach the horns to the 'Z' plate (photo 1). I was able to obtain details from TodFitch with regard to the working principles of the horns. I also found this website most helpful... http://www.vernco.com/Sparks/id516.htm . I located an original 6 volt horn relay and was able to obtain it through HanksB3B (photo 2). I managed to attach the dual horns to my truck before I went for a drive to a show this morning (photo 3). I have heard both of the horns working individually, but I haven't connected them to the relay yet as I now plan on painting the trumpet parts in gloss black to match my air cleaner. I thank each of those members who have aided in making my dual horn project a complete success. The contributions of numerous other members that I found during a forum topic search had proved most valuable and I thank all of you also. I trust that the information and photos contained within this thread aid other enthusiasts in their current (or future) project/s. Desotodav

You're not wrong there Hank - the steering wheel is on the right side (by both meanings of the word)! I'd imagine that RHD vehicles would be somewhat of a rarity in your country? That postal van looks to be the real deal - even has the cut-out in the driver's door to enable easier mail delivery for the postman. I'd love to find a delivery van here in Oz that was both at a reasonable price and in reasonable condition. If only our Customs Department were more friendly with importing cars, and the cost of freight wasn't so expensive! It is funny to see the vast difference in the trucks between our countries. My 'C' series 55 Desoto truck closely resembles my 'B' series truck - except for the nosecone, instruments and 1 piece windscreen. Your 'C' series trucks over there have a more streamlined looking front and a vastly different instrument setup... Desotodav

I had some decals made up for my Desoto hubcaps a while back. I trial fitted one to an old hubcap to see how they would work (see attached photo). It was difficult to get them fitting in the embossed section of the hubcap with 100% accuracy because of the curve in the hubcap face - a couple of letters were 1 millimeter out and required a slight trimming. I'm sure that they would easily fit to a plain hubcap face. I could probably have the decal fella print off plenty more of them at the right price if anyone else was interested. Desotodav

Very nice Merle - looks like a factory accessory! Desotodav

Many happy returns for the day Tim !!! Desotodav