1949plymouthdeluxe

So quick question. Any of you get a oil filter kit for these engines? Mine doesn't have a filter period. I initially changed the oil when I first got the car. What came out was pretty nasty looking. I drove it for a week and then drained and refilled with new oil because I figured might as well clean whatever crap out that had not been gotten in the first change. What came out looked like it might as well been in the car 3,000 miles. I assume because there's no filter. So I am looking around at kits, not sure where to start. What would be a straightforward, no BS kit if such a thing exists. OTOH if all I do is drive the car around town and change the oil every 1,000 miles then do I really need one?

Thanks for the advice. I'm about 95% sure the issue is that the brushes are totally worn down. Will see after they get installed.

I spent the past few days doing some more little stuff. One item was installing a new battery holder. Someone had put in an aluminum one and it was toast. Ordered a stainless steel one from Amazon. It arrive with ZERO instructions. Long story short... you are supposed to know that you need to weld two tabs it came with to the upper bracket. Good thing I can weld and own a welder. Anyone else? Guess you'd be SOL. Since the welds aren't SS I found half a can of wrinkle finish to paint that over. I have been suspicious the battery isn't charging. A test of the generator while running shows 0 volts. As mentioned I work on vintage electronics and one item in my collection is something called a Zenith Wincharger: A wind turbine that was put up on a barn or house to charge 6 volt batteries for radios when electrical power wasn't available. As these ran all day and night the brushes would wear out about once every other year. Mine was worn out. Its just a 6 volt auto generator with a huge 7 foot blade. Looks exactly the same as the one in the Plymouth. I pulled back the covers and the brushes are really worn down. It needs new ones so I have some on order. Meanwhile I bought some cheap Chinese battery charger that can charge 6,8,12, and 24 volt batteries. It weighs literally 1 pound. Its using switching transistors to do all the work. It works really well too. Modern technology! Spent more time in the interior. Crap tons of chrome. I use an attachment for my drill that is a small buffer. I use that on all the old radios I restore if they're made of plastic. Saves my hands. I use Novus No.2 for everything. Its for plastic but I find it works on everything including chrome. Got floor mats too. Cheap ones. They sort of look like crap. The speedometer is bouncing around and needs to be lubricated. I'll do that sometime this weekend. New ones are not too bad so if this one is toast its easy to screw in a new one.

I just need to get used to where the parking brake is. On my little Toyota truck and my Mercury the ignition and E-brake are on the right and it feels like second nature to pull the e-brake. But on this one its all on the left side- which feels super weird. I'm not sure the E-brake worked when I first got it. I just know that after working on it a few days ago I could push it. So now it gets parked with it in 2nd gear.

I have to make a confession. That is what I did. I accidentally drove for a mile with it on. Maybe it was already worn out. I just remember smelling burning breaks and looking down and seeing the ebrake was still on. CRAP!~ Won't make that mistake again....

After looking at the cost of the tools and lining material it wasn't that much cheaper than to just buy a new one, which I did. The one on there looks like its original so at least the new one should last forever.

Thanks Andy, The shoe is still there and its missing half of the liner. So- stupid question: Do brake shops still glue in or attach new shoes or is this something you guys do yourselves? Oh- I see you're in Australia so not sure what happens there as far a what I just asked. I need to take some pictures of it so I can remember how it goes back together. I bought one that looks like the one you have except its a re-print. Even has old vintage ads in it.

Thanks a lot Andy. I haven't really looked into the steering box quite yet. There's an awful lot of stuff on the car that's original. So I wouldn't be surprised if there's rubber bet started deteriorated. Its very dry where I live and so things like rubber really dry out and harden up. I got some better jacks and went under the car to check out the parking brake contraption at the rear of the transmission. Half of the brake liner is missing. So it's not doing anything. So I'll need to order a replacement and unfortunately they're not exactly cheap. $125. But I guess that's how it has to be. I heard there's an old fashioned method of riveting in new liners but I don't have a riveting machine or anything like that. And I assume that these brake liners will last forever because the one that's on it probably came with the car. While I was under there I was able to more easily get at the drain and fill plugs on the transmission. I don't think the oil has been changed forever because the drain bolt was covered in tons and tons of ancient grease and I had to heat it up to get it loose. What poured out was a deep Amber looking oil. I wouldn't doubt that oil has been in there for decades. I let that drain out of there for a few hours and drip dry. As usual I made a huge mess getting the new stuff in. I hate changing transmission grease more than anything. The car still starts fine on 6 volts and I took it around the neighborhood a bit. It was in the '80s today and it's cars like these that makes you really grateful for modern air conditioning because even with all the vents and windows open it was hotter than hell in there. Maybe I'll get some cheesy little battery powered fan that can plug into the cigarette lighter

I think it was overhauled within the last 5 years. But I don't think its been driven that much at all since then. I pulled the old plugs yesterday and they looked damned near new. So far everything seems to come loose sort of easily which also alludes to a fresher overhaul. When I drained the old oil it came out pretty dirty but no "chunks" or anything. Drain plug had nothing accumulated either. Same with the radiator coolant. It looked new. So I'm not too worried about the oil. I repaired lawn mowers on the side for awhile and the you wouldn't believe the horribly abused engines that came with with crap in the crank cases. Never used anything other than WalMart 10W-30 in all of em'

Thanks for the responses so far. I've never had an issue with using 10W-40 in my other classic ride in the past 20+ years. I don't think it matters all that much when it comes to these older engines. I used to be in an antique engine and tractor club and we generically used that or 10W-30 ( whatever was on sale ) and no problem. Its oil, it lubricates things. I use 10-40 because it doesn't get cold here. As far as the steering? My other car is also non-power steering. But its a huge car compared to this one. The steering on the Plymouth definitely has more play. Maybe I'm not used to it. Its drivable. So maybe I can learn to live with it. Something else I forgot is I'd like to add an overflow tank for the coolant. I wasn't thinking and when I changed it I filled to the top of the tank which meant a lot came shooting out of the metal tube to the street until it leveled out. I have one on the Mercury and like it as I can tell what the coolant level is. I have a generic tank and will install later today.

Thanks. Yes, this is what its like on my Mercury. Zillions of grease fittings. I use red synthetic grease for all of it. I have not done this one yet. But I got a better jack and set of jack stands yesterday so I can get under there without the car falling on me. Heard about that too. But... unless I'm looking in the wrong places the cost of replacement drums for the rear are $400+ and I would be worried about cracking the old drums doing that. The adjusters on this looks easier than the Mercury I have where you have to adjust through a little hole and then spin a star nut with a screwdriver. That is a pain. Makes sense. It only leaks right after its been driven a bit. A few drops. I have a metal sheet I stuck under it.

That's more or less a given. I'm 100% certain the electrolytics are totally shot as well as all of the paper caps. Interesting that car radios are a LOT better than the ordinary table top sets. Every once in awhile our museum gets a console radio with a re-purposed car radio. Made during the war when manufactures wern't allowed to manufacture new consumer goods so they instead used up all of the car radios intended for cars that were also not built. While the consoles look dumb with what is obviously a car radio, they are much more sensitive because of all of the shielding they came with to deal with being inside a metal car.

Hi all, Just joined this forum. About a week ago I bought a 1949 Super Deluxe. This is my first Chrysler. I'm sort of out of practice working on old cars and will probably have some super obvious and possibly dumb questions. So, about the car. I was told its been local to the town I live in for its entire life. It was owned by an old Navy guy who had been here on the old Navy Base in Alameda California. At some point the car was overhauled at the local community college who may or may not have also painted the car. Its a bit vague. But it runs and drives ok. Being a California car there is hardly any rust My primary hobby and background is in vintage electronics. Antique radios, TVs, amplifiers, stereos, etc. And while I do have some background in fixing cars and do all of the work on my fleet of vehicles which includes a 28 year old Tacoma, a 1955 Mercury Monterey and a newer Subaru I am not exactly a wizz when it comes to old cars.... so be easy on my general ignorance. So far I have done some really basic things. 1: It would NOT start on 6 volts and the owner had instead stuck in a 8 volt battery which in turn was causing the gauges to go all wacky. I took off the cables, starter solenoid, associated wiring, etc. Cleaned that all up and now it will start and run properly on a 6 volt battery. 2: The plugs were heavily rusted to the head. Soaked the crap out of them with PB blaster and miraculously they all came out and got replaced. 3: Changed the coolant and engine oil. There is NO oil filter on the car. You can see where one could be fitted. This won't be a long-distance commuting car and I was told the filters on these are passive anyway so not super effective. So I figure change it every 500-1000 miles. There seems to be miles-long posts about oil. I put in what I've used in the Mercury forever. Plain 10W-40. 4: The car was FILTHY inside and out. I should have taken before pics. The interior was so bad I assumed it needed replacement. I am almost certain the upholstery is not original. But it was replaced probably a long time ago. It took several days of going to town on the inside and outside. That's it so far. But there's a lot of other stuff that needs attention 1: The parking brake is not working. From what I've read the parking brake doesn't work the same as other cars. Instead there's a brake shoe on the rear of the transmission. I need to get under there and see how badly worn that is. The only replacements I could find are insanely expensive. $125. I ordered the shop manual and it mentions gluing new liners to the shoe. Not sure I can actually do that. I need to change the transmission oil too. 2: Need to check the brakes. Right now they work fine. The rear brakes apparently requires a massive puller to get the drums off. I am prepared to swallow my pride and have a local shop that works on old cars check them out and if they're worn, go ahead and replace. 3: It leaks oil. Not a lot with a few drops here and there. But its more than the Mercury. i'm hoping its something basic like the oil pan. I don't see anything around the top end or lower end of the engine. For now I keep a piece of cardboard under it. 4: Steering seems pretty loose. Car steers fine but there's definitely some wandering happening. I may get either a kit to rebuild the old one or find a remanufactured unit. I would assume the gears and whatnot in mine are simply worn. 5: A lot of the electrics don't work. Head, tail, parking lights all work and so does the horn. Heater is non-op and in fact the whole heater core is gone. Not important as it doesn't get cold here. Radio doesn't work. That is ONE thing I am good at so it will get pulled. Almost certainly needs a rebuild and that means all new capacitors and possibly a replacement vibrator unit if the one in it is bad, which is not that often. Radio was built by Philco and uses Locktal tubes. If it was connected to the 8 volt battery the tubes might have had their filaments blown. No biggie as the museum I volunteer at has 50,000 tubes in storage. I would like to add an audio input cable to run a small bluetooth receiver into the radio via the volume control. I do that a lot for table radios too. 6: The not-so-great paint job. This is my least concern. The paint on it is.... ok. There's a few areas where there are some runs. Might try to sand and buff those out. Otherwise it looks ok. Otherwise... The engine and transmission so far seem generally fine. Good compression, no oil usage. I had never driven a 3 on the tree until now. After a week I'm getting the hang of it and it shifts fairly easily. The carb seems to weep gas when running. Will probably order a gasket kit for it in the future. Or just let it weep as its not really hurting anything. Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble. I'll use this area to show progress and ask questions