builtfercomfort

Hi Sig - if you can, find out what dock/pier the cars arrive at. Ask around there, find the union boss or whatever and bring him a couple of 10 or 20 euro notes - or beer perhaps - and say there is more to come if your cars are not damaged in the unloading. You want to try to get someone there to take some extra care with your cars so they don't push them around with forklifts, etc. I know some horror stories from US ports and I doubt Barc is any different.

Hi Charlie - I looked at the source on one of your pages. It calls for an image at "images/253_Dodge_Plymouth_car_disc_kit.jpg" but that path does not seem to exist, or the web server does not have rights to serve it up to viewers. On your new host, the "images" directory may not exist, may have a different name, or have the wrong rights. If you can, get it working (viewable by the web server) and called "images" so the rest of the pages will work as-is. If not, you can edit each page to point to the new image path. Make sense? It should be simple to fix, I think, I hope. Send me a PM if you still have trouble. I'm not a web site expert but I used to understand them when they were simpler.

How much HP would a low-power turbo get you? I'm thinking 5-6 lbs boost, through a carb. If you can find a 265 motor you will have a better starting point too.

I found the Cherokee sway bar on ebay, seems to be a stock item, and likely available at most pick-and-pulls. But the Cherokee links seem to be different - do you know what the links would cross-reference to? With the help of this thread it's probably straighforward to make the needed mounting pieces, thanks.

I lost track - did you relocate the front spring mounting pad to the bottom of the a-arm yet?

I have heard of using a drill press, not running, with a carriage bolt in the chuck (polish off any markings on the bolt head) to press out dents in stainless trim. Use soft wood underneath.

What is the silver tube at the back bottom of the switch? Fuse? Dash light? My switch was broken, I've gone to an aftermarket, but the original had that and I never understood it.

Can you post a picture of the samples?

In 1940 they list a "Traveler" - any idea what that looks like? It's a C26 model so I assume it's an 8-cyl. I don't remember seeing that model name before.

I think that the banjo one looks much better myself. I'd roll with that if I had to rebuild one or the other. But how do you get it off the column? I've seen several like the pic above, with the column - almost never separated from the column.

My 39 Chrysler is missing most of the stuff in the middle of the wheel - I cobbled together something that barely works out of some insulated wires soldered to a copper penny to make contact, so if you wish to sell some steering wheel horn stuff please send me a PM. This is the first time I've seen what I'm missing - that dome in the center for instance.

If you use SS be sure to use anti-seize on the threads. In addition to galling, the stainless will stick in the threads after not too long.

Can you fit a whole second light socket in the tail light? That way you can simplify the wiring and probably get brighter lights. If you don't have turn signals, it doesn't matter much and a change to dual-wire sockets is simple. But if you have turn signals, it gets more complicated; the brighter light in the tail lights is both brake and turn. Dual filament bulbs have a brighter (brake, turn) and dimmer (running light) side. Usually the turn signal itself handles the issue of having both the turn signal and brake light on at once. So if you wire it up the simple way, you may light both rear lights when the brake lights and turn signals are both on. Diodes will work as a valve to stop the current from flowing where you don't want it. But a second socket, if it will fit, will make the whole thing much brighter, and the old cars need all the help they can get with rear lighting.

I cracked my 39 Chrysler domed glass too, so I "feel your pain". Tell me more about the screen printing - I tried it with some hobby store water decals and it didn't work well - so I bought some aftermarket gauges and redid the whole dash. I'd rather go back to something that looks more stock (with upgraded gauges behind in my case), but the deco-like font is needed to make this tie together. I've seen glass blowers at work before - if you could get a proper sized shallow steel bowl I bet you could get heated glass to sag into the bowl area. Seems pretty ambitious though.

All of the above - it's possible it would bolt in but more likely not. Broadly and generally, DeSotos sometimes interchanged with Chryslers, sometimes with Dodge, not as often with Plymouth.

My 39 chrysler had only one on the right (passenger) side. The trunk lid and hinge mounting area was bent when I got it - my guess was that someone didn't know you had to lift the lid to release the catch, they just pushed down hard on an open trunk and bent everything. So I had a leak into the trunk and bad trunk floors as a result.

Could you use a little heat to make the domed ones sag a bit, to be nearer flat? Maybe iron them or something? (Only applicable if you think you have nothing to lose, of course).

My 39 Chrysler had exactly this problem. One bucket was partly there, the other was gone - but the inside bucket was good enough to repair, with new lamp sockets. I made a fiberglass outer bucket (no rust!) and also found some old mud flaps which I cut down and fastened inside the fender, to keep the splashing (of rocks, rain, etc) thrown up by the wheel off that area. It really needs some sort of inner fender protecting the lights.

I don't think there are any good accepted national alternatives to Ebay and Craigslist. I might suggest putting the items on Craigslist with good, (detailed, friendly and accurate) descriptions. Then post the ads on all local areas - if you are in NJ, post in Philly, each of the NYC sites, the 4 NJ sites, etc. (I'm sure there is software out there to make this easier). In your write-up, encourage people to cross-post your links to specialty sites - get your marketing "crowd-sourced" in this manner. If your writeup is detailed and somewhat humorous, you will have better luck. Take good pictures (better, use links to off-site pictures for better resolution) and disclose flaws. Set the prices about 30% - 50% above your bottom line and expect bargaining, or set it at your bottom line and say "firm price" in the ad. But make sure your bottom dollar is low enough to sell. (My grandma used to hold garage sales about once a year. At the end of the sale, the price would drop from $1 for each item on the table to $1 for everything on the table. She wanted the stuff GONE.) If you want to maximize profit you'll have one price, if you want it gone quickly you'll have a different one. Then keep the ads updated as things sell, I think you have to take down the old ad and put up a new one.

Yes, this sounds quite interesting, please show us this - also info about the rack. I've got stock steering in my 39 Chrysler and between the size of the box and the muscle needed for parking I'm thinking of going power rack. And a balljoint front end may help the ride some too. This is good info too. There is definitely something to be said for being able to drive the old Mopar to the Ford dealer and getting a complete brake job for an Explorer. With a 8.8 rear end, plus this front setup, you could do just that. (That somewhat foolish idea would work better if you didn't have to modify the inside lip of the rotors of course, but it's fun to contemplate.)

I think many who are doing front disc brakes also do a rear end swap. The Rustyhope one leaves you with the Mopar/Ford bolt pattern, while there are others (ply-do? not sure if they still exist, either?) will give you a Chevy pattern. So if you do a rear end swap, you can get the front bolt pattern matching the back depending on which kit you go with. Also Charley (Rustyhope) will also do all the work for you if you ship him your parts, at least that was the case a couple of years back. So it could be a straight bolt-on when your stuff comes back from him, if that's the way you want to go.

My 39 Chrysler had ivory knobs but not in that shape. Mine were literally falling apart, but they were shaped like the maroon ones you see in pictures. I've seen that knob you have before, I think it was on 1960s Philco radios, or maybe a Heathkit radio I built as a kid. I don't think the original application for that knob was automotive. Here's a restored 39 Chrysler radio (not mine) - see the knob shape. http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=34061&stc=1&d=1331639025

Seems also like a custom exhaust header on the driver's side would do the trick. The part that seems to be hitting is a lump of cast iron, a custom header would be much thinner; it could route away from your steering arm and otherwise mimic the manifold you have. There are some drawbacks to custom headers of course; just thinking of options.

Thanks - I ran into (i.e. bought and got stuck with) incorrect stuff too, but the velcro sounds like a good idea! With the right outside rubber, I'd be all set, since the rubber would push the window in toward the velcro padding. I was looking at a Toyota SUV and the window rubber there, it (or something else) might be able to be cut down in profile to fit. I also heard of a Jeep Cherokee (not Grand Cherokee) might be worth looking at for side window rubber, but I don't have access to one. Sigh. I'll keep looking, if anyone has other ideas please chime in. They don't have to be good ideas, just directions to start looking.

Any ideas?