RickD1973

What a terrific afternoon! Really enjoyed getting to know Fred and Chris. Thanks for hosting us Fred and thank you Chris for sharing the presentation of your Arctic adventures. Chris and his friend Gerry make the Ice Road Truckers look like a bunch of babies. Kudos to you for having the ambition to take a 1947 automobile all over this continent. What an excellent presentation and it was truly a pleasure! Thanks again. Rick

Hi Fred. Glad we could meet this evening. I attached a pic from the Lions Club East St. Paul show and shine on Sunday with the Chrysler and my Dodge. It was a beautiful day and lots of nostalgic folks stopped to have a look at the cars. We were parked with a 40' LaSalle that attracted alot of attention. I hope the windsheild works out for you and goes in easy.

Thanks Robert. I'll take some more pics once I get the car home. The front and other side looked like a wreck because the previous owner had started some disassembly. His plan was to put it on an S-10 frame with a 350 in it but he ran out of ambition. It was parked in a swamp with about a dozen other unfinished projects. The seats were covered with some lovely light blue velour which must have been on sale in the 70's. Oh how I wish I had a warm place to work on starting to disassemble it. Hopefully the anticipation will help the Winter go by faster. Rick

Well I started off the new year with a little purchase. I stumbled upon this 1946 P15 on the online classifieds over Christmas and I just couldn't talk myself out of it. I brought home a van full of loose parts today and the rest of the car should be delivered in a week or two. It's about 95% complete but it's got front frame damage and the floor is swiss cheese. It will be a nice parts car for my D25 because it would take way too much to bring back to roadworthy condition. The stainless rocker moldings were better than anything I've been able to find yet and the fenders are in good shape. Overall the car is very straight. The engine and drivetrain is completely intact. Whatever I can't use I'll part out in the Spring.

Brian, my tires actually came from Jim Benjaminson down in N.Dakota who is also a member on this site. I only got the hubcaps from that coupe. One of my friends was eyeing them up for his PT Cruiser project but I can't part with them. I like them way better than the smaller hubcaps and trim rings.

Thanks Greenbomb. That black paint is the real McCoy with a couple of hours of buffing and polishing. No black primer there although I will admit there were a few last minute touch-ups with Rustoleum to hide a few sins which were too ugly for a car show.

Well Randy, I don't really picture it as my daily driver for rush hour traffic. In fact I can't even imagine it. I think I'll stick with my Cube for that. I envision it more as the family ice cream getter. I might try to remove one of the shims from the steering box and see it that tightens it up. I've adjusted that screw on top as much as I can. If all else fails I have a spare one from that donor car in my photos. He went with a 350 SBC drivetrain and donated his old steering column to me. Rick

Hi Everyone. After working really hard for the past month I'm pleased to let you know that I was able to get my 46 D25 to the big Shades of the Past show that I've had as my goal for over a year. Most people didn't think I would make it but lo and behold enough of the left over jobs got buttoned up over the last week and after a quick test drive on Friday enough confidence was built up to make the trip. It was an awesome show with beautiful weather and about 500 cars. My car got lots of attention as it hasn't been out on the road for over 34 years. Cruised there for a nice 45 minute trip at 45 mph and it performed just fine with the exception of a bit too much play in the steering box. Transmission leaks a little bit. I've got a few nice Dodge and Plymouth pictures for everyone to enjoy. Mine is the black 2 door sedan. The black coupe was the donor car for my hubcaps. Enjoy, Rick

Jim. Come to Beasejour! Even if you have to trailer the truck up. I've got my 46 finally on the road and you've got to see the white walls. They're fantastic. Thank you very much. Paul's bringing the Fargo and we're driving out together. You're welcome to join us. Rick

Here's a little strategy for you which I've learned over the past year if you're considering getting into a project. Begin by trying to figure out what a finished and driveable car like this is worth in your area. Next make a list of all the things that you're pretty sure will need to be done or replaced and assign a price to each each of those items. Figure out what you can do yourself and what you will need to hire out to shops. Now add minimum of $2,500 just for good measure for all the things you've missed. Subtract those amounts from the value of a finished car (pretty sure you'll come up with a negative number if done thoroughly). So essentially you'll always come out ahead by buying something that someone else has sunk their money and time into but you won't have the satifaction of looking at it and knowing your contribution in bringing it back to life. From my experience over the past year of reviving a car that has not been driven for the past 30 years I would budget at least $5,000 just for mechanical parts and supplies to bring it back to roadworthiness and that's not even getting into the bodywork or interior. From what I've seen in my own experience and that of others, restoring a car yourself will cost you about twice what it is actually worth in the marketplace unless it is a really rare item. It would be great to see pictures once you get a chance to look at it. I would say that the bare minimum value of it in my neck of the woods if it runs would be $2,000. Could be more if it's all complete and not full of holes. Rick

Great looking car you've got there. Congratulations! Loving the colours. Rick

Thanks Fred. Norm is awesome. He has been a lifesaver. I've never seen a better source for hard to find parts. Some folks told me he is pricey but he's been super reasonable with me. I think in part he has a soft spot for these cars as he's working on one too. I didn't see you at the show on Sunday. It was a real disappointment. Only about half the cars that were there last year. There was a whole row of PT Cruisers with all their teddy bears and decorations. Blegh!!! If I can make it Garden City that day I'll try to track you down there. Rick

I am kind of partial to that satin black look myself. I'll have to see how my paint polishes up but I think any touch-ups are going to be in satin black for the best match. Besides that paint is still reasonably cheap and readily available compared to all the new low VOC paint. Next week I should have it back on wheels and I can haul it out for some updated pictures. Great news that a friend of a friend agreed to machine a new clutch bushing for me. I thought that piece was going to hold up progress.

Thanks Dale. I'll check that out. I think I've seen that website before and the prices were more than my budget could handle at this time. Too many other items that are way more critical than trim right now. The car has already gobbled up twice as much $$ than I originally expected. If it's not mechanically sound there's no point putting minty trim on it. A local parts dealer is restoring a 47 P15 convertible so he's always on the look out for much of the stuff that I need. I was able to get some great parts from a local guy who's got a black D25 coupe very similar to yours. He's going with more of a street rod/rat rod look and removed most of his trim. He's also talking about removing his grille so I may be able to get that also as a spare. I purchased some great full size hub caps from him that I'm going to use on the car. Rick

Thanks for the pictoral inspiration Steve. What kind of trophy is perched under the hood of your car in that picture? Did you purchase the car in that condition or has it been a long term project for you? I'm looking at that beautiful trim and perfect parking light lenses and I'm getting jealous. Those lenses for the D25 have been really tough for me to find. I was working on the car over the weekend. I thought I'd get the brake lines completed but unfortunately discovered some holes in the floor that need to be patched and my clutch bushing was shot. I think I'll have to have that part custom machined because it doesn't seem to be available. Oh well, a couple extra speedbumps to get over. I'm still targeting the end of August for passing the provincial safety inspection and getting on the road. Next year I can start thinking about how to approach the bodywork or maybe enjoy it as it is with all that fine patina. Rick