TodFitch

I think the static timing will depend on the distributor installed, so you should look up the specifications for that particular unit. Also, the 1933/34 carburetors don’t have the vacuum port for a vacuum advance line to the distributor (mechanical advance only for those years). Do you have a later carburetor too? If so that model carburetor’s adjustments and settings should be followed. If using an original 1933/34 carburetor, where is the vacuum for the distributor coming from? (In your video I did not get a good look at the top of the float bowl to see the characteristic differences between the 1933/34 carburetors and the later ones.) I am attaching a photo from the 1934 factory service manual (shows two pointers) and a photo from my '33 (only one pointer). Original owner’s manual isn’t much help here. It says nothing about what the idle speed should be. Actually, I can’t find any pre-WW2 specification for that. My guess is that inexpensive tachometers were not available in that era and mechanics just did it by feel and experience. The 1946-54 factory service manual says 450 to 500 RPM for idle which is what I set mine too. Also, in your video you seem to be cranking down pretty hard on the idle mixture screw. Neither the brass screw nor the die cast carburetor body are very hard metals and by cranking down on the adjustment you are likely to be damaging either the seat or the screw tip or both. Be gentle there!

I power my timing light from a 12v source and simply clip the spark plug lead on the 6v+ car. Works fine. The issue with 1933 and, I think, 1934 is that the timing marks are on the flywheel and can be hard to see. Again, as I noted above, the PE might have the marks on the pulley but I am not sure about that.

Looks like your idle mixture adjustment isn’t doing anything. Might be because your idle RPM is too high. Looks like your car’s body is Bahama Green but with black fenders. Not a color combination that came from the factory for the PD. I am probably the only person that would notice that.

On the 1933 PC, PD and, I think, the 1934 PF models there is a cover on the flywheel housing near the starter. Loosen the bottom (?) screw and rotate the cover to expose a pointer. Timing marks are on the flywheel. A real pain to see them to get the engine rotated to TDC to set the static timing. And impossible to see them if the automatic clutch is installed. I find it easiest to remove the spark plugs so you don’t have to fight the engine compression then use the hand crank to rotate the engine to TDC. I have the distributor cap off when doing this so I can see I am on the correct plug for TDC instead of being 180° off. Though thinking about it, it might not matter. I think on the PE models (equipped with the automatic clutch) the timing mark was on the impulse neutralizer (crank shaft pulley).

Yes, aft of the generator and in front of the distributor there is a 1.5 to 2" diameter tube coming up out of the bottom of the block. Remove the cap on the top of that put your oil in. Mine takes 5 quarts, I haven't checked but my guess is that is true for the other L-head 6 engines. Your owners manual and/or factory service manual will have the details.

Off topic for this thread, but GM seemed to be inconsistent in the 1920s and 30s with some years of some makes positive ground though the general rule seemed to be negative ground for them. I guess now that I’ve made this bold statement I should dig into the documentation I have to find what years of what makes were positive ground. . .

My state has a form that the seller should send to the DMV saying they have sold the vehicle and who the buyer is. I don’t see any reason to insure the car after that form has been filed. If the buyer decides not to do the paperwork to transfer or register it that is their problem after I file that form.

Me neither. Learned something new today. But I think I’d still replace any fitting that wasn’t sealing properly rather than putting a crush washer in the old one.

Flare and double flare fittings should not need crush washers. I wonder if the elbow in your photo is damaged and that was some PO's attempt at a fix.

We have been planning a trip in July and found the same issue with rental cars. In our case they have some cars but the cost per day is astronomical. Fortunately, where we are going we only need the car to get us to and from the airport and we have found that Lyft or Uber can do that for a lot cheaper than a single day’s car rental much less rental for the whole time we will be there.

Way too true. Back when I was working in Silicon Valley there was a saying that “if you aren’t the customer then you are the product.” I really don’t like being a product so I actively resist. I avoid nearly all social media sites other than places like this forum. And I refuse to buy any indoor video monitoring device or device that listens for commands. That is something everyone can do. I also host my own cloud services (mail, calendar, contacts, file sharing, etc.) and actively block tracking from the likes of Google, Amazon, Facebook, etc. Those are technically more difficult things to do and I don’t expect most people can or would want to do. Probably veering too far toward a political line here, but I find it interesting that most people seem to be fine with private companies learning everything about them. And I mean everything as they are likely to know more about you than you know yourself. “I have nothing to hide” seems to be the reaction when informed of this pervasive spying for profit. Yet those same people are worried about “the Government” learning a fraction of that. Oddly, now that private companies have all that data it is trivially easy for various agencies at different levels of government to get it often without a court order or other safeguards. If a company has the data for sale all an agency has to do is buy it, no court proceedings to deal with.

I have noticed on my desktop that if you make the browser window small enough it changes to use the mobile device display that you show in your screen shot.

I haven’t seen an announcement by GTK and the site looks unchanged to me so I am guessing either your browser cache is messed up or you found some profile setting that doesn’t work properly. Each browser is a bit different, but somehow somewhere there should be a way to clear its cache and reload the site from scratch. I’d start there.

There is a vendor advertising the 1934 hood ornament in the back of the Plymouth Owners Club’s Plymouth Bulletin. Founder of that company has, I think, passed away and the heirs are fighting over things in court but there is a chance that if you contact them they may have what you need. The best source for usual wear related and tune up parts for that vintage Plymouth is your local auto supply store. The best source for the more obscure parts and trim parts is the classified section of the Plymouth Club’s magazine.

From the 1928-33 Plymouth Master Parts List: 1933 - C-6-A-2 I don't see any carburetor identification in the 1934 service manual or parts list. But there is an illustration in the service manual showing the carburetor and it looks like the 1933 where there is not stiffening web on the air horn above the float bowl like later carburetors and the one shown in the image posted by @rrunnertexas which implies the carburetor in question is not a 1934. From the 1936-42 Plymouth Factory Service Manual: 1936 - C6E1, C6E2 1937 - C6F1, C6F2, C6F3, C6F4, C6F5, C6H1 1938 - C6J1, C6K1 1939-41 - D6A1, D6A2, D6C1, D6C2 1942 - DTC1 I don’t have a 1935 service manual or parts list but looking at the pattern of numbers for 1933 and for 1936-38 it would not surprise me if the C6D2 was originally shipped on the 1935 PJ models.

According to Phil Street's Dodge and Plymouth truck serial number/VIN decoder: Serial Number 8742869 Year 1952 Make Dodge Model B-3-HM,B-3-HMA,B-3-HHM,B-3-HHMA Engine 236.6 Flathead Six Wheelbase 107, 131, 161 Rating 1 1/2 Ton Engineering Code T328 Plant San Leandro, California Build Number 369

Over on the AACA forum I have read suggestions for flattening warped pot metal that, if I recall correctly, involve heating the part in boiling water to soften it a bit then weighting it down on a flat surface like a piece of glass. I don't know if it would work but it seems like it wouldn't be too damaging if it didn't.

Nice looking car! Seems you really lucked out on finding it. I haven’t paid any attention in decades but you used to be able to get a set of thin wrenches specifically intended for working on the internals of a distributor. I have such a set in my took kit that I bought in the 1970s not long after I bought my '33 Plymouth. I think I got the set at Sears but it has been so long I am not sure. Your comment led me to do some Internet searches to see if that type of wrench kit was still available. I was unable to find any. But you might get lucky finding a vintage set somewhere. If desired, I can take a photo of my kit to aid in searches. Just as there are family friendly alternatives to FUBAR and SNAFU, there is a more family friendly version of SOL: “Short On Luck”.

I have always just cut a gasket from whatever paper gasket stock I have at hand that seems about the same thickness as what I found when I took it apart. On the other hand, the 1933/34 water pump housing is different than the 1935 and up so I had no option of buying a nicely manufactured one. But to answer your question, yes there should be a gasket there.

Parts wanted requests must be in the classified ads area. . .

Looks like the same one I use in my '33 (before they went to the bypass style thermostats on later cars).

Only two adjustments on the 1933/34 clutch mechanism: One, directly by the pedal arm pivot for height. And a second where the pedal arm presses against a complicated linkage setup to rotate the shaft that pushes on the release bearing. With the hood open on the driver side and the the driver side door open so you can reach in and feel the clutch pedal with your hand it is pretty easy to verify and/or modify the adjustment. Make the adjustment under the hood then reach in to the driver's compartment and check the results by hand on the pedal. First, adjust the pedal height as high as possible without hitting the floor board. Second, adjust the travel before the pedal starts moving the throwout linkages to have 1 1/8" of travel at the pedal before starts moving the linkages. If the adjustment is correct and you still have a problem or if the free play adjustment can't be made to be correct then you have a problem with the clutch internals. As mentioned by @Merle Coggins it is possible the disk/pressure plate may be rusted together and his technique might break it free. If you are reduced to pulling the clutch there are a couple of tips that help: First, remove the linkages between the pedal and the shaft going into the bell housing (if you don't then you can't rotate that shaft enough to allow the throw out bearing to clear when pulling or installing the transmission. You are likely to be able to remove the transmission but maybe not get it back in with the throw out bearing return spring installed. At least that is my experience with my '33 which has basically the same setup. Second, get two long bolts and cut the heads off. Remove the top two transmission mounting bolts then install the long headless bolts you made up. This will help support the transmission as you slide it out and back in. Now go ahead and remove the lower two bolts and slide the transmission out. If you have a lift and a transmission jack you are in good shape. I don't. So I remove the front floor boards and then stand inside the car cradling the transmission with my hands as I slide it out. Then I can lower it to the floor.

For 1931, the serial number tag should be on the front passenger (right) side door hinge post. To the best of my knowledge that is the only place the serial number appears on the car. In that era they often registered cars using the engine number. The engine number should be on a boss on the driver (left) side of the engine block above the generator. For 1933 the engine number was also stamped on the frame on the driver's side between the running board supports. I don't know if they stamped the frame in 1931 or not. For more than you care to know, see https://www.ply33.com/Misc/vin

“Spanish Village by the Sea” is the nickname for the whole city of San Clemente. There might be a place called Spanish Village in town but I haven’t heard of it. The big industry in the city is tourism, especially surfing. A lot of the surfing community goes for older vehicles. I am a short walk from a couple of the well known surfing breaks so I see a bunch of the vehicles they use. A bunch of the older vehicles are 80's and newer American vans (cheap, will hold several surfboards, and they can camp in them). But there are even a number of original VW Type 2 microbuses and a bunch of Type 1 Beetles still on the road here.

Depends on where you are. Still a pretty fair number of cars from 15 and 20 years ago on the streets in my town.