TodFitch

Could it be an old battery to transmission ground strap that was replaced but left sitting on the frame and finally fell off?

My thought about a 20 or 30 amp switch was if it was on the charging circuit (going through the ammeter). If you have a battery disconnect, you will need a beefier switch. For example a P15 starter motor is rated a drawing up to 280 amps while the 49 and early 50s Plymouths are shown in my book as drawing 335 amps. If you are using a 200 amp disconnect switch on the battery it is under rated and should be swapped out. If you are add a wire directly from the regulator output to the battery you will be bypassing the ammeter so it will read 0 all the time. And if it is on the battery side of the disconnect you will be bypassing your disconnect and probably creating a fire hazard as the starter, if you try to use it, tries pulling several hundred amps through it.

Fuel gauges are pretty insensitive to the voltage supplied. This is a two wire sender setup which is quite different from what you might expect. If you look at your factory service manual you should see a table showing what will happen to the gauge reading if one or the wires is grounded or open. In this case a full tank reading a half tank looks like it might be the wire at terminal 1 being grounded.

A 20 or 30 amp DC rated toggle switch is a pretty expensive beast and pretty bulky to mount. At least the ones I found while looking at stuff for a remote location solar power setup. If you want to put a battery disconnect in, use a commercial one rated for as high amperage as possible (a number of them seem to be designed for the lower current requirements of a 12v system).

Sounds like the over-center assist spring is not adjusted properly. Assuming a 1950 has one. That is exactly the issue I had with my '63 Dodge D200 truck when the adjustment got off. Got a copy of the service manual?

Our webmaster mentioned in a post a while back that he uses a 1/2" drive impact air wrench on the drum puller to good effect. Last time I had my drums off was before I got such a tool but I'll try it next time. On the other hand, my drums have never been all that difficult to get off even though I torque them to the amount listed in the later service manuals (142 ft-lbs).

If they are 10" drums then it would be 10.000, for 11 inch drums it is 11.000.

I've always just had my shoes relined by what ever the local brake and friction company was near where I was living and picking up the cylinder or cylinder rebuild kits from either the local auto supply or the brake and friction place. Can't say it was the cheapest way to go but I don't recall it being outrageously expensive the last time I did it.

You may also be able to repair your original dash unit. See http://www.ply33.com/Repair/tempgauge

Interesting that the article calls for using 10 gauge wire to supply the pump on what I assume is a 12v system. If I am reading the wire gauge table correctly, on a 6v system for the same voltage drop you'd need a 6 gauge cable. That is pretty big, larger by far that the wires for my headlights.

Got part numbers for the items in question? Or to put it differently, do you have a parts book that covers several years including yours? That would make it easy to lookup things like rear fenders and see what years are the same.

You can get replacement leather boots from most of the old Mopar parts suppliers, places like Roberts or Bernbaum. I have a list of vendors at http://www.ply33.com/Parts/vendor and I believe there is also a list on this forum's site but I haven't looked in a while, maybe under resources. With a damaged boot, you may have gotten dirt into the universal or lost lubricant from it. I'd inspect that one for signs of wear (there should be no rotational free play to speak of). These things are basically primitive CV joints and just like a CV joint they can go a long time unless the boot gets damaged and not repaired in soon enough. As part of another repair, I describe how to remove the drum at http://www.ply33.com/Repair/axle_seal/

I noticed a PH parked in Bridgeport in April on my way home from Mammoth Lakes. . . Didn't have a camera ready and had a lot of miles to cover so I didn't stop to dig through to pull one out. Looks like it might be the same truck I saw. Hard to say for sure because your images don't expand for me.

I have no idea. . . I guess that is something to read up on.

Part type code 23-22-8 “Door Window Garnish Moulding Screw” for P9 through P15 is either part 787918 (7/8" long) or part 787919 (1" long). Looking at the poorly reproduced image in my copy of the parts book, it appears to be a Phillips oval head sheet metal screw. Can’t determine the size (it is not in my 1944 edition of the Standard Pars List). These look a bit like a flat head screw but have a slightly curved top surface as described by Andydodge. Oval headed sheet metal screws are available but probably not at your local hardware store. I got mine (same type of thing but slotted instead of Phillips) from a boating supply called Jamestown Distributors.

I looked at the specifications for our dishwasher and found it varied between 2 and 10 gallons depending on the cycle selected and how dirty the sensors determined the contents were.

Should be if you measure accurately, the points are not pitted and the distributor lobes are not worn. I generally set my points using a feeler gauge with the distributor on the bench and then when it is back in the car and then engine is running put a tach-dwell meter on it and see how close I came. If I am within a degree to two I call it good.

Have you called Feltz at Terrill Machine as Plymouthy Adams suggested? For years here they have been mentioned as a vendor that can rebuild your vacuum advance.

I am surprised that the dishwasher used more than the washing machine. 40 gallons seems like a lot for that. Is your washing machine a top load or front load? I think California, or at least the counties I've lived in, have required 1.6 gallon flush toilets since the 1980s. I don't think I've seen a 4 or 5 gallon flush toilet in years. My city bills by ccf (100 cubic foot) increments. I've never bothered to look at the meter to see what it is calibrated for.

My Plymouth's old style B&B has a "step up circuit" or "power circuit" which is actuated by manifold vacuum. Due to some internal issues it was not working properly and I got exactly the symptoms you list. It would idle fine. And it would run under power okay. But the transition between the two was horrible and if you tried to do it slowly the engine would die. You might want to check the gaskets between the carburetor and the manifold: There should be some small holes and/or slots in the gaskets around the edges that need to match up with the holes in the manifold and carburetor to supply the vacuum that controls that. If the gaskets are wrong or installed wrong that would be an easy fix. Another items that might contribute to the problem would be the accelerator pump. You can test that by looking down the carburetor as you move the throttle lever, you should see a stream of gas.

I believe it is Wayne Brandon who is, I think, a POC member in the Detroit area.

I strongly suspect that there is no NAPA store in Portsmouth, England.

I think I saw some of those at my local O’Reilly Auto Parts recently.

P14 models were built in the 1942 model year.

First and reverse don't have synchronizers so they will grind unless everything comes to a full stop before you select them. Second and third should be free of grinding however. If your clutch is fully disengaging then perhaps your transmission’s synchronizers are worn out. Any other possible transmission issues (popping out of second on deceleration or long down grade, odd noises, etc.)?