busycoupe

Nice picture Bob. The mountains are beautiful.

I'm getting used to my new neighborhood in eastern NC. There are very interesting old barns and other buildings around here. The old barn in the attached pictures is about a mile from my house. I have been meaning to get a picture of it for awhile, but the owner usually has a horse trailer parked in front of it. Yesterday the trailer was gone, the weather was beautiful. The owner told me that the old building to the left of my car was once a store and that mules had been used to drag it about a mile to its present location, some years ago. It is nice to be able to get the old car out and about. Dave

Sorry to hear of your problems I was fortunate enough to see your car in person a couple of times at the Cliquot cruise in Millis, Mass. It is a beautiful car, and especially interesting because you kept the 6 in it. Good luck in your future endeavors. Dave

The Bay State Antique Auto club is hosting 2 events at the Endicott Estate in Dedham on Sept. 11. The Veteran Car show mentioned above is for cars up to 1942. On the same field they are also hosting a "Chrome, Color and Fin show for cars of the 40's and 50's. I have attended the last two years and it is a good take. It is a much smaller crowd than the July Endicott show and attracts some really interesting cars. In 2009 3 Stanley Steamers showed up, all under their own power. Other cars included Packards, Cadillacs, Cord, several Woodies, Chrysler T&C, etc. I am in North Carolina now and unfortunately won't be able to get there this year. I hope that you Massachusetts guys can make it, it is a show that is not to be missed. Dave

The seals I bought were made in USA, the service was fast and efficient. I may change my opinion of Advance Auto later, but for now I am a happy customer. Are you shilling for NAPA?

A few weeks ago I needed to replace the inner and outer seals on the left side of the rear axle. I'm new to the area, so I had no experience with any of the nearby parts stores. I walked into Advance Auto parts. The counter guy is in his early twenties, the name on his shirt is "Radar". He looks up the seals in the computer, says no problem. I picked up the seals the next morning. Less than 24 hours from my first visit. I was very impressed! I'll be going back to Advance Auto again. Dave

Our neighborhood had a summer festival a couple of weeks ago. One of the fellows organized a little car show of cars owned by folks in the development. 10 cars and one Feathercraft boat were on display. My 48 coupe was by far the oldest. Most of the 10 were 60's and 70's Corvettes. There was one 1967 V12 Ferrari 4 door sedan, beautifully restored. The two cars that seemed to get the most attention were my old coupe and the Ferrari. Probably over a dozen people told me about how they learned to drive on a 40's Dodge or Plymouth, or how they owned one in high school, or in the service. It was a wonderful afternoon. It just shows again that it is not always the big buck cars that get the attention. Dave

I know that it has been suggested already, but did you check the firing order? I've found from hard experience that it is best to start by eliminating the simplest source of problems. Dave

I just used duct tape on the back of the bumperettes to hold the flags. It was sturdy enough for the parade, no high speed driving. Dave

Looks Great! I had my coupe in the Needham, MA parade in '09 and put flags on the bumperets just like yours. Have fun! Dave

A couple of years ago I bought key blanks from a guy on E-bay. I'm not sure if this is the same guy, but a quick search turned up a listing for 43-48 mopar ignition keys, another for trunk keys. At $7.95 a blank, the price is a little steep, but it does solve the problem. I hope this link works, if not just search for: Key-Blank-Chrysler-Dodge-Plymouth-Desoto-1943-48. Dave http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Key-Blank-Chrysler-Dodge-Plymouth-Desoto-1943-48-Ign-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQitemZ250820175661QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Reg, The stuff I have been using is Chevron Pro-Gard fuel injector cleaner. A bottle to treat 12 gal. of gas cost about $3 - $4. I know it is snake oil, but it does seem to help. Dave

I use Chevron Techron fuel injector cleaner in my 2001 Jeep. It seems to help. A few years ago I never had a problem with dirty fuel injectors. I wonder if it has something to do with the ethanol in the gas?? Dave

About 10 years ago on a trip to Hawaii I was surprised to learn that Hawaiians are the largest consumers of Spam per capita in the country (world?). We stopped at a supermarket and were stunned to find a whole aisle devoted to Spam. Been to the Spam museum also. They had some neat displays of WWII stuff. Dave

Any idea how old my Sears jack is? From the Allstate label and red paint I'm guessing 1950's. What do you think? Dave

My car came with a different type of bumper jack. It is not an original Mopar jack, but some aftermarket type. There is a decal on the base that looks like it might have said Allstate over a map of the country. Sold by Sears? It looks pretty substantial and works on screw thread. I don't intend to use it, but I carry it in the trunk as a period accessory. Someday I may even clean it up and paint it. Dave

Best wishes, I hope that all goes well and you make it to the "shine and show." Dave

Bob, I'm glad that you are making progress. You sound very upbeat and in good spirits. It must be hard to maintain a positive outlook in light of all that you have been through. Your idea of a home with split bedrooms sounds great. We bought a home last summer and looked at several with that layout. We eventually bought a home with a more traditional ranch layout because of its location, but I liked the split bedroom layout better. Take care, keep us posted on progress, Dave

Yes, that is what I meant by "rub down" letters. I think that the proper name is "dry transfer lettering" Chartpak is one manufacturer. They are available by the sheet which contains several alphabets of letters. They come in a variety of sizes and colors and can be bought at art supply stores. They do need to be coated with something to make them permanent. Dave

J Edgar is looking good! I need to get tires for my coupe, I have wide white walls now, but the black walls look good on J Edgar. I may switch to black walls. Dave

You said that you checked the distributed. Still, it might be worth it to check the points again. The point gap can slip out of adjustment quickly and cause the symptoms you describe. It is a simple thing to check, might be worth the time. Dave

I worked in service stations all through the '70s. As far as I can remember, we always called them lifts. That was in Massachusetts. Dave

Glad you are OK. Tornadoes passed by us here in NC about a month ago. Pretty scary, but we were lucky. I hope that you can rebuild soon. Dave

Thanks Don!

The one just above the Bernsamatic cutter looks like a latch hook for pulling the yarn into a latch hook rug. The one with the threads at the bottom looks like an adapter to fasten onto an electric motor shaft to attach something like a grindstone or buffing disk. - A poor man's grinder made from a washing machine motor. I had one for years. Dave