busycoupe

Don, The picture is not quite clear enough for me to read the number. Can you type it out for us please? Thanks, Dave

I had my coupe painted at Maaco in Dedham, MA in July of 2008. Maaco is a quick, cheap, body shop franchise. They have different package deals, but will also do what you want. I took off the bumpers and as much trim as I could. I took off the hoods and the visor and brought them to the shop in the trunk. They did the prep which included some bondo body work, prime with feather fill, then color coat followed by clear coat. They did not strip the car to metal. That would have been better, but cost was a factor. The whole job took just over a week and cost $3100. This was a much lower price than I got from other shops. The car looks good, and so far the paint is holding up well. It is not a "show quality" job, but for driving around and going to cruise nights it is OK. I am happy with the results. Long story short, I guess you get what you pay for. Dave

What a great idea Bob! It is very kind of your niece to take on the project. Don't you mean a calendar for 2012? Dave

My wife and I took our Dodge to Sudbury last fall and took the attached picture in front of the Wayside Inn. It used to be one of our favorite places to have dinner. We moved to North Carolina at the beginning of last month, now I'll have to find some other photo ops, and dinner locals. Dave

It looks like a dial indicator that could be used on the inside of a bored hole. Perhaps to find the center of the hole to line up a tool like a lathe or Bridgeport style miller. Dave

I used to put stabil in my cars, motorcycles etc to store them for the winter, but they ran rough in the spring until the stabil treated gas was used up. Last year I switched to the Star tron enzyme treatment in the blue bottle. Worked great. No problem in the spring. Dave

44 out of 48, I also mixed up the Willys and the Henry J. Fun test, thanks for posting. Dave

1948 Dodges came with both vacuum and electric wipers. (not in the same car of course) Deluxe models came with vacuum wipers, the upscale Custom models came with electric wipers. My Deluxe business man's coupe has vacuum wipers. Dave

I wonder if the lower priced cars used wood grain so that the factory wouldn't have to match the dash and garnish color to the body of the car. It would be a lot easier for inventory and on the assembly line. Perhaps one of our resident historians has an answer. Dave

You can't say he's carrying concealed weapons.

I bought a puller 2 years ago like the one John posted, shown in the red case. It was made in China, but very robust. The only trouble I had with it was that the threads on the black screw post were coated with either paint or some kind of oxide finish. The finish prevented it from threading smoothly into the puller. After working on the screw post with a wire wheel all was well. The puller now works great. Dave

If it is a good convertable body you could mount it on another frame. Find an old P15 with an intact drive train but a poor body and make the switch.

Thanks Greg, Yes, we bought the house last July. A neighbor has been checking it for us periodically. Our neighborhood was not affected by the flooding in Sept. We are looking forward to exploring the outer banks. We visited Kitty Hawk briefly a couple of years ago. You're right about not that many natives. While the cars were being unloaded an neighbor came over to introduce herself, she was from Somerville, Massachusetts. A few minutes later another stopped to chat, he was from New Hampshire. Dave

Our flatheads were originally designed to run on much lower quality gas. I would think that they would run OK on E85, but I'm not sure how rubber parts in the fuel system would be affected.

Yes, we are about 5 miles from Washington, NC. Last week when we were there, the weather was brisk, high 40's low 50's, but still warmer than Massachusetts. We are looking forward to the move. Dave

In my 48 Dodge with fluid drive, the fluid unit is between the engine and the clutch. Were you shifting without the clutch with the engine not running? If the engine is not running there is very little connection between the engine and transmission. It is possible to shift the transmission without using the clutch because the clutch is not held by the engine. I think that the first thing you need to do is to start the car, then try to clutch and shift. Dave

Congrats on the new heater. You are a lucky man to have a willing helper. Dave

Thanks Bob. It was warmer there, the cherry trees were in bloom. I'm looking forward to driving the Dodge there. We are in eastern NC on the coastal plain. The roads are straight and flat. It is a rural area, lots of tobacco and cotton fields. The ground doesn't freeze deeply in the winter and the roads are smooth with no frost heaves like we have here in the northeast. If this New England boy misses the hills and valleys I'll just have to take a road trip to the western part of the state. I'll post some pics when we are settled in a few weeks. Dave

Our cars arrived in NC last week. The move went fantastic! It is a little pricey to move cars this way, but well worth it in my opinion. The transport was carrying million dollar cars on their way to a concours competition, and the driver treated our cars with the same care he gave to the other cars. I recommend the Thomas Sunday Auto Transport Co. to anyone thinking of moving a car. Between Mass. and NC the driver moved my Dodge from the bottom of the transport to the top. In the unloading pic you can see a 1950 Abarth racer under the Dodge. The third pic is the Dodge in its new home, the 4th pic is a close-up of the Abarth on the transport. The cars are now snug in their new homes, we follow them next week. Dave

Thanks for all of your kind words. I'll report back when the cars get to NC. Dave

Bob mugged me last week also. He is one heck of a guy! (Cooper too!) Dave

Yes, Ed, I was trying to sell the car last summer. I didn't get any good bites, although one fellow wanted me to ship it to Scandinavia. I decided that I was just having too much fun with the car. The area of eastern North Carolina I'm moving to has several active car clubs and I am hoping to go to cruise nights and shows there. My new garage is smaller than my old one, and I will have to share it with the daily drivers. However, I think it may be high enough for a lift! Dave

Today the Thomas Sunday Auto Transport Co. picked up my D24 and my wife's Sebring to take them to our new home in NC. The transport trailer is amazing! It has a rear door that lays down flat on the ground to load a car, then works like an elevator to lift the car to truck level. The truck can carry 6 cars, 3 on the top level and 3 on the bottom level. Our cars were sharing space with cars on their way to a concours competition at Amelia Island. (I told my old Dodge to be on its best behavior while riding with the upper crust.) The driver was great, on time and efficient. I'll let you know how the unloading goes in NC. Dave

I had my gas tank repaired at a local radiator shop. Mine was actually cracked near the top corner. He kept it over a week to let it air out before working on it, but it came out great. He cleaned it out and tested it when done. It was kind of pricey, $200, but it was a substantial repair; and I still have the original tank. Dave

Just filled up the daily driver. $3.27 in western suburb of Boston this morning.