austinsailor

Oh, I didn't mention, I have a good '51 Dodge motor sitting in the shop looking for a home, so it should only need time, the most elusive item, to get this thing going.

I think they make the car. I have several, one restored, one in the works. I've been watching for one for my 53 Plymouth, but it has a one piece windshield and takes a different one, it's around $700 for a new one. Still looking. Got the fender skirts, someone mentioned those in another post, still looking for a continental kit. The 3 must haves for a cool old car!

This is really on topic, because I need ideas of what to ask my wife for for Christmas to work on these old mopars. If I don't give her ideas I'll probably get a new couch or who knows what. Now, I have nothing against new couches, but it won't go well in my shop or work as a front seat in an old mopar. I've gotten some pretty nice things in the past that I had no desire to own. But - giving the proper hints has resulted in the winch you might have seen used to load the 49 Plymouth I just bought, and a nice little plasma cutter. I've dropped a hint about a bead roller, after all, I have some floorboards to build. But maybe I'm not thinking of something more useful. I have a TIG and a nice press, but am probably not thinking of other things. The bead roller may bust the budget, so maybe something a little less pricey? Ideas, anyone?

Sides are straight. No dents, a couple stainless pieces are missing. The one rust spot showing through. Not part of the car, but this sure makes loading easier. When I put a class 5 hitch (2 1/2") on my 2005 Dodge dually it went under the factory 2", leaving me a place to slip in my winch in the original 2" hitch and the ball mount in the new 2 1/2" heavy hitch. When I bought the 2012 and got the new Reece class 5, it was massive, rated for 18,000 lbs, but you remove the factory hitch. Left me with no place for the winch. Yesterday I came up with the idea to get a new 24' receiver, use it like a ball mount in the 2 1/2" hitch, then mount another short receiver on top of that, then put the ball mount in the end of the whole mess. Presto - hitch and winch.

OK, here it is! (Drum roll!) Not the most cherry car around, but far from the worst. Only rust through is next to the trunk, left side. Trunk is solid, doors, fenders. Drivers floor has a small place rusted through. Front is straight, fit is good. Inside is in need of a bit of touchup! Sides are straight Rear is good. Came with a good title, and even better, sometime before 1985 when the title was issued, the VIN was changed from the motor number to the body serial number. More on the next post. Gene

4 door. 2 door or wagon and I'd be much more excited.

30 miles. No idea on the rest.

Talked to a guy with a 49 Plymouth on craigslist a couple months ago. As I recall, it didn't look rusted or beat up, but the head was off the motor. Guy wanted $1000. After talking about the car for a while, I told him all I could offer was $500 but if he had no takers be sure to call me before crushing it. Got a call tonight. No takers, do I want it for $500? He hated to junk it. I'll go get it Saturday. Wonder what I've gotten myself into this time?!

Shame on me! I didn't connect the two comments. I rode in Corvair wagon recently, so I know they're real.

I have several I'd give to someone if they needed them. Located in central Missouri.

Tim, You realize the Corvair wagon is a real car, don't you?

Yeah, Tim! You were in Germany, same place as me. Surprised you didn't remember that. Too much good German beer? I'm guessing, though, that was a tongue-in-cheek comment, though. It is strange, though, that something like that isn't standard.

I put them in a 65 Chevy van one time. one side turned out fine, the other side was way too tight, never did feel right. I guess you could take it back apart and ream it, but I never did. I wasn't real impressed.

Talked to a friend nearby who bought a car at the big auction. He bought a '65 4 door Impala, planning to use it and it's title to get one he has with no title put together. He wasn't there, bought it on the internet part of the auction. Got it for $1000. Drove up to get it. What he found was that they'd lined up the cars with a forklift. One with short forks, but just long enough to go under the car and past the drive shaft. Just long enough to bend the shafts and poke holes in the rusty floors. He wasn't too happy, but what could he do? It was his by that point. Loaded it on the trailer and took off for home. About 50 miles down the road he looked back to see the back window blow right out, shattering all over the road. Didn't slow down until he got to Missouri! I guess you just really need to buy that sort of thing in person.

I could use the left inner fender if it's in good shape. Mine is rusted out around the battery. If it is in good shape and you want to mess with it let's talk. I'd rather buy a good one than patch up the old one. Gene G.

You were luckier than I was. My 48 B1B was stuck so bad that I had to torch out the pressure plate, then the clutch. I had to whittle down the clutch center with the torch until the remains would go through the throw out bearing. Once out, I thought I could heat that remaining circle on the input shaft and drive it off. No, it took splitting it three ways with a die grinder, then driving off each piece. I was able to save the transmission input shaft, though. Gene G.

I figured you knew as much, but others reading it might not realize it was a problem and run out and buy one, then be surprised they had a problem. Not everyone understands the amps end of thing. For example, we have a big sailboat. We used to have it on Lake Travis in Texas. Spent some time down the lake, my wife commuting to her office job from the boat. She got ready to do her hair the first day and was quite surprised to find the 150 watt inverter wouldn't run her hair dryer. "Well, it's 110 volts, why not??" I'm still not sure she understands it, but she didn't complain when I sprung for a 1500 watt inverter. All I had to do was say it would run her hair dryer! And I do understand the air part. Even though we're in the mid west I have central air in the shop and it's usually set to about 65. Year round.

Tim, I also have a small harbor freight cabinet. I got it to use walnut shells in. They're in there, but I'll be darned if I could ever get it to feed. I thought it would be good to clean up things like pistons, but it just takes up room on the shelf.

I s also have a 5' scatblast cabinet, but that's a whole different animal. As to tank size, I think you're talking about the blaster, not the compressor. They are all equal except what they hold. The smallest is enough to blast about 15 minutes to a half hour depending on your orfice size. you'll want a break by then, so the smallest is probably fine. Full, it's about all you want to move anyway. Gene G.

I've had the 99 for 6 or 7 years. Works fine. Looks like the 101 now comes with a water separator, they didn't when I bought mine. 99 now comes with a choke valve. You need that to clear wet or stuck sand. Mine was extra. It appears that they are both the same, except the 101 comes with a water separator. You'll need one or maybe 2, so it isn't wasted, but you can buy one cheaper elsewhere. They do just fine. I started with a 5 hp 2 stage compressor, it didn't come close. I since bought an Ingersol Rand 7.5 2 stage, it is ok, just is enough. They offer smaller nozzles that would do with less air, go with one that is on the conservative side. It takes a lot of air. The ceramic nozzle won't last long, order several of the hard steel nozzles when you buy it. They last quite a while. You'll also go through the rubber thing the nozzles rest against when it's shut off. It is what serves as the valve to shut it off when you release it. Get several of those when you order it. I've done several vehicles and lots of parts with it. Feel free to ask specific questions if you have any. Edit: By the way, their people are good about answering questions. Call them to chat, they've been pretty straight with me the times I called with questions.

"I used my tax refund several years ago to buy a 140 Amp 110 volt (so I can plug it in anywhere) AC-DC HTP welder (1-800-USA-WELD) " I looked at their ad and specs, sounds like quite a good machine. I noticed, though, that it draws 30 amps, which is double what most 110 volt outlets can provide. While it's true it'll do it all on 110 volts, if you turn up the amps at all, probably over about 80 or 90, you're going to have to wire a special plug.

You can get a good quality wire welder with the gas option that is 110. No need to go to 220 unless you really need that much output. Mine is Lincoln, it'll run on your standard 15 amp circuit unless you have the amps turned way up, which you won't on sheet metal. I got mine maybe 15 years ago at a welding shop, but they are now at Home Depot, Lowes and all those guys. Harbor Freight will last a little while, might do ok for a while, although I doubt if you tried both side by side you'd be happy with theirs. As to bottle size, if you check the price, you'll find it goes down a lot per cubic foot to fill it as the size goes up. A large part of the fill is the testing and labor which is the same regardless of bottle size. If you use any at all, get the biggest bottle you can physically handle. I have also learned there is a big difference in fill cost for the same size at different suppliers. Check, it can be 2 times as much at one as another in the same town. Although few do it any more, at least one local place still does a 20 year lease instead of a lifetime lease. With a lifetime lease you effectively own the bottle, can sell it back, trade it at a different supplier in the future, or just lose it. No problem, except you won't have a bottle. With a 20 year lease, in 20 years you give it back, or pay for it again. And if you move to another town it's not going to be easy to trade it. Recently my father was surprised to learn he had to take his bottles back, and today they still rent them only that way at that local big supplier. Another thing to worry about is when your bottle was last tested. When you get one, make sure it was tested recently. Most of us won't use up our gas quickly. The bottles have to be retested every 5 years, I think it is. A shop that uses a lot of gas will take it back soon and it won't be a problem. If you keep yours for several years, you may find you have to pay to have it retested when trying to trade. If you insist on a bottle that has recently be re-certified, your window is much longer.

Ed is correct, make sure it is moving the throw out bearing arm correctly before you pull the transmission. You should be able to remove the cover, have someone step on the clutch and see the pressure plate lift from the clutch. I'm not sure how to tell you exactly how far it should pull the pressure plate from the clutch, but I think it should be obvious. It's always possible that some part has worn to the point it doesn't release enough. I once had a throw out bearing arm in a high performance Barracuda that had a crack and it would flex enough inside the bell housing that it wouldn't release. So, there are other possibilities.

Your problem is in the clutch or pressure plate, not the transmission. If the adjustments are correct and it still grinds, as you describe, the clutch needs to come out. It could be the face of the clutch is coming apart, making it drag, it could be a problem with the pressure plate, or it could even be debris in the assembly. Recently I had a similar problem with my late model Dodge pickup. Turned out that the rollers in the pilot shaft bearings had come loose and one roller was between the clutch and pressure plate causing it to drag when released. You have a bushing, not rollers, so that will not be your problem but any small piece of trash could cause it. This might sound like bad news, but having done both - replaced clutches and disassembled the transmission - the clutch will be much easier, quicker and easier to find the necessary parts. Chances are you can get your clutch and pressure plate rebuilt locally. Transmission would have been much more complicated to get parts.

An old timer I talked to when unleaded came out was even more perplexed - he said they upped the price back when they put lead in, now they are raising it again to take it out.