Oldguy48

Not sure about the 35s, but I recall an incident with a 69 Dodge van, when my father purchased a new gas cap for it. The new cap was not vented, and the gas tank actually collapsed due to the vacuum created as the gas was consumed. We decided maybe we could pop it back to normal with compressed air down the filler neck! Bad decision! The tank did kinda pop back to normal, but when I tried to relieve the pressure in the tank (I had a rag wrapped around the air hose & stuck in the filler neck), I got a face full of gas right square in the eyes. Spent the next hour or two at the local hospital emergency room. Hopefully someone else can learn from my dumb mistake!!

Does anyone have any advice to offer for upgrade to a 12V wiper motor for a P15? I know PlyDo has one, as well as a few other vendors. I'm definitely going to replace my vacuum unit with electric, but I understand there may be clearance problems with the stock radio with some of these. I'll appreciate any advice offered. Thanks!

Thanks for the replies...It doesn't sound like it should be too difficult!

My P15 has a cracked window on the front passenger side door. Can anyone provide some guidance on removing/repairing the window? I want to tackle it, but thought I'd ask for some help from the experts before I dive in ! Thanks for any advice.

If you're having trouble finding the type of terminals you're looking for, try your local electrical distributor, where the professional electricians get their supplies. Home Depot or Lowe's probably won't have them. Ask for Thomas & Betts crimp terminals. They are available in insulated or non-insulated varieties, in most any configuration you might need (spade or ring terminal) for most any wire size. Not sure of the current pricing, but for something as important as this, they are worth whatever the price. There's a big difference in quality with these compared to what you'll find in your local Autozone.

Even an inexpensive crimper can produce a good crimp. I've got a Stanley crimper that I've had for years, and it does an excellent job. I also routinely work with AMP, Thomas & Betts, and other higher end crimpers. They all just basically compress the terminal onto the wire, and if you can give the wire a good strong tug, and the wire remains firmly clamped in the terminal, you've got a good connection. The higher end crimpers are limited as to how much compression of the terminal is produced, and can be checked with calibrated plug gages for proper crimping action, whereas some of the inexpensive ones produce as much compression as your grip can provide. Take a few terminals, and a length of wire, and make a few crimps. Then try to yank the wire out of the terminal. As long as the crimp hasn't pinched off any strands of wire,and the wire is firmly clamped in the terminal, you shouldn't have any problem.

A properly done crimp connection should be fine, but you may want to crimp & solder, especially on any higher current connections. If you're using bare copper wire on the crimp connections, it could eventually oxidize and creat a bit of resistance at the crimp. That can result in some voltage drop, and heat at the connection. If you do solder your connections, use a good quality rosin core (not acid) solder, a clean soldering iron or soldering gun tip, and keep the connection as clean as possible. A good practice is to use an electronic solvent and a small stiff brush to scrub the connection prior to applying the solder, and don't touch the connection with bare fingers before applying the solder. In some instances, a drop or two of liquid rosin type flux can be helpful if the solder doesn't seem to want to flow. Then clean off the flux residue after you've made the solder joint, with the solvent and brush. If you are new to soldering, practice, practice, practice. Before long, you'll find that it isn't that difficult, and a properly done solder connection isn't likely to ever give you any problems. Good luck!

Can anyone recommend a suitable firewall mounted dual master cylinder / hanging brake pedal assembly for installation into a P15? I would like to find a OEM unit, rather than a specialty master cylinder set-up if possible, and I'll fabricate the pedal assembly if necessary. My plan is to retain the original front drum brakes, and the rear will be a 8 3/4" roadrunner rear with 10 inch drum brakes. Manual brakes would be fine, although I would not totally rule out power brakes.Any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated. I imagine this question has been posted in the past, but I have not been able to find what I'm looking for yet, despite a lot of searching. Thank you to all who can provide any suggestions.

I'm in the process of rewiring my P15 now. Built my own fuse/relay panel, using an 1/8" thick aluminum panel, and fuseholders and terminal strips that are available at Radio Shack. Found the 12 volt relays on E-Bay, and relay connectors from Parts Express. Mine has 10 circuits that are relay controlled/fused, and 10 that are just fused, and has a high current disconnect switch to de-energize everything when the car is stored. Converting the car to 12 volt, and locating the fuse/relay panel & battery in the trunk. I can use the original headlight switch, ignition switch, etc. to control the relays, since the current that the switches have to handle is very low. The relays do the heavy current switching. Since I've got the headliner removed, I'll route the relay control wires where the original wiring was routed above the doors on the driver's side, using high temperature wire, wrapped with fiberglass tape. I plan to run the power wires under the car, probably thru some PVC tubing, or something similar to give some protection to the wires. Not finished with the rewiring yet, but so far, it's going OK. It's probably overkill, but I tend to go a bit overboard when it comes to electrical stuff.

In years gone by, my experience with the mopar flatheads (a 1948, 1949, 1953, and a 1957) in cold weather (also in N.E. Pa) was that standard equipment for winter was a dipstick heater, a can of ether, a floodlamp placed on the head, directed toward the carburetor, and a generous portion of luck. Maybe, just maybe if you were lucky, the engine would fire up. If it started, you were good to go, but starting in very cold weather was a roll of the dice.

Thank you to all who replied to my request for information. I appreciate your help.

Does anyone have a good source for a replacement windshields for a P15? Mine are scratched beyond hope from a previous owner. Thanks for any help.