Chuck51631

Does anyone know where I can order wheels for a Dodge Truck with the offset for disc brakes for a 1974- 1977 Dodge Truck?

As other members have posted find a service manual. You can probably find a radiator and generator on ebay. They are probably the same as Plymouth parts and might be interchangable. The battery is the easy part to find. Go to a NAPA store they can get one for you. The one I use in my car is a heavy duty 6 volt battery. They also used them in commerial vehicles. You should also look for a parts manual that the dealers used to have for your car. It will list parts for Dodge, Plymouth and Desoto, That way you can get part numbers. You will find that many mechanical parts are interchangeable.

I had a similar problem with a 55 Plymouth. Driving around town wasn't an issue. When I took it out on the highway the Temp guage would rise to almost hot. I slowed down and the temp . dropped. I had to get the radiator recored. Atter flushing it it had more pin holes than I could count. No problems since the recore.

My 55 Plymouth is registered with the number stamped on the engine block as the vin number. The car was originally registered in NY. When I moved to Florida a sheriff had to verify the vin number. I showed it to him and he signed off on the paperwork so I could register the car. I asked him what would happen if I changed the engine and the numbers will no longer match. He told me you get a form from the DMV have a sheriff verify the number coming out of the car and the number on the motor going into the car. He signs off on it and you bring it to the DMV and they change the number on the registration and title.

Here in Florida we do just the opposite. It is time to take the ole girl out of the garage after her long summer sleep. I guess things would be different if she had A/C.

I get the same thing all the time with my 55 Plymouth Belvedere. Often people call it a Belair. I often correct them and say No the Belair was made by Chevy. This is a Plymouth Belvedere. One person said WOW I didn't know they made Plymouth's back then. Go figure some people, I give up.

Just as most of you are getting ready tp park your cars for the winter, I am doing the opposite. I am charging my battery and dusting the car off. Down here in Florida it is too hot to drive a car without air conditioning! It breaks my heart every time I go past the car in the garage knowing I can't drive it. Ironically it was just the opposite when I lived in New York. The car sat all winter and was only driven during the summer.

I just ordered new battery cables for my 55 Plymouth Belvedere 6 cyl. 6volt system. I noticed the positive cable is connected to the engine with a head bolt. If I take out the head bolt will I disturb the head gasket? Right now I do not have any leaks and am not looking to change the head gasket. Someone told me to cut off the old one and hook the new cable up someplace on the engine. This sounds like a good idea except the cable is not that long. Had anyone else dealt with this issue? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Good luck with your car. It is always nice to see them get rescued. You said it was sitting for a long time in a barn. Did you look around the barn to see if the radiator was in there?

Good luck with your coupe. It always does my heart good to see someone willing to take on the challenge of restoring a piece of American History!

Very nice. It is always nice to see an old car come back to life. Good Luck and Enjoy it.

Chris, Good luck with your restoration. I read that you are doing a complete brake job. replacing brake lines and wheel cylinders etc. I have a suggestion. I also own a 55 Plymouth. Since it does not get driven often, I always had a problem with the brakes. The wheel cylinders would rust and seize after a few years. Finally after doing what you are I decided to use DOT 5 brake fluid. that was 5 years ago and I have not had a problem since. I also converted to a dual master cylinder at that time for safety reasons. I had to put a brake light switch on the brake pedal since the dual master cylinder did not have a place to screw the brake light switch into.

Welcome Home 60 T Bird! The one good thing about our hobby we can work on our old cars at our pace. Since they are no longer a daily ride in most cases. We get to take our time searching for parts or funds to get it done the way we want.

Napa auto parts also carries 6 volt batteries. They will have to order it since they don't keep them in stock. They usually get it the same day if you go early enough. I have had good luck with them considering the car sits most of the time. They usually last about 6 years.

Desoto 1939 said it all. I also changed from DOT3 to DOT5. Never had a problem since. When using DOT3, I was constantly replacing wheel cylinders due to corrosion and rust. I did convert to a dual master cylinder and replaced all of the metal brake lines at the same time. Mainly for safety reasons. I figured 50 year old parts are nothing to play with when you have a car that can't be replaced.

I agree with RobertKB. I walk past anything that has been aborted. If a person wants to put a chevy engine in a Plymouth that is their business. I will walk right past it. The only changes I consider ok is when it is done for safety. A dual master cylinder or disc brake conversion for added stopping. Or radial tires for extra handling. Adding seat belts to a car that did not have them. I have been in many car shows with my car. I feel they are all rigged! A judge is going to vote for the car he likes. If he favors a chevy or ford he going to judge so they win. I did have a good experience with my Plymouth at a Ford Club car show. The judge inspected my car, moved on then came back to look again. He did this 3 times. I won first prize over a chevy. The fact that he kept checking thing between the two cars, proved he did a fair job of judging. I still like to go to car shows and I often show my car. When the judge comes by I simply say no thanks and he moves on.

All cars from 1975 had catalytic converters. Another reason lead was taken out of gasoline. In some states that have inspections, the catalytic converter must be on the car or it will fail the state inspection.

Excellent Don. The tools look like new. You take care of them as well as your car. I hope more pople pay attention.

Thanks for the reply's. I have no intention of doing this. You never know when you go someplace and get a dead battery. I usually replace my 6 volt every 4 years to be on the safe side. Then again I have had a battery fail after 2 weeks. It was the battery. I had the charging system checked when it was installed.

What would be the proper way to hook up jumper cables. The 6 volt car is a positive ground and the 12 volt car is a negative ground car. Is it still negative to negative and positive to positive? I have never had to jump start a car under these circumstances. I thought it would be good to know in an emergency. I don't want to blow up a battery or short out an electrical system. Thanks in advance for your replies.

Does Charlie have a website?

This is a shame! I'll bet there are a lot of parts I could use. If they weren't so far away I would go there. They should have advertised on here or in Hemmings.

I only have the gasket that sits on the carburetor between the air filter. I know one time, I forgot to put it back on. When I put the air cleaner on it was loose and shook. My car has the tall air filter. I know some have shorter ones. If you don't have the gasket on the carburetor and your air filter is shaking it is possible for the oil is splashing around and getting sucked into the engine. Even 50w oil thins out when the engine gets get's hot.

I use Castrol 30w oil. I was tempted to use a 15w-40w oil but decided against it. I live in Florida due to the heat I decided to stick with the 30w oil according to the owners manual. Not sure where you live. I use a detergent oil, I had the oil pan out and was lucky it was not filled with sludge. When I change the oil it takes 6qts. when changing the filter.

I will give you my two cents. I had a similar problem with my 55 Plymouth. The car ran fine around town and at idle. When I took it out on the parkway for a long run the temperature gauge would go towards hot. When I got off the parkway and drove at slower speeds the temperature would drop. I did all the flushing, looked for collapsed hoses changes the radiator cap etc.. Finally I pulled the radiator brought it to the shop to find it had a restricted flow along with a few weak spots that would eventually become leaks. I had it re-cored put it back in the car and have not had a problem since.