Andydodge

The lower inner and upper inner rubber seals are essentially just a piec of large rubber hose, check the diameter of the bushes and you should be able to find either a small radiator hose or similar type of hose that will work. The upper outer seals are similar to large "O" rings, tho' not as soft in the rubber composition as an O ring, again check an industrial supply place. The lower outer is the only one that could be a problem as from memory it has a rubber seal with a hex shaped internal piece that fits over the hex head of the bushing and the seal for the other end has a circular internal shape that fits over the circular end of the bush..........lol...does this make sense?.......andyd

I have a mate here in Oz who has a 1957 Plymouth, he wants to upgrade the brakes, ideally to discs........has anyone heard of or seen a disc brake setup for the 57 Plymouth?.......thanks in anticipation.......andyd

Randy.......there certainly are those who make a living building models for clients, however its not the most secure living , have you seen any of the following magazines?.....Scale Auto, Model Cars, Truck Model World, Fine Scale Modeller ?.........the level of detail in the models generally pictured in these and other mags is the level that you'd be aiming for.......I opened Scale Automobilia 12 yrs ago and have been involved in various model shows here in Australia and get asked by people if I build models for clients, I personally have not done so, however I do know of modellers who have done so and continue to offer this service. The biggest problem is trying to work out what to charge or how to calaculate a final price as a lot of clients will want something for nothing or cannot comprehend the time it takes to build/modify etc a model into something it wasn't......am happy to give you any info, advice or help I can, email me directly if you like........regards, Andyd

I have a passing interest in models, been building them for 45yrs, and have a hooby shop......Scale Automobilia, www.scaleautomobilia.com.au ........I specialise in plastic cars,trucks and aircraft kits & some diecast, no toys, trains,barbie dolls, radio control,tanks, figures etc......just things with pistons that go varoom......regards, andyd

Wayne, yep you are right about the bar on the 41 Plymouth, its a thin hollow casting, mint condition BUT no real strength there, the original bar from my 1940 Australian built Dodge sedan was a solid diecast piece but even it had broken into 3-4 pieces when I got the car back in 1971, I ended up making a solid bar out of brass, 1/2" thick x 1" wide, cut down the whole way so that it had the correct side profile, then soldered a drilled & tapped 1/4" x 3/8" piece on the back that the inside strip screws to.....you could lift the car with it......lol......I won't install the visor without the centre brackets, just just whether to run with the same setup, ie, 2 centre barckets, a top & bottom a couple of inches apart that just hook under the centre bar OR make up a much stronger setup that has the barckets in a "U" shape that go under the centre bar then back to the visor on each side of the bar, much stonger but ....lol......it may pull the whole bar out if the wind catches it..........decisions, decisions.......lol......andyd

Brad, thanks, will give them a try, tho the more I think about this the more I reckon that there won't be a stock part, I'll give them a buzz but will also check the local windscreen guys to see whether they have some flat rubber that can be used/modified, the previous idiots that had the car have definately used a 67 yr old piece in the centre, its as hard as the sheet metal, but the actual windscreen rubber is quite some, shiny, plyable, its mayve 5-10 yrs old, if that.......theres a small amount of black sealer in between the glass & rubber but its sorta hard, and no sealant at all between the rubber gasket and the body........?????.......as an example of how this car was restored, it has been like this at least 5-8 yrs maybe, painted, trimed etcon club rego in Sth Oz..........but it had never had any door rubber seals at all, nothing, zip......you closed the door and could see thru inside......now how do you wash a car like this????.......I give up!.......no idea, so one of the many little things I've done is to put door rubbers on.......got a very good match from Clark Rubber so it wasn't rocket science.......lol.......then there was the adjustable steering........well adjustable steering wheel.......someone had decided to play horn, put the spring, contact etc back in backwards, upside down etc so it didn't work, then only did up the steering wheel nut 2-3 threads, when I got the car delivered, the steering wheel went in & out about 1/2 inch, great driving feel.......lol......and the horn "button" was an Oz starter button under the right hand side of the dash........stylish.....lol......then there was the "restored front end with no sway bar.......all over the place like a mad womens ****.......did I mention the oil leak, completely buggered seat with an adjustment handle on BOTH sides, neither of which worked but both were on upside down anyway, so it didn't matter.......lol.....nice near new trim but the seat had collapsed so it needed all new springs, now I look over the steering wheel rather than thru it.....and various other things.......lol.......I'd still would have bought it in a flash, but as I didn't see it B4 buying and relied on the elderly owner then it was to be expected, overall it has been good, but its interesting to see some of the "work" that has been done on the car.........regards, andyd

Czechrod.....its a deal.........now is this snow guarranteed to be snow like when it arrives down here?..........I've got plenty of its alternative fluid version........just want the white, semi solid stuff..........and cold.........lol.......and shel.......48 F ?........thats a nice bracing 8 or 9 C......lol.........any snow with that?.......lol........andyd

Neil..........lol...........thats what I am trying to avoid...........never gave it any thought till I saw some pics on a post here that showed a visor back over the car roof, so I am not sure whether to make lightweight brackets that will blow off if someone farts as they walk by or angle iron, take no prisoners brackets that will bend......just...a....bit...., well enough to break the screens.........lol.......fun, fun,fun........lol.......andyd

Fluiddrive & busycoupe, thanks for the replies, the rubber around the windscreen is great, like new, not very old at all but the centre piece is crap, could be the original 1941 piece..... looks like the previous owner or whoever "restored" this car had a habit of doing some oddball things........what I was hoping to find was a 2 piece rubber, inner & outer , that would save me having to remove the screens and windscreen rubber.......andyd.

The only centre bracket I have for the Fulton Visor is 2 small pieces of 3/4" x 4" steel with a 90degree bend that hooks on either side of the division bar, there should be another 2 slightly shorter also but these are lost, however rather than making up these I was thinking........Yeh, I know, maybe not a good idea, this thinking......that as I have the division bar off and am going to replace the old ruber seal with new that it might be a good idea to make up all new centre visor brackets that actually go underneath the bar from one side to the other, these would be much stronger than having just the brackets stuck under an edge on either side......does this make sense?........has anyone got any comments?....thanks, andyd

Have been playing with the front windscreen division bar, the rubber bits under it are not original, are rock hard and leak.....I've seen complete windscreen rubber seals with the division bar molded to them but the windscreen rubber is quite good and plyable so all I need is the division bar rubber........are they available seperately?, this is to suit a 1941 P11, the division bar number is 878657 which is correct for this yr......I would thibk that the rubber should be the same up to & including 1948......anyway is the bar rubber available?......thanks, andyd

Gidday from Sunny Sth Grafton NSW Australia!!......this site and the guys that frequent it are amongst the best group of people you could find, very knowledgable, tolerant and helpful and just a nice bunch of guys.........so welcome.........don't suppose you could spare some snow?.......its just after 8am Sunday morning here and already it 80 F........regards, Andyd

Flat balck maybe too dark under the visor, just gotta get a falt clear or something similar to cover the undercoat, again thanks for the comments & info, andyd

The reason I was asking around is that even tho its a primer, actually I think its originally Zinc Chromate, as used on aircraft, and I'd prefer it with some paint on it, so I'll run with a grey at this stage......by the way did the Fulton Sun visor exist B4 WW2?.......curious as I wonder whether it was a way to use up excess sheet aluminium that was no longer required for P51's,P47's etc.......and thanks for the input & info, regards, andyd

I am in the process of painting my Fulton Sun Visor, the top will be body colour, however the Fulton instructions that I downloaded from the web advise to leave it in the green primer, this was very discoloured so i have sanded and painted it the same grey primer as the top.......question is........those that have sun visors......have you painted the underneath?.....if so what colour?......I was going to leave it the flat grey of the primer as this actually matches the grey upholstery and I think would look o/k from sitting behind the wheel.......any opinions?....btw the car colour is a burgundy metallic and thats what the top will be at least.......andyd

B Watson & Phil, .....the Australian Mopar Assemblers were T. J. Richards of Adelaide, Sth Australia. we had apparently 2 body shells for Plymouth in 1939 as far as I have seen, both used the same front sheet metal, fenders, hood etc but the early 39 used the carry over 1938 hump backed sedan body shell , these all had floor shifts, then there was a later 1939 version with the 40 style body shell without the hump and the first column change shifter, this body shell IS different to 1940, there are NO panels that fit as far as I am aware. The 1940 Oz body shell for Plymouth and Dodge at least, and DeSoto/Chrysler had exposed hinges, 2 piece rear windows, etc.......all the 1940 Dodge/Plymouth cars I have seen in 38 yrs of ownership of my 1940 Dodge all used the same body shell, doors, etc Plymouth fenders, hoods,headlight surrounds,, etc.......I have only ever seen 1 1940 D14 Dodge, a sedan in 38 yrs with the "proper" US style 3 flutes in the fenders, 2 piece parking light front lens, BUT it still had the full length Plymouth hood, 2 piece rear windows etc........and as for 1941 the same basic body shell was carried over from 1940 and used on Oz 1941 Dodges and Plymouths.......all being built in Sth Australia's TJ Richards plant........btw my 1940 Dodge Sedan has both the small black kangaroo enameled badge" King Of The Road" just in front of the passnger front guard/fender and the brass TJ Richards Body no stamped plate on the passnger firewall.....it also used to have the letters "TJR" pressed from the interior side on the drivers side of the firewall, this I stupidly removed 35yrs ago when I mounted the booster/master cylinder on the firewall........duh!.............andyd

Yep, current Secretary of the Mid North Coast Hot Rod Club, been a member for about 7-8 yrs, also member of the Chrysler Restorers Club of NSW, Australian Street Rod Federation........both of these since the early 70's.....i enjoy fence sitting.....lol...andyd

Phil, my Australian Built( T.J. Richards, Adelaide Sth Australia) 1940 Dodge is a D15 D,"Luxury Liner", Plymouth body, Dodge grille, hood side moldings, Dodge RHD dash, Plymouth chassis, fenders,hood, head & tail lights, bumpers, doors, leather seats, cloth doors, 3 interior lights(both pillars and above rear seat), adjustable front door armrests, dual electric wipers......an oz bitza........bitza this and bitza that.....then I got it & HOTRODDED IT !!........lol.........andyd

I got a pair of Loctite cans on special a while ago when I was trying to get my Water Tube outa the block............froze the crap outa everything but still didn't help to get the tube out.......with whats left I now use it to chase the cockroaches that inhabit my garage........lol..........I'm a cruel bastard.............lol.........oh and I still use the coldie holder that came with the cans, it keeps the beer nice & cold.........andyd

I have had a 318 Poly in my 1940 Dodge for over 30 yrs, good engine BUT parts are getting hard to find, expensive and unless you absolutely MUST have a 318 Poly then I'd get a LA series 318/340/360.....parts cheaper, the Late A sreies engine is physically smaller, parts cheaper, good range of speed equipement still available and plentiful, parts cheaper...........did I mention parts are cheaper.......lol.......serously tho' the LA series is a much better bet in my opinion.......andyd

Happy New Year from sunny Sth Grafton NSW Australia.......anyone with spare snow is welcome to send it down here.......at 10.30 last night, Jan 1st, it was 38 degrees C..........100 F.....................I am a small puddle.....lol..........andyd

It seems a bit of a long shot, but the Australian Export Plymouth based Dodge in 1940 was the D15, I think it also had some use in canada......My 1940 Australian Dodge Sedan is a D15 model, its stamped into the top of the Oz passenger side firewall, D15D 475, .......but as I removed the original engine 35 yrs ago I can't say if anything D15 is on the block........andyd

Keith, those Sumitomo tyres look good, can you confirm for me whether they are radial or crossply tyres.....also do they have any part number or other numbers on them?......am trying to find them here in Australia, they look like just what I want......also what is the width of the whitewall?.......what rims are you mounting them on?.......thanks, Andy Douglas.

DB, I suppose that the simplest update is to get a complete original overdrive outa a car, but it seems that the chances of getting a good working/serviceable one with everything is not the good and even the original ones seem to have their limitations, one of which is that at the very least they are over 50yrs old now, with all the hassles of getting parts, etc, but they are used still quite successfully, .......on the other hand I like the idea of the T5 gearbox in that its a late model, ie, 1980-90's, parts etc are still around, its an internal overdrive in that it doesn't require electric solenoids to operate it, it will take as much power that a sidevalve 6 can ever be expected to generate and its a relatively straight forward adaption, at least from what I've read and seen.......I am in Australia and ALL T5's used over here have the shifter on the rear of the taishaft extension so are not good to use in a bench seat setup which is what I have, so I have imported an S10 T5 from California and intend to either adapt it myself or used one of the adaptors available ex USA, either way it seems like the way to go, the only downsides that appear are that you then need to install a later diff as the change of the mopar gearbox means that you loose the original mopar tailshaft handbrake so thats why the diff swap, drum to drum must occur..........theres an adaptor made by a guy named Paul Curtis, I think Tom Langdom also does one, Wilcap engineering do a few autobox adaptors, and there a couple of guys on this site that do them I think.......e anyway my long term aim is to get the T5 on , hopefully soon.........regards, andyd in Oz

The best spray on type chrome finish is Alclad 11 Chrome paint, bar none, I own a hobby shop, www.scaleautomobilia.com.au and have been building models for 40+ yrs, Alclad is available at hobby shops, there is about 20 different metalizers, most of which suit aircraft/military modellers, however the Chrome finish is as close to chrome plating you will find......it is available in small bottles and spray cans.....it is sprayed in one or 2 mist coats over a Gloss enamel base coat, the gloss enamel provides a reflective shine over which the Alclad Chrome paint effectively changes to a chrome like shine, it is better than any other sprayed on finish.......the only downside is that it may not be up to being used in areas subject to handling such as dash knobs.....it can be sprayed with clear however this tends to dull the chrome shine.......trust this helps, andyd