Grdpa's 50 Dodge

I never had the privilge of owning fuzzy dice cause I was told they cost too much. I was more worried about baling wiring another tin can over the new hole in the muffler. IF I had a pair of Coatneys version and my grandkids jumped in the car and said whats those Grandpa???? As he suffers from a sudden onset sunburn. lol, But Don, I like them none the less. Do you give grand kids rides? Have they asked?

Did you go in and ask what they are paying for scrap iron today in your best blonde moment voice???

Other thing comes to mind is IF you have any clearance lights out it probably isnt a pay ticky. BUT hook that same pickup to ANY trailer and you instantly become a commercial vehicle. You have one bulb out of anything and its pay time. Around here pickups did or did not come with cab clearance lights/ aka here called Hillbilly Lights (NO disrespect intended,just what they are called). If truck never had them, then ok. If it has them they all better be working. The DOT loves to pick on farmers and trailers cause farmers dont pay attention to weighs or plated weght so they are easy picking. By the time they run thru everything it gets expensive for like an old beater truck with a broken spring or three, sporatic blinkers, clearance, license lights , a tail light or two. When they are out in the sandhills and meet less than 5 cars all day and 4 know him and his vehicles from a mile. Some of those trucks dont steer till a half a round of slop first.

The way it could be too bright is if the reflector to aim light at plate is broke. I have been profiled a half dozen times. Having to go to work back then at 4 AM to 4.30 AM they thought I was going home probably drunk. They would walk up to the car, see my blue vest that was VERY distinctive (Worked at Mennards then. They would see vest, mumble something like your going to work arent you. SEE YA!!! All their high class reasons for stopping me all went away in a flash. Most didnt even ask for license,regist. or insure. Once they stopped me for tires on white dotted line turning in a double turn lane. Didnt know when your the only car it made a difference when there was two cars on whole street. He didnt even write a warning,sez hurry off to work. I have never driven on the line again

Nice, does that have a definite pattern for install or random like it falls out of the box?

I dont know where your from but it WILL sneak up on you in 100 plus temps or heat index. Rodding the core at a radiator shop is excellent advice. They boil the whole thing in a tank of stuff that smells awful for days on end. They unsolder the top and bottom tanks OFF the core. And take a metal brush and push it thru like a bottle brush. THEN he solders the tanks back on . BIGGEST and most important is pressure testing it and fixing minor leaks. If the tank or core is rotted out from the inside and cant be fixed,,,leads to more discussions and pricing of options. Hard to find the good old shops but there has to be a few. The tubes they rod are those running up and down inside that honey comb fins. Dont look at the fins but what is inside them. On vapor lock they sell a nice asbestoes sleeve at Advanced or Autozone. If you can find one that snaps on you dont have to take lines loose.

Nothing I would like better than doing it all myself. Thats why I am looking for a house near to my kids and grandkids and LOOKING for a 3 or 4 car garage or bigger. My kids think I am nuts, just get RID of all that old junk. I wish to be nearer so I can make all their ball games and recitals etc. I was thinking that working in the garage every day would be the best therapy and increase my endurance some. Right now I cant walk a block with either my hips burning or back says sit down or fall down. FIRST thing going in any new to me garage is going to be a big screen TV and a good stereo. Second thing in the door is Grandpa's 50 Dodge. I guess I was just struck with sticker shock on the 125-150 K number he was throwing. In my mind, uneducated as it is, thinking 50K was going to get me along way, but I guess I am too old school. Better get started I guess, first is getting off a film of sand kicked up from a sand road in the spring when its really soft. It is stuck like iron on the firewall engine compartment. Also paint color was that deep dark blue. Was that Midnight Blue or did I imagine that??? Is that available in a rattle can for engine bay? This car has 54 or 58K miles on it first time around so not quite junk yet or doesnt need frame off to be a good driver yet. From what I have seen is it does NOT have any issues with rust on floor pans or trunk floor. My biggest hang up is going to be minor body work and painting the outside that it will really need. Engine just had fresh rebuild and ready to go in. What would clean the sand off and where to get rattle can color for engine bay?

I have had where the coil spark faded away as it built up heat. Had condensor fail too.

My health hasnt gotten an iotta better. I feel my timeclock ticking. I WANT to drive it before I die. I dont have a garage to work in, SOOOOOO today researched a bit and found what I consider a good resto shop. I emailed and he called right back. Not seeing it he was making a SWAG guess but said easy to get to $125,000 with 60-70K of that parts. Anything can and will take it much higher. Maybe he was talking 'perfect' 'show winner' and I was talking good driver. IDK. But one thing for sure is if any shop says they can do that for 50K total run dont walk. Was watching Velocity Sunday and there was a guy who had a painted car go shop to shop 3 times (Why painted first, dont know) and a truck load of parts bins out of this car and a parts car . When that new shop (Velocity subject) unpacked all the parts there was only enough parts for about a 30% of 1 car. Stuff like seats, suspension,gauge innards were ALL gone. Like the shops needed a part or sold some off and used this guys over 5 year time AND charged him 80K to do it to him. He loaded up the car and parts and said it will have to wait. What a deal killer that would be. I guess I am house hunting some harder. I was thinking of buying a cheap house and fixing some as well as build a 3 or 4 car garage. Where I am moving is real small lots, close together so cant drive past house to backyard makes it tough. And steep up and down hills dont either. We will see,

Would you be able to put a ordinary Omaha Standard box on it? You could haul your pigs and cows to market in it. Have to put the tarp on it to haul your chickens tho. d ; ~ ) .

Cant buy a decent peach from a grocery store here. I call them cardboard peaches since cardboard eating would taste better. They are hard as a rock and never ripen no matter what you do. Have to get Colorado peaches from a roadside stand. And they are really expensive but great tasting. Never get past the stands at the right time. Problem is the last few I have eaten gave me undesirable side effects of not going further from the throne as I can see. NOTHING else does that but fresh peaches. I dont have that with peaches in a can.

I recall driving to Corpus Christie Texas from Nebraska in 1955 in a 51 Plymouth Cranbrook 2 door with 6 of us in the car. The first day we drove to Oklahoma City. Driving into it during night time hours and seeing those huge stacks in the air on fire burning off the excess gasses from refining crude to gasoline. Second day we drove and drove and drove across Texas. Didnt think we would ever get there. Texas was extremely huge in the two lane highway days. I recall sleeping on the big floor boards. Now some relatives from East of Dallas was here and they headed home in the afternoon in 2 or 3 vehicles and was driving straight thru on the interstate and they said they would be home in not many hours. Thank goodness for 4 lanes and interstate They promised us a 4 lane all the way to Omaha by late 80's. It is only half done at this point 30 years later. They are talking of starting another section next year, we will see. I always hoped to see this road done by the end of my lifetime. Not going to make it.

Mack, You got a whole dollar per hour? I worked at the local Phillips 66 and all I got was 75 cents an hour. I always got a kick out of those that stopped in for a dollars worth of gas, wash my windows and check the oil please. And that left front leaky tire needs air.

MISTER COATNEY,,,,,,HOW RUDE!!! I resemble that remark.

What kind of siding did you use? Vinyl, steel. alum.,or other?

Most doors sag down with age. Hinges and bushings wear. You can get the door to work flawlessly again with a basic tool. About a 3' 2 X 4. Butt end over the thresh hold and middle under door. Gentle adjustments please, it moves easier than you think. You can correct a twisted door also (IF it doesnt seal on top) Stick block the bottom and push on top. Sounds terrible but it works.

I have found in cases where the outer diameter of the seal is 'loose' and not a tight fit the afore said fixes may work. I myself would use the bubblegum and baling wire method OF--- wrapping the necessary layers of an aluminum pop can to make it a good tight fit and take a socket that just fits the inside diameter and tap it in place, tapping all around the edge at once so it went in even. If you see one side lagging catch it up and keep even as possible. Key word is copious 'tapping',,,NOT wailing it in. If it is all bent and crooked go buy another seal.

Local Blacksmith is an expert at welding a nut on even a flush break. He reaches inside the nut and welds it to the stud,lets it cool a bit and screws it out. If not the first time the second or third time. If there is enough shaft to pound on it to break rust that usually works for me. Pound and vise grip it out. Or weld next size up and weld good. Then a little pound and turn the nut. Bend the welding rod if it fits better

These guys are from center of North Dakota. Looks like their "Hit and Miss" is a bit bigger than a wash machine motor. We had a Maytag motor in the garage and think I spent half my childhood kicking that pedal down hoping it would fire up, never did tho.

I also belong to another site. Their are two retired brothers in North Dakota or Montana that constructed their own chopper with Ape Hangers and all, Powered by a hit and miss engine. They take it to car shows and have a lot of fun 'cruising' around with it. If I can find a pic and get it transferred over here I will. It had car tires on the back. They are creator guys just like you

Watching Live PD every week and one of the most common reason for getting pulled over, getting paperwork checked and car shook down for contraband IS the license plate light is out. As one practical thinking what is the issue? The policeman is always parked right behind with enough lighting to blind anyone, can plainly see them unless mudded over. What earthly purpose is the license plate light?

Back in the 60's I drove my 50 Plymouth 150 miles out in the sandhills to work on a ranch out there. Got stranded in the boonies when the carb didnt get enough gas flow. The rubber hose right before the pump let go on the inside and plugged her down to a trickle. That was pre cell phones, no neighbors, sort of scary out there broke down. Dont recall where I got the new one but it ran ever since. My point is rubber hoses can LOOK good on outside and crap inside. Especially since ethanol was added to ALL gas as an oxegenator, but most people run the low mix of it because of the price difference. THIS also apply s to brake lines. IF you enter the line pressure such as changing calipers or wheel cylinders you Better change the hose ( S )

For those guys trying to get LED tail light bulbs to WORK . I used to hold the counter up professionally ( that means I got 8 peanuts per hour). People would come in one after the other and buy led sidelights , brake, tail, and turn bulbs and they could never get them to work When you asked if they put that modulator in their system when they installed the led's you get this blank stare. Its a small piece you HAVE to use because the LED's dont draw enough power to make everything work. With the balancer, module wired anywhere in that circuit it works every time. IF anyone NEEDS the Autozone part number I can easily get that. But it is hanging right there where the bulbs are. If you already knew all this sorry, will delete if it suits everyone. But that is the MOST common problem when LED's get installed after regular bulbs. Not an Autozone plug, all other stores will have similiar products,just have to KNOW what you need. I know where they are if they havent moved them in a little over a year since I have been there

I recall taking my 5 kids and myself to Royals games ( think we got 3 games in a few days for less than $10 bucks a seat just past first base half way up. I thought they were good seats. You think baseball seats are high just price some Vikings or Bears tickets. I looked late last year and it sticker shocked me into next year. I checked into some drag tics for the big boys while they were in Kansas which is still a long drive. They were like 500 a day. You never go alone so your at $1000 and then gas and room and your at 1200 or more and 3 days is about right , I stayed home and watched TV.