Lumpy

I was put in a replica Blues Mobile, in the middle of a shopping mall. ??? k.

Oh no! How did the old girl fall into such disrepair? Lumpy is a '48 D24, but it's the 2-door sedan. That's a nice looking coupe. Sometimes I wish Lumpy was a coupe, other times...not. !!! I see yours has the clock. Mine has the clock "blank". ken.

Your logic us utterly indisputable. k.

Before the BMW Neon I used to have a 1970 Duster with the 198 slant six. Someone gave it to me (already in full on beater mode) because it had a short that would drain the battery, and they could not find it, and nobody they knew could find it. So, I just eliminated sections of the wiring harness until no more short, then wired in toggle switches to work the wipers, ignition, heater, etc. Lights still worked, but I had to "recreate" the charging system, complete with an amp gauge....under the hood on the fender well. !!!! Well you know how they have those nice flat fender wells. Anyhow, drove that to work for years and loved it. It had "charm". The 198 was smooth as silk, and just sipped the gas. The thing was "once white" with a green driver's side door. The shifter did not match the trans, and it had this weird reversed shift pattern, (3-speed on the floor) and no one could have stolen it, as the shift pattern made no sense. Eventually that 198 racked up some insane amount of mileage, and she just got to smoking too much, and I parked her. Just last year I gave it to a high school student who is now, with the help of his dad, making a nice first car for the kid. The body was straight, and no rust. Now I only have an eight mile drive to work, so really I can rotate the vehicles pretty much, take Lumpy often, or ride a motorcycle to work, or even drive the pick-em-up once in a while without breaking the bank. Don't need a dedicated beater so much, but the Neon is the go to work car in the winter and bad weather. When I have to go to Spokane to pick up something, or chase parts, and can't haul the booty home on a motor bike, really I like taking the Bug for that kind of stuff. ken.

WOW dlrides...!! I have a UL also. 1937. Outstanding! Built mine from parts, started February 2013, finished January 2014. Have 650 miles on it at the moment. Flatheads forever!

Although I should warn you, it's the only BMW Neon in existence. Very rare car.

1996 Dodge Neon. !!! 'nuff said! ken.

This is true, but my desire for a different grille does not outweigh my laziness, which would prevent me from actually doing it unless it was somewhat painless. In other words I'm not highly motivated to do it...but would kind of sort of like to. ken.

I got the impression that perhaps the left rear, and the right front tires were spinning, as a 4X4 will do with open differentials. In that case, without real good tires a 4X4 just remains a 4X2, which I guess is better than a 4X2 with an open differential, which becomes a 4X1 in slick conditions. ?? But yeah...if he'd just kept up his speed, he would have gone through the little mud puddle, and got home to the wife/girlfriend/mistress/baby sitter much sooner. Unloading horses, hitching them up to harness, un-harness, re-load them...that had to take a while. ken.

Excellent. She looks very much like Lumpy, they would look good together going down the road. Love that grille. Are you sticking with stock wheels? And what was done to the bumpers? ken.

A grille is something I would keep, if I had the car to go with it...due to the Plymouthy theory of the hitch in the grille. A sound theory it is. I'd kind of like to have a Plymouth grille on my D24, I like them much better. Will the Plymouth cloaked Dodge (or was it visa versa) grille fit/work on a D24? Anyone know? Will any of the Plymouth grilles "fit" on a D24? Oh oh...I think this is called a hijack. !!!! ken

I used to fantasize about a straight eight, but it is too long for the six cylinder cars...two cylinders longer is quite a bit. (and Lumpy don't need it anyhow) Of course, it "could be done", but would require some really major and creative modifications...possibly more difficult than a V8, V6 or slant six swap. I certainly concur however, that if a six cylinder car is not going to fill the bill, selling the Coupe and finding a straight eight car would be a good option, rather than hacking up a car that many people would be delighted with just the way it is. Or, finding a V8 swap car that's already been done might be a good option. Having said all that, I still endorse, encourage the R10 swap. All things considered I think that's the path of least resistance, and least $$$$$. k.

I'm perfectly happy with drum brakes, and I usually try to encourage people to just completely rebuild the drum brake system, rather than slapping on a set of discs. But I got to thinking that if the OP really desires to fly down the freeway at 75, or more on a regular basis, sooner or later a panic stop is going to happen. I mean, the odds go up. For those of us that keep it under 65, and more usually 50-55, or 60, a panic stop from 80mph is not very likely, and a drum brake system in good condition is fine. I'm thinking that finding a R10, paying the going price for it, and doing the work to put it in, or even paying someone to do it, will be an absolute picnic, and cheap, compared to the other options. I'm not sure what's involved with the Ranger 5-speed trans, but Horne sure does. That might be the way I'd go, if I was considering such a thing, but wouldn't because I'd lose my three-on-the-tree shift, which I think is half the charm of the car. I don't think the OP cares about that. If I came across a free or really cheap R10, I'd slap it in Lumpy just as an upgrade, and still have 3-on-da-tree. k.

I'm thinking easy, I have a 1964 New Yorker which I brought back from a dead engine-less hulk. I know nothing about convertible tops...those might not be easy. !!! k.

Sorry to keep posting so much discouragement. !!! Maybe a 1946 Plymouth is not a good "fit" for you. I'm thinking you'd be more satisfied with a mid to late 1950's car, or perhaps something in the 1960's. My '48 Dodge's "sweet spot" is around 55mph. It will do up to 65 just fine, but I only go 65 if I'm holding up traffic. Most of the highway speed limits around Spokane Washington are 55 to 60mph. The freeway as it goes through Spokane is only 60mph, and then picks up once it gets out of town. I consider myself very lucky in that respect. I don't think the real enjoyment of these cars comes from blasting down the freeway at 75mph (and in which case I would endorse disc brakes) or running a constant 3600rpm. I think that the back roads and secondary highways is where they shine. I drive my Dodge to enjoy it, not get from point A to point B at 75mph. If I want to do that, or just have the need for speed, I get on one of my motorcycles, or my 360 Dart. It's very likely that you live in a big city, in which case the freeway is not a great place to be in an old car, and stop light to stop light gets old pretty fast. I understand that...I grew up in L.A. Now even Spokane is too big for me, and I avoid going there as much as I can. But I know what it's like to be going 55-60mph on a freeway where traffic is moving at 80mph. Again, I'm assuming you must live in an area where stop light to stop light, or a congested freeway are your only options. I'm thinking that the R10 overdrive transmission would be the swap for you, and perhaps raising the rear gears a bit at the same time. ?? That would be somewhat simple, lots of guys on this forum that could walk you through it. And again, I think the drum brakes, when in perfect condition work fine, but in your case, if you are that serious about blasting along at 75mph in a 1946 Plymouth, you probably really want to put some disc brakes on the car, and there are also many on the forum that can walk you through that. Okay, sorry to be a big downer, but there's no simple, easy or cheap way to make a speed racer out of a 1946 Plymouth. k. k.

My post was to discourage, (!!!!) but I had my say, did my duty, and wish him luck if he decides to do this. Also, I thank the stars that we are talking 383 and not a you-know-what small block, LS6 (whatever that is) or whatever. But I will say that a 46 Coupe does seem like a car that some effort should be made to preserve, (and again I am not a resto-fanatic) especially drive-train wise. Shave the head, dual carbs, lower the front, disc brakes (I personally don't need them) then go for it! Those things can all be easily reversed years down the road. Since they don't make the 383 anymore, it's not like it will go to waste...put it up for sale and someone will want it. What does scares me is the "little experience" thing. I think that 98.3% of the time, that leads to a car that's taken apart, hacked up a bit, and that's the end of it...never to run again. Really, to get that done in a reasonable amount of time, one would need a lot of money, a lot of motivation, and a lot of fabrication skills and knowledge...not to mention a lot of weekends and time after work. Also lots of garage space, and a well equipped shop. One thing not asked of the original poster, which has a lot to do with it, is: "what condition is the car in now"?? If it's a total wreck, maybe the 383 idea is not so bad. If it's in reasonably good shape, then I think a rebuilt six with some wow-goodies, and some cosmetic work is truly the way to go. It could also be a money-maker, do that, flip it, and use the money to finance a 383 Dart or Duster (also a headache to plant a big block into) or 1960's Dodge pickup, or something like that. Maybe a late to mid-1950's car. ?? So, just a few extra thoughts, ideas. k.

I think these old cars like new springs. !!!! Lumpy sure drives and rides better since I got new ones. ken.

My '64 New Yorker does not have the tranny emergency brake, and I parted out a '63 Newport that didn't have it either. k.

Sure is, and that's what Lumpy likes best. That's when I truly enjoy the car. ken.

Lakota...that's not an INDIAN car is it? Wow, I really like the soup can, and the Don-Induction. I'm very glad Don's pipes aren't smoking. ken.

Sounds very right. Even that one time Lumpy got her hottest, she didn't boil over...I just shut her off before the gauge went too high, but I don't remember now how high it did go. Compression may have something to do with it, as Lumpy's is much higher than normal, or stock. Other than a parade situation, or the air show which was worse than a parade, she stays rock solid at 190 all the time, even going up hills. ken.

I was wondering if the flathead's chamber shape, and flame front, and all those strange and different flathead characteristics make it more sensitive, but my flathead motorcycle's engine really tolerates a lot of variation in the timing, and will usually start regardless of where the timing is, within reason...but probably more like a 20 degree "window" or more. Way too early and it will kick back, and of course ping badly under load, but otherwise fires up way advanced, or way retarded. ?? You really have to experiment with it to find the sweet spot...setting it "by the book" does not always work well. k.

I've had good luck running a 190. The heat gauge (aftermarket) stays pegged at....wait for it....190 degrees. My oil stays very clean, and Lumpy always runs like that old Swiss Watch. Now on a really hot day, like 90 degrees or more, if I get stuck in really bad traffic, she will eventually start to get hotter. I have considered switching to a 180 for that reason. But, that only happened once, at a Fairchild Air Force base air show, where all the cars leave at once...took over an hour, moving one car length at a time, to get off the base. Otherwise, I stay out of town, and the nearest city, Spokane, really rarely gets any kind of gridlock, hardly moving serious type traffic jams...if any, or of the kind that would send Lumpy into heat stroke...and again, even a small city is not where I enjoy driving Lumpy most, so it's not too hard to stay in the country on a hot day...or stay home! Or do something else. ken.

I got rebuild kits for my wheel cylinders (1948 D24) not too long ago at NAPA. Seems like I got a starter from NAPA once too. Kind of surprised me. k.

What is unreliable about a flathead six? ken.