Lumpy

Yep I think the hardtail went out in the early 1950's. !!!! I'm a bit behind the times. I'm not sure how to comment on the split-tail....going to leave that one alone...other than to say that they are the most dangerous, and expensive. k.

Interior would be nice. Lumpy has no door panels, or headliner, carpet is bit's and peices that used to be in people's living rooms, rear seat has a "Southwest" type blanket on it and front seats are some nice buckets I found at the junkyard. Lumpy don't care and I enjoy her just the way she is. But...I'd like to have a nice interior. !!! k.

Oil pressure switch and push button sounds like the way to go. At the moment I still have the Cremation Special set-up. Lucky for me I don't have a cat. Builtfercomfort have you ever hit a bad chuck-hole or speed bump and had it switch off/trip? ken

I think you need a backwards cam shaft to run the engine backwards. Some dual engined boats are set up that way, so that the screws turn in different directions and the boat will go straight. Or I guess you could put the carb on the end of the exhaust pipe. Three speeds and 65mph in reverse...that sounds interesting. You'll need a windshield wiper on the rear window. Wouldn't switching the grounds back and forth be hard on the Voltage Regulator? Seems like I hooked an electric fuel pump backwards once, and it ran backwards. I'm not too sure that's good for them. k.

Indeed, location has a lot to do with it. I live in a rural area, outside of a small city, so I really never have to get on the freeway, and if I do it's just for a short hop. Mostly I have nice paved rural roads, secondary highways, etc. that go all over the place, the state, and the state next door. (Idaho) Idaho drivers also seem to be slower drivers than Washington state. On the other hand, if one lives in a large city, the choice is between the freeway (where 75 is the norm these days) or stop light to stop light street driving. I can see where, in that situation, our cars could leave something to be desired. ken.

I've become pretty good at dodging them. (ha! "Dodge", get it?) I have an old rigid frame motorcycle, and you REALLY don't want to hit a bad pot-hole with that. !!! k.

I'm thinking that if it runs good, been driving it, someone must have changed it over. I'm not sure what happens when you hook a battery up backwards, but it can't be good. Would the starter work? I don't understand electrics all that well, but I don't see any reason to change it back. ? ken.

It did cross my mind that it could be in a container and headed overseas...didn't consider Mexico. But that's a very real possibility, as it is more difficult to part out, or paint and resell something like that on a local level. I love my three on the tree so much that it keeps me from swapping in any other transmission...or engine/tranny combo. !!! For me, it's just a big part of Lumpy's charm. ken.

Ha, crawled under and noticed that my rubber bumps are gone...didn't really notice when I did the springs. Looks like I only have (did not measure, just guessing) about 4-4.5" of suspension travel, which sounds minimal, but I've driven it quite a bit and it does not bottom out. I suppose if I abused it it would, but I don't abuse Lumpy. Back in the day, when Lumpy was new, I know the roads were really bad, and a LOT of suspension travel was probably pretty important. I think she's good for today's roads, and the gentle way that I drive the old gal. If I do hit a super bad pot-hole or fly over a speed bump at 45mph, I don't think it will hurt anythng, just mostly make a lot of noise and SOUND like I hurt something. ?? ken.

Sounds good to go! Enjoy. ken.

I would vote for some taller tires. It sure wouldn't hurt. Taller tires sure look better. My car loves 50mph, feels fine at 55, and that's where I usually drive it. If I do have to get on the freeway for a short hop, it will do 65 okay, but the revs are getting up there. Really the only time I drive it 60 or faster is if I have traffic behind me. After a while I'll pull over and let it go by, and then go back to a nice 50mph cruise. It is a matter of perception. Sometimes Lumpy's engine seems to be winding at 55, but other days she'll feel sweet at 60, and other days 45 is what feels right. All things considered, I think these cars like to be in the 55mph zone. ken.

I hope you have the fun of driving it home. ken.

Gas Guzzler? The flat six does not get bad gas mileage as far as I can tell. I think it will be a little more difficult than normal to sell off the parts, especially if the owner does his homework and notifies anyone in the state that has anything to do with classic cars. When a gold '41 Dodge fender shows up on ebay, someone should notice. Or not. Some bone head teenager probably has it hidden in his garage, and now has no idea what to do with it. k.

So....how did the Blue Desoto powered Plymouth get to it's new home? ken.

The "10" refers to the weight, and the "40", refers to, that it is supposed to flow like a 40 weight oil when hot, because of the addition of additives that do that. But keep in mind that the additives that do that, increase the viscosity when hot, break down pretty quick. If you are adding STP that is good. I feel better now. A fresh engine will do okay with 10 weight oil, and you can get away with thin oil, but the thinner the oil, the less shear strength you have. Shear strength is what keeps metal from meeting metal. Synthetic oils have greater shear strength, and that's where you can get away better with running thin oil. Thin oil works okay in engines that are built to very close tolerances...not so good in 1940's technology engines. But we all have our preferences, and what makes sense to me, might not make sense to another, and visa versa. !! In the past, I have bought many used cars that smoked and had quite a bit of blow by, drained out the 10w40, replaced with Castrol 30wt, and the smoking and blow by magically disappeared. !!! Your results may vary!! ken

Not trying to start an Oil War, but I think your engine would be more happy with at least a 20wt oil, and more happy still with a straight 30wt. I think, or believe, that you will be seeing more blow by and fumes with such a light oil. I run 20-50wt synthetic oil in Lumpy, and that's a pretty much freshly broken in engine. If I didn't believe in synthetic, I would run straight 30wt. (I haven't kept track of the mileage) I'd not use 10wt oil in anything but a low mileage, new car. I don't think 10wt oil will prolong it's life very well....it does not have much shear strength. You might want to put a pint of STP in the poor old girl. Just my opinion, feel free to ignore, or tell me I'm nutz...!! Having thrown all that negativity at you....I'm glad you are keep her on the road, and having fun with her. !! ken.

Not a problem, lower A-arm swings way down, and the springs just come right out, lots of room. k.

I will crawl under and see...as I didn't take note of that. Might have been afraid to look! However, I've driven it a bit since, and it's going over the dips and bumps same as ever, it is not bottoming out. And again, handling has improved, not that the car did not handle good before. Less body roll/sway, and feels "crisp" now. I think the Fat Man is the better way to go for sure. I don't doubt that if you have the extra time and money, one should go with dropped spindles, with a complete kit such as the Fat Man. I think the second best way is using shorter springs made especially for the car, third best probably using new springs, made for another car but of the right length, and fourth cutting old weak and worn out (!!!) coils that will then be further stressed, and wind up with a strange and weak spring rate that is not going to ride good. !!! Lowering the lower spring perch would also make sense, and shouldn't decrease the distance between the bump-stop and the frame. ?? ken.

Man....if only those garage floors could talk. What stories they could tell. ken.

Well I've come to beat my dead horse some more. Indeed, too much carb(s) won't feel much, if at all, stronger than a properly sized single carb. Two SMALLER than stock carbs will give you more performance, or the increase in performance that you probably expected. (and better gas mileage) I don't think it was a lack of exhaust flow that gave you disappointing results with the two stock carbs. Again, if you had run two smaller than stock carbs, but which together had some more CFM than the single stock carb, you would still have them on the engine. Just my opinion. !!! ken

Probably a carb/accelerator pump issue, but bad timing will "enhance" a bog, if you will. !! You can set your timing by just getting a fairly fast idle, just play with it, then road test it, if it pings, just turn it back a little at a time until it does not ping, then throw in a couple more degrees for good measure. Well....works for me anyhow. Having only set your static timing, it is probably quite retarded. Doesn't one usually soak the plunger in gas? I always have. In this case it will soak in the carb, unless the check ball isn't there. But yes, it will swell up a bit better if you soak it when it's out of the carb. Also, those carbs usually have a "summer" and "winter" setting for the pump-shot. Usually three settings I believe. Do you have it on the one that gives the strongest shot? Sure wish I had a straight eight, I think they are too kool. With such a long intake manifold, I wonder if the eight is more prone to bog and stall, the mixture has to go a long way until it hits the cylinders on the ends of the motor. I'm thinking that dual carbs would be especially useful on the Eight. Good luck. ken.

Just a block of wood and a bottle jack. On the driver's side I had my son help me line the bolts up as I raised the lower a-arm, but he was busy when I got to the passenger side, so I found I was able to just use my foot and leg to position it as I raised it with the jack. ken.

I'm not sure if there is a Plymouth in Washington State, but there is a Dodge down towards Oregon and the Blue Mountains....I guess me and Lumpy better take a road trip! Real nice secondary and back roads down there. ken.

Absolutely. I wonder if there's one for mute women. k.

The little buggers here dug under the fence....and the wife was getting lazy and not locking up the chicken house at night. Do'H!! But they haven't been back since, (that I know of) so before we get the next batch of chickens in we will raccoon proof the fence. Our chicken house is very over-built, so I think it would take a while for them to go through a wall, though I don't doubt that they could given enough time. However, we are keeping a much better watch now, and Mister .22 Hornet is itching to get some revenge on the raccoons. !!! ken