falconvan

Here we go; first real work in a year. I put a new inner and outer patch panel on the other side last year; now it's time for this side. Here's the old stuff cut out, new inner panel, and some rust inhibitor applied. Next we'll paint inside the panel and put the outer patch on.

Wow; that guy has more $$$$ than I ever dreamed of! Outstanding work but a little out of my league. Maybe someday.......

I havent done my Plymouth yet but I just used some from JC Whitney like these on a 1972 AM General step van. Worked out just fine.

I hate to say it but I dont think that's too bad; I think I saw them for $400+ a few years ago.

Makes perfect sense to me; cars like these become family members and can stay with you for a generation. I know a guy with a 55 Buick that has been in his family since new and been redone a few times.

Not sure on the front but I picked up a wraparound rear seat from a 64 T-Bird and it fit perfect wall to wall.

Very nice! What did the underside look like after being sunk up to the frame for that long?

Hey guys, It's been a long time since I've been on here but I'm finally getting back to work on the Plymouth. I've been finishin another project for the last year but it's done so I decided to unbury the Plymouth and get it and the garage ready to resume. I took Monday off after working almost 80 hours last week and decided to hit the garage hard. 14 hours later its looking pretty good; I rolled the body and chassis out and blew off a ton of dust along with pulling everything away from the walls and sweeping and vacuuming up all the dust. Also hauled off a big load of more junk. It looks so much better and I think I'm ready to start getting back on this thing in a few weeks. Not much spare time around the holidays but at least it's clean and organized enough to be able to work.

Good advice, Tim. Thanks!

I'm installing one of Fatman's setups on my 48 Plymouth as we speak; I've got the dropped spindles and disc brakes on but I need to pick up the tie rods for the rack so i can locate the frame brackets in the right place. I'll let you know how it comes out.

Wish we could come, Tim. Somehow showing up in the minivan wouldn't feel right and the car is probably a year or two away from moving on it's own. I would like to meet and cruise with all you guys someday. That's some great looking iron in those pictures.

Looks like a good start, Joe. What color are you going with?

Thanks Norm. Mine's more of a street rod so I think I'll just go without. I didn't want to weld the fenders on, the seam doesn't bother me.

Has anyone just skipped the welting altogether or is that doable?

Thanks; good info. They sure liked their dark colors back then, didn't they?

I wish; my wife and I are just looking at colors. I'm going to try and hit it hard over the fall and winter and be ready for paint by next summer. We were looking at maroon but lately it seems like every other street rod at the local car shows is painted maroon. I like to keep a stock looking outer appearance so I thought I'd see what some of the factory colors were.

I picked up the 700 R4 transmission for the Plymouth from the shop; they built it with heavy duty internals, one of TCIs new constant pressure valve bodies, and a 2200 stall. he said it should be good for 500 hp which should be plenty. Next step is to redo the rack and pinion setup. I had a chassis shop look at it and tell me it wouldn't work the way I had it. They said it would have a bad bumpsteer problem so I went back to Fatman's Fabrications and got their mounts for a Cavalier rack. Then we can plumb the brake and fuel lines and get the drivetrain set in place. And clean off the 2" of dust, of course.

Anyone know what the factory P15 color options were in 46-48?

Years ago we built cars to go to carshows that were 20 or 30 miles away so it didn't matter if it ran and drove like late 1940's cars did. Nothing against originality but 1940 technology is going to drive like 1940 technology. I enjoy driving across a few states to a weekend show and driving home before work on Monday. So a 4000+ lb car with no A/C, crappy brakes, loose steering, and 90 horsepower that tops out at an RPM screaming 65 miles an hour in just not an option for a long trip. It takes a lot of years of car work to be skilled enough to build something that uses technology from different manufacturers and make a well built street machine. That's nothing to be pissed at someone about.

I think that would make a great cruiser; very unusual swap that will get a lot of attention.

.....and here's the last few. Also, here's a shot of the finished motor and a shot of my grandson pushing me on his bike. I told him I was too big but he insisted. Grandkids are great!

A few more.......

I havent updated this in a while; I gave myself a fathers day present and put a few hours into the Plymouth. I had patch panels for behind the doors so I got the right side changed along with the inner support. It was nice to see some progress, it's been a while.

It's all your guys fault that the prices are going up; nobody cared about the old Mopars until this forum started!

Nice, but $11K??? Good thing Craigslist ads are free; he needs to check the market value. I looked at a decent one in Belleville, Il about 6 months ago for $4,500 that the guy swore he wouldn't move on the price. I think it's still sitting there.