Ulu

I well remember "plugging in the cars" at night when we lived on the bases of NORAD's Pinetree Line. This line of radar sites ran along the US/Canadian border. In the middle of the cold War, we were stationed at a cold radar base, 60 miles up the road past Frostbite Falls, Minnesota. (I went to Lake of the Woods H.S.in Baudette & we were never required to attend school on days colder than 30 below zero. The school couldn't get the buses going then & couldn't afford to run them all night either.) Dad was on call at the radar base most nights. His car HAD to start even when it was -40 or worse. You never knew when the Russian missiles would show up on the radar, but unidentified stuff was always showing up. The place went on alert status frequently. We had heater hose "tank" heaters on all the cars, plus electric heaters inside the car to pre-warm the interior: Especially important when you have a Scout with no insulation in the body at all. Dad's Scout got parked outside 24/7/365, as did Mom's Mercury, because there was always a project car in the garage. That Scout also had an electric blanket around the battery and a heat lamp under the steering gear. Dad parked on top of the snowbank that was our front yard, and he kept the transfer case in neutral so he could get the trans oil moving & warmer, before trying to shift the gears. This is the Arctic Jeep heater we were fitting when the USAF decided to send us somewhere warmer. I still have most of the kit. It runs on gasoline, has a sparkplug to light it off, and a blower motor for a 24 volt system. Not shown are the various hoses, duct & heat deflectors for the Jeep, which were pirated for other purposes over the years.

I've done it both ways, depending on what part I'm replacing. It's not that hard on the P-15's

That big hub puller is the one for my Scout. I have one I built for the Plymouth, but it's not in sight presently. I'll dig it up sometime.

Carlin Mfg, a local catering truck co, built one here in Fresno in '95. My ex-boss was a manager there. Harry Bradley designed it, famous for designing Hot Wheels cars & a few customs/protos.

I had to empty a couple drawers to photo this stuff: The hub puller, probably from J.C. Whitney: Old wrenches from the swap meet. A couple no-name distributor wrenches, then the biggest is a Vlchek (Cleveland, Ohio), then going down, a Williams Superwrench, a Barcalo (Buffalo, NewYork) & a Plomb (Los Angeles) The Indestro & Napa I bought new. Oldest wrenches. No idea about the big one. the smaller is a U.S.S. wrench, perhaps from Williams ?, which is marked with the size of the appropriate bolt diameter, not the nut size. Various pullers and presses & a tailpipe expander: (Oops...tailpipe expander is in the first pic.)

Wow! I finally found the time to read through this whole thread, and you guys have some strange, old, and wonderful tools that I've never laid eyes on. I won't post pics of my pedestrian Craftsman ratchets and wrenches, but I do have a few strange bits. The cobblers last, from Sears: Dad's vise from circa 1961, also from Sears: Strange aluminum clamp with handle. Probably for moving boxes of fruit. No-name 1960's bushing driver set, from J.C.Whitney: K-D tubing bender & old tire chain pliers.

I have a pretty nice old crusty one, that I believe is from Dad's '53 Pontiac. The tip is brass & the shaft & head are chrome plated. The sticker reads, 115 v 650 watt Engine Heater Phillips Mfg Co. Minneapolis, Minn There is a sleeve & coupling-nut adjuster with it, presumably because it's a "universal" length, with adapters included. This looks like it would fit in an OHV head too. It stuck up well above the flathead 6.

The dent knocker attachment I welded up for my slide hammer:

Changing the tire with home made oak tire "irons" so I don't scratch the mag wheel.

LOL...amazingly enough I still own one of these, with 3 sizes of last, which my father bought in the 50's. I've used it more than once to fix my motorcycle boots, which now sport some impressive hob nails.

That's how I do mine too. Rolling jack under the a-frame pivot bar, & remove the 4 nuts. As I'm taking the bolts out, I stick a long tapered punch or screwdriver in the holes to keep them aligned until all 4 bolts are out. then it comes right down. I recently took my suspension off that way, & it worked even with the engine & front end stripped off as you see it here; but I stood on the front cross member for ballast as I was working the jack. LOL

Oh, Germany, huh? I missed that fact. That does put a whole different perspective on the issue.

I've seen a number of P-15s with Olds style grilles and I didn't like any of them. IMO it always looks totally odd, where the Plymouth "nose" hits the top of the Olds grille surround "lip"

The Special Deluxe Club Coupe was by far the most popular P-15, as I recall. They are very roomy inside for a 2-door car, easily taking 6 adults. I love mine & I've had it 30+ years. Since they are less rare than the Business Coupe, and since the Business Coupes are somewhat sought after for building retro gassers, you should be able to find someone to trade straight across for one in similar condition. Personally I don't much like the 2-door or 4-door sedan bodies on the P-15. All that body makes the nose look too small IMO. Edith d' Plymouth getting stripped:

All the rubber stuff I bought from Bernbaum fit OK but except for the driveshaft boots, didn't seem to last too long. My car was a daily driver though. And I bought the stuff 30+ years ago, so perhaps they've improved. Pedal pads, draft stops, grommets, boots, wing seals, brake seals, 6 wheel cylinders, windshield gasket, suspension bushings, tie rod ends, trans parts kit, wheel bearings, brake shoes, and more...I spent a bundle at Andy's.

My engine hoist & first major welding project. I built this for my dad when I was about 17 (1972). Everything but welding rods, jack & wheels was USAF surplus stuff we got free at the Hill AFB Auto Hobby Shop. This is a torch set I bought cheap at auction ($80) Here it is all cleaned up, with new hoses & my custom-built hose rack attachment.

Look at the tires first. Make sure none of them are starting to split, delaminate, or bulge. When any of these start, the car will begin to wobble or handle funny. second, I would certainly jack up the front and see if the kingpins are loose. Just 0.010" slop in one kingpin will make your Plymouth handle like a shopping cart with a bent caster: all over the road. Of course all the front end joints warrant inspection whenever the car wanders, but just from my experience, the kingpin clearances are very easy to damage.

Eh? Well we had fun anyhow. I would think about changing the title but I hate to open a can of worms. Since the number it's titled to is the frame number too, I don't see any issues myself.

OK I had a good time sanding the frame but I did indeed find frame numbers on the frame, in the same spot as shown on the Chrysler above. The frame reads: P15 433184 and that's the only number shown on my title except the document number. The Briggs body number is 502-LA A-8621 It's embossed on a brite-dipped tin tag on the cowl, right above the steering column. & that's also the number I found chalked on the body, under the paint, on a hidden area of the cowl. But there is also a flat, un-embossed, plain galvanized tin tag on the driver's A-post, which occupies the same spot as the courtesy light switch on the passenger's side, being directly below the top hinge pocket. It was flat, unadorned, and unmarked except for the number 25023808. I assume that's the Plymouth assembly sheet number.