adam_knox

I got the whole new wheel cylinder with rubber and spring from autozone for 32 bucks a piece ('cept rears were $50). Napa had the same set up for 46 bucks or something like that. I actually have a set of rebuild kits to go around the car, but just gonna save 'em till after I try honing them out.

Norm I''m planning on giving ya' jingle once I get the Chrys. fired up. We can get some breakfast at the famed place you mentioned and maybe get you to come down to the Southside for the Solid Gold McD's classic car night. I'd love to hit a car show, but work weekends... Was thinking about doing a Memorial Day Parade with the car, get some decent treats for the kids to have. Last parade I was at seemed like the little tykes were only getting stale bubble gum and politician's bumper stickers...

Yeah, this hobby unfortunately gives people the impression I like working on cars. They got it all wrong, I like driving may car. Its like cooking. Some people cook to cook. I cook to eat!

Well, I broke down and ordered all new wheel cylinders for the Chrys. Came to about $235 for all six cylinders. For some reason the rear cylinders were more expensive than the fronts (50 bucks a pop). My cylinders had a few spots of light rust indents. :(I called three shops with no luck at the moment on the boring kits. However, since I plan on keeping this car for the next 40 years, I figured I'll hopeful get to repair mine at a more leisurely pace, grease them, box 'em, and then have back-ups. After all, in 40 years from now the car will be 100 years old, and who knows how available parts are then! Anyways, just writing this so I can feel better about dropping $200 bucks in a matter of minutes!

By starting fluid do you mean like spray it in the carb and it will start right up? Reason I ask is that I have an old moped that sometimes needs a few shots of carb cleaner to get that first bout of oomph to fire up (even though the carb is clean). Would be nice if WD - 40 will do the trick as welll! =)

Sorry if that post seems like it has a wierd attitude or something, I have isomnia tonite and curious on the topic!

What's the significance of Monroe shocks? My car has some which I bought replacement shocks from autozone for 22 bucks each from Autozone today. I also bought rear shocks from napa for about the same price. Are they performance? Somehow designed to be like the originals? Are other shocks not up to snuf for our 40's cars?

Anyone know of places around Milwaukee to get wheel cylinders bored out? Hoping for a day turn-around (and hoping it wouldn't cost a million bucks!Could I just lightly sand the surface rust out, or am I likely to make it out of round then? Thanks gang!

Oh sorry about that! That was me, the store didn't have one, and I didn't think you'd really miss it!

Is your battery fully charged? Sounds like there's not enough oomph for the solenoid to pull in the lever to kick your starting gear into the flywheel. You can manually push the lever into the solenoid (which will put the starting gear in contact with flywheel) and then either have some one turn the key (careful to not have any extremities near moving parts!) and see if the starting motor can crank the engine. If you handy with a screwdriver you can trip the starting motor yourself while pulling it in. Sorry for the poor description, brain is currently processing a million things at the moment...Hopefully someone else can better describe the process!

I know there is a place you can send in your radio and they convert for you, even make the dials and push buttons work. I left my car 6 volt, and bought a new stereo and velcro'd it under the seat. I then got a 6 to 12 volt converter box, also velcro'd under the seat. Put two speakers in the kick panel sheet metal holes (used nylon bolts as to not have any voltage accidents!). Sounds great, plus doesn't harm the car (minus the drill holes to hold the speakers). Since I use a mp3 player, don't need to futz with the stereo, even though its easy enough to just reach down and change volume, stations etc while still watching the road (i got long arms!). Cost total was about 380 bucks. 240 for speakers (got nice loud ones (gotta be able to beat out the wind in the conv.), 100 bucks for stereo (needed one that pumped out lotsa watts without too much drag on battery), 30 bucks for converter, and 16 bucks on nylon bolts, velcro and rubber spacers to stamp out any vibrations. Honestly the best money I've spent on my car so far! Good luck with whatever you choose... oh, back when I had the Plymouth I just used battery operated computer speakers (they were also conviently 6 volts!) and my mp3 player. When not driving or parked in a parking lot all fit nicely in the glove box. Total cost:$15 Zero installation time!

Hey mate, welcome to the forum! Congrats on the new ride (and the work it took to get it running!). A few good links to sites for your car are: http://imperialclub.com/Part/Lit/4655Numbers/index.htm tells you what parts are swappable with other years http://imperialclub.com/Articles/literature.htm will have links to master technition books that tell you how to do brakes, tips for common probs, etc...They were published in the 40's and 50's for Chrys. mechanics, has illustrations to help us newbies. =) http://robertsmotorparts.com/catalog.html http://www.oldmoparparts.com/ www.kanter.com Those places have parts to keep her running. Kanter is all new stuff, and i think roberts and oldmopar are a combo or new and NOS. There's more sites out there with stuff too... One word of advice, if you plan on keeping your car for years to come, think ahead about consequences of what alterations or modifications will have 10-15 years out. A prior owner to my car installed seat belts which caused water from the road to splash up and start to cause rust in the floor pans. Also, be careful where you put parts, how you store them, and caution when removing them and installing them. No need to rush. Learned the hard way, and as you'll find, its much easier to take your time with a part, then to fix an error or try to find a replacement! Enjoy cruising round in your new ride! p.s. Be careful with brake lining and headliners...abestos...You're future children and grandkids will thank you in 40 years if you spend the 25 bucks for a dust mask!

Hey Don, I think you might have solved my dilemma! My generator wasn't pumping out quite high enough of a voltage after I replaced the brushes and cleaned off the armature. The only thing I couldn't figure out how to do was to flash the generator. Can't wait to pull it out of the garage and give it a zap!

According to my 1955 Motor's Parts guide: under Frame Ass'y lists: 49-50 p17 and p19 as not interchangeable with suburban the 49-50 p18 and p20 are interchangeable Hood top panel is different from 49 to 50 (no difference listed between models, just years), as well as hood front molding, but the hood top center molding is the same. Sorry the reply is so short, I gotta get out the door. Hope this helps!

I went on Friday, it was beautiful! I was getting a bit discouraged as there wasn't much for our mopar's. Bought $50 worth of brake parts and ignition parts from the father/son guys. Man I love them! $4 bucks for wheel cylinder kits, 8 bucks for dist. caps! =) They're really nice folks. Anyways, car coral had quite a few cars for sale, most post 1965. No early mopars. 2 early forty Fords. 3 50's Chevy's. I was lucky, hit the jackpot at 5, found a vendor that had about 9 parts specifically for the 49 Chrys, but I ran out of $! I've always wondered if I would find more parts if I went to Hershey, or other swap meets in different parts of the country... Anyways, that's about it. Hopefully the next one will be nicer, hope you had fun staying dry this weekend. Good day for a warm blanket and a good movie!

There's also this socket that works wonders, I think its called "alligator" or something, got it at a Fleet N Farm. Its a large socket with metal rods on the inside. They push in to conform around whatever shape surface. Has handled some hard pulls with the wrench to loosen bolts and such. Was about 20 bucks three years ago.

I was flipping through a car magazine and they had an article on how to mold tail light lenses. I found this link online that gives step by steps. http://www.alumilite.com/HowTos/TailLightMoldingEquipment.cfm Has anyone had any luck with this process, or know of another method? Do we know how much this costs? The reason I ask is tail light lenses for a 49 Chry seem to be hard to come by and of course eBay prices for them are outrageous in my opinion. Is this something that is akin to using playdough, or more like the skill and investment of pottery? Just thinking about how to make next winter a bit more productive...

I've used Por-15 thus far with good results (been three years, no rust!). I used the metal etch on clean shiny metal. Broke my heart to etch it after looking so nice! I do believe its Phosphoric acid if memory serves me right, which can sometimes be found at a Home Depot or Menards to save you from getting the Por-15 brand etch. Agree on the price of of the Por-15. Goes a long way, but still hurts when your handing the bills over. BTW-The stuff really sticks to skin. I have, um, hairy arms, and yeah, I looked like a spotted cheetah when I was done painting in my door frames!

I've been using Andy B for about two years. He's been great so far. The only disappointment I've had is when I bought the weather strip lining for trunk. It was slightly different than the original (in manufacturing. The original had a glossy black coating.). And really that was a non-issue as it works fine, and that's the only stuff everyone sells. He's thorough about making sure the part fits your specific make and model. Ships fast, so if you forget to order something call back right away to make sure it gets shipped in the same batch!

I found a post for a company on eBay that has 49 Chrys windows, maybe they can make you yours...http://stores.ebay.com/Auto-Glass-Classics

Autozone has it for 22 bucks. I've bought two cans. The first gallon I accidentally tipped over in the garage...Sigh...Talk about panic, that stuff does a number on rubber, let alone the environmental damage!

I was looking to pick up a 49 Ply Conv for several years. For about 10 grand more you get get one that's ready to roll that just needs a few tune ups and maybe a top that's 10-15 years old. For an extra 3 grand you can get one that's trouble free. If you're looking for a project, that one looks like a good candidate, but not really much of a bargain. About a year and a half ago there was one on ebay that went for 9 grand that was in much better shape. The one listed on craigslist was on ebay a few months ago, forgot how high the bidding got(not very though). Needless to say, you could probably get the seller down a bit, since its been sitting awhile. Things that are convertible specific are chrome trunk hinges, visors, and top clamp posts. I think most everything else is swappable with 2 doors and such. Rear seats, and maybe fronts are different (not sure how the 2 door seats fold back. Top motors can be found through kanter and rods through andy baurnbaum. I personaly love convertibles, and the 49 Mopar convertible is my favorite design of any convertible car. So if I was you and I wanted a "project car," was really handy, had patience, was thorough, and could get the seller down a grand or two, I would go for it! Let us know what you decide!

Thanks for the tips! TodFitch, your step by step instructions did the trick! I was a bit bummed when I pulled apart the cylinders, it was like crusty like old honey. The previous owner had said the brakes were done, looked at his shop receipt...They charged him over a hundred dollars to only add brake fluid and call it "fixed!" Plan on packing the bearings, as well as a few other projects I noticed in the wheel well. Appreciate everyone's tips, as for the few sly comments (I seriously woulda laughed if it wasn't me it was aimed at! ), all I can say is the the original Chrysler manual doesn't describe hub removal for the brakes (apparently they didn't make the Chrysler Shop Manual for Dummies Edition in 1949!), and dezeldoc, I hope you sleep well, cuz' I plan on tackling a lot of issues with this car. Everyone starts somewhere (and thankfully I have you fine people when my stack of books and internet searches don't do the trick!).

Hey gang! So got spring fever and pulled the car out today. Thought, why not put all new brake cylinders in the 49 Chrysler! Umm, until Murphy's Law kicked in. I couldn't get the brake drum hub off, I was hammering around the edges and then part of the edge chipped off! Sigh... I'm not the world's handiest guys with cars, but I've done drum brakes before...Maybe I've been doing it all wrong these last few years. Any tips or tricks would be appreciated. (Feel free to throw the most basic stuff at me, I pretty much taught myself, so who knows what I've missed!)

Hey thanks for the link! Does anyone know of any other places besides this and the imperial club link?