3046moparcoupe

Question please for you P15 members out there. My project car didn't have the correct clutch return fork spring setup when we got it. It had been southern engineered to work. It was missing the little pointed (arrow head looking on both ends) bracket that attaches to the bell housing, ( that the return spring anchors to ), and seems like they had a spring connected over to one of the pins on the torque shaft (If I remember correctly). Since then, a forum member sent me a tracing of the anchor brkt, which has been made and attached to the car. So know I was trying to identify and locate a Clutch return Spring. The book calls for a part # 626220, and the exploded diagram I have in my parts book shows the pic you see attached below. (A spring that looks to have a long straight hook end that reaches out on one side where it connects to the anchor brkt)... I've also found a picture of what is supposed to be an original mopar 626220 spring, which is also attached to the post. as you can see this spring doesn't have the long reaching straight section on one side, just looks more like a conventional spring, (looks much like the spring on the overcenter spring assy used on these cars). When I physically eyeball the distance from the clutch return fork, to the anchor point on the anchor brkt, it only looks to be about 6 inches or so, so I'm thinking I must be reading something into the parts book drawing that is not actually true. If any of you P15 owners could help identify, confirm what an actual 626220 Clutch return fork spring looks like, it would help. Thanks again Steve

Boy do I understand dPollo, I am connected at the waist with this old car, heck I fell in love with it the minute I saw it and now after pouring 3 1/2 yrs into it,..it's crazy how big a priority it is with me,...anyone that's worked and sacrificed on one for many years, like so many here on this forum - understand. My biggest problem, is that with my limited experience in regards to being a " real problem solving and fixing mech-anic ", I over analyze - because I don't have that experience to draw from....and it gripes me to no end when I realize I failed, and screwed something up that didn't have to happen,...I guess on one hand "that's life" and a part of learning,...but I can sure wear folks out, in trying to learn. Plymouthy has been so good and patient to hang in there with me the way he has...much respect his way for sure,... Like right now, I'm trying to figure out how Ole "Dutch" in the Chrysler Master Tech videos, gets those main shaft bearings off the main shaft, to clean them - then lightly oil them, then hold them up to his ear and spin them to check them to see if there bad or not and need to be replaced ? The video doesn't show him removing them. I know just enough to know that you remove a bearing off a shaft by the bearings inner race, and you remove a bearing out of a case by the bearings outer race,..and that way you don't harm the bearing...with the spacer that's on the main shaft on this old tranny, you can't see but the very slightest outside edge of the inner race, maybe a 32nd or so of it max,..so I guess ole "Dutch" must be tapping the bearings off using a small drift on that little 32nd" of exposed inner race,..I've never dis-assembled one before so I don't know how much of an interference fit is at play here,..but one thing I have learned is to make myself slow down and don't start hitting on things until your sure...:) Both these bearings on my main shaft, sound good when I spin them, very quiet and smooth,..but it would be nice to be able to remove them clean them up off the shaft, them remove the spacer and speedo gear, and clean out any gunk/metal/etc.. that might be behind that spacer. Enough of the negative :), on the positive side of things, I'm so far ahead of where I was 5 yrs ago., when I joined the forum,...A heartfelt thank you to all you have spent time and effort in helping me learn..especially with the little things (when and where you have room to fudge a little and when you don't) ,..that are so important on this old, hard to find, and replace stuff/parts,... Steve

Also for you guys out there like me that are getting a late start at this and trying your best to learn. I wanna thank forum member "rekbender", who told me about going to your local hardware store (like Lowes or Home Depot) and picking up a piece of 3/4" oak dowel to use as the arbor tool to hold the needle bearings, spacer, and washers in place, on the cluster gear assembly, when going back together with the tranny.. I've watched the videos out there on the Internet that show folks using grease to hold the needle bearings in place while you insert the shaft from the rear of the tranny, like on the Saginaw transmissions, and they were able to do it without an arbor, but I don't believe that tranny had the spacer in between the needle bearings as well, I believe it would be about next to impossible to hold everything still enough, and in place long enough to pull this off, without using the arbor tool. Course the Master tech video's also show old "Dutch: using the arbor tool as well, those videos are awesome, check em out if you haven't yet found them, they will help you. Anyway - I bought a piece of 3/4" oak dowell and also they had another 3/4" dowell there as well, made out of another grade of wood, ( I forget what type wood it was),it was cheaper, but it actually seemed like it didn't want to lint off little tiny fragments onto your hand, quite as much as the oak dowell was doing, there in the store, when I would run my hand up and down the dowell..I don't know how bad that would be, but I'm thinking I don't need any wood particals in there, no matter how fine they might be. My thought was to cut the dowel to length, then scotch brite over it a bit, maybe even use a brush and some cleaning agent - to try and knock off any wood lint, then maybe coat it with a bit of grease..?? Again, please anyone out there with the experience and knowledge - willing to share and help us starting out, please JUMP IN and REPLY, your input is needed and greatly appreciated.... Steve

Making progress on the 3 speed manual transmission...initially from what I could see (with my limited experience and knowledge), I could tell that the reverse idler gear teeth were pretty chewed on with a couple of little chunks actually missing from a few teeth, also I could see and feel a ridge on the short idler shaft, so I began my search for a new gear and shaft. Found a shaft on flea-bay from a seller with a strong rating that looked good in the pics, so I bought it, see pic #1 below (item in transit for delivery next week),..speaking with a fella who has a new reverse idler gear 15 teeth, new , still in cosmoline , waiting on how much to ship it -hopefully I have dubs on it, we've spoken on the phone and email back and forth, should know by tomorrow... Meanwhile, while scouring over the internet (with most results coming back from flea-bay), I ran the other part numbers for 1st, 2nd, and the cluster gear assy under the oem numbers (1st 853886, 2nd 852456, and Cluster gear 697823), in the process I discovered the Borg Warner matching Interchange numbers of (1st WT243-12, 2nd WT243-11A, and Cluster gear WT243-8A)...after 2-3 days of computer red eye round the clock stare and compare, and trying to research these Borg Warner part numbers as being good replacements..I ended up finding a replacement 1st slider gear, 2nd gear, and Cluster gear assembly..see pics #2, 3 and 4 attached to this post...(all these items are also in transit for delivery next week due to the holidays), but hopefully they will prove to be as clean as the pics..all came from sellers with 99-100% ratings, and all offered a refund policy. ###note###there's some good looking parts out there on flea-bay, but may of those sellers are asking prices I am not willing to spend at this time if at all possible,...but fortunately as luck may have shined on me (we'll see when the parts arrive), according to the prices I saw listed on average for these old gears, and depending on what you could tell about there varying condition,..I'm encouraged that I may have gotten some pretty reasonable deals....with 2nd gear being the absolute best home run at $16.00 delivered,...again, I hope to know more when it all arrives... Thanks to the old Chrysler Master Tech video's, I was made aware of the replaceable grommets for the bolts that attach the pinion retainer to the front of the transmission case..,and late last night, again on flea-bay I stumbled across a listing for a 3 pack of oem grommets. The listing stated that the grommets were still flexible and pliable, kinda hard for me to imagine that they could still be useable, but for $10 delivered, I went ahead and bit like a large mouth bass defending her nest in the spring see pic #5 below, (item should also arrive next week). Main reason for going ahead and replacing the gears, (since I found them at affordable prices), was due to the shiny sides of many of my gear teeth having rusted pits in them,...on almost every gear, you can see where it's only a portion of the teeth (I'm thinking the teeth that were exposed above the oil level that sat, unturned for who knows how many years, just a guess), anyway - I rubbed on them with a scotch brite and I can get the black to disappear, but you can feel the pits with the end of a pic, small screw driver blade, etc...with my limited knowledge, I don't know how bad these really we're, (bad enough to make noise now, bad enough to turn into noise in the future, sorta figured they would eventually turn into a problem), .. anyone out there, who'd like to contribute to my education regarding these pits on the side of the teeth, please don't hesitate,..if I spent money I didn't need to, etc..that's OK, my goal more than anything, is to do the best job I can for the old car, and to LEARN...mainly that's what this is all about - pride in building something with your own hands and learning.. Today with the help of some forum members (thanks so much guys), I got the bearing off the main pinion shaft. Reason for removing it, when I turned it, no clicking or individual bad spots, but I could hear and feel a constant drag sound, the remaining 2 bearing on the main shaft don't sound that way, they are basically smooth and completely quiet when you turn them. Per the book, that pinion bearing is a 619167, and thanks to forum member "Dodgeb4ya" who gave me some pointers and in helping someone in the past had posted the Interchange part number for that mopar bearing, the new number is 1207SL,....multiple places show to have it, like rockauto, summit racing, etc..the sellers were all listing it as a Timken bearing, which I certainly recognize from past experience around wheel bearings, and it was always really good stuff), I hope that still applies as I wonder if Timken is still USA made, or something coming from China now. Anybody out there know ?? There was also a cross reference for SKF, but most of my finding on the internet were showing folks to prefer Timken over SKF as they were saying all SKF is coming from mexico now ?? Lastly, here, after removing the pinion bearing from the pinion shaft, I see the same delima on the teeth of the pinion shaft, a good 1/2 dozen of the teeth sides are pitted up. Same as the other gear teeth, I can clean it up with a scotch brite but they are easy to see and easy to feel with a steel point,...I may now need to try and locate a replacement pinion shaft, as I'm wondering if the pitted teeth on this one, would damage the new teeth on the new Cluster gear I purchased ?? anybody ?? all input from you guys with the experience and knowledge is treated like GOLD, on this end, and appreciated. Always need to send out a thank you to Plymouthy Adams, and this time is no exception, he is awesome to work with me and help out... Steve

Happy New Year AndyD, and many thanks for the help you graciously sent my way this past year. Steve

Thanks James, I appreciate the input,....yep - last night I was sitting studying the exploded diagram of this tranny, and I noticed the part I believe your speaking of. In the book it's called the gear shift rail interlock pin, and it's held in by a small plug,...I didn't remember removing it, and it wasn't laying in my parts pile, so another look at the tranny case, and I found the small plug and I could see one round end of the pin still up inside it's journal....can you tell me the best way to pop out the little plug ? is it by chance like the procedure used to pop out the larger 3/4" shift rail plug, where you use a drift and the shift rail itself, and drive the plug out from the inside of the case, carefully tapping on the detent cavity of the shift rail ? My 1st thought last night was that maybe I could retrieve the pin with a magnet and just leave the plug in place, but I haven't gone back and looked at it again,..not gonna try anything until I know for sure,..not much of one for wanting to bang on things,..:) these parts are too hard to find....can't yet see how you could get that plug out from the inside without drilling it, then pulling it, which would destroy it...?? maybe it's a replace every time type item ?? Steve

Thanks webmaster, you are so correct,.....when I removed the counter shaft, both the bronze washer and the steel washers were laying in the housing, so I had no way of knowing for sure which way they went back in...however about a year or so ago, I found a couple of large original Chrysler dealership posters for sale on line, on ebay....and I bought them, had them laminated and they are hanging on my garage wall...they show a lot of great information, regarding end play measurements, and show the bronze thrust washer as going in the outside most position on the shaft, up against the housing...this also matches the info I'm finding in my 46 P15 oem parts manual, it also says bronze washer to the outside of the steel washer, this is repeated on both ends of the countershaft... I did make a mistake upon dis assembly that really got my goat. because I knew not to do it, and was totally taken by surprise when it happened. When I removed the smaller snap ring from the end of the main shaft, I then reached up to slide the clutch sleeve/gear assy off the end of the shaft,...and immediately I found myself holding the clutch sleeve by itself,...couldn't believe it, cause I had already picked up that this assy should never be separated, but left in its original matching mated working married position,....well - too late,....so I slipped it back together,...and then realized that I had to gentle tap the 2nd gear and clutch sleeve, stop ring entire assy off the main shaft with a soft rubber mallet...yep - I felt like a ding dong, or actually something a bit worse that shouldn't be typed in here However, I do have in my possession 2ea additional clutch sleeve assemblies I picked up over the past few years,...one looks super clean and you can see a scribe mark across it, the other looks clean put it has some gouge marks where the forks ride, so I don't know about that one....anyway - I purchased both of them off of ebay from sellers with good ratings, but still that's no guarantee,...I also picked up a couple of stop rings that look to be new and un-used.... Lastly, I have also seen on video and read where folks have also accidentially separated these sleeves and all stated that they never had a problem upon re-assembly,...still - maybe I'll also get some good input here on the forum regarding this,...really chapped my backside when it happed, again as I knew it needed to stay together,...even though I believe it has seen more than its share of abuse...

My 1st time to ever be inside any transmission. (manual or automatic), besides doing fluid/filter changes.. I've attached some pics to try and show some of the things that were obvious upon tear down, even to the untrained eye like mine. Like many I suppose that have sat for years without proper maintenance, this transmission shows signs of moisture exposure. I can see it on some of the gear teeth (2nd gear especially), on one of the shift rails, and a couple of spots on the mainshaft. Looks very similar to the black etching I've seen in the past on spindles when I've greased wheel bearings, on something that's been ignored. You can see this black corrosion etching, but you can't feel it with your fingernail,...so I'm wondering if I can just polish it away and re-use the parts ?? Most gear teeth edges look sharp, (I did see one small gouge in the edge of a tooth on 2nd gear, it's visible in the attached pic),...the leading and trailing edges of the teeth on 1st gear caught my eye with some random gouge spots and a uniform pattern of lines that looked so uniform and consistent I am guessing them not to be wear or damage related, but again that just a swag on my part Reverse idler gear has some rough edges on some of the teeth...again, most of the attached pictures came out good enough and close enough that you can see what I'm talking about. Any help from you Old tranny pros., would be valued like GOLD on this end. I'd expect that gears would be hard and iffy to find, so I'll massage on any of these parts for as long as required, in effort of getting this back together in a way that's practical and driveable. (I've seen folks on TV, use a whit stone to smooth out spots on the edges of gear teeth, when a replacement gear was just not available, but of course, I'm talking about T.V. ??,...one of the best places to pick up accurate info, right ? !! Reason for teardown : Bought the car 3 yrs ago, test drove it under 30 mph around the block a few times, all shifting was good and smooth as any 3 speed I've ever driven (except for 3rd gear), it flat didn't want to go int 3rd and ground like crazy when you tried it.....(older fella I bought the car from was convinced in showing me that it would go into 3rd gear, and after a bunch of grinding he finally did get it to go,...didn't really sit well with me, but I hadn't purchased the car yet,...later course, I figured even with the xmn issues, the car seemed like as good of a price for a coupe as complete and clean as this, so obviously it bacame mine :).. Over the past few years - here on the forum, two things I did pick up in regards to this were 1: badly deteriorated rear motor mounts can cause this shifting problem, and 2: use of gear oil other than GL-1 can cause wear that will contribute to xmn failure),....YES, there was just about nothing left of the rear motor mounts, which have now been replaced, and YES, when I drained the gear oil out, I did see a lot of very small brass/gold-ish metal particles in the gear oil...(once you take the xmn apart you see that the stop rings and the end play washers are the only two parts that would provide for this brass particle wear due to the later GL series oils, not being compatiable. I have learned to look at the grooves on the inside surface of your stop rings, and both my stop rings look good in that respect with deep grooves still in place, therefore I'm suspecting the end play washers to be the main culprits for the gold metal I could see in the old oil. Attached pics are as follows: 1) 2nd speed gear corrosion and gouge spot , 2) main shaft corrosion spot - one of a couple), 3) shift rail - not very clear but corrosion spot like on main shaft, 4) tranny parts layed out, 5) 1st gear showing lines and shiny wear on teeth edges, 6) reverse idler gear - has quite a few gouges in the edge of the teeth unfortunately doesn't show up very well in the pic.

I appreciate all the great reply's back from folks - this is a great forum, here's a little additional input I've also picked up since I made the original post: regarding the first two cowl lacing products I initially was asking about, 1: the 1st cowl lacing image which has the groove in the middle and is solid rubber on each side - Mac's replied back and said the kit comes in 8' length, and the rubber itself is .598" W (about 5/8" wide) and .176" H (about 3/16" thick),......this is a bit narrower than the stock fiber type replacement lacing cord I have which is 3/4" wide but is about spot on the same in height)...this kit also comes with 30ea #6 x 3/8 black screws. 2: the 2nd cowl lacing image which also has the groove in the middle and has hollow tube rubber on each side - I contacted the Oklahoma company via telephone and an employee was good enough to go grab one and physically measure it for me, he gave me the following dimensions: 3/4" wide (a match for the oem replacement fiber type lacing) and 3/8" thick ?? (I questioned him on the thickness, saying that's almost 1/2" thick, are you sure (thinking he was confusing 3/16" with 3/8" and he confirmed back - no it's 3/8" thick), at that point I asked if he could collapse it with his fingers and measure it collapsed down, he said it was pretty firm stuff and didn't collapse down a lot when he compressed it,.....so if that's true, this lacing cord would be way too thick to use for a replacement on a P15,..... reply back on second type of lacing cord doesn't seem to make sense as both types are listed for the same application "47 Ford pickup truck"...?? !! I can't help but think there is a form of human error happening here in this reply... Seems like there's always some little bit of friction in the equation when trying to resolve something - I'm reminded of the old saying: "Nuts and bolts, nuts and bolts, we've been screwed,...:) Oh well, I suppose if we're too easy , it wouldn't be any fun... Steve

Thxs Dr. great response back, I appreciate it.... Your reply about having to replace and taking some paint with it does make sense to me, (sometimes you can't sweat every detail ) and if the weatherstrip was good enough quality to last a number of years.....(In other words - great glue that holds well , but weatherstrip that tears or dis-integrates in a few years would be a head-ache)...everyone's idea of what works well is gonna be different,...and have seen new paint that you couldn't poll off with Gorilla Duct tape, and new paint that you could pull of with light tack masking tape,..so there are so many variables involved,....part of my questioning allows me to determine what the person's mindset is in regards to variables like this...again I appreciate the recommendation, it gives me an option, bottom line - I probably need to get a piece of the stuff and test it out to see if it's gonna work for me...

Greg13, Me like'e..:) thanks, I'll check it out...""have you used the double bead on anything, did it stick well and stay in place ? "

No I'm not concerned with a points scoring restoration, I want what works best in regards to form, fit and function....self adhesive sounds really nice, as long as it holds, (no rivets or screw heads protruding up too high to have to contend with), but then of it sticks to the paint that well - it better be good lasting stuff or what happens when you have to remove it to replace it down the line ? I wonder ?? You got a part number or a part description ? Thanks for your reply ?

At present I've got a roll of the black fabric style cowl lacing that I believe I got from AB a year or so back, the type that has the groove down the center for your attaching screws, rivets, etc...looks quite a bit like the original stuff,....anyway - I've read on here where it is more aggressive in rubbing the paint off the underneath side of your hood....and just feeling the stuff I can see where that would make sense as it's somewhat coarse and has that fabric grain structure to it...at present there are 2ea rubber cowl lacing kits available on ebay...I just sent one of the ebay seller's "Mac's" a message asking for dimensions (width/length, height) and also since it's made out of solid rubber, I also asked about the density of the rubber itself, noting that I didn't believe the super dense rubber (like stuff that Steele sells) would be the route I wanted to go, since this stuff doesn't really get exposed to UV, and I don't want it to cause me issues being so proud that the hood doesn't want to align or lay down properly....the second seller is out of Oklahoma City, something like Classic Industry's, anyway - I will call them tomorrow and get dimensions, but this lacing is designed more like the original fabric stuff I have in hand, however both raised sides of the lacing are hollow....I'm thinking that might work well, in regards to both things: 1: doing the least damage to the under hood paint as possible, and 2: allowing the lacing to seal yet not interfere with the hood to cowl alignment...... see 2ea pics attached. anyone out there have any experience with either of these rubber cowl vent lacing products, on a P15 ? Thanks again Steve

Thanks Wiggo, I appreciate the offer very much, I dont' know if looking at a 41 Dodge would be a surefire comparison or not, but while your in there, it sure couldn't hurt if you 'd take a look and see if the passenger side wiper linkage arm is curved,and the driver side is straight...Steve..

Wiggo, see that's what was throwing me the curve,...I tried every way to make the inst notes picture work and then eventually called and spoke to Gavin at New Port engineering to get his confirmation once I saw my linkage arms fitting with the curved arm on the passenger side of the motor,.....Gavin confirmed the picture is from the inside of the car looking forward.....(I'm not bashing New Port here, you can tell the drwg is meant to be a simple installation aide, but with my history as a mechanical draftsman, it's hard for me to look at drwgs simply,...and with my dash out of the car now and things so easy to get too, I sure didn't want to find out I had to reverse things later...what made the drwg appear as though it had to be from inside the car looking forward, is that the long side (adjustable side) of the motor itself (when mounted in place to the cowl) is on the left/drivers side of the cowl, when sitting inside the car....so the drwgs correct from the aspect of sitting inside the car looking forward, and that's exactly the way I have the linkage arms connected, (with the curved arm on the passenger side, just as in the picture), again it was just throwing me a curve as the hash mark broken lines weren't quite making sense to me....I believe they must have been using the hash mark lines in a different context than what I would call normal, they were wanting the installer to focus on the motor drive arm and linkage arms themselves, rather than the remainder of the motor housing....my main concern was - I didn't want to turn things on - once all was installed - and have something hit or bind up...everything seems to be fitting nice, but none of the heater, dash support, instrument cluster, dash is installed yet,....so if anyone out there has a 46-48 P15 and they know there linkage arms are installed differently than this, I would really like to hear back from you. Again, Gavin at New Port did say I was correct in looking at the drwg as "from the inside of the car", I have spoken with him twice, and the customer service was exceptional,...they didn't make me feel like I was bothering them, etc..in any way...so nothing but good things to say about them....I've seen on here where a few folks have installed the New Port kit, maybe someone will help confirm all this...thanks for your reply,...Steve

Well after checking my post and reading through the thing myself,...I was reminded again of what Plymouthy has patiently told me numerous times....." I am real prone to overthink things",...even my post was so busy with detail it was hard for me to follow upon reading it back,...sorry - ( it comes from 27 years of writing tech installation notes for construction crews in the telecom industry),... so I thought I better get out there and just try and wing my way thru it....so excuse the ring, I went out and started test fitting the linkage arms to the new motor, and in respect to 1: the exterior chrome bezels, 2: the offset hole openings in the cowl, and 3: the fact that the new wiper motor drive arm is gonna always come to rest in the park position (where it is right now),...there was only one way the arms would mount up... best as I can tell I'm good to go,...and it makes sense - the straight wiper arm is on the driver side up and away from the speedo cluster area....this also matches the New Port drwg I attached to this post, however (not banging on new Port) but they thru me a curve with their broken hash mark lines in the drwg. which typically mean an edge that is hidden behind another surface...they've sorta got all that reversed in their drwg...hash marked edges appear on top and solid lines behind when you look at the actual setup from inside the car and compare to the drwg.. Steve'o

I pulled the vacuum wiper assy out of our P15 a couple of years ago and boxed it up awaiting the day I would find myself at the step of getting it back on the car and working. This winter I pulled it from the box, laid it out on the table and snapped the attached picture before taking anything apart. At 1st glance things looked pretty straight, except the linkage grommets were missing.....After taking it apart and seeing multiple problems with the old motor, and learning of the New Port Engineering electric replacement - I opted for the new electric wiper motor setup. Moving along carefully with the new parts, I have found myself questioning if these original linkage arms were attached correctly (when I removed the motor), or possible swapped in respect to left hand versus right hand. Recently I've found multiple examples (pics of arms, complete wiper assy's, etc..) and they don't seem to match up with what I have here in the attached picture. Also, in respect to the installation drwg diagram I received with my new Port Kit - unless I'm just being old and crossed eyed, I'm not getting things to match up. If I'm remembering correctly (in respect to the attached picture of my old vacuum wiper assy), the way it is resting in the picture would be correct if you were sitting in the car looking at it mounted up, only difference would be that it should be rotated 180 degrees...(so the wiper bowl would remain on the bottom just like in the picture but the curved linkage arm would be on the passenger side) ?? Again, If I'm remembering correctly (which would no doubt be a 1st :), flipping the unit as described above would put the curved linkage arm on the passenger side. When I look closely at the cast end brkts on each linkage arm, they are marked LH & RH. The curved linkage arm is marked LH and the straight arm is marked RH..If these LH/RH designations are in respect to being inside the car they are opposite of what I have here, if they are in respect to standing in front of the vehicle looking towards the car, they make sense. ?? Lastly, I have attached a picture from New Port Engineering's Installation instructions, which appears to show the curved linkage arm as being on the passenger side, however the curve in the linkage arm makes it's curve upwards, you can see in the picture that the way my arm came off the car, the curve is opposite that pointing downward..?? Not trying to be lazy, as a little getting out there and trial and error fitting might make this all come to light, just trying to outsmart that old evil Murphy (Murphy's law:), and eliminate fitment problems down the road when these are gonna be much harder to get too... Thanks in advance for the priceless help I have received here on the forum with this project and my P15 education.. Steve

Great reply's back from everyone, I appreciate it very much...probably the only place I have an electrolyte in place 100% of the time on my car, would be the water pump bolts,...however I used them (only the ss lock washers and flat washers) pretty much every where else on the car,...so I've got a steel or cast iron part, with a stainless lock washer inserted in between a grade 8 or chrome bolt... In theory, everything in place - but - the electrolyte,...except when exposed to rain water coming up off the road,....which should be only on a rare occasion as this isn't my daily driver and I wouldn't ever drive it in the rain on purpose...and I wouldn't think my washing the car in the future would be getting these surface areas wet. the humidity here averages around 40% and higher throughout the year though,...so in my peanut head - that's pretty much my full time electrolyte exposure,... I specifically chose AN type washers (small OD)., so I'm looking at humidity exposure pretty much on the outside edges only of those washers,.....hmmmmm ?? Thank you Tim for speaking with me over the phone about this... no matter where ya go - there ya are S.

About 3 years back, after seeing a brand new stainless bolt and nut, gall together immediately after the nut was just hand tightened down,...I decided I'd not use any stainless steel bolts or nuts on my project. I suppose the answer to this for folks who have/do use stainless steel hardware is to use anti seize on everything,..(which if the anti seize remains over the course of things, I suppose is a perfectly good way to go).. My choice at the time, was to go with either chrome nuts and bolts ( for the smaller stuff 1/4" 5/16" etc),...and grade 8 steel bolts and or original steel nuts (for the larger 3/8" and so on). I DID HOWEVER USE STAINLESS STEEL WASHERS PRETTY MUCH ACROSS THE BOARD, as they were cheaper and I had it in my mind that they wouldn't be having their cad or zinc plating scratched off when assembled and begin rusting.... Now, I'm wondering about galvanic corrosion possibilities....?? Anyone out there have any experience with using stainless steel washers around these old cast iron and steel parts ?? thanks for the help... Steve

the nicer looking molded one is found in ebay under auction item # 331871739442, desc:1942 1948 Plymouth Firewall Pad, $293.27 + $40.55 shipping,...as far as the cheaper one,..It doesn't appear to still be listed on ebay, from memory it was around $90 including shipping, but it looked kinda homemade, folded cardboard and stapled together...but way better than nothing,...it was just like the firewall pad still shown in ebay under item #300868184879, desc:1949-1950 Plymouth deluxe firewall insulation pad. Steve

Same with me, ( course my car's been off the road for 3 yrs now), but this was one of those inside things I could do in the winter (except for the final sealing in the Plasti Dip).. I sprayed both sides and all the edges..which really helped to encapsulate and seal the pieces.

What Greg G said I added an inline fuel filter on the drivers side, on the outside of the frame rail, tp prevent crap from getting into the needle and seat of the carb.

Wanted to share the path we went down in trying to save the original Pressboard type Inner Firewall Cover from our P15 project. Ours was looking pretty sad and had a few areas on the drivers side that were missing. What I found available as a direct fit replacement looked either cheap (stapled together) or one that looked pretty descent, (was at least a molded piece) but was close to $300. I've got $50 in the following repair to our firewall cover and thought I'd like to share this here on the forum. I also applied the same method to my other cardboard/pressboard kick panels and heater side panel ducts with consistent results. Loctite 2 part epoxy, 1/8th inch pressboard/chipboard material (I purchased a new 12" x 16" piece off ebay for $3 dollars - delivered), 4 cans of Plasti-Dip flat black, and 1 can of Plasti-Dip Glossifier with Fade Buster (depending on where you get it, Lowes versus a smaller hdw. store like Ace, ea. can costs around $6-7 dollars). I used masking tape on the areas that were frayed (like the edges of the openings of the cover), to make form walls to hold the Loctite 2 part epoxy in place while it cured. larger spots I took a very small amount of fiberglass matt, cut it up with scissors, and mixed it in with the epoxy for strength). I used the new 1/8 " chipboard to make new pieces to replace areas that were missing, and applied the same process we used in doing fiberglass repair. Which is as follows: there's much less strength in attaching two sections with a square 90 degree angle, you just don't get enough glued surface area contact to allow for strength, but overlap the two pieces and mate them together by shaping each piece with an overlapping taper (so one piece rests upon the other piece ) and you gain strength. The rule of thumb we used doing fiberglass repair was to make your tapered surface area where your going to glue things back together, equal to the new surface area you area attaching. Never had one fail that way. I've attached some pics we took along the way, that show the firewall cover from the day we removed, then mid stream epoxy and chipboard repairs, and then this past week when they got Plasti-Dipped. Pretty straight forward easy. Like with all this kind of stuff, being clean is critical. I used brake parts cleaner to clean areas before glueing, and also before applying the Plasti Dip. I like the brake parts cleaner as it leaves no residue and dries away quickly. (This was all a "what have we got to lose kinda thing", but our bonds seem strong and we had no sings of contamination when applying epoxy or the Plasti Dip). The information is not found on the cans, but if you go read their tech sheet found on the internet, the plasti dip shows a temp range of -30f to 200 f, good chemical resistance (however petroleums are shown as limited), which I didn't think should be a big problem inside the car, and a life of 7-10 years (outside in the weather) with the UF coating applied. I really liked the flat black of the Plasti Dip (before the uv top coat was added which also gives it the gloss) a little better than the gloss finish, and debated on whether the sun could get to the very bottom of the Cover enough to warrant using the UV top coat, but decided to go that route for a bit more assurance in regards to longevity. Course once the epoxy repairs set up, you've got a bit of easy sanding to do...and before applying the Plasti Dip I went over the entire panels with a red scotch brite pad and brake parts cleaner..to promote adhesion. Fun stuff..whether it's sanding a part and painting it, or something like this,...I really enjoy trying to make these old forgotten, neglected parts look like something again. Steve'o

Thank You JohnTeee, for standing on your head to take this picture for me. My spring must be the real deal..looks just like yours, I count 39 coils on both,...I'll move on with this... We sure appreciate your help, and thank you Tim as well, seeing your signature lets me know that you also don't see a problem or you'd let me/us know... Steve'o