Mark Haymond

I cut a hole in the floor of my 47 Plymouth yesterday. I had put in a modern master cylinder kit but the location is no longer under the stock access plate, it is halfway under the driver's seat. Oops! (It has been a while, so I hope I post the pics correctly.) Now to check the brake fluid level I will have to pop up the bottom seat cushion to see down there. That is easy enough on stock seats, I guess. To make it easier for myself I used a couple of hand knobs to hold it down so I can get to it without hand tools. I'm looking forward to juicing the brakes later this week and checking for leaks. http://picasaweb.google.com/lenscaptain/OldPlymouthProjectCar#5501251294056459602 http://picasaweb.google.com/lenscaptain/OldPlymouthProjectCar#5501251301421615282

I am another owner in Fresno. One 50 running and a 47 project car. Sept in Santa Maria, would be doable for me.

Welcome to the club, Don. You understand of course, after you are retired you are 'posed to drive yer caddy in the fast lane at a steady 50 mph, as if you are the only one on the road. Enjoy.

When the tires go up into the wheel wells three inches higher, it may affect tire change clearances. If you have wider than stock tires, remember to change rear tires by jacking up the body, not by putting a jack under the axle. I have lowered my P15 but it is not on the road yet.

Lotta engine conversion work to finish. Brake parts on rear axle, parking brake hook up, fabricate accelerator linkage, fabricate hoses for power steering unit, some oil pan changes, and more. It now has a stock 2 barrel 318 and automatic transmission, disk brakes up front, Dodge Dart 8 1/4 rear axle. The body will stay stock. I want it to feel like a survivor car with its old paint and interior yet be able to stay up with traffic. And my wife wants to be able to drive it.

The dollies are dish shaped so the tires sit down in them and will not roll off.

I just resumed work on a 47 Plymouth project car that was sitting in my garage since 2001. To make life easier I invested in four high quality dollies so I could position the car depending on the task I was doing each day. These have roller bearings on the axles and move with minimum effort. It is a grunt to move the first few inches if the wheel casters are sitting cross ways, but once the casters are lined up the car moves with a light push. I can roll the car out where I work on it, then put it back in its corner of the garage when I'm done. This way the car does not hog up the garage for the duration of the project.

Aaah, James. Sorry to hear the heartbreaking news about the broken casing. Bummer.

I live in North Fresno and have a spare distributor that we could use for troubleshooting. I'll try sending you a private email.

Instead of the coarse 220 paper try grade 0000 steel wool. That has worked for me. The 0000 grade is gentle, so you can rub hard without having to worry about putting scratches in the surface.

I went to my garage to get my spart 50 stone guards but unfortunately they are not much better than your picture. Try using grade 0000 steel wool on your guards to clean them up. It will not hurt the chrome even with firm pressure but will remove a lot of surface patina and stain. Won't fix the pits but maybe they will look better until you can get ones in better shape.

When you swapped in a new needle and seat a week ago, did you recheck the float level in that carb? Even tightening or loosening the fuel inlet seat in the carb body will change the float level.

Welcome back! Glad to see you still have your car.

I am trying to remember how I changed the boots about ten years ago without driving out the pins. I think I removed the bearing caps and bearings, then squeezed and pushed the rubber boot through the small hole in the bearing housing towards the drive shaft.

Where did you get the boots for the joints? I need to do the same thing.

I also had a clogged up area near 47 petcock valve. I removed the valve and used a stiff piece of wire to break up the sludge. And don't freak if you damage the valve. You can find them at hardware and plumbing stores and they're cheap. Good luck.

Actually, Tod, a friend mentioned using antifog on the inside of his cycling glasses before our weekly Thursday ride last week. I instantly thought of rain-X and suggested he try it on the front of his glasses for riding in the wet. I may try it myself on one lens for a comparison test if it rains soon.

Hey, 10 to 12 inches comes pounding down on us annually in Fresno! You should know Don, since you have lived through it yourself. And when winter comes bearing down a guy better have good windshield wipers, not the neglected ones that have dried up and cracked in the sun from not being used for six or seven months. Today I gave my windshield a good coat of rain-X to make up for the pausing of vacuum wipers when the engine accelerates. Rain-X is one of the few products that perform just as well as the advertisements claim. It sheds and beads water so well you hardly need the wipers above 40 mph. And Tod I think the 30's Plymouths like your used the fish dish, fish dish wipers. Whup thup models were introduced after the war. Hunker down, she's gonna blow!

Whup thup, whup thup, whup thup, is the sound of the vacuum operated windshield wipers on a rainy day. It is another nostalgic sound I love in my 50 Plymouth. It installed the windshield three times and broke a windshield half pane before I got my windshield leak free. But now I can enjoy feeling dry and worry free on a rainy day and enjoy the sound of the wipers. Do others like that sound or, whup thup, find it annoying?

At filling station encounters the young people merely think it's a cool car, but the old people are a different story. It's in their eyes. To them it is a time machine that is magically taking them back to their youth. Their eyes are looking all the way back into early memories.

There is a set of horns for a 50 Plymouth on Ebay right now. Search for parts and accessories for 1950 Plymouth.

Just a thought, why not chrome plate snap rings for different thicknesses?

It's wired into place with copper wire that loops over the frame cross member. I'll drive with it until I install the transmission I am rebuilding.

How to keep the oil off the garage floor and the driveway when you park it.http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenscaptain/2967662361/

James, I too am in the process of rebuilding an R10 overdrive transmission. I am willing to buy sets with you to help defray the cost.