Mark Haymond

Aww, bummer. I feel sorry for said car hobbyist. Chin up! Treat it as a temporary setback and don't let it end your dream.

For years people at a traffic light stop have politely asked these predictable questions, "Sir, what year is that car?" I answer "1947." They ask "Chevy?" I reply "Plymouth." They follow with "Nice car" or "I like your car." I say "Thank you." And that is about all the time we have before the light changes. Last night it was different. "What year is your car?" "Chevy or Ford?" Sometimes in a parking lot when there more time to talk the car talk goes: "What year is it? Chevy? Bet its worth a lot of money!" despite the fact it is not a pretty show car and is definitely showing some wear and tear. I enjoy the attention and like to tell people more about the car when time is available, it is part of the fun of owning an old car. But why do they always start with "Chevy?" I am in California. Is the question the same in other parts of the USA?

If you are going to remove the intake/exhaust manifolds, inspect the heat riser valve in the exhaust manifold. My valve plate fell off the shaft and fell down and stuck at the top of the head pipe. That is because I used soft brass screws for the plate, and staked them too, but they did not hold. Should have left original screws alone. It did NOT cause any noise but will be an easy visual check. Owners have been fooled by one out of sight bolt in the center of the manifold, down low. Get all the bolts out before trying to pry things loose. My two cents: if your carb was running OK leave the rebuild until later. That will avoid introducing carb rebuild glitches into your troubleshooting. Good luck!

On a Mopar 318 engine conversion for my 47 Plymouth I used a rear sump oil pan from a truck or van to clear the Cavilier r/p. Be sure to get the correct dip stick to go with it. I am using leaf springs on the rear so I do not know anything about trying to mod a four link "kit" to work in the rear.

I had my 47 Plymouth sitting where I wanted it with dropped spindles but the original soft springs would let it bottom out on rough roads. I changed to stronger springs. This worked OK but my front end was sitting too high. I took out the springs again and removed one coil. It took a few tries to get it right.

I used Kanter for my 1950 Plymouth entire front suspension restoration about ten years ago. Completely satisfied.

There are drive line services in the central valley of CA for auto, trucking, and agricultural customers. The prices are less than what you might expect and the turn around can be quick.

I have 90 wt gear oil in my steering box. It leaks. Maybe grease is better.

You said you rebuilt your cylinders and used "new pins." Other owners have discovered that not all cylinder pins are the same length. It might be a good idea to check if your new pins are longer than your old pins. If they are too long the pins will keep the shoes from retracting all the way.

Dodgeb4ya, the synchronizers seemed to act sluggishly on normal 3 speed shifts so I swapped in a spare non OD drive I had. My R10 is disassembled and in a plastic storage tub. Maybe I will get around to assembling it and put in my stock 50 Plymouth.

With my 1947 P15 coupe I took out an R10 overdrive tranny and put in a standard three speed tranny. They trannys were the same length so my drive shaft did not have to be changed.

I am glad to see your baby starts up now. "To help though I did paint a fine line in red at the TDC mark and thin blue lines at each end of the +/- timing marks on the pully." Doing this from under the car is far easier than bending over the fender and fighting the fan blades and fan belt.

Some guys have not pushed the distributor all way in after removing it for repairs. If the shaft is not turning there won't be any breaker points opening and closing. It looks like you are quite familiar with the ignition system, I only made the suggestion because it is a simple quick check.

I use a modern digital "12 volt" timing light on my 12 volt car and my 6 volt car. I can power it with a 6 volt battery or a 12 volt battery, the light doesn't seem to care. Why don't you just try your light on your 6 volt system and see how it does?

I cut some with a sheet of gasket quality cork and an exacto knife. Remember to make little donut gaskets for under the wing nut screws too. Faster than Rock Auto.

Sorta sounds like the distributor breaker plate is not moving in response to changing engine vacuum. Take off the distributor cap. Sucking on the vacuum line to the distributor with a hand held pump or lung power will show if the plate is moving. If it does not move, the plate is jammed or the vacuum advance unit on the side of the distributor has a leaking rubber diaphragm. Lady Grey should have more pep than you describe.

I sure enjoyed working on the small sub projects on my Plymouth. I was able to clean and repair things to my own standards, and see progress as I finished each job. Part of the fun was learning how these old Mopar engine/brakes/wiring worked, and I pretty much learned just about every nut and bolt about my baby. ..... And take lots of detail photos as you take things apart, it will help with reassembly.

On my P15 Plymouth coupe I installed a 12 volt horn relay to drive the old 6 volt horns and they worked fine. I did learn that the horns would not toot when I used small 16 gauge wires during testing. Those horns draw lots of amps and need 10 or 12 gauge wires. AIRTEX WELLS Horn Relay IS5023 or CR613

The cap on the gas tank neck should not be a tightly sealed one. This year car needs to let a small bit of air into the tank when the fuel pump is sucking a small bit of fuel out from the bottom of the tank. Since your car has set a long time I doubt the cap has a tight seal anyway. ..... If you discover the fuel pump is defective you may be surprised that you can buy a new one at a modest price from the major car parts on line stores. ..... My old car tip: don't throw away any old parts, working or not, or screws or bolts or clips or ANYTHING. They may come in handy a year or two later for their part number, or size fit or such. Just saying.

Most of the braking is done at the front tires so drums on the back is OK. Even some modern cars have disks in front and drums in back.

If it has a battery, check if the positive or negative cable is connected to "ground", usually to the engine block. Install a replacement battery the same way the previous owner was using it. Three years in a barn are not severe conditions for the oil. I would go ahead and try starting it up without an oil change. The gas will be stale and stinky, no big deal. (It may take several seconds of cranking to pump gas from the tank all the way to the carb.) I would avoid checking and adjusting everything in sight, like points, spark plug gaps, timing, carb settings, etc or you may introduce new problems that will prevent startup. If by luck you get it to start, check the oil pressure right away. At idle, 10 to 20 pounds on the dash gauge is normal. Next watch for water leaks. As Young Ed suggested, the brakes are a big concern. Don't drive that thing if the brakes are barely working. On a positive note, I hope you enjoy your new dream, and welcome to the forum.

I used a "Magnaflow," different from a "Flowmaster." It has a pleasing quiet burble at idle. On the highway I hear tire noise and wind noise but no muffler noise.

My windshield leaks all dribbled over the internal garnish and ran down the face of the dashboard. Your description sounds more like a cowl vent leak, despite the new seal. It would be simple to tape over the (closed) cowl vent and test it with a water hose before taking on the much bigger job of replacing the windshield.

I lose productivity time during my afternoon nap.

Fortunately the pics show your headliner is not installed yet. Did you remove and reinstall the beltline stainless that runs around under the rear window? On my 50 Plymouth I had trouble getting a waterproof seal on those clips under the window. It took a couple of tries and some silicone sealer applied from inside the car to get the clip holes perfectly sealed. Test with a water hose, not with a film of water, really blast it until NO drops come through. Then your headliner and package tray under the window will not get wet and stained after sitting in the rain overnight. I would not worry about the door clips, rain gets in there anyway and runs out the drain holes on the bottom of the doors.