rb1949

While legal to register old plate with vehicle, no need. I like the owners Historical Arizona Plate. It's one of the originals made of solid copper.

Finished up painting and undercoating the front wheel wells, got the tires all shined up. Slapped the wheels back on and down off the jacks to ground level. The only motion Saturday was to back it out of the drive and get it turned around. Looks better with all that chrome in the front facing the street, causing heads to turn. Some people have stopped to chat. Errands early today then time to get to work. Cleaned & Mounted the driver mirror, it's on the door. Ordered a passenger peep mirror identical to the other, waiting to go pick it up. Wanted that cause it's 4 3/8 dia. Connected wiring in the trunk, all fine. Need to adhesive the carpet on the trunk fender wells back in place. Pulled up the floor carpet and washed it, waiting to reinstall. Attached wipers. Helper was available, so we got the VISOR BACK ON!! Ah yes, now it looks cool. Poor thing was dirty, and sticky with tree sap. (good reason to remove Indiana State Tree) Get the hose for a quick rinse and sponge bath, and a dry. Nice and clean again. Well, been waiting for 3 weeks looking at the jalopy, let's make it roll. Off for the maiden new paint cruise. It's called the beach cruiser for a reason. Here's proof. Sure does sparkle out there in the sun. Nicest car in the lot. That visor looks great. It fits the beach scene perfectly. Time to get some sand in it. (How did the hubcaps get lined up the same?) Painted the letters on the trunk chrome piece, now you can read the words FLUID DRIVE. It's been a hectic 3 weeks but got a lot accomplished, and I'm one happy camper. Hope you like the beach cruiser quality. Will try to get to the local cruise-in Tue nite. I need to ask about 2 car shows at the beach coming up, would like to join in. Let's have a beer!

In comparison, true.

With a trailer brush.

An interesting fix, not exactly simple. Not sure I understand where this filter is. Pictures by chance?

Nothing will put it back to new. If you've improved it a bit, and are happy with the result, then something has been accomplished. Only time will test durability.

If a bumper jack will raise the car, I sure bumper brackets are a good spot for jack stands.

Up in the air project. The starter was ready for pickup after major work. A nice kink in the repair budget, but now it's as good (maybe better) as new. It appears to have been the original Chrysler/Autolite (Prestolite) starter. Even got the car painted while waiting.That dang old thing is HEAVY! Let's get it back in. We reversed the removal process, dropping it in from the top, drive gear facing up. It just slides past all the obstacles in the way. Give it a tilt and it popped right in. Tighten up the two obnoxious bolts, attach wiring and it fired right up. The jalopy is ready for it's first newly painted cruise. Good timing as the rains came. Left it up in the air to remove the wheels and squirt some new undercoating in the fender wells. Also scrub the tires good inside and out and hit em' with Armor All. Unless you've found a better product to use. Sounds like Happy Hour to me. Edit: The guy at the electric shop said it was perfectly OK to jump start a 6V from a 12V negative ground. And liked the idea to bypass the battery, putting ground to the block and touching the other directly to the coil terminal on the starter (with key on). Remember your positive/negative. Had to ask since jump starting is discussed a lot.

This is my 49 Chrysler radiator.

Those connectors on the blade are the same as mine. Hooks onto the arm. OReily/Napa had blades, as well as on line. Mine are 10". Remember seeing shorter, but can't say where now.

No sand or lake in my backyard The beach is just a few minutes drive for such activity. Only 10 days til Superboat weekend, the only fresh water race in the circuit. Go about 6:30am to get a spot before 60,000 people show up. The buggy has flathead horses.

I have those. You say it is a Mopar option? Is that 'cup' held in place by the plug? Still available?

Dang birds sure are taking good aim at the new paint. Waiting to see if funds permit tree removal yet this year. While snooping trim, spotted a Chrysler script, a chrome name that goes on the hood, and it had a red background? Maybe it varied by year or model. None of the pictures of '49, even restored ones, show that as having Red on it. I like it as is, and will just leave it all chrome. Will go ahead with the ones on the trunk that have Black when I have a steady hand. It's a beautiful day, so off to a beach party. Projects will have to wait.

Always like to read what people are doing, finding, or solving problems with this M6 trans. Keep us updated.

Lots of beach detours this weekend. It was perfectly hot, but the beer was cold. Finally got all the replacement studs measured and cut for the tail lights and gravel shields. Plus clips for the rear fender side moldings. Putty the studs for the holes and get this stuff installed. MORE CHROME!! The ol' buggy is looking pretty spiffy. New picture of course. I'm pleased with the beach cruiser. Still cleaning up the hood ornament, a big piece in plain view but the most nasty of all chrome. And get that visor back on. That will mean another picture. Can't believe I did all this waiting for a part to be repaired. Don't be afraid to attempt a paint job. You can do it.

Hi, glad to see another 49 Windsor. A little looking on the M6 trans will find some great reading and simple troubleshooting techniques to test the 5 electric components that make it work. (Imperial Club and Chrysler Master Technician manuals, all on line)

My vote is to find another transport, they are everywhere.

After a detour to the beach I had time to work on the trunk and get the big one piece brake light assembly installed. CHROME!! Those pieces help it look snazzy. I'm using the cheap $3 sticky "electricians putty" from Menard's which seems to be working fine around the mounting holes. The 1# block would be enough to do every hole on 50 cars. Hard to see with the glare but that skinny Chrysler emblem across the top has raised letters, and the background should be black. Also look close at the big bar across the bottom to vaguely see the words FLUID DRIVE in recessed letters. These letters should also be Black. Will be getting out the paint for some careful touch up back to original. (Me wanting something original??) The large tail lights on the fenders are next. Had a problem with bad mounting studs, so re-tapped the holes and have to cut new studs. No big deal. Still working on side molding clips, a problem around here. Ha. One familiar parts store wanted $14 to ship 3 pieces, maybe 2 oz!! My idea is better, and will be making some. There are times you can improve on a part.

Front end parts are going back on. CHROME!!!! That's a lot to keep shiny. Ready to head to the back end. More chrome goodies. That means reconnecting the lights too. Kinda anxious to get the visor back on. I think the visor makes this model look great. But will have to admit, when it was removed, quite a difference in visibility. Especially those stop lights. Some like them, some don't. I'm surprised the Indiana boys haven't stopped by to take a look. I do notice when you mention Chrysler people tend to run the other direction.

Back when there was no need to bolt everything down. We never locked our house til I was a teenager. Street parking is still normal.

Thanks. It's good to see a nicer car sitting out there. Touched up areas that spray misses. Ready to install some clean chrome. The side molding width varies, so there are different clips. Finding some on line, but hope a local place may have them, to SEE. O'Reily has some that should work, May order a few to test. Best price, and free ship to store. Also played around and fabricated some which worked good. May continue that route to make the needed sizes. Got the soft "no-harden" putty goop that goes around all the bolt holes to keep water out. The original stuff was a quite sticky soft green substance. 3M makes a product, but didn't need 60' of it!! Down the road, should my ambition attempt buffing? Have an 8" pad on an orbital or rotary buffer. Any experience with various types of compounds? The paint is Acrylic Enamel.

Sharp looking car. Enjoy driving so others can enjoy looking.

Goal achieved and the 49 has a new look. Same original color, which I like on this model, so let's call it an 'improved' look. Hustled to get it masked up for an afternoon chore while the weather was good. You won't see show quality, but I'm happy with beach cruiser quality. The $9 spray gun did a nice job. It was painted right where you see it ........ outside and under a tree. Still there, hoping for some hot sunny weather to let it cure up. The shiny parts that were removed are getting polished up awaiting installation. Have time to get some new mounting studs and nuts. Any suggestions on where to find replacement "clips" for the side molding? They clip in the trim with a stud thru the hole and a nut. Do they have a name? Will be nice to have it back together and some new pictures.

Since forever there has been a crank out in the garage, but it has a large hex on the end. No clue what it was for.

Once you commit to a paint project there's no turning back. These old cars are pretty big too. Ambition had to be consistent, tackling wet sanding every day after work, and the weather was ideal. HOT!! Snooping found trim pieces with accessible fasteners that could be removed. Lots of chrome stayed on the car, I'm not one to totally dismantle everything. Gave myself 2 weeks to get the buggy prepped. Got to make it look better than the previous paint job. Staying with original color, ordered on-line.