JerseyHarold

For what it's worth, if I'm returning a call to an unknown number, I hit *67 before I dial. That blocks my number from the recipient.

We looked into solar panels for our house here in New Jersey about a year ago. We have southern exposure and no trees so the location is ideal. The local Home Depot has periodic 'seminars' by a solar installer. After we sifted through all the info about tax credits and rebates, we figured the payback period to be about 10 years even though the salesman was claiming 4-5. We ended-up not doing it.

Were they painted or just gel-coated? If you want the paint to stick, you can buy spray-can adhesion promoters then spray paint from a rattle can. If you have any boat dealers in your area they might have recommndations.

Do you have any well-established collector car dealers in your area that might display the car for a commission? If you want to sell it yourself, I'd start with Hemmings and if no action pay the fees and go for a big-name auction. It can't hurt to list on the various free websites like Craigslist and the Mopar specialty sites, but use caution when dealing with whoever responds. In my opinion, eBay has become the territory of bargain-hunters and scam artists.

Shel, I'm surprised you needed a policeman to verify your VIN tracing. I got one of my '52's registered in Staten Island with only an old insurance policy (from 1969 showing the engine number), a typewritten bill of sale from the prior owner showing the VIN, the VIN tracing, and a fresh insurance card in my name with the VIN. I think it helps to go to the DMV office and be neat and polite so it helps establish your credibility. You also need a little luck to get the 'right' person who understands the situation and has the authority to make it happen.

One thing I forgot to mention in my first post was that NY will probably ask for a pencil tracing of the VIN to confirm that it's the number you say it is. I had to do that every time I changed from engine number to VIN on my registrations. It might not hurt to take a digital photo of the VIN plate in addition to the pencil tracing. Hope this helps.

Every '51-'52 Plymouth I ever had came from New York and the old registrations had the motor number on them, not the VIN on the doorpost. I would recommend contacting the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (their website is www.nysdmv.org) They are very easy to deal with and will help you to correct the paperwork. In my case, I had a 1974 NYS registration for my '51 business coupe, with the engine number on it. When I moved to New Jersey, I decided to get a NJ title for the car. When I went to New Jersey DMV, they refused to issue me a title with a VIN on it. I then contacted NYS DMV, and they told me to bring my old paperwork, a valid insurance card showing the VIN, and a tracing of the VIN off my car. They issued me a New York State registration with the VIN, which I then turned-in to NJ to get a title here. New York also has a procedure for lost or insufficient paperwork. Call them, explain your situation completely and honestly, and they can probably help you.

My '51 Concord business coupe has the woodgrain dash. To my knowledge, the only '51's that had a painted solid-color dash were the station wagons, convertibles, and Belvederes. The rest had the woodgrain. All '52's had gray painted dashes (they called it 'Lustre-Tone', and the color name was Astral Gray Poly) with the same exceptions as the '51. For what it's worth, the 1952 Plymouth was downgraded from the '51 with much plainer (and less expensive to manufacture) features.

Happy birthday!!

The two top radios are '51-'52 Plymouth (Ask the man who owns one...). The bottom radio looks to be earlier than 1964. Any part numbers on it?

Wild guess...'55 Plymouth?

My guess is it was originally a Dodge LWB sedan. May also have started life as a DeSoto or Chrysler and had Dodge sheetmetal put on.

It seems the fine folks at Photobuckket deleted some of the pictures because of 'content' issues.....some headlights were showing their bullseyes and I guess that's a no-no.

Try this link for a good hubcap site. Lots of pictures to help you figure out what it is. http://www.hubcaps.org/

Might be '55-6-7 DeSoto.

I have removed front and rear windows form '51and '52 Plymouths and the first step was pulling the locking cord out of the weatherstrip. After that, I loosened the gasket from around the body opening and pushed the glass out with the gasket still around it. It works better with two people. One thing I learned was to put a blanket on the cowl or trunk area so if the window lands on it there is some padding under it.

I think the headliner is held in by the window gaskets front and rear, so I'd put the headliner in first, then the new gaskets and glass.

Clogged exhaust!!

Take a look at '73-'77 Chevy pickup truck antennas. That base should fit the contours of your car.

Years back I had a '70 LeMans (one of the all-time three worst cars I ever had) and when I sold it I pulled the stereo speakers from the package shelf and taped Rice Krispie box cardboard over the holes, then put a piece of cardboard over the whole thing. "The next owner will never know....." is what I thought. I saw the car a week after I sold it and it had brand new speakers and a fresh package shelf. Guess I was wrong! PS: I found this car in a junkyard a couple of months later. I asked the junk-man and he said it came in because of a blown motor. It still haunted me after that, because the front clip ended-up on another car in my area and I kept seeing it for a few more years.

I'm glad you got it covered. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Tim, If I'm reading your post correctly, the way you're installing the lock system allows the door locks to be totally disabled at certain times. I think there is a safety issue here because if the locks somehow malfunction the occupants may get trapped in the car. Have you taken this into account in your design?

Yup, that's the one. Somewhere in my photo pile there's a picture of me lovingly carressing the fender of that car. These '51-2 Plymouths have been a lifelong addiction!

Back in the mid-eighties I saw a double-ended '51 Plymouth at an Americana museum near Rapid City, South Dakota. The owner told me they built the car in 1965 as an advertising vehicle but the highway patrol ordered it off the road because it was too confusing for motorists.