JerseyHarold

Joe, Did you have the tank cleaned out at some point? If not, I would suggest doing that before putting gas into it. When I tried to start my '52 after it had sat for many years, I poured gas into the tank, which made mud out of the crap in the bottom of it , which then got sucked through the gas line by the nice new fuel pump and jammed the tube. Then, the real fun began. The bottom of the tank was rusted internally and the gas started leaking onto my garage floor. When I pulled the tank off the car, I got 3 coffee cans full of crud out of it, and when I held it up you could see the sky through all the holes.

There is a threaded hole in the body of the switch and a short bolt goes in there to hold it to the dash. Leave the bolt part way out of the switch and slide it into the slot on the back of the dash, then tighten.

I use a piece of vinyl tubing and a squeeze bulb to drain radiators for cooling system work. I just shove the hose down into the radiator and use the bulb to create a suction so it drains into a container. It takes a while to empty, but I don't run the risk of breaking or stripping the radiator drain (especially the plastic plugs on newer cars).

They also have a Standard Motor Products DS68T with the same applications for $2.60. Go figure!

The first car I ever bought at auction was a 1963 Lincoln that had cigarette lighters in each rear door. When I got the car home, I pushed-in one of the lighters to see if it would work. It didn't pop out, so I pulled it out of the socket and stuck my finger on the element to see if it was hot. It was!!

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I would not let him work off the debt on your property. There is a liability issue here---if he gets hurt while working for you, you're in trouble. Discipline belongs at home, and teaching the kid a lesson is not your problem. Have you considered filing an insurance claim (either car or homeowner's)? Otherwise, get cash from the father and call it a day. Just my 2 cents' worth. Harold

I eliminated the armored cable altogether on one of my '52's by using a '53-up ignition switch. Everything is the same except they didn't use the armored cable just regular wire. If the '49 is like the '52, you should be able to do the same thing.

A friend of mine bought a set of HF wheel dollies, tried using them, and returned them the next day. The casters were of very low quality and made the car very hard to push.

I saw photos of a '52 Plymouth hearse from Australia with right hand drive. Very weird. There was a funeral home in Bath, NY that used a '66 Fury hearse for a number of years.

Sorry to hear about your job. As they say, when one door closes another one opens. I'm sure you'll connect with another job even if it takes a while to find one. My position at a large national homebuilder was eliminated at the end of 2007. I had survived 7 rounds of quarterly layoffs. I kept sending resumes and attending job fairs with no success but then one Saturday night at 11 PM I found a listing on Monster and replied immediately. I got a call at 9:30 Monday morning, had two interviews that week, and started the job the following Monday. I think the key is maintaining optimism, which can be very difficult at times. Good luck with your search. Harold

Over on the HAMB there seems to be thriving commerce in those Historical Documents. Sometimes they even come with matching VIN tags for the true 'collector'!

Ed, Do you have any friends or relatives in a state where the title laws are more user-friendly? They can get a title in their name and transfer it to you as a gift. If you don't have any documentation to begin with, you have nothing to lose.

What Andydodge is describing sounds exactly like the way New York State operates for all vehicles built prior to 1973. For '73-up, you need a title to prove ownership and a registration to use the vehicle on public roadways. The title usually lists the lienholder if the car is financed, so a future owner would be aware of a title encumbrance when purchasing the car. If the loan is paid-off, the lender issues a 'Lien Satisfaction' document that the new owner presents to DMV along with the original title so they can receive a new, clear title. Many states (NJ is one of them) deliver the vehicle title to the lienholder, who then gives it to the vehicle owner once the loan is paid-off. The theory is that the owner can't sell the vehicle without the title, to protect the finance company. New Jersey has always been a title state to my knowledge.

Good point. Also, some retailers automatically provide longer warranties for electronic items they sell. Costco is one example and there are others.

If it were no good right out of the box, they would probably have requested you to return it to the retailer for refund or replacement. From their perspective, your computer is 'used' because it has been in-service for a number of months. Therefore, the logic is that they are doing a LKQ exchange (like kind and quality). Some manufacturers don't specify that you'll get new parts under warranty either....another convenient loophole. Is there an extended warranty on it? That may have more favorable provisions than the standard manufacturer's warranty.

Ed, I've been in the auto and HVAC industries and standard warranty procedure for warranty parts (and even complete replacement units in the case of HVAC) are only warranted for the remainder of the original warranty. I've spent lots of time explaining to customers that, for example, if we provide a warranty compressor in a central air unit with two months left on its warranty, then the compressor is warranted for only two months. Seems illogical, but that's the way it is.

Maybe 'V' is for Vroom-Vroom?

The seller advertised this car a while ago for more money. The earlier ad had pictures and the car didn't look too bad...was repainted 'tomato juice' red. West Windsor is just off Exit 8 of the NJ Turnpike. It might be worth a shot for someone here. Harold http://cnj.craigslist.org/atq/1585353851.html

Just spotted this ad on CL. East Brunswick is about 1/2 hour from me and if anyone needs anything I can go over and take a look. http://cnj.craigslist.org/pts/1569929411.html

It seems to me that there are more early-fifties Plymouths around than either Ford or Chevy. Has anyone else made that observation, or am I just taking more notice of Plymouths than other makes?

Barabbas, Welcome to the forum. That's a good-looking '52. Is it the original color?

It's 11 AM and we have about 10 inches in Freehold. Supposed to keep snowing until late afternoon. My daughter goes to college in Western New York and so far her winter has been better than ours.

According to some forecasts, the line between 'heavy' and 'moderate' snow accumulation in NJ will be around Route 33...which we're about 2 miles from. I just got back from gassing one of our cars and, of course, filling the gas can for the snow blower. Every other car in the gas station had a little red can to fill as well.

Congratulations!!

It's eBay item 300388249375 and I'd say it's from a '49 Plymouth business coupe because the wheel opening is taller on one end than the other.