Jump to content

Bob Riding

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,196

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    12

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Bob Riding

  1. Bob Riding
    Actually my dash is painted a tannish-brown color. The other original '39, '40, and '41 woodies that I've seen also have a solid color – different from the body color. In the late 30s and early 40s wagons were considered utilitarian vehicles and they really didn't try to make them look attractive. Blond wood with beige body and fenders and a tan top. Inside bracketry was a baby-yellow. I decided to go a different route and highlight the streamline moderne aspects of the craftsmanship by powdercoating all brackets, fenders, and metal bits, a color called "statuary bronze". Gives it a bit of a steampunk look I think. I also ditched the beige theme and went with a black cobra-grain vinyl roof, Brewster green (a GM truck color from the 40s) for the body and contrasting mahogany insert panels for the doors. I also added whitewalls which were probably never found on work vehicles very frequently, unless they were a shuttle service for a fancy resort.
  2. Bob Riding
    This is what Matt emailed me: If possible before we chat, tune in AM 980 KEYQ and/or AM 1010 KCHJ a few minutes before the top the hour. The FCC requires call sign and frequency identification at the top of the hour. With that information, determine what your dial needle is on...it may not be where you'd expect to see it. As mentioned in the owner's manual, your RediRad operates at AM1000, almost exactly between KEYQ & KCHJ in your area. It is THERE you'll find the RediRad producing clear music, PROVIDED that your music source's headphone volume is set to 50% (AFTER you insert the audio plug into the device).
  3. Bob Riding
    I'm at the stage where I needed to install the antenna for my stock Mopar 802 radio into the '40 wagon, but I didn't want to drill holes in the cowl. I considered the "Roadway" running board mounted setup, but even if it worked, I was still stuck listening to local AM stations (mostly news, Spanish language, or religious broadcasts) so I was looking for an alternative. I remember seeing a company in Wisconsin that used your existing AM radio, 6 or 12 volt, negative or positive ground, with or WITHOUT an antenna, that would play your tunes from an mp3 player, iPod, phone, etc., through your stock radio, but I couldn't remember the name. Then I went to bed and woke up in the middle of the night with the part of the name: Ready-radio, or something to that effect. Google came up with RediRad so I contacted them at their website and after a little research, ordered the 6 volt, positive ground model, which was $99. The next weekend I installed it but it didn't really work- I could barely hear the music, with lots of static. I played around with the ground, took power directly from the battery, etc, with no luck. I emailed them, explaining the situation. Matt, the owner/tech guy, suggesting a few different causes and offering to call me to discuss. Matt called yesterday, and talked me through the setup steps, and voila! it worked! Turns out my tuner was slightly off (you need to tune in to AM 1000). After that Matt and I talked for about 10 minutes (they are apparently all old car dudes at RediRad) and he asked if they could add a picture of the Plymouth on their website. Matt mentioned that they could have saved some money by offshoring the RediRad components, but decided to support American companies and purchase everything from US suppliers and manufacture them here. It is so refreshing in our supposed "service" economy to work with companies that walk the talk and seem to actually care about their customers. Now I can listen to the Beach Boys like back in the day! Here is their web link: RediRad - Rediscover Your Radio
  4. Bob Riding
    I just finished installing a remote start switch on the inside firewall pad, just left of the clutch pedal. My battery is under the seat and it's a real pain to disconnect it, everytime I park the wagon in the shop. i've seen too many vehicle fires to feel comfortable leaving everything connected when I'm away. I decided to go with 4 ought (4/0) conductor from the back of the switch to the starter. I used my existing YnZ Wiring cable that came with the '40 Plymouth wiring harness because it already had the correct terminals (battery post and 3/8" end) to go from the battery to the switch. I've never had any electrical problems since the install a few years ago, however the YnZ conductor is obviously less beefy than the new one (2/0?). I know with 6 volt you want to minimize voltage drop, so I was thinking about replacing the other 3 ft cable with 4/0 conductor, but wire this large is pricey, so if it won't matter, I'll obsess on something else and leave it alone! Opinions?
  5. Bob Riding

    Hi Roadkingcoupe,

    I was reading past posts and 5 years ago we discussed Plymouth clocks and glovebox doors with clock openings. I am still looking for the 1940 door (I have the clock). Did you ever install your '39 glovebox door?IMG_0450.JPG.ceab7f5eb6fbd7f12cbe60b910e5d3e0.JPG

    1. Roadkingcoupe

      Roadkingcoupe

      Hi Bob,

          Good to hear from you.

      I sold the clock and the matching glove box door together.

      Will keep an eye out for a glove box door for your 1940 Plymouth (and let you know when I find one).

      Hope all is well and you are enjoying your cars!!!

    2. Bob Riding

      Bob Riding

      Yes, I am. I've just got it running well- overdrive shifts when it should, motor runs cool, etc. Here is a recent picture that we are using for a wine label (i'm part of a hobby winery here in CA) thanks for looking out for me!

      Bob

      FullSizeRender.jpg

  6. Bob Riding
    I got my OD from him_ I think you are right!
  7. Bob Riding
    That's what it's all about...I would love to do a similar trip in California...lot's of back county to explore...
  8. Bob Riding
    Good point...I will try some slow driving this weekend and see what I get...what do you all run for oil? Won't a synthetic just make what small drips I have now, big drips?
  9. Bob Riding
    I never thought of the air in the line-that could be it- one of the old-timers said run the 160 degree stat and use Mobil One oil- a synthetic will not create the sludge that petroleum oils can...folk wisdom all around...
  10. Bob Riding
    I had that thought too, then it opened later...what do you think about the pure water idea?
  11. Bob Riding
    My wife and I just returned from the 10th Annual Woodies in the Valley show in Visalia CA yesterday but weren't sure we were going to make it home without a tow truck I've been driving the '40 Plymouth now for a couple of years and I've never had an overheating problem, including driving around in the summer at temperatures over 100°. I got the motor from an old Mopar racer who had rebuilt it, new distribution tube, etc. and it always ran like a top. It had 160° thermostat, which after reading various posts here, seemed like I was asking for sludge trouble in the future (apparently the engine doesn't get hot enough to burn off the moisture which creates problems), so I did what you're not supposed to do right before a trip and changed the thermostat to a 180° unit from Napa. Immediately the gauge registered 20° hotter which made sense. We left Saturday morning, outside temperature in the 50s, and drove 60 miles on the freeway with no issues. We had a lot of fun at the show, caught up with old friends, tc., and then caravanned through the countryside, which included driving through some small local downtown areas very slowly. Outside temps were in the low 70s. Immediately it pegged the temperature gage – I couldn't even see the needle it was so far off the scale. We pulled over and clouds of steam were coming out of the bottom area of the radiator. After cooling down we added water only, and filled it to overflowing. As I was looking among the group for some anti-freeze, a couple of the old-timers told me that unpressurized flatheads do better in hot weather with pure water rather than an anti-freeze mix. Now with more water than coolant,in the stock, honeycomb radiator, the gauge went back down to about 170° and stayed there the whole rest of the trip. I had never heard this before- I would think that adding anything to water would change its boiling point and be better. Thoughts?
  12. Bob Riding
    Has it been that long Don? That was a fun visit!
  13. Bob Riding
    As long as you truckers won't make fun of us wagonneers (for crashing your truck party), I'm in! I do have a tailgate!
  14. Bob Riding
    That comment made me LOL!
  15. Bob Riding
    I assume by installing a MII front end, which will have rack and pinion, disc brakes, etc., and a different reared, I will notice a significant improvement in handling, but it seems like Plymouth did a pretty good job with the stock setup, so I'm still on the fence.
  16. Bob Riding
    Great suggestions- I will get out my fine-toothed comb! Did you change the frame/rearend, or leave it stock?
  17. Bob Riding
    I'll use this one as the Plymouth Dr quote to replace the floor and rockers on the other was about $1,500. The other has minor fender and body damage- not had to fix, but just more labor and $. The Falcon is my brother-in-law's project-it will be a daily driver for his wife.
  18. Bob Riding
    Well- don't look through the P15 D24 classifieds if you aren't willing to pull the trigger! I have a '51 Suburban project car, and didn't realize that i needed a parts car for it. Actually my '51 has floor and rocker tin-worm issues and this '51 (actually a '52 with a Cambridge passenger car front clip) is solid. A California car, last registered when Jimmy Carter was in the White House, is in remarkably good shape.The folks that owned it reupholstered the seat, not once, but twice. The original Bedford cord with blue piping is still intact, under the layers of 1960's chintz and vinyl. The engine turns over and the brakes have been re-done. I plan to install a modern motor (SBC or baby Hemi) AT, air and probably a MII clip. Those of you that know me are probably wondering how I could have strayed so far from stock, but actually, my '40 Plymouth woodie wagon has a number of modern upgrades (radials, disc brakes, turn signals, dual carbs, split exhaust, etc) but still retains it's somewhat vintage appearance, which is what i hope to achieve with the '52 Suburban, but with more modern running gear. Besides, my wife would only drive it if it had AT and A/C. i will keep you posted.
  19. Bob Riding
    Here is the setup on my 1940 Plymouth woodie wagon; It is a 23" block (217 ) motor, with a modified intake- a stock manifold modified by a Forum member (can't recall his name right at this moment ) and an additional dump on the exhaust. The 2" exhaust is split and then recombines into a single larger tailpipe. There was no room to run a second pipe with the way the gas tank was configured on the pre-war wagons.The 75 yr old owner of the muffler shop said that the larger single would breathe just fine, (they did it that way with V-8s, back in the 50's and 60s) and it does have much more power than my old stock single carb setup. With the oil-bath air cleaners, the problem is their too-large diameter. I found 2 Crosley units - cut the bottoms out of spare Plymouth air cleaners and welded them up to the Crosleys. Work great and are very similar to the old Dodge Pilothouse duals, I think. Crosley air cleaners.pdf Dual linkage.pdf
  20. Bob Riding
    Hi Rodney, Good to hear that you are still on the Plymouth bandwagon! Do you have a link to where we can see the movie?
  21. Bob Riding
    I took it down to my cousin's shop, Ball Tire in Fresno- they have trained "vintage "mechanics that know a kingpin from a ball joint. Looks like my toe-in was way off- good thing to have another set of eyes check things out. The 18 mile drive on mostly freeways was uneventful- averaged 14 mpg @ 60-65mph. I guess that is to be expected with dual carbs? Looks like we are good-to go for Santa Cruz!
  22. Bob Riding
    I know! 100+ here in the SJ Valley, and 75 max in Santa Cruz...I must be living right or lucky!
  23. Bob Riding
    No, it was water based base coat and oil-based clear..strange combo, but looks good, I think
  24. Bob Riding
    It was a $50 job from the local paint supplier, Patterson Paint, Fresno. Was at least twice as good as the $30 Harbor Freight gun
  25. Bob Riding
    I ordered it, thanks!!!
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Terms of Use