MackTheFinger

Each generation has had to learn their way forward in their own way. Best thing to do is to give them the encouragement and the opportunity to do so. That's an effort at the best of times. Happy New Year to everyone!! Let's hope it's a good one!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgR4SDxBJAo

My father was born in 1908, grandfather in 1870, my great-grandfather was born in 1837, died in 1913, and served in the Confederate Army. What do I deserve for that? Nothing. That's what I expected and that's what I got. I've paid my own way since I was 16, no help, no handouts, nobody paying for my education, housing, meals, nothing I couldn't grab for myself. I didn't even feel like I could afford a phone until 1980. I borrowed money on a new vehicle in 1978 and never borrowed for one since. Ditto for housing, had a 20 year mortgage on my first house, paid it off in 10 and it's a rental now. My current home was built out of pocket. The biggest evil in the world is debt. Even so, I have sympathy for people coming of age in these completely weird days.

Owning a P15/D24 is proof of a sense of humor, restoring one is proof you need help, thinking you can make a profit on one proves you're beyond help.

Here's a couple of unrestored cars that I suspect could be had cheap!

I wish you luck and no offense intended, your car's looking good but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting on $40K. The only Mopar I've seen locally that I'd consider is a '56 New Yorker, $5.5; nice original car but needs a transmission. ? There's an original condition, running and driving P15 coupe for sale at $8.5 pretty close by. It's tempting but still too many $$, I just built another building and I really need to buy a tractor..?

I like old Mopars about as much as anyone but this is my opinion. A P-15 or D-24, stock, running and driving, is worth $4k-$10k... It would take a pretty special one to be worth more..

Paint and bodywork is my favorite part of the hobby. I was fortunate to have friends in the business who helped me learn. With today's material prices and according to where you live I can easily see how you could expect to pay $6-10k for a good professional job.

I must have overlooked the part where the OP mentioned he was running in the Pan American. I wish him well. The only pertinent information in your initial response was the possibility of needing different wheels. My response was intended to hopefully provide information beyond, "Oh, yeah! Lots of Mopar parts will work." Your second response mentions problems identifying mis-matched parts and then recommends Desoto brakes for a Plymouth. While they are from the same manufacturer and some parts are interchangeable from Plymouth to Desoto it could still cause some head-scratching if the next owner doesn't possess an enyclopedic knowledge of Chrysler products. So while I understand your position and agree with some of your observations I'd respectfully recommend you keep your lectures to yourself. Self-aggrandizement is never an endearing quality.

I'm pretty sure that the backing plate bolt spacing on the spindles is different from one size to another so you'd need everything from the spindles out including spindles. I'd think a disc conversion would be easier, more effective, and probably less expensive unless you have a donor car.

New passport picture? ?

I just installed a duel reservoir master cylinder on the firewall on my "rescue dog" '47 D24. (See classifieds) The only original m/cyl I have is rusted shut and there were some good dual reservoir m/cyls with the car. The clutch pedal will still have to go through the floor but that doesn't seem like a big deal. As long as you're digging that deep into your braking system you should give it some consideration.

If you have a title that doesn't match the numbers on your vehicle you only have a few choices. Let it slide and hope for the best, go through the process required by your state to get it to conform to their standards, or wait until a vehicle comes along with the correct paperwork. The last option would be my recommendation. To the best of my knowledge re-stamping or modifying a VIN in any way is illegal no matter where you live. These old cars aren't worth the hassle.

Simplest way to find out is to drive back by in the daylight and see what you swiped 'em from..

Looks like the higher resistance coils are for first generation Ignitors or points ignition. The ones I installed were first generation Ignitors. The German Bosch blue coils are 3 ohm and I don't remember having ballast resistors on them. I'll take a look later today. IIRC those things were $100.00 cheaper when I bought them 30 years ago but a hundred dollar bill was $100 cheaper back then, too/ ?

Seems clear enough, "Ignitor II ignition can be used in conjunction with most ignition coils rated at 0.45 ohms or greater" I installed Pertronix ignitions on several air-cooled VW's and left the Bosch blue coils in place with no problems.

There was no mention of any click or clunk or anything like that, though; which is generally the case with a bad solenoid. I've heard that some people have heat related issues with them but it's never happened to me personally. The starters are easy enough to swap out. At least the bolts go straight up. The front brace is generally a PITA, though. Most people never re-install them.

I'm glad my Momma ain't around to know that someone rhubarbed Betty Crocker.... ?

Here's one I like.. Freemansburg, Pa, circa 1970

You should have superpowers after that.. ELECTRO-MAN!!

I've put quite a few miles on Econolines over the years. I put 220k on the '08 E150 I had just before the Transit and a couple of others that I drove over 150k. My '04 E250 is right at 200k now. I never had any problems with any of them. The Transit seems like a decent van. Time will tell if the 3.7 holds up as well as the 5.0's and 4.6s.

Looks good. The chop and the Ford rear window make it look a lot less stodgy. Is that a '40 Merc back there?

I have an '04 e250. I got a new Transit 150 late last year. Put about 12k on it so far and I'm still getting used to it. It's a nice van and it'll out-accelerate my old van but it still seems weird..

The Barrow gang on the way to a bank robbery? ?

I installed a master cylinder on the firewall and have been putting new brake lines on my D-24. I'm using one of these. It does a good job but will only do 3/16 lines. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0859QMSNX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Newer vehicles carry wider loads.