47, to determine repair costs

[pasthrill]

Hi, For a possible purchase of a 47 Dodge, I am trying to determine how much these various parts will cost; gas tank and sender, master cylinder and all wheel cylinders. Thanks..Paul C.

[Norm's Coupe]

New tank about $250. New sender, if one wire about $95, if two wire about $30 to $40. Wheel cylinders about $30 each and you have 6 of them. MC will run about $20 for a rebuild kit and about $200 for a new one. Don't forget the brake shoes. Those will be about $30 or so per wheel to have them relined.

That said, that's just the tip of the iceberg when buying an old car. I'm sure you'll have many more expenses involved after you get into it. This is a hobby and it's going to cost money to play. So.........if you don't want to spend money to do all the things that will come up, maybe you should not buy it. Old cars are money pits.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Norm..just found out that MC's have jumper way on up there..was quoted 265.00

[aero3113]

you can get a one wire fuel sender from jcwhitney for about $25,just have to modify it using the top disc from an old sender.

[greg g]

The most simple answer is if ya gotta ask ya can't afford it. Working an old car is hobby with may unforseen expenses along the way.

How do you make a small fortune with vintage cars??? Start with a large fortune and a car!!!

And the mechanical stuff is relatively inexpensive compared to body work, painting, rechroming, new interiors, etc.

[TodFitch]

Hi, For a possible purchase of a 47 Dodge, I am trying to determine how much these various parts will cost; gas tank and sender, master cylinder and all wheel cylinders. Thanks..Paul C.

Looks like the other posts have covered your questions. The one you did not ask: How much for trim parts? For some year Plymouths (and I assume Dodge cars too) there are trim parts that are made out of unobtainium so if your car is missing an item it will be forever missing that item.

For Plymouth and, again assuming the same for Dodge, I'd rather start with a car that has all of its trim pieces in good shape and missing or broken mechanicals than the reverse. You can get nearly an amazing number of mechanical items at NAPA as long as you know the cross reference numbers (see the main pages on this web site by clicking on the "Return to P15-D24.com" link above).

[Plymouthy Adams]

and that that can be found is made of goldpaltinumplatium

[T120]

Greg,

How do you make a small fortune with vintage cars??? Start with a large fortune and a car!!!QUOTE]-good line,quite true.I've never had a fortune, large or small.But having an old car(s) can be an expensive hobby - you have to enjoy it.Like any other hobby it doesn't necessarily make economic sense

[Don Jordan]

And if you're really good you can manage to pay even more.

A new gas tank goes for $250 but the slick wheeler dealer I am I managed to pay $500 for my old tank. The good news is it has a life time guarantee. I'm not sure whose life.

Just so I don't appear like a complete idiot - they split the tank in half, boiled out all the rust and the inner sealing, they put it back together, sealed it again and coated the out side. I didn't buy the new tank because it just didn't look right - like people will even notice - but I know.

I guess the key to an old car is: "It's only money."

[Bingster]

I don't have a lot of extra money but am still "restoring" my Desoto because there is an awful lot you can do for very little money and a lot of labor. Degreasing and cleaning the front end and engine compartment took a lot of time and labor and had to be done before anything could be replaced or repainted.

In the meantime, buy the things you need here and there. Watch ebay. Then complete a section at a time. There is definately a sequence to be followed. Cleaning, which includes sandblasting if you have access to one or power wire brushing and scraping. I wouldn't sandblast directly on the car itself. Take the parts away from the car. That sand gets into everything!

Then priming, painting. Suspension and such can be done with rattle cans or even a brush. They can't be seen.

Re-wiring and installing new brake lines, etc. should be done after then painting, and that stuff should be removed prior to painting.

Make sure you have a wiring diagram for your car and a repair manual.

Keep parts labeled in coffee cans, mayonaise jars, butter containers, etc.

You will spend a lot of time reconditioning sub-parts like the generator, air cleaner housing, etc. It's a good feeling building a supply of refurbished "off the shelf" parts that can simply be bolted on when the time comes.

This stuff all takes a lot of time so be patient and have fun.