P15 going back into service questions

[larryconnors]

My 47 Plymouth Special Deluxe is going back in service Wednesday. First stop is the local repair shop for grease oil and filter and check all fluid levels and evaluate brakes. For some reason the last owner disconnected the temp guage and throttle. I'll have those hooked up again. The brake lights aren't working so they'll have to be fixed and the horn wire needs to be threaded through the steering column. The amperes guage reads a higher rate of charging when I put the headlights on. Is this normal? Is there anything else that it would be prudent to do to get this back on the road?

[Young Ed]

This could also be your headlights are wired around or to the wrong side of the ammeter. I did that accidentally in my 46 pickup. Didn't find out until about 7 years later when my battery was going dead and I never really showed a discharge with the lights on.

[larryconnors]

I keep finding out how much I don't know when I post my questions for you guys. I thought the two tail lights on the rear fenders should light up as brake lights. Hopefully I just have one bad bulb to deal with in the center. I should have said that the car was last on the road in early 2001. I'm trying to get it on the road and inspected so I can drive it and really start on a plan to get it into good operating condition.

[Rusty O'Toole]

If you put the battery in backwards the ammeter will read backwards. It is supposed to be positive ground, the opposite of today's cars. If the battery is backwards the car will run anyway. You can switch the battery around but you will need to polarize the generator.

[yourpc48]

I too did not know that only the center light on the trunk was a brake light. Since I wired the car myself and put turn signals on, I made it a marker light. So when I turn on my lights I have 3 tail lights and the brakes are the ones on the sides. Nice thing about my way is that at night people coming up on my car on our dark road can see me really well. Its a satin black but has 3 bright lights on the back all the time. Good to know about the brake lights if I worked on a stock one though.

[larryconnors]

I turned the headlights on this morning without starting the engine and sure enough it registered a charge. I then checked the battery and found it to be hookedup backwards with negative going to ground. Of course I'll reconnect the battery correctly. Will I also need to repolarize the generator and how do I do it?

[larryconnors]

Now I have reinstalled the battery correctly and followed the procedure for polarizing it but it still doesn't charge. Is there anything further I can do before pulling the generator and having it checked out?

[Rusty O'Toole]

Try polarizing again sometimes it doesn't "take" the first time. You have to keep the wire on for 1 or 2 seconds.

Check the wiring someone could have mixed up the wires.

Did the generator work before?

[Don Coatney]

Now I have reinstalled the battery correctly and followed the procedure for polarizing it but it still doesn't charge. Is there anything further I can do before pulling the generator and having it checked out?

What procedure did you follow?

[Plymouthy Adams]

yes..follow the trouble shooting procedure in the book and determine if you have a generator problem, regulator problem or interconnecting wire or ground issues..

[larryconnors]

I drove the car for the first time today after it sat since 2000. The brakes alternated between grabbing and locking up. I drove 1 mile to a repair shop but I only had enough gas to get 1/2 way there. The brake light is probably not working. The windshield wipers are. The temperature gauge heat sensor is not hooked up and neither is the throttle. It badly needs greasing and the fluids checked out. The generator is not charging. Of course the day of my appointment it's raining hard. The clutch is catching high. I had to borrow a temporary repair plate to drive it since my real registration is still in the works. I put tape over the cowl vent since the gasket is dried and cracked. I have no shift knob and the wiper knob is off a radio. The light switch knob comes off when you pull it. It can only get better from here. Right?

[Plymouthy Adams]

sounds like a lot of things you should have done prior to making your appointment...if these were above you level or such..odds are you would have been better served with a completed car..small items such as those you listed is going to eat you alive in labor costs ..wishing you the best of success here but you look like you bucking a stacked deck..

[Niel Hoback]

It sounds to me like its got a lot of "character" and you will be very proud of what you did to revive it. Your first trip will make a great story to tell at crusie ins and shows when its all fixed up pretty.

[larryconnors]

Tim,

I looked for a long time before I found this car. I don't think a restored 2 door is an option. I haven't been able to find one. The thrust of what I'm having done is to have a running inspected car that I can drive while I restore it.This car is low mileage from a southern state with a good body. There will be plenty left for me to do when I get it back. I tried greasing the chassis myself but I found I need one more hand than I have and I need the eyesight that I had 40 years ago. Putting the car up on a lift makes this work easy. Lying on my back under the car in the driveway makes it hard.That's why anything that needs to be done from underneath is getting done by a younger man than I up on a proper auto lift. My next door neighbor had his car in the garage for 40 years before he got it restored to run. I'm going to a cruise night next week.

[Plymouthy Adams]

for sure I see your problem..and a lift is handy as pockets on a shirt..I really like mine and my knees have thanked me for it ever since..the eyesight thing I can also agree with..as I do my own painting..as I get older..the ability to see some colors to ensure good coverage on each overlap of paint is getting tough..I doubled my light lately but have not shot a car since..shooting some primer today but that is out of doors..small parts..I hope the guys at the shop can get you straight fast, safe and affordable..in my neck of the woods they prey on seniors and single women at the car shops..burns me faster than a short matchstick

[larryconnors]

I got to see the underside of my car while it was on the lift today. All in all it was all good news. The Exhaust system is good. The brakes and brake hoses were new when the car was put up eleven years ago. The floors are solid. The only new problem found was that the boots covering the u joints on the drive shaft are toast. Doees anyone have a recommendation about where to buy these? Are they available?

[greg g]

You can get several different boot sizes and designs through Dorman, maybe in the online catalog.

[larryconnors]

Well I got my car back from the shop today. It has a new brake light switch, new regulator, the license plate light now works, the brakes are cleaned up, adjusted, and working fine now. everything iis greased, the oil and filter are changed. It has fresh coolant and the throttle and temperature gauge are hooked up. Best of all everything works, it's registered, inspected, and driveable. When I tried to pay for the work I was told "I'll catch you later". Now problems should arise one at a time and I should be able to deal with them. The first issue is that the temp goes right to 195 and stays there but it never boils over. Wrong thermostat? There are some creaking and groaning noises when I drive it but I can deal with these over time.

[martybose]

Don't believe that temp reading until you confirm it with a thermometer reading at the top of the radiator. I worried for years about my high readings until I checked with a thermometer and found that the gauge was reading 30 degrees too high!

Marty

[Young Ed]

Don't believe that temp reading until you confirm it with a thermometer reading at the top of the radiator. I worried for years about my high readings until I checked with a thermometer and found that the gauge was reading 30 degrees too high!

Marty

You could possibly have a more modern thermostat in there too. My dakota uses a 195° that would fit.