1949 Busy Coupe Update

[falconvan]

I finally got the missing trim for this, can someone tell me what the clips look like that hold the center hood trim on?

[Plymouthy Adams]

see Restoration Specialties online catalog...part number B1176

[falconvan]

Great; thank you, Tim!

[falconvan]

Now that my 48 is actually running, I'm going to knock out a few things on the 49 before spring gets here. After a long search online I was able to get all of the missing chrome trim. Here's the hood ornament, PLYMOUTH letters and hood trim. Looks much better with it on. I also figured out that my fuel gauge had a bad ground which is why it never worked right so that's fixed, too. More to come later; the goal is to have it ready to hit part of the Hot Rod Power Tour in June.

[Smokeybear]

Now that my 48 is actually running, I'm going to knock out a few things on the 49 before spring gets here. After a long search online I was able to get all of the missing chrome trim. Here's the hood ornament, PLYMOUTH letters and hood trim. Looks much better with it on. I also figured out that my fuel gauge had a bad ground which is why it never worked right so that's fixed, too. More to come later; the goal is to have it ready to hit part of the Hot Rod Power Tour in June.

How do you like those dolphin gauges?

[falconvan]

They're nice; they were on the car when I got it. I wouldn't have chose them myself but I do like them. Having a temp gauge that reads Celcius is a little strange.

Edited December 18, 2014 by falconvan

[Smokeybear]

They're nice; they were on the car when I got it. I wouldn't have chose them myself but I do like them. Having a temp gauge that reads Celcius is a little strange.

HA! I didn't even notice that. I've just seen them on ebay and wondered if they were any good. The oil in bars looks a little off to us Mericun's too. 

[falconvan]

Yeah, for sure. I wonder if the guy bought the European version by mistake but the speedo is in MPH, not KPH?

[falconvan]

One of the things I found out this summer was that I did not like the sound of the V6 through the glass pack mufflers. At idle it sounded OK but at highway speed it had a really annoying, unpleasant high pitched drone. With the pipes exiting in front of the rear wheels it felt like it was right in your ear and the radio was useless. After a little research I decided to go back with something a little more similar to the stock SHO exhaust and use a Y pipe to run the 2 1/4" header pipes into a 2 1/2" Y, use a free flowing muffler like a Magnaflow or Flowmaster, and take the pipe all the way out the back of the car. It has to be a single out the rear as the fuel tank is offset to one side and the spare tire well hangs down on the other; just giving enough room for a single pipe in the stock location. But for a 181 ci engine, I think this will be more that enough.

 

I dug out all my leftover pipe bends today, pulled the dual exhaust off, and built the Y pipe. It came out pretty good; I'll get a muffler this week and finish it up.

[martybose]

You've already started to convert, but I would have been curious if there was a crossover pipe connecting the two exhaust pipes.  Way back when I had a dual exhaust built for the Chevy Blazer that we towed the boat with.  As built it sounded terrible, more Chris Craft and noisy.  I took it back and had a crossover connection put it with no other changes and it quieted down to a nice purr.

 

Marty

[falconvan]

I thought about that but the guys over on the SHO forum said that since it was an even fire V6, a crossover pipe wouldn't make any difference. Something about the pulse timing already being equal between the two cylinder banks. I'm not sure I understood that but they seem like to know these engines pretty well so I went this route.

[martybose]

I thought about that but the guys over on the SHO forum said that since it was an even fire V6, a crossover pipe wouldn't make any difference. Something about the pulse timing already being equal between the two cylinder banks. I'm not sure I understood that but they seem like to know these engines pretty well so I went this route.

While it is an even fire exhaust, the two sides are out of phase with each other, so the crossover pipe still would have made a difference.

 

Marty

[falconvan]

Hopefully it comes out ok; I'm sort of committed now.

[falconvan]

Merry Christmas! We did our family get together last Sunday so my wife and I are just hanging out today. I finished my exhaust and took it for a ride; it sounds sooo much better. It doesn't sound so much like a rice rocket without a muffler now. You can actually hear the radio and carry on a conversation but has just enough rumble to sound respectable. As respectable as a V6 can be, that is.; Power feels the same; dont think I lost anything going to a single pipe.

[falconvan]

I spent the day reviving the old vacuum wipers. No pics, camera was dead and no AA batteries in the house. Both arms,vacuum motor, and the control cable were stuck and had decades of goo and rust. Luckily, after taking everything apart, lots of cleaning and lubricating, it worked like a champ when I put it back together. I thought about going to electric wipers but since it all still works, I'm leaving the vacuum ones.

[DJ194950]

Great that it all worked after a lot of work under that dash! Not real easy. 

 

Saved about $250 with not having to go a electric direct replacement. 

 

DJ

[falconvan]

Yeah, I dont plan on taking it out in the rain but it's nice to have wipers just in case. My kids got me a little motorized cowl vent kit for Christmas so it looks like I'll be under the dash some more this week!

[falconvan]

Here's a short video:

 

[theMightyCasper]

That does sound nice! Great job.

[DJ194950]

Beautiful car with all your work And ready to cruise anywhere!  Oh, sounds great too!

 

DJ

[falconvan]

Thanks! My kids got me an AutoLoc motorized cowl vent kit from Summit for Christmas so I spent the weekend getting it mounted and working right. These things are a pain; the motor is really low torque so any minor binding and it stops. I had it on and off about a dozen times before I got the linkage right. I mounted the little motor controller behind the dash center panel. Also, I saved this JBL sub-woofer from the Taurus. I put a fresh speaker in it today and it will be going in this week. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

I had also purchased one of those vent motors as sold by Summit...I carried it back quickly...way way under torqued for any application I can think of except maybe hoisting a pair of fuzzy dice..via cable to the rearview mirror.....

[falconvan]

Well, I got it to work so hopefully it'll stay working. Definitely not over impressed with it.

[falconvan]

Lots done this week, got my speedometer working, and changed out the stereo for a better one with the Taurus sub speaker. Sounds much better. Also built a toe gauge and got the toe and caster adjusted right. Now I'm working on putting on a front sway bar from a Jeep Cherokee.

[falconvan]

Got my sway bar brackets made and installed today. Just a few more things to do; I've got new leaf spring bushings to install, the trim needs to be put on the car, and I'm getting new tires and possibly some kind of hub caps. Still thinking that over; I don't want aftermarket wheels but some vintage hub caps might look good.Then we're good to go for some summer road trips!