finally got the old girl on the road

[bosworth]

It's been just over a year since I started working on the old girl,  but she is finally on the road. She is an early 49 p15, that spent most of her life in Virginia.  Someone did a bit of restoration and a paint job in the 60's.  The car found it's way to North Carolina where it was last registered in 1978. She sat in a barn for the past 35 years.   I found her sitting along side the road with a for sale sign.  My wife thought I should have a project so she encouraged me to bring her home. There are still a few things to be done but I entered her in her first (might be last) car show.  I find that it's just fun driving her around and collecting some really nice comments.  Thanks for all of the many tips and and answers to my many questions along the way, I never could have finished without your help.

The folks on this forum are the best!

Bill

[Niel Hoback]

  Holy cow, man,,  that's beautiful.  Take it to shows and cruises and let the world see what a really nice car can be.

[Mark D]

Nice job!

[GlennCraven]

What a beautiful car, Bill. ... Really nice work on your part.

 

Enjoy that ride often!

[DJ194950]

The honks,waves,thumbs up from others as you drive it for fun are the best,

Even without others, enjoy the fruits of your labors!

 

SWEET!

 

Doug

[pflaming]

WOW! That will make me work harder. Simply beautiful. And you got a great wife also, she thought you "needed a project" OR she wants you out of the house! Either way you spent your time wisely.

[sig]

loving that grey colour..much more elegant than black on this car I think

[1940plymouth]

Great looking car, go put some miles on her and enjoy her while you still can this year

[Oldguy48]

Gorgeous car !! Nice work.

Wayne

[greg g]

Very nice, enjoy the ride.  I think a set of wheel trim rings would really set off your car.

 

[bosworth]

I'm thinking trim rings would be nice. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a set. Do I have to know anything more than 15 inch?

Bill

[pflaming]

. . . and chevy made a very nice cap with a bow tie on it!  That would be a perfect sophisticated combo.

[greg g]

I pickd up mine from a vendor back in 04 at the Syracuse Nationals show.  I think I got the set for 45 bucks.  All you need is the wheel diameter and to chose between smooth or ribbed.  They should be available on the web from any of the bigger hot rod/ street rod supply places

[Tones52]

Congratulations Bill! Your '49 is indeed a beauty. I ditto the compliment on the color. No doubt that she's going to bring smiles to those that see her out on the road.

 

I hope you post some more photos or even a link to a video. Aside from tires is it pretty much stock? 

 

Tony

[ssnowden]

Beautiful car. Mine was painted gray 30 years ago and I think that is still my favorite color for the P15. Right now it's a little gray, the original blue under the gray and rust, but I'll make it one color again when the mechanicals are reliable.  

 

I like that backup light. Mine doesn't have that, but I remember now how much I wanted one when I tried to back it up at night.

 

Is that original for only the early 49's or was it an option in the 48 year too? 

[bosworth]

Thanks everyone for your very generous comments.

We did some color shopping around the new car dealerships, I think I made a few salesmen pretty unhappy when I told them we were only  shopping for colors.  We saw the gray that we eventually chose at our local Ford dealership.  Our choices were between blue and Gray  if we went with blue it would probably have been the Dodge Viper Blue,  but the interior was blue and we felt that it would be to hard to find a blue that would be compatible with the interior color.

I don't know the origin of the back up light,  it came with the car, but I believe it was an add on extra.  The light is turned on from the dash with a switch that lights up bright red when the back up light is on, pretty basic, but it works and it does throw quite a bit of light for backing up.

Bill

[knuckleharley]

I'm thinking trim rings would be nice. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a set. Do I have to know anything more than 15 inch?

Bill

Bill,do you have 15 inch rims on your car,or 16 inch rims? Obviously you have to buy the right size to fit your rims.

 

Most beauty/trim rings are smooth,but some have multiple grooves in them.

[hendo0601]

Now that is a nice car...I am kinda jealous. Want to trade ?

[BobT-47P15]

Nice looking car, Bill.  Came out great.   As  said, trim rings are available thru hot rod sources both big and small.

 

An early 49 should have 15 inch wheels.   

Greg's look like smooth style.

 

Here's a pic lifted from ebay of some ribbed rings...................

 

[Redmond49]

What sort of shape was your car in when you started? It's really beautiful now.

[bosworth]

Oh I do like the look of those beauty ring! The wheels are 15 inch. The car was in reasonably decent condition when I got it last year. The worst rust was floor boards, rocker pannels and braces, pans between the bumpers and the body, trunk lid, areas below the tail lights, front fenders below the head lights, pan below radiator. I used almost a full 48" x 96" piece of 18 GA steel to replace the rusted areas. As far as I can tell she is rust free now. I was able to work out most of the dents with body hammers and dollies.

Mechanically I started by replacing all of the brake parts, including cylindars and lines, the brakes seem to work very well now. The only things I've done to the engine include a lot of rewiring, replaced the distributer, rebuilt the carburetor. I dropped the oil pan to see how things looked inside and clean out the gunk, I was thinking that I needed to replace the rear seal but the oil drip seemed to go away with the new pan gasket. I had to replace the radiator and gas tank, both were to far gone to save. One fun project was rebuilding the radio. I still need to finish the trunk, get the heat riser working, and mess with the valve clearances. This has been a great project, I think I'll feel a letdown if and when iI finally get her finished.

Sorry I got so long winded,

Bill

[Redmond49]

That's all great information. It's a good blueprint for me, I just drove mine home a month or so ago and am sorting out how far I want to go with fixes, what I'll fix myself, and what I'll have pros do. For the time being I'm just fixing small, easy projects that don't have long time lines.

[hendo0601]

 This has been a great project, I think I'll feel a letdown if and when iI finally get her finished.

 

My experience with projects like this...they are NEVER finished...you will always be able to find something else to fix, work on, tweak etc. So no need for that letdown feeling!!!!

[doctor dirt]

Thats a great looking ride! I bought beauty rings for my 15" wheels and went with the ribbed look they do add some flare and they were part of the style back in the day.

Good luck and get some miles on her, you may not be through working once you start riding. Mine seems to be the project that won't end.   best to you Doc

Edited October 31, 2013 by doctor dirt

[RobertKB]

Just remember with trim rings that you will mar the paint on the wheel when you put them on. If that is not a problem, great, but if you want to go back to the rim without the rings, it leaves a lot of marks. I have included a couple of pictures of my '48 Dodge D25 coupe with and without rings. If you have whitewalls, the trim rings probably aren't needed as much for looks. Personally, I liked the less cluttered look without the trim rings but I had to repaint all the rims and redo the three silver painted lines around the hubcaps. Just personal preference I guess.