1952B3b23 Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Posted January 12, 2016 I got my first old car when I was 26 which was/is my 1953 Plymouth. Car is all original and I have only maintained it. I have owned the car for 40 years and enjoyed it all that time! I have restored a '48 Dodge club coupe and a '38 Chrysler, and am presently doing a '51 Dodge business coupe. I had to learn some welding for the '51 as the floors were gone and part of the rockers so it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks. So at 27, you have a long time ahead of you to work on these great old Mopars and keep them for the future. Hopefully you can keep and enjoy what you have done and also save a few more down the road. It's great to have the old car bug at an early age and be able to afford it because it can certainly be a life-long hobby. I still drive and enjoy all my old cars except the '51 which is a couple of years from being on the road. I do plan on saving a few more old mopars in the future. Right now i have to get this car done and my '52 dodge truck after that. My dream is to design and scratch build my own car body and possibly chassis too. It would be styled in a '30s-'40s roadster type feel, with my own twists of course. I really want to keep working on my metal shaping skills so that i can get them to the point where i can make anything i want. Right now there's still some aspects that throw me for a loop. I know i can do it, it's just a matter of a good teacher,practice, and patience. I'm glad that i got into this hobby at a young age. I've learned so much and have the opportunity to learn from some extraordinarily talented people. Something that I'll always be grateful for and never forget. -Chris 1 Quote
DJ194950 Posted January 12, 2016 Report Posted January 12, 2016 I do plan on saving a few more old mopars in the future. Right now i have to get this car done and my '52 dodge truck after that. My dream is to design and scratch build my own car body and possibly chassis too. It would be styled in a '30s-'40s roadster type feel, with my own twists of course. I really want to keep working on my metal shaping skills so that i can get them to the point where i can make anything i want. Right now there's still some aspects that throw me for a loop. I know i can do it, it's just a matter of a good teacher,practice, and patience. I'm glad that i got into this hobby at a young age. I've learned so much and have the opportunity to learn from some extraordinarily talented people. Something that I'll always be grateful for and never forget. -Chris It is great you're starting this at your age. Wish I had followed up doing old cars/trucks. I had a 37 Ply. bus. cpe when I was 18-21 years old. A nice project that was very drive-able. My only car for 2 years. Restarting the old car addiction at about 55yrs. old. Now days there are metal shaping classes avail. on weekends here and there. A couple of very established teachers are your neck of the woods. Google-metal shaping classes. Keep the Old vehicle faith! DJ Quote
1952B3b23 Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Posted January 12, 2016 It is great you're starting this at your age. Wish I had followed up doing old cars/trucks. I had a 37 Ply. bus. cpe when I was 18-21 years old. A nice project that was very drive-able. My only car for 2 years. Restarting the old car addiction at about 55yrs. old. Now days there are metal shaping classes avail. on weekends here and there. A couple of very established teachers are your neck of the woods. Google-metal shaping classes. Keep the Old vehicle faith! DJ Basically everything I know about metal shaping was taught to me by Wray Schelin. He owns Pro Shaper Sheetmetal and teaches classes. He's located in charlton, ma about 40 minutes from me. I took his 3 day class back in June 2014 and learned so much. I now get to go back up to his shop and work and learn more. He's become a good friend/ mentor. I'd highly recommend him to anyone reading this that is interested in metal shaping. He can teach you how to shape anything without the need for fancy expensive tools. taking that class was one of the best decisions I've made. -Chris 1 Quote
1952B3b23 Posted January 26, 2016 Author Report Posted January 26, 2016 I got some time to do a bit more patch work on the car. The last time i posted i had recreated the rotted out bottom half of the trunk support bracket (post #144). Not only was the bracket rotted out but a bit of the trunk floor underneath it and a bit of the inner fender well needed replacing. So those are the parts that i tackled next, see pics below for completed repair. I also put the trunk support bracket in place with clamps to see how it fit with the new piece of floor i made and it turned out well. Then i was able to shape a small patch piece for a rear section of the inner fender well (last four pics). -Chris Quote
casper50 Posted January 26, 2016 Report Posted January 26, 2016 Looking great Chris. One rusty hole at a time. It took a long time until I saw the light at the end of the cancer repair tunnel. Quote
1952B3b23 Posted January 26, 2016 Author Report Posted January 26, 2016 Looking great Chris. One rusty hole at a time. It took a long time until I saw the light at the end of the cancer repair tunnel. Thanks! I've been dreaming of rusty metal lately, it's getting bad lol. Quote
hairball52 Posted February 6, 2016 Report Posted February 6, 2016 Beautiful car Chris. Can you do me a favor and measure both the left and right steering arm lengths C/L'S on your 39 and measure the centerline width of the mounting bolts to the uprights? I have 2" centerline mounting on my 48 coupe and about 6" long measuring from centerline of tie rod hole to the rear of the upright mount bolt centerline. I am using the 90's Cavalier rack and need about 2" shorter arms to work. Paul Quote
fstfish66 Posted February 16, 2016 Report Posted February 16, 2016 cant imagine why you need arms 2 inches shorter,,,is a 39 narrower then a 40 ?? Quote
1952B3b23 Posted February 18, 2016 Author Report Posted February 18, 2016 I did get the measurements for "hairball52" and the arms on my '39 are not 2 inches shorter like he was looking for. -Chris Quote
Frank Elder Posted February 18, 2016 Report Posted February 18, 2016 cant imagine why you need arms 2 inches shorter,,,is a 39 narrower then a 40 ?? Because he is going R&P.......stock length arms increase the turning radius. Quote
1952B3b23 Posted March 1, 2016 Author Report Posted March 1, 2016 I've been chipping away on my drivers side front fender for awhile now. The bottom of the fender where it meets the running board was pretty toasted from the years of abuse. Its a perfect place for dirt and moisture to collect and rot out the steel. I decided to remake the entire lower area (near running board) and the portion that has the three hole flange which holds the fender to the cowl. I will let the pictures speak for themselves instead of my rambling on . The first few pics are of the individual pieces that replaced the old rotted ones. Next on the list is patching up the headlight bucket. Thanks for looking, -Chris 3 Quote
1952B3b23 Posted March 1, 2016 Author Report Posted March 1, 2016 This is a continuation from the post above. Here are some before pics of the drivers side fender. Its shows some of the problem areas. -Chris 1 Quote
deathbound Posted March 1, 2016 Report Posted March 1, 2016 Who needs the Plymouth Doctor???!!!! When are you going to start taking orders? Excellent work, as always!! Quote
fstfish66 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Posted March 1, 2016 Because he is going R&P.......stock length arms increase the turning radius. sorry i miss read what he was meening on the shorter arms,,, Quote
1952B3b23 Posted March 1, 2016 Author Report Posted March 1, 2016 Who needs the Plymouth Doctor???!!!! When are you going to start taking orders? Excellent work, as always!! Thanks, i'm my own plymouth doctor lol!! Maybe I'll start talking orders once i can get all the patch work on my car done. The detailed areas on these fenders are actually pretty complicated to re-make. Especially for someone like me who is relatively new to metal shaping. All of this was done with hand methods, bead roller, and shrinker/stretcher, no Pullmax or other type of machine used. -Chris Quote
1952B3b23 Posted April 7, 2016 Author Report Posted April 7, 2016 So i inspected my front suspension the other day and found out that it needs to be totally rebuilt. The pin/bushing connections all had a ton of slop. So last night after work i began disassembling it. Sure enough the pins where worn down to the point where it looked like someone took a grinder to them. One of the lower control arm bushings was worn completely through on one side. I have only been able to take apart the drivers side so far and i found that the threaded end that goes into the camber adjustment bushing on my upper control arm is badly worn. This means i need a new upper control arm. I have attached a few pictures. The person that i bought the rest of the parts from doesn't have the arms. Any suggestions? If someone is looking to sell a left and right side upper control arm let me know. The Chrysler part numbers are as follow: Right: 689101 Left: 689102 Thanks in advance, Chris Quote
1952B3b23 Posted April 10, 2016 Author Report Posted April 10, 2016 Well i had some time on Saturday to finish disassembling the front suspension. I'm glad that i'm tackling this cause all of the pin/bushing joints where so worn out. Now i know why the car was handling so poorly the first few times i drove it on the road. I was also able to find two used upper control arms from French Lake Auto Parts in MN. Hopefully i will be getting those by then end of this week. I know that in the owners manual it calls for special tools for reassembling the lower and upper control arms. My question is do you really need them or can you get away without and still get good results? I've never completely rebuilt a front suspension like this so i'm looking for some tips and advice. I've attached a few scans of some of the old installation instructions that came with the NOS parts i got for the front end. Thanks. -Chris Quote
RobertKB Posted April 11, 2016 Report Posted April 11, 2016 (edited) I rebuilt the front end on my '38 Chrysler, which is the same as your car, without any special tools. I was very careful to make sure everything went in evenly on both sides and did not bind when tightened. I also rebuilt the steering box at the same time. Things should be well greased before assembly or use anti-seize on those part that will never see grease. After assembly make sure that all your zerks accept grease as this indicates that parts are not binding. Car steers like a dream with all new parts. PM if you want to discuss anything. Edited April 11, 2016 by RobertKB Quote
1952B3b23 Posted April 11, 2016 Author Report Posted April 11, 2016 Thanks a bunch for the input Robert. I was thinking the same, if i take it easy and make sure everything goes in evenly i should be able to do it without the tools. I'm waiting on my upper control arms to come in the mail. Once i get those ill start reassembling. -Chris 1 Quote
fstfish66 Posted April 12, 2016 Report Posted April 12, 2016 there is a topic on this forum where some one made the tools needed,, if i remember the topic name ill post it,,seems it was on a 54 dodge or plymouth 4 door,sorry thats all i have at the moment ,,good luck with your rebuild,,, Quote
casper50 Posted April 12, 2016 Report Posted April 12, 2016 A member here has the tools and will loan them out. Believe his first name is Rich. I borrowed them from him and they worked great. Quote
1952B3b23 Posted April 13, 2016 Author Report Posted April 13, 2016 Thanks guys. I'll have to look and see if i can find that thread where the guy made the tools himself. I have e-mailed Rich, i believe his user name on here is "desoto1939." If i cant borrow the tools i'll just do without and make it work. -Chris Quote
1952B3b23 Posted April 25, 2016 Author Report Posted April 25, 2016 I made a little bit of progress today on re-assembling the front suspension without the special Mopar tools shown in the service manual. All in all it went well and really wasn't that hard to do.You just have to be sure to take your time and tighten things down evenly. I used anti-seize on the outside of the bushings that wont see any grease. I also pre-greased the bushings a little bit before assembly. This actually back fired on me on one of the "lower control arm bar bushing." I must of packed to much grease in there and when i tightened it down to the 165 ft-lb spec the force of the compressed grease blew the grease fitting right off. This has never happened to me before but now i know, and now i have to buy another bushing lol. I attached a picture of the busted bushing. The good news is that the drivers side now feels really smooth going up and down and there is no side to side slop like before.The car should drive so much better after this. I still haven't re-installed the king pin, wheel/ brake assembly yet. I will put the passenger side together next. Thanks for looking, -Chris Quote
Dave72dt Posted April 25, 2016 Report Posted April 25, 2016 Looks like it may have been a drive -in fitting. Is there enough there to tap for a standard 1/4 -28 fitting? Quote
RobertKB Posted April 25, 2016 Report Posted April 25, 2016 Looks like it may have been a drive -in fitting. Is there enough there to tap for a standard 1/4 -28 fitting? Ditto. Glad everything went together OK except for the one incident but should be fixable. Quote
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