New Old Guy

[Plymouth 48]

Hi, all, and a Happy Easter. Springtime, and a young man's mind turns to thoughts of...automobiles. Just picked up a '48 P15C, 37k documented. First (legal) was a '47 D24, so when that flathead fired up it was all over. Probably paid too much, but then it's what stirs your soul, isn't it? How on earth d'ya add a pic on this thing?

[knuckleharley]

You are doing ok if you only think you "probably" paid too much.

 

I personally pride myself on only paying around $1,000 more for my 51 Ford business coupe than it was worth. For me,that's doing good.

[mrwrstory]

Paying too much (by others' yard stick) is not that bigga deal if you like the car and intend to own it for a while.  Just amortize the term of enjoyment and take into account you may not find a better "deal" on the car you love.  $1000.00 too much over 10 years is about the same as one beer a day.  And,....you're driving or workin on the dream machine that you coulda missed out on!

[BillMurphy]

Great place here!, coming from another newbie. I probably paid too much for my non running 50 DeSoto, but all I have to do is go look at it sitting in my garage to feel good. I could have easily blown that much money on scratch tickets or booze and have nothing to show for it , except remorse.

[knuckleharley]

Paying too much (by others' yard stick) is not that bigga deal if you like the car and intend to own it for a while.  Just amortize the term of enjoyment and take into account you may not find a better "deal" on the car you love.  $1000.00 too much over 10 years is about the same as one beer a day.  And,....you're driving or workin on the dream machine that you coulda missed out on!

I have to be honest,I would have paid even more if the seller had insisted. I specifically wanted a stock,original,51 coupe that had never been modified,and it HAD to have a flat 6 in it that ran. Took me over 10 years to find one that was complete and running that had a numbers matching title that was within 500 miles of home,so I jumped on it. Prior to this one every one I found had no drivetrain,was total junk,had a modern V8 and auto,was a restored show car,or was on the other side of the country. These 51 coupes in original condition are not as easy to find as you might think.

 

I absolutely love that car,and love driving it,even though it is now several colors,has rust holes,a Nissan bucket seat in it so I can do floor patches,no headliner,hood held down by a strap,etc,etc,etc. Right now I am limited to how far from home I am willing to go due to the radiator being 65 years old,but once I get the money to buy a new radiator,I'll probably drive it most places I go.

 

Had a woman follow me into the grocery store parking lot two days ago and stop beside me,roll down her window,and tell me with tears in her eyes how shocked and happy she was to see the car because her very first car was a 51 Ford coupe that she bought with money she earned running a paper route. She bought it when she was 16,and just looking at it brought back all her memories of driving her friends to the beach or the lake,etc,etc,etc. She said she hadn't seen one in decades,so when she saw me pulling into the grocery store parking lot she had to stop me and tell me all about her memories,and to thank me for driving it around so she could see it and be reminded of her teen memories.

 

She lives locally,so I told her that when I get the floors fixed and the front seat back in it,I'd take her for a ride,and even let her drive it a short distance.

 

How can you put a price on something like that?

 

As far as I am concerned,this car will be for sale the first time at my estate sale.

Edited March 27, 2016 by knuckleharley

[rb1949]

Welcome. Have fun. A really nice outdoors day. Photos? Next time you start a post, look down in the lower right corner. a box 'More Reply Options'. Click it. On that screen you'll see an area near the bottom to "ATTACH" photos in your post right from your computer. Give it a try, we're waiting. And if you choose to 'Follow" a discussion, you'll get email notifications when a new comment is posted.

[Plymouth 48]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. All of these years seems like I've been surrounded by folks obsessed with modifying, not that there's anything wrong with that; I just wanted to hear that six percolating away. Had the old Dodge for seven years, finally turned a coupla bearings...but everything else worked until the day she died. I know for a fact that this Plymouth will far outlast me, until then I'll drive her every chance I get. Gonna try talking me future bride into round-tripping to the wedding site, 500 each way. After all, the car was actually her idea. Good woman, that. I'll try a new post per rb 1949 above, see if we can get some pics up...

[Plymouth 48]

[rb1949]

Hey, nice ride. Worth every penny. Your trip will be memorable in more ways than one. Happy cruisin'.

[Frank Elder]

She's beautiful.........

[garbagestate 44]

Nice car. I went the other route. I paid 500 bucks for mine and have been pumping money into it ever since. I have a few new scars to show for it and it keeps me out of trouble. No regrets.

[Tom Skinner]

Plymouth 48,

Your fine, just relax and take it from here.

Life is about the journey, not the destination.

Tom Skinner

Huntersville, North Carolina

[greg g]

well I gave $225.00 for mine in 1971.  Was more than we could afford, but couldn't pass it up.  Put a few bucks into it over the ensuing years, but it has brought us a lot of enjoyment, and the pricless gift of many new and fast friends. All in, I believe we are still onthe positive end of the deal.

[Plymouth 48]

Funny, I went $200 for my D24 in'73, spent a lot of time wishing I still had her. Found her in a snowdrift behind a barn in upstate NY, looking for an outside door handle for a saltbox jeep. Family wasn't home, so I swiped the owners manual and left a note on the door...they called later and made the offer, couldn't sleep that night. My folks thought it was neat, they'd had a '48 Plymouth coupe.

Next day, Dad loaded a logging chain in the Gladiator and we towed that puppy 8 miles home, grabbed the battery outta the WD-45, Dad dumped some gas down the 1-barrel and said crank it. My life was forever changed...

So now, I'm the one with the '48 Plymouth.

Glad to be here, this is a great site!

[dpollo]

I paid $50 for a 40 Ply. in 1959. (age 11)   Traded it for a 50 in 65 age 17  have not been without one since.

 

I paid $50 for a 51 convertible in 1978 and spent a lot of time and money on it but it has been worth it. Every penny !   I have driven it over 50 000 miles through 4 US states and 2 Canadian provinces.

Edited March 29, 2016 by dpollo

[Plymouth 48]

Well, a coupla updates...took the bride for a three-hour tour and she liked it just fine, but maybe not enough for honeymoon purposes. That's okay, I'll talk her into a road trip sooner or later.

Just dropped in a new set of Delco R45s, no idea how old the others were, loads of corrosion and completely different appearance. Looks like #5 has been missing a lot.

Man, does this kitten purr!

[Niel Hoback]

Makes you wanna open the hood, lean on the fender and just watch the fan go around. Very relaxing.

[Tom Skinner]

You Livin Da Dream.

Muy Bueno!

[Plymouth 48]

Fellers, I started this thread out all wrong with a touch of buyer's remorse...this was the second-largest car purchase I had ever made, and on the surface utterly impractical.

Boy, was I wrong.

Changed the oil, buffed her out. The dealer ad said 'nice older resto, redone interior', but the closer I look, the more convinced I am that this beauty is darn near untouched.

Service tag on the A pillar indicates 28800 as of May, '65. Clock now showing 37800. Found the Goodyear Airfoam tag attached to the front seat.

There's some overspray on the horns, but nowhere else.

But mostly it's the feel, the solidity. I've owned enough clunkers over the years to know this ain't one of'em. No sag in the springs, no wobble in shocks.

Funny thing, I've got a two-year old Mazda, only new car I've ever bought, runs like a little beast, incredible handling.

I'd rather be motoring in the Plymouth.

I'll try to get some more pics up soon. Thank all of you for your support. Darn good to be here.

[knuckleharley]

Well,if we are going to talk about childhood deals,the first car I bought with my own money was a 38 Chrysler Royale 4dr sedan. Woman bought it new and only used it for city driving. THINK it might have had less than 40K miles on it when I bought it from her nephew,who inherited it when she died. No dents,only surface rust,no broken windows,perfect upholstery,and even the clock worked. Even had the spare and the bumper jack in the trunk. Still have the bumper jack. Only negative was stuck valves. Freed them and added a new headgasket and battery to my purchase price of $20,with a clear title. Earned the money digging septic tanks down with a shovel that summer for 50 cents a hour. I was 13. Plan was to work summers and have new tires on it and everything ready to go when I turned 16 and got my drivers license. My father has already made it plain to me that I would NOT be allowed to use his car,so this was my solution. Wasn't  a sexy coupe or roadster,but it was mine.

 

Had it about 2 months when the Ash Wednesday storm hit,and my father took a hatchet to the roof and cut the body off so he could use it to haul lumber off the beach. I was away visiting friends when this happened.

 

Second car was a 40 DeLuxe Coach. Paid 50 bucks for that one using money I earned the next summer working on a shrimp boat. No motor,and the interior was stripped out for new upholstery that hadn't been bought. The father of a friend gave me a rebuilt 48 Merc engine to put in it. One day while at school,the junkman came by,and my father sold it to him for scrap. Told me when I got home,"My yard,my car,my money!"

 

3rd car was a 57 Ford custom 300 with a 312 that I bought for $400 right after I joined the army at 17. Drove it for maybe 18 months before I got transferred to Okinawa for a 18 month tour. When I got back home the 57 was sitting upside down in the backyard,with the roof crushed and the glasses all broken out. Somebody stopped by one day and wanted to buy the motor,so my father sold it to them,and pulled it by unbolting the motor and then turning the car over on it's roof so it fell out.

 

I will never forgive that ***** for any of that. Every single one of them was bought by me with my own money,and I even paid someone else to bring them home.

 

My best alleged adult deal cost a lot more money,but was a better bargain than either. I actually bought a all steel original 1932 Ford 5 window coupe that had been a channeled fenderless hot rod since the early 50's. Not a spot of rust on it,but the chassis was bent,twisted,cracked,and when it was extended to a 122 inch wheel base,the front frame rails had been "boxed"  using body plastic over sheet metal. No kidding.

 

The good news was that it came with a machine shop rebuilt 350 SBC and a rebuilt T350 trans,came with a title,was only 25 miles from home,and I bought it all for 5 grand. Believe it or not,but it had been advertised in a local newspaper for a couple of weeks,and everybody that showed up before me tried to beat them down to 2500 or less. I said "Hell,YEAH!",and came right back with my trailer to bring it home. I know you guys aren't Ford guys,but 5 grand for a 50's built east coast style 32 Ford 5 window coupe is a steal.  Probably the best buy of my life to date,although I did agree to  buy a complete 40 Ford convertible a couple of days ago for $3500. Sounds like a better buy than it was because the body shell is super rough and there are no floors in it at all. Still,it is at least 98 percent complete,and comes with a matching clear title. I am supposed to go pick it up next week.  I'll probably just loosely assemble it so it can be seen to be whole,and put it up for sale so I can get some money to finish some of my other projects.

 

Going to have to sell something pretty soon. Running out of room.

[beyondrepair]

I really like hearing stories like this. I talked to a guy just the other day that bought a 52 Desoto with all original parts even the upholstery. He bought the car, washed it, buffed out the original paint, vacuumed the interior, installed a new radiator, changed fluids and started driving it. Has given many rides to people who used to "have one just like it" and made their days. This spring he's going up to take the older gentleman that owned it for a ride again. 

 

Needless to say he is one proud owner......

[Plymouth 48]

[Plymouth 48]