3dodgedoobie Posted January 29, 2017 Report Posted January 29, 2017 I recently purchased 47 plymouth sedan, non running, last tagged in 90s, been sitting ever since. Motor was frozen. Key word was. Got her broke free, need some brake work(goes to flr and stays) haven't tried making it run yet. Been under the weather. Also restoring our 48 dodge sedan when time allows. Got the 47 to drive while the dodge is under the knife. few questions: 1) clips for the hubcaps that attach to wheels. Any sources on those? 2) the door rubbers around doors I know they suppose to be glue on type. But anyone ever put the push on type on? 3) the door window rubbers. Is Clemons, steele, and Roberts still up and going? she will hopefully be running this week. 1 Quote
knuckleharley Posted January 29, 2017 Report Posted January 29, 2017 All I can offer at this point is congratulations on finding and buying what looks like a very solid and complete car. Yes,Steele and Roberts are still in business. I just bought a new windshield seal for my 37 Dodge truck from Roberts maybe a month ago. Can't tell you anything about the other supplier. Never heard of them before. As for the press-on rubber that sticks,why not try it and see what happens? It's pretty cheap at any building supply in your area,so it's worth taking a chance on with a driver car. I do know it comes in various thicknesses, and see no reason why it won't work if you use one thick enough to compress when the doors are closed. If it doesn't work,you are only out a few bucks and maybe 15-20 minutes of time to degrease the area,cut the rubber with scissors,and press it on. Quote
3dodgedoobie Posted January 29, 2017 Author Report Posted January 29, 2017 Yes it is very solid car. Previous owner from what I can tell bought it new or in early 50s. Had paperwork from 50s in it. He had front glass replaced in 1990. The door glass on 3 doors need replaced they are cracked. Floor pans are solid, trunk pan at the spare tire pan is rotted. And they attempted to fix with fiberglass. Needs headliner and one price of trim. The hard to find cowl piece that on driver side. The master cylinder still has fluid in it. And didn't see any wets spots around any lines. It will be a good driver for wife to get use to the big body no power steering. Etc etc. The 48 we redoing is hers. Hopefully have it up and running and moving on its own this summer. (Been gathering parts). But for the price of 1800.00 bucks I think I did ok. Quote
rb1949 Posted January 29, 2017 Report Posted January 29, 2017 A great project. Wife will love the big body. Drive it like one, it's not modern. 1 Quote
JerseyHarold Posted January 29, 2017 Report Posted January 29, 2017 God looking car. How'd you un-stick the engine? Quote
dale Posted January 29, 2017 Report Posted January 29, 2017 Nice find !! Wish I had the building its in...Andy Bernbaum has good door rubbers that glue on.. Quote
knuckleharley Posted January 29, 2017 Report Posted January 29, 2017 2 hours ago, 3dodgedoobie said: ......The master cylinder still has fluid in it. And didn't see any wets spots around any lines. It will be a good driver for wife to get use to the big body no power steering. Etc etc. DO NOT TRUST A OLD MASTER CYLINDER,EVER! It may be working now,but you won't be driving it long before it stops working,and the next thing you know you will be in a wreck you could have avoided. The same applies to wheel cylinders. The old rubber dries out and cracks and shrinks,and then you start using the car and the fluid pumping to it softens the rubber up and the next thing you know it's all leaking like a sieve. Brakes are not a place to screw around. You need to rebuild the master cylinder,buy new wheel cylinders because it is cheaper to buy new ones than it is to rebuild them,and you also need to replace ALL the brake lines and hoses,and the gas lines,hoses,and filters,too. Replace all the wheel grease seals and repack the bearings,too. All told you should be able to do all this for less than 200 bucks if you don't have to buy new brake shoes or wheel bearings,and you do the labor yourself. For example,it will only cost right at 26 bucks to replace all the hard gas lines,and then you don't have to worry about rust pits inside the line causing your carb to flood and catch on fire. While at it,replace ALL the rubber gas lines and plastic fuel filters with modern ones designed to deal with ehtanol. IIRC,I think I paid something like 5 bucks each for brand new Lockheed wheel cylinders for my 1939 IHC when I rebuilt the brakes in it a couple of years ago. IIRC,all three rubber brake likes cost me about 45 bucks in total. Cheap insurance. Quote
DrDoctor Posted January 30, 2017 Report Posted January 30, 2017 Very nice looking car! Redoing the brake system from master cylinder to wheel cylinders is a good idea, since you don’t know how long the car’s actually been sitting idle, and that’s when corrosion can works is nasty in old brake fluid that absorbs moisture. And, the rubber hoses may look OK, but be mushy, and ready to explode at the most inopportune time. As for the fuel system, a good flushing of the system from the tank to the carburetor is certainly a good idea. If the hard-lines are OK, I wouldn’t replace them just to be replacing (my opinion . . .), but I’d replace the rubber portions. I personally don’t put plastic fuel filters in the engine compartment, since I’ve seen what happens when the plastic gets compromised, and fails. Trust me, it ain’t pretty. I use metal-cased filters, if using in-line ones. However, I use the glass-bowled versions from tri-five Chevy’s that mount right in front of the carburetor. I get the housing, and the filters, from Danchuck – great company, great products, and great prices, too. As for Steele Rubber products – I’ve used them on projects, but found them to be rather expensive. I either get my automobile rubber products from SofSeal (which also specializes in GM), or more often than not, from Wichita Trimming, in Wichita, Kansas. Also, great company, great products, and great prices, too. Thx. Quote
3dodgedoobie Posted January 30, 2017 Author Report Posted January 30, 2017 2 hours ago, JerseyHarold said: God looking car. How'd you un-stick the engine? Took out plugs, took belt off front of engine, had to remove radiator to get down there. Bought a 1 11/16 3/4 drive socket and breaker bar. Had to trim some of the socket off to make it fit between motor and brace. Filled cylinders full of marvel mystery oil. Let it soak for a day. Tried it no movement. Sprayed some pb blaster with the straw attachment heavily in all cylinders. Waited couple hrs doing other things. Then went and gave it a try and it moved. So I kept going back and forth soaking the piston with mystery oil. Finally got it all the way loose. Turned motor by hand several times. Then hit the switch and let the starter turn it over. Quote
3dodgedoobie Posted January 30, 2017 Author Report Posted January 30, 2017 2 hours ago, dale said: Nice find !! Wish I had the building its in...Andy Bernbaum has good door rubbers that glue on.. Thanks and the building is a 24 x 36. The dodge is over in other corner patiently waiting. When we bought our house it had 1 car garage under house. That's where my dakota stays. Bagged and bodied. Had enough room to build garage so I did. Who needs much of a yard to mow. Lol. No we have a acre lot so we have plenty of yard. Wife said as long as toys fit in garage u can have however many u want. So I went with biggest I could on the space I could. Lol Quote
3dodgedoobie Posted January 30, 2017 Author Report Posted January 30, 2017 Knuckleharley and the dr's in. I plan on checking and replacing all brakes on the car. Along with any rubber hoses. What I meant for the master cylinder still had fluid in it is that no major leaks, and no wet spots on frame. After I get it running I plan on doing brakes. If it won't run then I have a newer charger with hemi in it. That might need to find new home in this car. Bought the car for the motor. tree hand landed on top of car. 76,000 miles. Runs and drives. But that last resort. I won't let her drive something that I wouldn't deem safe. 1 Quote
Flatie46 Posted January 30, 2017 Report Posted January 30, 2017 Good looking project ya got there. Looks like a bargin to me, seems solid from the pics. Good luck with it and the Dodge. I'm not far down the road from ya in Russellville. It's on the other side of Greenville. PM me sometime, we'll go have a beverage and talk about these old cars. Quote
3dodgedoobie Posted January 30, 2017 Author Report Posted January 30, 2017 Will do flatie46. I know exactly where the little town is. Use to go threw there every week with where I work. Still with same company just promoted or demoted however u want to look at it. Went from driving a route truck to babysitting adults. Lol Quote
dale Posted February 3, 2017 Report Posted February 3, 2017 If you decide to do brake work I suggest you do it right seeing the importance of stopping. I did the brakes and then redid them using Scarcrow disc brake kit on the front... The difference was dramatic. The old type master cyl worked great and no trouble bleeding them like with the old ones. Money well spent. Quote
greg g Posted February 3, 2017 Report Posted February 3, 2017 Got most of my rubber from Clusters. Worked well still looks good no leaks after 12 + years. Quote
knuckleharley Posted February 3, 2017 Report Posted February 3, 2017 2 hours ago, dale said: If you decide to do brake work I suggest you do it right seeing the importance of stopping. I did the brakes and then redid them using Scarcrow disc brake kit on the front... The difference was dramatic. The old type master cyl worked great and no trouble bleeding them like with the old ones. Money well spent. You were able to use the original floor mount master cylinder with the front disc brakes? Quote
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