My First Car -- P15 1947 Plymouth Deluxe

[48ply1stcar]

I am surprised that you are staying with a stock rear end.and brakes.  I was thinking about putting off the rear end swap, but Mark at ECI tells me that they can't make a master cylinder that would support the Scarebird disc set-up and the stock rear end.  Rear stock brake cylinders have 1.25 diameter cylinders (vs 7/8 or 13/16 for the Cherokee) and the S-10 caliper piston is 2.50 inches.  

So the rear end is going to bump up first.  Not a big deal I always wanted to do both.  Also going to do that front shock relocation.

Edited January 22, 2020 by 48ply1stcar

[NickPickToo]

We were going to go scarebird at first but I wanted bigger wheels and dad wanted me to go with larger front calipars anyway so we reached out to ECI.     I believe Mark gave us advice on the setup we went with but we never asked Mark about the scarebird matchup as we decided that that we couldn't handle the complexity anyway.  We're thinking about the front shock relocation too.  Also, and very important, dad won't pay for new drive train.  That's going to have to come after college when I'm funding my own "education"   I want a T-5 on the floor someday and a new rear end too.  Also thinking about making another car we own all electric someday.

Edited January 22, 2020 by NickPickToo

[NickPickToo]

I think we solved our belts issue.  We were able to find a NOS water pump pulley at a reasonable price that has a smaller diameter than what we have now.  It also has two grooves so likely was used for power steering on a newer engine.  Anyway that moves the belt in slightly on the passenger side and takes the raised bump out of the picture all together.  We were not too excited about messing with the lower pulley and balancer so this is a good thing.  The extra groove may come in handy if we put in air-conditioning someday

Edited January 22, 2020 by NickPickToo

[casper50]

Looking good indeed.

[NickPickToo]

Plumbing to the rear brakes is done.  Everything is 3/16 copper nickel with gravel shield.  We were able to get all the lines to set within the "frame zone"  Plan to put rubber grommets in where the line is threaded through the frame.  Just need to go and get the grommets and some tube clamps to hold it more firmly in place.  Not planning on running the line from the proportioning block to the front until further along with linkages that will go in that area, and also, need more gravel guard and few more 3/8 fittings to finish the plumbing in the front.  

[Bobby]

Awesome work Nick. I wish the body was off when I did mine. It was quite an adventure installing mine laying on a creeper flaring brake lines...Good times (NOT!)

[casper50]

It does look pretty darn good Nick.  Very nice.

[YukonJack]

Looking at the picture, the brake line looks a little close to the left rear shock. Might be better between the shock and frame . Just a thought.  

[casper50]

Maybe over the top of the shock.

[NickPick'sCrew]

7 minutes ago, YukonJack said:

Looking at the picture, the brake line looks a little close to the left rear shock. Might be better between the shock and frame . Just a thought.  

Noted and thanks.  He actually has it floating over the top and to the inside by about 2 inches each way.  agree picture angle looks tighter

Edited January 23, 2020 by NickPick'sCrew

[NickPick'sCrew]

He didn't want me to post this when we started the tear down two years ago, but I'm going to embarrass now anyway.  He's earned at least one vanity pose.

Edited January 23, 2020 by NickPick'sCrew

[Sam Buchanan]

What's the title of the album?  ?

Edited January 23, 2020 by Sam Buchanan

[48ply1stcar]

1 minute ago, Sam Buchanan said:

What's the title of the album?  ?

Nick might not get "Record Album Art"

 

[Frank Elder]

You are doing a fine job Nick,.....I would let you work unsupervised on my car anytime.......and I am picky

[NickPick'sCrew]

26 minutes ago, Sam Buchanan said:

What's the title of the album?  ?

Haha  Back then I would have thought he was probably thinking something like Broken Down Car Parts Blues.  More recently he's mentioned Stomping at the Savoy.

Edited January 23, 2020 by NickPick'sCrew

[NickPick'sCrew]

2 minutes ago, Frank Elder said:

You are doing a fine job Nick,.....I would let you work unsupervised on my car anytime.......and I am picky

Hold up now Frank.  Let's wait until he bleeds that system.  If we're not re-flaring, then perhaps we can give him that.

[Frank Elder]

Give him some credit Pops.......most kids can't even change a u joint at his age and look what he has accomplished so far.

[NickPickToo]

Again.  Does anyone know who to contact to get my dad kicked off my topic.  My dad told me how he messed up a simple oil change when he was my age.  Didn't take the plastic protector from the inside of the filter opening before screwing it in place.   So when he told my grandpa that the Marines had assigned him to mechanic school, my grandpa couldn't stop laughing for the rest of the evening.

Edited January 24, 2020 by NickPickToo

[soth122003]

5 hours ago, Frank Elder said:

Give him some credit Pops.......most kids can't even change a u joint at his age and look what he has accomplished so far.

Think you're giving this generation too much credit Frank. Most kids can't change a tire now a days.

 

That aside, You're doing a great job Nick. When your done with yours I'll send mine up for you to restore.

 

Joe Lee 

[NickPick'sCrew]

10 hours ago, Frank Elder said:

Give him some credit Pops.......most kids can't even change a u joint at his age and look what he has accomplished so far.

 

5 hours ago, soth122003 said:

That aside, You're doing a great job Nick. When your done with yours I'll send mine up for you to restore.

 

Joe Lee 

 

Thanks Frank, yes he's come a long way, and we're starting to think we may actually get it done this school year.  But for the record, he still hasn't changed out that second u-joint on the drive shaft and has some fuzzy logic about why we should just leave it alone ? Funny thing, he may be right.

 

Joe, he may need some extra spending money in college coming here faster than I care to think.   Maybe he'll keep that in mind.

[NickPick'sCrew]

When we got Nicholas's engine to start, I noticed one and maybe two small leaks.  The one we know for sure was at the cross-over connection and I believe we have addressed it (we will know for sure the next time we turn it over).   I also believe there was a slow seep coming from under the washer on the third head bolt from the rear on the manifold side, seeping down to the valley ledge of the exhaust manifold.  Could use some advice before we proceed.  How well isolated is that bolt cavity, and should we drain the coolant to below the head before taking it out to reapply sealant to the bolt and under the washer?  

 

Regarding internal leaks, we don't believe so just yet, but after we are sure its not leaking externally, Nicholas will drain some oil and learn what to look for.  There was a little white smoke when we started it up, but I am pretty sure that was on me, I allowed a bit of water to get into one of the chambers before we put the spark plugs in.

 

 

[Merle Coggins]

I would recommend draining the coolant before pulling any head bolts, otherwise you'll have a mess. Also, you shouldn't need any sealant under the bolt heads. If the threads seal properly the coolant wouldn't get up that high.

 

Also, some of the smoke at initial start up could have been assembly oils and such burning off.

[Plymouthy Adams]

it is also not uncommon for a few drops to accumulate beneath/about a head bolt going into the water chambers.  These often seal themselves in a bit and as there is no pressure on the system there should not be any concern of lots of coolant loss.  The head gasket should seal the water from the combustion chamber completely so you should not have to be overly concerned here, do not forget to torque the head after a good run at temp....monitoring the engine till it basically seals itself with a few heat cycles is the norm.  Head studs are more prone to this mounting hole weeping over bolts but both are subject.  

[NickPickToo]

We are trying to install the transmission and having trouble getting the shaft to line up and go in.  does anyone have any tricks or tips they can share?

[JerseyHarold]

Get 2 bolts with the same thread as the trans mounting bolts but longer.  Cut the bolt heads off and screw them into the bell housing on a diagonal (for example, top left and bottom right).  Use the cut-off bolts as guide pins, slide the trans into position, and then install two original mounting bolts in open holes in the bell housing.  Once they are in, remove the guide pin bolts and replace them with regular bolts.