My First Car -- P15 1947 Plymouth Deluxe

[Andydodge]

Re the wiring, try to leave everything in one piece as its MUCH easier to see where things go and connect.........I understand wiring harnesses are available but are not cheap............if you seem to be familar with wiring re your computer exploits I'd suggest that rewiring maybe something to do yourself BUT only after you become confident in working on the car by doing other jobs as a rewire if done half heartedly can really be a PITA and bring everything to a halt.............so you have a parts book and what appears to be a dealer sales booklet but do you have a shop manual?..............the good thing about a paper shop manual is that by reading thru it from cover to cover you will pick up answers to questions you didn't even know you needed to ask...........lol..........and believe me even after 40 yrs or so there are still things that I am learning about my car so its good to learn as much as you can as quickly as you can.........lol..............BTW the dash looks clean and tidy, as does the rest of the car tho' from my perspective its a shame the nice Plymouth grille etc has been painted over ................also your cars floors look to be in quite good condition, that rusty area around the seat mount doesn't appear too bad and the pic of the front floor appears to show that the original sound deadening is still attached..........whilst in some respects it maybe a shame to remove it I'd be going over the whole area checking for rust through as the sound deadening can allow moisture to live quite well and before you know it thats all that is holding the floor together..........also suggest you checkout places such as Andy Bernbaums, www.oldmoparts.com  as they have a good range of NOS and repo parts and by looking at what they have can give you a good idea as to what parts you can safely keep or will need to replace...................regards, Andy Douglas 

[BobT-47P15]

One thing that goes out in these old radios is the capacitors as they dry out.  Tubes may actually be good.   Then there is a

vibrator cannister, which may or may not work.  Those can be found far as I know.  If you know electronics, you probably can

invent your own system. Then hook up a new style speaker with it.   That is the deluxe model heater.....same as I have.....

may need some attention or may work fine....just have to check it out.  It will serve as your defroster system, if you have

one in place.     You've done good so far getting books......an owners manual and parts manual.  The one on the lower right is the other thing you should have.....a Repair Manual.  There is also info on Plymouth in old Chilton and Motors Manuals.....usually can be found

on eBay.  

 

[casper50]

You think that the original color was dark green?  With the floor and trunk I'd say blue unless it's a camera flash washout.

[BobT-47P15]

I see by the interior pictures your car is indeed a Deluxe model.   If you want to spiff it up to resemble a Special Deluxe, 

all the dash pieces should fit and I think you can replace the horn center with a S D horn center and ring.  You will just

have to look at Special Deluxe pictures to know what the differences are.  

 

 

[NickPickToo]

10 hours ago, casper50 said:

You think that the original color was dark green?  With the floor and trunk I'd say blue unless it's a camera flash washout.

Looks like the blue was done later.  It speckles over the dark green in the areas where the green survived.   The green is in ares we’re someone would have not bothered with as it would not have shown. It’s in the body At the top of the trunk and it’s on the  back Of the trunk lid towards where it attaches to the body. It’s also the only color that looks professionally done.  There is also some old masking tape in the trunk where someone wrote  "Dodge Truck Blue" followed by a code that may be a paint mix on it.  I'm guessing that at some point someone just wanted to paint it blue -- that could explain the engine blue too.  The black primer on the outside was put on by Don Marshall, Marshall Motors (Jackson MI).  He sold us the car. 

Edited July 29, 2018 by NickPickToo

[NickPickToo]

Betting Kenwood Green over Balfour Green (this lighter green color is still visible where the doors hinges connect to the body).  The tape on the inside indicates someone painted it "Ford Bahama Blue" if that's a color. 

Edited July 29, 2018 by NickPickToo

[casper50]

I would doubt that they would paint under the floormats.  I think it was blue. Maybe they changed the trunk lid.

Edited July 29, 2018 by casper50

[bobd1976]

Congrats and always good to see a young person interested in the older cars. I didn't  want be the one to say it but your car is a sedan not a coupe. It  looks like a solid car. I hope you get that primer off of all that grille stainless. 

[NickPickToo]

19 minutes ago, bobd1976 said:

Congrats and always good to see a young person interested in the older cars. I didn't  want be the one to say it but your car is a sedan not a coupe. It  looks like a solid car. I hope you get that primer off of all that grille stainless. 

I just assumed a 2 door was a coupe.  How do you tell the difference? 

[Andydodge]

Nick..........once you know the differences then its fairly straightforward........4dr sedan and 2dr sedan both have the same basic "long" body shell, except for the number of doors........Plymouth from 1942 to 1948 had two different "Coupes".......the Business Coupe had the shorter roof of the two coupes although it was still whats sometimes referred to as a "5 window coupe" counting the side and rear windows and had just the one split bench seat the same as a 2dr sedan seat ......the 2nd coupe body that Plymouth used was the Club Coupe which had a longer roof than the Business coupe but still had a shorter roof than the sedan type.....the Club Coupe was also a 5window style body but also had the same front seat as used in the 2dr sedan and Business Coupe BUT also a proper rear seat...................this pic is of my 41 Plymouth Coupe that I had.........this same body shell and short roof was used in the Plymouth Business coupe as I mentioned thru to 1948............note that the other Mopar brands, Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler had a different mix of coupe body shells from 1941 to 1948 just to confuse things even more..............lol...............btw in these years as I mentioned both style of Plymouth coupes could be referred to as 5 window coupes but that name is generally a misnomer and if used in relation to Plymouth coupes can sometimes confuse the issue as then people think that Plymouth also has a 3 window coupe which is incorrect.........far better to use the Business or Club Coupe terms....................andyd.     

[NickPickToo]

53 minutes ago, Andydodge said:

 

Got it.  Thanks. Edits made

[bobd1976]

Andy did a great job of explaining the different models,

Here is my 48 which is a club coupe with a back seat.

Notice the grille . I know they are a lot of work to clean and polish but  well worth it in my opinion. .

[knuckleharley]

35 minutes ago, bobd1976 said:

Andy did a great job of explaining the different models,

Here is my 48 which is a club coupe with a back seat.

Notice the grille . I know they are a lot of work to clean and polish but  well worth it in my opinion. .

I don't believe I have ever seen one painted a deep burgundy like that,and I like it a lot.

 

Since I live up a dirt road,none of my stuff gets painted dark colors.

[jeffsunzeri]

On ‎7‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 3:46 PM, knuckleharley said:

If you upgrade the brakes and replace the lines and hoses,and then add radial tires,you might not need seat belts.

Even with the finest brakes and best tires on the planet, they won't prevent you or your passenger(s) from slamming into the windshield, getting crushed by a steering column, being tossed out the door in a rollover, or being mangled in a side impact event. I think many of us older folks have seen plenty of these events to last a lifetime, and don't want to see any more.

[knuckleharley]

1 hour ago, jeffsunzeri said:

Even with the finest brakes and best tires on the planet, they won't prevent you or your passenger(s) from slamming into the windshield, getting crushed by a steering column, being tossed out the door in a rollover, or being mangled in a side impact event. I think many of us older folks have seen plenty of these events to last a lifetime, and don't want to see any more.

Did you somehow miss the word "might"?

[Plymouthy Adams]

 

while some say you may not totally get rid of the boat feel, for certain, a positive gain in driving and handling characteristics is easily obtained by moving the upper shock mount from the upper control arm to the chassis, just amazing the very stability you see immediately.  Brake kits are quick and easy and I recommend olddaddy at rustyhope.com as a supplier and he is a local member here.  Suspension rebuilds are affordable, if going radial tires get the alignment shop to add positive caster for handling, also will help get that wandering feeling out of the front suspension as these cars are set up at basically zero.  You can also lower this chassis with drop spindles if you so desire, you can add a fairly late model rack and pinion while still keeping the stock suspension components.  Basic front components like kingpins,  R&P, shock relocation, disc upgrades, radial and alignment would be first order of business for front end hygiene, allow you to do this in stages without ever taking the car permanently off the road and each step would then be affordable and never get really over your head or behind your budget.

[Young Ed]

The dash insert appears to have been swapped over from a 42. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

I like that dash badge over that of the later models..

[NickPickToo]

1 hour ago, Young Ed said:

The dash insert appears to have been swapped over from a 42. 

Thanks.   That will help me finding parts. Yes this car is a real collection of stuff

 

1) 1955 230 engine

2) Ford Bahamas blue paint

3) just found another serial number on the fire wall in the engine compartment that’s making wonder if that’s been welded in sometime over this cars life. 

4) now the dash too cool agree with PA I like this one more. 

5) some interesting stuff going on with the rear finders that I’ll post about soon. 

 

but that’s making it a real historical research project.   

Edited July 30, 2018 by NickPickToo

[Young Ed]

46 minutes ago, NickPickToo said:

Thanks.   That will help me finding parts. Yes this car is a real collection of stuff

 

1) 1955 230 engine

2) Ford Bahamas blue paint

3) just found another serial number on the fire wall in the engine compartment that’s making wonder if that’s been welded in sometime over this cars life. 

4) now the dash too cool agree with PA I like this one more. 

5) some interesting stuff going on with the rear finders that I’ll post about soon. 

 

but that’s making it a real historical research project.   

If the rear fenders have a bigger round opening they are 42 also

[NickPickToo]

On 7/29/2018 at 12:03 AM, BobT-47P15 said:

One thing that goes out in these old radios is the capacitors as they dry out.  Tubes may actually be good.   Then there is a

vibrator cannister, which may or may not work.  Those can be found far as I know.  If you know electronics, you probably can

invent your own system. Then hook up a new style speaker with it.   That is the deluxe model heater.....same as I have.....

may need some attention or may work fine....just have to check it out.  It will serve as your defroster system, if you have

one in place.     You've done good so far getting books......an owners manual and parts manual.  The one on the lower right is the other thing you should have.....a Repair Manual.  There is also info on Plymouth in old Chilton and Motors Manuals.....usually can be found

on eBay.  

 

other than the front cover and a few more years added, is there a meaningful difference between the book on bottom left and good on bottom right?

[NickPickToo]

6 hours ago, Young Ed said:

The dash insert appears to have been swapped over from a 42. 

Okay now I think its just mess with the new kid on the block time -- the 47 dash photos look more like min ethane the 42 dash photos.  How do you tell the difference?  My dad just told me to go to DTW and ask for a yard of flight line too tie down the bows on the headliner -- is he just messing with me too?

[Young Ed]

 

On 7/28/2018 at 9:28 PM, NickPickToo said:

See now this is character.   

 

15 minutes ago, NickPickToo said:

Okay now I think its just mess with the new kid on the block time -- the 47 dash photos look more like min ethane the 42 dash photos.  How do you tell the difference?  My dad just told me to go to DTW and ask for a yard of flight line too tie down the bows on the headliner -- is he just messing with me too?

 

You have the 46-48 instruments just not the center section. I would guess being a deluxe that someone went to the junkyard and found the chrome center section to upgrade for a radio rather than buying the 46-48 version. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

you could not carry a yard of flight line....put some hinges on the tops of the door frame...make the car gull-able also....

[NickPickToo]

Okay real question

 

for safety, my dad says I have to switch bench to bucket in the front and get three-point, shoulder belts in front and back.  I like the bench in the front and don't think the bucket seat is necessary if we put in the three point belts.  Help!

 

If you all agree with my dad then what's would be a good look to keep somewhat the same period feel