My First Car -- P15 1947 Plymouth Deluxe

[NickPick'sCrew]

10 minutes ago, Frank Elder said:

Let them have their way for now less headaches, then when the car is fully in your name, insured by you and not parked at their house uninstall said items at your say so.

 

 

Hmmmmmmm. ?

[NickPick'sCrew]

Hood Alignment.  Nicholas and I are having trouble aligning the hood to the cowl.  We can get it low enough but were having trouble getting the passenger side back far enough to close close the gap between the hood and cowl to an acceptable distance.  Any tips or techniques anyone could share?

[Eneto-55]

12 minutes ago, NickPick'sCrew said:

Hood Alignment.  Nicholas and I are having trouble aligning the hood to the cowl.  We can get it low enough but were having trouble getting the passenger side back far enough to close close the gap between the hood and cowl to an acceptable distance.  Any tips or techniques anyone could share?

Not a happy thought, but it could come down to radiator support to frame, or even body to frame alignment.  But I would think that there is enough adjustment at the hood hinge to cowl and hood to hinge to get it correct.

[Bobby]

18 minutes ago, NickPick'sCrew said:

Hood Alignment.  Nicholas and I are having trouble aligning the hood to the cowl.  We can get it low enough but were having trouble getting the passenger side back far enough to close close the gap between the hood and cowl to an acceptable distance.  Any tips or techniques anyone could share?

 

This is one of those things that never seem to go back together the way it came apart. I have had several "Big Hammer Moments" on the brackets on the bench. I have probably had my hood off  6 times to "Adjust" it before I got it right... Not very good advise, I am afraid...

[NickPick'sCrew]

47 minutes ago, Eneto-55 said:

Not a happy thought, but it could come down to radiator support to frame, or even body to frame alignment.  But I would think that there is enough adjustment at the hood hinge to cowl and hood to hinge to get it correct.

Yes. We've cut, torqued, squeezed, and stretched that body quite a bit over the past few years.  The shop maint. manual shows the tech prying parts into alignment so I guess this is par for the course.

 

On a happier note.  My truck batteries ran down over night and guess whos car came to the rescue....

[Dan Hiebert]

Assuming the alignment issue is with the hood closed and latched?  If you'uns already tightened all the front body parts down, you may need to go back and tweak the whole dog house, to include the radiator support, as Eneto-55 mentioned.  Completely disassembled and all the work you'uns did will change the alignments, so those marks/scratches/etc., on the panels from before you worked on it may be a good place to start, but the alignment will be different now.  Not hard, just requires patience.  Loosen up everything holding the dog house down/together, and hood on. Loose enough to move, but still hold when you're not physically doing something to it.  It may indeed take some leveraging, but you may be surprised how moving something a little at the one place will make a seemingly bigger movement at another.   

[Vin's 49 Plymouth]

I had the same problem with my hood. It's still not perfect. Mine doesn't have a support on the inside of the hood.

I had to look in the maintenance/ service manual and loosen all four bolts that mount the hinge to the body.

It was somewhat lined up after that. I had to climb in the engine compartment to tighten them while it was closed.

 

Mine also had loose rivets or pins in the hinge. I put them on a 50 ton press in my classroom and drove them tight again.

Just enough to have the hinge still move. 

[DJ194950]

While this Mopar info from the Imperial website my apply to different years the Mopar principals for hood adjustments may help.?

http://www.web.imperialclub.info/Repair/Lit/Master/025/page30.htm

 

DJ

[NickPickToo]

The backup camera works

[Sam Buchanan]

We can sense your excitement.....couldn't stifle the yawn long enough to snap a photo, eh.....  ?

[NickPick'sCrew]

Nicholas had visitors today.  Mr. Sadler and his crew came out interview Nicholas for their show, Speed and Shine.   Nicholas presented himself and his car pretty well.  He gave a shoutout to the forum.  Once we get a link to the segment they put together we'll share.

 

  

[Bobby]

Now there is a couple of good looking guys!!! Well done Nick!!! It is great that you gave a shoutout to the forum.

There may be the next NicksPick Crew out there that just needs a little help and encouragement. Just think of all the experience YOU now have. I hope you pass it on when you have the opportunity.

 

All the best with the new adventure in PA. I wonder how many of the Engineering Prof's will the practical experience you do when you show-up...???

Take care,

B

[NickPickToo]

On 5/4/2021 at 7:56 PM, DJ194950 said:

While this Mopar info from the Imperial website my apply to different years the Mopar principals for hood adjustments may help.?

http://www.web.imperialclub.info/Repair/Lit/Master/025/page30.htm

 

DJ

This was very helpful.  Along with digging out the original bolts with the special washers.  Now its just about as perfect as I was expecting.  Any tips on getting the screws out of the cowl that hold down the lacing?  Are these ones that just need to be cut out?

[Merle Coggins]

The hood lacing fasteners may be tacks, not screws. As I recall, on my truck anyway, they are a spiral tack. If you can get under the head you may be able to pull them out.  

[Dan Hiebert]

The ones on our D24 came right out.  That slot in the head is indeed for a screwdriver, but you can't torque on them like a regular screw.  They aren't threaded, just a spiral tack as Merle noted, get something under the head to pry a tad while "unscrewing".  I pried them by getting a screwdriver under the head and twisting it, rather than levering.  

[NickPickToo]

Mom shot this when we went for a joy/test ride today.  Tried a different return spring on the clutch linkage and had to try it out.  Much better.   

[tom'sB2B]

This may or may not help.

 

[NickPickToo]

We got the lace tacks out and then put the lace in place.  Still cant get the hood quite right.  Seems like the passenger side hinge is not working correctly.  

[NickPickToo]

This is the best alignment we get...without the hinges attached.  I am guessing that either the hinges are bent or the front hinge attachment brackets are bent (I did use those a few times to lift the body).   Likely the hinge as the passenger side hinge is way out of shape.    A 'good' pair of hinges on E-Pay would be $600 so that's out.  If we can't fix our pair, I'm thinking hot rod studs and jeep style hold downs, but it would be a shame to break those lines.  If I get the funds or find a good pair of hinges at a later date, I could just fill the holes I'd make with the off-model hold downs.

 

 

[Eneto-55]

Have you considered whether the body might be bolted down slightly off to one side (via the frame to body mounts)?  Did you check the frame for alignment while the body was off (using the reference points marked on the frame, as described in the manual)?  (I didn't do this, either, while I had my body off, and I may run into the same dilemma as you have.  So this is a strictly hind-sight observation.)  Obviously, however, if your hood hinge is bent, that is most likely the problem.)

Edited May 8, 2021 by Eneto-55

[NickPickToo]

9 minutes ago, Eneto-55 said:

Have you considered whether the body might be bolted down slightly off to one side (via the frame to body mounts)?  Did you check the frame for alignment while the body was off (using the reference points marked on the frame, as described in the manual)?  (I didn't do this, either, while I had my body off, and I may run into the same dilemma as you have.  So this is a strictly hind-sight observation.)  Obviously, however, if your hood hinge is bent, that is most likely the problem.)

The issue we are having is getting the back of the hood to line up at the cowl even before we try to line it up to the finders, so I am pretty sure it is an issue with the hinge or where the hinge connects.   I can get it pretty close, but then it still needs to go back onto the cowl about 3/4 to an inch then. 

[NickPickToo]

I'm trying to wire the heater fan.  I’ve bench tested the fan directly to a 6 v battery and it works well.   I purchased a 12 to 6 v reducer (5 amp) from YnZ that indicates use for heater fans etc.  However when I connect to the reducer the fan turns, but very slowly almost like it’s not pulling enough power.  I've tested it from the fan straight to the reducer as well as from the reducer through the dash switch to the fan and it's still the same.  The fan just barely turns.     Is 5 amps enough on these old heater fans or could there be an issue with how we have set up the reducer?

[NickPickToo]

This was the day I was going to be street legal.  Completed the front seat belts and connected all the lights.  Everything is working too.  Except the brake lights.   The electrical part of the brake lights works well when I bypass the brake light unit.  Close the circuit and the brake lights light up.  It's not working properly through the unit.  Maybe we'll figure it out before the end of the weekend.

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by NickPickToo

[Bbdakota]

Looking great! I bet your ready to see a return on your investment of time and money.

 

I assume you're still running the hydraulic brake switch. I have had better luck installing a modern type brake switch and eliminating the hydraulic brake switch on a couple cars. You might have to make a bracket and run the wires through the firewall. Just something to keep in mind if not now, maybe later if you continue to have problems with hydraulic brake switch failures. 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Bbdakota
Correct swipe errors

[greg g]

Check with your localHarley dealer or napa for decent quality hydraulic switches.

Edited May 14, 2021 by greg g