Introduction - 1947 P-15 Business Coupe

[Plymouthy Adams]

don't over complicate this...clean as normal...repair as needed, let dry if applicable....

[hi_volt]

There are several ways to go about it.  I'm planning on doing it slowly and manually, using several buckets of water, a pair of gloves, some simple green, a soft brush and lots of sponges.  This won't be a perfect cleaning.  I'm primarily after getting the dirt and grime off of it so I can work on it.  I want to be particularly careful that I don't get any water or degreaser into any areas that there shouldn't be any.  It's way easier and more pleasant to work on a clean engine.  I'm not in a big hurry since the car is garaged, so I don't mind taking extra time and care.

 

As far as wiring goes, it's over 70 years old and is pretty crispy, so I'm being realistic and understand that it will need to be replaced before the car is ready to drive, but I will be careful not to damage anything as I do my cleaning and general tidy-up.

[Plymouthy Adams]

if the wiring is just discolored and the ends are not frayed and wires exposed....you may be okay for a spell...if the ends are a bit exposed ask yourself if application of heat shrink will seal them back up.  You may eventually have to replace the harness....but to get it cleaned up, running and tested out before biting this off...this temp fix could be your best short term answer...

[Andydodge]

Hey,  Tim............I also can't get the trunk lid pic outa my brain now.............lol.............thanks........BTW any room left in the corner?...............andyd

[Plymouthy Adams]

that is the beauty of a corner....it extends in all directions....welcome to the group....

[Douglas]

On 7/20/2019 at 3:14 PM, hi_volt said:

A quick update.  Did some more polishing and have most of the right side of the car done.  Bought some new tires.  The tires that were on the car when I bought it were horrible, and none of them matched, or were even the same size.  Went with Cooper Trendsetter SE 215-75-15 white walls, which have pretty close to the correct tire diameter.  Bought hub caps and a new hood spring which I installed today.  Slow progress, but it'll get there.

 

 

THAT LOOKS GREAT. Best advice was already given. Do what you want to do. 12v???. Things will work and the kits are straight forward. My name is Doug, give me a call anytime if you want to yap about stuff. 503-318-9137. 

[Douglas]

On 7/21/2019 at 9:55 AM, Plymouthy Adams said:

patina does not get better on any vehicle....it will only continue it's destructive path on the substrate....remember, it too is just a passing phase in the course of rot as steel in a Ferris....non ferris will patina...there is a difference 

Wow, Adams, you are the king aren’t you. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

nah, just not easily fooled....

[Douglas]

2 hours ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

nah, just not easily fooled....

?

[hi_volt]

Update....Work is progressing on the engine bay clean up.  It turns out that most of the dirt is just a thin layer of desert dust from sitting in the PO's back yard for ten years, and is cleaning up pretty nicely.  There are some greasy area towards the bottom of the engine, but really just a thin layer that will easily clean off with some Ultra Dawn.  As I'm getting the engine and bay cleaned up, I can see some remnants of orange paint on the block and the head.  The engine is out of a 1954 P25, so is not original to the car, though I don't think the 54's engines were painted orange at the factory.  I'd like to keep the engine as correct as possible for a 1947, which if I recall correctly, is silver.

 

I found the missing chrome trim that is supposed to go between the passenger side door vent window and the roll-down window.  When I removed the cardboard door panels, I discovered that it broke off of the part attached to the bottom of the window and fell inside the door, so I'll need to either have the two pieces welded back together or find a replacement.  I'll post some additional pix of the engine bay next weekend when I get farther along.

[hi_volt]

I finally got the engine bay clean enough to start looking at the state of everything.  As expected, the wiring is very crispy and fragile and much of it will need to be patched or replaced before I apply any power to the car.  I got enough of the dirt and small amount of grease off the engine to see the orange paint on the head and block.  No significant rust.  I pulled the oil bath air cleaner and cleaned it up.  The oil in there hadn't been changed for a long time - there was a lot of sludge at the bottom, but I got it all cleaned out and am planning on keeping it.  I pulled and inspected the spark plugs.  They look OK, but there is a little black soot from the engine running rich, so I'm going to replace them.  The plug wires are toast and need to be replaced.  The starter wire insulation has crumbled to dust (see picture below).  I'll be replacing that and the battery and ground cables with minimum 0 gauge new cables.  In general, everything looks to be complete, mostly original, and in pretty good shape.  Here are some pix.

 

 

Edited August 17, 2019 by hi_volt

[Sam Buchanan]

I can highly recommend BatteryCablesUSA when you are ready for new cables----Very reasonable prices, quick service and high quality! Made a noticeable difference in how the car starts, especially hot.

 

 

 

[hi_volt]

Sam, did you go with the 1/0 or 2/0 wire?

[Sam Buchanan]

36 minutes ago, hi_volt said:

Sam, did you go with the 1/0 or 2/0 wire?

 

1/0.

[MarcDeSoto]

I think you said you need new window glass.  Rather than try to make it yourself, you can just order them on Ebay for $45 each.  I bought glass on Ebay for my 48 DeSoto.  Ebay also sells the quarter window glass.  

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1948-Plymouth-Door-Glass-3-Passenger-Business-Coupe-Clear/352076783272?fits=Year%3A1948|Make%3APlymouth&epid=936994350&hash=item51f9695ea8:g:YAUAAOSwX9FZMaP5#vi-ilComp

[hi_volt]

Thank you all for your help!

 

Thanks Sam.....as soon as I get the necessary measurements from my car this weekend, I plan on ordering a set of battery/starter/grounding cables from BatteryCablesUSA.

 

Thanks Marc.....I just ordered a pair of glass windows for my doors to replace the cracked ones.

 

☺️

[Dodgeb4ya]

Now those are correctly sized cables?

[chrysleritis]

I have worked on the old Philco radios myself -- they are completely fixable if you have patience and some experience with electronics and schematics. The vacuum tubes are not too hard to find, there are a couple of outfits which sell the proper vibrators and the caps are all replaceable with modern stuff. And while you have it open, you can install a jumper to allow a 3.5 mm audio input plug from your favorite audio source, e.g. mp3 player, 8 track tape player, ... I find it a lot of fun to drive around listening to whatever I want if there happens not to be a ballgame on the AM radio station. The rest of the AM dial is pretty slim pickings. I got a tiny, very cheap mp3 player with a huge storage capacity that just plugs right in. 
I also second those who advocate keeping it 6 volt. Putting in a new harness is not at all difficult except when crawling around under the dash, and you WILL want to replace the wiring instead of chasing down new shorts every month. It's great peace of mind, new wires. 

[BobDeSoto]

I agree with leaving it as 6 volt.   We had DeSotos during the 50's and 60's.

My did tried a couple of times to substitute an 8 volt battery but all that did

was burn out bulbs, resistors, etc.

[BobT-47P15]

There is a list out there in the resource listings  somewhere specifying original colors for such things as the engine and other items.   I think mine is

fairly close to original with everything being black and silver.  I used POR 15 high heat aluminum from a can, applied with a couple small brushes (1 and 2 inch).

That has held up better for me than any previously used rattle cans.  Other opinions will vary.  (orange was not used on a 54 Plym engine....they looked just

like a P15 motor.)

 

     

 

[MarcDeSoto]

10 hours ago, chrysleritis said:

I have worked on the old Philco radios myself -- they are completely fixable if you have patience and some experience with electronics and schematics. The vacuum tubes are not too hard to find, there are a couple of outfits which sell the proper vibrators and the caps are all replaceable with modern stuff. And while you have it open, you can install a jumper to allow a 3.5 mm audio input plug from your favorite audio source, e.g. mp3 player, 8 track tape player, ... I find it a lot of fun to drive around listening to whatever I want if there happens not to be a ballgame on the AM radio station. The rest of the AM dial is pretty slim pickings. I got a tiny, very cheap mp3 player with a huge storage capacity that just plugs right in. 
I also second those who advocate keeping it 6 volt. Putting in a new harness is not at all difficult except when crawling around under the dash, and you WILL want to replace the wiring instead of chasing down new shorts every month. It's great peace of mind, new wires. 

My 48 DeSoto is still under restoration, but I had my radio tech friend rebuild my Philco auto radio.  I'm very interested in having it converted to be able to accept my iPod to play my iTunes or maybe even get Internet radio.  How is it done?  Thanks, Marc.

[Pete]

Aurora Design makes a series of add-ons for these radios. Both 6v & 12v. I had my original '39 Philco restored and added FM & 3.5mm plug for my MP3 player. Still looks completely original. Info here:

 

http://www.tech-retro.com/Aurora_Design/Home.html

 

Pete

[pflaming]

Glass, if the glass is flat, I go to a local shop, cost per door size $50 here on the left coast.

[MarcDeSoto]

I called my local glass shop and they wanted more like $200 per window, because it had to made from scratch!  Thanks Pete, for the tip about radio add-ons.  I'll check them out!

 

[soth122003]

hi_volt, Nice car. I found that easy off oven cleaner works very well on the lower part of the engine and tranny to get that stubborn grease and oil off.  Just spray it on and let it set for about 4-6 hours and a lot of the crud will come right off. As far as the interior if you want to carpet it check out this site.

https://www.carparts.com/results/?N=0&Nr=AND(universal%3A0)&PN=0+4294919999&VN=4294965725+4294966857+4294965882+4294967027&is20k=1&universal=0

As far as 6 or 12 volts I like the 6v system myself. If your not worried about showroom quality it is easy to make your own wiring harness.

Joe Lee