New Member with "new" 1950 plymouth deluxe

[Dodgeed]

7 hours ago, TodFitch said:

 

I haven't noticed any significant difference in life between the 6v battery in my old car and any newer car with a 12v battery. I suspect any difference would be due to how it is used (long periods of storage) rather than the number of cells it has.

I agree; that has been my experience too. ?

[Dodgeed]

21 hours ago, Donny318 said:

More pictures and a few more questions  I'm installing the trim and I don't know how to install the long bottom pieces. Looks like I may also be missing a small piece at the back window.

 I bleed the brakes and am ready to try pull starting this badboy. I'm trying to find an accomplice!

Great looking car you've got there. "You done well". ?

[Robert5]

Nice looking car!

Re: wheels.

Don't know if anyone told you.....but be careful when you go to remove the wheels.

Left  side of car may have left hand thread wheel bolts.

Right side should have right hand thread wheel bolts.

Go gently till you know if that is the case.

 

Good luck. Thanks for the pics.

[dpollo]

I got my first 6 volt  battery in 1956.  $11.00 . I had a 35 Plymouth that I drove on farm  roads,  I used the same   battery in a 40 and later in a 50 which was my first "road car"

I got  11 years use from it in three different cars.  I have achieved the same results from a modern,( generally group 2) battery  used in similar  cars.  Sometimes I am disappointed but  battery life has generally been satisfactory.  The secret is to not let them sit for lengthy periods of time in a discharged state.

[Donny318]

14 hours ago, 9 foot box said:

   Six volt batteries don't have a long life. I would put a new group 2 battery in the car. You might have to take the top battery tray out, for it to fit flat in the tray. You will eventually, want a dual voltage charger. Your charging trick with a headlight in series won't work. The rocker panel trim should have a 10-24 screw that attaches to the front fender and a bracket at the rear that attaches the rocker to the bottom of the sill plate with a 1/4" bolt. The middle brackets should snap on. If the rear isn't on the trim, it might still be on the car when it was painted. It depends on the box of parts you were given on the purchase. Service Manuals vary on picture quality, so beware of that. I bought one for $10 that is crap, compared to the worn one I got, when I got my first P-15. 

 

 

They sold me a group 1 battery at the auto parts place. I now have a 6v charger and the car will start from the battery but it still sounds slow. I'm tempted to pull the starter and take a look at those brushes.

It's the snapping on brackets that have be thrown off. I'll try bumping those on. Good info. Thanks

[Donny318]

5 hours ago, Robert5 said:

Nice looking car!

Re: wheels.

Don't know if anyone told you.....but be careful when you go to remove the wheels.

Left  side of car may have left hand thread wheel bolts.

Right side should have right hand thread wheel bolts.

Go gently till you know if that is the case.

 

Good luck. Thanks for the pics.

I found out the hard way on those bolts! But I snapped to the issue before the bolt snapped

[Sam Buchanan]

7 minutes ago, Donny318 said:

They sold me a group 1 battery at the auto parts place. I now have a 6v charger and the car will start from the battery but it still sounds slow.

 

Don't be surprised if it spins better when you install the new battery cables.....the 6v starter pulls huge amps.  

Edited December 27, 2019 by Sam Buchanan

[Donny318]

18 minutes ago, Sam Buchanan said:

 

Don't be surprised if it spins better when you install the new battery cables.....the 6v starter pulls huge amps.  

Is there a particular place to buy a good quality cable or something specific to look for? I'm assuming I should replace the cable to the starter as well.

[Sam Buchanan]

3 minutes ago, Donny318 said:

Is there a particular place to buy a good quality cable or something specific to look for? I'm assuming I should replace the cable to the starter as well.

 

Oops, I may have gotten your thread confused with a different one. Here is where I got my cables and I am very pleased with them:

 

https://www.batterycablesusa.com/1-0-gauge-battery-cables-0-awg.html

 

Yes, replace the starter cable as well with the same gauge as the battery cables. I also installed a ground cable to the body from the battey (my car is negative ground):

 

Edited December 27, 2019 by Sam Buchanan

[edrendek7777]

Super nice looking car. I have a 2 door Deluxe that I love. Will probably have a lot of the same questions as you. I am in Ohio and have had mine 6 months but by the time I got it running and stopping it was winter...  ?  then choke/fuel sending issues still, but I'll figure that out.

 

Good luck!

[Donny318]

32 minutes ago, edrendek7777 said:

Super nice looking car. I have a 2 door Deluxe that I love. Will probably have a lot of the same questions as you. I am in Ohio and have had mine 6 months but by the time I got it running and stopping it was winter...  ?  then choke/fuel sending issues still, but I'll figure that out.

 

Good luck!

Thanks. I think my choke is disconnected. It takes a healthy dose of starting fluid to get mine going! These are really cool cars. It turns heads that's for sure

[BobT-47P15]

Nice looking car.  Color looks to possibly be the old Chrysler "Midnight Blue"....but I don't think it's an original shade for your model car.

Paint chip folders for our old cars can be bought on eBay.  You also need to buy (in my opinion) both a Repair Manual and a Parts Manual

either old original or reprint if you have not done so.   

 Yes, there is a short piece of trim which joins the rear window trim.....not sure how difficult those are to find.  Check eBay for such things......may not be cheap but can

often be found.   You have probably noticed by now---there is a letter L and R on the head of the lug bolts so's you know where they belong.

 

Radial tires will make these oldies drive better on the road, but are harder to turn when at a stop or maneuvering into a parking place.  They will work on the original

style rims.   If you have a battery specialty store near you, they should be able to make you O or OO gauge cables of needed lengths.  Need larger cables to carry 6v.

Otherwise, I think there are cable vendors on the Net. 

[Donny318]

I bolted up the seat and wow it's a tight fit. I'll need to make a bracket to push it back 3inchs. Unfortunately the left rear brake caught on fire. I'll be redoing those. I'm thinking wheel cylinder rebuild kits and leave the old shoes. Everything was new 15 years ago and it has only been driven a few miles in that time.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I would suspect that if the brake was dragging to the degree it resulted in a fire....the shoes would more than not have crystalized the bonding adhesive.....these are not the most user friendly to get to as it is.....you may want to consider new as a low cost insurance against damage and ounce of prevention on the labor....

[Donny318]

39 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

I would suspect that if the brake was dragging to the degree it resulted in a fire....the shoes would more than not have crystalized the bonding adhesive.....these are not the most user friendly to get to as it is.....you may want to consider new as a low cost insurance against damage and ounce of prevention on the labor....

I already ordered new wheel cylinders. I know what you're saying. Don't want to do it twice. The shoes are a little pricey otherwise I would have already ordered them. If I see anything I don't like when I get it apart. I'll order new shoes. That is money I can put towards much needed interior!

[Sam Buchanan]

55 minutes ago, Donny318 said:

I bolted up the seat and wow it's a tight fit. I'll need to make a bracket to push it back 3inchs. Unfortunately the left rear brake caught on fire. I'll be redoing those. I'm thinking wheel cylinder rebuild kits and leave the old shoes. Everything was new 15 years ago and it has only been driven a few miles in that time.

 

I was tasked with putting my '48 P15 back on the road after a five-year hibernation. I started out repairing things piecemeal, especially the brakes and fuel system. I was gonna save some money.......

 

After a couple of months I realized what I should have done is totally rip out the brake and fuel systems and start from scratch. It was not until I had replaced ALL the components in the brakes and fuel system that I had a reliable daily driver.

 

This is a classic case of "You can pay me now or pay me later".......quicker and less expensive (when considering shipping cost) to do it all at one time.    ?

Edited December 28, 2019 by Sam Buchanan

[Los_Control]

12 minutes ago, Sam Buchanan said:

This is a classic case of "You can pay me now or pay me later"

I have to agree with you on this one.

 

Bonded shoes are held together with glue ... When heated up, glue releases. It weakens, It changes chemically the properties are not the same... call it what you want. I would not trust the bond of the glue to hold the shoes after it got hot enough to create a fire.

 

I wonder what it takes to remove old bonded shoes to allow replacement of new bonded shoes?

I imagine heat is involved?  I could look it up.

I wonder if the installed shoes do look good, if they can be removed and then re-bonded with fresh glue?

[Plymouthy Adams]

1 minute ago, Los_Control said:

I have to agree with you on this one.

 

Bonded shoes are held together with glue ... When heated up, glue releases. It weakens, It changes chemically the properties are not the same... call it what you want. I would not trust the bond of the glue to hold the shoes after it got hot enough to create a fire.

 

I wonder what it takes to remove old bonded shoes to allow replacement of new bonded shoes?

I imagine heat is involved?  I could look it up.

I wonder if the installed shoes do look good, if they can be removed and then re-bonded with fresh glue?

 

unless you yourself have the special heat inducted clamping system to shy away from any style, method, attempt or sugar high induced idea of repair...

[Sniper]

Back when I worked at the cement plant we'd rebuild the brake shoes on the overhead crane motors.  We only riveted them though we had the jigs to bond them too.  They stopped bonding them years before I got there, I suspect someone mismixed the glue and it failed in a fashion that wasn't pleasant.  We also had an oven to bake the bonded shoes.  I dont know how they removed the old friction material, I suspect a wire wheel.

 

 

[Los_Control]

The other thought, replacement drums are not anywhere near the level of cheap.

Shoes may cost more then I like, replacing the drums would really make me cry.

 

Trying to re-use the old shoes after a fire, have them come loose and destroy a drum ... yeah yeah yeah I know, you stop driving before it destroys the drum.

I would also assume one would stop driving before starting a fire 

[Sniper]

Don't feel bad, I was picking my son up last week and when we left I heard a funny squeaking noise, I asked him "Was that me?".  The engine was sluggish, I got maybe two blocks before smoke started pouring out from under the car.

 

I had left the parking brake on.  Since then he always asks me "you take the brake off"  little wisenheimer.

[Donny318]

I'll pull that brake off and see what it looks like. If it's at all sketchy I'll order new ones. Something this old I may end up doing the rubber brake lines. Lots of freshening up to do! I planning on new battery cables, clean the starter and replace brushes. I think I may need a radiator and hoses as well. The fuel system is hopefully ok. It has half a tank of 130 octane av gas! Currently runs well but no telling what will loosen up in that gas tank.

[Donny318]

Update. I now have brakes,I ended up replacing almost everything! I now have a new radiator. The car starts and runs fine. No overheating and I just got ins and tags.

 So I was reading the owners manual and it said that I can use 2cd gear to start from a stop. I'm curious what other plymouth owners recommend? I am also wondering about the lights under the headlights,are these fog lights? What switch to turn them on/off?

[keithb7]

Those lights under the head lights look like turn signals. Turn on your signal, and jump out to have a look.

[1950 Special Deluxe]

They are probably the park lights.

pull the headlight switch halfway out and check to see if they are on.

they shut off when the headlights are on.
they can be converted to signal lights.