Roadster P15

[Plymouthy Adams]

I would like to find a Duett but my pockets are not deep enough for these......the Amazon 2 door wagon is also a nice car that dresses out spiffy.....models after the Amazon I am not drawn to but STILL a wagon does have that appeal....sucker for the long roofs...

[Ulu]

1 hour ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

you be at home if you visited...61 Lancer sport coupe, 62 Lancer GT...2 62 Darts,  2 62 Polara and of course the PV544...I got ugly sewed up here in the south...sold the Stude a bit back...guy needed it more than his money....I was glad to make the trade....

 

I gotta say I loved most Exner era cars, and I like the 62's, but the '61 run was my least favorite styling of all Mopar tin.

 

How they got from the glorious 1960 Polara to the confusing '61 was a mystery.

Did it have fins? Ummm, sorta, depending on which way it was facing. They were surrealist Dali fins, melted right over the tail lights, chrome strip almost dripping off.

 

My buddy had this 4-dr beige '61 and he had to beg me to help him with it.

 

Mom had a Starlite Coupe, 1951. It pointed both ways at once. I almost bought one in '73. It was a rust bucket though. Salt Lake City car.

[Plymouthy Adams]

the 61 Lancer is a smaller version in most all aspects as the 62 Dodge Dart/Polara...the "plucked chicken" if you will and 62 is the only year the Dart was a B-body.....not to be confused with the Plymouth line up....they a complete breed of ugly on their own.....but I like them yet....many many fun times driving around in a 61 Belvedere 318...these all are included in my dictionary of DARE TO BE DIFFERENT

Edited March 13, 2020 by Plymouthy Adams

[Ulu]

It looks like I can move the cowl back 20" max. but 17" might be more practical.

 

When I look at that big blank cowl side I keep thinking it needs some louvers.

Or exposed headers.

Or a big window into the engine bay.

Or maybe just something painted there.

Or a hole with a turbo dump pipe

Or six buck rogers cowl lamps . . . I just dunno yet. . . .

 

The hood will be so big it will need help. I thought to side-hinge it, or split the nose off, and butterfly it like a 47 truck.

 

But a tilt-nose has always been the dream. I just need a skyhook to lift it.?

 

I decided that no driver door will be needed, & the car will be much stiffer without it. Also, making two that match 100% would be  tough.

 

I'm planning one smaller door, for the passenger side. That will be adequate for the mrs, and I can mfg one with much less stress than two.

 

In any event, it'll be a real challenge to get it faired in. I have to weld up both doors 100% with backer strips. The front of the new seat base might be made a 4x4x19ga box beam, connecting door posts and floor.  I will split off the right side door frames and reshape them to fit the new door location. The front doorpost will get completely divorced from the cowl. This will ease construction and allow the door to be a lot smaller than stock. The new door sill will get boxed up tall, creating a big rocker box. It will go just below the bottom door hinge, putting the bottom hinge right at the bottom of the door.

 

Sheesh, I should just forget doors and tell the mrs to climb in like God intended for a hotrod.

 

The cowl must eventually separate from the firewall, then the firewall and front floor panels moved back and reattached to the inner structure. Then I can rim the opening with conduit, skin the top of the cowl, and create some windshield frame sockets in the body.

 

Then I can cut the door loose and figure out the hood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mrwrstory]

Here are two of the five Volvos I have owned over he years.  Great cars and especially fun to drive.  I had fantasies of putting a Baby Hemi in the wagon (still do) but life got in the way.

[Ulu]

@mrwstory They are 40's for sure in styling, but in no way do they look better than any '40's Plymouth. 

 

I've only had my hands inside one Volvo: a maroon shoebox with 4 wheels from the 80's. It ran just fine, but the leaks were legendary. It had severe cooling system corrosion from the local water, which eats aluminum a bit Every time I turned a bolt on it I thanked God I didn't own the thing.

 

The ugliest thing I ever owned was a used 1961 IHC stepside.

 

 

Mine was much rustier than this fine example, having been from SLC Utah area.

Literally rotted thru in many spots, but a 50k mile truck for only $600.

Lots of torque even with the small 304 v8.

 

I traded it in on a new Subaru 1600cc in 1981. Now that was a fun little car.

Again, these photos aren't of mine.

 

 

I modded the rear bumper and floor for a trailer hitch. We towed our art show stuff all over Calif in the 80's.

Mine didn't have the optional roof rack and white wheels, but red as the above.

This was a great car in the snow. Torque without high RPM.

Weight all on the front wheels. 

 

 

[Boody]

Back in the early  eighties this was my party van! 

[greg g]

Just don't do what Hudson did to build their vert.  Plymouth used the cowl from the Woody and the rest of the sheet metal of the business coupe body.  Hudson just popped the top off their two door sedan, leaving a bunch of sheet metal above the windshield.  Like weird.  Had a friend had a Studebaker Land cruiser four door. The a falling tree crushed the rear of the roof.  Our came the sawzall, angle grinder and the welder.  Put some frame stiffeners in, welded the back doors shut. Was a fun ride, don't know what happened to it.

Edited March 15, 2020 by greg g

[greg g]

Then some folks put Fulton's on them.  For even more wierd.

 

Edited March 19, 2020 by greg g

[Ulu]

Oh no !

 

She's going to have a roadster windshield similar to the Duval styling.

 

Hudson was a unit body car and did not have a separate frame so that might have been something to do with their "styling" decision.

[Vin's 49 Plymouth]

Here is your roadster, its a drawing.

Edited March 15, 2020 by Vin's 49 Plymouth

[Ulu]

Maybe you've confused Dragster and Roadster or something like that.

 

Anyhow, today was the first time I have turned a wrench on the p15 in quite some time. Or turned a drill bit. After destroying 1 impact driver and Half my patience, I decided to drill out the remaining frozen screws in the passenger side hinges.

Fortunately they were created from some kind of free-machining steel and were easy to drill out and pop the heads off.

 

This will make no difference as I have decided to not move any doorposts in the body but simply weld up the existing doors and create what I need from new metal. If I lower the car enough my wife might actually be able to crawl in and out without a door so who knows???

Edited March 15, 2020 by Ulu
smartphone spelling challenges

[falconvan]

On 3/12/2020 at 5:05 PM, Plymouthy Adams said:

 

This is what a PV544 Roadster would look like given the cowl profile and longer hood...short deck and you can't fool me with those Ford alloys that are made in Italy for the compact spare......I got my eye on you......Actually as the Volvo PV544 share the 4.5 lug circle...I already have a set of these same wheels with the Ford name and number removed, centered and drilled, tapped to use the AR alloy center caps....

Nice! Looks like a Viper or Dodge truck V10 would fit right in there.

[Ulu]

Big V8 or V10 might fit where the frame widens. I'm probably not going to build anything powerful. But initial power will be the 230 Dodge from 1953 and the 1949 OD 3-speed. Custom prop shaft I have, but must shorten. I have two steering gears and a good u-joint. I intended to keep the steering and front suspension rather stock for now. With two long shafts I will be able to reach the wheel.    I might do a telescoping wheel, as I'll probably be climbing over the side until this this has door(s).

 

All my 1940's running gear is OK, except the master cyl has leaked, and needs a kit.

My stock brakes are otherwise rebuilt and functional. If I can lighten the car they will be even better.

I've got some coil springs for the rear and may build a 5-bar linkage. The front might get shocks relocated to inside the springs.

 

The P15 isn't that heavy, and I'm dumping the top, windows, regulators, and sunshade, skirts, stock bumpers and brackets, stock seats, 3 big trumpet horns that weigh a ton, stock 6v gen will go. The stock dash is still pretty and will remain. No heat, no air, barely legal wiper. Minimal audio.

 

I want aluminum wheels too. Not too wide. This isn't a dragster. It's an open road car. 235-75 R15's were big enough in the past. I might go lower. I don't think I'll tub it or anything, but it would be nice to put the spare on the deck and reclaim that trunk space.

 

When I cut the top off, the deck lid hinges will "flap" along with the loose parcel shelf, no longer being suspended and stabilized.

I am designing a structural collar to reinforce and fill the deck, cowl, and door tops, and it's gonna be ugly welded steel tubing and sheet, covered by a fiberglass panel, upholstered to match the seats. That upholstered bib will hide 1000 welds and save me months of finishing versus filling everything with finished steel.

 

The front of the collar must dive under the cowl skin, and help support the windshield irons.

 

I'll post some sketches later of this business.

[falconvan]

Right on; nothing wrong with the old flatheads 

[Eneto-55]

20 hours ago, Ulu said:

Maybe you've confused Dragster and Roadster or something like that.

 

Anyhow, today was the first time I have turned a wrench on the p15 in quite some time. Or turned a drill bit. After destroying 1 impact driver and Half my patience, I decided to drill out the remaining frozen screws in the passenger side hinges.

Fortunately they were created from some kind of free-machining steel and were easy to drill out and pop the heads off.

 

This will make no difference as I have decided to not move any doorposts in the body but simply weld up the existing doors and create what I need from new metal. If I lower the car enough my wife might actually be able to crawl in and out without a door so who knows???

If you get the chance to press the hinge pins out, I'd love to hear what the diameter is.  (5/16 or 11/32?)

Edited March 15, 2020 by Eneto-55

[Ulu]

1 hour ago, Eneto-55 said:

If you get the chance to press the hinge pins out, I'd love to hear what the diameter is.  (5/16 or 11/32?)

 11/32" knurled out at the top to about 0.355"

 

This one was not worn out and I just tapped the knurl loose with a small hammer and pressed the pin out with my fingers.

 

It still had viable lubricant on it and the fit is perfect. The other one on that door is frozen and wallowed out and probably will be difficult to remove.

Edited March 16, 2020 by Ulu

[Ulu]

The areas that I've highlighted in pink are going to require structural reinforcement with formed sheet metal.

There's going to be an upholstered bib covering the gap I have to close between the deck and package Shelf, as they don't meet until the rear window frame joins them. I will cut the top off below the windows.

 

The framing for that bib will be fabricated from light gauge tubes and sheet metal & it will extend all the way around the top opening as a collar.

 

Edited March 16, 2020 by Ulu

[Ulu]

The large Rocker Box will be formed by removing part of the bottom of the door.

As for the new rear door post it essentially dies into the wheel Arch and I can do this with some small fillers.

Every bit of this work will be hidden from view when I am done except for that cowl welding and filling, being the major exposed body work

Edited March 16, 2020 by Ulu

[Ulu]

I have been asked by several folks to sell parts off of this car, and it is currently disassembled, but all of the parts are in storage, and currently quite inaccessible.

 

When I am done with this car I will advertise any remaining parts for sale in this forum exclusively, until I decide there is no interest or they sell.

 

I understand that this may interfere with plans for completing your own build but, you must understand that I do not know for certain what parts I will want in the end.

[greg g]

On 3/14/2020 at 10:01 PM, Vin's 49 Plymouth said:

Here is your roadster, its a drawing.

Somebody beat you to it...

[Ulu]

Whoooo . . . I'm not brave enough to take off the fenders!

[Ulu]

I was going to heat those screws and try again with a driver to remove them, but since I am abandoning that post as a door post I had no need to preserve the rusty captive nuts.

With 3 portable drills this was just a matter of minutes.

 

I am considering buying some 4dr suicide rears, but looking at the 4dr car I see the ugly exposed hinge they used. I won't want that . . . 

[Eneto-55]

Speaking of suicide doors, here's a mock-up of what I was thinking about doing with the 93 Chrysler Town & Country I cut up some years ago.  I was going to cut down the top of the hatch lid to use for the radiator shell, & narrow the body to match the width of an early 30's car, and run fenderless.  Maybe a hood top, but no sides.  Engine of choice was a flathead, would have wanted a Chrysler in-line 8, but probably would have used a six.

 

(Here's the thread where I posted other pictures of the cut up process, and explained my idea.)

http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33641

 

Basically, though, the idea was to make the front of the minivan the rear of the roadster, using the existing front doors as suicide.  (I was going to cut the tops off of the doors, of course.)

Edited March 16, 2020 by Eneto-55

[Ulu]

Check out the alignment. If I center the 6 or a V8 over the existing crossmember The existing cowl vent becomes the hood scoop vent. With an appropriate custom scoop, I won't have to fill it.

 

I have to deal with this mangled body mount too.

The car was t-boned in the past and the mount under the front seat is just mangled.

Edited March 17, 2020 by Ulu