maddmaxx1949 Posted June 19, 2020 Report Share Posted June 19, 2020 I bought a 1949 Coronet about 7 years ago and I'm finally getting around to put some time into it. As stated in the title it is a basket case with some major rot in the floors and rockers as well as the rear fenders and trunk pan. Frame is okay excluding the body mounts and some of the front end. The goal here is to document my process as I restore it to driving condition and document things I learn for other members as well as myself. I will be trying to do most everything from the welding and maintenance myself not only just to save money but to learn some new skills. I've already found a plethora of information on this forum and would just like to share my adventure and knowledge (or lack thereof) with all of you. The motor that came with it was a 230 flathead 6 and was in pieces. Thats going to be replaced with a running 52 truck 218. I have the original fluid drive bolted up to it right now and am just waiting on my clutch disk from Tennessee clutch in order to bolt the transmission on. While waiting I'm going to be focusing on getting the front radiator support fixed ( i had to melt some bolts out of it) and painted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted June 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2020 Here is the thread that answered my questions on whether or not the fluid drive form the car would work with the truck 218. Alot of this project is going to be me digging around in the barn and using whatever parts I have on hand. https://p15-d24.com/topic/53077-1949-fluid-drive-onto-52-truck-engine/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug&Deb Posted June 20, 2020 Report Share Posted June 20, 2020 You are a brave man. That’s quite a project! It will be well worth it when finished. Good luck and keep us posted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted June 20, 2020 Report Share Posted June 20, 2020 Good luck with the project! Those floors and rockers sure bring back memories of my '51 Dodge D39 business coupe! Like you, I learned new skills along the way. I took a welding course at the local college so I could weld (MIG) my floors. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted June 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2020 Robert those look great! did you fabricate the floors yourself or buy them? I know I guy in New Concord who did a couple hotrods and said I could make my own but I'm not sure how easy that is going to be compared to premade floor pans. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 I ordered the parts from the Plymouth Doctor. A few smaller pieces I fabricated myself. The removable floor pan where the pedals are was an almost perfect replica of the original. I would recommend the Plymouth Doctor but he is hard to get hold of apparently and I dealt with him several years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 He's on facebook do a search for Wayne Brandon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted June 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 I'll give him a call on Monday and see If I can get a quote. I didn't see any prices listed in the catalog. This is a bit of a budget build and while I don't have any concern for buying new parts I need sometimes it can be hard to justify when I only paid 500 bucks for the car. Was going to clean and repaint the Radiator support bracket today. Went to get the carriage bolts out since the threads were shot but to no available. Got a little over-zealous with the torch and the result ended up with me cutting out the lower portion out so I can fab it at the machine shop next door. Owner is now retired and is willing to teach me and let use his equipment. Is it common to take out the original threaded retainers and just weld nuts on instead? They are pretty rusty so that was the game plan. Probably can't head over to the shop until Tuesday getting a 54 buick posted for sale for a friend down south monday evening.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkAubuchon Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 Great Progress slow and steady you will get it finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pflaming Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 Many of us have been where you are and where you are headed and we applaud you and encourage you as you rebuild. I know you will keep us informed and it will NOT be a faux TV reality build, which I presume they get their new parts gratis from their advertisers! my Empi is not a MOPAR, but like you and many others, rewarding to work at making a silk purse out of a pigs ear. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthcranbrook Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 16 hours ago, Sniper said: He's on facebook do a search for Wayne Brandon Page not found Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 Might be you, worked for me just now. Search on his name, Lives in Perry, Michigan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted June 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2020 Got a hold of Wayne and asked about rocker panels. Quality vs. cost comparison with one side of inner an outer rockers around 300$ is leading me to think I should order one side only and see if I can replicated or fab the other side partially for cost savings and partially for fabricating practice. The rockers aren't going immediately in so if I order them now I have some time to work on the transmission and the radiator support so I can get the powerplant in this thing. Have new rear motor mounts and clutch disk on the way and should be here by Thursday. Then I'll move to Brakes and Body work. Definitely don't want to dive in to more things I can handle at once but I hate sitting around waiting on parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted June 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2020 I took the radiator support bracket and drilled out the spot welds which held the plate holding the carriage bolts (note its easier to drill out spot welds than grind them, lesson learned). I'm just going to replace them with regular bolts so the next time I have to do this its easier. Got it all welded back together just going to Weld on nuts where I cut the threads out earlier and tack all of the other threaded parts down so they dont break loose again. Sand and painting the bracket is on the list for tomorrow as well getting the transmission installed. I am missing the clutch cover which the lower two bolts of the trans connect to so I'm going to have to scrounge one up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted June 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2020 Figured While I had the drivetrain out of the car I'd look at the master cylinder. It was bolted to the frame unlike the truck cylinders I am used to. Going with a single system for simplicity sake in order to save time and some $$. That aside, Everything on the trans bolted together nicely however since I have the engine on a truck frame the starter no longer clears the Steering box. looks like its a little lower than the standard truck bellhousing I had on before. So in case anyone wanted to put a fluid drive on a B series, that would be something to look out for. For now I'm going to pull the engine off the frame and get ready to install it in the car, Order a master cylinder and once that gets here I can figure out what I need as far as linkage and finally hook up everything to the car and test the trans. Then onto brakes and lines. I thought I was going to need some new lower arms on the front end but it turns out they were just coated in an inch thick of 50 yr old grease so crisis averted. Stuff was hard as a rock. Amazes me how they managed to put thirteen billion grease fittings on that front end..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted November 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2020 Well its been a while since I posted here. Had a bit of a crazy few months, got laid off and decided to travel the country. I digress. Lessons learned in the past week is I am in fact, not a welder and flux core is not very nice to weld with. Bought shielding gas which is 1000x better, fixed the front radiator support and now have to fix the bracket for the master cylinder since I decided to cut it off the car. This is not going to be a perfect car by any means but if it works and its mine It doesnt bother me. better than it sitting in a field... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted December 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2020 ooooo boy.... Went to install the engine and what a nightmare.... turns out some dodge truck pans had the oil sump in the front whereas the cars had the oil sump in the rear. Oil pan was resting directly on the tie rod... Pulled the engine back out. threw on a '46 Dodge truck pan and sump (rear orientation) and put the engine back in. The only thing I need now is a functional radiator and driveshaft and I might be able to move it on its own power. I am looking for the lower bellhousing which I'm not sure I own so I need to do some digging in the shop in order to see if I actually have to go out and buy something.... First photo is of a 52 truck 218 pan and a '46 truck pan side by side facing the same direction, just different sump locations. 3rd photo is the gap I noticed at the rear mount which was caused by the oil pan resting on the tie rod... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted December 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2020 (edited) Update: Recieved Lower bellhousing from ebay and went to install and now have a few questions. First photo. There are three holes on each side and I'm assuming something goes here like a flat plate or seal or something that goes all the way across. If anyone has a photo or a part # of what's supposed go here, I'd appreciate it. I did not find a good picture or number in my shop manual or parts book. Second photo. the lower bellhousing had studs that came with it and when I installed, the studs stick out way past the flange of the three speed. Is this because I'm using a standard 3 speed instead of the Gyromatic? and did they make shorter studs for the standard trans? If not I could throw some short bolts there. Edit: I forgot to mention the new rear engine mount rubbers do not really fit down in the hole very well and as you can see in the second photo they are tilted. figure I can trim them but also annoying.... tip: do this while its not in the car because its a pain to bolt it in underneath, especially when working by yourself with a tetanus express. Edited December 22, 2020 by maddmaxx1949 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted January 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2021 (edited) Got new driveshaft from the local shop and got it painted. Went with the Spicer 2-2-349 conversion flanges to accept standard u joints as I didn't have a driveshaft anyways. I was missing one of the rear spacers for the transmission mounts so I made another one from some scrap and got to try out the new plasma cutter today. Worked great so thats a big positive. Wish I had a good sized lathe.....In between routing dad's shop air the M37 project and everything else going on, I answered a few of the previous questions I had: 1.) The three holes are for an alternate style of mount, I found them attached to the original block I had set off to the side. I went with the mounts that came with the lower bellhousing. 2.) yes, the gyromatic has longer holes for the studs so I will swap these out with short bolts. Once I get the driveshaft installed, best case scenario is I can throw a radiator on it and move it on it's own power. Then start on the body mounts and getting some structural integrity around the rest of the body with sheet metal. Trying to get my old hot rod friend out here to give me some advice but the guy still works even though he can't hardly walk.... Edited January 1, 2021 by maddmaxx1949 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBNeal Posted January 1, 2021 Report Share Posted January 1, 2021 This may or may not help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted January 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2021 10 minutes ago, JBNeal said: This may or may not help... Thank you!! I couldnt figure out what in the world went there... I might have one lying around, no guarantees its for the Coronet though. Exactly the picture I needed, I appreciate it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted March 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2021 (edited) Motor was stuck after sitting for the last month and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. and I mean stuuuuck! Thought it may be transmission related but It turns out I had accidentally ran my mounting bolts into the fluid drive coupling and actually prevented it from turning (circled in photo). Yikes. Of course I took everything off and pulled the head before finding all this out..... Good news is, I found out my engine was rebuilt at some point, I was able to redo my leaking headgasket and so far no leaks. also powerwashed out all the water jackets, flushed the cooling system and cleaned out the water distribution tube all in one go. New water pump and no leaks for my nuce new radiator and everything is running nicely. So as far as I am concerned, engine work is done. Now onto the body. I really would like to pull the body off the frame but I fear the overall rigidity is insignificant. I wanted to put rockers on and attach the car on the sides before I tried picking it up. Now the issue is, I have absolutely nothing to go off of template wise which is both good and bad. The good being that I can make it whatever shape I want because there is literally nothing there and if it works, it works. The bad being it might not be that great compared to the original and I'm still figuring out how it all goes together. That being said, this is a learning experience and no challenge is too big so it's going to be a "crack open a beer (or three) and apply my engineering and furious youtube sleuthing skills" and make it myself. I did spend some time at the neighbors place and make my sills thanks to his 8 ft bender. The last picture is the first sheet metal work I've ever done and I'm pretty pround of the result. By no means perfect but will definitely work for this car. Now to get both the curved piece and the sill onto the car then work on the rockers. Edited March 28, 2021 by maddmaxx1949 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted March 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2021 On 6/20/2020 at 1:20 PM, RobertKB said: Good luck with the project! Those floors and rockers sure bring back memories of my '51 Dodge D39 business coupe! Like you, I learned new skills along the way. I took a welding course at the local college so I could weld (MIG) my floors. Robert I was looking at the picture of the floor section and have a question. Does the floor run flat across the reinforcements into the sill or does it have a downslope at the sides? I have a hard time telling if mine are sloped or its just sagging from the lack of floor. I was hoping they go flat across so I could keep everything the same across the whole floor section by running a flat piece of steel underneath.The parts manual I have seems to have a slight taper on it but I'd like to have this confirmed if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted March 30, 2021 Report Share Posted March 30, 2021 I believe everything I ordered was flat. I replaced mostly the front floor pans and some of the rockers. I did not replace anything at the back against the rockers so not sure about there unless I go out to my car and pull up the carpet that I really don't want to do. Things might be a little different on my car as it is a business coupe and the floor area is smaller than a sedan. Sorry I can't help more but hope this helps somewhat. I'm sure others will likely chime in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx1949 Posted April 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2021 Just some photos of my progress on the DIY rocker panels. I bought a 2" OD 0.24 pipe in order to get what I thought woulld be an appropriate radius for the rocker. I compared it to the '51 and It looked the the radius was approximately a little tighter than the width of the chrome trim which is where I can up with my 2" OD. I thought I'd be able to secure it by running a flat 1/2" x 1/2" bar across the pipe and clamping the center of it while tack welding the ends, however, I ran into trouble with the clamps slipping off when I went to bend it. My method was similar to Trev's Blog video on rocker panels but not identical. ended up just tack welding the sheet (18ga) straight to the pipe and having my dad and myself muscle it. Some straightening work after and here's what I have so far. not pretty, but not bad. Functional, definitely. I will be make a 90degree bed to make it turn up to the sill to make a whole unit, basically a tube like shown in the parts manual. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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