1949 Dodge Wayfarer - Newbie

[Hooliganxmotorsports]

My wife and I are picking up a 1949 Dodge Wayfarer in a few days and we are going to need all of the help that we can get to source parts as there are items in the interior missing. Is there any help that anyone can offer, please let us know where a good source for both interior and exterior parts. I have attached some photos so anything you guys see that I need, please let me know.

Thanks guys.

[knuckleharley]

Well,the prime questions are "Is it complete mechanically,does it run,drive,and stop,and if it is not complete,what is missing?" 

 

The next question should be "Does it have a clear title,and do the numbers on this clear title match the actual numbers on the car?" Do NOT spend a dime on the car until you verify this. Not even a down payment. Should be THE number 1 thing you do once the negoiating is complete and you have agreed to buy the car,but it needs to be done BEFORE you hand over any money.

 

The next question,and an important one,is do you have any mechanical experience and do you have any of the basic tools that will be needed?

 

The good news is I see you live in Houston,Tx,so there should be plenty of antique car clubs locally,and that is a BIG help. Look around for a Mopar Club that covers 50's Mopars. This can be as simple as doing a local yellow page web search using key words like "Mopar Clubs" . This is probably the best bet for you. ESPECIALLY if you have a family because you will be able to take YOUR family to the meets and they will have women and children their age to socialize with. NEVER underestimate the value of wimmins socializing. It can make all the difference in the word when it comes to being able to buy parts and spend time in the garage because your wife will also be involved. She won't be competing with your new hobby,she will be an active partner in it.

 

Plan on the basics at first. Number 1 should  be the brakes. Even before you get it running and driving,because once you DO get it running and driving,you are going to want to drive it,and it's better to have brakes when you do.  

 

At a MINIMUM,make sure your emergency/parking brake works before you even try to start it for the first time.

 

Don't ask me how I know this.

 

While you are on the brakes,do yourself a favor and go ahead and replace all the hoses with new ones,and replace ALL the hard brake lines with the newer copper/nickel brake lines. That way you won't have to worry about an old line bursting on you while driving due to it being rusty inside. A roll of the lines long enough to redo your whole system is a lot less than a tank of gas,and maybe the best money you will ever spend.

 

Once you get the brakes done,start in on things like compression tests,oil pressure tests,and make immediate plans to buy a water pump. The water pump you have now may seem to work good,but it's not going to last if the car has been sitting for years. Trust me on this.

 

The good news is these flat 6's are simple to work on and the parts aren't even really all that expensive due to so many of them being put into anything that needed an engine anywhere in the world. And they were  used for decades.

 

A word of caution,do NOT put any oil into the engine that isn't a 30 or 40 weight NON-DETERGENT oil. Once you get it running and driving and feel like you have everything under control,you can drop the base pan to clean out all the gunk,and then flush out the engine before switching to modern high-detergent oil.

 

This might sound like extra work,but it really isn't because you can bet your engine is going to leak oil once you start driving it.  Old dried out gaskets that are cracked guarantee this. 

 

Right off the top of my head it is obvious you are going to need new windshield glasses. No big deal. Flat glass any glass shop can cut for you. You may also need door handles so you can get in and out of the car. Don't worry about anything else until you get it running and driving. 

 

From this point forward the questions you need to ask should be addressed to you. Namely stuff like "Do I want a restored car,an original "driver car",a hot rod,or a  custom car? Decide what you want of the car and work towards that goal.

 

MY preference is for mostly unmodified original cars that you can just drive around and enjoy. You are not starting out with a Model T or Model A,but a modern car that you can drive 60 MPH down the freeway if you want,that is safe to drive just like it left the factory.

 

Since this seems to be your first car,my advise is to keep the project simple by keeping any modifications to the car at a minimum. Think of it as a learing experience. It  is a HELL of a lot cheaper and easier to repair what you already have than it is to modify everything to bring it up to 2021 standards of luxury and power.

 

Join your local club. Go to the meetings. Meet and talk with the people there,who will ALL be friendly and willing to share their experiences with you. This is a VERY friendly hobby,and you will meet people who will even be willing to help you work on your car and will lend you tools occasionally once you get to know them. Ain't NOTHING more helpful than an enthauistic crowd that has similar cars and have already been through what you are just staring to experience.

Edited May 23, 2021 by knuckleharley

[sidevalvepete]

Knuckle has given you a great base to work from. Typical of the basic commonsense you will find here.

Welcome aboard! Your car looks like a worthy project that should be a lot of fun. Hope you both get to enjoy the journey you have started. Greetings from New Zealand ?

[Dan Hiebert]

Peruse the Links Directory below the header.  That'll give you a good idea of what's out there and where to get it, and you'll also discover some rabbit holes to other sites that will help.  

[47Jim]

Buy a shop manual for your specific car, a parts book for your year is also a good idea, paper or downloadable available, whatever suits your needs 

[greg g]

Go to allpar.com.  use the search feature look up fluid drive and read and digest the material.  There is a 90%  + likelihood that the 49 wayfarer is equiped with this system.  My dad had one in light blue.  First car I can remember.  There aren't many of that body style left.

 

To add a note about the brakes.  In the picture I see a yellow wheel chock.  This is a hint that the parking brake is probably inoperative.  This is important with a car with fluid drive.  There is no compression braking without the engine running. So parking the car, putting it in first or reverse will not hold it in place like a typical standard dry clutch car.  If parked without a working parking brake they can wander off.

Edited May 23, 2021 by greg g

[Hooliganxmotorsports]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. We (wifey and I) purchased this car from my ole Gunnery Srgt.

 

It has a clear title and was in the process of being restored when that current owner passed away and his family simply just brought the title to the body shop and washed their hands clean of it.

 

That's when my ole Gunny got it, but later offered it to me.

 

Since the family gave it to the body shop, a lot of the trim etc was still in the garage and not brought to the body shop however and therefore are missing.

 

It has a motor that runs but the carb leaks.

 

My father-n-law is a mechanics and I myself have been turning wrenches since high school so mechanically I am straight.

 

I mostly need help with sourcing parts. 

 

Thanks, feel free to follow me on Facebook and Instagram @hooliganxmotorsports to follow along with this project as well as the others in our collection. 

 

Much love fam!!!

[Hooliganxmotorsports]

Hello guys,

 

I am going to go ahead to strip it down for a full rebuild.

 

Have anyone had a car media blasted with glass beads before? I have read mixed reviews about it. I also want to rebuild the suspension, any sources on parts?

 

Thanks again guys.

[allbizz49]

I've worked in a few restoration shops that used glass for blasting. It's like anything else, it depends on who is doing the blasting.  You can ruin a panel quick if you don't know what you're doing. It's a great media especially if you do all of your metalwork and  metal finishing first. Then you can go straight to epoxy then filler. 

[Hooliganxmotorsports]

OK @allbizz49, well I was supposed to have a guy come give me a quote today but the weather was too bad.

 

What about the front suspension, we are going to freshen that up as well, so need a good source for parts.

 

Thanks again.

[allbizz49]

Uncut dash. Maybe he's willing to ship it.....

 

https://sacramento.craigslist.org/pts/d/rio-linda-1949-dodge-coupe-wayfarer-hot/7326820238.html