My 1951 Plymouth Concord Barn Find....what have i done?!

[Logans51]

43 minutes ago, kencombs said:

If the head was  installed with an old-time gasket shellac on both sides it would behave that way very quickly after installation. My Dad love Indian Head brand.   I hated it.  Permatex #1 does that to.

Pretty sure thats what it was installed with looking how the "seam" is not even and you can kinda see it in the photo i included.  Next time i am down there i will give the flat end and a bit more gusto a shot.  Just didnt know how much i could get away with before doing more damage than good.

 

and @Los_Control, its about a 4 and a half hour drive round trip.  With my first child on the way and no room to do an engine swap up here, thats the main issue.  Its no 1500 miles but its definitely far enough to make things not good.  Toying with the idea of brining the good motor home with me and doing an out of car rebuild so when i can find a weekend a year or so from now, i can go back and do the swap.  So far thats about as much of a "plan" as i got. haha

[Los_Control]

The main plan is to have it, if it is safe and no issues where it is, keep it there.  Nobody says you have to move it.

Just enjoy it

 

 

[keithb7]

I just found this thread, late to the party. Cool car. Like many others here I have a couple old Mopars myself. 

 

You have stated that you have not yet decided if you are going to release the car back to society, or take on the project.  Lots to consider, we understand your dilemma.  You can make the car whatever you want. Whenever you want. In terms of taking on a project like this motivation is a big factor. Followed by space, money and time. Possibly in that order of importance depending on your situation.  

 

There is nothing wrong with fixing up the rust, but a quality bodywork & paint job may come in at quite a premium. Personally I kind of like the idea of driving around a car that looks like it just came out of the barn. Or just rolled out of a farmer's field. Yet the car has been sorted, all the mechanical systems are dialed-in make it safe, reliable and fun to drive. 

 

I've been going over all the mechanicals in my 1938 Plymouth sedan. Full brakes, tranny, rear axle, electrical, and more. The engine is out right now begging for my time. Fully disassembled, all machining done, all rebuild parts secured. The one leg of the stool that is cut short? My time. It vanishes every week. There's this and that to do and more. My spare hours after work banish. With fall quickly approaching my schedule always seems to slow down some. Long winter nights should allow me some time in the garage. If the snow clearing equipment all fires right up this winter. Hopefully, none of that need's major work! And, it doesn't snow 40 out of 60 days in Jan & Feb Lol. 

 

I love my '38 Plymouth sedan. I love the experience it has taught me. The one topic I still ponder is the total $ investment. I could spend $80K Canadian building a real nice car. Then find no buyers some day down the road. Yet I carry on with the car as a hobby. I still fix it up, continually making it better. Folks spend $1000's per year on their hobbies with no expected return other than enjoyment. I need to keep that in mind and carry on. I really do love the old car hobby.

 

While progressing through my '38 Plymouth sedan, I bumped into a 1938 Chrysler coupe. It was for sale. Fully restored. A beauty. Restored 25 years ago. Yet only 7,000 miles on the odometer since the full restoration. I know what it costs to build a car like it. It’s a rarely seen car. A real looker.  I considered the costs to build this Chrysler. The time. The motivation. All of it. It is a dream car for me.  It checked off a lot of the boxes for me. It didn't take me long to make a decision. I bought it last April. It has been an extremely rewarding purchase.  Yet, it still needs quite a bit of my time to keep it running and well maintained. It surely sat too much over the past 25 years. There are oil leaks. Fuel system related issues. Brake leak issues. Ignition system issues. On and on. I get through each issue one at a time. Yes the new Chrysler still takes up a fair bit of my time. Don't forget I drive and enjoy it a quite a bit. A lot of pleasure cruises.  That too chews up a bunch of time that I want to devote to my '38 Plymouth. When it snows here soon,  pleasure cruises will stop. Which gets me back in the garage onto my Plymouth engine reassembly.

 

I get to drive a beautiful car any time I want. At the end of the day my new Chysler probably cost me ¼ of what it would to restore it if I found it as a project car. I feel somewhat spoiled owning 2 old Mopars, yet I know how much work, time and dedication it takes to keep them running. There is not much spoiling going on. Look at any members hands here. All the wrenching can be seen in their hands.

 

Time, space, desire, money...A 4 legged stool over here. So far the stool in my garage is upright and can hold a person up.

 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2021 by keithb7