Well she is East bound.

[rcl700]

Let the fun begin. Plymouth is headed for Georgia. 

[Doug&Deb]

That’s a good looking car. Take your time with it and ask questions when you need to. We’re all here to help each other. Keep us posted and post pictures. We love pictures!

[rcl700]

Thanks for the positive feedback. I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions. I'll keep the photos coming. 

[rcl700]

Well she has arrived and now I can start tinkering. 

It's going to be alot. A big project for me, but I'm excited. 

 

[rcl700]

Just now, rcl700 said:

Well she has arrived and now I can start tinkering. 

It's going to be alot. A big project for me, but I'm excited. 

 

 

[rcl700]

2 minutes ago, rcl700 said:

Well she has arrived and now I can start tinkering. 

It's going to be alot. A big project for me, but I'm excited. 

 

 

[rcl700]

[Dan Hiebert]

A nice find, looks like you're starting with a solid and relatively complete car.  We look forward to your progress and updates.

[keithb7]

Looks like a ton of fun. Plenty of challenges and honing of your skills lie ahead.  What are your goals for this project?

[rcl700]

10 minutes ago, keithb7 said:

Looks like a ton of fun. Plenty of challenges and honing of your skills lie ahead.  What are your goals for this project?

I have no intention of building a show car. I plan to keep it primarily factory. The goal is to have a solid, "reliable", fun car to take the family out in from time to time. I purchased a motor for it,  in case I'm unable to get this one running. The price was rite. This is a family car from my grandfather and his brother. My dad has had it since the 80s. The car has not run in over 25yrs. I plan to make some memories with my kids and keep it in the family 

[keithb7]

We are on the same page. I did the same with my ‘38 Plymouth sedan. Solid reliable driver.  Yet it looks like it just came from the farm. Seems the general public loves it as-is.  They are surprised to hear when I have taken it on a 6 hour hi-way trip over the mountains here. Rock solid. 
 

With parts and labor prices where they are, and no relief in sight, more people are choosing the path you and I are taking. Upholstery Paint and bodywork are a luxury. 

[Sam Buchanan]

29 minutes ago, keithb7 said:

We are on the same page. I did the same with my ‘38 Plymouth sedan. Solid reliable driver.  Yet it looks like it just came from the farm. Seems the general public loves it as-is.  They are surprised to hear when I have taken it on a 6 hour hi-way trip over the mountains here. Rock solid. 
 

With parts and labor prices where they are, and no relief in sight, more people are choosing the path you and I are taking. Upholstery Paint and bodywork are a luxury. 

 

My outlook on this situation has changed over the years. I formerly wasn't concerned about taking on an inexpensive project that required extensive body and interior work but the time and money required, especially as my personal odometer has wound up, has changed what I consider a good project. Now I'm looking for a vehicle that has body and interior close to what I consider acceptable for a good driver. I enjoy fixing the mechanical side of the project, but body and interior costs far more than the finished vehicle would ever be worth. And as Keith states, the "mellow" condition of body and interior doesn't detract from my enjoyment or other's appreciation of the car. If the car has good bones and reliable mechanicals, I'm a happy driver.  

 

The perfect project is an old restoration that still looks good but needs to be refreshed mechanically.....let somebody else pay the depreciation on the pretty stuff. I'm willing to pay more for that project!

 

My perfect P15 with its 30 year-old paint and interior (and now daily reliability):  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Sam Buchanan

[JerseyHarold]

Best of luck with your new project.  A car that has been in the family for so long is truly special.

 

One thing I noticed is that the radiator has a pressure cap.  To my knowledge the P15 had an un-pressurized cooling system.  You may want to verify this one way or the other.

[Sam Buchanan]

29 minutes ago, JerseyHarold said:

Best of luck with your new project.  A car that has been in the family for so long is truly special.

 

One thing I noticed is that the radiator has a pressure cap.  To my knowledge the P15 had an un-pressurized cooling system.  You may want to verify this one way or the other.

 

Yes, that does look like a solid car that should be a fine driver....I wouldn't do anything to the paint except some light cutting and buffing, leave it's character on full display. 

 

Just for clarification, the radiator is indeed non-pressurized, the open vent is visible on top of the radiator. Consequently, it doesn't matter what kind of cap is used, it will never pressurize with the open vent.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Sam Buchanan

[rcl700]

58 minutes ago, Sam Buchanan said:

 

Yes, that does look like a solid car that should be a fine driver....I wouldn't do anything to the paint except some light cutting and buffing, leave it's character on full display. 

 

Just for clarification, the radiator is indeed non-pressurized, the open vent is visible on top of the radiator. Consequently, it doesn't matter what kind of cap is used, it will never pressurize with the open vent.

Good to know on the cap. I agree with the paint. I was thinking the same as you. Give it a buffing for what's left

 

[rcl700]

Luke is still inspecting the undercarriage.  Hopefully all is well under there. 

 

 

[Eneto-55]

I see that it is the DeLuxe model.  One option I would add is the sun visors.  (The flip-down inside visors.  Not the outside type.)

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Eneto-55

[Sam Buchanan]

A HUGE bonus for you is that you have nearly all the interior and exterior trim. That will save you a ton of time and $$$'s. I see Luke has his bottle of MMO close by so he should be able to fix about anything he finds.  ?

[rcl700]

51 minutes ago, Eneto-55 said:

I see that it is the DeLuxe model.  One option I would add is the sun visors.  (The flip-down inside visors.  Not the outside type.)

 

I have them. They will need to be recovered though. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

not even had it a week and you have already run over your dog...

[rcl700]

9 hours ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

not even had it a week and you have already run over your dog...

Ya.... about those brakes ?

[rcl700]

After doing some tinkering I have freed up th motor in the car I now can rotate the engine using the fan blades (plugs removed). I'm getting almost 40psi oil pressure using the starter. This engine. Might be a runner....

I did find that the serial # on the block appears to ID the engine as non original 1955 230ci. (all the extra horsetorx ?) 

I have attached a picture.

Plan now would be to hot wire the car to see it I can get some spark. The current wiring is just to poor to try with. So new battery cables then from solenoid to coil and coil to distributor???

What spark plugs belong in this motor?

Or what plugs are recommended?

With this engine code now pointing to 1955, what vehicle should I be using to search for engine parts like points, cap, rotor, coil.....

 

 

Next will be fuel. I drained the tank last week. Boy did that old fuel smell bad. Took day to get the smell off my hands.

I'm sure I'll need a rebuild on the carberator.  Hopefully a gasket set will do the trick.

 

[vintage6t]

2 hours ago, rcl700 said:

Plan now would be to hot wire the car to see it I can get some spark. The current wiring is just to poor to try with. So new battery cables then from solenoid to coil and coil to distributor???

What spark plugs belong in this motor?

Or what plugs are recommended?

With this engine code now pointing to 1955, what vehicle should I be using to search for engine parts like points, cap, rotor, coil.....

 

Looking at the pictures it's still a 6 volt electrical system. Don't use off the shelf 12 volt battery cables b/c they are not large enough to carry the correct your starter needs. Find 6 volt cables or make them up from 0 or 00 stranded copper wire like used for welding cables.

 

Use the model number of your distributor to order ignition parts. Model # should be listed on a plate on the side of the distributor.

 

Pull an old plug from the engine to see what plug to use. It can also be cross-referenced to an equivalent.

 

Your existing coil is probably fine but you should replace the plug and coil wires.

[rcl700]

38 minutes ago, vintage6t said:

 

Looking at the pictures it's still a 6 volt electrical system. Don't use off the shelf 12 volt battery cables b/c they are not large enough to carry the correct your starter needs. Find 6 volt cables or make them up from 0 or 00 stranded copper wire like used for welding cables.

 

Use the model number of your distributor to order ignition parts. Model # should be listed on a plate on the side of the distributor.

 

Pull an old plug from the engine to see what plug to use. It can also be cross-referenced to an equivalent.

 

Your existing coil is probably fine but you should replace the plug and coil wires.

I did order some 00 guage cables. They should be arriving  soon. The stock ones are completely corroded under the rubber coating. 

That should help the starter. 

[Sam Buchanan]

She'll run. 

 

Current thread about readily available spark plugs:

 

https://p15-d24.com/topic/59840-autolite-sparkplugs-295-at-walmart-for-only-197-each-replacement-for-champion-j8c/

Edited May 6, 2023 by Sam Buchanan