Newb from Texas saying Howdy

[HalfdollarMayflower]

Hello all,

I've made a few posts, but havent formally introduced myself. Name is Gary, I live in Athens, TX & just purchased a '50 Plymouth 2-dr Sedan.

Will be doing a ground-up resto...with some 'mild' custom touches...Mopar Accessories, hopped-up motor, & tuck n roll.

This is my first (resto & and Plymouth) so I'm sure I'll be annoying all of you with questions.

[randroid]

Gary,

Welcome and good luck! Don't be shy about asking questions because there aren't any secrets, but brace yourself for a few mild rebukes about the word 'resto' because there are a few guys in here who can get mildly testy about it. It's your ride and you may call it what you want, so, what sort of mods are you planning for the beast?

-Randy

[HalfdollarMayflower]

Gary,

Welcome and good luck! Don't be shy about asking questions because there aren't any secrets, but brace yourself for a few mild rebukes about the word 'resto' because there are a few guys in here who can get mildly testy about it. It's your ride and you may call it what you want, so, what sort of mods are you planning for the beast?

-Randy

Thanks Randy. Resto-mod might be a more accurate description. I'm trying to go for an early-to-mid 50's period correct look. Will keep it 6 volt & the body will remain mostly stock. I'm considering going with a slightly modified '49 grille (sans parking lights) & ribbed bumpers...other than that I'm just planning on adding bolt-ons; fog lights, visor & skirts, etc.

Will probably end up putting some Goodyear 'Super Cushion' wide whites & some 'flipper' caps on. The flathead is going to get a mild re-working; in the long-term, 230 crank/rods & an overdrive (if I can find one), in the near-term I'm working on finding a dual 1 bbl intake and split exhaust with smittys.

Not sure what I'm going to do with the interior...probably white tuck n roll, but I might consider going back to stock.

I'm trying to figure out what color the car was originally painted. The firewall is gray but the inside of the trunk is dark green...the body's pretty straight & I think black might be flattering to the lines of the car...not sure though.

[BobT-47P15]

Hello Gary. Welcome. That car does look real straight and the trim looks

good too. In regard to the original color, have you looked underneath in

places like where a fender joins the body, or other places there could have

been paint? I have found bits of my original color in spots like that. It could have been either grey or green, both colors were offered then. Good luck with your project. Bob

[Don Coatney]

Gary;

Nice looking fastback. It appears your car has bucket seats. What vehicle did they come from?

[JerseyHarold]

Gary,

Good looking car. Welcome to the forum. If you don't already know about it, there is a nice website for 49-52 Plymouths at www.oldplymouths.com Might be worth a look.

Harold

[Hawkeye]

Gary,

Looks like a nice car. How did it get from Montana to TX? I would think Texas would be a good place to find an old MoPar. I'm curious because I am looking "south" for a 3 window coupe to avoid rust issues...

Mark

[greg g]

LOve those aero back 2doors. First car I remember was a 49 Dodge my father had. Dodges were basically the same although becuase of their longer wheelbase the flow from roof to truck made them look like they had a bustle added on. That car does look nice. Looks straight enough to be black and shiney. Wonder if you could just have the current finish clearcoated to give it more gloss?

If you go to the moain page of this site, you will find a parts sources section, George Asche is listed, he does split manifolds, and sells carbs and linkage ready to plug an play. Also if you contact Olddaddy of this forum, he can also split your manifolds (he sells a front disc brake conversion also)

Easiest way to make some more ponies is to up the compression ratio by milling the head and deck. Thee is a current thread dealing with this subject, but 50 to 60 thousandths off seems to be a consensus for good engine response without putting a lot of extra stress on the the crank, tods and stuff.

What is the enigne number?? Stamped on a casting boss on the front of the block above the genny.

Some folks get their knckers in a knot about the term restoration, as it implies following those tenants espoused by the Plymouth Owners Club under its judging crieria, which is to return the car to just left the factory condition. This is why lot of folks here don't belong to the POC, as they have remade their cars to their liking, not to that other standard. Some of us a closet members of the POC, they do have a good publication and their get togethers are fun, but our cars are not up to standard. And some of us are POCO, Plymouth owners club outcasts, agitiating at each opportunity for changing the judging criteria.

Anyway you do it, its yours and do it the way you want to. just keep it running.

[Christopher]

Welcome to the fun, lets see If I can help, I may be parting with a dual set up [George Asche] made] never been installed. carbs manifold and linkage. plus have a visor off my 47.. Christopher,,,,, from the high and lonesome,,,,,,.,.

[Normspeed]

Nice looking car. I think it looks pretty good just the way you have it now. Trim sure looks decent.

[Jims50chrysler]

welcome to the fourm halfdollar, as a fairly new member here myself I want you to know you have came to the right spot for information about you car.

By the way from the pics it looks like where I finish my projects not start them...

I remember when we used to have grass (friggen snow).

How close are you to Donna texas?

Jim

[Uncle-Pekka]

Welcome to the crowd Mr. 1/2 Dollar, may we call you 50 cent? (sorry, I had to let it out...)

Veery handsome ride you have! Fabulous rear end, as I often do say...

I like it just the way it is. To me the black primer does not look dull at all, on the contrary it underlines the flowing lines quite nicely.

[HalfdollarMayflower]

Thanks for the welcome!

Yeah, the car is pretty straight...was owned by a Montana Senator since the late 60's. Bought it from a guy down in Houston that was getting married (fiancee told him it needed to go). He bought it sight unseen & had it trailered from MT.

The bucket seats are from an early 90's Civic. They're currently in the local trash dump, replaced by the ratty original bench with Tractor Supply saddle blankets for seatcovers. (Temoprarily)

The car's been lowered about 3" all the way around (cut coil in front & block in the rear)...I'm going back to stock springs in the front & a 1 or 2" block in the rear to get that classic tail draggin' look.

The pictures really make the car look better than it is...the paint is PPG basecoat & looks like it was applied with a spray can (I'm sure it wasn't...it's just has some runs & thin spots here & there). The lower panels between the doors and rear fenders are rusted through and were repaired many years ago with fiberglass & bondo (I say many years ago because the bondo is blue...haven't seen blue body filler in a long time) The floor pans are actually pretty nice...the car does need sills and a new toe plate....the weather stripping is toast & it looks to me like water ran down the windows & collected in the sills & rockers.

The upper trim (beltline?) is in great shape...fender trim is pretty rough & the rear fender trim looks like someone beat it with a ball peen hammer.

The motor is actually not original...it is a 218, but has a P15 serial & "2-17-47" cast on the bottom of the block under the distributor. As far as I can tell, all the accessories are from the original '50 block...Dizzy is an Autolite IAT 4003 if that means anything to you guys and the B&B carb has the auto-choke (not sure how far back that feature goes).

My Plymouth service manual says that some '50 model cars were built with either 3.9 or 4.1 rear gears (for hilly terrain) so I'm thinking this old Montana car probably has the steeper gearset.

Anyway, thanks for entertaining me & I look forward to learning about these wonderful old "Mayflowers"

[HalfdollarMayflower]

Jim,

I'm about 500 miles from Donna...that's all the way down in the Rio Grande Valley...I'm up in Northeast Texas roughly halfway between Dallas & Shreveport. Actually, I'm closer to Kansas City MO than I am to Donna...Texas is huge.

Speaking of which, I had a fun 200 mile drive from Houston to Athens Thanksgiving weekend. 40 degrees and misting rain...with no windshield wipers (thank God for Rain X)...not the smartest thing I've ever done, but I had to get the car home and it made for a memorable first trip in the Plymouth.

[Jims50chrysler]

Wow that is a big state I have always heard Texas was big but have never been there myself...Mom and dad are leaving next week for Donna for the winter...I can't wait to retire, (friggen snow:( )

Jim

[Normspeed]

I really like the way the stainless trim swoops down at the rear of the car. I never noticed that before. Maybe exclusive to the fastbacks?