Flanagan Invasion

[Don Coatney]

Today Rodney Bullock and I paid a visit to Joe Flanagan to see his progress on restoring his 49-second series Plymouth. Joe and I traded parts and information several years ago when I was building my engine but I have never met him until today. To say the least Rodney and I were both very impressed with the work Joe has done on his car. Joe has collected parts and tools from several forum members over the years. He got his welder from Tony Urwin, his floor pan from Pete (blueskies and race loser) Anderson, engine from Jim Yergan, and various other parts from others. Pictured below are examples of Joe’s work.

Rodney drove his grandpappys 53 red chuby pickup today. Every time I have connected with Rodney he drives a different vehicle. No question in my mind that he is a big "show off":D I shot a disc full of pictures of his truck but apparently my disc was corrupt and the pictures did not take. Sorry Rodney:eek:

Joe was motivated to continue working on his car so Rodney and I went to lunch. Rodney picked a home cooking beanery in his neighborhood. Food was excellent and we had fun flirting with the waitress. I came away with really full belly and a whole new meaning of the term chocolate milkshake:D Maybe Rodney can splain:cool: We did a lot of laughing and had fun.

[Don Coatney]

[Don Coatney]

Joe;

Here is the tubing bender picture we discussed. However I failed to mention that there is now a new product I have heard about but not tried. I believe NAPA and others now have a product that does not require a bender to bend. Others here have used it with good results. Hopefully someone will chime in with details.

[55 Fargo]

Hey you lucky dogs, must be nice to have these get togethers, looks like you are making good progress Joe.

I sure wish I had a few members closer to my locale, infact I don't know any other Mopar Flatheads around here, except 2 old Chrysler friends, and they are more purist guys, don't see them much.

Looks like you guys had a great day...........................Fred

[Rodney Bullock]

That Don, it's a good thing that I only see him a couple of times a year. I think first let's talk about Joe's car. He has done some great work on that car. The metal work on this car is above hobbyist. He has a real touch for metal work, he is using flux core wire and his work is very clean. The welds are good and he has closed up all his seams. The trunk work is fantastic, he is well on his way. I was very jealous of his firewall and frame. The front end on his car is a work of art everything rebuilt and painted. I called a friend at a local junk yard and he has some of the things he needs, I hope we can get down there and get that stuff before the greenery comes back, you know how the snakes and I go:eek:

Now don, is another story, I had to come home and take a nap. This guy is something else, the chick in the eatery was all over him, I was afraid. "Milkshake" yeah, I got to live around here after he's gone. He had the place in an uproar. I laughed so hard today it was not funny. I hope Don enjoyed himself today. I don't know if I can top the fun from today.

Don had a chance to see my Grandads truck up close I think he and Joe got a kick out of it.

The waitress kept saying something I don't think I can say on the forum. I can tell you this....she kept calling Don "Big Daddy" Maybe she thought he was BO DIDLEY or the BIG BOPPER shake -rattle and -roll:D I will never be the same:cool:

[Don Coatney]

Geez Rodney...

Remember what goes on the road stays on the road:cool: My belly still hurts from laughing so hard. Happens every time I see you:D

[Normspeed]

That's some great looking work, and I really like the black and red motor colors. Wish I had thought of that when I did mine.

[Young Ed]

The lines Don mentioned are PVC coated lines. I got them at napa. Slightly higher cost then the standard lines and you can bend them easily by hand. Of course for places that show you may still want to use a bender for nice tight curves etc.

[Rodney Bullock]

While we were at Joe's looking at his car he has a metal part that goes the lenth of his seat. It fits under the seat, I wish I had a pic of it. It is welded to the floor and has a bend in it that makes it fit at the trans hump. I tried to give him an explanation of it however only someone with a 1949 could really explain it. On my car I have something that looks like it however it is on the lower back of the seat itself and it is covered with material, it's used for rear passenger's to put there feet on. anyone with a 49 got a clue?

[Olddaddy]

I love the engine, always been partial to redheads!

[blueskies]

While we were at Joe's looking at his car he has a metal part that goes the lenth of his seat. It fits under the seat, I wish I had a pic of it. It is welded to the floor and has a bend in it that makes it fit at the trans hump. I tried to give him an explanation of it however only someone with a 1949 could really explain it. On my car I have something that looks like it however it is on the lower back of the seat itself and it is covered with material, it's used for rear passenger's to put there feet on. anyone with a 49 got a clue?

Rodney-

Is this what you are talking about?

Here's some pics of my '50 floor, and the foot rest under the front seat.

These are the only pics I have of this area on my car.

Pete

[Tony Cipponeri]

Speaking of meeting up, Don how far are you from Clinton Tennesse? Tony C

[Don Coatney]

Speaking of meeting up, Don how far are you from Clinton Tennesse? Tony C

Looks like around 200 miles or so.

[Joe Flanagan]

Don and Rodney,

Thanks alot for stopping by. It was great to be able to share my project with guys who've been there and done it. That was a first for me. I've always got curious neighbors and stuff coming over but it's not the same. What did you guys get up to after you left? Milkshake? Big Daddy? And you can't go into details on the forum? Hmm.

Also, thanks Don for posting the picture of the tube bender. I'll be getting to that soon I hope.

After you guys left, I took advantage of the good weather and got under the car and continued sandblasting and using the wire wheel on the undercarriage. Weekends are the only time I get to work on the Plymouth and with the weather being as lousy as it's been I haven't had much chance. There's an added incentive because once the underside and the floors are painted, I can start building the car. I've been looking forward to that for years.

Today I got back under there and finished cleaning things up then I wiped the underside with laquer thinner. I used fiberglass filler on the trunk repair and then painted. It looks great. One more coat and I'm done. I can put the welder away (for now) and get the wrenches out.

It was the last of the really nasty filthy work for this project, I think.

Thanks for posting the pictures. I look forward to seeing you guys (and hopefully some of the other guys) again soon.

[Don Coatney]

Joe;

I really enjoyed the visit and chance to finally see your car. You and I were trading parts way back when I was building my engine.

[Rodney Bullock]

Joe, timing is everything in this hobby, I knew I had seen your cars body style somewhere, I had one around here, the guy that sold me the 1941 Plymouth that I had threw it in with the two coupe bodies that I got from him. I would have given it to you. I ended up sending it to the crusher because I was building a coupe and not a sedan. I now wish I would have kept it around. It had a motor and interior. Oh well.

[Rodney Bullock]

Pete, that's the part in the floor, I am sure joe saw this posting and now knows how it will look in his car thanks!

[Tony Cipponeri]

Don, we are going to be going to Clinton Tennesse, in May I was thinking about stopping by to see your race car in person. I don't know if we can fit it in with 200 extra miles. WE will kick it around, and let you know when the time gets closer. Tony C

[Don Coatney]

Don, we are going to be going to Clinton Tennesse, in May I was thinking about stopping by to see your race car in person. I don't know if we can fit it in with 200 extra miles. WE will kick it around, and let you know when the time gets closer. Tony C

Tony;

It would be great to meet you. I will be doing some traveling in May so keep me posted.

[Joe Flanagan]

Rodney,

Thanks for posting that picture. I am going to check out Leon's down in Culpeper and see what's there. Top of my wish list is seats. If I can get some interior and trim pieces that are in better condition that what I have now, I'll grab those, too.

That floor piece I really couldn't figure out. But a foot rest makes sense. I'll be welding that in soon. Supposed to be 64 degrees in our neck of the woods tomorrow. I'm thinking about asking for the day off.