New (to me) 46

[dirty dan]

Just got a '46 P15 on Sunday. I haven't had a chance to go through it completely yet. I'll have her on the stands on Friday afternoon!

[Norm's Coupe]

Welcome to the forum.

Looks like a nice car to work with.

[dirty dan]

Welcome to the forum.

Looks like a nice car to work with.

I think it will be. It's got a current Louisiana inspection and I drove it home (2 miles) with no problems. Haven't found any rust all the way through anywhere. The steering box feels slack. It's got a 12 volt battery, some "new" wiring, the lamps all burning extremely bright, and the heater fan sounds like it's turning at 4000 RPM. So I think I know where I'l be starting the restoration.

Anyone know where I can purchase a gas tank? The one for this car has been removed.

[Norm's Coupe]

You can buy a tank from at least 3 places that I know of.

1) A Poly tank from Ply-Do in West VA.

2) Tanks Inc., in Minnesota (Steel or Stainless)

3) Rock Valley Automotive, Rockford, Il (Stainless)

I have the Ply Do poly tank on my coupe. You do have to make alterations to the straps and relocate the sender hole in the trunk to make it fit. Tanks Inc. wasn't around when I bought it or I would have gone with theirs because its steel, and about the same price (around $250).

Rock Valley Automotive only sells the stainless tank, made to order and I believe it's around $600 according to those who have ordered from them.

Sounds like your coupe is in better shape than mine was when I first got it. If you click on the link next to my signature it will take you to what I've had to do with mine. Also contact information is on the auto help page of the site for Ply Do. Tanks Inc. and Rock Valley both have web sites so just google those and you'll come up with their info.

[Young Ed]

Norm I believe his car is a sedan. And yes it does sound like its in good shape. I was wondering what the gas tank condition was after seeing the in trunk model. Dan you've certainly come to the right place!

[Norm's Coupe]

Ed,

I really couldn't tell that well if it was a coupe or 2 door sedan, so assumed coupe. I was looking at the rear side windows primarily but wasn't a good shot there. The trunk does look a little different though so probably is a 2 door sedan. Doesn't matter though as far as gas tanks, and other mechanical items go. Just some body parts won't interchange.

[steveplym]

Welcome to the forum Dan. Looks like you have a good solid car to work with.

Good brakes and a running engine are always a plus. Looks like it has a decent interior too.

[Alaska48]

Dirty D---

Nice looking car, if you don't mind me asking, how much did you pick it up for?

[greg g]

Howdy and welcome. Sounds like someone put a 12 V battery in without changing other things. If the lamps are extra bright, I wonder if they might still be 6V. Guess I would look at that stuff. Easy to tell on teh genny and starter, if they have red paint on the tags they are 6 V green+12. Starter doesn;t really care. Heater motor might after a while, and light will have a very short life. If you do change back to 6 V the original system is POSITIVE ground.

Looks like a good solid start for a project. These cars are simple and reliable when maintained well.

The steering box has an adjuster on the top that will take some of the slack out of the middle of the steering, but also check the box to frame mounting. If you do the sterring box adjustment don't go crazy as you can over tighten it and put undue stress on the internals. There were originally rubber isolators on the mounting bolts. They may have dissapeared over the years allowing th box to move before it can move any steering parts. Also check your tierod ends.

You can usually get a decent repoped service manual on e pay for reasonable cash. They are a good investment.

Have Fun.

[NatesSedan]

Welcome to the forum! Great looking start there. Regarding the tank I picked mine up locally through a rod shop. It was the Tanks Inc. Stainless model. I got it through the local supplier for a $100 cheaper than "Tanks" website. It pays to buy local sometimes so check! Be prepared for a tight fit if your running dual exhaust though. In my case I had to reroute the exhaust to make it work. If not you will have plenty of room. I assume you dont currently have a sending unit for the gauge either. You will need a two wire sending unit not just a universal model.

Looking forward to the updates! -Nate

[dirty dan]

Dirty D---

Nice looking car, if you don't mind me asking, how much did you pick it up for?

I swapped an '84 Vette with a slipping transmission and a bad interior. I'd given $2,500.00 for the Vette last December and put about another $400.00 into it.

I'd much rather play with the older cars.

[dirty dan]

Howdy and welcome. Sounds like someone put a 12 V battery in without changing other things. If the lamps are extra bright, I wonder if they might still be 6V. Guess I would look at that stuff. Easy to tell on teh genny and starter, if they have red paint on the tags they are 6 V green+12. Starter doesn;t really care. Heater motor might after a while, and light will have a very short life. If you do change back to 6 V the original system is POSITIVE ground.

Looks like a good solid start for a project. These cars are simple and reliable when maintained well.

The steering box has an adjuster on the top that will take some of the slack out of the middle of the steering, but also check the box to frame mounting. If you do the sterring box adjustment don't go crazy as you can over tighten it and put undue stress on the internals. There were originally rubber isolators on the mounting bolts. They may have dissapeared over the years allowing th box to move before it can move any steering parts. Also check your tierod ends.

You can usually get a decent repoped service manual on e pay for reasonable cash. They are a good investment.

Have Fun.

Thanks for the info on the positve ground. I think I want to go back original with it. Are there any drawbacks to going back to the 6 volt system that I should know about?

A few more pics...

[dirty dan]

Ed' date='

I really couldn't tell that well if it was a coupe or 2 door sedan, so assumed coupe. I was looking at the rear side windows primarily but wasn't a good shot there. The trunk does look a little different though so probably is a 2 door sedan. Doesn't matter though as far as gas tanks, and other mechanical items go. Just some body parts won't interchange.[/quote']

It is the 2 door sedan.

[Young Ed]

Only real drawback to 6v is accesories. Otherwise they work just as good

[BobT-47P15]

Hi Dan. Welcome aboard. Nice looking car. Is the firewall probably the

original color of this vehicle? I see they changed the interior to blue.

Should give you a fun project.

[Norm's Coupe]

Dan,

As Ed mentioned. No drawbacks to the 6 volt system except you can't use a modern radio without an inverter and things like that. As far as starting the car the 6 volt system is just as good, starter just spins a little slower. I still have the 6 volt system in my coupe. The car starts fine in any weather (I'm in Wisconsin) and my lights are also nice and bright.

There is only one possible problem with switching back to the original 6 volt positive ground system. Thats if the previous owner also rewired the car using lighter gage wiring for 12 volt. If he did, you may overload the wires. The other thing would be you would need to change the bulbs back to 6 volt bulbs. Again, can't tell by looking at your battery cables but you should have at least an 0 gage or 1 gage battery cables on the 6 volt system. The battery cables used on 12 volt cars are too small.

[dirty dan]

Dan' date='

As Ed mentioned. No drawbacks to the 6 volt system except you can't use a modern radio without an inverter and things like that. As far as starting the car the 6 volt system is just as good, starter just spins a little slower. I still have the 6 volt system in my coupe. The car starts fine in any weather (I'm in Wisconsin) and my lights are also nice and bright.

There is only one possible problem with switching back to the original 6 volt positive ground system. Thats if the previous owner also rewired the car using lighter gage wiring for 12 volt. If he did, you may overload the wires. The other thing would be you would need to change the bulbs back to 6 volt bulbs. Again, can't tell by looking at your battery cables but you should have at least an 0 gage or 1 gage battery cables on the 6 volt system. The battery cables used on 12 volt cars are too small.[/quote']

The cables are too thin for 6 volt.

Much of the car has original cloth covered wiring that's deteriorating, so I'm going to be dong plenty of re-wiring anyway. It doesn't look like it would be too difficult of a job. Of course, I've never dealt with a positive ground system before. Oldest auto I've ever performed wiring was a 57 chevy.

The voltage regulator is completely disconnected from the electrical system. I guess I'll check the output of the generator to see exactly what it's output is and base my 12 vs 6 decision on that. The generator does have an oil cup on it. Would that be any indication of whether it's putting out 6 versus 12?

Another couple of questions;

I read where turn signals were an option on the P15. Is that correct? I don't see any indications that this car ever had turn signals.

Secondly, just over the speedometer, there is a chrome medallion that looks like it has some sort of indicator lamp in it. Does anyone know what that's for?

[dirty dan]

I swapped an '84 Vette with a slipping transmission and a bad interior. I'd given $2,500.00 for the Vette last December and put about another $400.00 into it.

I'd much rather play with the older cars.

So how'd I do?

[Jim Yergin]

The chrome piece above the speedometer is the high beam indicator light. If the car had factory turn signals there would be translucent arrows in both "wings" that would be turn signal indicators. Otherwise the "wings" are solid metal

Jim Yergin

[Young Ed]

Look at that generator for a red tag. The cotton wiring would indicate stuff thats still sized for 6volts. I'm planning to start rewiring my coupe soon too. I just got 5 different spools of 14g wire to start. Will need to order some of the 10&12g stuff too.

[dirty dan]

The chrome piece above the speedometer is the high beam indicator light. If the car had factory turn signals there would be translucent arrows in both "wings" that would be turn signal indicators. Otherwise the "wings" are solid metal

Jim Yergin

Good info! That's the kind of knowledge I'm so severely lacking. The headlight switch has been replaced with an aftermarket (doesn't match the car) fused switch. I have a an old used switch laying on the rear floorboard that has a bare lamp socket at the rear of the switch. Any ideas what that was for?

I'm going to take and post so many photos this weekend that y'all will be sick of all of my questions.

[Norm's Coupe]

Both the 12 and 6 volt generators had those oil caps to oil them with. Only way to tell is as mentioned by the label, or test it to see what it puts out.

Not sure what that switch laying on the floor with the light socket would be. However, it could be for the optional Emergency Brake light Warning Switch. If you can post a picture of it sometime, maybe one of us could identify it for you.

If you are going to rewire the car to go back to 6 volt I'd pick up a service manual. The service manual will have wiring diagrams in the rear for all the cars from 1946 - 1954. The 46 - 48 diagram is the same for all three years and does not tell you what gage size wire to use for each wire. However, that can be found on the 1949 wiring diagram. The manual will also help you a lot over the course of working on the car and hunting down any possible problems that may pop up. The reproduction books are just as good as the original ones for reference, since they are just copies of the originals.

Turn signals were also an option. Most of us just run with various aftermarket setups. You don't have to worry about the switch being for 6 or 12 volt either. The 12 volt ones will work just as well. The only thing that won't work if you use the 12 volt one is the little indicator light inside the switch. If you change that bulb inside to a 6 volt one, then that light will work.

[dirty dan]

Both the 12 and 6 volt generators had those oil caps to oil them with. Only way to tell is as mentioned by the label' date=' or test it to see what it puts out.

Not sure what that switch laying on the floor with the light socket would be. However, it could be for the optional Emergency Brake light Warning Switch. If you can post a picture of it sometime, maybe one of us could identify it for you.

If you are going to rewire the car to go back to 6 volt I'd pick up a service manual. The service manual will have wiring diagrams in the rear for all the cars from 1946 - 1954. The 46 - 48 diagram is the same for all three years and does not tell you what gage size wire to use for each wire. However, that can be found on the 1949 wiring diagram. The manual will also help you a lot over the course of working on the car and hunting down any possible problems that may pop up. The reproduction books are just as good as the original ones for reference, since they are just copies of the originals.

Turn signals were also an option. Most of us just run with various aftermarket setups. You don't have to worry about the switch being for 6 or 12 volt either. The 12 volt ones will work just as well. The only thing that won't work if you use the 12 volt one is the little indicator light inside the switch. If you change that bulb inside to a 6 volt one, then that light will work.[/quote']

If it didn't come with the turn signals I may leave them off. I don't intend to make this a daily driver and I think that Louisiana doesn't require them if they weren't originally on the vehicle. I'll have to check into that.

I'll post a photo of that switch later on tonight.

[Norm's Coupe]

Dan,

Without the turn signals you have to use hand signals when turning. That's ok but a lot of the younger people driving today have no idea what you're doing when you stick your arm out for a signal. They may even think you're flipping them off, or they aren't looking for a hand signal at all. That's why a lot of us put signals on, its safer. Thats up to the individual though.

[randroid]

Dan (would you prefer to go by Dirty?),

Again, welcome to the forum. This is as eclectic group and sometimes it's just fun to jump in and see what's going on.

My first guess is that switch with a bulb socket is an optional map light. My '48 P-15 didn't have one, but does have a switch just to the right of the steering column that toggles the dash lights.

I find my Plymouth as fun to play with as I do my '67 VW Bug, and that's a lot of fun.

Hunker-down and enjoy the ride; it's a great trip!

-Randy