Projects 41 plymouth coupe 392 hemi build thread

Thanks Mate. Looks like we'll both be finished next year!

 

Spent the whole day straightening out the splash or air deflector, however you want to call it. First removed the radiator with my son and then proceeded with the hammer and dolly. The pan was touching the front of the chassis slightly and I needed to shorten it little in order to fit behind the grill, so I hammered a small bulge all the way across. Then re-worked all the edges and flattened the mounting areas. Test fitted it and painted the re-worked metal.

I think at one point in it's life the pan got damaged, explaining why the original grill was out of shape. Another job done. The list is getting shorter.

 

man, Eric, i'm wired up about how your car will look after this winterseason! and next year maybe there's a lot of old iron (and cool glass, Steve ) on the road next year! just wrote with Per (Orn), he's busy on that Olds for finishing it next year! let's see! keep on, pal, hope everything works for you! what about your trunk lid, was it completely finished yet? i will cross the finish line with the Poncho about late spring next year, it seems! 9yrs are enough, i think..

Cheers, Carsten

 

I hope you've been keeping a count on the number of cans of primer you've gone through. Rustoleum thanks you !

 

Thanks Carsten! Hopefully we'll all be driving next year! Looking forward to it. With regards to the rear deck lid: no it's not finished yet. (I see it as a separate project as I want the rest of the car done first.) I'm approaching the 3 year mark in december........9 years seems enough Carsten! But you'll have a fantastic car when you're completely done with it!

 

Haha, funny you should say that....just bought the last two at the hardware store today. They seem to be ordering new ones every week! I'm sure I've used at least 10 cans up to now. (could be more.)

 

Looking great Eric!

 

Thanks Rob!

 

Eric, I've been following this thread on & off for but forgive me if I have missed any mention of the grille bars but are you going to use the original bars?.........if so then are you using the original clips that hold the stainless bars onto the grille sheetmetal?
I have a need for these clips or a replacement that works and was wondering what you may have come up with. I've attached a pic of my car, but yours has got to be the most amazing 41 Plymouth ever..............many thanks for taking the time to post the pics and info........anyway any info on what you plan re the grille stainless is appreciated..........regards, Andy Douglas

 

Andy, I won't be using the horizontal grill bars....just the "heart" and the two vertical ones running from the hood to the bottom of the grill. I haven't started looking for clips yet, but I'm sure there are guys here reading this that can help you out! Glad you're still enjoying the thread btw.

 

Eric, if yer lookin' for moulding clips, there is indupla.com on the web, or try fasteners plus on ebay, i bought mine at California Pontiac Restoration, they sell the same, will take mine from the customers bureau tomorrow. look at their page, if you like, the fasteners are not expensive and made to fit a width from x to y, i will report how they hold and fit..

 

Thank you very much for the info Carsten! It's appreciated. Good luck with your clips.

 

I ordered some latches last night for the hood and trunk. It will be a week or two before I receive the hood latch, but you can't start early enough with the preparation side of things.

The empty area above the grill needed some attention. First made a template out of cardboard, including the angles I felt looked right. Then got some sheet metal and started hammering away. After a lot of tiny changes and test fitting, I got it more or less correct. I'll be fine tuning it next week, including the mounting holes. Then all I have to do is wait for my latch to arrive and install that.

Now its time to give my arms some rest.

 

Sounds like both of us are on a mission!

Haha, I agree, it appears a lot that I'm just working on parts instead of a car at times! In order to rectify that for those who haven't read the 160+ pages so far, here are a few pics of how it was, the build so far and the photoshop of how it will look. (with one or two additions and changes to the photoshop.) For those wondering.....it is the same car and they are in the correct order.

 

Eric/Casten thanks for the info however I don't think the Pontiac ones are the same, the original clips are a spring steel clip that fits inside the stainless molding and has a "tongue" that sticks out to allow it to be pushed onto the sheetmetal..........there is no screw or bolt that holds the molding on, however I am open to suggestions...........lol........I tried to search for Indulpa and fasteners plus on the web without success........thanks,andyd

 

Andy, have you tried restorationspecialties.com? They appear to have quite a few parts in their catalog.

 

Eric Nice
Thanks for THE help THE last week.

 

That hood filling piece looks good.Next step is mounting the hood latch on the filling piece?
Keep it up!

 

No problem Bart, it was actually good fun to be working on a different car for a change!

 

Thank you Finnrodder. I need to wait for the latch to arrive before I can finish it off. Going to do some minor adjustment work to the part next week, including working out a way to attach it to the grill/body. I'll probably use the existing holes and make indentations in the part for the bolts. More next week.

 

Can this build get any better? Yes it can! Great fabrication and quality work Eric. can't wait to see it getting it's final color. (and hearing that Hemi rooaaarrr!)

 

Eric, how long are your runningboards? when i'll have finished my rocker panels, there will be some of the rubber stuff left, let me know if you like and if the leftovers are long enough, then i will donate 'em to you. looka here:



Cheers, Carsten

 

Eric, thanks, I got the Resto Spec catalog a few weeks ago, they have the right part listed on page 151.....rang them from Oz and lol......they have't had these clips for a while........dunno when they'll have them again..........lol.........oh well, now I know why I see a lot of 41 Plymouth rods with just the painted front sheetmetal........no one has any clips to hold the grille bars..........anyway thanks for the ideas..........btw seeing what a fantastic job you have done on your 41 Plymouth have you thought about doing 41 plymouths for a living?..........I know where # 2 Plymouth is.........lol.............regards, Andy Douglas

 

I can't believe what I've witnessed. You took a car (as a starter that most of us want as an end result) hacked into it and in some insane way made it better. I literally just took my hat off to you. Good show chap, I say. Good show!

 

Thank you for the comments Hogman. I have a bit of free time the coming weeks and hope to accomplish quite a bit. I think I'd better warn the guys in the bodyshop that I'm coming before the end of the year.

 

Its nice to look back at the beginning of your thread to remind yourself how much work you have accomplished as opposed to think too much about what you still have to do ...at least it makes me feel better with my own build lol!

 

Thank you for the offer Carsten. I'll measure them next week and let you know. I'm not sure yet whether I'm going for a thin or coarse ribbed rubber though.....I still need some time to decide.

 

Thanks Andy. I'll keep a lookout for those clips you're after. I'm sure I've seen them on ebay a while ago..... I'll let you know if I find some.

Not sure if I'd want to do this fabrication/customizing for a living, but you just never know what the future may bring. I'm someone who will always keep my options open.....

 

Thank you EdselRich. The comments are appreciated. I'm sure I've said it somewhere before during this build, but it was the overall look of the car that captivated me. It looked fast standing still! The reasoning behind taking the car apart completely and modifying it was to ensure it would go fast safely. That in combination with a completely rust free body and adding modifications/customizing it to my visions of the end product. I think I'm getting there.

 

Thanks koolkemp. Looks like your car is coming along nicely too!