Ok you guys were pretty hard on me bout my $25 Buick so im gonna park that at my dads and I got this car to work on. I believe its a 48 but unsure. Almost all the chrome was hidden inside so that was a plus. Had two windows shot out and one missing. It's gonna need floors and patched in other places but nothing too crazy. Its a flat head 6? And a man trans on the tree. Plans are to fix the holes and get the car running. Maybe change the interior up but keep the sweet dash.
If anyone can help me out to identify the body tag under hood says 500 a 4319 And on the door jamb says 12073445 Thanks much in advance!
I think someone is one step ahead of you taking all the rear fenders in your area. Personally, and this is coming from someone who owns and drives a 48 Plymouth, if you are you going to stick your money into something - the buick is a better bet. Or sell the Buick for funds to get the plymouth going. If it were me, I would sell both either whole or parts and try to get closer to something that is driveable. Keep trading up. Both are major projects for a first project... Good luck and glad to see a young guy interested and motivated.
The number on the firewall indicates the body style (according to P15-D24.com yours is a Special Deluxe 4dr) and the number on the body post is your serial number. Lots of info on P15-D24.com on these cars.
Cool. I like that body style. My 49 has the trunk bump on the back which isn't quite as cool. The inline 6 is a nice engine. Mine is dead reliable and smooth, sounds great through the split exhaust too. The 3 speed std trans is good, but not the best car on the hiway. it's really revving at 60. Still it's a comfy and reliable ride. It has a great front end that is apparently simple to upgrade as well. Good Luck.
Thanks cory and id like to see if the radio still works or if its cheap to fix it but im sure its not
What you have there according to the serial number 12073445 is a "First Series" 1949 Plymouth which was identical to the 1948s. When looking for body parts, you will want to look for 1948 stuff although 1946-1948 stuff will fit.
Think the bell is the same for all the flathead 6 through '59, so any year till then. Quality Engineered Components, "73RR" here, makes adaptors to put modern trannys behind one.
Vacuum tube radio, there is(was?) a company that would change the guts to solid state while retaining the vintage face.
Tranny swap = can of worms. Your parking brake is on the shaft. If you can get it to run, just enjoy it. If you find you wnat to drive it on the hiway more that 20 minutes at a time, maybe consider changing. otherwise, they are very nice cruisers. There are lots of mountains where i am the gearing and power in the engine are more that adequate, I seldom shift down.
Hop over to the P15-D24 forum and do a bit of searching. You'll find the answer to most any question about your Plymouth that you can think of. including transmission swaps. Good luck with your Plymouth...yeah it needs a lot of TLC but if you stick with it, you'll have a great car.
I agree that fixing a 46-48 Plymouth is a labor of love. I've got a lot of time and money in mine (avatar) and it still needs paint and tires. I didn't do it as an investment, just for fun.
I actually just picked one of these up yesterday, and I'm going to start a thread here in just a little bit. Gromit is right, the stock engine and transmission are fine, and it has great power, but does like to rev high once you hit the highway. One thing to remember once you try to start it, is that the car is 6 volt, positive ground. The starter button is on the left of the dash.
The easiest transmission swap to get you better highway drivability is to find a Mopar Borg Warner R10 Over Drive. It is a direct bolt in as long as the input shaft is the same length. If not the shafts can be swapped to give you the correct length. It uses the same linkage, clutch etc. Then just add a couple wires to control the solenoid and govenor and you are good to go. I did this swap on my 48 and it made it a totally different car on the highway. Another option if you can't find the OD is to swap the rear for one with higher gears around 3.50:1. Your stock rear has either a 4.10:1 or 3.90:1 rear. Going to the 3.50 will drop your rpm considerably on the highway. A late 60's early 70's 8 3/4 from a Mopar B-Body is a pretty straight forward swap once the spring shackles are relocated. I have seen a 90 Dodge Dakota rear and Ford Explorer rears used in the P15.
Don't jump into this deal without a lot of thought. Those MOPAR's are great... but you are lacking a lot of experience and that can result in plenty of mistakes. First try to get it running... forget the hop-up stuff and making changes for now. Just getting it to run, then driving, will be major accomplishments. Don't go taking things apart that don't need to be apart... doing that just makes the project seem tougher when it's time to put it back together again. One step at a time. Even pro restorers and rod builders do it that way... your shop ain't Overhauilin'. Have fun... learn as much as you can and take your time.
Neat looking car. Good luck with your project and have fun working on it. The flat head six's are good motors.
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