Well it's time I start a thread for my project so here it is: I bought the car in June 2011 from a guy who started to fix her up but I think he was in a little over his head. The car ran, moved under its own power and stopped (sort of) but it was far from being road worthy, the car was last registered in 1967 so sitting for 44 yrs took its toll. Mice had eaten almost every wire under the dash, above the headliner and in the trunk so none of the lights worked. Almost every wheel cylinder leaked and the master cyl was plugged up with rust so a disk brake swap along with a dual circuit master cyl was the first order of business. After getting the brakes to work the next job was a total rewire from front to back. So now I have brakes, lights, charging, horn, turn signals, etc.. ready for the road! I go to the DMV expecting a major fiasco because the paper work for the car was almost a half century old faded piece of paper a little bigger than a business card with the info hand written insted of typed, the clerks at the DMV usually deal with newer car titles 99.9 percent of the time so I was expecting a problem. Much to my amazement I walked out of the DMV after about 15 minutes with a set of plates and a registation with my name on it. It felt good driving a 65 year old car that hadn't been on the road for past 44 yrs, it gave me a sence of accomplishment. Enough chat here's some pics: As purchased: Ratty (and mouse eaten) custom interior: Cool old decal from the 60's At its first car show
So after the novelty of the first legal drive around the block wore off I quickly discovered that the warmer the engine got the lower the oil pressure got along with a faint rattle from deep within the block. I was hoping to keep the original engine for a little while but the more I drove it rattle got louder and louder. I dumped about 2 quarts of 90w gear oil in the engine to sneak a few more miles out of it, the oil pressure came up about 20 psi and it quieted the rattle but the old flatty was on borrowed time. After two weeks the temperary inspection expired so off the road it came and the tear down began. I really just wanted to get the paperwork in my name before investing a bunch of money and boat load of time into this car, the car wasn't really fit for the road but it stopped good and steered straight so I felt it was safe enough to drive. Heres some more pics: Floor was shot Rockers were shot Not much holding the fender on Original flatty <!-- / message --><!-- attachments -->
318 swap in progress: Well seasoned truck 318 slathered in some custom mixed rustoleum Chyrsler blue (just royal blue with a little white mixed in) Steering box moved over 1 inch for more manifold clearance, can barely tell unless you know what your looking at. Yes it involves cutting and welding the frame, sorry didn't take any "work in progress" pictures plenty of room under the manifold Not so much room on the radiator support Plenty of room on the passenger side Those are 2000 Dodge Darango/Dakota ehxaust manifolds, relatively cheap (about 75 bucks each) and available at any major parts store. <!-- / message --><!-- attachments -->
The pictures show up on my computer. how bout now. As purchased: Mouse eaten interior: Cool 60's sticker: Minus the traditional red wheels:
Sure wish mine was in that good of condition when I started, anything that could hold water was rusted away on my car. Most people don't realize how many places can hold water on a car body until they start working on them. Your car looks like a good start. Thanks for the pictures. Gene
Now I'm seeing the red X's, here's some more pics. 318 wearing a fresh coat of paint (Rustolium royal blue with some white mixed in) Steering box moved over an inch for some more room Plenty of room under the manifold (2000 Dodge Durango/Dakota) Not a lot of room up front for the fan, stock radiator will be moved forward and down for more room Plenty of room on the passenger side Some new metal going in. I never cared for the "hidden running board" look of the 46-early 49 Plymouth so I decided to try and make the rockers look like the 40/41 Plym
I may get to sit in this thing soon instead of standing on the garage floor through the middle of the car.
Not much sheetmetal work lately but I did manage to get the radiator modified and mounted The original lower radiator outlet wasn't going to work with the V8 so it had to go Scrap radiators come in handy sometimes, "new" outlet cut from an old rad "new" outlet soldered in place, no special tools required just some hardware store solder, flux, and a propane torch. Had to cut the core support to clear the lower hose The radiator now sits 2" lower and about 4" forward of the original mounting position Still not a lot of room between the water pump and the radiator but it should be enough to squeeze in a mechanical fan
Some progress on the floor: Wont have to patch the inner quarter panels now Someone went nuts with the spot welder back in '48 when they put this side of the car together
Trunk is a little rusty eh Out comes the angle grinder again. No turning back now Frame is a little rusty too
The donor car The "new" trunk floor, a little less rotten than the one I just removed it still has some factory paint on it underneath, but it has the usual rot along the trunk seal area. It might have been a buildable car at one time but the guy I bought it from used it for parts for his project, then I bought the carcass for the rear sheetmetal, it came with 2 good rear fenders and good front clip (not shown in the pics). The floor and rockers were rough and it had no drivetrain or paperwork. It's also giving up its chassis for the coupe.
Thanks guys. "You gonna chop and slam her?" No, I'm going more for the early 60's drag car look, raised up stance, pie crust slicks, ladder bars, etc..
The Jalopy Journal
