1940 Plymouth build thread

Back at it again. I worked a three way trade to end up with a 1940 Plymouth coupe. Never done a trade like that but it worked out alright in the end. First impression on the deal is I came up short on this one but that was ok as I see what's ahead. I only saw pics and had a short conversation with the owner and said what the hell let's roll the dice. Should have made the trip to see it in person of course but life is kinda busy right now (long story).

Bye bye Dodge!!



And here's a pic of the junker I got - actual pic from kijiji that was advertised incorrectly.



Pic from the guy involved in the trade bringing me the Plymouth and hoping I'm not a stiff and tell him too bad. I told him if it was total junk I would still do the deal, just teach me to make the drive next time but he was still nervous !!



Pulled the flats and threw on some rollers, looking better already but not the look I'm going for long-term. Popped all the tires off the rims for sandblasting and a set of wide whites in her future.





Here's my youngest checking her out.



So I pulled the plugs, well tried to anyway. Two came out, four broke. No direct damage to the head but they were in there so long the plug itself was so rusted they broke off at the base. Filled the cylinders as best I could with oil and left her sit for the week, well added some more every other day. Not looking good at this point at all.



In the meantime I'm thinking this baby is stuck for sure. Plates are from 1970 and from what I've been told that's about the last time she ran. So I picked up this little beasty as a back-up just in case. 455 buried under there somewhere. Popped out the motor and transmission and assorted goodies and set her aside.



Also popped the rear end for the above mentioned little guys new bed. Taillights will be working as night lights, etc.



Anyway rolled the Plymouth in yesterday fully expecting to yank out the flathead and start the stuffing of the 455 into her. WRONG!, Threw 12v onto the starter, cranked the starter lever and she spun-over. Had compression on 5 outta 6 cylinders. Not bad, sticky valve perhaps. OK, off with the head, cleaned things up, found a sticky intake valve, a little secret fluid into her, more clean-up, valves a moving. Cleaned up the head, drilled and persuaded the broken plugs out, chased some threads, some fresh paint, new plugs of course. back in ya go. Replaced all the hoses, greased the water pump, some temporary jumper wires (12v in her future) a new coil and points......fingers crossed......

 

hey hey , you wound up long good fella, keep us posted

 

I think you did fine. You know about p15-d24.com don't you? Sort of Mopar flathead central.

 

Been all over p15-d24.com and the net after bringing this one home but thanks for the heads up.

No 455 olds for this girl now, here's a quick video my wife shot tonight. hopefully tomorrow we can get her moving on her own again.


http://youtu.be/Dea3EeEDopM

 

I just read this on Canadian Rodder. Absolutely love those and yours looks great. Congrats.

What are the plans for it? Custom, hot rod....???

 

I'm back and forth with it. Once we spend some more time together she will tell me.

 

Dammit!!!! Another Plymouth!!!!

 

Yeah they are coming out of the woodwork lately, makes me want to work on mine

 

Nice car,and sounds good.Subscribe.

 

Nice find, and it looks like all that hard-to-find (and expensive) trim is all there. Good luck with the old girl. Yippee, another Plymouth!!!!

 

Love those 40 plymouths! Those flatheads are tough and it will probably run so good luck.

 

My '48 had a 455 in it when I got it. Replaced it with a Hemi after 7-8 years, but it did fine with the 455.

 

I have had mine for 33years putting392 in right. Now good find

 

Looks like you did great on the trade. Love these 40's Plymouths. I have a 41 in the works. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

here you go.. chopped and lowered... just goofin around, looks good the way it sits stock..

By the way, cool car, and good trade, altho I wish I had atleast one if not both the pickup and car in my garage

 

looks great, but what is going on with the quarter window? I have owned mine for 15+ years and it just is glaring at me

 

LoL, it's NOT glaring at you is why it's glaring at you.

The glass is laying in the trunk. No reflection/glare.
I was a lucky to find (once I got inside the trunk that is) the missing center caps, 1/4 window and moulding.

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Thanks! I'm seeing that ride height, no chop on this one, lake pipes instead of boards, 16" with w/w and sombrero style caps.....colour?? Not sure.

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cleaned up a bit, removed bumpers, need one of the experts at photoshopping to paint it...

 

Was able to get her moving on her own so that's a nice surprise. Ran through all the gears amd she shifts smoothly with no unwanted noises.

Stripped the trashed interior out which had decayed completely but no animals this time which is a treat. Next is to get the rubber floor mat and associated padding out and see what I have to work with. I know it will need floors but haven't had her up high enough to see the supports or inners.

Did find an old regulator and a beer bottle under the back seat.

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Great to see another Plymouth build thread! Keep up the good work. Subscribed.

 

Got her into the shop for a bit on the weekend, pulled the 10 inches of seat padding and assorted material decay out of there. Quite the mess but no animal feces for a change so that was a treat. Even found a beverage but it was an empty!



Even found proof that someone loved her in the past....distant past that is.



Cleared the trunk out, yeah not surprising that it wasn't anything to exciting.


Pulled the seats out, found the rubber mat (uh oh that's not good) and pulled her back to see what the rest of the floor looked like. Judging by the trunk I wasn't expecting much but this was a little less than I was expecting. Definition of a Canadian car?? See pics!







One the plus side, makes tear-down a little faster. LoL Pulled out the seat riser/mount and removed the front access cover.





So..... we have no floors to speak of, inner rockers that need to be replaced, bottom 2 inches of the inner wheel wells are shot, body mounts are shot from "a" pillar all the way back AND she sits a bit too high for me. Hmmm what to do, what to do??

Channel the crap outta her of course!!

This is gonna be fun!

 

Nice car!! Looks like you have your work cut out for you. Hope you are a good fabricator, or else it could become very costly. Good luck.subscribed.

 

Hmm, pretty crusty, the floors and trunk on my '46 were in about the same shape as your '40 when I got it.

 

nice find .....

looks fairly solid ( besides the floor at the moment ) and promising .....

lucky that it had a frame under it .... if it wouldve been a car post 65, better off leaving it there ... you would have bringing it home in piece(s)

keep us updated on progress .... i ll be looking forward to this =)

 

Thanks! yeah I've done a car or two so I think I can handle this one but it would be great if you wanted to fly up amd lend a hand!! I wouldn't object.

the worst of it is actually the inners and the door sills that were previously "repaired". Gotta love galvanized pop riveted replacements.

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I figure a couple more years of neglect and she would have been screwed.

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some progress over the last couple days.







Figured it was easiest just to pull out the firewall, then trim, section,fill and re-install



Put a few support blocks in place, cut out the remaining mounts and trimmed the front inners as needed. Popped off the rear filler, bumpers and brackets, pulled the rad......"knocked out the blocks" and laid her down.

Getting there. That was the easy part , next build some new mounts, rebuild the inner rockers and lower sills and things should be much tidier before laying out the floor pans and seat mounts, etc.



I'm going to slide her ahead about an inch to center up the wheels in the openings better than factory then get her outside for a look see.

 

Awesome project. I've seen a floor very similar to that in my 40. subscribed

 

Thanks guys!

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