Poking? You should see my legs. Fostering 8 kittens, most of whom claw their way up my legs rather than jumping in my lap. Good thing I am not a shorts fan! 11 vans, a couple Fords, a spare parts '40, 3 cars that aren't mine, and so much other stuff it makes the gray matter sore! Whenever I think of clearing it out, I consider being a burden to those who outlive me.
I called my uncle and asked him to turn the ****ing heater off. Do you think you might add AC to this one so you can enjoy it more?
As we grow older, that thought has been crossing my mind a bit more. When the temps go higher then 85, with high humidity, it bothers me more now then it did when I was younger. The last few years we have come to enjoy the central air in the house a lot more... The air conditioning pump came with the wagon (its not bolted on the motor, and if its any good or not is a different question), but there is nothing else present. I would have to buy everything. There isn't even a current heater or defroster unit in the car. When I built my truck, I was prepared for the possibility of adding AC to it. I added a new evaporater (it is still closed up at the firewall) into the HVAC box when I installed the new heater core, but it would need a remote condenser with a fan and custom made AC hoses ran. The truck would probably get the AC before the wagon. We have not had functioning AC in a vehicle since the AC in my wife's PT quit 20 years ago! It needed both the high pressure hose and the low pressure hose back then (which was expensive to us). My wife made the decision she didn't want the AC back then. In all reality, it would probably get its AC fixed before AC was considered for anything else.
Its a good thing for those kittens that you are fostering them. The s**** guys around here would give you $400 for each full size van, and they would probably come and pick them up. A few every now and again could buy a lot of T bucket parts! Just think of it as swapping the old parts you had, for the new parts you need. See, I didn't even start with the Fords, or the 3 cars that belonged to other people. I'm not having a problem s****ping all of that, none of it is my stuff!
That depends on if you happen to be lucky enough to catch a time of higher s**** prices when its time to unload... The s**** price of aluminum cans has been hoovering around 25 cents a pound here for a while. Then suddenly, for about 4 days, the price jumped to 75 cents a pound. We just happened to have a bunch of crushed aluminum cans in garbage bags sitting here. We did pretty good that time, because of being too lazy to take them in for s**** when the price was 25 cents a pound.
My wife had some things she needed to do this morning, so I spent a little time with the wagon. We managed to put around 90 miles on the wagon since the Seafoam was added to the oil. I started the car up and let it come up to operating temp, so I could change the oil and filter. A few months back, I put one of those 4" round "Peep" mirrors on the right side of the car. Its one of those cheap kind that clamp on the edge of the door, that never stay in position. Probably the biggest problem with those stupid mirrors is that they stick out away from the car body 6", and everyone that walks past them bumps the stupid things (me included). While I was waiting for the motor to warm up, I though I would take another shot and adjusting the Peep mirror. As one would expect, that was pretty much wasted time, that spilled well past the engine warm up time frame. I did pause the mirror project long enough to get the oil and filter replaced. The oil came out just a bit darker then what the new oil looked like going in (same oil brand, same weight), but the old oil filter was noticeably heavier then the new replacement was (again, same filter), so it was not hard to know the oil change made a difference. When I added the oil, I put in 16 oz of MMO for this go around. This oil change should carry us through the rest of this driving season. I did get the mirror back on the car, probably in exactly the same position it was in before, but I bent the little tab, so its a bit tighter for a while. One time during the past few months, the car was sitting in exactly the right position while out in the sun, both my wife and I noticed a spot near the mirror where we could see sunlight coming between the door and the window frame. Someone (not me) put new rubber weatherstripping around the door, but the area near the window was pulled loose and was not in the correct position. I took this time to fully investigate that issue. It appeared that at some point before my ownership there had already been a clamp on mirror in this position! The mirror and the weather stripping tried to occupy the same space on the door, but the glue didn't hold. The rubber got pinched between the door and the frame and was ineffective, once I held it back in its correct position, it also became apparent it was about 6" too short. I have a short piece of weatherstripping left over from the piece that goes around the tailgate and the back window. I cleaned up the door frame, cleaned up the original rubber, and the new rubber and glued them into position on the door. Now with the door closed, there is no sunlight peeking between the door and the door frame. Another wind whistle gone. Concerning wind whistles, and rattles, that tailgate and hatch window has been bugging me for a while. When you close the tailgate, there is a lever on both sides that lock the lower tail gate closed. The old weatherstripping was squished to nothing and was not doing anything. With the gate closed and both levers locked, you could move the top of the tailgate in and out almost a 1/4 inch! When we replaced the old rubber with new rubber, we reduced the amount of movement by more then 1/2, but there was still movement. I can't see the back side of the lock levers, but they feel smooth, and there is no apparent wear on the ears the they lock onto. Any shimming I tried simply made opening and closing the levers harder, but the gap remained. I was stumped, so the best bet at the time was to remove the shimming, and listen to the rattle. The window hatch has a center latch with a lever lock When you turned the keyed T handle, the lever has two cam locks that latch into the top of the tailgate. That top latch plate is held in place with 5 Phillips head screws. I've always ***umed that those screws allowed the latch to move inward or outward to center the locked hatch over the tailgate, but I just didn't take the time to investigate (other more important issues to deal with). When I closed the hatch and turned the T handle, it would push the hatch away from the gate, but then would lock. That seemed to make the already loose fitting tailgate even more loose fitting. Today was the day to address all of that. The tail gate set up is much like what the old pickup trucks had. Two hinges on the bottom allowed the gate to lay out flat with the floor level. There is a tailgate support on each side to hold the gate level and support any weight placed on the tailgate. Those support pieces are simply two 1/8" flat bars hinged in the center. One end is hinged at the top corner of the tail gate, the other end is hinged at the top of the side window supports (in a truck that would be at the inside top of the bed). At the floor level there are two rubber covered stops, on attached to the floor, the other attached to the tailgate. With the gate in the closed position, the support straps are pinched between those two rubber pieces. As soon as the tailgate begins to open, the rubber stop attached to the gate is moved away from the other stop so the two support bars can extend out. Both sides are set up the same. All 4 rubber pieces are present, and appears to be in decent shape. The right side pair pinch the arms wonderfully, and there is no movement when the gate is closed. The left side has a gap when the gate is closed, and the two bars move and rattle. I ***ume that at least one side of each rubber pairs has some adjustment, the rubbers turn, but nothing lengthens or contracts. I have found replacement rubber pieces, but there is nothing I've seen mentioning any thing adjustable. I will be welding in the area of those back corners this winter. I ***ure you, there will be something adjustable after that. between now and then, I have a folded up piece of carpet between the rubber stop and the bracket to keep the rattle quite. Then I moved my attention to the hatch latch area. Loosening the 5 screws did indeed provide for some adjustment.I shifted the plate towards the front of the car as far as I could go. I'm happy to report that the window lock no longer pushes the window away from the tailgate. I still feel a need to have some kind of weather stripping between the hatch and the top of the tailgate, but the "experts" say there never was. In a different matter, on the way home from Dubuque our right front hubcap escaped again. That time I heard it go, but never saw it. in the mirror. We went back to the scene of the escape but couldn't find the hubcap. We bought a set of 4 driver quality caps online. They arrived late last week. I put one of the caps on the right front wheel. It took a bit of effort to get it on there, so hopefully this one will stay. All in all, I got the oil changed, the side mirror back on, and got some wind whistles and rattles addressed, and got another hubcap on the right front. It was a pretty good day just messing around with our new toy. Maybe tomorrow I'll give the 49 a little attention.
If anyone is in the southwest and wants to follow in Gene's footsteps, here's a starter. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1016959441332701/ 1954 Plymouth belvedere $2,300 Listed 4 days ago in Surprise, AZ 1954 Plymouth Belvedere Suburban Fairly rare car not many around. Body straight but does have some minor rust mostly in tailgate. Engine runs with gas poured in carb. Wouldn't take much to get back on the road. Floors have some rust but for most part solid. Came from Tucson. Not in a big hurry to get rid of. Asking $2300 firm. Might be interested in a trade for 67-72 Ford truck or possibly other older car projects. Sold with bill of sale. Vin number is no longer in Arizona system so easy to get ***le.
Well, here we are, 1/2 way through the month of September. My wife and I have started discussing when we should start on the winter projects on the wagon. We have been cruising the wagon quite a bit since the lifter issue, but I'm ready to get started on the deeper part of the project. The weather went from 85-90 degree range highs and lows in the low 70s, directly into highs in the 70s and lows in the upper 40s (we skipped right over everything in between). The weather forecast is also giving us at least a 30% to 40% of rain, with many days higher then 50% to 60% chance every day the next 7- 10 days. Not exactly what I want to see for a car with no defroster, the cool weather combined with the rain makes for fogged up gl***. even though the wipers work, we generally won't take he wagon if the chance of rain is over 30%, fogged gl*** without a blower fan is a PITA. Generally, around here the weather turns towards the colder side of things once we get past the first of October. A ride without heat in cold weather isn't much fun either. Especially when you have a cool ride with working wipers, and an awesome heater and defroster parked right next to it. Then I take into account the use of our garage space over the last 5 years. My garage/shop is 24' x 24' building. The building is heated, and up until about 5 years ago, it was my welding shop. I retired and closed it in 2018, then began working on my stuff. during that time, I usually managed to get my wife's ride inside most nights through the winter months. Once I got done building my 49 truck, that heated garage has transformed into a heated winter parking space for both of the vehicles we drive through the winter months. It didn't take long before climbing into those nice warm dry vehicles (50 degrees inside, compared to 20 degrees outside) on those cold winter days when we had to go someplace, to spoil us. The rocker and quarter panel work I plan to do on both sides of the wagon will require it to occupy the entire shop during that process. Once through the the welding stage, inside over night parking for one of our winter drives can probably return. I can use the entire shop during the day, and park the other vehicle in the shop over night. That has worked well before. We generally get our first taste of brutal cold and snow by Thanksgiving. If I get the wagon into the shop around Oct first, I believe I can have the welding work that requires the entire shop mostly done before the weather turns nasty, if it follows the normal patterns. I have picked the approximate date we park the wagon for the season at Oct 1st. That doesn't exactly mean that if the weather turns wonderful, we won't take the wagon on a hundred mile cruise between now and then, and that date isn't written in concrete.
All supplies needed are in the garage including gas? Fire extinguishers up to date? Tet**** shot too?
Yes dad... The fire extinguisher is good. I also have a spray water bottle inside of a car when ever I'm welding inside of one. I take fire prevention pretty serious, things inside of a car can get out of control in 30 seconds! I've had a few tet**** shots over the years, but bleeding cleans out cuts. I have lots of rolls of those blue shop towels to soak up the blood, and a roll of duct tape to hold the towels in place, I'm good there. Is this where I put that He-man grunt? The gauge on the 336lbs 75/25 mixed gas says there is a 1/2 tank. I have a new 10lbs roll of .030 wire, a box with 10 .030 tips, and a brand new liner in the whip. There are new batteries in the automatic helmet, a 1/2 dozen new pairs of welding gloves in a box on the shelf, the leather welding coat is pretty old, but there are no holes in it and it still fits. I have safety eye gl***es, new grinding wheels, new tips for the plasma cutter, I have a good cutoff tool with new wheels, and good tin snips. I do not wear those dust masks, I'm gunna die like a real welder.... Actually, I open the 16' wide garage door just about every hour when I'm working in the shop, and it stays open until the air is clear. I have both sides of new inner and outer rockers, a 4' x 8' sheet of 18 G sheet metal and a 4' x 4' sheet of 20G sheet metal (and several smaller pieces of both), plus lots of different widths of 1/8" thick bar stock. I believe I have everything I need to get things through the rocker installation stage. To do the rear quarters, I'm pulling off the rear fenders (and will weld the trim clip holes closed while the fenders are off the car). I may need bolts or fender welt (there is some of both here) when its time to reinstall the fenders. I will probably paint the area under the fenders, so I may need a spray bomb or two for that. I seam seal every sheet metal edge facing the p***enger compartment, when I install new metal. I also intend to seam seal the edges of the roof gutter as well. I don't buy seam sealer until I'm ready to use it, then I seal everything I can. Once opened, the tube of seam sealer is only good for a day or two. Its expensive and I don't waste it. There will be a few things I will need to pickup as I move past that stage. I have a bit of experience having things on hand when I need them, but there always seems to be something I missed in the plan. There are enough other things on the list where I can shift to something else to keep me busy. Staying motivated when the weather gets brutal will be the challenge. Its 10' between the back porch door and the garage walk in door. Have no fear, I will drag you all through my process, so you have things you can question my thought process on along the way. I'm in the process of writing a step by step picture of the entire process we have planned. That will include when things need to be ordered for the next part of the project.
Gene, as a guy who ran a welding shop for years, I expected you to have all and sundry on hand and ready! I also know people always run out of stuff after 5 on Friday. I can't speak for the others, but I'm here to listen to the trouble I caused!
Hey! I thought I'd let you guys know, a bird awarded the wagon a trophy while my wife was out cruising around with it yesterday. I just noticed the trophy sitting there on the fender earlier today, it almost blended right in with the current paint finish.
Well, the rain has been persistent the last week, don't think it missed a day. The wagon has remained hidden in the garage, too many gaps in the window rubber gaskets. The jute carpet backing the previous owner glued to the floors would have created a sponge to hold the water against the already questionable floor pan. The last couple of days I have been working out the step by step process of the planned work on it this winter. 50 line item bullet points, no numbers, no fill ins between, no details, no wasted words, just bullet points in the proper sequence. 3,670 characters long! The last line is "body and paint work." The plan is to remove the seats and the jute material that was glued to the p***enger compartment floor by the previous owner. Then remove the rear fender and go to work on the rockers, the floor pan, and the rear quarters on one side, from start to finish (welding work). That includes filling trim clip holes in both fenders on that side painting behind the fenders, and installing the fender. I plan on raising the front seat up a couple inches, that bracket work on this side of the car will also be done on this side of the car. Then move to the other side and do the same thing. I believe I have all of what i need to do this except maybe picking up a couple cans of spray paint. Once the welding work has been completed, we gain the overnight inside parking for one of our winter drivers. When the welding work is completed I intend to remove the current seam seal from the roof and the rain gutters and seam seal that area all around the roof. Then I will also seam seal the floor pans and rockers. Then add insulation to the entire floor pan and firewall. The seam sealer and the insulation will have to be ordered before hand so it will be here when its time comes (that is the next planning process to be discussed later). Then we get to the expensive part. The plan is to replace the roll up gl*** in the doors, and replace all the gl*** rubber, window channels and window sweeps along both sides of the car (the windshield and rear gl*** were resealed not long ago, all the side gl*** seals appear to be original and are not in good shape. The rubber around gl*** is not individually expensive, but the number of pieces adds up very quickly. Just the needed replacement rubber this car needs adds up to nearly $600 (+ shipping and tax) for the 9 separate pieces. Not all of the pieces are needed immediately, about $260 first (door gl*** sealing), then the another $200 (4 rear side windows) before the headliner install which can be pushed off towards spring, then the rest (cowl vent seal and cowl lacing) before driving (or paint and body work). The rubber is a week delivery out with each order. The two pieces roll up door windows the car needs to have replace is another $220 and 2-3 weeks delivery. The time line schedule is each door gl*** and seal, one side at a time. There is a sliding gl*** window, and a fixed gl*** window on each side, towards the rear of the car. The goal is to replace the window channels for the double pane sliding gl***, and replace the rubber for the fixed gl*** before the headliner is installed. I will also be painted the trim pieces for all 4 of those windows. I can have the rubber around the gl*** installed and the trim painted long before its time to install the headliner, especially if it needs to be done outside in the sunshine. Then there is the actual headliner installation. I have a new "factory replacement" headliner here that is suppose to fit this car. This car has 6 bows that cross under the roof, and there is a rubber grommet that fits on each end of each bow. I have all the replacement replacement grommets here. I have been told it is easier to install the headliner that has been warmed in the sunshine. I can lay out the headliner flat in my house, and the garage is heated, can that replace the sun's heat? I have never installed a headliner with bows, so any advice would be helpful here. I also have new wind lace for around each door and across the rear hatch. I believe the side edges fit under the side window and windshield trim pieces, I have all the trim pieces for the car, and they will be freshly painted and ready to install. Before (or after) the headliner install I will be turning my attention to the floor of the car. I'm not real happy with how the fuel pump is currently installed, and there appears to be a minor seepage around the pump mounting gasket. To gain access to that area, the spare tire cover has to come off, then the top of the tank is accessible. I intend to correct the horrible current pump mounting system in the fuel cell currently in the car. while doing that, I can also replace the current pump mount gasket. Once that is complete, I can install the spare tire cover. Then would be a good time to install new carpet on the floors. That carpet will come from Menard's, they have automotive grade carpet in stock. Its not formed, but I have used it a lot over the years. It works well with pretty flat floor pans like this car has, and its pretty inexpensive. I intend to cover the entire floor and most of the sidewalls (and door panels) with it. After the carper install (either before or after the headliner install) will be the seat installation and the around the gl*** trim. Then the car gets put on jack stands and the current exhaust system gets dropped out of the car. With the car on the stands and the exhaust removed, the current lowering blocks will be removed (the car still bottoms out), and I may add another leaf to the spring pack on each side (the current springs have had a leaf removed and seem to be a little weak to me). Then the current leaking "Y" pipe gets repaired or replaced, a new extension pipe gets installed, a new gl*** pack gets installed, and the tail pipe gets installed. Hangers are built or repaired as needed. The next thing I did was put together a parts list of things I do not have sitting here that I do not expect to be able to be picked up locally, in a day or two. That would be things like door gl***, gl*** rubber/channels, sound deadener, seam sealer, fuel pump gasket, exhaust pipes & gl*** pack, center bolts, add a leafs. That list exceeds $1,000 It doesn't include things like several cans of spray paint at $6 a can, or $100 worth of carpet, or other surprises.
You should be able to have a local gl*** shop cut the flat safety gl*** for the door windows. A couple day turnaround with no shipping.
After my experience with the Austins I'm surprised at how thin the floor pan is on the'41 Plymouth sedan delivery. It makes for tricky welding to fix the rot.
Sounds like you have the rejuvenation plans well in hand, Gene. It sounds like a lot and it is when Body & Paint is a single line. However, I shudder to think of the list on that other one you were considering. I feel a bit guilty, but also glad that it is in your hands and you will get it done. It's more money, but I've heard Dry Ice works well on stripping back the OE tar type interior undercoat. Might I suggest getting a few bucks worth and seeing how it might help with the jute and glue? That job sounds like one where any time and effort savings would be worthwhile. The typical floor elevation changes and crannies don't lend themselves to most power strippers.
There are only 2 gl*** shops in our town. The one was the guy I've used for years (I was the 1st guy he ever cut gl*** for), he quit cutting gl*** a couple years ago. He said there was not enough demand for it here, between the cost of the uncut gl*** sheets and storing the left over pieces became a problem. The other company changed hands about a year ago, I got a price quote from them not long ago for a different piece of gl***. Based on that quote, buying the gl*** from any of the online sources would be cheaper. So while we are on the topic of the door gl***, the original gl*** was safety gl***, and 2 of the 3 suppliers handle safety gl***. The other guy cuts and sells tempered gl***, like the modern door gl*** is, his price was about $100 more then the lowest quote for the safety gl***. Would it be better to go with the tempered gl***?
The original floor pan thickness of a 52 Plymouth started as 19 gauge (before being stamped), about midway between 18g and 20g. There are a few rusted through holes that were patched with light tin and sheet metal screws. How thick what is currently there will vary a lot, depending on how much the rust has claimed. I have been repairing automotive floor boards for more then 30 years (I owned a welding shop for 28 years). I am prepared for the difference in thickness, I have two 48" x 48" sheets of 18g, one 48" x 48" piece of 20 g, a plasma cutter, and a metal break siting here (I'm not expecting to need much more then one 48" x 48" piece of metal). If I get real surprised, the steel supply company is a phone call and a tomorrow delivery away if more is needed.
John, we would not have even had a chance to drive the other ride I was considering by now yet. That is why we have this car. There is no reason for you to feel guilty, most of what we have encountered with this car was, for the most part, expected. What was not expected was the increase in the cost of the gl*** stuff in the 4 years since we did all the gl*** in my 49 truck. I expected the stuff holding the gl*** to be expensive (but not quite this expensive), and was actually pretty happy to find a source for all of it. The cost of the gl*** blew me away. I will be paying nearly as much for two pieces of gl*** as the full gl*** kit for my 5 window pickup cab cost. I have heard about the Dry Ice and how it helps on material removal. I have only removed a few small pieces of the glued Jute backing off parts of the metal on this car. Pretty much the jute pulls apart leaving only the bottom surface that was bonded to the glue, and the remains of the glue & jute s****ped off the metal floor pretty easy with a razor s****per. A larger area may well be a different story. How well it was glued down, and with what kind of glue could make a big difference as well. If it looks like it will be a pita, the Dry Ice will be worth a shot. My primary concern about the jute and glue is from the rear seat forward. Fire while welding is the primary concern, jute burns fast, the glue may, or may not add to the fire concerns. Then a clean surface to bond the sound deadener/insulation to the floor pan later in the project is the secondary concern.
Thank You. That was sort of my thinking as well, everything here except my wife's modern appliance ride has safety gl*** in the doors. Then I started wondering if I was trying to cut corners to save $100.
Gene, I know you are in a much better position. I'm not so Guilty I'm coming up there and hand s****ing then solvent rubbing/disc prepping the floors! Sounds similar to having to prep the foam backed headliners; slow, messy, dirty and no 'easy' to be seen. I remember many years ago there were sellers on the Ebag who offered complete sets of new gl*** for vintage rides. I haven't checked that source for that product in over a decade. I ***ume this is either not a thing or as you say, multiple times more expensive. Just looked a little. Found this. Yeah, it ain't cheap! http://www.cl***icflatgl***.com 1952 Plymouth STATION WAGON & SUBURBAN - 2 Door - Concord Deluxe & Savoy Steel Body Model P22 26458 FLAT GL*** KIT: kit contains: Windshield (2 Needed): 2, Door: 2, Rear Quarter: 2, Front Quarter Rear (Sliding): 2, Front Quarter Front (Stationary): 2, Vent Front Door: 2, $1,129
The Jalopy Journal
