After almost 10 years from starting this project, my goal is to finally finish it this year. Got the upper rear shock mounts installed and added a 19 gallon fuel cell instead of using the original tank.
It's GREAT to hear from you - figured you possibly sold your Plymouth and very happy that you stuck to your guns and committed to getting her DONE!!! Some pics I enclosed on my build - hopefully to keep you motivated as well as myself!
I removed the trunk floor today due to the shock mounts being in the way. The floor originally stepped down over 1 1/2 inches so it has to go. Set the grill shell height. The 32 grill didn't fit quite right and some modifications were needed. At the end of the day I fit the first sill plate on the car. An older gentleman on here sent me some aluminum pieces that are close to the original design. I'll complete the other side and bolt them on tomorrow.
New trunk floor is in. I completed the grill shell and set the headlight stands today. I also managed to con my oldest son into getting my dash ready for gages. He's almost finished.
Just my opinion and 2 cents, but I believe that you should consider dressing up your hemi with more "period" hot rod equipment, Moon or Edelbrock finned valve/timing covers in either chrome or polished aluminum, etc. Hot Rod carburetion like Strombergs/Holley 94's or 97's with frogmouth chrome/or aluminum Edmunds air cleaners in multi-carb setups like dual quads, tri-power, Man-A-Fre 4 deuces, 6-twos with progressive linkage, etc. Your motivation is showing strong - keep up with your progress!
Wow, your coupe and mine are almost twins! This is the first I've seen this thread, it looks like you're making really good progress now. Good luck with it. Here's a picture of mine so you can see how similar they are. I think the only thing I noticed different is the grill shell.
Yeah Joel, that's what I'm talking about! Speaking of grill shell, which one do you have, pic is a bit dark to see well... Re-take these pics with better focus and detail and post them on here ASAP!
OK, I'll post some pics and give some detail. When I was mocking it up, the radiator had to be too far forward to fit the Hemi. I didn't like the proportions. So I put the radiator where it looked best, then recessed the firewall to move the engine back. Then ditched the belt drive water pump and fan. I used a Mezzeire electric pump mounted on the bottom tank of the radiator, it is hardly noticeable. Then I used an electric fan off a chevy HHR with all the factory shroud ripped off because the blades look more like a vintage fan than the slender, curved blades of the aftermarket fans. I'm very happy with the result.
Since this car gets raced as well as street driven, my objective were NHRA legal, light weight, simple, reliable and safe, with aesthetics and tradition a strong consideration as well. The ****pit is very spartan. I used a Wilwood triple master cylinder set up. 2 for brakes and 1 for the clutch. A steering column tilter from a 4x4 shop, a simple aluminum tube for a column, and a 48 Plymouth steering wheel. Here is a shot of the grill shell before a welded in the expanded metal grill and before the radiator was painted. I went with an aluminum radiator to save weight. I have a new copper/br*** radiator that came with the car that I can part with if you need one. If you want any more details, let me know.
Didn't take any photos today but front shock mounts are in and shocks on them. Primed and seam sealed the trunk and front floor pan. I also worked on the plywood that will go behind the bucket seats. So in closing I'll post my 32pb grill collection not including the one in the car. Work continues...
Painted the remaining 2 floor panels today. Then I mocked up the windshield frame for latching hardware from a model A Ford since I had no original parts. I'll swap out the bolts with carriage bolts and make a couple shims for behind the thumb screws when it's ready to go in for the last time.
Today's progress was the battery box. With it complete I can drill the floor for fuel lines, and battery cables.
Working towards finishing the inside. I had to shorten the storage behind the seat because of the fuel cell. It's pretty shallow ( about 3 inches deep) but I didn't want to just lose it. It will still be big enough for the cell phone, and a firearm. Most of my gages arrived today so I had to shove them in there to get a better look at where all my money is going!!! The smaller gages are 2 5/8". You can't buy a compete set and the cost of all 6 is pretty disheartening but they look nice.
Finished the bucket seat mounts today. All I have left inside is building the steering column mount. After that the body can come off one last time before painting. Due to the fact this car has sat for basically 6 years incomplete, I'm going to scuff and repaint the frame as well as the engine getting a do over. I want everything looking fresh when it's finished.
I made sure when building the mount for the grill shell that it was semi adjustable so in the event I could possibly find a decent hood it would be close to the proper positioning. Today I spoke with Rootlieb about a brand new hood. Their catalog doesn't have one listed for a 31 PA coupe. They do however have the design and for about a 6 week wait I can put a new hood on this car. Lots of guys run without a hood but my personal preference is to have one on the car. I suppose that's part of the reason I haven't dressed up the hemi. But the main reason is I love the original look of it the way it is.
I'm only running the top. The valve cover front corners stick out just enough to be a problem with side panels. The new hood is a single piece and doesn't have a center hinge point.
My shop time is shortening. I'm back to my full time job, and my hobby business is needing attention so things may slow down trying to wrap things up before paint and re***embly. A visit in March to my son's shop in NC I saw how easy it was to fit an alternator to this hemi. They are way more reliable than the old generators so I ordered a one wire chrysler alternator and mounted it this morning.
The Jalopy Journal
