Projects Rickybop's 1931 Plymouth 3W Business Coupe build

a few words from my "Profile"...
High School, Lost in the 50's...con't: inspired By Bro's Carl & Bob Austin, builders of possibly the hottest , neatest koolest '27 T bucket roadster known as the Rochester Rod, powered by Merc' flathead, especially after they whipped our ( bunch of high school kid's) '32 Plymouth 3 window coupe, powered by another flathead Merc, when Watkins Glen, NY ( mid 1950's ) held drag races...

 

Great story! The side effects of medication can cause bad consequences, its good at least someone in the medical profession still listens to and still cares about their patients health.

But now that you are enjoying an improvement in how you feel, you need to quit skipping around, and actually use that energy for something useful and important, like build the hot rod!

 

But I feel free when I'm skipping!

Well, okay.
But you're a strict mentor,
@gene-koning

 

Had a stint 10 yrs ago in LAD artery also know as widow maker didn't have a heart attack caught it before and had same issue with atorvastaton I was on 40 mg a day and then drop to 40 mg every 3rd day and take Rouvastaton,made a huge difference and cholesterol is still under 125 woohoo good luck

 

Ricky, its your rod and your life bro. Do it your way, we are along for the ride for a reason! Personally I see something absolutely killer emerging from the shadows here! I think those of us who do this long enough have a little fear of the never completed project that either outlived you or got stagnant and sold, dream cashed out! If anyone has any concerns at all Id say thats it and its only because we all like you and wanna see you touring the country in this thing! Youve got the goods! Keep it up!

 

Thanks Oliver.
That's very good of you to say.
I appreciate the support. And I appreciate you making sure that I don't take things the wrong way.
I know, buddy. You guys wanna see me do good. And of course, I want something good to come of this too. And especially considering the many speed bumps, it'll be great if I can make this happen after all. It would be a very satisfying victory.
I've definitely had my doubts. Like I say, I wasn't feeling good. Not recuperating good enough or quick enough. Like trying to walk through quicksand after being run over. But with this latest change and feeling so much better, I'm getting excited at the thought of finally being able to take the bull by the horns and build a badass hot rod Plymouth Coupe.

 

Well... maybe it kept me from going headlong into one of my previous projects which would have kept me from getting this Plymouth. Also, it gave my body time to truly recover. And changing the medication is the finishing touch. Like flipping a switch.
And now I'm like BAM!!!
Well, maybe BOOM.
At least BOINK.

 

Most challenging thing is sometimes is listening to your own inner voice.....easy to get caught up in others opinions...take your time and don't put any pressure on the build..hell I enjoy just going in the shop and hanging out with old tin.....Boink Boink ....lol funny man you are....

 

In other news...

Got my nice Rollmaster timing chain and sprockets. Camshaft and lifters remain stock for now. But I was amazed at how loose the timing chain was after only 36,000 miles. So...

 

LOL. Thanks, @choptop40
Me too. Sometimes I just like to lick the fenders.
But fast or slow, under pressure or not, I'm going to enjoy the build.

 

I'm so happy to see you get to this point my friend, it's been a long tough road but you are making progress. HRP

 

Thanks Danny!
More progress coming!
And I'm so happy to know you're feeling better.

 

I've imagined this.
It would be the utmost.

 

You'll hear me coming!
From the Plymouth Rock album.

 

Hey Rick, it is excellent that you got this sorted out. Makes me happy to hear it has made such a positive difference.

 

Hey RB was that L meant to be a K?

 

Oh. Ummmmmm. Yeah.
That's what I meant.

 

I just want to see the long ram in use, or I would happily give it a good home…

 

Glad you're better. But all this for a Plymouth? I question your mental health. (But I doubt I'm the first). Glad for your good news, buddy.

 

I know you do.
And I know you would.

After I tune it using a single 4bbl, my plan is to give the 6x2 and the long ram and the original cast iron 2x4 a chance to feed the 440. Carter, Holley, Stromberg. It'll be interesting. It'll be fun.

 

Hey, I'm a genius for building this Plymouth Coupe. Actually, I didn't really plan it. I just press the foot feed when I can.
YHWH does most of the steering.
Thanks, Mr. @belair

 

Hey, RB;
Glad that was a fat-fingered-mistake. Not sure I want to entertain the idea, much less image, of the fender comment... . + the concept that'd rust so much faster... .
Marcus...

 

Those of you who were following Rickybop's roadster thread might have caught that he and I conjured up a plan to build him a Quickchange for it. Since he changed the game plan we are proceeding with building the QC for the coupe. I'll document the build and show the progress and answer questions as we go. I encourage you to make suggestions to him and me about it.

For the roadster I offered to build something a bit different as it was going to be hanging out there for God and everybody else to see. This shows the castings I was suggesting mocked up in their raw form.


These are magnesium from Levi Jones.

A couple of reasons for using these as opposed some others:
They will accommodate a standard Ford 3/4 ton and the most common limited slip differentials with no modifications.
They use 3" axle tubes which can easily use 9" Ford style bearing cups which are the most common brake set ups for push in axles.
But most of all, they have the 12 finned side bells which are unique and look cool!

The one downside is that magnesium has corrosion issues. So, if a guy is wanting to have a polished Quickchange and doesn't want to spend all his spare time keeping it shiny, it's not the first choice. BTW polished magnesium has a look all it's own, actually nicer than aluminum.

Ricky asked for my suggestion about this and my feeling is that you clean the mag the best you can, sand off any major goobers and let it age a bit. Then rub it down with something like Flitz. As long as you do that every once in a while. it will maintain that beautiful dark grey 'American Mag' color.

I imagine some will suggest DOW 7 coating. A couple of issues with that. No one seems to know what the 'real Dow 7' coating was. Also, old magnesium doesn't take coatings like fresh castings. And, the original stuff was very inconsistent as the folks that have tried to duplicate the original Halibrand wheels found out. (I got a whole lesson on this from sprint car restoration guru Josh Shaw)

Here are the castings after being blasted. (they may need a bit more after some repairs)









Stay tuned.

 

TIA for this write-up. Gonna watch this one closely. .
No mag cases in my inventory, just a couple old beat-up alum ones, 3/4T-type. ;( .
Still... better than nothing.
Got a few lockers, but would rather have the old-style TwinTraction type, if even available. ???
Marcus...

 

Rick, get yourself a 57 Chevy bench seat shifter stick. HRP

 

@GearheadsQCE
Thanks so much, Bruce.

 

And now...
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NOS

 

I was going to use this early '20s Hupmobile steering wheel that I originally intended for the speedster I decided not to build. Always liked the old wood-rimmed steering wheels. And there was a time we'd frequently see them used on hot rods. But mostly on roadsters. Thing is, I don't think the style really fits what I have in mind for this coupe.
Ironically, too old.
Not tuff-looking enough.



Also, as I was looking at it and the dashboard, I realized that a 3-spoke steering wheel has more viewing area for a column mount tachometer and anything else directly in front of you that gets viewed through the steering wheel.

This is better. 1937 Packard.
Paint it shiny black...
Add a Plymouth horn button...