Projects 41 plymouth coupe 392 hemi build thread

very nice

 

That was the initial plan Rock, but I need to do this one with care, as already a few of the horizontal bars of the grill are cracking slightly under stress where they've been welded before. So I'm taking it easy. I may even try to get some heat in there next week. We'll see.

Thank you nowhereman.

 

Nice I learned to drive in a 40 or 41 Dodge...in 1955 ....looks about the same...

 

Thank you olgeezer. Must have been great to learn to drive in one!

 

I'm guessing a replacement grill is not available? I don't mean aftermarket, but maybe a fellow HAMBer can find one for you.

 

Eli, what would be the challenge in that....Eric wouldn't know how to put it on if it fit the first time out

 

Unfortunately there is probably no replacement grill here in Europe....and what would the fun be in attaching something that doesn't need some work.

You're right Frankie47, I'd be lost and confused.

 

Eric,

If you are looking for a 41 grille, post something on the HAMB in the wanted section; I got bombarded with my thread of "parts needed 40 41 plymouth" with '41 plymouth grilles

 

Good point! lol

 

Hey Eric, your adopted son here! Just checking in to make sure I dont miss the test drive!!! I have the welder woes too, mine took a crap last week! Looks good seeing the front clip on it!

 

Hi there Rob! The front clip was on there.......until I saw that the trim did not fit at all. (due to an accident somewhere during it's lifetime.)

As you can see, the front grill needs quite a bit of work. (it has only been sandblasted and primered.) The PO roughly welded new pieces where the front bump brackets used to be.(not a pretty sight.).I'll rectify those things after the centre piece has been done. Pic no1 shows how bad the grill has been pushed inwards, even after I'd been at it for an hour.

Today I continued with it and fabricated a new centre piece with the correct curvature. This proved quite difficult as I have no stretch/shrinking machine in my garage, but with a lot of heat and cold water, I was able to get the correct shape after a few hours. Next I cut out a smaller piece than the fabricated one out of the grill and got to work with a hammer and dolly.

Slowly but surely I'm reconstructing the old shape. Now I'm at a point where I need my welding machine........(which still hasn't been fixed) to get some initial welds in there.

 

Hi Eric,
I was turned on to your build thread this morning at 8am and just now finished reading 123 pages! I am jumping head first into a similar build on a 47 Ply business coupe & a 392 Hemi (of course)- hence looking for some tips/tricks. Well, I must say I found a great source of inspiration. Hats off to ya bro. I have been compiling a grocery list of parts as well. My 47 already has a S-10 Chebby subframe & rack/pinion, so I hope all goes as smoothly shoehorning it in as your did! Alot of similar parts here too- Sandersen hugger headers, the Hot Heads water pump, dual pulleys, Walker rad., etc. except I am going with a Mopar A518 overdrive and probally A/C- more of a cruiser, but still 450HP- you know ya have to keep the Chebbys and Furds back there no matter what!
Of course we'll be following your completion as I start in on the fun! Names, mine is oh "Black Betty".. ram-ba-lam. (says the Hemi)

 

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed reading the thread chrisnben! Great to hear you're doing a similar project, and if you have any questions whatsoever, let me know. It would be great if you would also start a build thread, not only for others but also as a future reference. Good luck!

 

Looking good Eric. Keep plugging away and it will be done before you know it.

 

Thank you Hivolt5.0. I just hope my welding machine gets fixed soon.......I'm still very lost without it!

 

That looks like it's going to be a fun job. looking good eric.

 

Thank you plmczy. Maybe a little too much of a fun job though......I've been working on the grill a bit and it looks like it's been hit harder than I thought. The curvature is still wrong and the top section needs to be pushed back at least another inch or two. And by doing that, the whole grill distorts again, becoming wavy at the bottom. Damn.....so I started looking at an alternative, as I could easily spend another week on it and still not have the correct shape.

Soooo, I bought another one two days ago. Perhaps the easy way out, I know, but it will save me a lot of headaches, time and perhaps even frustration. The good news though is that this one will require some work as well!!! At least the shape is correct. And it only cost me 77 usd......well worth it I think.

 

I think you made the right choice. Isn't that what hot rodding is all about? Looking for alternatives is part of the game and wasting time on something that may not even work in the end will only prelongate the whole build. We want to see this car finished! Keep up the awesome work Eric.

 

Cool that you found another one after all! Was it over there or on our side of the pond? ( oh wait, I'm two ponds away!) lol

 

To be perfectly honest,I did the same thing with my dodge. The flanges that bolt to the fenders were gone in some places and cut through in some places on mine. Plus the previous owner hacked out the bumper bracket reliefs so the nose could tilt without hitting the brackets and replaced the pointed section at the bottom. I found an nos nose at spring carlisle back in 2009 and paid $60 for it. Good luck with your new grille nose.

 

Good for you! The new grill will give me more time to sort out a lot of other things.

 

Thanks Mick! It's all about choices and decisions.

I found it on ebay in the US. He's going to ship it to Del Mar, CA, where I'll be at the end of the month for the GoodGuys car show. Can't wait!!!

 

The grill is going to be all boxed up and I presume there will be no difficulties at the airport. Last time I took a complete fuel cell with me out of Vegas. No problems either!

 

I guess it helps being the pilot

 

Forget "easy way out" Eric. There is no easy when you're doing it all yourself. Fun maybe, interesting as hell, but not easy. Great choice.

 

Thanks BrerHair. Going to be working on the door in the meantime and try to figure out how to mount my outside door handles. More progress reports soon.

 

Did you get those door stays installed yet? Pictures?

 

No not yet Rock. Just got my new door handles and going to try to make them work tomorrow. Progress has been non existent the last week due to exams and work around the house. Finally have some time tomorrow to continue work on the car....

 

Glad to see you got the new grill! Hope you enjoy Goodguys!