1949 Mopar More-door build

[falconvan]

I dug into my scrap steel pile and found some 3/16" plate that's pretty stout. I think that will work well to patch the crossmember. I got most of one side done tonight.

 

[falconvan]

I've got six days off; three I get to spend in the garage, the other three mama has me doing chores but that's OK. I got out there early this morning and finished repairing the crossover, building some shock relocation mounts, wire brushing off the front of the frame, and hitting it with a coat of paint. I've got both side of the suspension tore apart for cleanup and reassembly, and I pulled the dashboard out to sort through the mess of chopped wiring. Taking a road trip tonight to pick up a better steering box and back on it early tomorrow!

 

[bob w]

Somewhere I saw a tech article on relocating the upper A arm to increase caster and prevent wandering as is common with this suspension. I've been searching the 'net but can't find it. I intend to make this modification to the chopped '49 Plymouth 4 door my son drves. Thought you might be interested.

 

[falconvan]

That does sounds interesting, Bob. Let me know if you find it. Got all the suspension and steering back together today and got it back on it's feet. After looking at the mess of 60 year old wiring I grabbed my side cutters and chopped it all out. The insulation was crumbling off when you touched it so I figured I better just start over rather than burning the thing to the ground. I also glued the headliner back up. That crap brown dash had to go; the puke green is bad enough. I like this color better.

 

[Rattyhotrod51]

Yeah, It`s nice to know something you built is being taken care of, The last two vehicles I`ve redone are probably basically junk by now from what I`ve seen and heard.

 

[falconvan]

Yeah, it is. Hopefully they'll be out there a while. I saw a nice custom Buick Invicta in a junkyard with some cool custom touches a few years back and though what a shame it was for someone's work to go to waste like that.

I pulled out the seats to see what I have to deal with for a floor. It's pretty rough with some really bad repairs. Some previous owner laid sheet metal right over the rusted out metal and fiberglassed it in with fiberglass cloth and resin. Plus they put on new outer rockers but left the rusted out inner rockers in place. But in keeping with the cheap driver theme, I'm not tackling all that at this point. For now I'm just going to cut away whats completely gone,put some patches in, and hit the rest with rust inhibitor to stop the progression. I just need a solid place to put my feet and something solid to hold the seat in.

Also painted up some of the trim and power washed the engine. I was just going to put in in as is but I think I'll set it on a stand, pull the pan, and make sure the bottom end looks OK. I probably need to see what the clutch looks like before I bolt it in, too.

 

[falconvan]

Well, what do you do when you keep cutting and there's nothing solid to weld onto? I went to the steel supply and got a 4 x 10 sheet of 16 gauge and an extra spool of MIG wire. Looks like it's getting more floor repairs than I thought. Also I never did trust those old single reservoir master cylinders. This one is for a 67 Fairlane; I've got a plan for a bracket to make it work. Orielys still carried the factory wheel cylinders; only $21 a piece.

 

[falconvan]

Wow, this was worse than I thought once I started cutting. The drivers side was worse so I'm knocking it out first. The bottom 4 inches of the B pillar was gone as was 1/2 of one of the braces and the inner rocker. It looks like someone had put a new outer rocker on right over the old rusted out one at one point. So I didnt have to remove the old rocker, it just fell out on its own once I started cutting. I'm not fixing it all right now; just building a structure that will support the floor and give me something solid to build from if I decide to go back later and go further with it.

 

[falconvan]

Got most of the drivers side cut and tacked in tonight.

 

[Sam_Fear]

Wow! You got into some serious work there, but you are taking it head on. [

 

[earthman]

I also have a 48 Plymouth coupe I've been building into a nice street rod for the past 4 years so they will make a good pair. I'm building the nice one for my wife; I'll take the beater.

Let her have the worry about dirt and scratches

 

[falconvan]

Wow! You got into some serious work there, but you are taking it head on. [

Thanks; that's the only way to get it done, I figure. I've got a couple of car buddies who buy project after project, work on them for a while, lose interest and move on to something else before it ever gets on the road. That drives me nuts; I cant stand to start something and not finish it.

Earthman, that's exactly right!

 

[falconvan]

The other side was easier; lots more solid metal to work with plus the braces were all in good shape. I've got one section left to do; should be able to wrap it tomorrow.

 

[falconvan]

Pretty much finished the floor today. I had a few spots with some small pinholes so I rust proofed them and hit them with some All Metal filler; as soon as it dries I'll do all the edges with some seam sealer and paint the floor with some POR-15. Next we move onto the brakes!

 

[falconvan]

Ok, that's about as far as I'm going with the floors. I seam sealed the edges and the welds and hit the whole thing with POR-15. Next I'm going to start on putting the brakes together; I should have everything I need. I also pulled a complete front to rear wiring harness out of a Olds wagon a friend of mine was scrapping. With some slicing and dicing I think it'll do the job fine.

 

[falconvan]

Here's what I came up with for the brakes. The old master cylinder was shot and I wanted something with a dual resevouir anyway. This one is a replacement for a 67 Fairlane. The old one had the pedal pivot incorporated into the casting so I had to build a bracket. It came out great; bolts right in where the old one was and the pedal is in the correct location.

 

[screwshiney]

Very nice. My 51 floor was about in the same shape as yours except it was all the way to the rockers. Body looks to be in decent shape through.

Question/favor, you wouldn't be able to get me a close pic of your vin/serial plate on the firewall would you? Mine was lost some years back and i need to have a new one made.

 

[tattoocharlie]

Ok, that's about as far as I'm going with the floors. I seam sealed the edges and the welds and hit the whole thing with POR-15. Next I'm going to start on putting the brakes together; I should have everything I need. I also pulled a complete front to rear wiring harness out of a Olds wagon a friend of mine was scrapping. With some slicing and dicing I think it'll do the job fine.

i was given a 50 ply awhile back told it was rust free.......it was until i lifted the stop sign out of the floor(someones idea of rust repair)then the rockers fell out as well as the doglegs(iside fenders where the door closes),i could actually open the door and walk into the car about a foot until i hit the frame rail.lol.needless to say car was done.funny seems like most of the old mopars rust this way,at least the floors.

 

[falconvan]

Yeah, I think it was the insulation they used under the floormats on these. It was like a mohair and just sucked up water. I still need to go back and do the rockers right someday but for now this is fine.

As far as the ID plate; mine is on the doorjamb. There's a company on Ebay making exact reproductions and they will stamp your number on it for about $30. Here's the link to the exact one I have:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DODG...ccessories&hash=item3f0e65753c#ht_1237wt_1001

 

[screwshiney]

Thanks man that helps a ton! Sucks that they're in Poland though.

Yea i had that rubber floor w/ hair stuff stuck to most of my floor, i lucked out though and found a guy that had a set of NOS rockers that he didn't need.