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Thread: No EFI content inside!

  1. #1
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    Post No EFI content inside!

    In 1959 my father asked to borrow one of the family's cars while he was home on leave. He was given permission to use his mother's 1936 Plymouth but it wasn't running right so he decided to tune it up. Plugs, points, a coil wire, and many hours later and it still wasn't running right. His brother and brother-in-law tried to fix it several times over the next few months but finally my grandfather pushed it into the garage and left it for dead. In 2003 I was offered the car and after a short bidding war with a mysterious "someone else" I managed to strike a deal for $3500 plus a day's labor cleaning out the garage bay where the car was parked. In 2004 we bought our house. The Plymouth was moved into the barn and put on blocks where it's been sitting ever since.

    Today I put the family into the car and took them for a drive.

    I am really excited about this. This is the first time it's been on the road since '59. I still have to add the auxilliary oil filter (oil filters were an option for many years), change the rear shock links (the shocks are connected with sway bar links), finish installing the fabric top (you couldn't buy a one piece stamped steel top on a car until after WWII) and install the rear glass. Plus there's cleaning, changing the driveshaft boots (leather boots wrapped around splined ball joints) and maybe some other rubber pieces if time and money allow. But it's driveable at low speeds for short distances.

    The goal now is to get Grandpa and Grandma into the car for a ride. I'm hoping to get a picture with Grandma, my father, myself, and my two kids in there as well. Grandpa will be 99 this year and I believe Grandma turned 97 so the pressure's on to get it done. I don't expect Grandpa to be in condition to go for car rides at 100 but if he is and if he asks, I'll try to get the car down there for him (two and a half hour drive with a modern car at normal speeds). I'm sure I'll spend the day giving rides to cousins, aunts, uncles, &etc as this car has achieved somewhat legendary status. I hadn't even seen more than a headlight or fender until the day I made my final offer on the car.

    I've been able to find many of the parts for not too much money. For example the ancient NOS muffler and tailpipe which had two digit Walker part numbers for a total of $45, and the original exhaust clamps from Ebay for $5 each, and the replacement leather boots for $11 each. I've rebuilt all the brake hydraulics with kits currently available (but almost impossible to locate by application), rebuilt the carb with a 1950's vintage carb kit that was NIB($25), rebuilt the fuel pump with an Ebay kit ($45), replaced all the glass ($100) with most of the associated rubber ($220) and the fabric top ($150 for cloth and gasket). So much of this car was in good shape and usable that it's been absolutely amazing. I've also been creative in a few other places. The original size wheels are 17" and replacement tires and tubes will cost me $650 including shipping. I spent a bunch of time researching options and realized that a spare tire from a Caravan with 15" wheels is 16" diameter and has an extremely vintage look. For now that's what it will ride on. Should be ok as I don't expect to exceed 65 mph. :) I'll probably install hubcap clips and the original hubcaps so it looks truly original. The fabric I used for the top is a black awning material. It looks close enough to the original to be passable and didn't cost $70/yard like the stuff from the specialty vendors. I just spent time with cleaners and spray lube getting the vacuum wiper motors to work to avoid the $279 rebuild cost. And I dug out an old replacement speedo cable core kit instead of buying a one size fits all cable for over twice the cost.

    How to end this? Well, Grandpa told me he would have traded that car in several times if had run well enough to get to the dealer. But running so badly he didn't think they'd give him enough to make it worth towing in. All I can say is thanks dad for getting the firing order wrong! That's the only thing that had kept it from running right for all those years!
    Last edited by 1project2many; 06-12-2012 at 12:26 AM.

  2. #2
    RIP EagleMark's Avatar
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    D'oh!

    Cool story, where's the pics?

    1990 Chevy Suburban 5.7L Auto ECM 1227747 $42!
    1998 Chevy Silverado 5.7L Vortec 0411 Swap to RoadRunner!
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  3. #3
    Super Moderator dave w's Avatar
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    Nice story, Thanks for sharing!

    dave w

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    Fuel Injected! jim_in_dorris's Avatar
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    WOW x2 on the pics!!!
    Square body stepsides forever!!!

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    Fuel Injected! PJG1173's Avatar
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    X2 on the pics
    87 4Runner, 15" spring lift, 3" body, chevy vortec 355, 5.29 gears, 38.5x15.5x15" Boggers, 280hr, 16168625 running $0D
    93 S10, 36x12.5x15 TSL's, custom turbo headers, 266HR cam, p&p vortec heads, $0D Marine MPFI with 8psi boost.
    05 Silverado, 2' lift, 4" exhaust, Bully Dog programmer,

  6. #6
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    I haven't washed it and it's already parked back in the barn. The only thing that's different from when I brought it home is the wheels and the new glass. One of the old pictures should work for now.
    36_plym_arrives.jpg

    36_plym_takehome2.jpg

  7. #7
    Super Moderator Six_Shooter's Avatar
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    Nice.

    Looks like it could be a great restoration.

    Funny how so many people can miss something so simple for so many years. ;)

    BTW, not all cars of that vintage had cloth tops, it was more the early cars, due to a lack of having dies and presses large and capable enough to press out the top and the sides of the roof in one piece. ;) Getting into the '40s, many cars did have full steel roofs. One example, is the 1940 Dodge D10 (IIRC that's the model desgination).
    The man who says something is impossible, is usually interrupted by the man doing it.

  8. #8
    RIP EagleMark's Avatar
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    Normally that would be a sweet car! But with the family history, let alone this story on how it survived it is truely incredible!

    1990 Chevy Suburban 5.7L Auto ECM 1227747 $42!
    1998 Chevy Silverado 5.7L Vortec 0411 Swap to RoadRunner!
    -= =-

  9. #9
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    BTW, not all cars of that vintage had cloth tops, it was more the early cars, due to a lack of having dies and presses large and capable enough to press out the top and the sides of the roof in one piece. ;)
    You couldnt even buy the steel in large enough pieces to make a one piece stamping. The mills just didn't make it large enough. Chevy's metal roof was welded in. The 36 Dodge used a metal insert with a two piece rubber seal and retainer. Trivia: The rubber retainer for the Plymouth doesn't seem to be available anywhere. I purchased a rubber retainer from a Dodge which was the last of a run that a guy had made up many years ago. It wasn't until I looked at the two retainers that I realized the Dodge was substantially different. But with nothing else available I decied to go ahead and modify the Dodge part to see if it could be made to fit. I think I'm going to need to cheat in a few spots with adhesive but overall it looks like it will work.

    Normally that would be a sweet car! But with the family history, let alone this story on how it survived it is truely incredible!
    It's really cool to be able to give my son a car that was purchased new by his great, great aunt then passed down through each generation. Of course we may be running on Flux Capacitors by the time he gets it but he should know a few tricks about hotrodding by then.

  10. #10
    Fuel Injected!
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    It's too heavy a car for one of my solar / SCR conversions , but I'll bet it's around long after today's junk is in the shredder. Be safe...Bob.

  11. #11
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    It's too heavy a car for one of my solar / SCR conversions
    What's a typical solar conversion weigh? What are you using for power storage? This car is listed at 2785 lbs but I can't tell what's included (fuel, coolant, battery, etc).

    I've put about 160 miles on the car. Very fun to drive. On the highway at 55-60 mph we had all the windows down in the car and my wife and I were talking at a near normal volume. It's just very, very quiet inside. Every fender has a ding or dent and I know why. You can't see any of the corners. You can see part of the LH headlight and when backing if you open the door and lean out you can see down past the LR fender. The only mirror is inside the car and there are no turn signals (both conditions will be remedied). Driving safely requires thinking ahead and planning. This is not a place for texting, ipod listening zombies. And those skinny tires are really good at skipping right past a turn when the road is rough which can make for interesting actions here in New England.

    It started overheating on the way home last Sunday. I had to get a ride home for the family then head back with truck and trailer. Radiator had become really plugged from stirring up junk in the block. I used some hydrochloric and phosphoric acid mixed with water and circulated that through the system for 20 minutes or so then did a good old fashioned backflush to clean it out. I can't confirm the entire radiator has been cleaned due to baffles in the top impeding my view. When I ran it with straight water and no thermostat the temp climbed to 160 so I'm not convinced it's right yet. Maybe I'll try a mild lye solution and another backflush. I also need to check dwell and then timing as these old buggies could be very sensitive that way.

    It might be surprising to think about but this system is not pressurized. Max temp on the gauge is 212 deg but the service manual advises that using ethelyne glycol instead of straight water can provide additional protection. I wonder what those engineers would have thought of 24lb cooling systems on today's cars.

    So here are some neat numbers.
    201 cubic inches
    82 hp @3600 rpm
    145 ft/lbs @1200 rpm
    6.2:1 compression
    Spark timing 4 deg ATDC with "regular" fuel. 4 deg BTDC with "premium" fuel.
    Last edited by 1project2many; 06-21-2012 at 03:15 PM.

  12. #12
    Carb and Points!
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    Hate to admit it, but my first car was a 1936 Plymouth. Cold sucker in the winter.

    Gary Kosier

  13. #13
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    Gary, did your car have a heater? I can't imagine any reason to use mine when there's snow out but I sure could picture taking it out for a late fall run then getting caught by surprise as temps dropped fast at night. I haven't replaced any of the stock weatherstripping so I'm betting the auxiliary heater wouldn't have much effect.

    Mine's definitely cold right now, though. I was laying under it on Saturday (finally) installing the rods and new pistons and there just wasn't a bit of heat to be found. Dirt floor, unheated barn, barely over 30 deg... I guess it's one way to get acclimated to winter.

  14. #14
    Carb and Points!
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    Well. in 1952 I was 16 years old, and so hot for wheels I didn'tnotice the cold. Although, when two buddies and I decided
    to go to a Christmas basketball tourney,the girls we were dating wanted to go along. We put them in the back seat and
    we sat in the front with a blanket over our knees and the heater. They complained. Fancy that.
    No defroster, so seeing out the front was always interesting. Always park on top of a hill in the wintertime because you
    can't run the starter and fire the plugs at the same time. Those were glorious times!!

    Gary Kosier

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