Almost another week gone with only meager progress to report. My wife’s honey-do list required several days of attention, plus winter made a brief but nasty return, and I didn’t feel like turning the heat on in the garage again.
After the temperature climbed into the fifties today I did make butcher paper patterns for the modified trunk floor, and then cut out replacement panels that will require some forming to make them fit. As I mentioned earlier, I have no intention of making them look stock. I’m only interested in function. The spare tire well will be eliminated and there will be only one main floor level, replacing the staggered-level of the original stamping. Installation will come after I first replace the tail panel.
The slightly raised trunk floor will provide additional clearance for non-stock fuel tank options. The ’55-’56 tanks are not being reproduced, so I’ll be using either a custom fuel cell or adapting a tank from another Mopar. I really don’t want to try and salvage an old '56 tank, plus I intend to eliminate the side filler door to clean things up a bit. Depending on which tank I choose, I’ll try to fit a fill pipe from a later model C-body behind the license plate, or possibly inside the trunk. If I resort to that option, I’ll have to rethink the battery location.
I’ve been researching everything needed to rebuild the front suspension and steering components. The old king pin suspension has a large number of parts to replace and after comparing individual prices from several sources, I think I’ll go with Kanter’s front end kit and their idler arm and center link. They appear to have everything I need, so dealing with one supplier should make it easier and they have a fairly good reputation.
Coil spring prices vary considerably on the sites I’ve visited, but I’ve purchased from ESPO Springs ‘n Things in the past and have been satisfied with both price and quality. They don’t list coil springs for a ’56 Plymouth in their online catalog, but I’ll give them a call first. I’m told they manufacture many parts they don’t bother to list.
If the slowly improving weather holds, I should make better progress this week.
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