Quarter-window Fix

Finally figured out the final problem that was preventing my quarter-window from fully closing. The lower bead on the aftermarket inner belt molding weatherstrip is thicker than the original by about .03” and It was enough to catch the lower glass frame and preventing it from closing the last .25”.

The picture shows how much had to be trimmed to clear the interference. Dremel cutting wheels sure are handy at times.

I received the two clips and striker bolts for the door latches that are on order. I also received an invoice surprise that I hope can be negotiated! The parts are small enough to have come in a single padded envelope, but they arrived in three individual cardboard boxes approximately 6”x6”x8”, and strapped with nylon. Each box weighed 4-5 ounces, and the “freight” charge was $25.66 for each box! The individual price for four clips was .64 cents, and the pair of striker bolts was less than $6.00.

The estimated date for the latches is still a couple of weeks away, so it will be interesting to see if they adjust the shipping costs to parcel post prices when they invoice the entire order. There is no way I’m paying over $100.00 “freight” on less than two pounds of parts shipped through the post office.

Merry Christmas

Window Problem Update

 

Since I'm working on window operation problems inside the quarter panel, I don't have any pictures, but I did get the modified outer guide bracket reworked and installed and it looks like it will be a better fit than before, as it gives about 1/8" more clearance to make adjustments. 

I had to make a glue repair to a piece of polycarbonate and it will have to dry overnight before I can install the last screw, so it was a short work day. 

With the Christmas rush coming, I doubt I will get much done until after the 25th.

Quarter Windows Day Two

 I didn't have enough time to pull the quarter window today, but I did make a cardboard template of a front glass so I could visually see how much more rotation it will take to seal the quarter window to the door glass. 

As you can see the glass edges on the passenger side are in perfect alignment with about an eighth of an inch  gap that is even from top to bottom.

The driver's side is obviously misaligned by over 5/8th inch at the top, but the rear window hits something that stops it at that point. I can't see much, but I think I could feel where it bumped against one of the guide brackets. At least I now have an idea where the problem lies. It might require modifying the angle of the existing bracket, or making a new one.

Driver's side

Passenger's side

Back at it

 Feeing much more energetic today and I actually found a few hours to work on the car. You guessed it...I immediately encountered another glitch.

I have yet to receive the simpler-configuration door latches, so was concentrating on getting the quarter windows installed and adjusted close to the final settings so I will be ready to install the door windows when the latches arrive and their function is proved out.

The passenger side was simple and it took only a few minutes to adjust them within 1/8" of what should be the final front window contact points. 

Naturally, everything went to hell with the driver's side. For some reason, the window needs to rotate around the pivot pin approximately another 5/8", and move forward 1/4", but everything hits a dead stop before it rotates  that much, and for the life of me, I can't find a way to accomplish that much adjustment for either problem! 

There must be an adjustment I have yet to discover, or maybe it's a case of post-Covid-19 brain fade! Sure wish the service manual contained a better description of the adjustment process. I'll pull the window again tomorrow and see if I can find something bent in the track or pivot point that might cause it to bind.

At least the beautiful weather is supposed to last for one more day. It's 77F and clear with light westerly winds today! Weekend will be cool, wet and windy with a slight chance of snow near the Red River. Bah, humbug!

The latch company sent the four clips that attach the cables to the latch, so at least they haven't forgotten about my order yet! Now if the latches will arrive soon after new years day, as promised....

“You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind, a dimension without time…!”

 If my experience is anywhere near typical, a couple of weeks in the embrace of Covid-19 closely compares to a Rod Serling excursion into the Twilight Zone!

In most ways, the symptoms were mostly like the typical seasonal flu, but in addition to the list of normal flu symptoms, I had the displeasure of experiencing crazy visual effects that several times took control of my concentration. They probably appeared and disappeared as my mostly mild fever changed, but that's only a guess.

Though I felt lousy, I continued to do housework and pamper my wife while she suffered through several days with a nasty headache.

We never experienced a shortness of breath, or other extreme respiratory problems, so I guess we were lucky in that way, but we had prepared for those issues weeks earlier, and I think it helped.

It was indeed one of those experiences you will never forget, nor will you wish a return visit!

Now, if my strength returns a little bit more, I have a ton of things to do on the car!

WuHan How I Hate You!

 

Usually, when I feel guilty about the slow progress on my car, I struggle to find reasonable excuses for dragging my feet, but this time I actually have a legitimate reason and I can assure you, it hasn’t been fun!

I’m beginning my second week of quarantine with the nasty COVID-19 virus. After all the months of caution and staying home, my wife decided to spend a few days with a good friend she hadn’t seen since the WuHan virus arrived. The friend lives in a tiny town in farm and ranch country about a hundred miles away where there were no crowds to avoid, so there seemed to be little risk of infection. The second day she was there, the friend returned from a business meeting with the news that one of her workmates had been in brief contact with a person who had been in contact with yet another person who had tested positive. My wife was worried and asked what she should do, so I told her to come home just in case her friend had been exposed enough to contact the bug.

By the next day, she had developed a cough, and two days later I did the same, so for the last week we have been fighting the endless glut of symptoms that damn virus has in its arsenal. Since we are both in our seventies, we had the concerns that go along with age and the normal maladies acquired by being on the planet that many decades, but fortunately neither of us has serious heart or lung issues.

This morning I woke up and actually felt like I might show up on the survivor list! The heavy cough and congestion were finally breaking up and the body aches were easing, although food still tastes like unsalted cardboard and my eyes continue to burn and drain.

Thanksgiving dinner is ruined, but all we are seriously looking forward to is being rid of this bug.

From what I hear, the total exhaustion that began on day-one is the last symptom to leave, and it can go on for days and weeks, so I guess I can still milk this excuse for sitting on my butt! Seriously, I hope I can get back to the Plymouth in a week or two.

Checking In

It seems to happen more now than even a few months ago. I just can't find enough energy or inspiration to make real progress on my car. While the months hurry by, the humdrum demands for keeping a household functioning seem to take priority whenever I have to allocate time. 

The only car related job I've worked on for two weeks has been organizing and checking wiring schematics so I can get serious about the remaining tasks. With all the circuit-merging from three different vehicles to create my Frankenstein-Plymouth, I simply have to get everything documented and tested before I dare apply power anywhere.

Also, I've not been totally satisfied with the operation of my exterior door handles. They function okay, but lack the smoothness I want, so I decided to do some more research to see what other latch designs are available out there that would allow me to simplify and replace the dual trigger system I designed. 

While I could get by with the design I have, I know I would kick myself every time I opened the door from outside and felt and heard the too-crisp release. If I can find a better solution now, before I install the power windows, it will be a much easier job. Unfortunately, the new latch is not a design that is normally stocked by distributors, so my wait for parts from the factory will be a long one. With luck, Santa could have them on his sleigh, but more likely it will be a January arrival date. My fingers are crossed

Speaking of January, the past week has been unseasonably cold and nasty for Texas and feels more like January than October. This is the first day with seasonable weather in nearly two weeks. Twelve days ago, the temperature was sunny and in the low-nineties, but lately, nighttime lows have been barely above freezing and only reach the low forties during the day.

I wish my designs were as robust as those of the F-15. This is almost unbelieveable!

Not Much News...Just Plugging Away

 Received most of the parts I ordered, including re-chromed trim, but not much to show in photos or to describe. I get a few minutes a day to take care of minor projects, but they don't really show up as progress.

Most visible progress is the headliner installation, including visors, mirror and chrome windshield surrounds. So far, so good, but I'm still not sure how I want to finish the B-pillars. I tried headliner material and black vinyl, but I think matching brown vinyl would probably look the best.

Received the wire bundle for the dual cooling fans, fabricated a bracket to mount the relays, and re-routed the wiring to better fit where I want it installed. 

Also started fit-checking seats and panels to verify they will fit, but will take them out again.

Here are a few pictures without explanation.

Headliner Install

Having enjoyed mostly moderate weather for a few weeks, August returned to normal summer temperatures in the 100-105F range. so by noon the little AC unit in my garage can't maintain comfort. Despite that, I have accomplished a few things recently, and the obvious one is getting the headliner in place. It was the usual  struggle doing it alone, and I managed to damage the fabric in a couple of places, but it is now temporarily mounted.

Since this is not a show car and the design was my own creation that had to be proved, I'm satisfied with the results. I'm also pleased to find the substitute vinyl molding color is a good match and it fits as I hoped.

The courtesy lights were difficult to install due to the severe screw angle combined with the thickness of the fiberglass shell, but they should be okay. 

I have yet to create some covers for the rear pillars, but they look doable. Once I get the headliner complete and installed permanently, I'll post more pictures.

All the parts and material I had previously ordered showed up on Friday and the black vinyl J-molding that supports the back of the headliner shell did the job and looks great. 

The extra long oval head stainless steel screws to attach the headlight bezels are perfect, but now the fit of the grille pieces will need some tweaking before everything fits properly. I also have 96 extra screws that I will never need again. If you need some, let me know.

Waldron delivered the dual stock mufflers and tailpipes, so that will probably be the next project I tackle. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the non-stock changes to the rear suspension and fuel tank don't create any fit problems. If I can at least get the mufflers hanging in the proper location, I can join the parts with flex pipe and start the engine if I get anxious. 

Hood Lettering Repair

As usual, the majority of the pins that locate and retain the hood letters were broken or missing. They had already been re-chromed, but whoever did that job neglected to repair the pins before plating. Since I had been concentrating on installing the brite body trim, the Plymouth name on the hood was next on the agenda. The repair process was time consuming, but not difficult since the results of the pin installation would not be visible from outside the car.

I prepared the letters by first cutting the broken pins flush with the back of the letter and drilling new holes in the original pin locations. A new, very sharp, 1/16^th inch drill bit easily cut the old pot metal, and the holes were then finished to size with a Dremel and a small bur tip. I oversized the hole enough to fill with plenty of five-minute epoxy to hold the pins securely. The new pins were cut from small panel nails.

I let the epoxy cure overnight and then installed the letters with a dab of trim adhesive where the pins protruded through on the back side of the hood sheet metal. It was just one more thing that wasn’t stock but the results worked out fine for a daily driver.

No pictures yet, but I installed the headlights today. Once again I’ll have to loosen several bolts that mount the grille parts and adjust every attachment point before the pot metal headlight surrounds will clear the grille. It must have been frustrating for the factory workers to custom-fit and adjust every car coming down the line.

I'll have to wait to accomplish the final tweaking when the re-chromed hood-lip pieces return from the plating shop.

Hood and Headliner

I repainted the hood three days ago and while it is better, it is still far from perfect. Remnants of the shallow hail dents are still visible, but I think most will disappear with color sanding. The paint has cured for three days now and should be ready to sand. 

Since I’ll be helping my wife celebrate her birthday today, I might not get time to work on anything car related, but I am anxious to finish the hood and get the last sheet metal installed so I might sneak into the shop for a little while!

 

While waiting for the repainted hood to cure, I replaced the cat whiskers in the door glass flippers and installed the headliner shell so I can determine the final trim lines.

 Ireceived the generic vinyl trim I ordered to see how it would look with the fiberglass shell. The factory pieces were cracked and broken and even if they had been usable, the OEM configuration wouldn’t work with the shell.
The fit seems to be okay but looks much different than stock. The color is more gray than it appeared in the manufacturer's catalog and I would have preferred a gold or tan tone. However, if I can find a fabric with a close color match it should do the job. Internet colors never look the same on a screen, so I’ll have to visit an upholstery shop to order from their sample charts.

The rivets I needed to replace a part on the flipper assembly arrived, so that job is done. I had to order a package of 100 to get the two rivets I needed, but a package was only $5.55 and I now have a lifetime supply!  If you ever wanted to know the part number and a source for those tiny rivets, here’s the info, and if anyone needs some to repair your project, let me know and I can send you a few for the price of postage.

Beginning to look like a car!

Record rains continue and summer heat will arrive this next weekend. Meanwhile, though not accomplishing much of importance, I did finish color sanding and cutting with compound and buffer. I'll wait to polish after it's running and ready to hit the road. Also finished a few visuals of body and trim installations. Both bumpers, along with the rear wings are now in place. I had planned to leave off the rear bumper guards, but if I do, the point where the wings attach to the bumper look unfinished, so for at least the time being, the guards remain.


Installed the trunk latch and release button along with the trunk seal. Looks like I will have to further slot the adjustment screws to make the trunk fit tighter.

The grille is in place and adjusted. That involved a lot of tweaking, but it came out okay.


Door handles also work fine so I should be able to glue in the seals. I will have to make some hinge adjustments on the doors as I'm not satisfied with the way they fit.


The hood paint job looked really bad so I'm working on it again. It apparently suffered hail damage at some point and despite a lot of leveling and sanding, there were too many shallow depressions visible while sitting behind the wheel and looking over the hood, so it's back to blocking with a long board.

As posted a few months ago, the hood really should have been replaced with a better one before even starting to repair it.

I finally created a tool to make it easier to attach the door-window frame cat whiskers to the stainless steel trim parts. Now it now takes only a minute to clamp the parts together and drill holes for the staples to fit. Trying to use the original hole staple locations was a big pain and very labor intensive, and I wasn't eager to use pop rivets.

Both doors will be ready to install the power window hardware as soon as the re-chromed window frames are done. No word from the plating shop yet, but I didn't expect them to be done this soon.

Not sure what to use to plug the holes for the door locks, but will probably just install the unused key receptacles for looks only. If I eventually decide to install locks, I'll use solenoids and hidden buttons or a remote.

I'll probably work on the headliner next. It needs to be in place before I can permanently install the "flipper" assemblies above the doors. I need to decide what method to use to attach the fabric to the sheet metal as the stock flexible vinyl molding is not reproduced and the original is in bad shape. The shell will have to be propped in place so I can try out a few ideas for mounting before I order the fabric.

Vent Windows and Stuff

Once the paint covered all the bare primer, it was amazing how much more inspired I became! Okay, so there is still a lot of color sanding to take care of, but there is also a lot of trim and seals that can be installed now.

The vent window assemblies were complete less the glued-on rubber seals, so I finished that part and began installing the windows. It was another visual accomplishment to fuel my enthusiasm.

To fuel it a bit more, I decided to make the back end look more finished, and the bumper, splash shield, and hinged license plate frame/gas-fill cover are now in place. The trunk lock and pot metal “V” passed a fit-check, but must wait to be fastened in place after color sanding the trunk.



Today, some of the last chrome parts went to the re-plating shop today. I should have brought them in earlier as I just realized the stainless-steel window frames will have to be attached to the glass before I can install the power windows.

Last week I ordered the mufflers and tailpipes from Waldron. I should have ordered them earlier too, as the quote is 8-weeks for delivery. They have the tailpipes in stock, but the mufflers are made in Canada and their factory just reopened after being closed for the virus, so I guess it wouldn’t have done any good to order earlier!

Exhaust pipes will have to be fabricated at a later time in a local shop, so my plan is to temporarily install flex-pipe so I can start the engine and sort out all the inevitable problems that are waiting to surprise and frustrate.

I look back at the last ten years of dreaming, designing, repairing, fabricating, learning, and changing nearly every part and I realize that only the basic sheet metal shell is anywhere close to stock, and it too has been massaged and/or altered functionally…if not so much visually.

Inside, the changes are even more extreme from floorboards to headliner, and everything in between. About the only things recognizable to a stock ’56 Plymouth owner would be the control knobs on the dash, but I hope I will have been able to make the changes look like they might have come from the era.

Paint Progress!

Yes, most of the car is finally one color! A few days after the D-Day celebration, I celebrated P-Day, and that is indeed worth celebrating!

I’ve not been able to post for a week as my Internet service crashed last Thursday and didn’t return until today. Online tech support couldn’t figure it out and the local technician couldn’t come out until today.

The problem was initiated by a robocall that bypassed my answering machine and tried to leave a message at the phone company, and that locked up the automated system. Then when online tech support tried to fix the mess, they corrupted the troubleshooting program. Fortunately, the tech that came out had just finished fixing the same problem for two of my neighbors, so I was back online in a few minutes.

The weather cooperated nicely the last several days and I was able to paint the fenders, doors, hood, and front gravel pan. The trunk lid a rear gravel pan are left to paint, but I hadn't properly mounted the trunk lid and had to wait for that before painting.

I'm satisfied with everything except the hood and I had been worried about it since day one. The underside surface was pitted, and it needed several patches to strengthen the supporting structure. It looked like crap after painting, but I wasn’t about to take too much time to make that part look nice, since the pad will cover many of the worst areas.

The top surface had also been damaged extensively by hail some years ago and I did a poor job of leveling all the tiny dents. Some can be removed by color sanding but I’m quite sure it will require more filling, leveling and repainting to look acceptable for even a daily driver. At least I will be able to finish the doors and fenders and then mount much of the exterior trim. If necessary I will locate a better hood to restore.

Anyone who has assembled a ‘56 grille knows what a pain it is to adjust all the parts to achieve a good fit, but I managed to accomplish much of that today, and it came out okay, if not perfect.

The paint will have to cure for another day before I can begin color sanding and it will be nice to get that part of the job done. I think I have enough sandpaper, but I’ll need to order a new buffer pad before I can finish final polishing.

I can’t wait to get back to the interior again!

P-Day Coming Soon?

The weather is nice with no rain expected for a couple of weeks and my latest homeowner repairs are complete, so maybe P-Day…Paint Day…is finally in sight!

I finished filling the last of the tiny dings and dents, and the last touch-up coat of high-build primer will go on tomorrow, so  with a little more sanding I should be ready to paint early next week.  Then a couple of days to clean, dust, prep and re-mask, and it will be time for me to quit procrastinating and take the big step!

Since I have to paint inside the garage without a booth, the roll-up door will have to be open to ventilate the fumes. I'll need a day with moderate temperatures with light winds from the west or northwest, and if the ten-day forecast is anywhere close to accurate, it looks like June 10^th will be in the middle of several days suitable for spray painting.

Keeping my fingers crossed!

After the Haunting

I'm beginning to think my house is haunted, or maybe it's related to the '41 Chevy that was my first car in 1955. When the old Chevy wheezed its last, I filled it full of bullet holes, so the house better pay attention!

I might not be fighting ghosts and demons, but considering everything we did to build in extra-high quality, I'm really fed up with our custom built house. In the seven years since we moved in, nearly every mechanical device in the kitchen has failed, as has the HVAC many times.

The latest failures have been the HVAC that now needs a new coil due to a leak. It is the second one to need replacement in two years. It was also repaired and several parts replaced while under warranty, and has never functioned the way their manual states.

Three backyard flood lights also crapped out in the past three weeks and the built-in microwave died three weeks ago. This was within a couple months of the death of the third ice machine, the clothes dryer, the dish washer, and the kitchen sink faucet. Yesterday, one of the garage door openers malfunctioned, but apparently my cursing helped as it seems to have at temporarily repaired itself. At least I can hope.

Oh, yes, the new mower blades and platform belt  arrived and I got the old mower running again. After waiting for five inches of rain to dry enough to get my soggy acre of grass mowed, I think I might have caught up with the trials and tribulations of home ownership!

Today, I managed to apply a couple coats of high-build primer on the doors and fenders. Maybe I can do the same on the hood and trunk lid this week so I can have everything ready for paint...if the weather cooperates and the house doesn't self-destruct again.

I tried something different when I applied primer this time. The vendor instructions say the high-build product can be applied with a roller, and since I have yet to build a temporary paint booth I thought I'd give the roller a shot. It was a much easier and less messy to apply, but  I'll try sanding a little bit tomorrow to see how it looks.

Another Scandinavian Forward Look Project

First up was Ray's Canadian '56 Plodge, while yet another '56 station wagon project belongs to Geir, a Forward Look enthusiast from Norway. The basic trim level will be upgraded by adding parts and pieces from a Belvedere, and maybe some custom interior parts. Sort of like mine, he hasn't decided exactly what all he wants to incorporate, but that early Dodge Hemi should be a perfect fit.

I envy this rotisserie! If I had it to do over again, it would be the first tool I would have purchased. I could have saved hundreds of hours when I was replacing floors and trunk panels.

He still has a lot of work left on the wagon, but he also owns this beautiful Savoy sedan.

Invitation to my Readers

Geir, Ray, and anyone else with a '55 or '56 Mopar project, pictures are always welcome and I hope you will share them with us. I've posted a few guest photos in earlier entries, but as your projects progress it's fun to see what you've accomplished. I don't discriminate if it's a serious restoration, a wild custom, a hot rod, or a Mopar mutt, like mine. If you'd like to tell us all about your car, that's also fun to read.

Just email your photos and text to GaryS1941@gmail.com and I will post them here. For starters, here are a few pictures of Ray's '56 Plodge wagon with a Dakota clip, modernized drive train and an impressive and plush interior.

Hood Installation

One more visible task completed!  Thanks to the damn virus quarantine, there was no one I could call to help with the hood installation, so once again I had to muddle through the job alone, but at least it's now in place.

I had to mount another support hook in the ceiling so I could suspend the hood from a rope. It only took an hour to get it close enough to install the bolts, and another three or four hours to make all the adjustments. I only have to fill and sand two small dings near the hood ornament mounting holes, and the body will be ready for primer, final prep and paint. I'm not sure if I want to mark the mounting locations so I can remove the hood before painting, or if I want to paint it while in place. If I was sure I would have help after painting, it would be easier to spray and color sand, but if doing it alone again, I'm scared that I might scratch or chip the new paint. Decisions, decisions!

Now, if I can get a paint booth built so I will be ready to spray if the weather ever decides to cooperate.

Not that anyone would notice, but I took these pictures before making adjustments, so the gaps are not even. All in all, it came out nicer and with fewer adjustment issues than expected.

Summerfall-Winterspring

Our recent weather reminded me of the pretty young woman who played the character by that name on the old Howdy Doody TV show back in prehistoric times!

Along with storms and heavy rain, we had lots of wind every day, some sun, and temperatures that reached nearly 90F on one day last week, but I had to cover my patio plants last night as it was 37F when I went to bed and light frost was threatened!

My biggest project during this crazy spring weather was getting the hood prepped for paint. The under side was in much better shape than the outside. Underneath, all I had to do was de-rust and fill the dozen or so deepest pits, followed by a coat of primer, to get it ready for epoxy primer and paint.

The top side was badly pitted over most of the hood, and some were getting fairly deep. I spent a couple of hours and several sanding  before I can prime. There is no doubt in my mind that if the car ever gets on the road and spends any time outside in the weather, I'll be looking for a more solid replacement. In the meantime, since I have yet to make a temporary paint booth, I wait for weather nice enough to paint outdoors.

We're also sitting around waiting for the all-clear to get back to life as we know it. This morning I dug out the old barbering tools last used over twenty years ago. I gave myself a haircut and it actually looks okay, but then I can't see the back very well so maybe I shouldn't brag too much. At least it was the cheapest haircut I've had in a long, long time!

About the only business that remain open are those selling food and fuel and a few things they deem critical.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I need to replace the charcoal filters on my painting mask, and no one online has them to sell and say it will be June before they expect any. Mine have not been used that much, but it's been quite a while since I sprayed epoxy and I don't like using old filters that might be harboring bacterial growth. Not sure if there is an effective way to sterilize them before use.

1956 Chrysler 300B Infineon Raceway

Not a Plymouth, but clearly the king of real stock car racing in 1956. It was a time when fans could see cars that raced on the track began life in a factory. Okay, the teams made a few modifications, but the cars were  mostly stock, unlike the purpose-built, NASCAR designed common-silhouette product today.

I love watching the big Chrysler catch and pass all those sports cars!

Monsoon Season and Avoiding the WuFlu

I hope everyone has successfully avoided a visit from the nasty pandemic virus. So far, no one I know has been hit by it, but it struck a local nursing home and a resident facility for the mentally challenged. There are multiple cases in both places and the entire county is now under stay-home orders.

We had already been voluntarily staying home for two weeks and I thought I'd be able to find a lot of time to work on the car, but no such luck. I got back to work preparing the remaining sheet metal for paint, but it only lasted a day or two until heavy rains pounded the area for the better part of a week. My gauge registered over five inches in a three-day period and eventually totaled over seven inches in a week, so much of my yard is still under water and I can't even cut the grass, and boy does it need cutting! .Of course, the horrible humidity put a stop to body work, and the latest forecast doesn't look encouraging until several days into April.

When the rain finally quit and brisk winds dried out the air somewhat, I got back to sanding and priming but non-essential stores have been ordered to close due to the virus, and I needed some like 80-grit sandpaper and spot putty. With no local source to buy from, I had to order online. Amazon Prime has always been good about getting things to me in a very short time, but then I discovered that they were delaying shipment of things they deemed to be non-essential.  The day I placed the order, they said everything would be here within 48 hours, but when the order didn't arrive by the time quoted, I was notified that it would be another two days. It actually took a week, so there was very little body work going on.

I did manage to get the rear gravel shields ready for paint, and the front one is getting close, so I guess I'm one step closer to having the exterior parts all one color.

Back to Body Work

A brief return of summerlike weather arrived late last week, so I took advantage of temperatures in the 70s and 80's to accomplish some body work in preparation for priming and painting. The doors had already been primed with etching primer, but the fenders were still in need of  body filler and spot putty. Everything went quite well, so I was able to finish the driver's side fender and apply a coat of etching primer.

The passenger side fender still needs some Bondo and putty work, but I did get the bare metal sanded, treated with rust killer, and a coat of etching primer applied. One more nice day, and except for the hood I should have the remaining sheet metal ready for high-build primer. It won't take much sanding on the doors and the driver's side fender, but there is pitting on the one fender so it will probably need multiple coats of primer and quite a bit of sanding. At least I should have the rest of the front half sheet metal ready for painting by the time it gets nice and warm in late April or May.

Since the car has become too heavy for me to move it in and out of the garage alone, I'll see if I can set up a temporary paint booth inside. It shouldn't be a problem making an enclosure by draping plastic, but I'll have to see what I can do about ventilation. If we get a couple of windless mornings that are warm enough to paint, I can make a three-sided enclosure and leave the door-side open, but even without the usual spring storms, days are often windy here on the North Texas prairie. I always try to paint before 9:00 am.  I hope I can complete painting the exterior this spring so I can install the door glass and work on the interior. That's the type of work I really enjoy.

Custom Antenna Bases

With the arrival of spring weather, I'm not getting much play time. About all I've been able to accomplish is making custom antenna bases for the fin-mounted duals. They are not like the OEM parts, but it looks as if they will work okay. I tried them out on my parts car and they look okay, even if they are not as stylish as the real '56 parts.

It tool about eight hours to make the two parts, and all I have left to do is polish the ABS plastic on my buffer.

The ABS rod was the perfect diameter and it was nice to work with, even without real machine tools.  There are probably higher quality universal antennas to be had for a little more money, but like so many things I've chosen to make, they'll be good enough for my daily driver faux-Fury.

I suppose I should be concentrating on larger restoration tasks, but it's been too cold to paint and I'm busy with another one of my wife's studio projects, but warmer weather is on the way, so I'm sure that will give me more enthusiasm to put in longer hours.

Indoor Fun on Rainy Days

Winter weather returned with nearly three inches of rain, near freezing temperatures and strong northerly winds, so again I had to focus on things I could do inside the house.


I ordered a new $20 multimeter to replace the $10 multimeter I bought about thirty years ago, and it arrived yesterday. The old one still worked fine but it didn’t beep. Since all my continuity testing will be a one-man operation, I figured it would be worth twenty bucks to save a lot of time and effort when crawling around looking for wire terminations and just listen for the beep and not have to watch the meter face. I braved the cold for a short time and did accomplish a quick power isolation test. I didn’t find any shorts, so I can get busy continuity testing the circuits when warmer weather arrives tomorrow.

One of my indoor jobs was investigating an idea I had to make radio antennas to mount atop the tailfins in the stock factory location. The OEM parts I found online were priced from $150 for a set of well-worn parts, to $500 for a NOS set, and I cringed thinking about spending that much for something functionally unimportant. That said, I always liked the look of dual rear antennas and dual rearview mirrors on the fenders, so I’m looking for less expensive options.


My idea was to design a custom-shaped base to adapt a flat mounting, generic antenna to the narrow fin top. I had already purchased one stainless steel antenna that looked like a good candidate to modify, so I carved a base from a piece of heavy wall vinyl tubing to see if it could be made to look okay on a daily driver. I was pleased enough with the results to order a 12” piece of 1-1/4” diameter machinable black ABS rod from MSC Direct. It showed up today and I spent the morning laying out the dimensions on the raw material. Now it would be nice to own a mill as it’s going to take forever to cut and shape everything with hand tools. If I’m successful, I will have about fifty dollars invested in parts and material, but I won’t even attempt a guess at how many hours the job will take.

Buddy Holly - Everyday

Another year has passed since the day the music died in 1959. I won't repost my thoughts about that fateful day as I've done that on previous anniversaries, so if new readers are at all interested, they can refer back to those entries.

In the meantime, I'll just post this Buddy Holly favorite and hope the words forecast recent progress on my lifelong project Plymouth.

I spent a few hours earlier this week finishing a few remaining wiring jobs. The battery ground cable is now bolted to the frame under the trunk and ready to attach to the battery when I purchase that.

Today was supposed to be sunny and warm like yesterday, but it clouded over and began to drizzle so I worked in the house creating continuity checklists. I actually began continuity and isolation tests yesterday, but when I soon found a short between battery-power and switched power circuits, I decided to first make a checklist to keep track of what I'm doing.

I also routed and tied in a few wires to the location where I'm placing the backup camera, but I won't cut a hole and install the camera until I finish painting the exterior.

The rear antenna cable is also waiting for me to locate the dual antennas. So far, everything I've found has been OEM NOS or used and is far too expensive for my non-stock '56. If I can't find reasonably priced aftermarket parts, I'll probably make new bases from casting resin to attach generic parts to the tops of the fins. No use putting lipstick on a pig!

Headlight Buckets Installed

Parts arrived for the headlight bucket and I completed the remaining part of that job. The clevis pins were a couple-hundredths longer than the OEM part, but they work fine. I needed one pin, but had to order a bag of 25 for about six dollars including tax. When it arrived by UPS the tiny bag was packed in a box big enough to hold hundreds of pins! Cost of shipping?...$8.90! To cap it off, the day after I finished repairing the bucket, I was looking in a box of small junk and found one of the stock pins!

The adjustment screw was a little bit more of a problem. I couldn’t find an aftermarket source for the nylon nuts  or brackets for the adjustment for the adjustment screws, so I ordered a pair of screws and nuts, then made a bracket to attach a modern screw assembly to the shell. The best fitting modern screw and nut was for a Jeep, but it required a different shaped bracket cutout to secure the nut. No big deal to make the bracket, but because the Jeep nut was shaped differently than the original, the
nut centerline was off by three hundredths, so I had to file the slots in the light retainer ring about that much deeper to allow the screw to turn freely enough to adjust the bulb position. I also had to shorten the screw about a half-inch to fit inside the shallower bucket, but that was simple enough. If not pretty, at least it works!

The new welding helmet showed up a few days later, so was able to finish one of my wife’s projects and I'm ready to weld on the car again. Naturally, the day after it arrived, it went on sale for seven dollars less! My timing sucks when it comes to buying things.

 I had ordered a rebuild kit for the 4-bbl Edelbrock carb on my ’73 D100. The crappy alcohol-tainted gas sure gummed up the insides, so it took a lot of scrubbing and blowing to get it clean, but the old truck sure runs great now! It only had about four thousand miles since I installed it new about ten years ago, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.


After I took it for a test drive, I decided to track down the funny noise I always heard before the engine warmed up. It sounded like something rattling in the suspension, but it turned out to be the thermal fan clutch wobbling on the shaft. Glad I found that before it came apart and destroyed the radiator.

Now maybe I can get back to the car again.