Yet Another Update

 Not much of an update. I've done nothing on the car except an hour or two updating and correcting paperwork. 

The weather has been perfect for working in the garage, but I'm still not up to it physically and the little energy I have is prioritized to keeping the household functioning.

My surgery locations are nearly healed. The skin graft was mostly successful and yesterday the doctor did some touch-up cutting away a few dead skin areas. The malignancy was only about a half-inch in diameter, but they removed a chunk of flesh about three inches in diameter and a quarter inch deep. 

Immediately following the surgery, the underarm lymph node removal was the least noticeable, but it has been the most annoying while healing because it's in an area that flexes and makes me favor my dominant right arm.

The future is still a question mark. I decided not to have the PET scan as I can't comply with some of the requirements to assure a good scan and it doesn't make sense to waste taxpayer's dollars on what would likely be an inaccurate and unusable scan. Even if it had identified any other cancers, it would only mean that they had not caught the melanoma before it spread, so not much gained by finding more.

I'm also not taking the immunotherapy treatments. After more research, I learned it's similar to chemotherapy and the efficacy rate is not spectacular. I would have to take it every three weeks and the side effects could be anything from an upset stomach to destruction of healthy organs, or even fatal in 1%-2% of the patients. 

The wife and I decided to play the hand the way it was dealt. If they caught all the active cells, the AI  prediction was that it would be another year or so before malignancy hit, and at 82 years old, I'm beyond what is expected. If they didn't catch them all, well I'll just do my best to be happy with the odds and enjoy whatever time is left. With any luck, I still might be able to hear the old Plymouth fire up for the first time!

Just an Update

 The past two weeks have been perfect weather to work on outside projects or to throw open the garage doors and after a hot summer enjoy comfortable fall days while working on my car. Unfortunately, I've spent my time doctoring and recovering from Melanoma surgery. They removed a cancerous tumor on my arm and two lymph nodes under my right arm. To patch the hole in my arm, they stripped a 10 X 2-inch piece of skin from my waist and grafted it over the approximate 3-inch diameter hole in my arm. No, I don't know what they did with the leftovers!

Good news is there were no cancer cells in the lymph nodes, so it appears they got everything. Bad news is that it was an aggressive strain, and I could have a recurrence in the same general area within a year or two. In the meantime, I can't do any work on the car or in the yard for at least another two or three weeks while the graft heals.

I will also have to receive Cancer immunotherapy treatments, but they will be done in a local hospital, by a different oncologist. I have no idea what is involved with this process.

Meanwhile, about all I can do with the old Plymouth is catch up on the paperwork that details the work I've done to restore what was original, and to document everything that was drastically modified. That's the kind of job I wanted to leave for winter weather, no for some of the best days of the year! 

I really had hoped to have the engine running and being able to drive in and out of the garage before cold weather hit, but that looks like just one more crushed dream. Did I mention that getting old sucks?

Good News...Bad News

 Good news is that I got the repaired side trim back from Triple F classic cars.

They look good, and though the price was steep, I think it was better than doing it myself with Muggy Weld. It would have taken me forever and the results wouldn't have been nearly as good. It's just one of those many things that we have to accept when we choose to rebuild old Chrysler products with no aftermarket support for reproduced parts.

I also finished one of the one-of-a-kind parts I made just to see what it would look like, I think it came out okay, and it certainly is unique. It's not visible in this picture, but it is a spark plug wire separator made from stainless steel, but I had to move the wires to get a clear picture of the decal. I designed the decal on Microsoft Publisher and printed it on high quality adhesive vinyl that is resistant to abrasion and petroleum products. 

It covers the cast-in SS-X logo in the Chrysler Power designed Poly valve covers and since the center hold down bolt is not used on my engine; the separator is attached with the dummy hold down bolt that is used only to plug the extra hole.

But, as the title said, there is also bad news.

Now that the weather has moderated and the interior house painting is complete, my wife fell while visiting family in Las Vegas and chipped a kneecap She is unable to walk and has to use a wheelchair to get around That means I now have more things to occupy any free time I could find for car hobbies, but that's not the worst news.

Yesterday I was diagnosed with a serious ailment that, depending on surgery success, may put an end to my car project. A visit to a specialist next week will tell me more, but the moral of the story is that getting old really sucks!

Waiting for the Weather

 No matter how much I would love to be working on the car, I can't compete with the heat. My little ductless A/C does a great job if the temperature stays below 95 F, but we've had about 50 days of 100 F to 109 F this summer and only a trace of rain in over two months. I can sometimes work an hour or two in the morning, but progress is minimal as I wilt fast.

I did get the shift linkage adjusted yesterday, so the starter now operates in Neutral instead of between gears. However, it still doesn't work in Park, so according to the service manual, it looks like I'll have to pull the neutral start switch and make an adjustment inside the transmission. 

I also got the ashtray repainted, the glove box door adjusted, and cut some rubber bumpers for the door. Every little bit helps make the dash look more finished.

I still have a problem with wiring that has me puzzled. With the ignition switch in the accessory position, there is no power to the accessories. They work fine in the "On" position, so it doesn't have to be resolved before engine start, but it will need to be fixed before I permanently install the dash and steering wheel.

I also must have a small drain on the battery with no activity. After sitting for two days, the battery voltage dropped to 11.5 VDC, so it appears I will have to find and fix that little problem. One more thing that will wait for cooler weather.

I continue to search for textured sheet aluminum to make new gold inserts for the side trim. I found a source in the UK that looks quite similar, but I've tried contacting them to get a sample and to see if they have a North American distributor for their products, but after a week, still no response to my e-mail.

Here's what it looks like on a cafe room divider, but it's hard to tell the size and spacing of the texture, but the color of their anodizing is very close.

This close up look at the original pattern is on the gas fill door. You can see how badly corroded the old parts are!

Starters and Trim

 After my post about the starter problems, I was totally disgusted, so I put that problem on the back burner and began repairing, cleaning and polishing the side trim stainless pieces. That job ate up several heat-shortened days, but I finally got back to the starter issue.

When I first began laying out the new electrical circuits, I consulted several manuals and picked the brains of numerous online automotive electrical websites. Most information for wire gauge and fuse sizes were pretty simple, but I should have further researched start circuit requirements, because I discovered too late that expert opinions varied greatly.

One source I consulted said that a typical old design starter for cars drew from 75 to 100 amps, but that the new high torque starters drew 20 to 40 amps. The wire they suggested for a trunk mounted battery was 2-gauge with a 50-amp circuit breaker mounted near the battery. 

Shame on me for not comparing that opinion with a few others when I started. Since then, I found other sites that claim that old style starters could draw as much as 150 to 200 amps, and modern starters from 40 to 75 amps and a 150-200 amp circuit breaker installed close to the battery. They also recommended that I use a 0-gauge cable, and then run the same size ground wire from the battery all the way to the engine block.

So, I'm now thoroughly embarrassed and confused, but decided that for now I will keep the main feed at 2-gauge with the battery ground cable bolted to the frame below the battery. I also replaced the 50-amp circuit breaker with a 150-amp. I might regret not doing more now, but I first want to get the car running to see what else will need modification or upgrade.

Then, to add to the starter problems, the starter wouldn't spin by turning the key to the start position, but it does spin normally when I jumped the start terminal to the main feed. I checked the start terminal, and it receives 12 volts from the ignition switch, but the starter relay does not switch to feed the cable voltage to the starter I ordered a new starter relay today. The one on the car was a new Wells part, the same number as the one I ordered today. I would have rather bought their Standard part, but they were out of stock.

Since the old/new starter appeared to be drawing a heavy load, I decided to replace the starter too. That is rather frustrating since it was a new-build aftermarket part, but now it's well beyond the warranty terms despite the car having never been started. At least I can return it for the $40 core charge. The one I picked up at O'Reilly's. is remanufactured, but it spins like it should.

I can't resolve the starter problem until I receive the new relay, but the starter now spins when jumping the terminals on the relay, so I can now pump some oil around inside the engine.

The stainless trim restoration went pretty well. All the longer pieces are clean, straight and sanded with 1500 grit paper. They will still need polishing and buffing, but I'll wait for cooler weather so I can move that outside where I have more room.  

The small pieces that join the bigger parts will need some repairs that I can't do myself. Six of the pieces will need new studs welded in and some expert skill to straighten and polish. I'm taking the parts in to a local restoration shop this morning.

I'm still looking for sheet aluminum with a texture similar to the stock '56 Fury pattern. The Mylar ones I got from James Rawa look nice, but the pattern does not match the OEM aluminum parts. The only aluminum I've found in North America doesn't look quite right and it is clear anodized, so if I wanted it with a gold finish, the existing anodizing would have to be removed and the parts re-anodized.in gold. No local plater was willing to take on that job.

Yesterday I did locate a company in Great Britain that makes aluminum sheets that are similar to the '56 pattern and they also sell it with a mill finish without anodizing. I hope they have a US outlet for their products as I'm sure it would be horrendously expensive to ship a large sheet to Texas so I can cut out the parts and then ship them to wherever they can gold anodize them.

I can now sympathize with you Forward Look restorers around the world who are faced with similar shipping problems with your American classic cars!

More Good News-Bad News

Good news first: 

(1). The long-awaited temporary exhaust system is in place, and it feels like a huge step towards the first engine start. The job was surprisingly easy, and I actually survived crawling around on the concrete floor for a couple of hours without too many additional aches and pains. That said, it was a job that would have been much simpler if I had a hoist or a pit in my garage.

(2). I decided to take a chance that I won't need to have easy access thru the driver side floor panel and forged ahead with driver' side carpet and seat installation. That job also went quite well and I'm mostly pleased with the results. One semi-serious disappointment is that the seat will not fully recline as the release handle on the seat back hits the wide hardtop style rear armrest. I had relocated seat mounting brackets as close to the console as possible without major redesign, so I'll have to be satisfied with what I have, at least for now.

                                   Now the bad news...and this one could be serious. 

I've been checking all the driveline related systems to make them ready for the big day, and among them was a checkout of the start circuits and the function of the late model mini-starter. Previously, all I had tried was to hit the key and see if the starter relay was switching power to the starter. So far that simple test had not indicated a problem, but now I want to spin it long enough to pump oil into the engine, and after engaging the switch for a few seconds, I could tell the starter was turning much slower than it should have. In a few seconds, the 50amp circuit breaker on the power cable tripped.

 About 30 seconds later the breaker reset, so I turned the key again and the starter began to spin. The dash lights dimmed, and the voltmeter fell to zero, but I stopped before the breaker tripped again. So that is where it sits today, while I contemplate the possible reason, for the heavy draw.

According to the charts I consulted, the 2-gauge main power cable should easily serve the 10 ft from the trunk mounted battery to the starter with only the LED dash lights adding a miniscule draw to the total load.  So, for the time being I'll consider other possibilities.

The obvious first guess is a bad starter, which would be frustrating as it is supposed to be a new part, not remanufactured, but that would be the easiest fix. 

I don't even want to think that something in the engine might be binding. I rebuilt the engine in 2015, so it's not fresh in my mind, but I don't recall anything being a problem. I do remember checking the rod and main bearing clearance with plastigauge, as that's the way I've done it forever without any problems. Since it was assembled, I've turned it over by hand many times and I certainly should have noticed any binding. That said, I no longer trust my memory or my mechanical abilities. Getting old really sucks!

Yesterday, the city water pressure dropped to almost nothing when one of the wells broke down. We could have easily gotten by as I have emergency water storage, but the electric water heater shut off when the pressure dropped. I showered and shaved with cold water this morning as the pump had not yet been repaired. That means that household problems once again takes priority over playing with my car, so it sits for now.

Good News and Bad News

The good news is that I have the passenger seat bolted in place and the wiring connected to the control module inside the console. The way things have been going lately, I expected problems getting belt retractors and inertia locks to function properly, but to my surprise, everything works great!

The bad news is that I'm not satisfied with the seat location and fit. For now, it will be okay as installed, but I will want to redesign the mounting brackets to move it back about an inch and down almost that much so as to provide more legroom and head clearance when entering the car. I'll incorporate those changes in the driver's seat before I install it. I had to order some more angle stock to make them from, but the supplier e-mailed me today that the material is on a ship coming from...guess where...China!! They estimate a couple weeks before it arrives.

I also had to order two new connectors for the power seat control cable. Somehow, I received the wrong style when I ordered them a couple months ago. I probably ordered the wrong part number as they look identical to each other but require different pins and sockets.

No shortage of things to do, so the seats will have to wait for another day!

The Old Girl Has a New Voice!

 As usual, my efforts are misdirected. When I should be concentrating on installing a temporary exhaust system so I can start the engine, instead I've been working on the less important entertainment and navigation features.

The special push-on terminals for the speaker wires finally arrived so I was able to finish the radio/GPS installation. To my surprise, everything works! Even the navigation program receives a signal inside the building, although all I could do was program my home location. 

The only thing left to do for the screen display is install the rearview camera and that will involve cutting a hole in the body somewhere near the license plate. It will have to wait until I can drive the car out of the garage and can determine the best location to mount the camera.

Other than that, not much is being accomplished while I try to catch up on outdoor chores and projects. The late spring put me far behind with time consuming lawn and garden projects like weeding, edging and mulching flower beds. It is ironic that I have too much yard work for one old man, but not enough for a crew of landscapers. I've been trying to hire a part time helper for months, but there is no interest from young people who want a "position", but not a job that gets their hands dirty or makes them sweat.

Interior Progress

 I needed a psychological boost to keep up my interest in my decade long project, so I did a few obvious things where it is noticable. 

I finished reinstalling the right door trim panel and made a cloth pattern so I could cut the carpet for the passenger floor It actually came out quite good and have only one seam that falls within the foot well. I also like the looks of the plush carpet rather than the stock loop version. I hope it doesn't fade like the less- plush turquoise molded carpet I have in my Valiant convertible. 

Got a few pictures to share.

I also located the electrical short in the power window switch and trimmed the edge of the sheet metal cutout in the door to give the bundle more clearance. Windows now work great!

The driver's side carpet will have to wait for awhile until I can finish everything located under the access panel in the floor.

Update and Ridiculous Rides From Norway

 Still having medical problems limiting much of my activity, but I occasionally sneak into the shop to work on a few little things. 

I recently ordered a pair of door jamb light switches to replace the low-quality switches that I bought online a couple years ago. One or those low-quality parts is working, but the other has an internal short, and that convinced me to order new parts with hope they would be stronger. However, the new switches are about a quarter inch too long to fit '55-'56 Mopars. To be fair, they were advertised for '62 and up, but I was hoping I could make them work. I did have one salvaged OEM switch that I cleaned and de-rusted. It's functioning okay, so my interior lights are now working properly, but. I'll keep my eyes open for some new parts that are made somewhere besides China! One thing I did discover is that the thread size differs. My car has 3/8"-24 threads in the jamb, and the shoddy aftermarket switches had 3/8"-16 threads on the switch body even though they were listed as correct for '56 Plymouths. Since the ancient switch I salvaged matches my car's threads, I might be smarter to just look for good used parts.

Looking forward to getting back to work on the '56. 

Happy Easter and enjoy the video! 

What's Happening

 I entered the local hospital on 3-7-23 for day surgery to repair a simple hernia. The surgery went as expected, but a couple days later complications arose and I made a middle-of-the-night trip to the Emergency room. To keep it short and simple, I spent two days in the hospital and am now on the mend at home. Looks like at least two weeks before I can even attempt any work on the car. 

First day of spring and the weather is expected to be warm the next several days, so I might spend a few hours lounging outside in the sun. 

Wiper Park Adjustments

 

I had to make a new wiper arm removal tool so I was able to get the wipers adjusted to fully sweep without hitting the stainless trim, but no success adjusting the park position. The service manual contains no useful information to make an adjustment to relocate the park position, and there were no obvious adjustment points. Only thing to do was to open up the motor so I pulled the motor and removed the stamped cover so I could work it on the bench. At that point, it was easy to see how the adjustment functions. At least the notches are visible without removing the cover, and if the service manual had a picture it would have been nice!

This picture shows what lies beneath the cover. There is a reed switch that is actuated by a nylon pin that raises when the motor turns. I couldn’t determine how the reed switch functioned, but in my case, it made no difference at all as there was a broken part that you can see in the second picture. It is made of spring steel and is formed into a ramp shape to raise the nylon pin and use it to make and break the reed switch contact as it rotates. When I removed the switch plate, the broken part of the spring-steel ramp fell out, so. at least I could now visualize how the adjustment is supposed to be made. You can also clearly see the three notches in the rotating plate so it can be moved with a flat screwdriver to change the point at which the pin engages the spring ramp.

I was able to get the wipers adjusted to fully sweep without hitting the stainless trim, but no luck with adjusting the park position. The service manual contains no useful information to make an adjustment, and there were no obvious adjustment points. Only thing to do was to look inside at the controls so I pulled the motor and removed the stamped cover to work the problem on the bench. At that point, it was easy to see how the adjustment functions.

 

 I thought I was in luck as my parts car had the same motor, so it sould be a simple swap, but my joy quickly faded when I discovered that motor was locked up and wouldn’t move without damaging. However, I thought I could at least swap the ramp spring, but it too was damaged with a bend midway up the ramp. I tried straightening that part of the ramp, but the bend was too sharp and couldn’t be reformed properly without breaking the brittle metal.

 Finally, I decided to forget trying to create a park position. As often as I might be driving in rain, I can just use the switch to manually park the wipers. Before I reassembled everything, I removed the sixty-year-old crusty grease, oiled the plate and greased the gears. At least the arms are now synchronized, and the speed is adjustable with the dash switch.

Ice-bound!

 This is the third day in a row that I've been stuck in the house and not able to walk anywhere outside.  I couldn't even get to the workshop so I could get tools to break up the ice around the house.  This is the worst ice storm I've experienced in the 25 years I've lived in Texas. Only one worse I can recall was in Germany nearly sixty years ago. That time I was driving home from the missile site and had to stop and install tire chains. It took about an hour to get them on while crawling around on hands and knees. Guess I should have retired a few hundred miles farther south and closer to the Gulf of Mexico!

Fortunately, there was minimal ice buildup on trees and power lines, so we got lucky that way. Looks like the thaw will start this morning and the forecast is for 60s and 70s within a few days. Then maybe I can get back to work on the car.

 

Console Progress

 Snow is possible tomorrow, so I dodged the housework today and spent a couple of hours in the garage.

I completed the rear seat end of the console top, along with an armrest/cover for the storage bin and fuse access. 

Now I have to work my windshield wiper problem before I can assemble the rest of the console. I read, but don't clearly understand, the steps needed to adjust the wiper park position. The service manual does not have a sketch or photo to make it clear to my fading mind. Sometimes a simple instruction can be so confusing!

More Little Things Mean a Lot

 

This is the time of year when weather is usually at its maximum schizophrenic swings, and it has been happening again. With temps in the teens and snow flurries only a few days behind us, we were blessed with two sunny and calm 83*F days, and then it was back into the forties with howling NW winds. Today our forecast is for Spring-like weather that is expected to last a week or more.

 With the nice weather, I was able to fabricate, assemble and install several interior parts. Both door handles are now in place and functioning satisfactorily.

The latest version of the steering wheel is complete and waiting for the dash and steering column to be re-attached, so the interior is beginning to look like it is finally taking shape. This is the newest version of the old truck steering wheel and the various versions that led up to it. The center section trim will probably change, but I can do that after everything else is done.

This is the stock wheel that was OEM on my '73 D-100 pickup that I purchased new. I disliked it from day one but was like new and I finally found a use for it. 

I got rid of the plastic center pad and created a new center from the original '56 Plymouth Mayflower cap and a stainless-steel wheel center cap from an aftermarket truck wheel. I liked the look, but it didn't work out well as I could not come up with a way to attach it reliably to the horn mechanism.

The final results don't look much like a modernized 50s era design, but it functions like expected and the text can easily be replaced or changed at any time if I can come up with a nicer design.

I still have the problem of the windshield wipers not parking when turned off. When I tested the motor with a power supply, it was working fine, but I can't understand how running on battery power would change how it operates. I hate to fasten the dash panel without getting it fixed while it's accessible, but I also hate not being able to install the remaining console and heater controls. I do have an extra single speed motor that checks out fine, but it requires minor wiring changes and I would much prefer a 2-speed wiper. I saw there is a way to adjust the park setting, but the last time I read about it in the service manual I was confused...but that's normal!

  

 

 

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