Hello everyone! No longer a lurker...

[1949SplDlxCp]

jtw, I sent you an E.  Let me know if you get it.

[jtw37]

I do have a friend that does still have the distrbutor machine and knows how to use it. Don't know how much help that is to you. I'm in Northern Indiana (Bristol) about 4 hours north of you. As a matter of fact, I'm straight north, on the Michigan line. If you want to do a ship to me, e-mail me @ and we'll get hooked up.

JT

[1949SplDlxCp]

Thank you all for you advice and kind words.? See, I knew you guys would have some ideas on the problems that my '49 is experiencing.

Bullet- Yeah, I was thinking that the distributor needed to be rebuilt.? Something else I considered was that the vacuum diaphram on the side of the distributor might be causing some issues as well.? Or maybe even the vacuum line itself, it don't look to good.

jtw- That was my thought as well, just rebuild the whole thing.? I have been looking at Kanter and Roberts for the parts.? Know of any other sources?? I would still like to find someone that knows how to adjust a distributor on a Sun Dial machine or equivalent distributor machine and also has the equipment to do it.? I found an....older gentleman....that knew exactly how to do it but did not have the machine since about 1970 something.

I am not looking forward to tackling the brakes at all.? From what I have heard, it is difficult at best to get the drums off when there aren't any issues to contend with.? I cannot imagine how much fun I am going to have getting the drum off with the added issue of it being stuck.? Should be a blast!? :(

Admin-? I'd love to but funds are so tight right now that I had to give up my cell phone and cable TV so that I could put gas in my truck so that I could get to work so that I could make more money so I could put gas in my truck so that I could get to work so that I....see a vicious circle starting here?? I certainly plan on joining, but I just don't know when I will be able to make that happen.

Go- So YOUR the culprit!!!!?? ;)? I kinda thought that might be the case as well.? Although, mice are not out of the question because I also have a hole chewed through the headliner right above the passenger sun visor.

Since how were on the subject, anyone know were I can get correct seat upholstery material?? I am finding that getting even a close match is very difficult.

Again, thank you all for your kind words and encouragement.

[Go Fleiter]

Dear Paul + Suzanne,

marvellous car! The back seat darnage must have been from the shoes of the kiddies,  of my age, now 55...
Greetings, Go

[POC-Admin]

Paul,

If you are not already a member of the Plymouth Owner's club, let me extend an invitation to join the actual club (dues are very modest for the benefits and great publication you get). 

You are very welcome here no matter which way you decide but I think you would find the club a great group of people all with the common interest - Plymouth Autos.  Contact Jim Benjaminson if you are not already a member - and glad you are not "Just Lurking" anymore.

Mark Olson

[jtw37]

Ditto on the Plymouth. I also have a Plymouth a 1937. Love that car and have for 28 years. Anyway, when you look into the distributor, think about changing the condenser, along with everything else. Startwith all new, it isn't that expensive. A bad running or not running car will discourage you quicker then anything. I've seen it happen time after time.

I'm fairly new here as well, but have found some good info and people here to help when in need. I have two 37's, only my baby running and 2 - 49 DeSoto's and my son has a 47 DeSoto. So as you can see, we like the Mopar's. Anyway good luck with yours and hang in there, it will run better.

As for the brakes, you will probably find that you have a wheel cylinder stuck in the applied position and may be able to get it backed of, but only by adjusting the cams to loosenthe shoes. You may have to clean the culprit cylinder to make it work and may wind up doing them all. Usually that involves time more then anything else.

My $2.98 worth. (gas price)  :D

JT

[bullet_nose_stude]

Hey there,

That's a nice looking '49 you've got there - you should be proud of it.? Regarding your engine not running right above 40 mph, I had a 54 Chrysler NY wagon with the 331 Hemi that had the same problem.? After some investigation, it turned out that the distributor had to be rebuilt.? The lobes inside the distributor that the points rode on had worn far enough that the points no longer separated properly.? This caused all manner of spitting, backfiring, etc.? I had the distributor rebuilt and it ran perfectly.? Of course, this was a dual point distributor with the Hemi - not sure, but I don't believe your flat six has a dual point distributor.

So, your distributor may be ok, but if you put points in it and it still doesn't run right, don't forget to investigate it.? And yes, that is one of the nicest dashboard designs of the '40s-'50s.

Good Luck

Alan

[1949SplDlxCp]

Hi everyone.  I have been a 1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe owner for about 4 years now.  I have been a 'lurker' at this Plymouth site for about a year now.  I found out this part is free so I finally decided to join and post.

The easiest way for you to see my car is with the link to Bill W's site where shortly after acquiring the car, I decided to send in some pics.  It can be seen at

http://www.oldplymouths.bigstep.com/generic92.html

The reason for the lurking you may ask?  Well, I am kind of embarrased to admit why, but here goes-

The past 3 years my car has been sitting in the garage slowly falling apart and patiently waiting for me to find the money to keep it in the condition it should be.  My job has been particularly rough the past few years as they keep giving me a pay cut every year (adjusted to inflation).  My wife also left her job to take care of our special needs son full time (read- no income).

Enough of the sob story, you guys (and gals?) want to hear about the car anyway.  As far as I can tell, it is an all original 44k mile example of a 1949 2nd series P18 Coupe.  The only thing I have done is rebuild the carb.  I did that because of the fact that the car will not do any speed above about 35-40 mph.  When it gets to that point it starts sputtering and losing power.  Almost like it was fuel starved or the timing is off.  The carb rebuild did not fix the issue so now I am looking at the distributor as the culprit.  Anyone know of someone that can properly adjust a distributor on a Sun Dial or equivalent machine?  Something else I noticed is that a previous owner had decided that the gas needed to be filtered better so they installed one of those in-line filters about a foot from the carb.  One day, I was trying to get it to run better and was revving the engine and the glass bowl on the filter shattered!  Not sure why but could it be related to the mph cap?

About a year and a half ago, I had to move it for some garage work I was doing and noticed a new issue.  The front passenger wheel is frozen solid!  I was literally dragging the wheel on the ground!  Haven't had the chance to take it apart to fix it yet.  I figure it either dropped a brake cylinder out of it's bore and is cocked sideways thus locking the wheel, or maybe some springs broke?  Anyone ever experience something like that?

Back to the story, why did I decide to become a poster?  Do I now have the means to fix it up?  Unfortunately, 'no' to both.  But I figure it like this.  Good solid advice from someone who has been there before (that's you) doesn't cost anything and who knows, with your encouragement, I will somehow find a way to get BGM runing again.