Sorry to hear that.  Today the weather man says the temperature here in Northern VA is going up to 80 this afternoon.  Kind-a unusual for a mid October day.  As far as I am concern as long as the ground is snow free I will be motoring about.  Although after this dry summer I suspect we will have a harsh winter.  If we don't, we may be in trouble regarding water supplies in the Northeast but especially the southern region.  Oh. Well.!! Plenty of stuff to do over the winter to get ready for the spring. 

Chet...

It is October and the weather here in Virginia is 90 degrees at 5:00 PM with clear blue skies.   I took the 29-U out for a spin and turned 300 miles on the odometer since I brought her home last year.  She is getting to be a regular driver in that the last couple of times I took her out I didn't have to fix anything.  Ya.!!!   Actually on my adventure today I forgot to take the usual tool bag and didn't even give it a second thought.



Well my winter project besides the restoration work I am doing to my 48 Plymouth Special Deluxe is to respoke the wheels on the 29. 



I plan on providing a step by step description of what I will be doing including diagrams and pictures.  It costs somewhere in the $300 to $400 dollar bracket per wheel to have someone do this.  Most of the cost is labor so I think I can accomplish this for about $75 to $100 dollars per wheel.  Including the tools purchased.



I installed a spindle duplicating device on the wood lathe I purchased from another car buddy.  Cost $40 plus the duplicating device which was $150.  So I am into this at the moment for about $190 which is less then the cost for one wheel.

The wood is Kiln Dried Hickory and can be purchased form a couple of Pennsylvania wood shops cut to size and planed square.

Chet...

Well I got the vacuum fuel canister apart.  It appears to be in pretty good shape.  There is one pin hole in the bottom of the exterior canister but that is easy to repair.  I did break the sediment bowl trying to remove it.  The casting just disintegrated.   O! well no pain no gain.  The device cleaned up real well especially after sitting in the parts washer for a couple of days.  It will be fun getting this old technology working again.  Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Chet..

KINGSTON PRODUCTS CORP
Kokomo Indiana  -  Model 39
Date Code   5 / 30
COULOMBE PAT'S
JAN 18, 1921    -    AUG 1, 1922
APR  7, 1922    -    JAN 22, 1924

I am driving up for the Saturday Fly market (Oct 13).  I would like meeting and having a beer or coke with any member of this forum.

Chet...

Thanks Carlton,

I am very interested in anyone who is venturing into this area.  Car guys tend to shy away from wood work.  Personally I find it easier to work with wood then steel.  I am very interested in what you are doing so please post pictures when you have the time.

Good luck with this project.  It may take some time but the end result will be well worth the time and effort.

Chet...

I got around to fixing the poor job the previous owner of my car did on the sun visor.  Below is the before picture.



Not even close to what it should look like.  I removed the sun visor and incorrectly mounted wood piece.

I picked up a nice piece of 3/4 by 1.75" oak in Home Depot and cut and shaped it to mount under the roof material.

A little batting and reaffixed the roof material.

The picture below is the result of my work.  Not perfect but I think much better.



Chet...

If you find someone who has wood kits I would certainly be interested.   When my 48 is completed I will be retiring the 29 to restore the wood framing.   I like working with wood so the project would be fun for me but having an original assembly drawing of the 29 Plymouth would be a big help.  If you find any information on the body substructure please drop me an email.

Chet...

The actual manufacturing number is in the center of the dashboard in the oval Medallion.  There is a FedCo system VIN number. 

See the link to Tod Fitch's website, which explains VIN numbers:

http://www.ply33.com/Misc/vin

I don't understand what the insurance company is requesting.  A title and a visual inspection should be all they need.  Actually for liability only GICO insured my 29 sight on seen for $11.00 per month.  I am told an Antique car insurance company would give full coverage fire & theft for about the same amount.

Chet...

If you had water in your gas you may most likely have rust in your tank.  I don't know how long the water has been in there but if it has been sitting for awhile you may have clean the tank and coat it with a gas tank paint. 

Here is a link to what I did with my 48 P15 tank.  Some guys use chain instead of gravel.

http://www.chetscoins.com/1948p15/20045/09182005.htm

As far as a cap you need to use a vented cap or in my case just a loose fitting cap.  If not you will build pressure in the tank and on a hot day the pressure will force two much gas to the carburetor.  Also you can collapse the tank if you have a good electric fuel pump.  I also use an electric fuel pump.  It is rated at a maximum pressure of 2 psi.  I had a 4-5 psi pump and it forced two much gas into the carburetor and caused it to pour out the front. 

I am glad the wiring diagram helped you.

Chet...

Quote from: ski on August 25, 2007, 05:56:17 PM
The car had cranked and I was getting spark to the points and the head lights worked. Would it still do that if the battery had been hooked up wrong?  I don't want to fry anthing when I hook the battery back up.  Any advice?

Thanks,
Sean

Reversing the polarity of the 29 would still allow the lights, horn and starter to crank.  You may have a problem with the distributor in that it is the only device in the car that would be polarity sensitive.

You are correct in that this car was originally Positive Ground.  It could be wired as negative ground if the distributor coil was changed or if the coil wiring was reversed.  My car does not have an original distributor so I can't give you any advice as to what to look for.

See original wiring diagram:



Chet...

George,

If you go to the link below, this was a post I started on the POC Forum.  It has a lot of info on the subject. 

http://plymouthbulletin.com/smf/index.php?topic=1137.0

If I can't find one at Hershey this year I am going to have a friend make one for me.  He is a machinist by hobby and a mechanical engineer by profession.  I am pretty sure I will find one at Hershey.  I am told that the Ford modal A used the same threads on their axel but I don't know for sure or if the Model T will work as a substitute.   

Good Luck,

Chet...

Interesting,   I thought the water pump and mechanical fuel pump were cut in some time during the 30-U production run.  Since the water pump was added in 1930, I assumed that the PA & PB had a water pump.  If this is in fact a PB block then if the PB can be made into a thermo then it should be relatively easy to cut in a water pump on the old style U block.   

I remember someone on the POC Board asking about cutting in a water pump on a Model -29U block.   I know a strange question for the POC Board.  Modifications are not always welcome but it makes sense that the blocks were the same except for some additional holes to accommodate the water pump.  I know that the 196 and the 175 use the same engine gasket set plus or minus a few extra gaskets to accommodate the water pump and fuel setups.  It stands to reason that the blocks were the same. 

I saw a PB in a recent show and what a difference between the 32 & 33 cars and my 29.   Two to three years of production made a big difference in materials and workmanship.  My assumption is that after the depression both labor and materials came cheep and Plymouth took advantage of the opportunity to improve their product.  You can definitely see it in the cars of the mid-thirties.  In my opinion some of the nicest styling and quality Plymouth produced as well as other manufactures. 

Chet...

Doug,

I agree.., 40 is a very comfortable speed for these cars.   My Son-in-law ridding behind me said that he clocked me between 50 & 55 running down Rt 28 near Dulles airport.  Dead flat road, no grade.  Of course this is pushing the car but I never had it completely revved out.   If conditions are right you may get it up to 65 mph but it would not be a sustainable driving speed.

I don't have the gas reservoir so I am using an electric fuel pump.  Maximum 2 PSI and it works great.   Once I finish the restoration on my 48 I will garage the 29 for a couple years for an engine rebuild and a redo of the wood substructure.   The car runs OK but when climbing hills the engine groans a lot, pulls strong but is definitely sounding like she could use some new main bearings.   I also burn a lot of oil, maybe a qt per 100 miles so an engine tare down is definitely on the near horizon.

Still driving although the weather here is just to hot for cruising in the 29 Plymouth.  Yesterday it was 102 at Dulles airport and 98 degrees at 8:00 PM.

Chet...

The Plymouth Owners manual 1929 states:

Air Cleaner

The air drawn into the carburetor contains a certain amount of dust which is an abrasive, and if allowed to enter the cylinders will cause more rapid wear of the pistons, rings, cylinders, and it gradually works into the oil pan and is circulated through the engine.   The air cleaner ( Fig. 8 ) removes the dust from the air before it enters the carburetor by centrifugal force of the air currents within the air cleaner and throws it down into the open space beside the engine. The draft from the radiator cooling fan drives the dust past the engine.  The air cleaner requires no attention.



Vents in the front of the air cleaner get the incoming air rotating.  Theoretically it sounds OK but I wouldn't want to be in a sand storm in the desert.  Keep an eye on ebay.., they sometimes pop up.  A good Plymouth swap meet might also do the trick.

Hope this helps.   Chet...

I am not sure what the recommended rating was but my 29U had a 15 Amp when I purchased it.   Keep in mind that the Fuse only protects the Lights and Horn ckt.  See diagram below.  The generator, ignition, and starter motor are fuse less.

Item 31 is the fuse.  Generator Max output = 16 Amps.  In order to keep the battery charged total electrical consumption needs to be less then 16 Amps.  Probably a 10 Amp Fuse would work OK.



Chet...