Marks winter of "59"

[Mark Merritt]

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk,was never away just some sand bagging,now I have more time since the weather has changed.This winter I would like to fix the clock(don't work)the horns,and get them mounted,make the heater functional and maybe drop the tank and give it A resto,and replace the leaf shackle bushings,We put A couple of thousand miles on the rebuild last summer and it runs f a n t a s t i c !!! I also had Karps rebuild the brake booster,the brakes work wonderful.Just getting all the mechanichs done on it and hopefully next winter it will get the paint and interior done,will run another summer to get A few miles on her to get it back to A driver,might even bring it to Carlisle for A road trip!!!!!!!! Mark M

[rogerh]

Yep, as long as you have a heated shop, winter is the perfect time!

[rogerh]

The probable reason your clock doesnt work is the car battery was allowed to die at some point, this caused the contact points in the clock to fuse together. You may have luck opening the clock, un-sticking, and filing the points smooth. The other option is to send it out for conversion to quartz crystal movement. I liked the original clock movement,... the points would close, completing a circuit which energized an electromagnet which wound a clockspring...can't remember, seems the spring re-wound every five minutes or so.

[Mark Merritt]

Roger;Ihad an extra clock that did not work, but still looked good I bought at A good price, converted to quartz by the clock works,in Wisconson,looks and works great,accurrate,but no ticking,the one that is out of the car is in A box,looks great but does not work,I may have them repair that one and keep it put away for now.The fellow that fixed it at The Clock Works told me about the low voltage, and to hook up A battery disconnect when the car sets or stored for long periods of time.I agree I do like the ticking sound better,my Buick winds about every 3 minutes. Mark M

[Mark Merritt]

Still picking away at the heater issues,all is going well.Re-vamping the heater box so the dampers will open and close correctly,the old cardboard is A little warped but is basically in good shape.I soaked the push button switch overnight in A jar of thin weight oil and hit it with A little compressed air the next day,and is working smooth as silk,I also checked the switch with A multi- meter and is working correct(hi/lo). My light shield for the buttons was A little toasty,I thought of putting it in A lamenator(cover both sides in plastic)like you do for documents,but tried clear shipping tape instead but wasn't real happy with that.Instead I had A Christmas card of the right texture and A photo finnish,so I laid the old one on the card and hit it with A light spray paint to make A stencil,and cut it out,it turned out well.I also lubed the heater damper door joints and everything else under the dash,(was binding) now it works effortlessly.Next is to get the box back in and replace all the vacuum hoses. Mark M

[Mark Merritt]

For what it is worth I found A pair of front bench seat return springs from Neil Jenks at Dynamic Restoration 25.00 A pair(new) mine was broke,it is the same springs to 69 Barracuda.

[rogerh]

Helpful information!

[eroomas]

Just an update of what I have been up to,or underneath of,I decided to freshen up the fury.Got the tranny back,it had A complete rebuild including the torque converter.I have decided to leave it "natural",and not paint it.Some of the assembley stamps and yellow paint marks are kind of cool.The 318 is almost done,it will be .030.over,my guy is doing the heads as I speak,hope to get it back in A couple of weeks. I am now doing the suspension,bushings,ball joints,etc.etc.The drivers side turned out good,I just started the pass. side. I took off the front clip and was surprised there is no rust,all hardware came off nicely.Am going to paint the engine area,and dress alot of the wiring.I have seen alot of the pics of some of the others projects and am amazed at the before and after results,you guys are "PLYMOUTH GODS". The rest of the car may be done next year,I didnt want to bite off too much,just want to finnish what I started.Will stay in touch,it will keep me busy in Erie this winter!!!!!!! Mark

Nice work

[Mark Merritt]

I'M going to do A "Faulkner Redo" so to speak,removal of trim,bumpers, grill,door panels,seats,carpet,headliner,door gaskets,and yes, windshield and rear glass.All in preparation for A paint job and interior.Any thoughts of do's and don'ts,it does not look too difficult to me,just going to take some time,(a winter project) it is what this car has needed for A long time!!!!! Will check on previous posts and research A few things,I have an excellent body man( and friend) for the body and paint,I will do the rest,windlace,cat whiskers,etc.etc.etc.Dick,or anyone, anytime you want to throw in your 2cents i'll gladly listen!!! Will probably start fairly soon. Mark P.S. I have ordered the carpet,head liner and door panels about A month ago and I know it takes A long time for the order to go through, would like to get this done by june of 16.We have put about 4,500 miles on since the rebuild in my previous posts, and all is well mechanicaly,I think the time is right to go farther.

[Dick Koch]

Hi Mark - First thing for windlass, cats wishers, and any other soft parts you will need can be had at Gary Goers. I suggest you order ASAP because sometimes it takes awhile. He also rebuilds vent doors and supplies some hard parts including trim clips etc. He has an online catalog if you need it. You can follow the posts of rebuilding of my cars, John Fowlie's and John Quinn's cars on the site for some pointers.
Please let us know where you sourced your door panels and especially the headliner.
Thanks,
Dick.

[Mark Merritt]

Dick; I will give Gary A look up,thanks,I ordered my interior headliner,door panels,carpet,through SMS.The carpet came yesterday and will stock pile as things come in.I know the door panels take months and months.The headliner I chose is A bone(darker off white with A slight pattern) said to replicate original,as well of the seat material(red vinyl with dark fabric),door panels look pretty close to stock.None of this is cheap,but I don't care and plan on keeping the car for A long time!! We love her!! I will post pictures as things progress,I enjoy doing these things but at times it can have it's moments.Aside from the Plymouth I also decided to wrestle another different kind of animal as well,A 1959 Wurlitzer juke box,anyone into those????? Works,plays,just needs cleaned up,it is coooool!! A friend is checking out the amp. Later Mark

[Steve Storey]

Hi Mark-Does sound like you're having fun. Awhile back I got carried away restoring a 50's pepsie machine. It turned out to be a real money maker as it vends for fifteen cents and the top of the line beverages cost ten times that. Typical of my business dealings.

[Faulkner]

A 1959 Wurlitzer juke box,anyone into those????? Works,plays,just needs cleaned up,it is coooool!! A friend is checking out the amp.

Mark, you want to check in with Ron Keij. Jukeboxes are another one of his favorite hobbies!

Dan

[Mark Merritt]

Got started getting my hands dirty.It is going well,the passenger floor needs patched,I already knew about that one.I think the car sat out from previous owners and I suspect water had leaked past the bad door gasket and puddled at that area over the years.Question,did all 59 plymouth assembley use an under coat on the interior floor surface? It looks kind of like tar,may have been soft,but now is brittle.I am scraping it off,it comes off pretty easy.Going to clean it up,paint,and put down hush matt or eastwood(foil/rubber).Question,is it easy to remove and install the window glass,front and rear? Should I remove the dash(would like to paint it),am also taking out the headliner,it is toast,later Mark

[Faulkner]

Mark, I chickened out on pulling out my dash - I got pretty good results without doing it:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1173&start=45#p6906

Here's a snippet from a longer thread, about my experience with my headliner:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1092&start=45#p7221

Dan