Quit whining, be grateful you have cash! Merry Christmas to you, Mary Kay and Martha.
Dick.
…and a very Merry Christmas to you, Yvonne and Bertha Irene!
Martha did not get picked up yesterday… But she got picked up today!!
The USPS, however, did not come through for me. Before I had a hauler, and when I expected I would have to have Martha’s brakes repaired in California (to drive it on the trailer), I sent two boxes of brake parts - same Post Office, same time, same agent - to the seller, last Wednesday. One arrived Friday afternoon. The other finally arrived today at the seller’s Post Office. I called Customer Affairs, and asked if they could expedite delivery - they could not. Grrrrr! Not wanting the car to leave without the parts, I asked to halt delivery, and have the parts returned to me. They complied. And now, the parts sit in the Post Office…
Will they get back to me, before Martha arrives at Drexel Automotive? Anybody’s guess. At least, they’ll have the emergency brake, and can install that to move the car in and out. And I have a new set of tubing for them to install. But they won’t have the master cylinder, or half the linings, or… Springs? Cylinders? I forget what was in each box. I did ask that they expedite shipment - they owe me that, but we will see what happens.
It doesn’t matter now. After four weeks of struggle and anxious worry, Martha is finally on her way to me. A Christmas Miracle! I’ll take it.
Congratulations Dan, now you have a new Elephant to start munching on.
Dick
Good news, bad news!
Martha will arrive tomorrow! I took a call from the driver, he expects to drop the car off between 2-4 p tomorrow. Gawd, I’ll be bringing Mary Kay home from JFK - I don’t expect I’ll get home before 1 p, and I have to meet the driver to pay him. This is cutting it close! But, I will be taking lots of pix of Martha tomorrow. It will be cold, but sunny. The car won’t get dropped off right at Drexel Automotive; it will get dropped off at a shopping center nearby, where I’ll meet up with the driver. Then a short flatbed tow to Drexel Automotive, where they’ll back the flatbed in and drop the car for the lift.
That’s the good news. The bad news: The driver’s side rear wheel is locked, according to the driver. Well, that’s not entirely bad news, given that I knew it needed a brake job. But the other thing the driver told me: It doesn’t start. And, the seller told me it runs.
A belated call to the seller: Oh yeah, it ran out of gas. And then the battery had run down. But fershur, it runs.
Well: We will see. I expected it would need a (6 volt!) battery, so I picked one up. And gas is easily come by. But I won’t really have a good handle on how deep I am into this for a week or so. Stay tuned to my misadventures!
Oh, and a footnote: Martha’s carrying the emergency brake lining and box #1 of two boxes of brake parts. I’ve got a new brake line kit. What’s missing - and, according to the USPS website, still sitting in the Redwood City Post Office - is box #2 of brake parts. So Hauser can get started, but can’t finish the brakes until they come home. I suspect the wheel and master cylinders are in box #2, but I can’t be sure. At least, if the emergency brake gets fixed, and we can get the damn thing running again, he can move it in and out of the shop.
What a long day it’s been! Martha arrived by trailer today. And yes, I am in love…
Martha needs some serious work. But, my plan is to preserve her, not restore her - do some modest body work, rustproof, maybe detail the engine compartment a bit, slap a Maaco on her. And drive her! She will be the car I take to go grocery shopping, or run to the hardware store. And return the waves to those who point and wave.
All the rubber grommets around the windows are in excellent condition, but the tailgate seals need replacing, as well as door whiskers. There’s a “sag” issue with the driver’s door, and some rust issues in the passenger rocker and the tailgate. But nothing that can’t be addressed over time. And the heavy duty vinyl upholstery is in awesome condition! Now to get the brakes fixed, and to get her running again (probably, I need to drop the tank, flush and coat). Another elephant to nibble on.
The tailgate looks worse than it actually is. There’s no rust-through - some power brushing, ospho, and rustproofing will set her straight
Envy, envy, envy. Old age sucks!
Dick.
From the CA “Ownership Certificate” (title), I tracked down the previous owner to the seller. I found an email for him - here’s our exchange:
I also went to Google Maps with his address - and there’s Martha!
Glad you finally got Martha home, Dan!!
Been a long battle with finding a carrier!!
Happy New Year also!!!
Thank you John! Yes, quite a struggle, but it’s all over now.
Happy New Year!!
Dan
Today was my Fifth Wedding Anniversary to Mary Kay, and we exchanged gifts. What woman does this?!?
I am the luckiest man on the Planet Earth.
…and sitting at my desk, and glancing up at one of the two pictures Mary Kay gave me after I returned from Cuba, years ago:
You see, it really is destiny.
I had a bit of a scare with Martha, as John Fowlie, Ray Ward and a couple of other folks know. I compared the VIN on the A pillar to the VIN on the title, and they didn’t match! Same number of digits - the first two, middle two and last two match, but another digit was transposed, and one differed. Oh no! I went back to the seller, but he’s gone incommunicado… John mentioned that Ray knew of a way to get a “lost” title through the state of Vermont, and Ray provided a couple of YouTube links. I was prepared to go that route, and then I had an e-conversation with Christopher Housecat Neapolitan, who once owned a '53 Plymouth.
He told me that Chrysler titled cars from the factory with the block number!!
VIN on A pillar
block number
So Martha’s street legal. Now, to figure out which number PA wants to use. As Chris pointed out, people swap blocks all the time - I’m lucky that Martha has the original block.
And speaking of which, she’s firing up now. Drexel Auto told me there’s sludge in the tank, so I have to drop it and get it reconditioned. They blew out the line and cleaned the filter, and the pump is fine - but the carburetor accelerator pump is shot, so I’ve ordered them a rebuild kit. But she’s running! She rolls now, too - the emergency brake was locked. They’ve got a new band, and a cable is on its way to replace the kinked one. And don’t you know, after a nearly three week vacation to California and back, the rest of my brake parts are scheduled to come home today. The drums on the car seem to be OK. With any luck, Martha will be parked in my driveway by the end of next week!
Oh - and that star symbol between the P25 (the model number for '54 Plymouths) and the remaining digits? According to Jim Benjaminson from the Plymouth Owner’s club, that means it’s a 230 and not a 218. Raw Plymouth power, doncha know!
P.S. - there’s an overstamp on the block in a smaller font, “FA28566”. Jim didn’t know what it was, he speculated that it might be a state number of some sort. Anyone have any ideas?
Street Legal! Title comes in the mail in 7 days. (Whew!) And the brake parts came home from their California vacation!
We’re on a roll here.
…er, not quite right. This is the symbol that means it’s a 230:
So, Martha’s not the powerhouse I thought she was. I guess the top speed is 70, instead of 75 
Whew!!!
That is a relief! Nothing is more stressful than having a car and having difficulty with the DMV about transferring a title. Glad it worked out. Interesting that they used the engine SN for the title from the factory. I can see where that would cause serious issues after an engine swap or two. Happy motoring
I scored this hood ornament from a guy on the Plymouth Owners Club who had it in a box of Dodge parts, and didn’t know what it was for… Fifty bucks, it’s near perfect.
There’s another guy who put disc brakes on the front of his Suburban, and is parting with his front drums - these are like hen’s teeth (the rears are plentiful), I’m picking them up for a song.
Meanwhile, Martha sits at Drexel Automotive under cover, awaiting her turn for a brake job. It’s not like I can do anything when the brakes are done - it’s just too damn cold, so I guess I don’t mind waiting. My first job will be to drop the gas tank, clean it out and use the Eastwood reconditioning kit I bought for it. No fun, though, in winter weather.
The winter doldrums…