Thread: 1937 Plymouth 5 Window Coupe

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Originally Posted by techinspector1

Just a couple of random thoughts.....

The driveshaft should be the last item you buy for the car. Put 1/2 tank of gas in it and have two people to sit in the front. Take the car to any business in town that has a drive-on lift. Push it on the lift, get the two passengers in the seat and get underneath to take your readings with an angle finder and tape measure.

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After talking to a few people I now plan on waiting until a get more weight on the frame to order. Especially now since I have a lift in my shop it is not that big of a deal to get underneath it later.

Originally Posted by techinspector1

Just a couple of random thoughts.....

If you haven't done it yet, jack the car up on a flat, level floor and drop some plumb bobs down to the floor from the vicinity of each wheel. Use factory brackets, holes, whatever to drop from. Establish a centerline and measure between the marks on the floor to insure that the whole mess is square.
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I actually have checked the frame over for squareness. Everything seemed to be really close. It was a long time ago but it I seem to remember it being within and 1/8" when I measured. Squareness has always been once of my pet peeves since I have to check it on every building we build. I have seen so many problems caused from something being out of square that it drives me nuts. Something so small can usually be fixed so easily early on, but wait to long and it turns into a total nightmare and all you end up doing is chasing your tail trying to make things "Just Work"!

Originally Posted by techinspector1

Just a couple of random thoughts.....

Extend the exhaust pipes out past the rear bumper. Terminating them under the car with produce a drone of the exhaust note against the underside sheet metal of the car and will make you nuts pretty quickly. You will begin to hate driving the car. Been there, done that.

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Out the back was my original thought. Although I now have had some thoughts of coming out behind the rear wheels (still out the back only pointing more down). There is a ton of space behind the rear wheels with these big fenders. That is why I want to get the body back on the frame so I can check things out a little closer before I make any final decisions.

Originally Posted by techinspector1

Just a couple of random thoughts.....

If you still have the address of the fellows who put the MII front suspension under the car, send them a bottle of wine and a thank you note. They had the good sense to retain the strut rod instead of going with one of those fosdick aftermarket kits with the strut rod eliminator. This front end you have under the Plymouth WILL NOT fold up on you like some of that aftermarket junk. Famed automotive journalist Pat Ganaal has stated that he sees several hundred failed front suspensions each year on rod runs.

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Good to hear you think that they did a good job. From what I have found these old guys did a great job on the items they put together. Unfortunately it is my understanding that at least one on these gentlemen has passed on (actually both have I think). I have never been able to speak to them. When I was trying to get the title for the vehicle sorted out (they had a lien from over 20 years ago in it and the bank had changed hands/names four times). I was never able to get a hold of one of them. I was only able to speak with one of the kids (he was no help at all either). Anyways the title is fixed and I now have a Good, Clear, Michigan Title (not assembled) for this vehicle in my name.

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