New build thread; 48 Plymouth

[Mike P]

".... I stared cleaning up and painting POR-15 on everything that's not getting body color paint; insides of the fenders, the bottom of the bumper filler panels, bumper brackets, etc......."

That's usually one part of a project I dread and am happy when I'm done with it, but it sure is nice to pick them up all cleaned and ready to put on when you're ready for them.

[falconvan]

Bob, I've seen that picture before; it is pretty funny! Apparently the wave is supposed to break Saturday with a high of ONLY 91. I'll have to get my thermals underwear out for it.

You're right, Mike. Sitting there for hours with an air grinder is rough on the back but I cant bring myself to put rusty parts back on, even if you wont be able to see them. The look of a clean, painted undercarrige is worth the effort.

[falconvan]

Ok, the deck lid is finally coming together after a lot of work. While Kyle's taking care of that mess I started looking at what to do with the doors. The sides and top fit great but the lower edge stuck out pst the body line and I was all out of hinge adjustment. Since I had to do some minor repair anyway on the door bottom anyway, I sliced it about 1/8" wide from end to end on the bottom, pulled it together with a clamp, and welded it together. It came out much better.

[falconvan]

This is the outer skin from one decklid, the inner support from another, and a whole lot of patching. Still a ways to go but at least it's all in one piece. I painted the insides of both before we put them together. Also Im planning on one piece windows so I cut out all the vent window supports and patched in the factory lock hole. It'll have locking handles when Im done because the factory locks wont work with the bear claw latches.

[kbuhagiar]

This is the outer skin from one decklid, the inner support from another, and a whole lot of patching. Still a ways to go but at least it's all in one piece. I painted the insides of both before we put them together. Also Im planning on one piece windows so I cut out all the vent window supports and patched in the factory lock hole. It'll have locking handles when Im done because the factory locks wont work with the bear claw latches.

What kind of locking handles are you going to use? Are they from another make/model, or were you planning on modifying the stock handles?

Just curious, as I just went through much effort coming to a "locking" solution with the bear claw latches on my P15.

[Stovebolter]

Wow. Looks like your coming right along on your build! Going to look great!

David

[Dave Severson]

Coming along great...now it's about time for all those little things that eat up soooooooooo many hours!!!! The side windows are gonna look kewl and will leave a lot of "experts" wondering what's different, too!!! Some of them fun things I enjoy doing too!

[falconvan]

Thanks, all. I debated about tackling these one piece windows, this is new territory for me. It's a Hagan kit and the instructions look pretty good so we're going to give it the old college try.

As far as the handles, there's serveral different styles of reproduction handles on Ebay that lock. I havent picked a specific one yet but the late 30's Ford ones look pretty good. I just have to figure out how to make the handle fit the Plymouth trim plate that it mounts to. What kind of locking system did you end up going with?

[kbuhagiar]

As far as the handles, there's serveral different styles of reproduction handles on Ebay that lock. I havent picked a specific one yet but the late 30's Ford ones look pretty good. I just have to figure out how to make the handle fit the Plymouth trim plate that it mounts to. What kind of locking system did you end up going with?

It was a challenge, but I am proud of the results. First of all, if it was my choice, I would have never removed the factory door latches and locks. The ones used on the P15 were ahead of their time and perfectly adequate. And I will never again purchase a vehicle with any portion of the door latch/lock mechanism modified, shaved, or removed.

However, the previous owner had the bear claw latches installed and the outside door lock cylinders removed and a remote door lock system installed, so I had to work with the hand that had been dealt to me, so to speak.

I originally considered re-installing the outside door lock cylinders, since the latches installed on my car do have a provision for locking. I decided against that after I determined that it would have been far too difficult to fabricate the inside linkage necessary to connect the lock cylinder with the latch. Besides that, I still could not devise a method to lock/unlock from the inside using the factory door handles.

Also, the existing remote door lock system was unreliable. After locking myself out of the car, and having to get in by removing the back seat through the trunk I decided on the following: (a) remove and replace the existing remote entry system with one that was reliable; (b) devise a method for manually locking/unlocking the doors from the inside; and (c) fabricating an emergency door lock release system, in case of lock-out.

First I removed the old remote entry system and replaced it with a new setup from Electric-Life. The plungers in this system were much more robust and reliable, so this restored my confidence.

Next, I fabricated a manual lock/unlock button setup, which looks very much like a typical factory setup with the door lock buttons coming up through the window garnish moldings on either side, very similar to the rear door locking setup on four-door P15s.





It was kind of scary drilling holes into the factory garnish moldings, but after much measuring and summoning up of courage I did the deed. I'm rather proud of the results. Another benefit of the door lock buttons is that when you pull up/push down on either one it also unlocks/locks the other door in unison.

Lastly, a friend and I fabricated an emergency-release cable which goes through the passenger side adjacent to the upper door hinge and comes out in the front wheel well. It utilizes a locking cylinder with a key which helps with my peace of mind (I'm no fan of the emergency release cables which merely terminate somewhere under the car and would allow anyone who knows about it to walk up and reach under and unlock the door).



To operate, you insert the key, turn it a quarter turn, and remove the entire cylinder, which is attached to the release cable, and pull on it. After you have unlocked the door, you replace the cylinder in its holder and lock it back into place.

I'm very happy with how everything turned out. Let me know if you have any questions.

[NTFDAY]

Very ingenious and great engineering and also peace of mind.

[moparjack44]

On my 48 DeSoto, I used original latches, and lock cylinders. I thought the lock cylinders were cool with the little twist flaps to cover where you insert the key.
To prevent lock out, I leave one of the vents unlocked. Probably not the smarted thing, but it works for me, and all was simple. I believe in 'simple.
See my signature
But, I sure do envy/admire y'all's imaginations and talents. Us old ignorant country boys gotta keep it inexpensive and simple.

Jack

[falconvan]

That's a really nice job, Kbuhagiar. If my latches had been good i'd have stayed with them but they were pretty much junk. I'm hoping these locking handles work out. If not, you've got a good looking solution. Where did you source the little lock with the removeable cylinder?

[kbuhagiar]

On my 48 DeSoto, I used original latches, and lock cylinders. I thought the lock cylinders were cool with the little twist flaps to cover where you insert the key.
To prevent lock out, I leave one of the vents unlocked. Probably not the smarted thing, but it works for me, and all was simple. I believe in 'simple.
See my signature
But, I sure do envy/admire y'all's imaginations and talents. Us old ignorant country boys gotta keep it inexpensive and simple.

Jack

Thank you sir for the kind words.

Believe me, I am a big fan of simple solutions. When I purchased the car last year I did not realize that the latches and locks had been modified. I would have MUCH preferred the stock setup.

That will be the FIRST thing I check next time I am in the marrket for a new toy car!

[stovens]

Ken - very trick setup of locks and emergency releases. The whole setup looks professional and nice!

[falconvan]

I finally got the passenger door finished today; there were a lot of hours in this door. Got all the welds ground and some filler along the bottom, got all the old door gasket off and coated the inside of the door with a rust inhibitor. Next is the drivers door which is not as bad. the bottom fits good so no work there. I got the latch installed and have a small repair to make in the front corner.