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Scott Bonesteel

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Posts posted by Scott Bonesteel

  1. One of the problems that arises with metal seat frames that are found in most vintage cars with bench seats as shown above by Skvitt is how do you pass the belts through the seat frame in the MIDDLE.  I agree that a strong piece of flatbar or angle under the floor is needed to spread the load so the bolt does not pull out under load.  However, you still need to pass the fabric belts through the metal frame of the seat so that they do not chafe and eventually fail.  Julianos has great anchor plate options but unless you have bucket seats their 'hard' buckle belts, basically shrouded in plastic, don't work well.  What I used in my 34 Plymouth sedan was 4 junkyard-sourced belt protectors, which are basically a hard plastic flange with a slot in it and an extended shroud for the belt, extending about 4-6 inches, through which the belt extends.  This protects the belt from chafing and brings the end, both the buckle and tab sides, up through the cushions so it is accessible.  I had to do this on the outer sides of my seat frame as well, and was able at that end to go directly to the body bolt to the frame, which is right at the B-pillar.  Photo is from an ebay listing for bench seat 'seat belt guides', which is similar to what I used on my 34 (mine came from a Lincoln and were somewhat longer but otherwise identical). Have fun and good luck, very important safety feature if you are going to drive your Buick.

    seat belt guides.jpg

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  2. That 34 Ford coupe was probably most responsible for my now life-long fascination with old cars, particularly any make from 1934.  Or, perhaps, it was that photo above which was the cover of Rod and Custom titled "Are Coupes for Chickens?", which was a common saying in that time frame.  Granted, there were other aspects of the photo that appealed to a guy like me in his early 20s.  The car first appeared in Rod and Custom in a 'Garage Scene' issue, where cars being built all around the country were briefly profiled, single, black and white photo of the car in an unpainted state, taken from the rear.  Yes, the California Kid movie was a 'made for TV' movie starring Martin Sheen, Vic Morrow, Nick Nolte and Michelle Phillips.  There are shots in the movie taken of the engine compartment which show a flathead Ford V8, which I don't believe was ever in the car.  The more modern Ford V8 would not have fit with the period piece movie.  Great looking car done perfectly for a period hot rod/street rod.

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  3. Looking for a solid, need not be perfect, 1968 Firebird coupe with the OHC 6 and automatic transmission, need not be a Sprint/4-BBL.  Not interested in 1967 or 1969 models, even if they have the OHC 6.  West of the Mississippi if possible but all responses answered/considered.  Had one years ago, sold it and have regretted it ever since.  Thanx!  SMB

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  4. Stockton Wheel made a set of wheels for me circa 20 years ago and their work was flawless.  The original owner has since died (unfortunately I believe he committed suicide) but the business has continued, haven't done business with them but assume the quality may still be there.  Keep us posted on the results if you use them!

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  5. 1 hour ago, John348 said:

    Scott,

    You brought up an important point, if somebody wants those plates "who cares?" I can have YOM plates on my vintage cars but I don't bother, it's just not that important to me, but I don't. and who cares? I don't care if anyone does.

    If people are worried about big brother watching them then they are are either doing something wrong or they are paranoid about doing something wrong. The cell phone in your pocket is tracking everywhere you go anyway, and everyone is worried about a license plate? Those plates are marketed to 20 something year-old's from a private company, that the State of California recognizes as a legitimate tag , no different then a YOM tag, Again WHO CARES?  

     

    Nice car!

    CALVIN.jpg.898b4f8b28c813790031b7b4a2ca8e46.jpg

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    • Haha 1
  6. OK, I will admit to living in California, known to some folks to the North and East of us as 'the land of fruits and nuts'.  I would never have one of these on my cars, new or old, and it does look like another case of 'just because you can doesn't mean you should'.  A few random thoughts:

    --For an older car, makes about as much sense as a set of digital gauges on a Model A.  If you want digital gauges, buy a new Hyundai.

    --Seems to be a symptom of the 'put everything on line' syndrome.  Still can't figure out why some folks want to put their refrigerator 'on line'.

    --Most likely, this was less of a 'Big Brother' action than a cost saving measure.  Don't have to pay to make the steel (although I think the new ones are aluminum), even if they are being made by prison labor (do they still do that??).  No mailing costs for the plates or the renewal stickers, just update on line.  Try dealing with the California government using 'paper' and you will be forced to interact with the state electronically.  Any initial cost for these electronic plates will be borne, as stated above, by the consumer.

    --And yes, the impact addressed by other posters of a potential governmental 'snooping'/'monitoring' is there, even though I am sure they would deny it.  Experience has shown that if the technology can be abused, it will be.

     

    I will stick with my California YOM plates.

    20200515_074456[1].jpg

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  7. Mopar part numbers in the 30s drive me nuts.  Doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to them, but maybe there was.  In any event, that 604160 number falls right in the 1934 range but it does not show up in any of the 33, 34 or 35 parts lists for Plymouth, Dodge or Chrysler, including the Canadian parts list.  Don't have a DeSoto parts list so I cannot address that one.  The light itself looks like a 33 and more in the DeSoto shape, much more pronounced taper at the mount end than the Plymouth or Dodge.  In addition, the bezel lacks the two mounting bolts for the lens that is seen on Plymouths or Dodges from 1933.  The mount looks somewhat short, which would indicate to me it is for a coupe, you can tell if the two side by side bolt bosses are of equal height, the coupe fenders being flat at the mounting point. If one is taller than the other then probably for a sedan, those fenders being tapered to the outside.  The side with the tall mount goes to the outside of the fender, so that will tell you what side it fits.  Perhaps the DeSoto folks can chime in with their thoughts.  And yes, some of these came chromed from the factory and bear their own part numbers.  Good luck with this one.

  8. Some years ago I was looking at purchasing a similar Pontiac sedan delivery (big Pontiac chrome bar down the middle of the rear door, etc.).  Lost out on that one but as part of the search I ran across an article on the Oldsmobile sedan deliveries that represented that they were manufactured on a limited basis to be distributed to Oldsmobile dealers.  Can't for the life of me remember where that article was, may have been in the old, hard copy Cars and Parts.

     

    Some further information here https://www.justcars.com.au/news-and-reviews/feature-oldsmobile-sedan-deliveries/784454

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  9. I agree with Keiser.  Keeping in mind that my 34 Plymouth sedan (same front seat assembly) has mohair upholstery which may have less resistance than the material you have, I angle the rear of the cushion at about 30 degrees, with the front of the cushion up and, as Keiser says, try to push the rear of the seat cushion as far in under the back cushion as you can.  You should then be able to drop the front of the cushion so that those tabs are either behind the frame of the seat or are close enough that a good shove towards the rear will allow the tabs to pop in.

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  10. All of the 34 KC express (pickup) were suicide doors.  That is also true of the 'first series' 35 trucks, with a change to standard doors happening in about April 35.  Yours has the 33-34 dash so it is clearly a 34, they went to the 3 round gauges in late 34.  Top should be the typical wood framed/chicken wire/padding/rubberized top material, but it is typical to find these tops filled with sheet metal by owners who didn't want to take the effort to replace the original type tops once they started to leak.  The way the tops were originally installed, the top material wrapped around the wooden frame and metal edging which overlapped the recess in the body top and then was tucked into the opening for the wood frame.  The entire assembly was then pulled down/sealed from the inside with screws through the wood frame.  This means that the headliner had to be removed to perform this operation, probably another reason they were 'fixed' with sheet metal.  There is no edge rubber around the top that can be removed to replace the topping.  I have a 34 Dodge DRXX coupe that suffered the same fate.  Take a look at the website for 'House of Tops' in the Portland, Oregon area, they make an original type insert for your truck. (Picture attached is a coupe insert taken from their website.)  Have fun, these are great trucks.

    34 top frame.jpg

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  11. Don't want to hijack the thread, but my DRXX is on the back burner right now because I am working on my 34 PE convertible, have finished the chassis and drive train and now have it all blown apart, body off, to paint and then re-assemble the chassis.  Plus, still working for a living and taking care of my 93 and 91-year old parents.  Will get the cars done eventually... .  SMB

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  12. Doesn't apply to John's situation since he has a coupe, but for those following this thread because of an interest in 34 Mopars, the channel on back door windows on 4-door sedans I believe are different than those used in the coupes.  Since these cars typically have the chrome window frame in the front doors and the rear quarter windows in the sedans are operable and also have a chrome trim, the proper replacement window 'fuzzies' for the rear doors have an integral chrome trim on the outside edge, which is not there on the front doors which are plain as shown in John's picture above.  Note that I do not believe that this applies to the plain-Jane models such as the PF, PG, DRXX, etc., because they do not have the chrome trim or the quarter windows on the front doors.  Otherwise agree with jpage's comment about Restoration Specialties as a source.  

  13. Need a little more information as to which 'dimensions' you are looking for.  Assuming you are looking for the wheelbase, in 1934 the Dodge 'Express' (which was how they referred to the 'pickup' model) came in two wheelbases:  The KC model at 111" and the long wheelbase KCL at 119".  

  14. Welcome to the land of 34 Mopar tail light lenses.  I still, after many years, cringe when I am putting them in.  Put the top in first, pushing the springs in as far as they will go and then (and I think this is the real trick) try to some extent slide them up a little bit.  You should then be able to work down the side of the lens, getting it past the lip of the shell, and then gently push the bottom of the lens into the body.  Typically, this leaves the lens inside of the shell but a little high.  You then have to gently work it down so it snuggles into the edge of the shell, with the small nub at the center bottom of the lens fitting into the small notch in the shell.  This nutty way to install the lenses is probably why so many lenses are found with the edges chipped.  Good luck!

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