Jack Bennett

For the past year one of my reanimation projects has been a 1951 Plymouth Cambridge. This car has been a lesson on how a car should not be built. I love the power train, and the engine is the redeeming quality to make the construction of the car something other than a complete disaster. The car was gutted, not a salvageable piece of cloth was left, the floor boards were rotted out and the trunk floor could be used as a sieve. The windows were delaminating and the windshield had swelled and cracked into a million pieces. And, the rubber seals around the doors, hood and trunk were either missing or rock hard, and window seals were all gone. All that remained of a headliner was the memory there ever was one, and a few shards of stained and rotted cloth behind the attaching hardware. But, this wasn’t totally due to leakage around windows. Rather, the car has a lot of chrome trim, most especially around the areas where the top is attached to the body. This chrome is attached using wire pins, compressed and inserted into holes which penetrates the body skin and opens a direct route for water to enter the car. In nearly every instance these holes are drilled in a place which situates them directly above a area which collects and holds the water inside the body. This pooled water was trapped inside the closed car, eventually saturated every piece of upholstery and the cotton padding they used to flesh it out. Every time it got warmer inside the car than outside, the water evaporated and rose to saturate the headliner, and the heavy cotton padding behind it. And then, when the interior of the car cooled, the water condensed back into a liquid and was leaked elsewhere inside the car to start a new pool, and to perpetuate the water damage problem. In the 1951 Plymouth, this problem is so pronounced that it actually allowed rust holes to form in the roof and inside the seam where the roof is attached to the body. useless poop? Sure………unless you are restoring a shoebox or bathtub car and aren’t aware the defect exists. The absence of that knowledge, and a single rusted seam will eventually cause your new upholstery to fail. Jack

Hi Porsche 68. When you started the thread you had something in particular in mind. The thread has been started, broken in, and is due its first scheduled maintenance……..so let’s hear it! Jack

In 1962 our cars was a treasured asset which opened up many, otherwise closed, doors. One of these doors was the ability to have a private space to share with your “steady” at the local drive in movie. I had both a “steady” and a chopped, channeled and souped up 1947 Chevy Fleetline which served the purpose very well, and as often as possible. But, one night, as we departed the theater, I seen my younger brother standing along side the road waving his arms frantically, and signifying he wanted a ride. As we were headed for a drive in the desert outside Phoenix, and I didn’t want any company, other than my “steady”, I ignored him and drove on. A few days passed without anything notable happening. Then, upon my return from a day at school, I found my treasured 1947 Chevy Fleetline on blocks, with the wheels and fancy cone hubcaps missing. My younger brother had hinted that dad should check my glove box to see if I kept anything of parental interest there. And dad did check my glove box, and he found some little foil wrapped things there that piqued his parental interest in regards to how my car was being used. During those times you NEVER raised your voice, much less argued with your coach, your teachers, or any person your senior, most especially your dad. I had built the car as a high school voc-tech project, and had worked at two jobs to pay for the parts……in other words, it was wholly mine. Seeing it on blocks, and seeing how easy it was to impose their will on me simply because I was a kid really hurt me deeply. That is why, at 16 years of age, I altered my birth certificate, had my older brother sign my parental consent form, and found myself as a 17 year old commander of a Army main battle tank on the Korean DMZ in 1963. Jack

These things occasionally come available on eBay. They are used across the board on several different makes of cars, at least I have them on both my 1923 DB Roadster and my 1927 Willys Knight. The deal is though, most folks putting them up for sale have no idea what they are, so just keep checking “vintage car parts” and look at the photos.

Using the Model A, the Model T, and, in my case, a 1929 Fargo panel, without going into a lecture on history, or a attempt to explain government legislation, I will remind folks that there were conditions in this country which made converting a sedan into a pickup made perfectly good sense. Accordingly, there is a abundance of Model A, Model T and Dodge pickups, but those on the market, and relatively affordable, began their lives as a sedan. Considering this, there is a glut of pickups and light trucks available on the antique vehicle market. But, in actuality, these are not pickups, but are instead sedans, converted and titled as pickups because of government restrictions on fuel rations for sedans, but not farm vehicles, the lesser cost of registering a truck than a sedan, and the greater need of a farm “truck”, as compared to a farm “sedan” to haul farm “stuff”. If you are looking for a Model T, a Model A or a Dodge pickup, and you are truly knowledgeable regarding the insidious differences between a truck born as a Model A, a Model T or a Dodge truck, you may have scant luck in finding one. However, if you are looking for the same model vehicle, and are not aware of the fact you are buying a converted car, your luck just got 100% better in regards to finding one. OK, so much for the appetizers, and on to the entree. There is a abundant supply of pickups, which are actually cars of that model. On the other hand, real pickups, of that same model are seldom available, and when they are, brings in a very high price. Does this make “pickups” and light trucks of these brand names “rare”, or are they just hiding behind a sedans altered appearance? Jack

Hi Jay. Just a note that I have the new tires for my 1929 Fargo Express Panel, and have found that it has a Dodge DA-6 engine. I should be able to move the truck to its new home later this week, and will let you know about my engine, transmission and drive shaft needs. In the meantime, I see that you have some antique Chrysler steering wheels, and I need to replace the broken….now missing….one on the Fargo The steering wheel has a horn button and the levers for the spark advance and headlights, and they mount to a shaft which runs down the steering column, through the gear box, and work the headlight switch and spark advance rod. The center hole of the steering wheel has a 1” OD, and is secured with a slotted key. I’ll send some photos if they will help.

Hi alsancle. This will work perfectly in the Willys because the transmission is geared to accommodate the six cylinder engine and added weight of the body. But, the Dodge Roadster is more of an open road car than a stop and go car. Getting to my house from the roads along Puget Sound entails going through the little, historic, town of Steilacoom. Steilacoom has no stop lights! Rather, it has six successive stop signs spaced at one block intervals. The Main Street, leading North-South, through Steilacoom leaves the coastline, at waters level, and climbs up the embankment forming the shoreline for about a mile, at an incline of about 30 degrees. For the Willys, going from 1st to 2nd gear, right after leaving the stop sign, and staying there during the drive to the next stop sign, a block uphill away. works great. The Dodge is a different story though because the transmission is geared so low in 1st, and so high in second, that the car can’t achieve any speed above a crawl in 1st, and chokes down, on the steep hill, in 2nd. While the noise and protestations of the Dodge are my greatest worry, the uncertainty that the Dodge is even moving causes following cars to instinctively close the distance between us. I could go on for reams here but I think you get the idea…….the Willys is a good, all around car. The Dodge is a flatland car, and is totally comfortable at 35 MPH, in 3rd gear, on a flat, unpaved road. And, the Dodge having a upside down gear shift pattern makes smooth, spontaneous, gear shifts nearly impossible. I will save going down the hill in the Dodge for another thread. Jack

The tires are not 21 inches, rather they are 32”X4”. But, the inflation pressure, which is on the inside of the tire, and not the outside, so that I can take a photo, is 90 psi. I always thought. that 35 or 40 psi was about right, but my shoulder replacement told me it was wrong.…………And I was wrong again. I inflated the tires to about 50 PSI, not 90 PSI, as I said PSI, that must be what the recommended inflation pressure is as stated on the back side of the tire…….but it still rides like a log wagon. Jack

Kinda wonder about this downshift stuff. My DB Roadster is in the higher gear until it comes to a complete stop…….period! My Willys Knight is a tad more forgiving but it doesn’t have a synchromesh transmission either and second to low is iffy, but possible. Third to low…..no way unless the speed of the car is equal to the speed you’d normally use low gear for. What this means to say is that there is no using a lower gear to reduce speed. Be going the speed, and the transmission will downshift. Jack

I still use 600W in the transmission and differential of my 27 Willys Knight. But. I have disassembled, and refilled the steering gear box with CV joint lubricant. Maybe the improvement in steering is only mental, but that works for me too. Jack

You are right in one respect, and I am right in another. The tires are not 21 inches, rather they are 32”X4”. But, the inflation pressure, which is on the inside of the tire, and not the outside, so that I can take a photo, is 90 psi. I always thought. that 35 or 40 psi was about right, but my shoulder replacement told me it was wrong. The car rode like it had no suspension at all, and, even with the bus sized steering wheel, was impossible to turn when stopped. I posted. the problem to the forum, and I was told to replace the king pin bushings with roller bearings. This seems like a good, and doable solution, but it just didn’t seem to be something a person would do to a new 1923 Dodge Roadster. So I “got down” on the problem and, during a crawl around, under the car, saw it right there on the tire that my problem was under inflation. Did bringing the tire pressure up to 90 PSI solve the hard turning problem…….nope, but it sure added some power to the 4 cylinder engine and helped with the steering difficulty. Maybe addition of power steering is a future consideration. But I think it will wait until I put in A/C, power seats, gps, auto dimming headlights, power, disc brakes and repower it with a 440 CI engine……..or not🤪. Jack

To begin with, and to convey my feelings about driving my 1923 DB Roadster and my 1927 Willys Knight, I must admit that my later model KIA Sportage has no worries of being replaced any time in the near future. I will leave the 1951 Plymouth Cambridge, I recently reanimated, for a more appropriate thread. The Dodge Brothers Roadster is fun to drive. But it is a car I’d advise any person not familiar with mechanical rear wheel (only) brakes, a upside down gear shift pattern and a steering wheel which is of a size that would compliment a semi-tractor truck, with a similar turning radius, to leave parked. The DB Roadster is a really light chassis, on a well sprung frame, and, consequently, rides like a buckboard without horses, and takes just about as far to stop. I rides on 4” wide by 21” in diameter tires, each inflated to 90 pounds, and, while the car is skitters on dry pavement, it is scary on the wet stuff. But, it is still fun to drive so long as it is only for fun. I would never depend on it as daily transportation, and limit my trips to short sojourns along back roads. The Willys is a rock, and does rate as a car I truly enjoy driving. The six cylinder, sleeve valve engine is bullet proof, provides plenty of power, and can be assured to irritate the neighborhood with its opulent plume of gray smoke. It is a heavy car with plenty of interior space, the windshield is large and opens to provide ventilation. The engine is smooth and is fun to hear as it accelerates. The sleeve valve (Silent Knight) lives up to its name by providing adequate power to propel the car to a comfortable speed of about 45 MPH and still maintain its unique “thrum” sound, rather than the clatter of a engine with a camshaft and poppet valves. The Willys, too, has a large steering wheel, and an equally large turning radius. But the power provided by the six cylinder engine, as compared to the DB Roadsters four cylinders, makes moving forward and backward, as the wheels are turned, less of a chore. The Willys, as does the DB Roadster, has mechanical brakes but it is far superior to the roadster since it has brakes on all four wheels. It does have external bands on the rear wheels, and it does constrict, for both service and emergency braking. But, it has internal expanding shoes on the front, and a mechanical brake equalizer, which works great, to balance the two. I would recommend for anyone who has not driven a car with mechanical front brakes, that they take a few spins around the block before they try driving at road speed. Both cars are fun, the DB Roadster has a plus of being a convertible, and fits comfortably in the garage. The Willys is my go-to weekend driver because it likes me, and it likes to be driven. The transmission is smooth, and, while the clutch is a bit jerky, it lets me shift smoothly without double shifting. The down side to both cars is the poor gas mileage and waste of gas from the open filler spout. It seems as evaporation of gas, while they are sitting idle, equals the amount burned during use. Again, my old cars provide a irreplaceable source of driving pleasure, and I love both of them dearly as each is unique in its own way. But, my KIA is always ready to hit the freeway, and in it, I don’t get nearly as many single finger greetings from my fellow drivers. Jack

As I reduce the 1929 Fargo Express panel to a pile of disconnected parts, I can appreciate the wisdom in what you are saying. I was aware the truck had no transmission of drive shaft installed, as well as clearly seeing that the truck had 3 shredded tires, and one tire missing completely. However, there was a transmission in the back of the truck, and the seller said he had a drive shaft which would fit the truck. My bad! The shop was dark, the transmission was for some other antique car, the tires were not only shredded, the wooden spokes on the wheels were rotted and had some serious cracks. Now I discover that the engine is locked up and probably has at least three bad, non-repairable cylinder bores. As I started to disassemble the body, I found it unnecessary to screw nuts free from their bolts since the metal was so rusty the part just fell off, leaving the bolt and nut intact. There is not a single piece of wood on the truck which can be reused, either for its original purpose, or even as a pattern. Even the steering wheel and gear box, provided to replace the frozen steering gear box, and totally destroyed steering wheel is from a car, and can’t be used on the truck. I have some serious doubts that the engine will ever run again without, even if possible, a complete rebuild, and most certainly will not be capable of moving under its own power because of parts made of unobtainabium. Oh……………….does it sound like I am complaining? If it does I apologize because my purpose in posting this is the opposite. Reanimating these old machines is basically the same sort of hobby as a leather craftsman or a furniture maker. Or, perhaps a person who invests many years labor, and a fortune in costs to build a massive Koi pond. At best they may wear a newly crafted belt, or wear some exotic boots once before they are retired to the closet. Or, they may sit in a newly constructed chair or use that exquisitely built dresser once before it is sold at a garage sale. And, if the Koi pond is a awesome success, the builder has acquired a lifetime of the feeding and maintenance of a gang of voracious, and remarkably dull, but extremely durable, and long lived fish. The amount of time spent, the effort and the innumerable, but collective, accomplishments in something interesting and, questionably, productive is the real goal of any hobby. So goes a reanimation project such as the Fargo panel truck is. All of the aforementioned is really the project, and the truck is, in itself, no more than the mechanism used to attain it. And, if it’s value is determined by the length of time, effort and expenditure of energy that can be spent on the Fargo…..it is, indeed, a treasure trove of hobby pleasures.

Has this been sold. If not, and it will fit my 29 Fargo, I’m interested.

Recently, they opened a new Habitat for Humanity store here in Lakewood, Washington. I did buy some stuff at the old store, before it closed, buy I associated it more with furniture and appliances than old car stuff. Last week I had a few spare minutes and used them to peruse the new store with stuff to use on my newly acquired 29 Fargo panel reanimation project. To my pleasant surprise they have a abundance of nuts, bolts, screws, latches, hinges, and a lot of other stuff that can be used on my truck. In addition, I need to replace every piece of wood which makes up the body of the truck, and they have a lot of old furniture made of some really nice oak and other exotic wood I need for the body and trim. Habitat for Humanity has a colored tag sale which discounts sale items at 25, 50 and 75 percent of the marked sale price as well as offering a 10% military, and a 10% senior discount. This really helps when you buy several pounds of nuts, bolts, screws and washers at, I think, $1.28 a pound. I was most pleased to find a sufficient quantity of the long stove bolts I need to restore the heavy pieces of the bed at a fair price. This store may not fulfill every need of a person restoring a old car on a budget, but I suggest you try it before you are priced out of your hobby. Jack

Hi JACK M…….Sorry to be an errant little f*rt, but I just saw your post. Saying you “might” be happy…..is like saying Al Capone “might” be a gangster. Yep, it is the same truck and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn676-fLq7I I am not dead yet. I decided to buy one totally lost truck, and have one source of cuts, bruises, strains and pains, for many years to come, rather than buying a lot of things needed to accomplish the same thing over the same period of time. The truck is in remarkably worse condition, in the light, than it ever appeared to be in the dark shed. If you happen into the SEATAC area stop by and Google the old machine. I am in the process of tearing it down to the frame, and will work on the wood and sheet metal while I try to free the stuck engine and decide what transmission and drive shaft to use. Jack

In a world where everything is timed, and time is everything, these old machines have a way of stopping it. All my life I have answered to a bell of some sort. There was always something pressing that button which sounded the alarm………”Not enough time”…….”Overtime. time and 1/2, Whoopeeee”…….”Holidays…..double time, SIGN ME UP”! And nothing was ever finished. Twenty one years in the Army and wars are still being fought, and lost. Twenty years in Corrections and there are still plenty of criminals to be jailed, and crimes are still being committed. And then there are my old machines. I keep my several projects because a ideal hobby will provide something to do for the remainder of my life. And these old machines could never be “restored” any more than your $55,000.00 truck, which came from the factory with a bad transmission, and electrical problems which kept it in the shop for weeks at time. Rather, it is a hobby, not a vocation, and my old machines are in no hurry to be reanimated, and certainly no desire to be recreated to be better than when they were new. I do get pleasure from starting a engine which hasn’t breathed fresh air for fifty years, and I do enjoy watching a oil pressure gauge raise to 40 PSI and a ammeter, which has set silent for half a century, register a healthy charge. There are expenses to the hobby, and sometime they are pretty hefty. However, it is my choice when, and if, I incur them and whether or not I can afford them. Health care, utility bills, transportation costs and the cost of raising a family are a given. But a $500.00 set of tires and a $300.00 transmission for a seventy four year old truck isn’t. Unless, at some time in the past my hobby was allowed to merge with a vocation, and, rather than enjoying the release from stress they provide, I endure the pain they provoke. Jack

Not a day passes that I don’t see a ad on Craigslist, eBay, Facebook or some other place selling old cars which states that sale of a antique or classic car is due to “Too many projects”. Golly, if a project is began as a hobby, and when it was decided that the hobby was to refurbish old cars as a pass time, it seems as though some consideration would have been given to such things as space, cost, time, effort, skills, and tool requirements as well as a good evaluation of goals and expectations for long rides into a beautiful sunset. My projects will never be finished, and I keep a fairly new car and a Winnebago motor home handy for rides into the sunset. My old machines provides a source of physical exertion that I don’t need a gym to achieve. They provide me with a source of brain fodder which gives my old noodle something to think about, and present queries, about something other than my aching feet and the exploits of our elected officials. They provide me with a well rounded diet of things I can (soundly) sleep on knowing that I have accomplished something other than fiddling with the TV remote, or smothering in my own broth of anger and self pity. I will never sell any of my projects, and if any one of them ever looks “complete” I will donate it to a charity to auction off as a donation……and, never in my life, have I ever used a charitable donation as a tax deduction…..NEVER! I do have a number of projects, all in a state of near completion, but each have things, such as mechanical, upholstery, electrical wiring, body and paint, and such, which will always provide me with something to do, and do it free of boredom and regardless of weather. Some of my machinery projects, not including sewing upholstery and carpentry. Oh, and I do have a shoulder replacement, half of a lung calcified, bad knees, fasciitis in my feet and a bad back……and I will turn 80 years old in a few months.

I’m missing something here. It appears the wiring harness is either out, or so exposed, removal is the next easiest step. Replacement parts for a 1969 912 Porsche can’t be cheap, and, most certainly, the budget allotted to restore the car to operation must be more than a few dollars. It seems obvious, since the wiring harness will become inaccessible once the interior of the car is closed up by upholstery and panels, that replacement of the harness is a no brainer.

Not a whole lot available in the line of antique and classic car parts available in Western Washington. There is one junk yard though that has more antique, old, unique and classic vehicles than I have found elsewhere in the state. Rollins keeps a section open for old vehicles and rotates their inventory regularly. They have always treated me fair and will give a veterans discount if asked for. https://www.rollinsautowrecking.net/

The 1923 Dodge Roadster is a 12 volt system, and it was no problem to change the positive ground to a negative ground. And, replacing a lights, including the headlights and newly added tail-brake and turn bulbs was well worth the money. But, the Willys Knight is a six volt, also positive ground, and, while converting the running lights to LED’s was worthwhile, converting the headlights was a real waste. Remember that the LED’s are polarity sensitive and they let you know if they are being installed in a positive ground car by simply refusing to work. http://www.classicautobulbs.com/automotive-light-bulbs/antique-vintage/vintage_antique_collector_car_incandescent_bulbs.htm http://www.classicautobulbs.com/automotive-light-bulbs/antique-vintage/6volt_led_bulbs.htm Jack

I do, sincerely appreciate every response to this thread. It is not possible for me to respond to each individual post, but there are none which goes unread or unheeded. This old truck is looked at as if it was an old blood hound which had served its masters for over 70 years. It can no longer sniff out an escaped criminal or even tree a raccoon, but it has earned the right to have my respect for its lengthy, and hopefully faithful service. And, it still is a treasure trove of unanswered questions, which I hope to share on the forum for help and answers. Jack

Hi Bloo. When I first looked at the truck I didn’t pay much attention to things like the body damage I’ve shown here. The truck was in a dark garage and barely accessible because the garage was full of motorcycles and motorcycle parts. What with the bad cylinder bores, missing transmission and drive shaft and million other things being wrong, I doubt the truck will be drivable in my lifetime. But, I look forward to each day with it because it does need so much done, and it cannot be hurt when I try something new while working on it. I went into this knowing that much of the body damage will not be repaired unless I completely replace the rusted sheet metal. As I recall dad’s old truck, I think a 37 Ford stake bed, was always getting banged up, And dad, who had a 2nd grade education and could barely read and write, always had good luck using wiping lead to repair the dents and dings to the truck body. There is no reasonable argument I could make regarding why I don’t want to buy an inert gas welder, and have a 220 volt electrical outlet installed to connect it to house power. Nor is there a argument against why I don’t have a local body and fender shop repair the damage. But, I’m still not convinced that I should do either, and I am interested in seeing how the lead works.. I do have a small wire feed welder, and I can weld good enough to meet the needs of the old panel so far as replacing some skin sheet metal goes. Responses to this thread, and the information contained in them, will ultimately play a big part in how I ultimately approach repairing the truck skin. Jack

When I was a kid, just after Kublai Kahn won the election to become Mongol Emperor, I remember dad doing body work on his old Ford truck, and my older brothers doing the same on their hot rod. But dad didn’t use body putty or fiberglass. Instead he used a blow torch, a cauldron and some lead. As I remember it, being 7 or eight years old, he heated the lead in the cauldron until it melted, then he used a brush, I think they called it by a unusual name, something like a “wiping” brush to smear a swath of melted lead on the body repair. He then spread the rapidly hardening lead over the area to be repaired, frequently heating the area with a blow torch to keep the lead a liquid. Then he used a rasp, I think the same kind used by a farrier to rasp horse hooves, to smooth out the repaired surface. I have begun work on a 1929 Fargo Express panel truck which is rusted beyond anyone’s ability to further damage it. Every place the body has been dented, or where sections of metal is joined, is now rotted through, and extensive sheet metal repair would be difficult, if not impossible, to repair the damage. The truck is only a project, and there is no rush to finish it, and where it is located, it can only be viewed by a invited person or a trespasser on my property. I bought the truck because it has a wide variety of things needing to be done, and I need a lot of things to do. The mechanics is greatest when spread over a long enough period of time that the whopping expense of buying the last part is forgotten by the time it becomes necessary to buy another part costing the same ridiculously high price….and, thankfully, at my age, it doesn’t take too long to forget anything. The wood work is always a welcome reprieve from crawling around under the truck, what with my bad shoulders and all, to clean and repair the underside of the truck. Suspension, steering and brakes are fun to work with, but are a pretty common thing when comparing a 1929 truck to a 1999 model truck. That leaves body and fender repair, and being nearly 80 years old, I am not going to buy a plasma cutter or a MIG welder to do it with. And I am super dissatisfied with how poorly body putty repairs ages, and how quickly the repair can go bad. So, in the quest of NOK, aka, New-Old-Knowledge, I think I will learn to use wiping lead to repair damage to the sheet metal on the body of the Fargo. Granted, using a blow torch on a body consisting of .01% metal and .99% wood may not be a good idea. But I think it will add a fun part to using the same method to repair body damage to the Fargo as it was done 50 years ago. Jack

Congratulations on the sale of your truck. I am also working on a 1929 Fargo 1/2 ton “packet” panel truck. I also noticed that the engine in your truck is identical to that I have in mine, and I am gathering as much information as possible in regards to who made the engine and what transmission mounts to it. If you have and documentation or literature left over from the years you had yours, and are interested in selling it, I am interested. Jack