ply33

The Plymouth club notes that the block might be dark green on the PC ("possible exception" is the wording) which was produced from November 1932 until the first week of April 1933. Maybe there was a span there in 1932-33 where Chrysler was using green rather than black for that.

I suspect that it would have the same color scheme as other Chrysler products of that year. See Plymouth Engine Compartment Paint and Color for the Plymouth engine colors for that era and year. PB is the engineering code for the 1932 Plymouth so look under that. The DeSoto club probably has a list of colors they consider correct.

Joe at Sierra Specialty did a great job on brass sleeving my master and wheel cylinders: Sierra Specialty Automotive 3494 Chandler Rd. Quincy, CA 95971 Telephone: +1.530.283.1886 Fax: +1.530.283.4845 email: joe@brakecylinder.com brakecylinder.com and Sierra Specialty Automotive.

You should be able to have a new driveshaft with flanges compatible for your Dodge made up by your better local driveline shop. I did that years ago for my 1933 Plymouth when a handy source for new trunnion housings was not known to me. There is also at least one vender who advertises this in the classified section of the Plymouth Owners Club's magazine.

I don't think they had figured out how to do a decent oil control ring setup until the late 1920s or even into the 1930s. And as DeSoto Frank noted, seals were not as good back then.

Depends on the bulb and your generator. My 1933 Plymouth has a generator rated at 22 amps. I had the choice of 25 watt or 35 watt quartz-halogen bulbs to plug in as replacements for the original bulbs. I did the math and figured out that neither my generator nor my headlight switch was designed for enough load to run the 35 watt bulbs so I installed the 25 watt ones which draw about the same power as the #1000 incandescent bulbs that many people would use. And, of course, the #1000 bulbs draw more than the #1110 bulbs that originally came in the car but not enough so to be a problem. I did replace my wiring harness but I haven't done any real electrical maintenance in 10 years. If you need to clean your wire connections each year there is something wrong. Maybe too much current through the contacts? I could see why you might need to clean your reflector periodically unless you've had it done by Uvira. How good can those antique car headlights be? However this is a bit of a thread hijack as I believe the original poster was looking for replacements for the #6006 PAR-56 sealed beam headlights on a bit newer car than mine or a Model A Ford.

Years ago a fellow named "Al Jr." reproduced the crank hole covers for 1933 and 34 Dodges and Plymouths. Unfortunately he passed away a while back and his stock and tools were bought by a fellow I cannot recommend. You might try N/C Industries in Sayre, Penn. The do a lot of windshield stuff but they also have, or at least used to have, other parts for 1933/34 Plymouth and Dodge vehicles. They might have that cover. N/C Industries 301 S. Thomas Ave. Sayre, PA 18840 Telephone: +1.570.888.6216 Fax: +1.570.888.1821 email: sales@windshieldframes.com N/C Industries Antique Auto Parts - Home

The catalog listing says the matting is a "trim to fit" for the listing that covers his year. So I suspect that it is generic rubber matting that you can buy by the foot elsewhere. I guess giving Roberts a call and asking wouldn't hurt. But I'd be a little surprised if it was the proper mat with all the cut outs and with the correct surface pattern.

The car would have only one outside key lock, on the front passenger door as Bill wrote. However all doors had inside actuated locks. The door handle, when moved in the direction opposite that needed to open the door, should click into a lock position. On my 1933 that would be raising the door handle up. On the 1963 Dodge truck I once had it was pressing the door handle forward. Not sure what direction it would be on a 1938, but your inside door handles are also your inside lock controls.

It the inside of the engine is clean, and I'd expect that would be true for a "professionally rebuilt" engine, then use modern multi-viscosity oil. The issue people worry about is modern oil with "detergents" picking up old sludge and moving it into the bearings. Since you have a clean engine you don't need to worry about that. (Actually, I don't think anyone needs to worry about that. And if you have enough sludge in your engine that you think it could be a problem then you ought to clean it up anyway.) I run 10w-30 or 20w-40 in my 1933 depending on what name brand I happen to find cheap in my local store and the time of year.

Same engineers, different make, slightly different year: For 1933 Plymouth on the then new L-6 engine the owners manual says 30 PSI at 30 MPH. I typically see 40 PSI at road speeds when the engine is warm. Idle pressure varies a lot and can be as low as 10 to 15 PSI if the engine is really hot. Slightly later engines than mine changed out the oil pressure relief system with one that shuts off flow through the bypass filter if the pressure is too low. I'd expect the hot idle pressure to be higher on those engines, probably 20 to 30 PSI.

Typos, typos, typos. On the duplicate number, it turns out that the 1 1/4 inch version should have been part number 121615 which appears immediately after 123537 in my book. I don't see 123527 in my copy of Group 18. But given all the other fasteners I've looked for in there and haven't been able to find it does not surprise me that it has happened again.

I believe all Chrysler products in 1953 were 6v positive ground. The switch to negative ground coincided with the switch to 12v systems.

As time permits, I am posting some things here: Plymouth Replacement Parts Most are from my 1928-33 Plymouth Master Parts book. I believe that as time went on more fasteners and fittings were added to that section. Someday I'll try to get one from the later 1930s or maybe 1940s. In the meantime, if you have a specific part or set of parts you'd like looked up, I can specifically find them and and them to the database.

My experience, based in the US, has been that mechanical parts for that era Chrysler product are fairly easy to come by. At least that is true for the 6 cylinder based cars. Chrysler did a pretty good job at their design and generally kept mechanical things unchanged for years. However trim parts can be very difficult to come by and each year and model has its own variations. Time has often taken their toll and there is not enough demand for after market manufacturers to reproduce parts. So if I were to get another 1930s Chrysler product I would be very sure that it had all of its trim in restorable shape but would not be as worried about the mechanical items.

That rear axle does not look like any Chrysler product rear axle I'm familiar with. So I'd say it has been replaced. I am not familiar enough with wheels for the 1938 to say if they are correct or not.

The 30-U was the model that introduced the mechanical fuel pump. One thing I find bizarre about the Q and U models was the use of the suction side of oil pump for the vacuum source for the vacuum tank fuel pump system.

My 1933 Plymouth with its stock 5.5:1 compression ratio and mechanical fuel pump has had no issues with running the cheapest gas I can find locally. Not that gas is that cheap here in the SF Bay area. Lowest octane listed on any of the pumps here is 87. I've heard of people having issues with vapor lock with modern fuels but that has not been a problem for me.

I've got a battery operated flashing LED bicycle tail light I keep in the glove box of my old car. I can strap it on to the rear bumper with some double sided Velco straps that live with the tail light. The light can be set to be on or strobing in one of a couple of patterns. Even if not using it as a tail light it can be useful as a hazard light if you end up stationary by the side of the road.

Looks like you have the best information I have already: The Q (1928-29) and U (1929-30) should have a FedCo number on a dash medallion. The FedCo number will be an alpha-numeric string. The 30-U and up (1930-42) should have a numeric serial number tag on the front passenger (right) side door hinge post.

Is that a Canadian built Dodge or US? The US Dodges used the 23 inch long block while the Canadian Dodges used a Canadian manufactured engine that was 25 inches long like those used in the US built Chryslers and DeSotos. For the "short block" (i.e. 23 inch Plymouth/Dodge block) almost 6 cylinder from 1933 through 1959 will bolt in. And I understand, as Twunk Rack wrote, that it was also used in other applications. I believe into the early 1970s for industrial applications. So you have nearly a 40 year run of engines that are candidates. There were bore, bearing, stroke, accessory and other changes through the years so I'd stick to an engine close to the same vintage as your original to minimize grief with needing to swap out more parts than you'd like. The Dodge version in the post war era typically had a longer stroke than the Plymouth and might have an eight bolt flywheel flange for fluid drive rather than the four bolt pattern found on standard transmission based cars. So make sure your flywheel bolt pattern is compatible and you should be well on your way. PS: http://www.p15-d24.com/ has a forum specifically for people with 1946-48 Plymouth and Dodges. A wealth of information there.

That has been on http://www.archive.org/ for quite some time: Internet Archive: Free Download: Triumph of America (Part I) Internet Archive: Free Download: Triumph of America (Part II) If you like that you might also like "Master Hands": Internet Archive: Free Download: Master Hands (Part I) Internet Archive: Free Download: Master Hands (Part II) Internet Archive: Free Download: Master Hands (Part III) Internet Archive: Free Download: Master Hands (Part IV) Do a search on Chevrolet on Archive.org and you can find lots of Jam Handy promotional films made in the 1930s.

Others have already touched on some of the points. I have my thoughts on the subject at Plymouth First Decade: How Fast Should I Drive? I don't know much about Buicks of that era but I suspect they were mechanically better than Chevrolets. So maybe some of the points I make on that page would be applicable to you. One thing to keep in mind is that posted speed limits were much lower back then. For example in 1934 the maximum speed was 35 MPH in Ohio while in California it was 45 MPH. Another thing to keep in mind: Slow revs at cruise speed were typical on American cars only after the early 1970s gas crisis. And the farther back you go the higher the numerical ratio you got. But you can cruise a well designed engine at a bit below its RPM for max BHP pretty much indefinitely. For my 1933 with its 4.375:1 rear end I figure 3200 RPM is reasonable cruising speed (max BHP at 3600 RPM). That works out to a little over 60 MPH with the original size tires. To a modern ear, you really feel like you should shift up from third at maybe 30 to 40 MPH. But that is just your modern sensibilities. Just last Sunday I took a 250 mile trip out to look at a fellow's 1929 Plymouth. We took my 1933 Plymouth and cruised on out at 60 MPH. We did take some lesser roads on the way back, so maybe half the return was at 45 MPH or so. So, if you did not learn to drive "back in the day" and remember how the engines roared when you were on the highway you might think it is wrong and something to be remedied. But to a certain extent that is just they way things were. Nothing particularly wrong with it as long the oil pressure stays up. Once you get used to it, it just seems normal.

There is a 5 year set of "new car registrations by makes" listings covering 1926-1930 on pages 140 and 141 in the Spring 1931 Chilton Automotive Multi-Guide. That issue of the guide was re-issued in facsimile edition in 1970 with at least one more reprint in 1975, so there might be copies out there that you can find (I got mine in the 1970s). These are in numbers and percent, not by rank. So it would take a little examination to figure out which manufacture was where on each of the five years. A quick look based on make for the top three each year (rounded to even percent): 1926: Ford (36%), Chevrolet (15%), Buick (7%) 1927: Chevrolet (25%), Ford (15%), Buick (9%) 1928: Chevrolet (25%), Ford (15%), Buick (6%) 1929: Ford (34%), Chevrolet (20%), Essex (5%) 1930: Ford (40%), Chevrolet (24%), Buick (5%) On a manufacturer basis: 1926: Ford (36%), GM (27%), Chrysler (11%) 1927: GM (43%), Ford (15%), Chrysler (11%) 1928: GM (41%), Ford (16%), Chrysler (11%) 1929: Ford (34%), GM (33%), Chrysler (9%) 1930: Ford (40%), GM (34%), Chrysler (9%)

There are a number of people with experience with installing/repairing overdrive units on the discussion forum at P15-D24 Homepage You might have better luck there.