Fair price for a 36 sedan?

[jpage]

Glad to hear that you got the car home. If you don't like black, there are several pastel metallic colors to chose from. My car is Avon Green metallic. They didn't use aluminum chips though, they used ground oyster shells for the effect which is very fine. Those short trim pcs, can be hard to find so I hope they are there. The roof insert is bolted to a flange that runs around the opening. There is a 4 pc. rubber gasket which goes between the roof and the body flange originally. There would have been what appears to be an asphalt impregnated fibre sealing strip that was hammered in the groove between the roof insert and the body to seal it which was sanded smooth and painted with the body. Over the years all kinds of stuff may have been used to try to seal up the seam. I think that the actual seal is the rubber seal that the top sits on and the other was just a filler strip to finish the body off. Those seals are no longer available. The flat seal can be made from 1/4 in. neoprene rubber. The sealing strip, which used to be available, known as Wedge-loc in the day, is another story. One of the forum guys used to make a very good replacement rubber which combined the flat seal with the top seal in the contour of the soft top seal. While not original, it looked and worked very well. I don't know if he has any more or will make any more. I am planning on using a paintable polyurethane sealant and smoothing it to the body. Going to try on a parts car to see if it works and holds up under the weather. The top is insulated from the body because it also acts as the antenna for radio equipped cars. There are special insulated washers under the retaining nuts. The headliner must be removed to remove the top.If you try to make a quicky repair with caulking, do not use silicone as you will never get it off completely and could ruin a paint job!  On the hood ornament, There should be a small  rearward tab at the rear of the base  that fits into a  hole on the top of the grille shell. Just ahead of where the hind hooves are mounted there should be a heavy protrusion underneath the base with a laterally inserted set screw. The ornament is inserted into the hole and the set screw is tightened against the underneath of the shell to hold it in place. It probably should be mounted with the radiator out of the car due to space limitations. The shell assembly was built as a unit, with the grille, headlamps and radiator, and them assembled to the car as a complete unit. In my opinion, If the base is broken off, you really have no other option but to replace the ornament or find another broken part the has what you need to repair your ram, either way you'll probably have to have it replated after any repair work. I thought that I had some photos of the ram but I must have deleted them. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to PM me or ask on the forum. Have fun!

[Pete in PA]

The convertible in black is stunning.  Of course the owner probably put 10k into paint and chrome.  Still, for now, black is fine.  (And bodywork of any sort is not important to me at this point.)

 

The big news of the day is that I called Rhode Island Wiring and ordered an engine/dash/tail lamp harness.  I'd be afraid to connect a battery to this car with the condition of the underhood and underdash wiring.  No need for a vehicle fire at this point in the project.  I was thrilled to learn that the estimated 4 week waiting time for the harness was reduced to 2 days BECAUSE THEY HAVE A HARNESS IN STOCK AND READY TO SHIP!  Yay!

 

So the first stage of the D2 project will be to replace the wiring harness, buy a battery, and see what happens when I turn the key to run.

[countrytravler]

6 minutes ago, Pete in PA said:

The convertible in black is stunning.  Of course the owner probably put 10k into paint and chrome.  Still, for now, black is fine.  (And bodywork of any sort is not important to me at this point.)

 

The big news of the day is that I called Rhode Island Wiring and ordered an engine/dash/tail lamp harness.  I'd be afraid to connect a battery to this car with the condition of the underhood and underdash wiring.  No need for a vehicle fire at this point in the project.  I was thrilled to learn that the estimated 4 week waiting time for the harness was reduced to 2 days BECAUSE THEY HAVE A HARNESS IN STOCK AND READY TO SHIP!  Yay!

 

So the first stage of the D2 project will be to replace the wiring harness, buy a battery, and see what happens when I turn the key to run.

 

Also get battery cables made from welding cable. Run extra grounds here and there.

[jpage]

Headlamp harness is extra and you must use the original connectors from your old harness. They use bullet connectors and special bakelite sockets. Also, you might find that the choke wire is very short. I had to order extra wire to make it correct, but maybe they've changed that. If you get a '34-'36 Dodge master maintenance manual it will make it easier to understand the wiring as it has a fold out detailed schematic drawing. You should also have the generator and generator cutout checked and calibrated too at a good electrical shop. Before starting the engine I would recommend removing the pan and valve covers and clean as much crud out as you can. Also, you'll probably find that the water passages in the engine will be packed full of rust and that the water distribution tube may be rusted away. Tubes are available and not too hard to change but you will have to pull the radiator and grille shell. I was never a fan of starting up an old engine without a thorough inspection but I know many who have with no problems. Good luck.

[Pete in PA]

Rhode Island wiring harness arrived this afternoon.  It's smaller than I expected, mostly because things were a lot less complicated in 1936!

 

I've starter to go through the boxes of "stuff" in the car and organize it.  All 1936 Plymouth mechanical parts so far.  Oh wait, I did find a pair of brand new wheel cylinders.  Made in USA even!

 

I was at the garage today and was going to raise the car on a combination of ramps and stands.  Decided not to at the last minute since I didn't want to damage the rear axle housing.  I've read that you shouldn't raise mid-60s and up Mopars at the rear end by placing a floor jack under the center of the rear axle.  Probably shouldn't do it on this 36 either.

[countrytravler]

5 minutes ago, Pete in PA said:

Rhode Island wiring harness arrived this afternoon.  It's smaller than I expected, mostly because things were a lot less complicated in 1936!

 

I've starter to go through the boxes of "stuff" in the car and organize it.  All 1936 Plymouth mechanical parts so far.  Oh wait, I did find a pair of brand new wheel cylinders.  Made in USA even!

 

I was at the garage today and was going to raise the car on a combination of ramps and stands.  Decided not to at the last minute since I didn't want to damage the rear axle housing.  I've read that you shouldn't raise mid-60s and up Mopars at the rear end by placing a floor jack under the center of the rear axle.  Probably shouldn't do it on this 36 either.

3

Been moving these cars with jacks and never damage one yet. Rearend housings are built sturdy. They drive these cars off the mountains and drive away. Where did you read this?

[Pete in PA]

It came up on the Mopar Mailing List.  To be fair we were talking about cars like my 70 and 75 Imperial LeBarons.  Someone said that you shouldn't raise the rear of the vehicle by placing a floor jack under the center section of the rear axle since you can bend the axle housing tubing.

 

If you think it's okay it'll be much easier to raise my Dodge that way and then stick some jack stands under the axle housing tubes out at the brake drum end.

[countrytravler]

22 minutes ago, Pete in PA said:

It came up on the Mopar Mailing List.  To be fair we were talking about cars like my 70 and 75 Imperial LeBarons.  Someone said that you shouldn't raise the rear of the vehicle by placing a floor jack under the center section of the rear axle since you can bend the axle housing tubing.

 

If you think it's okay it'll be much easier to raise my Dodge that way and then stick some jack stands under the axle housing tubes out at the brake drum end.

 

I have used jacks on them also. Use to own 4 repair shops in Detroit from 1976 to 1994. Had to be careful with the Corvettes.

[keiser31]

There should not be any problem at all to raise the car by the center of the rear differential. Did it lots of times with my 1936 touring sedan.

Edited November 11, 2016 by keiser31 (see edit history)