Finally got 1933 Plymouth PD Coupe on the road and put around 70+ miles on it this weekend

[auburnseeker]

Finally got my 33 Plymouth PD Coupe on the road.  A bunch of few mile test drives with no issues, and then down to the Hot rod show in Lake George.  Got real lucky and was able to get it in.  Though a rod show,  I like bringing something kind of old and original,  for comparison.  With her all original interior and paint with wear and tear she presents well. 

 

She seems to drive fairly well. Tires really need to be replaced.  They seem to be the biggest problem.  

 

She was smoking pretty good at first,  Stuck rings,  but they seem to have freed up.  3 drives up the hill from Lake George to the far end of town where we live,  probably helped. 

 

Charges well, Speedo is off by 10.  Not sure why as it has stock wheels and tires but I did find an old photo included that showed it with wood wheels?  Maybe they were a different size? 

 

Starts good hot and does't overheat in heavy traffic with an outside temp of 80 degrees.  

 

When I tuned it I got it up to 20 lbs. of vacuum at idle so the engine is in good shape.  I have a slight random miss,  but it's still working off The who knows how old gas.  I added about 3 gallons of fresh gas and that filled it,  ran it, then only got another 4 in it.  Going to take a few more fill ups to get rid of most of it.  Gas gauge doesn't work,  so that's a future project.   Took the panel out of the trunk,  only to find out there is now way to get the cover off the access hole to the top of the sending unit.  Must have been put in place,  just to add clearance or maybe accessible on sedans but not coupes with a trunk. 

 

It's going to need new radiator hoses,  so I'll drop the antifreeze and replace them then,  as well as run evaporust through it and change the Tsat.  Seems to heat right up to 185,   so it definitely has one and most likely a 185, then really stays pretty stable in the range fluctuating no more than 10 degrees. 

 

Seems to be a leak in the tranny somewhere as it leaves drips on the ground so I have to address that. 

 

I think the front end needs another going over as it seems to have a little play.  Nothing ridiculous,  but I would like it tighter.  Maybe driving it,  after I greased it,  finally loosened things up, as it didn't seem to have any when I got it and checked it when it was up in the air originally. 

 

I finished wet sanding and buffing the finish right before the show so here is how she looked yesterday afternoon after I got back from the show. (2nd trip down) 

 

Even used it to pick my Daughters up from the sitter after the show on Saturday.  They weren't as enthused with it.  LOL

 

Now the big question.  Whitewalls or Blackwalls.  Blackwalls at 600-650 and whitewalls at around 1300.  

 

Yup Ed,  I even pulled the foglights off. 

 

[keiser31]

BEAUTIFUL!

[Walt G]

Make a print of the 3/4 front and rear of the car and take a black marker and then color in to loose the white wall look. that will let you see the difference . Look at the two side by side for at least a few weeks to decide . Fog Lights - they could have been rewired for directional signals since no modern driver has any clue what hands signals mean. I rewired the driving lights on my 1930 Packard for that purpose and it helps a lot to "unconfuse" the modern motorist we all have to contend with . ( for the rear on my car I made brackets up off the bumper brace and fitted a pair of 1920s cowl lights to house the turn signal lights)  I do not oppose driving/fog lights like Ed does . but it depends upon the size of the car and the size of the lights. Scale and proper proportion to balance not overpower the car.

My own preference would be to see the rear spare tire have a metal tire cover on it painted to match the color of the car.

 

Really pretty car - I like the bumper guards front and rear too.

[plymouthcranbrook]

Very nice car.

[John Bloom]

Great looking car Randy. 

[Bhigdog]

Ya done good, Randy. Really glad it worked out well. Could have gone either way..........BLACK WALLS.........Bob

[zepher]

The car looks fantastic!
She cleaned up really, really nice.

 

The white walls look good against the black and don't overpower the overall look but black walls are probably more period correct.

[auburnseeker]

40 minutes ago, Bhigdog said:

Ya done good, Randy. Really glad it worked out well. Could have gone either way..........BLACK WALLS.........Bob

Yeah it was a bit of a crap shoot.  The last few Mopars,  bit me in the butt,  but overall,  the engine I'm happy with,  which was the big gamble. Still have other little things to take care of ,  but I wouldn't hesitate to jump in it and do errands or whatever right now.  Multiple starts over the weekend and lots of different situations I put here through, yet she always fired right up and behaved well.  I think the tires are going to make the big difference.  At times she's super smooth on the road,  then i get random vibrations in and out at varying speeds,  front and rear,  so I'm 99% sure on that alone with the fact they are sears Allstate tires that their real useful life has met it's expiration date. 

 

Add this to the fact that the body is amazingly Rot free,  even inside the back of the tail pan,  makes for a good car overall. 

 

I might have a picture of it before the whitewalls,  that came with it,  but I believe it has the wood wheels in them. I'll have to dig that out for reference. 

Edited September 12, 2022 by auburnseeker (see edit history)

[auburnseeker]

Walt I thought of using them as signals,  but they were actually in poor shape and took the car down a notch.  

 

I was surprised by the people in traffic I met that seemed to understand what the hand signals I was using were.  There seemed to be a general knowledge of them and they all gave me space.

 

That or they didn't know what was going on and thought I better give this lunatic crazy enough to drive something like this some space.  He must be bat shit crazy to drive that.  

[Porsche 68]

Auburn seeker  That is a beautiful car you must be really proud Keep the white walls makes it look classy On my 34 everybody wants to know where the machine gun is I got over 250 miles reliable miles on it all ready I drive it almost everyday it’s a hoot ! 

[1932 plymouth pb sedan]

That is a very nice looking car, I'm not a fan of whitewalls in most applications (just personal preference) They do look great on this car.

[auburnseeker]

I've been thinking of keeping the whitewalls.  They do't seem too overbearing.  Too bad the price wasn't the same,  it would be an even easier choice.   I think it could look good either way,  but they do kind of make it pop a bit.  I do have a steel spare cover that I need to redo,  so that will get rid of the whitewall on the back. 

 

Porsche 68,  I was looking for a Chrysler,  Dodge or a Plymouth and would have loved a Dodge but this one happened along.   I know they are out there,  but usually they are pretty crusty unless you find them all done,  then they are usually too expensive. The charm of the nice original interior and Woodgrain as well as the rust free body,  really helped seal the deal. 

 

Was going to take it to the post office today,  but I want to check the tranny to see exactly how bad it's leaking (don't want to run it low) and I haven't had the Hudson out,  so I just ran that.  Boy that does drive nice and really flies going down the road after driving the Plymouth,  but I still like the Plymouth,  each one has it's own appeal.  The Plymouth is alot slower,  but actually more comfortable.  Each gives you a different Vibe when driving it. 

Edited September 12, 2022 by auburnseeker (see edit history)

[SC38dls]

Looks terrific Randy, if you don’t have room in that big new garage I’m more than willing to take the Hudson off your hands. Got to love a big boy!  
dave s 

[auburnseeker]

I still have some space,  especially once the forum member that bought my Cord picks it up.  I'm always conscience of space when making any car purchases.   This will most likely get parked where the Cord was for the winter.

[George Smolinski]

I know it’s sacrilegious, but I wonder if a person could stuff an old 392 or a 426 hemi completely under the hood. Helluva hot rod then.

[ply33]

Great looking car! Once properly sorted I think you will be pleased with how nice and reliably it drives.

 

With respect to the fuel sending unit, on the sedans it is only accessible if you drop the gas tank. I thought it might be accessible via the trunks on coupes but from your experience apparently not. It is a single wire sender but the resistance range is not a current standard. See: https://www.ply33.com/Repair/fuelsender2.html

 

With respect to the speedometer, mine needed to have the magnet inside the aluminum cup re-magnitized. It read way low until that was done. You can tell if it is a problem with the magnet/spring combination inside the speedometer or with the gearing by checking the odometer for error. If the odometer is registering correctly then the gearing is correct for the final drive and wheel combination.

 

If I recall correctly, the mounted tire diameters are very close for most of the wheel/tire combinations that were available (there were some exceptions really tall wheels on cars sold for deeply rutted roads in the south but unlikely to be found today on any surviving car). So if using an original tire/wheel combination you should be close on the speed reading. But the rear ends varied: The coupes had a 4.11:1 rear while the sedans had a 4.375:1 rear, maybe the rear end was swapped out sometime.

 

For what it is worth, my experience is that I am too ham fisted to do work inside a speedometer so I recommend getting a properly trained speedometer repair place to work on it if it is not a gearing problem.

 

Look carefully at your drag link, they are often badly worn where it attaches to the arm out of the steering gear box and will not be satisfactory until fixed, see https://www.ply33.com/Repair/steering2 I replaced mine with a brand new one from Rare Parts.

 

Have you adjusted your steering box? Even after replacing the king pins, the tie rod ends and the drag link I still had more play than I though reasonable in my steering. Adjusting is pretty straight forward: https://www.ply33.com/Repair/steering If your “Silent-U” spring shackles are worn it will be skitterish going down all but the smoothest roads.

 

Too bad the forum does not allow down voting, I really want to add a negative reaction to George Smolinski’s reply.

[auburnseeker]

I did try adjusting the box after topping it off and the maiden voyage,  but I think it's getting close to the end,  and when I bumped it up jsut a little it didn't want to easily return so I backed it off a tad to correct that. 

 

I'll take a close look at the drag link.  I had it off to get the splash pans out.  Didn't notice wear then, but as I mentioned that was before a good grease job and any test driving.  So maybe it didn't seem lose but old hardened grease was taking up some of the play. 

 

Yeah looks like the tank will have to come down,  though the car is super clean so not a big deal,  just harder than going through from the top. 

 

I'll give the shackles a look as well.  Kingpins seemed tight when I had it up for brakes, but I'll give them another look.  It's not terrible,  just feels a bit sloppier then it should be.  The last several old cars I have had,  had very good front ends,  so I've been a tad spoiled as well. I'll have to check the Odometer.  Easy enough to do. 

 

Thanks for the tips. 

 

In regards to George's comment I'm sure more than one guy walked by my coupe at the rod show and had the exact same thought.   Thinking it and doing it,  are a lot different.  

 

I've been guilty more than once of thinking how nice a Cummins would be and fit in my 48 Brockway, but I'm a long way from starting a project like that. 

[JACK M]

19 hours ago, George Smolinski said:

I know it’s sacrilegious, but I wonder if a person could stuff an old 392 or a 426 hemi completely under the hood. Helluva hot rod then.

It won't fit without modifying or eliminating the hood.

Edited September 13, 2022 by JACK M (see edit history)

[erichill]

Great looking car  Enjoy!

 

[TheMoneyPit]

Absolutely gorgeous car!

 

Tires are a personal preference and can be as contentious an argument as which oil is best… but I personally like black walls on the early cars and white on the post war cars. Go with what makes YOU happy.