Got the Suburban back today

I decided to start a new thread over here in general discussions as per a suggestion from Rick. Originally I just been tacking updates onto my old intro thread.

So after 5 weeks of scrounging for parts (you know the drill, as soon as you fix something you find another problem to deal with)
So now I have a complete new brake system including the emergency drum and lining, new shocks, a fresh tuneup and a cooling system flush.
Tomorrow it's going to the muffler shop down the street to get the headers installed and new mufflers & pipes. Then I got to clean up all the corrosion in the rear lamps and install new bulbs. Hopefully this will give me brake lights & turnsignals. The place that was doing the brakes wouldn't touch the electrical system. I had already cleaned up the front lamps and had the signals working before I took it in, but now the back isn't working at all.
Here's a picture of it at work today.



The sign with the guys painted on the window in the background are just about as old as the Plymouth.

Rick: We get fogged at night and in the morning, but it usually burns off by early afternoon. The picture was taken about 5pm. (Note the rush hour traffic on El Camino). It got up to about 70 today, usually it's in the mid to high 80s this time of year. After 3 summers of sweltering in the sauna that is disguised as our office, we finally got AC this year. Naturally now that we have it we haven't had to use it very often .....
Guess summer will be in September & October this year.

 

Man, that's a sweet wagon! I forgot about the early Mopar e-brake on the driveline. Where did you get a new drum?

You might keep in touch with this guy for taillights and mirrors. He cruises all the car meets and buys and sells, right through the USA. Send him an email to watch out for spares. He even has curb feelers.
http://www.taillightking.com/

 

Nice job, Wo. She's looking great, certainly younger than her 56 years. Hey, that's how old I am and I can guarantee you, I don't look near that good!

 

Stunning example, nice job you have done

 

I do! In my good self-image anyway...

What's really great about those babies is the frame. The floors drain out at the doorsill, so if she gets cantankerous you can take her to nearest firehydrant, open all the doors and hose her into submission.

If I had one in that kind of shape, I'd bronze the frame and pinstripe it, then park it over a mirror. They really were well-overbuilt.

 

Actually I refurbished the band and mechanism myself and got a guy here at work to reline it. I got the lining kit from Andy Bernbaum
www.oldmoparts.com
He has the complete drum & lining assys too.

As far as tailamps go, I might qualify as the "53 Plymouth Tailight King". I bought a ton of them on ebay and managed to build 2 with the right lens configuration and nice bezels, so I have lots of leftovers....

 

The best kind of role reversal.

As soon as I finish mine this time around, I'm doing a major parts inventory and purging. Too much 'just-in-case' parts.

 

Speaking of "this time around", I dug up a couple of old pics from the "first time" back around 1985-86. Since it was shot with acrylic lacquer then I have a bad feeling I'm going to be going thru this again soon ...





Getting some pretty nasty checking in a couple spots and a little surface rust. To make matters worse, I'm just about out of my old lacquer supply. Around here the collision repair industry has been forced to use the new water borne crap basecoat with urethane clear and it's illegal to sell lacquer.

 

I'm pretty sure you can still buy lacquer, but you'd have to get someone in the aircraft repair industry to apply it. Maybe tractor repair too. Lacquer handles highspeed automotive engine fumes better on small aircraft than the newer paints. Its one of the most regulated industries for materials used.

Farmers are really traditional when refinishing their 'collector tractors' and they get some exemptions too. Powerful lobby group too.

 

Yer right about the tractor repair part. We manufacture farm implements as well as having the tractor dealership. No water born paint for us (yet). We just did a Ford Golden Jubilee. Turned out real nice. Got the paint from my buddy at the Newholand/Ford dealership.

 

i mean this in the most kind manner.....
those are so homely there cool !!!!

wicked beast

 

Got the Suburban back from the muffler shop today. Here are some pictures of the new exhaust:











and here's what it sounds like if the photobucket link works anyway

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y201/wo_jojo/cars/?action=view&current=CIMG2171.mp4

Spent the whole afternoon cleaning corroded sockets and repairing damaged wiring. Now I have turnsignals, tailamps, and even backup lamps. But still no brake lights. :banghead3: :banghead3: :banghead3:

 

I'm happy for you but next time turn the radio/TV of

The old girl sounded sweet

 

With the dual Exhaust, you could put jakes on it and never use the brakes.

I don't recall exactly, but didn't have a mechanical lever switch off the brake pedal to turn on the brake lights? They were a PITA.:banghead3:

 

I don't think so, the brake light switch is on the master cylinder and I put in a new one along with the new master cylinder.:confused: