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Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation #2408094
11/24/17 12:46 AM
11/24/17 12:46 AM
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 18,575
Dreaming of the 808
AZ_A12_BEE Offline OP
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Dreaming of the 808
So I picked up this 1937 Plymouth 2 door business coupe and I'm amazed by how rust free it is. I cleaned the trunk out today and it was covered in a asphalt tar like product. It was lifting off in areas so I decided to remove some of it and I was amazed how preserved the metal was. zero rust, no pitting and the primer looks almost new. Was this tar stock? Has anybody ever seen anything like this before?

image.jpegimage.jpegimage.jpeg

69.5 A12 Bee, first purchased in 1976, car 169 on registry 69 Coronet R/T 440/4 spd 69 Coronet 500 Conv H code 383 4bbl/auto 37 Plymouth PU Find your spot on earth and ride it.
Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: AZ_A12_BEE] #2408099
11/24/17 12:48 AM
11/24/17 12:48 AM
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 18,575
Dreaming of the 808
AZ_A12_BEE Offline OP
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Dreaming of the 808
After

image.jpegimage.jpegimage.jpeg

69.5 A12 Bee, first purchased in 1976, car 169 on registry 69 Coronet R/T 440/4 spd 69 Coronet 500 Conv H code 383 4bbl/auto 37 Plymouth PU Find your spot on earth and ride it.
Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: AZ_A12_BEE] #2408126
11/24/17 02:13 AM
11/24/17 02:13 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,390
Highland, MI.
Sunroofcuda Offline
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Looks great. Take a propane torch & heat the stuff a little & it'll come off like butter. (bench test some of it first & make sure it doesn't splode or burst into flames though on the car!!!)


No Man With A Good Car Needs To Be Justified
Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: AZ_A12_BEE] #2408140
11/24/17 03:23 AM
11/24/17 03:23 AM
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 1,134
Lost in Time
Iowan Offline
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Lost in Time
Cool looking ride.


Have a great day
Iowan

"obsolete is neat"

Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: AZ_A12_BEE] #2408144
11/24/17 03:39 AM
11/24/17 03:39 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 7,471
Minnesota
Hemi_Joel Offline
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My 48 & 49 Plymouths had similar tar under coating. My 31 didn't.


[img]http://i.imgur.com/boeexFms.jpg[/img]
31 Plymouth Coupe, 392 Hemi, T56 magnum
RS23J71
RS27J77
RP23J71
RO23J71
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I don't regret the things I've done. I only regret the things I didn't do.
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Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: Hemi_Joel] #2408165
11/24/17 10:44 AM
11/24/17 10:44 AM
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 19,237
north of coder
moparx Offline
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north of coder
my 38 had that exact same stuff not only in the trunk, but also behind the front seat and up the riser to where the trunk floor came through into the passenger compartment. that area was also covered. since it was a business coupe, i'm guessing it was used because it was way more "wearable" than the rubber floor mats of the day, and items could be slid in and out without harming the surface, yet keep said items from sliding back and forth while going down the road.
beer

Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: moparx] #2408171
11/24/17 11:07 AM
11/24/17 11:07 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 43,458
Round Lake Beach, Illinoisy
Rhinodart Offline
Rhinotruck
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Probably asbestos... work panic


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Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: AZ_A12_BEE] #2408184
11/24/17 11:51 AM
11/24/17 11:51 AM
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 463
IN
polaraholic Offline
mopar
polaraholic  Offline
mopar

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IN
Keeps the moonshine from leaking out. drinking

Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: AZ_A12_BEE] #2408208
11/24/17 12:57 PM
11/24/17 12:57 PM
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ChryCoGuy Offline
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Pretty cool. Thanks for posting it.

So, does that look like it was applied by the factory, or would it have been something an owner did after the fact?

I suppose it might be difficult to know with a car that has 80 years of history behind it!

Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: Rhinodart] #2408227
11/24/17 01:42 PM
11/24/17 01:42 PM
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 18,575
Dreaming of the 808
AZ_A12_BEE Offline OP
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Originally Posted By Rhinodart
Probably asbestos... work panic


Everything had asbestos back then smile


69.5 A12 Bee, first purchased in 1976, car 169 on registry 69 Coronet R/T 440/4 spd 69 Coronet 500 Conv H code 383 4bbl/auto 37 Plymouth PU Find your spot on earth and ride it.
Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: ChryCoGuy] #2408229
11/24/17 01:43 PM
11/24/17 01:43 PM
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 18,575
Dreaming of the 808
AZ_A12_BEE Offline OP
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Dreaming of the 808
Originally Posted By ChryCoGuy
Pretty cool. Thanks for posting it.

So, does that look like it was applied by the factory, or would it have been something an owner did after the fact?

I suppose it might be difficult to know with a car that has 80 years of history behind it!


I'm just guessing but I think it was factory applied, the primer underneath is too nice to have been applied later


69.5 A12 Bee, first purchased in 1976, car 169 on registry 69 Coronet R/T 440/4 spd 69 Coronet 500 Conv H code 383 4bbl/auto 37 Plymouth PU Find your spot on earth and ride it.
Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: AZ_A12_BEE] #2408238
11/24/17 02:12 PM
11/24/17 02:12 PM
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,287
New Jersey
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Powerflow Offline
pro stock
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New Jersey
It could also have been a dealer-installed aftersale item. Probably helped with reducing noise in the trunk.

Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: Powerflow] #2408245
11/24/17 02:20 PM
11/24/17 02:20 PM
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ChryCoGuy Offline
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Interesting. Can't recall seeing that before but then most 30s-40s cars I've seen had a rubber mat in the trunk that I wouldn't have looked under.

Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: Powerflow] #2408254
11/24/17 02:38 PM
11/24/17 02:38 PM
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 18,575
Dreaming of the 808
AZ_A12_BEE Offline OP
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Dreaming of the 808
Originally Posted By Powerflow
It could also have been a dealer-installed aftersale item. Probably helped with reducing noise in the trunk.


It was very thick in some places, almost 1/4 inch thick


69.5 A12 Bee, first purchased in 1976, car 169 on registry 69 Coronet R/T 440/4 spd 69 Coronet 500 Conv H code 383 4bbl/auto 37 Plymouth PU Find your spot on earth and ride it.
Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: AZ_A12_BEE] #2408482
11/25/17 12:29 AM
11/25/17 12:29 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,485
Freeport IL USA
poorboy Offline
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I don't ever remember seeing much of any original floor pans remaining, on any of the 30s or 40s Mopars I've had, much less what might have been covering them.

There were a few places where I've encountered some type of undercoating that looked a lot like that stuff. I suspected it was originally factory installed. It was some good stuff! I've seen clean shinny steel under it, next to rotted away sheet metal that was not protected by the undercoating. If only the entire floor would have been covered, the sheet metal might have still been good. Gene

Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: Sunroofcuda] #2423641
12/25/17 04:14 PM
12/25/17 04:14 PM
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Lost and Spaced
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bboogieart Offline
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Originally Posted By Sunroofcuda
Take a propane torch & heat the stuff


I'd be worried it would catch fire and not being able to put it out.


I have mechanical Aptitude.
I can screw up anything.
Re: Tar in trunk on my 37, Amazing preservation [Re: AZ_A12_BEE] #2423788
12/26/17 12:14 AM
12/26/17 12:14 AM
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 236
British Columbia, Canada
Old Ray Offline
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Old Ray  Offline
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British Columbia, Canada
You have probably finished the tar removal but this MIGHT (? confused ) help someone else maybe, well maybe not , well not at all. The heck with it I'm not posting (just kidding).

My '56 Canadian Dodge 2 door wagon (Plodge) has a similar tar on the floor boards under the seats (lower right in pix) and I had a air powered gasket scarper air chisel that I have not used much that worked very well.








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