first trip out of the garage for my 48

gene, you turned out a really fun ride ! and for relatively cheap too ! this "race car" may not be to "everybody"'s liking or style, but it shows a little effort[well, maybe more than a little] and serious thinking combined with scrounging up a "slightly" used late dak can combine to produce a really good "smiles to miles - let the fun begin" hot rod. congrats on a job well done !

Thanks guys.
I've put a little over 40 miles on it so far, in about 4 short trips around town, since Tuesday. Each time, I come home with a new short list of things to take care of, most of which are minor. (Chasing squeaks and rattles, little things missed in the process.)
The 2 biggest issues at this time are the power steering rack has taken up leaking, the few spots have turned into a 3" spot after it sits an hour or so, and the 2nd is the condition of the front tires, they are still the same nearly wore out tires that have been on the truck since I bought it, about 6 years ago. The rack will be ordered Monday, the tires are a week or so off. Until the tires, I'll keep it to short drives. I did run it out on the highway for a couple miles, it pulls up past 65 pretty easy

My wife even rode along today, and it gets her approval! I think its going to be a fun ride.

I still have a long ways to go, the only thing in the interior is the front seat & seat belts, the old rubber mat on the floor and some bubble isolation in the roof. The car is open from the dash to the trunk lid, but is quite enough inside we can talk (its been a long time since we have had a old car we could hear each other talk in). When I get the trunk separated from the passenger compartment, it should be really nice. I have a lot of stuff to do on the outside as well, but we are riding, which was the whole point for this summer. I'm stoked!
Gene

My wife even rode along today, and it gets her approval! I think its going to be a fun ride.

That makes it a lot Easier when the Mrs..approves!

My wife rod in the Valiant in the yard the other day. I thought I couldn't keep the smile off of my face......should seen hers.

Life is good when the Mrs smiles! Gene

Thought I'd bring this up to date a bit.
I have a bit over 1,000 miles on the car since April 1st. I've made the trip to the 3rd Vintage Torquefest held at Maquokata Iowa. We put a little under 500 miles on through the weekend because our hotel was 30 miles away. The car got a consistent 20 mpg at 60-70 mph, and dropped to 19 something at over 75. I have a minor power steering weak from the rack if I turn it to the extremes, and I had a rear axle seal leaking a bit. The axle seals have both been replaced since.
I am getting a little squealing from the clutch when the pedal is released that goes away as soon as I rest my foot on the clutch pedal. I've concluded the throw out bearing must be the issue. The clutch was purchased as a kit, on line through Advanced Auto, but they tell me I have to take all the clutch parts into a company store (nearest one 40 miles away) before they will honor their "lifetime warrentee". The only other option they gave me was to buy a clutch from a competitor and return the defective one to them for a refund. Think I'm going to try to buy a new bearing locally. Advanced Auto will never see another dollar from me, another lesson learned.

Anyway, other then the throw out bearing, the car works great. It runs well, has decent power, and is a blast to drive. It has very good road manors and I'm happy with the gas millage.

Probably next week I'm going to start doing some body work, that black roof has to go, it gets hot enough the spray adhesive that holds the silver bubble wrap isolation up is breaking down and it is drooping down when its parked in the sun with the windows up, its hit 90 degrees here a few times already this spring.
Anyway, some more recent pictures, taken in the day light, for anyone interested. Gene

Rear view.

Front view.

The car is a business coupe. It never had a back seat. Behind the driver bench seat is a storage area that is separate from the trunk. The storage area is the width of the car, 11" deep, and about 15" high. It is accessible from behind the folded forward seat by 2 top locking, bottom hinged doors. The driver side contains my tool box, a jack, and other supplies one might need on the road. The passenger side is reserved for the Mrs to put the stuff she thinks she needs to hide.

Just in case you think there is no trunk space left, the remaining trunk is just under 6' long, about 18" high and about 48" between the wheel wells.

The door pannels and the top of the package shelf are cut from a $40 returned household tun surround from our local home improvement store. It is ABS plastic that was cut with a utility knife. Should the need arise, I can glue nearly anything to it. Eventually it will be covered with indoor/outdoor carpet to keep the race car theme.

Just because I have a fresh picture, this is what the dash looks like. House in it is the Dakota instrument cluster and heat controls. Under it is the nearly complete Dakota heat/air unit, the fuse box, the kick panel computer and a few other hings, its pretty crowded under there.

That's all I have for now. Gene

gene,glad to hear you have had only a few minor glitches to iron out. that proves to me this was a very well thought out build ! what color are you thinking about for the top ? what glue did you use to attach the insulation ? is there a stronger alternative ? i like your "jalopy tribute", so keep the pics coming ! a pile of fun for not a pile of cash !

Thanks Eric. Right now I think the top will end up gray primmer, maybe even the whole car, real soon. The plans for final color will be 2 tone, white and blue.
The separating line will begin about 6" from the bottom of the front edge of door as a point, with the bottom going down at a rear ward angle to about the center of the door and the top of the point will go up around the rear of the car just under the rear window to the other side. The rear will be blue and the nose and roof will be white. I think I'm going to number the car 117 so no one thinks its a Nascar number. 117 is a Psalms verse in the Bible. The number will be large and centered on the door. It will cover part of both paint colors. I'm debating on putting my business name on the quarter panel behind the door or maybe on the trunk lid. Also thinking about putting "Plymouth powered by Dodge" or the engine size in cu. in. (239 cu, in) or maybe the horsepower rating (125 HP) on the sides of the hood. I'm undecided about what color the numbers and the lettering will be yet. All the lettering & numbering may be a year or two off, I have plenty of time to decide.

As far as the glue, I used Locktite 777 heavy duty spray that was suppose to be for high temps. I gave it 2 coats on both the roof (scrapped the roof before spraying the glue on), and the insulation with the recommended drying time between coats and between application. It sticks well until the outside temp gets into the 90s with the car windows closed, then it lets go slowly. If I see it, I can re-press it back on the roof and open the windows and it stays fine. I'm using that cheap home improvement store insulation with the silver coated bubble wrap stuff. It gets hot enough you can barely touch it when the sun is out, the temp reaches 90+, and the windows are up. If any one of those elements is missing and you can't pull the stuff off the roof. I think if I eliminate the black paint on the roof it will cool the inside enough to solve the issue. Gene

Nice job on the car.

I had a similar problem with a custom headliner that came down after being in the sun. I called 3M and they said the stuff to use is the heaviest duty adhesive they sell which has a "90" in either the name or part number. It is supposed to release at something like 180 degrees.

R.

Thanks, I'll look into that. Gene