33 plymouth 2 dr. sedan

my next project. I've owned this for 25 years and haven't touched it for about 24 years. time to get serious and get it done. i'll be installing a 1973 318 w/904 tranny. fatman front end and independent rear suspension. I installed a Hagan hidden hinge kit on the drivers door before I stopped working on it, now i'll be finishing the passenger door next.

Awesome! Keep us posted on your progress. Can't be enough 33 Plymouths out there. Couple million more and we will have as many as 33/34 Fords.

What did you do with your red RR ??
What are you doing with the Cuda ??
I am just wondering how many cars you have ??
That 33 will look Cool when it's done.
I wish my body guy worked as good as you do.
Congrat's On getting your projects done.
David

looks like a pretty solid project to start with ! any rust issues ? what independent setup are you using ? i agree with john. not enough 33/34's out there [dodges included !]

I still have the red 69 roadrunner, and my pink 70 challenger, and my green 69 cuda. My goal was to have a fully restored A body,B body,E body, and an old resto rod truck for a driver.(42 Dodge truck with a late model 360 and 904 tranny) I have reached that goal. Now it's time to build this 33 street rod for my wife. She has supported me in this hobby for almost 30 years so its time I built one for her.
As to the rear suspension, I bought a new take off rear suspension out of a late 80's Thunderbird Super Coupe. it has zero miles on it. I installed it in the 33 back in 1987. it makes a real nice independent rear, disk brake unit. i'll post pictures when I get the body lifted back off. And the car had no rust. it is a local car that was found inside an old semi trailer on a farm years ago.

Congrat's on having an understanding wife. Lol
You sent me photos when you were redoing the RR as I have an R6 red one. I have a 36 Ply coupe also that will get done in a couple years. My stepdad has a 36 sedan.
I will look forward to more photos of the 33.
David

Please, pics of the rear end installed....

Factory Five Cobra's had a kit designed using a 5 litre T-bird with this independent rear for the donor instead of a Mustang.

Always wondered if this would be a be the way to go?? Did not see the option ( t-bird) on the factory five website last time I looked...

little update on my 33. I removed the Pontiac Fiero front suspension and installed a Fatman Fab Mustang II front. next i'll be fitting my 318 and tranny.

After being on Facebook the last few years I can't help but looking for the "like" button..... lol

a little update on my 33. I have replaced all the floors. the original floors are solid and rust free but I wanted a thicker metal and wanted to do away with the wooden sections. I installed a set of 8 way power leather seats out of a Saab convertible. I also extended the dash down and added a built in console. this will be where I will mount all my switches for my electric seats, windows, ect..
mounted a tilt column from Flaming River. Next I am going to build an overhead console to house my stereo system.

You mean HER stereo system! Cool build, I was involved in the build of a 33 couple with a 6.1 Hemi and pistol grip 4-speed, love that body style!

First place Identity thieves find info about you....

Been working on my 33 some. Now that I got everything fitting the way I want it, I took it back apart and pulled the body off the frame. Some final prep work on the main body and the frame, then its off to be painted. Here is a picture showing the T-Bird Super Coupe rear end in the frame. All I had to do was make a few brackets and welded them to the frame. the complete rear end assemble comes out with 4 bolts.

like seeing the real steel plymouth with real steel vin tags and such---i always thought the ford independant rear was a copy of the jag which they owned at the time--they swapped out the dana 44 for a 9 inch center section then later used the HD8.8 under the expeditions....

Got my frame and suspension all painted. here are a few pictures showing the rear end assembly. It is out of a 1990 Ford T-Bird Super Coupe.

Nice work

looks like a nice install ! what is the bolt pattern on the axles ? a buddy of my brother had a 92 or 93, and it had a 4 1/4" [or metric equivalent] pattern and he had a hard time finding wheels for it. were the earlier ones 4 1/2" ?

From time to time Ford engineers dreamed about installing IRS in Mustangs. The install had to be pretty much a bolt-on so they could keep the cheaper live axle under the cheaper cars while the higher end would get the IRS. I believe this is what made it into the Super Coupe.

The Ford IRS was in no way a copy of the Jaguar. Ford had diagonal lower arms, like my '70s Mercedes. The Jag arms went straight out from the differential. Ford used a separate upper control arm, again like my Mercedes, while the Jag used the halfshafts themselves. Hubs looked quite different as well.

Look at the later model Jag rear end in this link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/86-94-Jaguar-XJ4...E-/222099315972

I have a friend who installed one of these in a Toyota pickup, he says it allows much higher off-road speeds.

R.

i'll have to check the bolt pattern. I never thought about the wheel situation.

You are going great work! What a nice ride you will have when you are done. Keep up!

Haven't had much time to work on the 33 lately. Ended up not using my 318 but instead installed a late model 360 magnum. Got it mounted in the frame tonight. Next I have to mate a mopar driveshaft with a ford. The brake system is done and bled.

I have some questions on this set up.

1) is this set up strong enough to put behind a 490Hp Gen III 6.4 Hemi?

2) is this setup easy to find?

3) is this setup exoensive?

4) would a 4 link be stronger and/or cheaper?

5) can you easily adjust ride height?

I can't really answer how strong it will be. this is the first time I have used this set-up and haven't driven it yet. it looks to be pretty stout. I bought this 25 years ago as a new take off. at that time I paid about 500 for it, but it had 0 miles. I don't know how plentiful these are but our local you pull it yard has one but is pretty rusted from our Ohio winters. the only ride height adjustment is going to be how ever many coils I cut off of the springs. sorry I can't give you any better answers than this.

VERY NICE work so far

I read somewhere that the T bird IFS waS 4 1/4" BOLT PATTERN

how wide is that IFS? do the tires fit in the opening or will you need to widen the rear fenders? I thought the track width of the IFS was around 63" total, that is like a E body,
about 2-3" wider than a B body rear end.
just curious how it fits...

The bolt pattern is 4 1/4. I bought some high quality wheel adapters to get it to 4 1/2. Since this will be a street driven car, I am not worried about using adapters. I widened the rear fenders 2" each and moved the rear running board brackets out as well. The side splash aprons are still even with the rear quarters. You can't tell it was altered unless you know what you are looking for.

Also known as 5 on 108mm. The 4 1/2 size is 5 on 114.3.

It's becoming pretty common in the new wheel world to have wheels with both patterns. I know because I'm looking for wheels for my Elantra daily driver. It has 5 on 114.3. This just kills me because I have a nearly new pair of Compomotive 15 x 7.5s in my parts stash, but they're the 108 variety.

R.

years ago, my brothers buddy had a 90-something t-bird and didn't get aftermarket wheels because of that bolt pattern. i may have mentioned that pattern a few years back when someone here was contemplating using that rear on a project as a heads up.

haven't had much time to work on thee 33 lately, but did get the chassis done. fuel lines, brake lines hooked up. engine mounted. ready to set the body back on once I get it painted.

My original headlight reflectors were junk, so I built new ones. I found stainless steel bowls that fit into the buckets. then I got 2 junk plastic headlights and cut the base out that holds a late model halogen bulbs, cut a hole in the bottom of the stainless steel bowls and mounted the bulbs to the bowls.

Then I had 2 broken headlights from a late model Chrysler mini van and I removed the 2 magnifying lenses. I mounted these in front of the halogen bulbs. The original lenses fit over top of all of it. They light up very nice, yet look original when I installed the lenses back on.

Nice work

Nice work Charlie. I see you took these after I left today. Lol
Your cars are NICE and You are a Great person. Thanks again for the parts. David

good job ! how much of a difference did the magnifying lenses make in the light output ? what kind of beam pattern do you get through the original lens with them ?

the magnifying lens almost doubles the out put but the original lens kinda spreds it out. I am going to try to find some clear lens that will fit these original buckets.

Nice work, a pleasure to read, thank you for posting.

I discovered that my stock gas tank will not fit due to the rear end assembly I used. Couldn't find one, so I built one from scratch. My first attempt and I think it turned out very good. I welded some baffles inside to stop the fuel gauge from fluctuating too much. It fits nice and looks good installed. Only problem is ,it only holds about 12 gallons.

very nice tank ! you did pressure test correct ? i test by making a plate with fitting to attach to the sender unit hole, then seal off all other holes. fill with no more than 10lbs. of shop air and watch for bubbles using soapy water and a gage. when the bubbles stop appearing after i re-do the weld area as needed, and the gage holds 10lbs. for 3 or 4 days, i consider it done. glad you did baffles too. they add strength to the tank as well as slosh control. again, good job !

As said, Great Project!

I had the tank smoke checked by a mechanical shop. Not sure what type of smoke machine they have but they assured me that the tank will not leak.

Regarding the differential, I believe it's a Ford 8.8 and they're plenty strong. Also, the drivetrain only has to handle what the tires can resist.

R.

Forgive me for being late to your thread, but my excuse is that I was only referred to this website today by a friend of mine. And to be more specific, directly to your thread.

I have a '33 4 door sedan which I only got about 7 months ago. It looked great until I started digging, so I'm sure you can guess what happened next!

I'm afraid I'm none too good on the computer and I'm too old to learn any better, so I will try to make the occasional comment where I think it is appropriate. One of these years I wouldn't mind putting hidden hinges on my '33...all four stick out like a sore thumb!

Your body looks really good!

You guys probably know that Plymouth outsold Ford in 1933.

It never fails to amaze me just how many so called "original" Fords there are out there.

Now, to my eye, the '33 Plymouth was a forerunner to the '34 Ford, only better looking.

In the middle photo above, you show a pic of the new front end installed.

My '33 has an older Heidt's IFS, very similar to the Fatman unit I rather imagine.

As far as I know, my car was built back in Ontario about 30 years ago. The body seems to be not too bad, but when I started digging in to the mechanical side of things all hell broke loose.

One thing that I should mention is the installation of the Heidt's in mine was definitely not done properly. The instructions (which I looked up) clearly state that the holes in the front of the original frame should be filled in with 11 gauge steel. And then on top of that a 3/16" plate needs to be fabricated and welded in to place.

Unfortunately, neither of these items were attended to and the results were terrible.

We have removed everything from the car now, body is off, and we are correcting all the issues.

Where the Heidt's was welded in, there were several cracks in the frame up to 8" long. The reason for these cracks is that the two opposing frame sides were able to bend in towards each other every time the car hit a bump.

I'm quite sure that as long as your frame has something strong where the IFS is mounted, that there should be no bending. It's hard to see whether or not you have filled in any of the original holes in the frame or not (I'm only using a small laptop). But if you haven't, then there needs to be some sort of steel tube that will prevent the frame twist up front. We couldn't believe how much damage to the frame there was when we started taking things apart.

Back again...the floor in mine has been butchered, obviously not all original, maybe some of it, I really don't know.

You mention wood, was there some in the original floor, or was it elsewhere?

Mine has some wood, but it looks to be a fairly modern plywood (cheap junk) but in good shape. I'm told the car was garage kept since the day it was built.

The 4 door had an old Ford column which had been attacked by a madman with a grinder, and he showed no mercy at all. We have replaced that with a decent looking chrome column, probably made in beautiful downtown Beijing!

Clever idea about extending that dash down. There's not a whole lot of room behind the stock dash.

I see yours doesn't appear to be chopped...YET! Mine has been, but I don't know how much. I would guess around 4" or so. It doesn't look too bad, but I'm an old fart and I would have preferred to have the original headroom.

Widening your rear fenders is going to be a terrific plus.

I don't have the IRS in mine, but I do have a Jag IRS going in another project. It too has the 4 1/4" (108 mm) bolt pattern. Very difficult to find a decent wheel to fit.

I have a 10 bolt GM rear end in mine and when I got the car the back tires interfered with the bodywork. Initially, when I changed tires and rims - I went to a 3 3/4" backspace rim, it was the best I could locate. I still had to add longer shackles in the back (leaf springs still on the car) to enable tire clearance.

We are now switching over to a different 10 bolt which will have a triangulated 4 link, ala standard GM, so the old leafs can go.

The Plymouth frame has a taper all the way to the back, and we straightened that out in order to gain some additional clearance for the tires. It looks as though you have tons of room between your tires and the frame.

That is absolutely brilliant! Pun intended.

cocobolo, I boxed my complete frame in with about 3/16th inch plate steel. Between the heavy crossmember that comes with the Fatman front end and the upper crossmember I also made and added, my frame is very stiff. I don't ever see it moving in or out. My original lower firewall and directly under the front of the front seat were wood which I done away with. By widening the rear fenders and with the rear end I am using, rear wheel and tire clearance is not an issue.
I also agree that the 33 Ford has nothing on the Plymouth when it comes to looks. Plymouth roofline almost looks like a mild chop from the factory.

It looks like you boxed the frame rails, but the x - member still appears to be original. I really don't know if it's necessary to box that part, but just in case - we have just finished doing that today. I am sure that 3/16" plate is more than enough to prevent the trouble my frame went through. It was actually frightening.

Thanks for the info on the wood. I guess maybe that must be stock then, because the angled portion of the firewall on mine is wood, and that extends also back to the front seats as did yours. And there's not even sheet metal covering it. Not sure what we will do about that, but it will either get covered with sheet metal, or removed and made from scratch from sheet metal.

I'm afraid I have no experience with body work, so widening my rear fenders is likely out of the question. Our solution was to narrow the back several feet of the frame, which will also mean we will need to narrow the rear end. That will give us room for the new rear wheels and tires, two different ones of which we are considering at the moment. I wish I had 1/10th of your bodywork skills.

I think your sedan is unchopped right? Could I prevail on your good self to let me know what the height of both the front and back windows are please? That way I should be able to find out how much it has been chopped. Thank you in advance.

I did not box in my x frame. I really don't see a need for that, but I did weld it solid where the rivets held it together in the center and the outer corners at the frame rails.
my has not been chopped, I like the way it looks stock.
here are a couple of pictures showing the window measurements. Any other questions, feel free to ask.
I have been looking for the back glass interior trim moulding for years and cannot find one. if you ever hear of one, please let me know.

Thank you very much, I sincerely appreciate that!

I'm inclined to agree with you about the x member, and we welded all the rivets as well. But having now welded the x member, we find that the frame won't twist at all. This is not to say that the application of a few hundred horsepower won't do the trick.

Since I am at the other side of North America from you, I will ask the local rodding crowd if they know of the moulding you seek. Do you happen to know if the 33 and 34 mouldings might be the same?

Thank you again.

I assume they are the same but don't know for sure. if the 34 were a bit different, I guarantee I can make it fit.

i always got a chuckle out of pennsylvania,s inspection code stating a 12" minimum windshield height when mopars were less than this from the factory. i can't recall any instances when tops for these vehicles were raised to accommodate the "law". that "law" is still on the books, but it has gotten to the point of being ignored with the street rod regulations in effect, and even those requirements are being ignored to the point of almost anything goes now. provided, the workmanship is done to very good standards. i was one of the individuals in the group that helped create that law, and also offered insight and suggestions for it's regulations. i am proud of the time and effort i put into that project, even though it was a difficult challenge.

About 9" front and 5" rear on mine. Ya, when I went to the Arizona DMV to get mine registered, the cop checked - NOTHING! They just assigned their own VIN to the door jam ( even though I had a C of O with the manufacturers VIN ) and that was it. They only recognize their VIN, including for insurance. If you look at the windshield lay-back on some of the newer vehicles, doubt some of them would pass the 12" Penn. minimum law if measured perpendicular to the ground.

SRPM Street rods has a garnish moulding for a '33 coupe...I have no idea if that would be the same as for a sedan. Might be worth checking out. I'll keep looking.

[/quote]About 9" front and 5" rear on mine. Ya, when I went to the Arizona DMV to get mine registered, the cop checked - NOTHING! They just assigned their own VIN to the door jam ( even though I had a C of O with the manufacturers VIN ) and that was it. They only recognize their VIN, including for insurance. If you look at the windshield lay-back on some of the newer vehicles, doubt some of them would pass the 12" Penn. minimum law if measured perpendicular to the ground. [/quote]

My car was brought into British Columbia from Ontario. In order to get registration here, the car has to be inspected. Allegedly, this was supposed to have been done...but it must have been done by a blind person. I'm thinking that a few greenbacks may have changed hands here. Hence, we are rebuilding the entire car.

Always with the questions, here I go again.

Are you putting any sort of either heating or a/c in your '33?

I was hoping to be able to use a defroster of some kind, but there just isn't any room under that front windshield. There is a very small channel which I can barely get my finger in below the window, but we can't see any way to get warm air through there.

I'm wondering if there is a way to add a narrow hood - for lack of a better word - across the top of the dash to pass warm air through.

We are looking at the Vintage Air heaters, either with or without defrost as well as the a/c. Trouble is even the small a/c unit fills up most of the very limited room under the dash. And we still need room for the new electrical panel. It's tight for sure.

I rather imagine that you have some fairly cool days in Ohio, just as we do here in the frozen north. Not that I plan on driving the car terribly much in winter here, but you never know. Maybe a Christmas parade or something like that.

Why put it under the dash?

If you can run vent hoses thru something like a narrow console put the unit in the trunk.

...and if you get one of those fancy, bottom tilt bench seats you can put the fusebox under there.

Yep, just like Howard Hughes’1954 Chrysler New Yorker or his custom 1953 Buick Roadmaster, .......and coco has just as much money as Howard had.

(Make fun of my wheels, huh? I don't get mad, I get even.)

Oh wise and great one, please enlighten the unwashed and unworthy (me) ......from where would one find this seat?

My 35 Dodge (from years ago) had small slots at the bottom of the windshield that were cut into the garnish moldings. Those slotted vents were supplied with fan forced warm air from a tube connected to the heat unit. I can tell you the warm air forced through those small slots cleared the windshield very quickly.

I suggest you use the area under the dash for heat/cool and windshield wipers, and run the electrical not needed in the dash, to under or behind the rear seat. The voltage in the wiring won't care how far it travels before it reaches its destination. Warm air from a heating unit can cool pretty quickly in a cold car, you want to keep those heat caring hoses as short as possible. Gene

I am definitely considering a console of some sort.

I have my doubts that it would be any too practical for running a/c lines through (which I really don't need) but the thought has crossed my mind. For one thing there will be a floor shifter in the way. I need to keep an open mind for all these details though, never know what may - or may not - work.

The "trunk" area in the '33 is pretty small. The battery and spare tire are already located in there. Access is by pulling the rear seats forward.

Actually, we are using what I think are Honda bucket seats in front, and I have put them on a pair of 3" raised metal channels. There's room there for the fuse panel. It doesn't matter to me if the wiring is a few feet longer, since we are starting from scratch with a new wiring harness. Any wiring can easily be routed through the side of the console.

C'mon Ray...you...unworthy? Did I forget to mention that I'm Howard's cousin about 200 times removed? Did they ever settle his will, or are they still coming up with new ones ad infinitum?

Well now, there's some good info. Was that a stock type vent under the window? If so, then I should be able to find a pic somewhere. I was discussing that very thing with number two son, but he didn't think that you could get enough warm air through to help. I absolutely believe you when you say that would clear the windshield. There's no reason that it shouldn't.

Now that channel under the window on the '33 is a small box like section. I'm back at home now, about 500 kilometres away from the car, but I think that section is about an inch deep and maybe 3/4" wide. I could do a little sheet metal fabbing to run the warm air through and insulate that with stick-on duct insulation.

The wiper motor - single - is mounted overhead on this car. It sure could use a second, or even a third wiper with that low chopped window. I haven't measured the height of it yet, but the guys have very kindly given me info on their window heights.

Did the Dodge mount the wipers from below I take it?

I think in deference to the very kind original poster that I should be starting a thread on this car. There's a way to go yet and I'm quite positive there will be loads of questions still.

the factory wiper was a vacuum unit that was self contained above the windshield with just a hose running to it. i'm not sure if a second one on the passenger side was standard, or optional in 33. a dodge would be the same. i'm thinking they did not get mounted under the dash until the 40's ?

As far as I'm aware, most of the baseline cars, regardless of manufacturer, came with only a single wiper. A second was usually optional. I guess they didn't care if the passenger could see in a rainstorm.

I find that Rain-X does an excellent job of keeping the rain off the windshield.

[/quote]coco: There's room there for the fuse panel. [/quote]

Ummm, it's not the room, it's the accessibility, the older and the more cripple I get, the more difficult is to reach stuff, especially on the side of the road in "resume speed B.C." in a rain storm in the middle of the night. Admittedly, it is not often that a fuse has to be changed after the wiring is done, but it needs to be easy to get to either by a sliding drawer or a door or a removable panel.

I'm with you Ray, the old body parts just don't function quite like they did when we were 30-something......Easy access is KING.

First off, a 35 Dodge (or Plymouth) is a much different car then a 33 is, lots of stuff changed in those few years.
Second, 35 Dodge was a pile of cut up rusted metal when I started, anything that may have been there originally was long gone when the "car" came into my possession. I'll post before and after pictures for your amusement.

That said, I learned very early in my build that if I wanted something I could drive, I would need to see what modern parts could be adapted. With that in mind, I have a 2004 PT Cruiser. That PT has fairly narrow bucket seats, and the non power passenger side seat in on a pedestal with a drawer in it. That drawer opens about 8" away from the seat bottom, one could mount the fuse box & whatever other electrical component he wanted access to in the drawer with enough wiring in a loop to allow it to be opened and closed.
On my 35, both seat bottoms were touching each other, a console would have been pretty narrow, especially if there was a shifter in it. I can't believe a 33 has more room between the doors then the 35 had, if you have not set some sets in the car yet, you might want to check it out before you make too many plans. Creating duct work is a pretty easy task, compared to the other stuff you have to do.Gene

Thank you once again Gene.

I take it the gentleman in the blue shirt holding the steering column is "The Boss"...the other guy must be the helper, right?

Yes, there's no way that there's more room in the '33. The cars got wider over the years, and doubtless your '35 was a little bit wider. I had a '35 Chevy 2 door sedan previously, and it wasn't much - if any - wider than the Plymouth.

When I got this car it was running and licensed for the road. So the seats have been in place since long before I got it. They originally sat right on the floor, which was too low for me.

The car as it sits now is totally apart, right down to the bare frame.

As far as the fuse panel goes, I could put it in a drawer under the passenger seat. My '04 Dodge van has a similar pull out drawer to your PT. Probably the same thing. It could also be made to come out far enough to access all the wiring to the panel.

I'm not at all worried about any sheet metal work for ducting, that's easy enough.

That's quite the job you did on the '35 I must say.

No. Because I have done it. (magic wagon drawer) I thought it sounded good too and it looks cool, but there are a couple of drawbacks (learnt afterwards of course) ; it takes a lot more wire because if you are using it as a distribution source then the fused power goes to the dash switch and then back to the panel and then out to the switched device, this all adds up to a lot of wire and becomes very difficult to hide neatly and interferes with the opening and closing of the drawer. Also the seat cushion sits overtop of the open drawer and limits accessibility. Ask me how I know all this? I will do it differently next time, with more accessible.
My shop truck;

I'm not running any type of heat or a/c. With the windshield cranked out and the cowl vent opened, that's just about as good as a/c. If it gets cold enough for heat, i'll park it, or get one of those heaters that you plug into your cig. lighter.

Ray, I didn't have in mind using an open topped drawer. It would seem to me to be begging for trouble. I will have more than 3" of vertical space, as that is the height of the channel which I raised the seats with. Probably more like 4" plus. That should be plenty. We will use a larger wire gauge as necessary if any of the runs get lengthy.

But as Gene points out, those cars are tiny inside. Not a lot of added length in any event.

Another option might be to conjure up a hinged panel mounted on the firewall, such that when it opens, you are looking at the business side of things. Or maybe mounted on some sort of sliding mechanism. There will be a way.

Because my windshield has been chopped, the builder didn't leave the open function working, it is now fixed. But the cowl vent still works just fine. We only got to make a couple of relatively short trips this year, and the vent did the job.

However, I would like some heat and defrost for the many cooler days we get up this way...just have to work out how to get it functional. I'm liking Gene's mention of the slots in his '35. Seems like a good way to go.

http://www.hotrodhotline.com/pr/2011/wise_guys_seats_frame_foam_packages/

http://www.hotrodhotline.com/pr/2011/wise_guys_seats_frame_foam_packages/[/quote]

Thank you!

as far as seats go, some second row minivan bench seats work very well at times. i used the third row, folding bench from my 95 caravan in my cousin's 28 model A [i know, it's not a mopar, but it's tiny inside that cab] roadster pickup. i also incorporated the second row buckets tilt/latch mechanism along with the worn out hood gas struts from my wife's '94 concorde. that setup works super ! not only does the back fold forward, the entire seat rises to gain access [not much, but any extra room in one of these is greatly appreciated] to storage behind, and under the seat. i did, however, need to slightly narrow the framework on the bottom in a pie shape cut on both front corners to fit the body, as the seat at the front fit as was, but was right against the doors without upholstery. in all, [if i remember right] it was 1 1/2" per side. real easy to do, and i reused the original foam after cutting a tiny slice from each side. the upholstery guy did the rest.

i also made that stainless steel, four spoke, wood steering wheel. i'm not sure i want to go through that again ! that was a story in it's own !

Thank you!

Ready for paint.

Who sells new windshield frames for 33 Plymouth ??

After 25 years, I finally got some paint on it. Dusty Orchid Poly with Dark Plum fenders and side aprons.

very nice color combo ! what are your interior plans ?

the interior is whatever the wife picks out. All the interior metal trim and dash will be a Kameleon color that changes. It's called Rosey Purpleen. It will be this color.

My oh my! But that is just gorgeous! She is going to look spectacular when you put her all back together.

You might try srpmstreetrods.com

Thanks. I called them and they are closed until the 30th. i'll try then.

Awesome!! I basically did the same thing with my 33 Coupe - "interior is what ever the wife picks out". There are some things that are better left up to the lady of the house so to speak. Interiors are one of them IMO. I would have ended up with some cheap bucket seats in basic black with a steering wheel and gauges to match, but ended up with - - - - thanks to the wife.

Very nice. Do you have a build thread anywhere on your car?

Go to Custom33 on face book. Owner of the company posted lots of pics of my build.

Finally getting it back together. Spent all day Saturday setting the body back on the frame.

Don't know why, but it won't let me download pictures today.

Here we go.

Looking good!! You are making great progress. Anxious to see how all the periphery's (HVAC, wipers, electrical, etc ) are all going to go in. Since I have reverse mounted ( under the dash ) dual Wilwood masters, space went from tight to TIGHT between the dash and firewall on my build. I went with the smallest Vintage air unit available. Still ate up the entire right side of the under dash area. Ducting for 3 levels of heat ( defrost, mid, floor) also killed lots of space. Wiper system sits directly in front of the heater box. If I had to do it again, don't think I would have installed a wiper system. Rain-X just works too good! I did split up my electrical system. My battery and controls for the power door locks and windows are located behind the seat with access doors in the trunk front wall. Main fuse panel is located in the center area under the dash in a swing down panel ( that don't swing down much anymore) for easy access - NOT!

Since my windshield still opens, I put the wipers overhead. My brake system is under the floor, and I'm not installing a/c. So I have plenty of room behind the dash for all my wiring. I am planning ahead and leaving room to add air later if she wants it.

insulation , sound deadener installed today.

What did you use for insulation and sound deadener? And where did you get it from? Gene

It's called FatMat. This particular style is their Rattle Trap. Thicker than normal. It's made in Painesville, Ohio. They have a website. I have 4 cars with this stuff. Makes a real big difference.

Home Depot sells what appears to be an identical product for home duct use. The Fat Mat may be slightly thicker, but the idea is the same. Far less money. I tried some and it really does work.

I have used the "duct" product with great results for around 80% less cost than fat mat....

Have'nt posted for a while. This is how I mounted the body back to the frame while working alone.Took about 5 min.

Got the rear fenders, side aprons, running boards, and gas tank installed. Working on figuring out the wheel offset/backspacing now so I can get them ordered.

Nice work!! Just from the looks of it, you might have to go with a special off set if you want the rear tires to sit with-in the rear fenders - lots of off set to the inside. Beautiful cowl ship logo! Hard to find!

Making some progress on my 33. Mounted my tail lights. They are Mad Dad brand LED Harley Davidson tail lights. Pretty bright for the size of them. I also have my rear hubs and rotors at a machine shop getting them re-drilled to 5x4.50 They were 5x 108mm and I they don't make very many wheels that size. I had bought wheel adapters, but that set them out too far.

Got my front fenders and headlights mounted today. It's starting to look like something finally. Ran into another hitch today. I had bought a stainless hood center hinge strip over 20 years ago. Went to put the hood back together today and the strip is stamped out wrong. It won't let the 2 top hood pieces hinge up. I'll have to try and find someplace that makes the correct fitting piece.

Funny you should mention this...I was just looking at one for my car.

http://www.srpmstreetrods.com/srpm/mopar...3cd504d5-p.html

I just ordered one from them thru ebay. if you wait a few days until it gets to me, I will let you know how well it fits.

Those taillights look pretty cool. My only concern is the angle they appear to be mounted at. Are they going to be easy to see from behind, for the person following you at a safe distance, or will they not be able to see them until they get up too close? Gene

i really like that color combination ! that should look outstanding in the sunlight !

That is not an issue. They are designed to work at an angle as in the angle of extended bags and rear fender on a custom bagger Harley. They are easily seen from behind.

That is good to know. The way most people drive these days, I'd hate to give them any excuse to wreck our stuff, and that's a really sharp car to give some moron a shot at. Gene

I got my new center hood hinge from SRPM. It is stamped correctly and is a perfect fit. Hood went together very nice.

The body is finally all together. Next I have to make some bumper brackets to tuck the stock front bumper in close to the body and send my stock front bumper to Tri-City for chrome. I'll have to make my rear bumper.

I haven't been on here for a while. slowly making progress on my 33. Installing my Painless wire harness ,hooking up the lights and so stuff. Wife didn't like the looks of the stock bumper so I made some out of thick wall 1 3/4" tubing. Sent them to the chrome shop and just got them back this week. I also made some brackets to fit a Harley Davidson front light bar to the front bumper. Had all the brackets chromed. Everything looks good. The small round lights are my LED front turn signals and also running lights.

Thanks for this thread.

My lease is up in 2019 on my Jetta (don't ask...) and I will need to replace this car.
My daughter who is an "old souL', likes the look of the pre-war cars and being I already had my roadrunner convertible, she wanted something that would fit her personality. Her 1st car is still in Dallas waiting for me to go get it (1987 Reliant)...but that is again another story.

I want to build something with a modern drivetrain like a 5.7 Hemi automatic and all the comforts - air/heat/P/S and disk brakes. It will be a daily driver and it will be driven by her to work and back.

So the obvious question begs, can I do something with a re-enforced chassis or would it be wiser to slip something under a '30's '40's body and just make the interior like old school?

I have 2 years to pull this off and a garage on the way....lol.

Love the thread and thanks for all who contributed!

Looking forward to the completion of the '33!

njdevil2, I suppose you could pull off this build you want to do in 2 years, you have your work cut out for you, for sure.

Realistically? I think the "a garage on the way" is going to be a problem, unless that "garage on the way" is a fully equipped shop your getting next week....

Then, I'm a bit concerned about the questions your asking, it sounds like you may not have a lot of experience. 2 years on this big of a build is going to have a pretty steep learning curve. I suggest you get started now...

This is not to say it can't be done. If you start out with a modern Hemi car, pull the sheet metal, and cover the chassis with a 40s (or 50s) body (a 30s body is too small to be even close to fitting), the time frame might look more promising. Your still going to have to perform a lot of modifications to the chassis so it will mate up with an old body, and then you will have a lot of modifications to do with the body so it will look OK. On www.killbillet.com (its a rat rod site, and you may have to join to see the pictures, its free to join) in the 50s truck section there was a guy that put a 50s international pickup body on a Hemi Durango chassis. The build was pretty well documented, with pictures and descriptions of the process. The same process could be done with nearly any 40s or 50 Mopar car or truck, and the body can be finished to suit. Gene

Well, Gene, thanks for the feedback.

I am NOT by any means a body man, however I am well versed in suspension, mechanical, braking and electrical. By no means am I a BODY SHOP kinda guy.

That being said, there are other means than scratch built, there are 2 local "projects" that I can take on where the body is about done and I can install the powertrain of my choice and adapt what I need to.

There are, of course, ways to build things and I see that this and your projects are ground up. I'm not going for that.

I have friends that weld and weld very well, thank you.

I have all the tools needed to complete whatever I start. I am a mechanical by trade.

Thanks for the "warning".

After owning this car for 27 years, i drove it down the road for the first time today. Got the exhaust put on and the suspension lined up today. All that's left is the interior.

Fantastic!!!!!

It took me 15 years before I got to test drive my 37 Dodge. I can attest to how good it feels to have them move without having to push them.

very, very nice car ! i'm happy for you ! i've owned my humpback for almost 45yrs, and in the meantime, i have helped build countless cars for friends of mine. i also built and sold a 47 plymouth sedan and a 38 plymouth coupe. i'm now catching up on my neglected house repairs and reorganizing my shop so i can get my charger out of mothballs. i hope i live long enough to get the humpback going before i croak. congratulations again, on a finely crafted vehicle !