DodgeCharger.com Forum

I am attempting to do a deed for a friend. Steve has lou Gehrig's desease. he can get around, but it is pretty hard for him. his mind is great, but has a hard time communicating his words. takes him quite a while to get the words out. when we go to a car show he will start to mention an item and I usually finish his sentences. hes a great car guy. well, steve has a car. a 37 Plymouth 2 door. it has been his dream cruiser for several years. he has in the past been able to do most of the work him self with some help. his car has a mustang 2 front suspension. a 318 with a 727 already installed. shaved handles. body done. well, it has gotten to the point where he said he was ready to give up. he just cant do the work. I want to get his car on the road so he can get to a car show. he has never taken a car to a show and would love to. mainly this car needs interior completed, some of the wiring done, brakes bled and the master cylinder rebuilt. door poppers installed. a few other things done.

  now for the reason I am writing. I am looking for a possible place to do this, and maybe a few guys to help. I tried to get garage squad since they are working in the Chicago area, but no response yet. I have tried to contact a few people that may have a place, but those buildings are taken at the time.
   is there anyone with knowledge or contacts/friends of any of these shows etc... that do this stuff and could maybe have an inside shot at getting steves car on the road?  also have a local mustang club that may be able to pitch in and help if we find a place to move it to. anyway, right now I am just fishing to see if there is anything biting. thanks.

couple more with steve in the second pic in the chair.

My wife used to run the ALS clinic here so this is something we would like to help with, but I'm not sure how.  I'm several hours away, don't have any space and I have very little time as is.  Still, if we can help we will.  If there's something you think we can help with please let me know.

Does your friend have a speech device by the way?  These days tablets can do that job.  My wife would get those for her patients all the time.  Is there anything else he needs?  I'm still in health care so I can try to pull some strings if he needs something like assistive devices.

I will check with him and maybe put him in touch with you. that would be awesome. thank you for the offer :2thumbs:

My pleasure, we'll do our best to get him what he needs.

Wish you were closer..

thanks for the thoughts cooter. :cheers:

any word on space yet?

i think i may have an idea. i can put all my garage storage stuff on top of my lift and raise it, then park the charger under the lift. that would open up half of my garage to do the work. plus i wont have to drive far to work on it. :2thumbs:

I wish you guys were closer to me as well, I would love to help.

appreciate the offer. I actually think it wont be too bad. the main thing is we might have to check with 41husk's guy that does upholstery to do the door panels. steve said he will pay for whatever we need to have done.

Good for you. Sending support from 2000 miles away!

 :cheers: :popcrn: :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

41husk is aiding me in attempting to line up some local talent to help with this job. one way or another I can say we will get this car done. as it progresses I will try to post pics.  thanks everyone for your concern. :2thumbs:

I work 10p-6a sat-thurs when do you need the help of a nonskilled laborer? Working at Downtown airport/Cahokia 

we are moving forward right now with trying to line everything up. 41husk is finding out if the local high school would like to pitch in for their class time. if we get lucky they will be able to do wiring, door poppers, electric windows and maybe brakes. he has the new complete wiring harness that needs to be finished.

if not on the poppers and windows, my kid can do those.

   when we get the news on that, then we can make plans from there. Steve is willing to pay for whatever we need to purchase to complete the build.

  thanks for the offer, and I will jump at the chance to have labor help with the sound deadening and carpet, brakes, TEST DRIVES etc.....

ok guys, we have a big update.

  first of all 41husk has talked to the local high school (where he works) and the vocational teacher has agreed to do the work with his classes.  :notworthy:


   and for the second bit of info, NAPA is going to set up to sell us any parts we need at a largely reduced rate so we can save some cash. then deliver the parts to the high school. there should not be too many items that we will need to purchase since steve had most everything needed, but you never know. :2thumbs:

  so now it looks like we will need to focus on the interior. really pleased with the progress going on.  :cheers:

That is awesome news!  Good job guys.   :2thumbs:

update is cold..........  weather that is........... school is closed today due to the weather, so we cant set up the day and time the car will be delivered to the shop.

     hopefully they will be back tomorrow, and the car will be delivered Friday.  fingers crossed that it comes off this way. :2thumbs:

This is so awesome what you're doing nvrbdn and others.   :cheers:   
I wish I was closer.   Well done and let's keep this going.    :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

How far Southern IL is this?  I can help if it's not too far away from Urbana.  Great thing you are doing here!

we are right across the river from St. Louis Mo. it would be a 2 1/2 hour drive from Urbana. but if we get the car back and still have interior etc... to do, maybe we can have a weekend and have a few people drive in to help. I  can BBQ. we will just have to see how far the school will go. then we can re-assess the situation. I heard from steve today and he is soooo excited. I will take a camera and post some pic's of us dropping the car off.

Kudos nvrbdn and husk41, it's great to see these types of posts. I too, like everyone else wish I was closer so I could help you guys out.

This is what's great about the car hobby, good deeds like this. With so many crooks and douche bags in the hobby now, it nice to see guys like you helping a fellow out!

Good luck and keep us posted,
Jason

thank you guys for the kind words. we are just helping out a true mopar guy that has gotten to the point that he can't do it himself now. I just don't want him to give up and sell when he has gotten so far. and steve is truly an awesome guy. I will be keeping updates as we progress right through to steve sitting with his car at a show.

    :cheers:

   

Quote from: nvrbdn on January 07, 2015, 06:22:58 PM
we are right across the river from St. Louis Mo. it would be a 2 1/2 hour drive from Urbana. but if we get the car back and still have interior etc... to do, maybe we can have a weekend and have a few people drive in to help. I  can BBQ. we will just have to see how far the school will go. then we can re-assess the situation. I heard from steve today and he is soooo excited. I will take a camera and post some pic's of us dropping the car off.

I do have experience in reupholstering seats, although I will not call myself an expert.  Anything else is a walk in the park and I am more than happy to offer my help!  Keep us updated and let us know what needs to happen.   :2thumbs:

awesome. :2thumbs:

  I know we will need to do door panels. I will get with steve and see what else we will need on the interior. I will also take pic's of the pieces we have and get ideas. thanks for your offer. that may be the icing on the cake.

  as for the weather, it looks like the t.v. is reporting that the high school is again closing due to weather tomorrow. so last chance to get it to go this week will be if we can get ahold of the instructor and he says to bring it on in Friday.  fingers really crossed now. :yesnod:

Just caught this thread. So nice to see everyone pulling together to help out. If I was in your area I would be there supplying what ever manual labor or time I could.   :cheers:

Good friend you are nvrbdn!  :yesnod:

Today's update is this:  41HUSK called and finally was able to talk to Mr. Hill. The car needs to be delivered between 8-10 any day. Well, that knocked today out of the equation.  Talked to Steve and he is good with it all. We may try for next Thursday morning if 67Bird still wants to go with us to deliver it. Steve offered that we could load the car on the trailer Wed. afternoon and then just drive one of their cars home so we wouldn't have to load it in the morning. He said his future son in law has been over getting the car ready for the trip. I will see if my boss will let me show up late on Thursday and work late so I don't have to call off a day. She has been pretty good to me, so I'm sure it will all be good. Any way, we are still looking good and staying focused.

                                                        :2thumbs:

ok guys we have a date. we are delivering the car Friday morning at 8. Mr hill was going to be at a meeting Thursday morning, and Allen and I agree that we really want to meet Mr. Hill and be able to talk with him. so Friday is it. I will make sure I have my camera for the day. David (67bird) is going to meet us at Steve's house to take the car in. so with Allen (41husk) there, we will have 3 DC.COM members. :yesnod:

  Thanks everyone for your interest. :2thumbs:

the car is on the trailer. we loaded it up this afternoon. my step kid met me at steve's house and aided in the loading. plus steve's future son in law was there to help. we will meet back there in the morning to deliver the car to the school. steve is very excited with everything. I'm just thrilled that its all coming together. I will have the camera with me tomorrow. plus the weather is a bit nicer, so it should be a great day. :cheers:

The eagle has landed!  The 37 Plymouth was delivered this morning.  It was nice to see Steve again it has been a few years.  It was nice to meet Dave (67bird) and it is always nice to see Jim.

it was fun bringing the car in to the school and meeting Mr. Hill. a great morning. David (67bird) was at Steve's when I got there. car was ready to go.

we arrived at the school where Allen had the door open for us to aim at. David, Allen and Steve inside the garage.

and the final pic is Mr. Hill on the right, David, Steve and Allen. and it begins. lucky for us, as we were loading the car last night, the UPS guy pulls up and delivers the electric lift kit for the trunk.  :2thumbs:

Great!   :2thumbs: :popcrn:

ok guys, I have a little update. steve emailed me saying that he had to run by the school to grab the plates from the car. when there he said the car was up on jacks with the wheels off and parts taken off. the front was off the car. get this, one of the kids working on the car has a dad that owns a body shop. they took the front of the car off and took it to his shop to remove a dent so the grill will fit better. steve was so excited about the progress going on when they have only had the car to work on 3 days class time.  how cool.

  next my son called me with my contact info for NAPA after one of the owners said they would get involved. so I made the call and we talked. I was telling him who told me to get ahold of him, then told him the story of the car. when I told him the high school jumped all in, he said and we are jumping all in for everything else. we like to do this. you tell mr. hill to call me and we will set up how to take care of whatever he needs.

 this is what the world needs. thank you granite city high school, mr. hill, and napa.

tsmithae: the seats are awesome. we will need to do all the door panels and flooring. plus anything on the dash and trunk area if we want panels in there. steve has the door blanks that you use. I will try to get pic's and measurements some time. let me know what you need, or make a road trip sometime. :icon_smile_big:

here is the one pic of the interior I have. enlarged it a bit so it will be a little fuzzy. :2thumbs:

Wow! I'm glad to hear this is working out so nicely!

  talked to Steve. we are happy with the progress going on with the car. its very exciting. Steve sent me an email, and in it he was describing his disease. this was his description so I can have it right.

  The disease they think I have is a benign form of Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) it's called PLS. Primary Lateral Sclerosis is a slow progressive disease. Lou Gehrig's disease you pass away usually 5-7 yrs . The way they tell if you have PLS instead of Lou Gehrig's you live longer then 7yrs and show no muscle atrophy. I've had this going on 12yrs. I hope to have it 20 more. I can tell you a whole lot more about it but I don't like to. I want to talk about my Plymouth.

   Thanks Steve for explaining this. and now, back to what's important, that awesome Plymouth. :2thumbs:

Hi everyone, this is Tammy, Steve's wife. I want to let you know how much I appreciate what you all are doing for Steve. I am truly touched by all of the compassion, hard work and support you all are giving to Steve.  It has been hard watching him struggle with the car and realizing that he is too physically limited to do the work that he enjoys so much.  This disease has taken so much from him, so THANK YOU, for stepping in so he doesn't lose his car too. You are all amazing caring people and the world is a better place with all of you in it.

Steve is a strong amazing man, he has fought this disease every step of the way, thank you for giving him even more reasons to fight.  I look forward to him hitting some shows with you all.
I wish I had the right words to tell you all how much you have touched my heart and Steve's heart.........all I can do is thank you and thank God for you and ask his blessings for you all.

So God Bless each and everyone of you, and thanks from the deepest depths of my heart, Tammy

Thanks for dropping by Tammy. And for the kind words. We all appreciate them. Love to see Steve smile over his car. :2thumbs:

Hello my friends,

I've been trying to figure out how to thank all you guys for doing this for me, and I have no ideal but, it's been a huge shot in the arm. I was considering selling it because I haven't been able to work on it for over 2yrs. So when Jim emailed me about what he was trying to do. I couldn't believe it, it felt like a dream. Any way thank all of you for doing this for me. I hope to see you at car show!!!!!


I stopped in to drop off hood ornament and other junk they were putting the new gauges in, looking good

I wish you were closer too.. :2thumbs:

awesome steve. now we will have to have you take pic's when you drop in so we can see the progress.  :cheers:

 Thanks ACUDANUT for offer

Next time I go to the school I'll take pictures

Thanks again

well guys, we don't have any updates to talk about right now. I know that the guys at the school are doing quite a bit of work on steve's car. its nerve racking with anticipation. any word and I will let you know.
                   
                   and we have snow now, so im wishing for better weather.  :brickwall:


    on an exciting note, power tour comes right through here on Monday june 8th. I took the day off and will try to make all the arrangements with steve to maybe get the 37 Plymouth to gateway race track. so any members that take the ride can meet us at gateway.

                  :2thumbs:

Good to hear progress is still moving forward, I'm excited to see this come through!

I'll be spectating the Champaign portion on the 7th.  Doubt I will be able to swing the 8th but I will try it anyway! 

yea, I was trying to figure out if it would be cool to hit the Champaign - Urbana part of the show and cruising with the group to Madison/ Gateway motorsports park. still tossing that one around. :yesnod:

It would be cool to meet some more charger brothers, not sure if anyone else has thrown the idea around yet or not but it would be cool!

Ok guys, right now I don't have a lot to report. With work and all I haven't been able to check things out. Steve told me that Tammy had to run the door panels to the school to do a fit test. When she got home he asked her about a million questions about the car which her answer was "I don't know, I didn't look at the car". I am sure they don't want people walking around the classroom area when we aren't teaching, or going to school there. So I can understand that she didn't have any answers for him. But as a car guy, I also understand that his baby is away from home and he can't see it. My thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Hill and the great students that are putting out the effort to get this car on the road. Thank you guys from the bottom of my heart.

                                                                                                       :2thumbs:

I will bring my camera in and post some pics.

awesome. thanks Allen. :2thumbs:

ok guys we have an update. I am heading to steve's in the morning to go to the school and meet with the class and check on the progress of the car. I will be sure to take a camera and get some pictures. the weather has warmed a lot around here, and tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day. :2thumbs:

we made it. I picked steve up (or I rode with him from his house) at 8:30 and we headed to the school. we were greeted by several students when we got there and they ran us through what they were doing. Mr. Hill was right behind and greeted us and filled us in on what all had happened. so far up to date they changed the trans filter and fluid with gasket getting rid of the leak there. the motor has no leaks and the engine was fired and ran well. the carb was leaking and needs to be rebuilt. the wiring is going well. all the lights and turn signals were working, then the headlights quit, so they were searching for a short, but will be back up soon. the brakes were all bled. napa supplied a new master cylinder and a few other parts for the job. one of the students has the electric window stuff installed, and one window in. he also has the wiring done for the door poppers, but the cylinder doesn't have enough umpf to pull those antique mechanisms. so they suggested we get the hook and striker set up. so we will be looking for that. also they were not able to get the wiper motors to work, so we will be searching for replacements for those. all in all, those kids have been doing great work.

inside work going on. Mr. Hill said they will patch and weld the floor in when the wiring etc.. is complete. :2thumbs:

a shot from the back.

the brakes turned out to be a real bear as they struggled to get everything to perform. after many hours they were able to get it all lined out with replacement parts and diligence. next the wiring harness was a true test for the kids. Mr Hill is letting them learn as they reach each obstacle. the door poppers are something that has never been done also by these guys. we are thrilled at the progress going on at the school. the guys we talked to were very proud of their work on the jobs that they have been completing. it was a good visit with the class. we also told the kids and mr, Hill that we would like to do a fish fry for them all with cat fish, crappie and blue gill and all the fixin's. we also want to do a small car show with this car, plus any other cars that either the kids have etc.. they seemed to be pretty excited about that. :2thumbs:

Very cool.  I went out there 1st hour but you guys weren't there yet.  I had to give a test second hour and got tied up.  Sorry I missed you all.

sorry we missed you Allen. I want one of your shirts that I heard about. Save me a 2x

ok guys we have the next problem. it seems that the transmission is not working. Mr. Hill emailed Steve saying it is not moving at all. The motor and trans came from a 69 dodge charger. 318 motor. he said he believes that the previous owner said it was a 727, but I was thinking it would be a 904. so for you guys that would know for sure, or if Allen can get down to the shop and see what is in the car. The next thing is to either find someone that can check out the trans/torque convertor, or find a trans that we can pick up to get it in this car.

   any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions would help greatly. :cheers:

Everyone will tell you that the stock trans for a 69 Charger with a 318 would have been a 904. However, my 68 that I bought in 1987 had a 318/727 (I know because the 70 Challenger that I had at the same time was a 318/904 and the trans pans were different when I went to buy parts). Although, who knows if it was original? There should be a ton of 904 transmissions available for cheap - but most probably get tossed in the junk pile. I had a nice one for years and eventually sold it for about $25.

Troy

Thanks, that's what I was feeling. then again, who knows what exactly was put in. the guy had told steve that it was rebuilt, but it also was setting for several years. so I guess I will be on the hunt for a small block transmission. now the question would be, are the lengths of the 904 and the 727 the same so there will be no worries for the drive shaft?

No they are not. Take a look at the pan and verify what is there first. A small block 727 will be harder to find and more expensive than the 904 - but maybe that's ok if you didn't have to find a drive shaft if you switch. I got my stuff out of a 67 Satellite that a guy was parting out. Could have had the engine, trans, and driveshaft for under $200 (and probably the rear end if I was thinking of it). I have a "fresh" later model small block 727 with the lockup converter and paid a little over $500 for it.

Troy

Got the transmission pulled and it is in the back of my truck

You guys are doing a great thing ×10

Allen is getting the transmission to a rebuilder that he deals with.  :2thumbs:

     I should have him build one of my big block Trans's. :scratchchin:

  The kids and teachers at the school are doing great work.

The 727 was dropped off this morning should be done Tuesday.

Transmission is done. Allen is picking it up. progress keeps moving forward. The high school is having a car show in May and we are hopeful that Steve's car will be able to be in that show. :2thumbs:

Nice story! Hope you can get the car done in time for the Car show. :2thumbs:

Quote from: nvrbdn on April 03, 2015, 07:49:22 AM
The high school is having a car show in May and we are hopeful that Steve's car will be able to be in that show. :2thumbs:

That would awesome!   :2thumbs:

got the transmission to school today.  School was closed last week for spring break.  They should have it back in this week :2thumbs:

sounds awesome. I will be getting with Steve on Friday morning to go through some parts and stuff he has, and to look at some carpet that is in the garage. we will see if it will do for the time being.  :2thumbs:

Transmission is back in :cheers:

 :2thumbs: :cheers:

Steve and I made it to the school today. we had a nice visit with mr hill and the students. there is a charging problem. I traced a couple wires, and am getting my diagram out right now to check that out. we discussed the problem with the windows not wanting to travel up and down, and a couple other things. I am going to the school and work on the car next Thursday if anyone wants to join. I will be attaching the floor, figuring out a bracket for the gas pedal, and aiding in whatever else they would like me to help with. the radiator is in bad shape and I am checking this one I have in the garage from a 67 mustang. they have done great since the brakes work, the wiring is about completed, the engine and trans all work. basically the car is driveable. we looked at the carpet that he has and we believe we are good there. we got the pictures hagerty wanted. if anyone knows about windows and putting in these electric window frames, we could use help. I looked at it today, and I was thinking it may just need to be shimmed to line up the frame work with the tracks. and then the door popper latches need to be swapped for them to work. other than that, they have come a long way for us and it is almost time to thank them and get the car back to do our part. here are a few pics from today.

 :drool5:

we would never be this far without great friends and kind people. thanks to everyone :2thumbs:

any body got a donor radiator out there? the radiator I have may be too small. It is a dual core 18" wide and 20" tall. the radiator in the car is 18" wide and 24" tall. the top inlet is in the center on the one in the car with the lower to the drivers side, where the one I have has top to the drivers side and the bottom to the pass side.

Thursday morning. I'm on a day off since my work cut us back to 32 hours.  I like the 3 day weekend every week though. Thursday, Friday, Saturday off.  :yesnod: so the sun is rising over the tree tops, and I'm getting ready to head out to the garage to see what I want to take with me to the school to start working on the car. Steve said he would be there also. hopefully we can get the wiring all tucked away, and the floor buttoned down. then attack the poppers (which the kids had everything done on them except the latches installed. then brake and gas pedals. We will see how that goes. Hopefully by tonight we will have some good updates. :2thumbs:

things didn't move along as wanted. it turns out that the class was taking a field trip today to check out Ranken technical college. so I checked out a few things on the car. first I was running the wiring for the alternator. for a 69 charger 318 it should have a batt wire and a field wire. field wire goes to the regulator. other side of regulator heads to horn relay and resistor..........and so on. well this alternator has 2 fields and a battery post. the field was wired to the regulator then the other side of the regulator heads to a split. one going to the fire wall which should be heading to the ignition switch, and the other goes back to the other field side of the alternator. the guy that was there ( eric hills brother another teacher) said just get a GM single wire alt. and get rid of the problem. he said he will bring a paper in showing what wires to cut and tape off. I just hate that NAPA just donated a new alternator. the one with 2 fields. ok, so move on to the next task. well the kid cleaning up the wiring is doing a great job, and has been focused on the wiring for a while now so I didn't want to mess with anything that he already knows everything about. so don't touch the wiring. Then it turns out that the 37 didn't have brake lights. so they ordered a pressure switch that goes on the master cylinder that will operate the brake lights. and the part did show up today while I was there. NAPA will be getting a radiator, so waiting on that. the new latches will take cutting metal out for the poppers which we don't want to try to start right at the moment. which leaves us to the floor. I had 2 of the three pieces of the floor and started lining them up. found out what thread was used in the floor and headed off to the hardware store for some bolts nuts and washers. picked the short bolts and went back to bolt down the floor. also called steve to tell him we wouldn't be able to do all we wanted so no need to run down there. played with the floor for a while and go some work done, but needed a few bolts a little longer, so had to quit. by then it was 10;30 and can't work past noon. so I gave up and drove home. yep I lost an hour I could have worked on the car. so I cant figure out a gas pedal bracket until I get the floor in. may try to finish the floor in the morning.

found this wiring diagram which shows that the other field post is supposed to go to ground. that may just fix the charging problem.

      now another problem, whenever I want to type the word "charge" I always add an r on the end, then have to go back and remove it. :rofl:

well, the latest update is more of a set back. the end of the school year is near and the car has a bit to do yet. we figured that we would do the poppers and windows completed at a later date and get the car to a few shows first. but the problem is the radiator. no one has one and to get one rebuilt will take quite a while. so we are searching for one that will fit the spot. we are talking about just getting the car as it sits and finishing it in steve's garage. the front is all off right now to get the radiator out. no sense to put it back together if we would just have to take it all back apart. the car is a running driving car and that is awesome. now its time to get the car back and see what we can do to get a radiator in the car, plus some interior. then we can take it to a show or cruise. keep you posted as we get the car back.

ok, lets update what is going on. I went to the Granite City high school car show and had a great time. lots of nice cars there, and the auto class was there. I chatted with a few of the boys quite a bit at the show. they really wished they had time to do more, but we are out of time. I told them that they did great. if it wasn't for them, the car would be a long way from where it is. Allen is checking a radiator that he has that we think may work. if that goes well they will put the front end back together. the brake light switch was installed and wired to the back. we will have a few things to do, but the car will definitely be at some shows this summer. its almost time to figure out the interior also.
   on a side note, my charger bit the dust and will miss "Kreepshow" Saturday. on the way home from Granite (in the pouring down rain) I hit the freeway and cruised. well as I drove through Bethalto on the way home I started hearing a front end noise. actually thought I was getting a flat. well I pulled into a car wash (since it was still pouring rain) and couldn't see a problem. So I finished the drive home. (about 10 minutes). put the car on the lift and checked the bottom out. nothing too much to see here, so I looked at the wheel. there was a missing stud. pulled the wheel off and found a minorly loose bearing. I know, how the heck? then... yep, the lower ball joint was loose. since nothing in there is new, I decided to change it all.(had the parts already, but was waiting till a better time to shut the car down) well, when I pulled the upper control arms off and tried to press the ball joint out it came apart big time. sleeve frozen in the upper control arm. told the wife of my problem and she insisted I get on the comp and buy new upper control arms. (dang the luck) so now I am waiting for the parts to arrive. so the charger is down. no Kreepshow. oh well, back to steve's story. let you know when we pick up the car at the school and get it finished so it can hit a show.

new update. I went to the school today to meet allen and pick up the car. but it wasn't really ready.( wheels off, front end off and apart, etc...) and eric was offering to keep the car at the school and complete it when they start back up in august. allen came through with a radiator that will work. we measured it today. that's a positive. so where we are is, I will be talking with steve to see how he wants to go from here. I know he is really missing his car, but the kids are really enjoying working on it. then also we were hopeful to take it to a show this summer. it was good to get into the school and see the car again. good to chat with allen also.

   so we will be finding out what is next. dave has offered any help he can give, so we will see. :2thumbs:

 :cheers:

well, after we visited Hot Rod Power Tour at Gateway, Steve has the bug bad. So we are going to try to get the car back and play with it a little bit so we can take it to a show or two. I need to set it up with Allen to see when he is available.  her are a couple shots from power tour checking out a hot rod.

ok, here is the update. I know its been going slow. after we went to Power Tour Steve was excited about getting the car going. but with vacations getting in the way, (ok, yea, I had to go to Destin Fla. for a week) and then Allen was out of town, and ....etc....  just been a super busy summer so far. so Steve gave me a call and said that he decided to leave the car at the high school so they can continue to do what they started. so for now, that is what we are planning to do. we would like to maybe get by the school some time to do some measuring. so we are still excited about everything, and still focused on the end result. we may also be looking into hand control accelerator and brakes possibilities.

I know I haven't posted in a while. Did talk with steve. we are trying to get together to go for dinner. I was one of those people that went to Kentucky to check out the worlds largest yard sale. it was wild. spent 5 days there and didn't get anything done here. school is starting back up, so the car should be getting back on track. Iv'e been so busy, and I know Allen has been busy. we haven't even been able to work on Allens center console, or get him the transmission. David and I chatted and tried to make a rendezvous at a car show, but that didn't work either. I know when this started that we had big dreams of things happening fast, but reality set in and slowed the progress. hopefully we will be able to get in and meet with Allen and Mr. Hill after the whole "getting started with the new year" smooth's out, then see where we are going next. There has been a lot of great progress, and the hopes are for more of the same. Steve is just such a devoted car guy, that I know he is getting excited about the car being driveable. until the next post. :2thumbs:

talked to Steve today. Mr. Hill says he plans to get the car to be a driver, them get to welding and check on the possible door poppers. we will be meeting at 3;00 tomorrow to measure for the radiator. as soon as he has the new radiator, he feels he will be on his way. so things are moving again. :2thumbs:

we met with Mr. Hill today and Steve got his measurements. We are on the search for a new radiator. size will be 18" wide and 25"-27" tall. Lower hose dumps on the drivers side, and upper hose can be anywhere, but center would be great. I'm sure Steve is already searching as I talk. ha ha we also looked at the mounting of the gas pedal, and the floor. Plus examined what was with the wiring, and what we will need to do.  so its back on.

ok guys, we got the radiator in the grill at steves, and he delivered it to the school. I went to the school today to check on building the bracket for the gas pedal. The class was heading out on another field trip. to the NHRA drags at Gateway. wow, My school never took field trips like that. And Mr. Hill told me that Tony Schumacher had his car at the school on Thursday and visited with the students. So anyway, I got the bracket in to mount the gas pedal. Didn't have the right size bolts with me to mount the pedal to the bracket, but at least it is done to that point. Then a tour of Who knows who all these people were there, so I scooted out of the area. Anyway, they are doing awesome getting the car back together. enjoy the pics.

the last pic is of the bracket to mount the gas pedal to.

They said they couldn't find the mounting piece that holds the bottom of the grill in. Now I don't know much about these cars, so not sure what it looks like, but will check with Steve later. Unfortunately he had a doctors appointment, and couldn't be with me today.  It is so close to coming home so we can do the interior. We are both very excited. :2thumbs:

 :2thumbs: your a good man  Buddy

Thanks Stu. Its been fun watching this car come to life. We are getting close.

Went by the school and got to meet with Allen. I was really glad to get to talk to him today since we were not able to do our get together at car shows this summer. Allen is doing great. So as we were chatting about Steve's car, and other fun topics, Eric Hill strolled into the class room. I chatted with him for a couple seconds, and he said lets go to the shop and see what we were talking about. The car is back on the lift with the wheels off. He said he didn't trust the brakes, because when he fires up the engine and pushes the brake pedal the rear tire still spins. We are definitely getting fluid to all the wheels. I am assuming that maybe the wheel cylinder is not performing properly on the rear axle. It does have disc brakes up front due to the mustang front swap. but when I tried to turn the front rotors with the brakes off, they wouldn't turn. he did say he was messing with the proportioning valve. So we do need to get these brakes figured out. He was thinking that the power booster wasn't working. It is about the smallest booster I have ever seen. I took the number off the master cylinder and was told it was for a corvette from late 70's to early 80's. so we need to find out if this is correct, find out if the booster is working, find out if the rear wheel cylinders are working, get the proportioning valve adjusted. But............... when he hopped into the car and fired up the motor,........wow.....she sounded awesome. put it into gear and everything was working. (except the brakes)  ha ha. I said, well, it has front disc, as long as they work we are still good.  but I know,   we gotta make it right.  and we will. we are so close. there are no leaks. radiator working great. Allen Eric and I all think we may have Steve at a late car show this year. we wont have the interior done yet, but we will have the car there. Cross your fingers folks, we are so close now.

ok guys, I was back at the school today after work to check on these brakes. Steve met me there and we talked a bit with Eric Hill, then got to work. I checked the vacuum on the booster and we were good. We knew we had fluid to all the wheels. So without the engine running we pushed the pedal while I checked each wheel. all turned and stopped as they should, except for the drivers side rear. I took the drum off, and as I pushed the pedal, nothing. So I took the brakes apart and tried to move the cylinder pistons. Nothing. So the next step was to drive the pistons with a socket. they finally moved. Slid them out and cleaned the pistons and honed out the cylinder, and presto. we have brakes all the way around. Fired up the engine and put it into gear, hit the brakes, and it stopped the drums from turning. we all were smiling by the time that was over. Eric and the kids were able to get turn signal lights working. Steve got to hear the car running. What a great day it was. here are a couple pics. They aren't very good since they are off my phone. The one is of the gauges Steve picked up for the car and hadn't seen them in yet.

and I almost forgot, Eric said that the seats didn't have brackets for them, so he wasn't sure how to mount them. Then he says that they have an xterra that they are disassembling that have the seat tracks and all. He then said if steve wants them he will install them in the car. we looked at them, and they look pretty nice. so we jumped at the offer. :2thumbs:

Steve is seriously lucky to have a friend like you!  We need more people like you in the world.

Thank you for the kind words. I feel that there are a lot of great guys here that would all do the same, just don't have the situation in front of them.

He put so much love and time into this dream car. Then he got to where he couldn't finish it. I want to see his dream completed.

My next attempt will be for 2 things. We will need to attack the interior over the winter, then I want to see if I can get a local painter to shoot the car. I will be stopping at the local maaco dealer to see if there is any wiggle room for a paint job. It is a decent 20 footer, but it has the spot on the nose to fix where they took out a dent, and a couple other spots. So to find someone to make us a deal would be nice.  :2thumbs:

Coming along nicely!

got a couple emails today from Steve and Eric Hill. The first one said there was a functioning gas pedal, and it was sweet. The second was telling us the car drove around under its own power for the first time.  :drive:   

                 :cheers:           :woohoo:

they are installing the seats. I will be stopping by to aid with a little wiring.  and then the time will arrive to return the car to Steve. hope to have plenty of pic's and whatever.  David, I will let you know when we set up to pick the car up. Anyone else that would be interested, and can be in the area, let me know and I can let you know how this will go down.

I am trying to contact some local news stations.

thanks Allen.
   went by the school today. Eric was just pulling the car back into the building. He will be putting the car on the alignment rack tomorrow. then he said he would like to bleed the brakes again to see if he can get a little stiffer pedal. I grabbed the hood ornament to find bolts for it.

  went to MAACO in Woodriver. talked to the owner.  he did say he would look at the car and possibly touch up the existing paint on the car. we will need to talk more in the future. I have also considered one of those "go-fund-me" accounts on facebook to see if we could get interest in helping get the car painted, and maybe the hand controls for the not too far off future.

  well, that's where we are at right now.  :2thumbs:  pic of the car today with grill off so I can find bolts.

Allen wrote a nice article and sent it out, and a local news agency posted it on facebook. My daughter tagged me and I was pretty excited to read it. Here is the article.  http://www.granitecity.com/article/11600

Chatted with Eric today. The front end alignment went well. we have brake lights. We have a running, driving car with brakes. the new regulator is going in.

    All that is left is to mount the seats. yep, that's it. they are making frames for the seats so they will raise 3-4 inches higher for Steve.

  Then chatted with Steve. He went to a car show on Saturday, and said it really gave him the itch. Allen said the local paper contacted him. So as soon as Eric says the seats are mounted (we hope by Friday) we will go get the car. :boogie: :boogie: :boogie:

Sounds like good news :2thumbs:

We picked up the car today. It was a great day. I took pictures, but for some reason for the first time it doesn't want me to re-size them. I did shoot a short video of Steve driving the car around the school parking lot. Let me tell you, it was awesome. I was thrilled. He decided he wanted to stand next to the car to take pictures. So he stood next to it while I took a couple pics. Then I asked him if he wanted to get in. At first he wasn't going to, but as he thought about it, he said yes. we maneuvered him, opened the door, and he went in. I ran in to get some towels to clean the window when Mr Hill said "How's it going out there?"  I said he is in the car. Eric went out to see him, and they talked for a moment, then Eric said to fire it up. Steve started the car, and then it didn't take long before he took off. Cruised around for a bit and that's when I shot the video on my camera. Eric and I were really happy that the car was driven by Steve first. This is the first time he was able to get in this car and go for a drive. He watched me drive the car later, then we went for lunch. While sitting at the restaurant he told me, "I always wanted a car that looks so awesome driving down the road, I do believe I now have that car".  That was all I needed to hear.  We are not done yet, we still have the interior to go, and a couple wiring issues to clean up.

enjoy the video                                                                                                                                                                  https://onedrive.live.com/?id=25315240958B59C8%21129&cid=25315240958B59C8&group=0&parId=root&o=OneUp

if you listen close you can hear Steve say "I like it"  &  "alot"     :2thumbs:

   It was impossible to get the smile from his face..............   and mine.

ok guys and gals, I got the pictures to go. so here we are with the picking up of the car. :2thumbs:

  Steve decided he wanted to stand by the car for the pics. 

I went and found bolts for the yellow metal grill center piece, and the hood ornament, but didn't get large enough washers. So we went without mounting it.

   Next, Steve decides to climb in.  oh how sweet it is. :2thumbs:

next, he decided to go for a cruise. the car looked and sounded awesome.  :rofl:

I had to do a quick cleaning of the windshield so he could see. :coolgleamA:

then it was time to load up and deliver the car to steve's house.  His smile says it all. A great day. :yesnod:

  We did run to the car wash for a bath. She sure looked nice when we got her home.

Very NICE! A happy man with some WONDERFUL friends!  :cheers:

Steve called the other day and asked if there were any cruises or shows coming up, or could he get to working on the car? there was only 1 show I know of, and no trunk or treats for hot rods.   that's right, I cant find any trunk or treat car shows in the area.     So I told him to go ahead.  We are wanting to change door latch gear and put an up to date piece in there. He went to get some tools so he could cut the old stuff out and get ready for welding new pieces in. He said it was all the perfect height from his chair. Ha Ha.  The new lens came in to replace the rear tail light lens that was broken. Steve also has that heated garage which will make it so nice for some winter work. So the first cruise wont be until next spring, cuz steve in in the play mode, and he is gona play with that sweet car. I will get some pics as the progress moves along. He has been cruising around the neighborhood a bit. Just nice to see him driving.   

                                  :drive:

Way cool!  That's a wonderful thing you guys did for him.   :cheers:

We made a news paper. It is called the "Advantage News" for Granite City Illinois. They may have a couple letters left out of my name, but it is a wonderful article. Thank you Allen for giving them the story. This is awesome.

  Steve did cut at least one of the old latches out. I will be setting up a day to head down there and do some cutting and welding on the doors so we can complete the poppers. The school already had everything mounted and wires run, but it didn't have enough umph to pull the old door latches.

enjoy the article.

 :popcrn:

 :2thumbs:

A little update, not much has been done lately. with Christmas coming and all, I haven't had time to get to Steve's. We did find time to go out for dinner though. It was a great night for him and Tammy, me and Kitty. We got to talk for a couple hours. then I stopped by on Monday to check in. the plan is to finish cutting out the other door latch and weld in the new latches. That will be next week since I am on vacation. finish the electric windows, and start thinking about the interior. :yesnod:

OK guys, we are back to work on the 37 Plymouth. Well, we actually didn't do any work today, but we went to a big swap meet at the Grizzley park. A minor league team. We had a good time, and the weather was nice. They were also having little league games, so when we stopped for a hotdog and drink we took in a few innings of a ball game. picked up a few treasures, and had a great day with Steve. we were checking the fit of the new door latches when I shot this pic. we will definitely have the car at the MDA car show in June.

Can't wait to see you guys at some shows.  Jim, you still got that 727?

Yes I do. I need to throw it in the back of the truck so I can drop it off to you one day. :2thumbs:

yes you do but I think my transmission guy retired :brickwall:

Went to Steve's yesterday after work. We got one of the new latches in the pass door. I have a minor alteration to do to the striker plates, then we will mount them both and put the drivers latch in. Hopefully we will get this done Saturday when I get back over there.  We will be going to a swap meet at Gateway race track in Madison Il. Sunday where he hopes to find a couple parts he is wanting. Once the poppers are in and complete we will lay the carpet and bolt the seats in so he can make the car show next month.

Well, we are aiming for the show Allen (41husk) puts on at the Granite City High School. It is the 14th of May so we have 2 weeks to get it road worthy.
  We had a great day today and made great progress. The new door latches and strikers are in, and the doors close and work great. got the cables in and just have to mount the actuators (which are all wired in from the school). very happy with that being done. Next we cut and laid the carpet. Very productive day today. So we will adhere the carpet, and bolt the seats in, and we will make the show. the rest of the interior, mirrors, and a few other odds and ends, including moving the gas filler tube, will come as we have time, but the car started right up and drives great, brakes work great. we are ready to enjoy some shows, and Allen's show will be our first.

 :popcrn:

 :cheers:

missed one ha ha :icon_smile_big:

We went to the swap meet today as Steve was looking for a couple parts. We didn't find one part we were looking for which fills the rectangle opening in the lower part of his grill shown in picture 1, but we found out what to call it by a knowledgeable guy at the meet. he showed us what it should be like since he had one for a different car. It is called a "crank hole cover". Now we just need to find a crank hole cover for a 37 Plymouth slant back. Steve also enjoyed my 110 arc welder, and said he would like to have one. The last booth we went to had one. So Steve snatched it up. He will be practicing some welding and sharpening his skills. A great day weather wise had 60's and over cast most of the day making shopping nice on that asphalt parking lot. Seen an awesome 65 Coronet 500 in the car corral. Then off to the restaurant "Itty Bitty's" on old "Route 66" for a catfish dinner. Plus Allen got both of our pre registrations for his car show to turn in, so it was a great day.

Jim, you and Steve are both entered.  You are in the Mopars all class and Steve is in the street rods steel class. 

Great. Thanks Allen. :2thumbs:

should be a good time!

we will be at the show at the high school. :cheers: got the seats mounted tonight, it is ready to cruise. so ready that we made a run to get gas and to Mcdonalds for a burger.   :2thumbs:

Love this thread.

So great of you to support a friend in this way.   :cheers:

Looks like lots more smiles ahead!

I saw Steve at Advance the other day.  He was excited for the show! :cheers:

He told me he ran into you. we will be cruising in around 10;30 tomorrow. See you then. :2thumbs:

Today is the day. Steve will be driving to the show. I just read through this whole thread this morning as I am waiting to leave. 40 degrees this morning with winds. They are saying the high will be 61. So probably a jacket day. Getting ready to get the Charger out of the garage and wipe it off. Then a nice drive to Steve's to cruise to the show. Pic's will be posted this afternoon. :2thumbs:

We did it. I cruised down to Steve's and cleaned the car a bit. Then we were off for the show. It was very exciting arriving at the show as there were quite a few cars already there. I snuck in one way as steve went the other, allowing me to get in and take pictures as he cruised into the show. the first pick is of us driving to the show. Next will be steve checking in.

next he got to his spot to set up for the day. :2thumbs:

we started drawing in the mopars and had a nice collection in our area. :yesnod:

more mopars.

Allens collection was on hand.

a nice GTX and Allens challenger.

A really nice Duster.

And the moment we have been waiting for.

   At Steve's first car show he gets a class win. He was so thrilled to be able to make this show. It was an exciting day and a thrilling moment to see him get his trophy.

  We are not done with this thread yet because we still have work to do on the car, and shows to hit, but we are surely pleased with what we have achieved. Thanks for following us on this journey.  Look at the smile. That is what makes it all worth while. :2thumbs:

Allen can probably give an exact, but I know there were over 70 cars at the show. The beautiful 65 Fury had #72 on its windshield. so there was an awesome turn out when there was another car show 1 mile away at Applebee's restaurant.  Great day, And a great show for Granite City High School.

Very cool! Thanks for posting.   :2thumbs:

Looks like Starsky & Hutch attended as well.   :lol:

75 total cars and a great day.  I wish I had more time to talk to people but I spent most of the day running around like a chicken with his head cut off.  Next year the 69 Charger 500 will be at the show.  I hope it was a good day for all that came.  I know there were lots of Mopars.

It was a great day for the Mopar population. Glad to see so many. And the GTX was picked to show at the  "Best of the Best" show last year. The 65 Fury was a perfect display of an all original car. Very nice cars there.  :2thumbs:

Glad you guys had a good time!

Went by Steve's today after work to check the brakes out. They had a smell to them that one may be dragging. Pulled the back wheels and found that both of the adjusters had over adjusted. Drivers side was worse than the passenger side. Re-adjusted them and checked the brakes out, and they seem to be good now. We are getting the car ready for the MDA car show in Bethalto Illinois at the air port. That is as long as the temperatures stay south of the 100 mark. We haven't had the old Plymouth out for a good long drive with that kind of heat.  Also found a new set of mirrors, so the black ones will be leaving.

Did you guys make it to the MDA show Saturday? I planned on going but ended up working 36 hrs instead.

No we didn't Dave. I texted Steve Friday, and he said it was too hot to try to take the car out for its first longer drive.  I was still up in the air about going, but after working on the boat and melting, and Jerry with the Barracuda and Jeff with the Monte backed out, I just worked around the house getting ready for my brothers visit next week. Went past the show about 2:30 and seen they had a nice turn out, but didn't stop.

Talked to Steve on the phone today. He is wanting to make the drive in show in this picture. I am going for sure. The problem is we haven't got the wiring figured out for the alternator yet. Maybe find an electrical guru locally, or jump to a single wire alternator. Any way, one way or the other we really want to get this car to make the show and movie. Popcorn, hotdogs and a drive in movie. I can't wait. anyone with suggestions, throw them at me.  And if you can make the drive in, we should fill that place with Mopars.

Well, good things still happening here. Dave (67tbird) donated a single wire alternator that he had. We met at Rural King for me to grab it. Always like a reason to go to that store. :2thumbs: A big thanks to Dave as I took the alternator and mirrors over to Steve's after work today. He was very excited to get the stuff. We are planning a work day next Monday since Dave is off and I am on afternoons. We will hook up the alternator, install the door mirrors, clean up under the hood and test it out. Steve will be getting the 8 gauge wire for the feed and a new battery.

  Also on some exciting news that Steve has shared, they are finding promising results with testing.  http://scr.zacks.com/News/Press-Releases/Press-Release-Details/2016/BCLI-Phase-2-ALS-Trial-Shows-Clinical-Benefit-From-NurOwn-Treatment/default.aspx

Great news Steve! just had to meet at Rural King, bought a Ruger SR-22 they had marked down, ALL YOUR FAULT!! :smilielol:now I am trolling Walmarts for 22 longs.

Ha Ha that is funny. I ran back to get some engine oil and popcorn, then went to the gun section, and you were gone. and you bought a gun. cool. I got a place in Alton that always has 22's in stock. I will check them. Is Sunday better for you for Steve's? They told me I have to go to work at noon Monday which would cut the day down pretty bad. I thought you said Sunday was good, so if that works I will check with Steve.

Pick your poison(having to deal with me)! I am off from 6 am Saturday to 10 pm Tuesday. Text me Steve's address with what day is best for you.

Jim, was talking to a mechanic here at work and he has dealt with Larry's electric out of Ruma, IL for a modern engine and motor in old Ford trk. He just gave him the specs on the conversion and made him a harness for 200.00. looking at their website they take drop ins. http://larryselectricsite.com/  :2thumbs:

I will be going over Friday to run thru the system. we already found the short and fixed that, Just got to track down the running light glitch, then with the single wire alternator I think we should be good to go. I still have Sunday in the hole in case I need it to get the car ready for the drive-in. If it doesn't work, then we can look that way. Thanks for checking in on that. It will come in handy in the future. :2thumbs:

Any problems getting that alternator installed?

Got all the wiring glitches ironed out. No shorts any more. Dash lights work. gauges work. Headlights and running lights all good. Wired the alternator up, and got it ready, but 1 bolt was short holding the alternator. Steve was picking that bolt up today. Looking really good. Will finish the alternator Monday after work. :2thumbs:

Very nice work!  I'm sad I had to move to WI before I could help.  :2thumbs:

I got my ticket for the drive inn yesterday.  but it looks like rain Thursday night :brickwall:

Great Allen, I think the rain will be early day. We should be good for the evening. What car you driving?    We got Steve's wiring all done, and the alternator finished today. Steve put a meter on it and its charging great.  We are ready for the drive-in. :2thumbs:

Here is a shot with the new mirrors on the car. :cheers:

Looks great!   :2thumbs:

well, things went down hill for the drive-in cruise.  Steve was having his brother in law with him and we decided to meet at the drive-in. The charger didn't do too bad for a long freeway cruise an hour south. Steve called and said they made it all the way to the Belleville turn off and overheated stalling them at a truck stop. He had to call a tow truck to get him home. Found a gash in the bottom of the radiator. Then when I left, I lost my running lights. Had to cruise all the way home with the flashers on. Then when I get home I shut the car off to open the garage and the battery is dead. What a night.

Not to mention the Duster.  are that we had to move the Nissan because it wasn't a show car :brickwall: :brickwall: :brickwall:  we left way early about 9pm.

yep, I went walking, came back and you were gone. I had a good time though.

Hey Allen, Did you find out what the problem was with the duster?

My next focus is September 11th for the Hartford Dare car show. We need to get the radiator off and repaired on the 37. Then test it out to make sure it is ready. That's 2 weeks to get it ready.

Im having my CarBQ on the 10th.  I put a thread in the events section.  I hope both you and Steve can make it.  I think it is the fuel filter.  I went back Friday after school started it drove it in the garage and let it run a few minutes, no problem.

Did you guys make it to the show and carbq?

didn't make the CarBQ :shruggy:

I called Steve, My grandson was having a birthday BBQ Saturday, so I couldn't go to Allens. Steve said he couldn't make the weekend due to prior commitments, so his radiator is still in need of repair. Plus I have a new fan clutch I will install so the fan doesn't damage the radiator again. I did make the Hartford show, and had a nice time making a few new friendships. I am on vacation next week, so we will be back to work on the car.

Well people, a lot has happened since my last post on this subject. We haven't been able to work on the Plymouth through the winter due to me having a few health issues and all. Then the cold came to town and I don't do well with frozen fingers. :shruggy: But, things are looking up. Have chatted with Steve on the phone a few times and hit one swap meet. We will be going to another swap meet in February as we search for a power steering mustang II front end. He currently has a manual steering Mustang II front end now. I have a new fan clutch to install on the car when we get to it. We are getting the bug and itching to get started on the next couple projects on the car. Hope to have some good news about progress in the coming weeks.

good the hear from you.  I will get info to you and Steve as soon as I get a date for the HS show.

Great Allen. And I am still working on your new tool also. :2thumbs:

Thanks, The C500 is close to coming home :2thumbs:

I know. I have been following your thread. I can't wait to see it in person. Your guy is doing great work.

still have a bunch of work to do on the interior when I get it home!

Tammy (Steve's wife) got a hold of me this week. She works at a retirement community locally and asked if it would be possible to get a few friends together to bring some cars out for a little car show at the community. I said I am sure we can do something. She said a group of the men sit around and talk about old cars for extended amounts of time and she would like to give them this experience. So Steve and I will be putting on our first ever car show. Don't have a date set yet, but it will be a Saturday probably around noon for a few hours after the weather warms. Nothing too long. Does anyone have a contact for dash plaques? It will most likely be a small show, so I won't need a lot of em, but would like to have them available for those of us who enjoy collecting them. I will meet with Tammy and get all of the details so we can get this on the roll. Any suggestions will be helpful.

The car show is on. Here is the link to the face book post. https://www.facebook.com/events/1583895074969050/  Hope that works.

Kyles Trophies in Granite does are dash plaques.

Great Allen, I will check them out. :2thumbs:

Progress  :cheers: Went to Steve's today and took the old Plymouth apart to remove the radiator. After removing it, you could easily see where the flex fan had hit the bottom area where the weld is on the aluminum radiator. I had purchased this stuff called "Q BOND" from NAPA. This stuff is amazing. Any way, you file the area where the hole is, then pour the aluminum powder in it, then drip the glue over it. It is hard in 10 seconds. It repairs rubber, plastic, aluminum almost anything. After it was cured (seconds), I filed it smooth and reinstalled it. Now it wasn't an eventless day. We did head to town to get some antifreeze. Then after we installed the radiator and turn a few other bolts, we were looking at the flex fan and seen where the center steel frame had actually bent which has to be why the fan made contact with the radiator. I had taken a new clutch fan with me, but it was way too deep to fit in the room we had available. So back to town to see what we could find. We came up with a plastic flex fan, which is a much better option than the metal one. Got it all back together, and got the engine fired up. After a short warm up, she ran like a champ. We warmed it up to running temps and shut it off. No leaks. yeehaw!!!!!!! So the 37 Plymouth will be ready for the April 8th car show. :yesnod: I will need to get back to Steve's sometime in the next week or so to do a couple minor things that we want to clean up. Then after this show we need to look at getting the door popper cylinders mounted, and the door panels on.

Good progress :cheers:

Thanks Allen for the heads up on the dash plaques. Got an order of 50 today plus 3 trophy's from Kyle's. Great guy. Also been hitting local businesses for goody bag fillers and donations, so I have 2 / 25.00 gift certificates, and 2 free oil changes so far. :2thumbs:

Went to a big swap meet Sunday. Great day to be out. Steve found a stereo for the Plymouth, but other than that we didn't buy much. Still had a good time. Then we went back to his house to do a couple things on the car. It wouldn't start. Act like it wanted to fire, then nothing. I checked fuel, and it was there. Went to check electric and found that both nuts on the coil were loose. I snugged em down, and presto, she fired right up. Glad we decided to check things out yesterday rather than Saturday morning when the show is happening. We have this show, And Allen's show coming up, then I think we are going after body work and paint.  :yesnod:

Just went through the thread, excellent work and friendship here. Very nice to see.

Thanks. It has been a fun ride. I will have pics from this weekend to share. :2thumbs:

Well, we had a great time at the show. We had a small group of 24 cars, but some awesome vehicles came. Here is the address for the pictures. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.1956741214583767&type=1 The show was Saturday Steve woke up in the middle of the night sick. His daughter Stephanie went and got his car and drove it to the show. I was so excited to see her there. Tammy (Steve's Wife) drove it home. I was surprised she did, but she said the car ran well and had no issues. Just awesome. So the next task at hand is working on the interior and door poppers. Hope I can get the pics up.

 :popcrn:

Ok guys, I have a bit of an update. Steve had gotten sick Saturday morning with severe headaches. It didn't clear up and Tammy took him to the emergency room Sunday morning. From there they transferred him to SLUH which is one of the best hospitals around. There they found that the pituitary gland was hemorrhaging, and there was a tumor putting pressure. After seeing several doctors, They decided to operate. Steve and Tammy agreed it was the thing to do. Steve was in ICU for a few days and made it to a room that could have visitors Friday. I got to see him for a little bit Friday afternoon. He is slowly recovering from all of this, And we are hopeful he makes a full recovery. He was very happy to hear that Gas Monkey lost the race. I am praying for Steve to recover from this and get back to cruising soon.

get me the info for both you guys cars and I will enter them in the high school show.  You can pay me at the show.  Prayers for Jim

Went to visit Steve today. He is in physical therapy at Meridian Village where we had the car show. What a wonderful place, and awesome rooms. His room looks more like a home than anything else. He is recovering pretty well. Making good progress.  The nerves that were affecting his vision are making a comeback, but he is dealing with double vision right now. Tammy said he may be able to come home at the end of next week. We are signed up for the cars to be at the Granite City High School show in May. I told him we may need his daughter Stephanie to drive it for that one. We also have plans for a couple swap meets here soon, so we will see how he progresses. He seems to be in good spirits. Never angry over anything. Just happy to be able to see his grandkids another day. I admire him for always seeing the positive no matter how bad things get.

Prayers for him .  He is a good guy

Tammy just got a message to me. Steve has been put back in ICU. A ct scan just showed cerebral fluid leak. There are doctors planning the next move.

Ok, here is an update on Steve. The surgery went well. The doctors were pleased and did some extra packing. He was not required to have the spinal tap for the week as they thought. His progress has been good and there was thoughts that he would be out of icu today, and released tomorrow, but got sick a bit earlier, and so they are sitting on the change to a regular room for a bit to watch him. So far it is going well. I had to suffer Sunday and take the wife to the swap meet in Jerseyville since Steve is in care. Found a 73 charger hood in awesome shape for 150, and a nice 70 charger front valance for 150. Have the info of anyone is interested.

all is good news. Steve was released to go home as long as there will be someone with him, and therapy will continue. He will probably be out of action for a while, but the news is great. Now I can set my sights back on the car and get started wrapping up the interior. Also have talked about a hand control for the brakes. So we will be looking into that. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers for Steve. :2thumbs:

 :2thumbs:

ok guys, I haven't given up on this yet. It has been a rough summer so far. After Steve has had a rough road to follow, his vision is getting better. Problem is that I went down hill. My right arm was going numb and felt like a drill going through my shoulder. after a couple doc visits and an mri they decided I had to have surgery on my neck. Yep, the old injury from the Air Force when I was 19 where I fell from a 105 jet while pulling the ejection seat finally bit me at 60. The meds quit working and I had 2 crushed vertebrae and 3 bulging discs. They did the dye in the spinal cord and all and I went to surgery June 16th. No car shows, No driving, No lifting, and all of this after I just went through bladder cancer surgery. I am still recovering and am supposed to have x-rays at the end of July to see if I am healing. Then therapy so I can get back on the cars. Its hard because I get cabin fever real bad. Then 2 days ago I started getting a severe pain in my right wrist shooting to my elbow. They think since the arm was numb for so long it could be the nerve waking up. Well friends, Steve is healing as we speak, and I am mending every day (since the wife won't let me do crap) so we should be back on track soon. The next goal is to be at the Belleville drive-in late August for the V-8 car show cruise and movie "American Graffiti". Can't wait. Stay tuned, we will be back.

You think one day guys will have a hobby of just patching up old, worn out humans? Sounds like more work than the cars! :D

Glad everyone and everything is making progress!

Troy

Best of luck with everything!  Sorry to hear about the troubles and setbacks tho.

Thanks. I had a doc appointment today, So went by Steve's on the way. He looked great. He has been trying to work on putting a new tumbler in his steering column. We had a nice chat for a bit since that is all I can do right now, then off to the doc. Well no carpal tunnel. It is just a nerve. So waiting for time to heal.  :2thumbs:

Hey guys, Here is an update Tammy posted on face book.

So here is the most update information on our miracle man Steve: his vision is now back to 20/20, he has 80% use of the left eye if he looks forward he has single vision now, but still double looking to the left, Dr is very hopeful he will have full recovery. This Dr also told us how happy she is to see his amazing progress, as most people do not live through this. We went to Radiologist today, the tumor is shrinking, hooray, and we are where we want to be. We will go back in 4 months for another MRI, and will hopefully see even less of the tumor. Steve is improving so much, he is actually improved in areas that we did not know the tumor had effected. God is so good to us. And we are so blessed!

Ok guys, you will all get a kick out of this. Went to Steve's to make some plexiglass windows so we could go to the drive-in because it has been in the 50's at night. Chili drive home. Got back home to get the Charger ready for the trip. Drove to Granite to meet with Steve for the drive. Last year Steve broke down on the way to the drive=in. We hit the freeway cruising south to Belleville Illinois. Had a mustang join us on the way, but he passed us shortly after. Jumped off the freeway on Hwy 15. Then hit Hwy 13 where the Charger just died when I took my foot off the pedal. I coasted past Steve as he was stopping at a red light and yelled that I had died. Pulled into a car wash. Crank but no start. As I was starting to diagnose the problem I called Alan (41Husk) and we walked through checking fire at the coil and #1 plug plus fuel at the crack of the throttle. All were apparent. but no start. When I cranked the engine it seemed to be blowing fuel up from the carb. Like timing was off. Sent Steve on to the drive-in since we both shouldn't miss it. Called the kid to come get us since he has contacts with towing equipment, plus he is a decent mechanic. He was thinking stuck float or something. As I waited, I pulled #1 plug and checked compression. Blew my thumb out. tons of compression. messed with the carb a bit and got the engine to fire, but running rough. Jeff got there shortly after and as I started the car he was messing with the carb. Found the front bowl leaking. Took cars of that. Got it to run good enough to drive home while he followed us. While on the way home got a hold of Steve who said the mustang guy came up to him and said the charger was running so rich it was gassing him out. The carb was flooding the engine. Yep, time to rebuild the carb. Steve had a great time at the drive-in where they showed the movie American Graffiti. Almost 400 cars showed for the event.  https://www.facebook.com/V8SpeedShop/   Scroll down to the one of the "walk around" at the drive in.

Well, It has been a while and now there is a show this weekend we want to do. With my health issues, and Steve's, we haven't done much this year and we want to make this show. Wings and Wheels Fly in Car Show. Yep, it's a good show. I called Allen to make sure he knew so I could sit next to that beautiful car of his. Steve had been having a bit of trouble with the 37 cutting out and all so he picked up a newly rebuilt Holley 600 with a great warranty. He had said the gas looked orange. We discussed rust in the tank etc....... so I went down today and we put the new carb on. Cleaned his glass fuel filter. Then when we went to the filter at the tank, oh man, it was full of clog. When I swapped filters, the fuel was flowing clean and clear. Tightened every thing up and she fired right up. She is purring, and we are ready for the show at the air port in Bethalto. I will post pictures.

I plan on going over to the garage tomorrow and get the car ready for Saturday.
:cheers:

What a beautiful day for a car show. We had a great time. It was really neat that Eric Hill brought his El Camino, Allen brought his 69 500, My Charger then Steve's 37 Plymouth. It was a big show with lots of really nice cars there. Having me, Allen and Eric there with Steve showing his car was really cool. Thanks again to Eric, Allen and Granite City High School for all the help and support.

It was a great car day ! After the show I got the Challenger out, put the top down and went for a ride.

Are you guys going to Moparfest in Ofallon MO. 10/21 ?

I was thinking of going to the swap meet. Dave was thinking of being in the swap meet. Haven't talked to Steve yet. Just got dad out of the hospital from his stroke, so all my plans have been on hold a bit. Are you doing show. or show and swap?

I just got news that the electrician will be starting on my house the next Monday so now I can't justify doing the full day swap(Sunday) will try to make the Moparfest. Dave

I am going to th show :cheers:

Quote from: nvrbdn on October 13, 2017, 06:17:23 PM
I was thinking of going to the swap meet. Dave was thinking of being in the swap meet. Haven't talked to Steve yet. Just got dad out of the hospital from his stroke, so all my plans have been on hold a bit. Are you doing show. or show and swap?

I hope your Dad makes a full recovery  :cheers:

Thank you BDF. He is doing pretty well. He will have therapy for a while, but has made a good recovery so far. He just wants to be able to get back to fishing!!! :yesnod:

I wish I were fishing...tight lines!  :cheers:

Ok guys, it seems we all survived through Christmas and the new year. We both were back in the hospital again. Steve had the bad flu going around and I had prostate cancer surgery. I am recovering as we speak, and Steve is doing great. We were able to do a lunch just before Christmas and do a little shopping. It was a great day to get together with all going on in our lives. I had the surgery, and my Dr. says I am cancer free. Also since I have now retired (actual last day is Feb 28th, but will not return) we will finally have more time to finish this build once and for all. I guess this thread will show how plans can change and a time line is nothing more than a hope and a guess. It is fun to look back at the whole thing.  :yesnod:

Congratulations  :cheers:

I'm really glad to hear the good news! Hope everything keeps going well for you and Steve.

Thanks guys. We are gearing up for a fun year. It starts off with a benefit car show we are putting on. It will be our second year, so we hope it goes well. We will be spending the next few weeks lining up giveaways etc.. for the show and ordering trophies. The car show is in April, so if we get a little good weather before then we can try to make some changes to the cars. We have been in touch and are definitely optimistic about getting going.

I will do my best to make it :cheers:

Glad to hear the good news on both of you. :cheers:.

Well, it has been a bit since I have posted here. We have great news all the way around. Steve had his one year check up, and the tumor has had no movement. he has the green light. We are so excited about that. Second is I am cancer free, and that is awesome. And last bit of news is that the car show went off great. The weather scared off some people, but we grew this year and made 2000.00 for the assisted living people. It was a great day even though the rain came and we ended a bit early. Lots of great food and sweet vehicles. Our sponsors really stepped up and we gave away a lot of really nice things. Here is the link to the pictures of the car show. https://ayranphotos.myportfolio.com/meridian-village-car-show   We also made the trip to Osage Beach Missouri to attend the MAGIC DRAGON car show. It was an awesome show with some really nice Mopars, and one beautiful 70 Charger. Here is the link to a video I made of that one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qVwciGkW3Q&t=32s  And today I am headed down to Steve's house to mount the new seats in his car so we can attend Allen's (41 Husk) car show this Saturday. Have a great day everyone.

Good news to hear

Fantastic news to hear. :2thumbs:.

Another successful show at Granite City High School. Had a great time. Had to put a new block under Steve's  carb with new gaskets, and it ran smooth. The new seats were comfy. also. Beautiful weather helped also. Thanks Allen for another great show.

One with both cars.

And on the road to the show.

Looks like a good time! :2thumbs:

Well guys, we had an exciting night last night. I can't believe this has been this long. But I drove to Steve's and him and his brother Jim jumped in the 37 while I followed in the Charger. We hit the freeway and cruised to Belleville Illinois to the Skyview Drive-In. Happy to report that the 37 Plymouth ran awesome. Sounded awesome. There was a great cruise, car show, movie. What a great time. We have come a long way with this car. It is just fun to see Steve enjoying it.

 :cheers: Sounds like a good time

Well, I seen Kevin from V8 TV walking around the charger at the drive-in so I went on a search and found the video he was shooting. There are some nice Mopars at the show, and a nice little thing on my Charger at the 10.51 mark of the video. 


   https://www.facebook.com/V8TVshow/videos/454563365043809/

Ok guys, we are having a little issue about what to do about this. Steve has a mustang 2 front end under the Plymouth. But it is non power steering. We found a front end with the pump at a swap meet. The search has been on for a bracket that will mount the pump to the 318 block. We have searched several bracket sites to no avail. any suggestions? We are hoping to be power steering this spring if all goes well. If all else fails I guess I will just have to try adapting one.

Is getting one custom fabricated out of the question?

No, it isn't out of Question. I am just amazed that the front end we are using is the most popular swap in piece in all hotrods. I am sure it is being used in multiple Mopars. And some people we talked to at shows actually believed it was made and gave us suggestions on the people selling them. But when we contact them, they say they don't make one. I am thinking it shouldn't be too hard to make something up, but if one is out there, that would be the easiest.

Well, we are meeting up for lunch on Friday, so maybe start the moc up for the bracket.  :think: :chatting: :hack: :smash: :buff: :paintingpink:

Any luck with the bracket. Are you or Steve in harms way flood wise?

Hey Dave, how are you doing?  Things are slow here!!! We had a car show that we both went to. Then we went to the Magic Dragon car show in Osage Beach Missouri. After that we did a swap meet at Gateway race track where the Plymouth club told him to just use the Mopar pump and bracket for the 318. So we are going that way. I got the new disc brakes on the Charger, but need some vacuum so I just bought the electric vacuum pump to take care of that need. The 37 is running great, we just ave to install the power steering front end and get a better brake pedal.

Quote from: nvrbdn on May 08, 2019, 12:35:53 PM
Hey Dave, how are you doing?  Things are slow here!!! We had a car show that we both went to. Then we went to the Magic Dragon car show in Osage Beach Missouri. After that we did a swap meet at Gateway race track where the Plymouth club told him to just use the Mopar pump and bracket for the 318. So we are going that way. I got the new disc brakes on the Charger, but need some vacuum so I just bought the electric vacuum pump to take care of that need. The 37 is running great, we just ave to install the power steering front end and get a better brake pedal.

Big Bore Master Cylinder won't get around the need for Vacuum ?

Quote from: Challenger340 on May 09, 2019, 08:11:49 AM

Quote from: nvrbdn on May 08, 2019, 12:35:53 PM
Hey Dave, how are you doing?  Things are slow here!!! We had a car show that we both went to. Then we went to the Magic Dragon car show in Osage Beach Missouri. After that we did a swap meet at Gateway race track where the Plymouth club told him to just use the Mopar pump and bracket for the 318. So we are going that way. I got the new disc brakes on the Charger, but need some vacuum so I just bought the electric vacuum pump to take care of that need. The 37 is running great, we just ave to install the power steering front end and get a better brake pedal.

Big Bore Master Cylinder won't get around the need for Vacuum ?

I have this cam that just produces no vacuum at all. I love the sound of it, but was contemplating just pulling it out and picking something else. Well, I was looking at the gm master cylinder that runs off the power steering pump, but this electric pump should be the saving grace.

Quote from: nvrbdn on May 08, 2019, 12:35:53 PM
Hey Dave, how are you doing?  Things are slow here!!! We had a car show that we both went to. Then we went to the Magic Dragon car show in Osage Beach Missouri. After that we did a swap meet at Gateway race track where the Plymouth club told him to just use the Mopar pump and bracket for the 318. So we are going that way. I got the new disc brakes on the Charger, but need some vacuum so I just bought the electric vacuum pump to take care of that need. The 37 is running great, we just ave to install the power steering front end and get a better brake pedal.

I am fine, just got a  little nervous with the flood, it's my first 500 year flood. I made it really early to the Gateway swap meet(I work at Jet Aviation just across the field). Trying to get Charger back on the road after adding adjustable upper control arms, QA1 lowers and Borgeson steering box.

What kind of vacuum pump did you use? I'm having the same issue.

This is the one I purchased from Auto City Classics. It was pretty easy to follow all the wiring directions and line it all out. Took about an hour to do that work at the table, then about 2 hours to mount in the car. I actually mounted it on the drivers side between the grill and the radiator.   
                                                                                                                                                                                                         https://www.ebay.com/itm/12-volt-electric-vacuum-pump-brake-booster-vacuum-pump-12-volt-new/351048719483?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Quote from: Challenger340 on May 09, 2019, 08:11:49 AM

Quote from: nvrbdn on May 08, 2019, 12:35:53 PM
Hey Dave, how are you doing?  Things are slow here!!! We had a car show that we both went to. Then we went to the Magic Dragon car show in Osage Beach Missouri. After that we did a swap meet at Gateway race track where the Plymouth club told him to just use the Mopar pump and bracket for the 318. So we are going that way. I got the new disc brakes on the Charger, but need some vacuum so I just bought the electric vacuum pump to take care of that need. The 37 is running great, we just ave to install the power steering front end and get a better brake pedal.

Big Bore Master Cylinder won't get around the need for Vacuum ?

To better answer your question, With the new master cylinder, No, the brakes just sucked. If I removed the vacuum completely, there was nothing. With the vacuum hooked up I could get the car to stop, but needed a lot of space. Adjusted the rear brake pads out as far as I could so it needed no travel to apply the brakes and it helped. But it needs the vacuum to stop.

Here are pics of how I mounted the vacuum pump. The pump came with rubber mounts to take the vibration away.

Hello crew. This has been a slow year of working on the cars with the heat we had. Then the wife wanting new floors, paint the walls, taking out the fire place and installing a solar tube...…… ok, you all get the message. Plus putting on 2 car shows this year didn't help either. But now, we made it to 'Monster Muscle Car' for a great day. Weather was nice, and the Mopar drag racing was awesome. Swap meet didn't aid us either. But we met Joe Zolper at the show. He talked to us for quite a while, and said that what we need to do is use the Saginaw pump and get a fragola fitting that will go from the dodge pump to the ford steering system. He said that pressures will be fine. So that was a win. I did get a couple pics of his awesome car too. Sunday we went to breakfast, then took the 37 out for a cruise. We even pushed it a little just to see what she will do. We want to raise the back 1 inch and get new shocks all the way around. We are also going to put new wheel cylinders in the back while we are on the lift. I am putting the car on my lift next week so we can put it just over his head and he can do the work from his chair. We will then attack the interior door panels and rear seat. Then install a receiver hitch so he can carry his wheel chair to the shows easier. So hang in there people, we will get this car done!!!

 :cheers:

Joe Zolper

Where did you run into Joe Z. ?

He was at Monster Muscle Car - Mopar against the world At the World Wide Technology Raceway. Used to be Gateway. In Madison Illinois right across the river from St. Louis Mo. What a nice guy he is. :2thumbs: