'59 Plymouth Forum

Ron Keij wrote:My guess is that we will need forks again this year

Ron

Well, that was last year; and, this year?

I've got the entire headliner disassembled now. All the chrome that wasn't in decent shape was rechromed, and I've polished everything else. (Just can't find Unipol, Matthew; I ended up using this stuff that I bought at Carlisle..)

I think it all came out pretty well:

I've been debating with myself, whether to do the interior myself or not -- I stripped the old material off the panels, and see that the left and right are in decent shape, but would need some trimming and a lot of work to get the old foam remnants off. The middle piece was luan plywood!

I called a headliner guy that was recommended to me. He told me to put the headliner back in! He wants to see how it comes apart. I told him, it was never in right to begin with... Back to wondering if I shouldn't get some ABS panels and redo it myself; I have the material I want to use. But I think I'm going to leave it to the experts, and put it back together as he asked -- using the rechromed siderails, of course.

Before I got too far down the road, though, I wanted to make sure all the wiring for the dome lights is intact. I buzzed out the ground side -- everything works great, the door switches and dome switch connect to ground to complete the circuit when activated (yellow wires). But no connection to the hot side, or between each dome light (pink wires). I traced them back to the trunk... There! Someone had snipped them, and the block where they connect to the hot side is missing. I taped up the hot side real well, and I'll leave that for another day. The headliner can go in, and the lights will work.

The passenger side panel is back in, now to put the driver's side in and all of the chrome. I'll leave the luan out!

I've got a problem, though, with the Caravan strips I'll be using. They're white plastic, I'll be painting them silver. They snap onto the rails great -- but, they're wider than the four chrome strip ends that Tom gave me. Since the only thing holding the ends on is snapping onto the strips, I guess I'll have to trim the strips at the ends a bit...

Dan

I am impressed with your achievements, Dan! While I noticed the Caravan strips were wider, I didnt see far enough ahead to where the end caps wouldn't fit.
They make spraypaint for plastic now, hopefully you can find silver/chrome color .
Why would anyone cut the dome light wires? I didn't recall they connect at a terminal block. I hope the professional headliner installation doesn't set you back too much. With that polished stainless and new chrome, the interior is really gonna REALLY perk up.

rogerh wrote:I am impressed with your achievements, Dan!

Thanks, Roger. I'm startin' to feel the heat, just like Matthew did when he heard I was coming a week early I realize it's time for TWSAM to get his butt in gear...

rogerh wrote:While I noticed the Caravan strips were wider, I didnt see far enough ahead to where the end caps wouldn't fit.

Yeah, here's a pic of front and back:

Here's a pic of the Caravan strip dead-on:

I could trim the strip (with great difficulty) the entire length, but then I'd be concerned about it holding the panel in place with sufficient pressure. So I guess I'll trim it at the ends to allow the clip to snap on, but appear as if it's butting against it. Not sure what else to do, unless other folks have suggestions.

rogerh wrote: They make spraypaint for plastic now, hopefully you can find silver/chrome color .

Yup, I'll be using SEM prep to make it tacky, then spray with plastic silver paint:

rogerh wrote: Why would anyone cut the dome light wires? I didn't recall they connect at a terminal block.

Sorry, I shouldn't have used that term -- it's really just a connector. The two yellows run to a single connector that joins them to a single yellow; I presume there was something similar for the pink. My guess is there was a short at one time, and this was their brilliant plan for fixing it

rogerh wrote: I hope the professional headliner installation doesn't set you back too much. With that polished stainless and new chrome, the interior is really gonna REALLY perk up.

Yeah, well, I'm working on the premise that time is money; and time is something I don't have. So let's just keep this a little secret amongst us guys (*hint*, *hint* -- how's that working with Yvonne, Dick?).

Dan

Yes, I vote for the idea of trimming just enuf to get the end caps on.
Looks like you have the paint all figured out.
You are speaking of a plug connector..now I understand!
Additonal springs, E-brake and manifold fixed mid-June.
Headliner ASAP. You are right on track!

OK Dan,

You are going fast! I have so much faith in your plans that I will leave the plastic forks at home as i am convinced we don't need them this time. Your end caps are not as big of a problem as mine, you just need to figure out how to trim the strips while mine have dissapeared during the resto

I get your hint but I hope Marjo's English is bad enough to not understand it

If you want Unipol we (Matthew) can put a can in our bags. We did use "autosol" in the past but it doesn't even come close to the results of Unipol.

Ron

Ron Keij wrote:If you want Unipol we (Matthew) can put a can in our bags. We did use "autosol" in the past but it doesn't even come close to the results of Unipol.
Ron

Ron, if there's enough time to pick up a can before Matthew's departure (I forget if you had to send away for it, or not), I'll gladly PayPal you for it -- just tell me the amount.

Thanks
Dan

It is mail order, if we order today it'll be here by the end of the week. If you send me a Paypal payment of $ 0.79 you will get it delivered at your door on June 26th

Ron

Ron Keij wrote:It is mail order, if we order today it'll be here by the end of the week. If you send me a Paypal payment of $ 0.79 you will get it delivered at your door on June 26th

Ron

That can't be right; that would be €0.00000000021. I guess we'll have to take this up privately...

Dan

Faulkner wrote:
That can't be right; that would be €0.00000000021. I guess we'll have to take this up privately...

Dan

I am sure it is right, our tickets were purchased in $$ so they were almost free (€ 0.0003) so no shipping costs, and the Unipol is a gift for your hospitality. And on top of that I will instruct Matthew to use a lot of it on Faulkner. Don't forget your eye protection when we go to Carlisle

Ron

Okay, the secret language has to be revealed!!! (yuk yuk)
The growing expectation of fun times at Carlisle is quite obvious!
Living on a "highway s I do, there are many drawbacks, but when good weather occurs, the Orting Loop is on many classic car owners' must-do list. Today in five minutes span, I saw portions of a Mustang group go thru, also a Corvette group, and a You Decide group...several 50's Chevys, an AMC Pacer!, and a early 50's Plymouth.
Roger

rogerh wrote:Okay, the secret language has to be revealed!!! (yuk yuk)
The growing expectation of fun times at Carlisle is quite obvious!

He's talking about the need to wear shades while driving amongst all that gleaming chrome, Roger. That Unipol really is amazing stuff!

Dan

Faulkner wrote:I called a headliner guy that was recommended to me. He told me to put the headliner back in! He wants to see how it comes apart. I told him, it was never in right to begin with... Back to wondering if I shouldn't get some ABS panels and redo it myself; I have the material I want to use. But I think I'm going to leave it to the experts, and put it back together as he asked -- using the rechromed siderails, of course.

...and it's all back together! Here's a rather bad picture; but the old left and right panels are up (the luan center is a candidate for the trash), and all the upper interior chrome is back in, including the rechromed upper siderails:

I have an extra Caravan strip, so I cut it into 2-inch clips to hold the headliner up. I'll cut the two remaining to the correct length after I paint them, and get the car back from the headliner guy.

I got nervous about how much material I had ordered -- I measured the width in the back of the car, and it's wider than the roll I have! I didn't remember how I measured when I bought the roll last year -- was I expecting to cut three strips out of it? Marie and I rolled it out -- whew! It's just a couple inches longer than twice as long, so if he cuts it into four quadrants, the length will be just long enough -- with plenty of width, and a quadrant to spare.

Tomorrow I'll put the chrome moldings on that I glued the cat whiskers on, and Faulkner will be ready for the guy to take it all apart again But first, a trip to the mechanic to get some things fixed...

Matthew, there's a chance Faulkner won't be here on your arrival. It all depends on how long it takes the guy to put the headliner in. But for sure, by the time you're done playing tourist, and have returned to Philly.

Dan

While I cannot make out eh new headliner form your photos, I CAN see you gorgeous steering wheel
I am happy for you that it is all coming together once again!

Thanks, Roger. That's the old headliner, stripped of the cheap foam fabric the previous installer had put on. I put the old panels back in so the new guy (who will make new panels) knows how it comes apart...

Dan

Nice!!!

Don't do all the work now Dan! There must be something left I can do