49' Patina bagged in PA

[99 to Life]

Purdue, hey man hope that filler works out for you. My tank is 1.5" below bottom of frame rail, since I have 1.5 tubing there. I'm pretty sure you won't be able to see the tank hanging at ride height and it will be plenty high off ground, but I still want a skid plate on it. Just better safe than sorry. Keep in mind I'm running dime frame and also have my bed channeled down over frame a bit, so I think you'll have plenty of room by the sounds of it.

Fasttoys, not a bad location you got there, but I'm dead set on bat in cab. I'll be running a thing or two directly off the bat that will not be apart of the wiring harness in truck. plus for me I'm always needing at my battery since I got so many vehicles I'm usually playing musical batteries!

[99 to Life]

5-10 Today kinda sucked, just didn't get as much done as I wanted. Got side tracked by a few hours with other irons in the fire. But I did manage to get the body off frame, was just double checking measurements out the waahhzoo so I can final weld everything.

I got started sanding the frame a tiny bit sampling some flap discs for my grinder. HF 36grit worked pretty good so far. about $5 bucks a pop.

Next week I'll prolly sand some frame, work on trans xmember and my fuel tank skid plate/mounting. Got a few things to weld up front and a few things to weld up solid. Following weekend I hope to get chassis saver on.

[FarmerSid]

At least you got something done. Looks good. Have you ever had an issue with the front fenders not matching up very well with the curvature of the new outer cowl? I'm fitting new ones up on both sides of my truck. I can get the door gap pretty good but the curvature is not the same as the fender. Both cowls are sunk in along the door gap about half way down the door. Frustrating.

[99 to Life]

Sid, I couldn't tell you at this point, I haven't had the door on to check yet on the pass side. Drivers as you can see I didn't put outter cowl on yet. The inner cowls could be some of the issue for you. and also the bottom pillar patch if you had to put one of those on.

My pass side should be fine since I didn't have to replace all the way to the edge where it meets the door pillar. The drivers side is a diff story, not only was the outter cowl toast all the way to the door pillar, my outter cowl isn't a repop. It is all flat cause it was custom made (I got them with a bunch of parts I bought). So I had to make the the part that has a double bend that meets the edge of the door. hard to explain but you can see the drive side piece I had to make and will def have to adjust to fit the door gap. Post 152

[skymangs]

Looking good '99.

[Russell Ashley]

99, Nice work. You've saved a couple of trucks that most of us would have written off as too far gone to save.
Not to get too far off topic, but I see that you have a 53 Plymouth. What's it like? Pics?? Just curious as I had a 53 Plymouth back in the 60's. It had a V8, push button automatic, and swivel bucket seats.

[disturbinglykool]

This is what I call a crap-load of work! Good job so far

[99 to Life]

Thanks guys, I should be working on it some today. Aside from money being more tight than I could ever imagine since I'm the bread winner right now. It lets me get about 6-8 hours a week extra to work on the 49'. Which is such a catch 22, more time to work but way less money.... go figure.

Russell, here is a crappy pic. I have to go pick up the car still. I traded my friend for it. Which my other friend traded it to him. So from that friend I've gotten 3 cars off him. He just found the title to the Plymouth and the original Ebay listing, so thats kinda cool. The car isn't too bad and I hope has all the trim etc. My plans were to chop it, lower it, put some skirts on it, maybe keep the flat6 and do some dual carbs. Not real sure yet. Here is one of the only cool chops on these cars Iv found and this is a 4door so I'll have my work cut out for me with this coupe, since the back windows are pretty weird. Lastly for sure I'll save any of these that I can, all of my stuff needs alot of work.

[Billys68SS]

Looks like a good candidate for a Hemi power plant! ��

[99 to Life]

billy, I did think about that, but I kinda want a more custom not hotrod to it. we'll see as its a future project. Might try and chop it by next year and then just back burner it. i'd like a low and slow custom. either way I like body styles that aren't too common, and this is one of them. but.... can't deny the staple bodies out there though.

[Billys68SS]

Henry, I hear that. I'm looking at getting a wrecked 2005-06 300 and have been trying to decide and find a project to put the suspension and drivetrain under. An old Dart or something like that would be super cool. Or an old Desoto sleeper!

[Russell Ashley]

Thanks for the pic. Yours is a coupe like mine was. I paid $35 for mine, with the engine in the trunk. After I put a V8 engine, automatic, swivel bucket seats, paint job, spray on vinyl top, exhaust, and tires I had $350 in it. I sold it and bought a 64 Sting Ray. Good days back then, LOL.

[99 to Life]

5-12 Billy, a desoto sleeper would be the beez neez. My buddy had a 39' so sick. Russell, man I wish I was around that long ago, no fam or anything to pass down any type of car mentality.

I got a few hours in today, bouncing around waiting on some chassis saver to dry in some areas that I got to weld up. Got some stuff in the rear welded up and got the stock trans member off, I'm just gonna resuse it, fab it up to bolt on and off easily. Laid down a little chassis save on top of frame just to get me feeling like its almost time to coat the whole frame, so sick of looking at all this nasty grease and moch up everything.

[Billys68SS]

Henry, I found a 52 Desoto a few years ago for a decent price, but they could never produce a title and in WV, if you don't have a title, you're not getting ones so I passed. It needed a good bit of work, but not as bad as some I've seen.

[99 to Life]

billy, I tell you what, I seen a 54' desoto 2 door hardtop on CL for 1500. thing was a dream. just needed engine and interior. It was in primer and had nice whites on it. be a serious ride with a hemi in it I thought. I really like desotos, though some of the 4 doors aren't so hot, kinda like dodges where they just didn't flow too well for the era. I am a fan of 4doors just not some of the dodge and desotos. in the early 50's. late got better for the desoto

[Billys68SS]

I'm with ya on that Henry. When I was younger I didn't care for 4 door cars, but ever since I bought my Magnum I've looked at them in a different light... But then again it's a wagon and I've always liked wagons. We had a 62 or 63 belair wagon when I was a teenager, and my mom had several early 70s impala wagons. I'm not really looking for any more projects right now, but if a Desoto or something like that fell in my lap I would jump all over it. With the 49, the 66 and all the other projects we have around I need more time, not more projects.. LOL

[99 to Life]

5-17 Saturday. So I got some hours in friday and it was the worst day ever on the truck. spent forever redoing my engine placement. Long story short, to center the engine up front was throwing the trans way out, and or to center it up front was making the engine like 10* off side to side. Of course my picker was out of fluid so that made things much harder. So I had to just find the happy medium with centering the engine and the trans, and keeping my side to side at zero degrees. My engine angle is about 1* down making the trans 4* down. Sat I finished up my trans xmember. I made it so its a little lower so I have to add washers to space it up to get my trans where I want it. I did that just to be safe, lets me have some engine/trans angle adjustment. On the pass side of the xmember I welded nuts to a plate and welded it to the frame so you don't have to stick your hands down the frame to bolt the xmember on. So this thing should come off very easy if needed.

I tore apart the actual front clip I'll be using. Im gonna toss cab back on and double check everything with the actual front clip. Sanded and coated a little more on the frame, one being the rear cab mounts that I'll be mounting soon, I wanted to get some chassis saver behind them before I welded them up.

Not much to report really and I'm a little farther behind on everything by a couple weeks or so, but it should be coming together nicely in the next month. I just ordered my aluminum 3core radiator, literally scrounged up the money for it.

[FarmerSid]

Keep on keep'in on 99. Looks good.

[99 to Life]

5-26 Only worked for an hour or so on Sat on the 49' Got some more in today on memorial day. Nothing new to report really. Just got my cab and actual front clip back on just to really fine tune some things and finalize my core support and radiator mounts. Capped off front of frame. Got my aluminum rad in off ebay, its a trifive belair 3 core, what I run in my 51' only its a two core champion.

So I've had this ongoing annoying starting issue with my 51' finally found the problem was a loose ground wire under the seat, so i reran some wires and its all good now, minus my turnsignal unit shat the bed, so I gotta get a new one. but I'v had it out a little and its a breath of fresh air.

Soon I hope to have a pic of my compound, very hard to get all the whips in one shot. but you can see my 1ton panel, through those barn doors is my 52' aka "lost at sea" is getting paint, in the metal garage is where I'm working outta now. I actually picked up my 53' plymouth which is still sitting on my trailer. Got some more gravel finally so I been working on my driveways.

The 52' in the barndoors is getting moved to another carport, my 51' will go in there and I should be getting my friends 54' panel to work on this summer so it will go where I keep my 51' now. trying to get a dual carport to help house some of my overload.

[skymangs]

Dual carport? yeah, that'll help. I have a dual carport, and a oversized garage... Still have 3 outside.... It'll never be enough!

[IWanna49]

Little by little!

You gonna keep the blinkers up on the fenders? They're kinda growin on me.

[99 to Life]

well I'v wanted to start getting carports every year, but I have serious water run off so I'v been getting gravel first. Still need some drainage dug to help. I'v got 4 triaxle loads so far and need quite a bit more.

The dual carport I'm goin to put right beside my metal garage, I'll then pour a slab of cement once I get the funds, so it will really act as another work space rather than just storage.

greg, I am most likely going to that style blinker and put it down on the splash apron on the bumper. Thats the plan for now, but we all know how plans change.

[IWanna49]

The '51 looks right at home...if that photo was aged, it would def take you back in time! Send me the front shot and I'll do a little Photoshop work....

[steve aleve]

Loving the builds man! It sure inspires me to keep going! I agree the 52 fits in perfect! So I've just got another question about cab mounting height vs. running board height. You now have a bagged truck and a static truck and I was wondering if you mounted the cabs at the same height as each other or if it is different depending. My initial feeling is to try and set the bottom of the running boards level with the bottom of the frame at the flat part (this would dictate the height of the cab mounts). That way if I ever bag it or sell it to someone who does, when the bags are deflated the chassis sits on the ground and the running boards do too but they don't take any weight. Is this the right thinking? Also does any of this make any sense? Keep on keepin on!

[99 to Life]

steve, thanks man. Lots of variables here. What I'm doing on the bagged truck is not laying frame. Some pros and cons to doing it that way. 1. No wheel tubs in bed and 2. no duhumping lower control arms. Cons, the lower the body is the more tunneling you'll have, the less radiator height you might have. My running board brackets sit below the frame because the fenders sit lower than frame. Overall I'm pretty close to cab heights. I'll have to remeasure my 51' I always thought it was 4" off frame with bushing. My 49' will be 3.5" off frame with bushing.

I wouldn't worry about laying frame with a truck, really no point unless you want to maybe achieve no trans tunnel your still prolly going to have. These trucks are already channeled over the frame if you think about it.

The only thing I'm personally not sure of is how much pressure and what the ride will be like at my desired ride height. If the body was mounted higher, you'd have more room to play with your bags if you need to move em up or down. feel free to ask any more questions. this is my first bagged one and def not my last, there's always more than one way to skin a cat.