Monday, July 26, 2021
I keep getting parts delivered for the Plymouth, so I’m hoping I’ll get to do some work on the door panels soon.
The bare, waterpoof new door panel material arrived a few days ago. I’m going to have to replace both door panels, the original cardboard is warped and appears to be disintegrating near the lower sections.
The special tool required to remove the interior door handles and window cranks arrived today. The Plymouth service manual show how to fabricate one, but I found several original ones on ebay. I need this tool to remove the door panels. Anyway, with cruises coming up, I’m thinking of waiting until I obtain the vinyl before I fabricate new door panels.
I’m planning on keep the door panels simple, using the factory metal trim. The top and bottom sections will again be dark blue vinyl, the lighter color will probably be either light blue or white. What’s on it now has horizontal lines that resemble pleating, but there’s no depth to those pleats. I strongly suspect the inset fabric was a differnt color and later dyed or painted light blue to match the interior.
I need to get the car to A1A Automotive to measure for the new driveshaft. I’ll have him change the oil and grease everything. I also want him to check the brake lines, the brake hoses and make sure they’re not dry-rotted or rusted.
Between now and fall, I’ve decided to try and gather materials I’ll need for the door panels and rear side panels. I’m not too keen on tearing into the job if we’re going to be driving the car to cruises.
WANT LIST. Other items on my “want” list include painting the valve covers; installing original horns; buy new rear leaf springs, etc. I’ve considered buying aluminum valve covers for the car, just to dress up the engine compartment. First things first, get the running gear situated. The driveshaft vibration isn’t horrible, but at 55 mph you can sure feel it.