Dodge Brothers cars in the UK

Hi all,

I thought it might be useful to start a thread for UK owners of DB cars. There are several around but it'd be interesting to link up with other UK-based owners to swap thoughts, parts, etc etc.

To start off, mine's a 1925, originally shipped to Australia and brought to the UK in recent times.

It'd be neat to hear from other owners of similar cars based in this country, and if possible see some photos of their car(s).

Merry Christmas

Richard.

That's a beauty Richard. Those running board and fender trim pieces really dress it up.

Yep, that sure is nice, I dont remember seeing that picture in the past

I only took the picture yesterday, its first fill-up at a UK petrol station

Richard

Hi Richard,

I've an Aussie assembled '36 D2 in storage in the UK. It's been off the road for a few years, but runs ok although suffers from the regular Dodge seized brake cylinders, which I try to loosen off every time I get back to run it (which obviously isn't often enough!). I've only got the one photo at the moment which I've posted before. I'm not sure how many others are around in the UK, I saw a coupe for sale a few years ago which was very tidy.

My 2249 + five other Dodges

Nice one gundog :cool:

I had mine out on New Year's Day to a local VSCC gathering. I've still some gremlins to iron out but the basics seem ok. Saying that the water pump leaks so I took that off yesterday while I ponder a solution!

Here are some photos of Ray's UK-based Dodge

Hi Richard

I am based in Greenwich and have a 2251 Senior. The car has been on the road only a few months and I am still sorting out the teething issues. It's latest outing was the VSCC's Measham Rally in mid-January. The rally runs all night but we were force to withdraw because the headlights I installed use more power than the dynamo produces. Hence, the battery went flat after about 2 hours.

The rally moves up north next year. Perhaps we could field a team of Dodges?

Regards

Mike

Hi there,

I just registrated myself after checking the forum a few times to look out for info about my DA 6 from 1930.

Here is not so much info avaible so from there my search on international websites.

I noticed your topic about UK owners with a DB car,however I'm not from the UK,but from Belgium,wich is pretty close,isn't it =)?

MY DA6 is also RHD (as almost all of my (and my dad's) other cars - I'm only 25 tho').

But I'd like to know how to the cars came here in Europe.

Where they exported from the States?Or where they made here in Europe?

Any idea how many RHD where very made as the total worldwide production was around 22k cars?

For the moment I'm bussy maintaining the car.Just refurbed the radiatorcap and still give it a mob to get it back soon on the roads after 10years =) !

Hope to do some national and international meetings/rally's with my DB <3 !

Cheers,

Jean

Hi Jean,

Nice car.

Both mine and Ray's Dodges (RHD) came from Australia, so perhaps yours went there originally, and was shipped over in recent times??

rgds, Richard

Hi Jean,

Yes, your car looks great. I'd agree with Richard. I think most RHD drive cars came from Australia where they were assembled from what I think was called CKD (completely knocked down) kits sent from the USA. I think a few were assembled in NZ also. I assume you don't have much history on your car?

The Australian contingent may be able to give more idea as to how many were built there...anyone??

Cheers Andrew

Hello all, I have just stumbled across this thread whilst researching a car I have just picked up. It is a 1924 Dodge Brothers Tourer which is in good shape but hasn't been used for a number of years. My business is Ford Model Ts so this is a little different!

I want to re-commission the car and could do with some advice on starting procedure. The vacuum tank is currently empty so I intend to prime that plus I think there's a blockage in the pipe from the tank that I need to clear.

What I'm not sure of is the correct position of the two hand controls on the steering column. The rear one (nearest the dash) seems to be adv/ret but I haven't worked out where it should be to start. Not sure what the front lever is yet!

Everything else seems straightforward (although I gather the shift pattern is rather unconventional!).

Can anyone tell me the engine capacity and hp? I believe it is a 3.5l 4 pot of about 35hp, does that sound about right?

I will try and post some pics once I work out how to. The car was used as a wedding car for many years. It has disc wheels (accessory?). It has been repainted at some point plus a new roof covering. Sadly, the owner recently passed away and the family don't know what to do with it.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Richard

Hi Richard,

Sounds like the car needs to go to someone with an interest in the original engineering of these old cars, and you could be just the guy!

Maybe ask the family if they still have some of the paperwork or manuals for the Dodge. An "Owners Manual" will tell you just about everything you were asking about. The Dodge is a much more advanced car (engineering wise) than the Ford Model T's but with the knowledge you have from the "T's" you should have no trouble picking up on the advances made by the Dodge Brothers over the intervening years.

Posting photos on this site is now easy since the upgrade a few months back. Take your shots with the camera set at an image resolution of between about 3MP and 5MP but not any more. (The photos, if larger, may get too big for the Forum Software to handle). Save the camera's shots to your computer, then, with the cursor at the desired location in the message you are typing, click on the icon from the bar at the top of the "Reply" window. This will bring you to a window that allows you to select the photo file from your computer. It will then attach it to the post at the location of the cursor. You can either put photos in along with your message or you can wait and just attach the all at the bottom of the finished message. Simple! The biggest place people get into trouble is if the photos are too large for the Forum Software to handle. Then you may have to use an imaging software like "IrfanView" or such to save them at a smaller size. A "rule of thumb" here would be to save them with a pixel size of no more than 2000 px in both the vertical and horizontal directions. That way you would be sure they would fit.

We LOVE photos!

Good luck with your projects - and Welcome Aboard!

Hi there,

I just registrated myself after checking the forum a few times to look out for info about my DA 6 from 1930.

Here is not so much info avaible so from there my search on international websites.

I noticed your topic about UK owners with a DB car,however I'm not from the UK,but from Belgium,wich is pretty close,isn't it =)?...

Jean,

Glad to see you were able to get yourself registered! You will find this Forum to be the correct place for questions on your Dodge. Give it a bit of time and I would think someone out there will finally read your post and have a definitive answer to your question.

I was wondering myself if RHD cars were exported directly from the US or took other routes to Europe (like through Canada or such). I had heard in the past that exports from the US were highly taxed by other countries so sometimes the cars, or parts of cars, were routed through different countries not affected by those taxes. But I am not so sure how that worked to European countries at the time.

We will have to wait and see how this all comes out as others respond.

I see you figured out how to post photos. Great! Very nice looking car there! I am sure you will be able to get any questions you have, answered here.

Good luck!

Hi there,

I just registrated myself after checking the forum a few times to look out for info about my DA 6 from 1930.

Here is not so much info avaible so from there my search on international websites.

I noticed your topic about UK owners with a DB car,however I'm not from the UK,but from Belgium,wich is pretty close,isn't it =)?

MY DA6 is also RHD (as almost all of my (and my dad's) other cars - I'm only 25 tho').

But I'd like to know how to the cars came here in Europe.

Where they exported from the States?Or where they made here in Europe?

Any idea how many RHD where very made as the total worldwide production was around 22k cars?

For the moment I'm bussy maintaining the car.Just refurbed the radiatorcap and still give it a mob to get it back soon on the roads after 10years =) !

Hope to do some national and international meetings/rally's with my DB <3 !

Cheers,

Jean

[ATTACH=CONFIG]177695[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]177697[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]177698[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]177699[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]177696[/ATTACH]

Nice looking car, are you able to post some addition specific photos of the vehicle? I would like to see a few things closer. Might be best if you clicked on the start new topic deal above and go from there.

Hello all, I have just stumbled across this thread whilst researching a car I have just picked up. It is a 1924 Dodge Brothers Tourer which is in good shape but hasn't been used for a number of years. My business is Ford Model Ts so this is a little different!

I want to re-commission the car and could do with some advice on starting procedure. The vacuum tank is currently empty so I intend to prime that plus I think there's a blockage in the pipe from the tank that I need to clear.

What I'm not sure of is the correct position of the two hand controls on the steering column. The rear one (nearest the dash) seems to be adv/ret but I haven't worked out where it should be to start. Not sure what the front lever is yet!

Everything else seems straightforward (although I gather the shift pattern is rather unconventional!).

Can anyone tell me the engine capacity and hp? I believe it is a 3.5l 4 pot of about 35hp, does that sound about right?

I will try and post some pics once I work out how to. The car was used as a wedding car for many years. It has disc wheels (accessory?). It has been repainted at some point plus a new roof covering. Sadly, the owner recently passed away and the family don't know what to do with it.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Richard

Hello, I would start a new topic with these questions, they may not be answered clearly since the post you made is sorta buried in another topic.

Hi Richard

I am based in Greenwich and have a 2251 Senior. The car has been on the road only a few months and I am still sorting out the teething issues. It's latest outing was the VSCC's Measham Rally in mid-January. The rally runs all night but we were force to withdraw because the headlights I installed use more power than the dynamo produces. Hence, the battery went flat after about 2 hours.

The rally moves up north next year. Perhaps we could field a team of Dodges?

Regards

Mike[/quote

Hello Mike. I like the idea of a U.K.Dodge outing although I am not too sure about night driving - I only have 6 volts!

Ray.

Hey Ray... Six volts set up correctly works for me at night. That's the way they were engineered. Just make sure all connections are clean and tight. Then all should be fine even at 6 volts!

Halogen bulbs, particularly in the indicator lamps make quite a difference.The light switch was over heating, reluctantly I fitted relays to overcome the problem. The dynamo is set to charge at about 8 amps; at the moment, to stop the battery over charging I drive with the side lights on. I would like to be able to half the dynamo charge for day time running. Has anyone fitted something like a heat sink to get round this problem?

Ceramic heat sinks will work but still get hot, they may even glow, there are specific reducers for this sort of thing but they are not cheap and take up alot of space, and if you would like I will see if I can find the info

What I would do is try fitting a resistor (1.5 -3 Ohms) and switch to give you a 'half charge' setting. I did this on my Austin 7. Some cars which have this facility have the resistor built into the cut out while others have it inside the dynamo (generator). On my Austin it would have been inside the dynamo but it had been replaced with a slightly later (Ruby) one - sans the resistor. I also agree that the use of halogen bulbs is probably the better option.

I agree in theory there should be no difference between 6 and 12 volt lighting. 6 volts x 8 amps = 48 watts is the same as 12 volts x 4 amps. The problem with most 6 volt lighting on old cars is voltage drop in the return through the body to earth (ground) which can typically be as much as 2 volts despite all connections being good. The loss of 1/3 of the potential total output is not acceptable but is far less noticeable with 12 volts.

By running 18 swg copper wires from the lights directly to the battery (indicators can also beneft from this) an acceptable level of illumination can be achieved.

Ray .

Hi Richard,

Sounds like the car needs to go to someone with an interest in the original engineering of these old cars, and you could be just the guy!

Maybe ask the family if they still have some of the paperwork or manuals for the Dodge. An "Owners Manual" will tell you just about everything you were asking about. The Dodge is a much more advanced car (engineering wise) than the Ford Model T's but with the knowledge you have from the "T's" you should have no trouble picking up on the advances made by the Dodge Brothers over the intervening years.

Posting photos on this site is now easy since the upgrade a few months back. Take your shots with the camera set at an image resolution of between about 3MP and 5MP but not any more. (The photos, if larger, may get too big for the Forum Software to handle). Save the camera's shots to your computer, then, with the cursor at the desired location in the message you are typing, click on the [ATTACH=CONFIG]177817[/ATTACH] icon from the bar at the top of the "Reply" window. This will bring you to a window that allows you to select the photo file from your computer. It will then attach it to the post at the location of the cursor. You can either put photos in along with your message or you can wait and just attach the all at the bottom of the finished message. Simple! The biggest place people get into trouble is if the photos are too large for the Forum Software to handle. Then you may have to use an imaging software like "IrfanView" or such to save them at a smaller size. A "rule of thumb" here would be to save them with a pixel size of no more than 2000 px in both the vertical and horizontal directions. That way you would be sure they would fit.

We LOVE photos!

Good luck with your projects - and Welcome Aboard!

Thanks for the reply. I'll attempt to upload some pics with this response!

I had the car running today and even managed a short drive but I have some issues with the autovac not drawing the fuel up from the tank so it will only run as long as the autovac allows. The motor sounds healthy and everything seems to work although the car was a bit "jerky" when pulling away. May just need some use to clean up everything. I will make some new gaskets for the autovac and see if that cures the running.

Unfortunately, the family are busy with other matters at the moment so I don't want to trouble them but I don't know if there are any manuals with the car.

Cheers,

Richard

Halogen bulbs, particularly in the indicator lamps make quite a difference.The light switch was over heating, reluctantly I fitted relays to overcome the problem. The dynamo is set to charge at about 8 amps; at the moment, to stop the battery over charging I drive with the side lights on. I would like to be able to half the dynamo charge for day time running. Has anyone fitted something like a heat sink to get round this problem?

And they will! Halogen bulbs are much higher wattage than what the original system was designed for. They would put a strain on the original wiring, switch contact point ratings, and connection areas. Clean tight connections are a must along with heavier grounding runs if wired. So, using relays for each line carrying this heaver load is a wise choice. You may be able to find a way to disguise them but that is the issue with any changes made from the original engineering. Compromises have to be made.

I have also seen, I think on Ply33's site, that there is a way to put modern electronics inside some generators (dynamos) to aid with charging rate issues. That may also be an idea. It is not visible from the outside.

The relays are mounted behind the dashboard so are not seen. I Have cleaned most of the wiring joints and used copper grease on them -hope to clean the remainder this year.

The halogen side and indicator lights are all the same Wattage as tungsten equivalents,but brighter; the indicator can now be seen in day light.

Halogen bulbs are available over here which are not a higher wattage than the original which is why so many 6 volt cars are fitted with them. The correct wattage must be maintained or there is the risk of fire.

Very interesting on the wattage! Then the better light is just a matter of light color (whiter) and focal point of the Halogen lamp. With this in mind I would think a good polish of the reflector would also greatly increase the whiter light output. If the wattage is the same as the original lamps, I would have no idea why the switch was getting so hot after the change to Halogen. My only guess is something happened to the grounding system while changing the bulbs, increasing the overall resistance along that current path.

Having the relays behind the dash does well for concealment but the idea of the relay is to have it in the power line, which is as short as possible, from the battery/generator to the lamp socket. If your indicators are in the position of cowl lamps, the under dash location would work for that plan. If they are out near the bumpers or headlamps, they would need to be much closer to the lamp socket itself to gain the power usually associated with relay use. Of course the lower power control line from the switch to the relay coil can be much longer because of the much lower power requirements of the relay.

I had my headlamp reflectors done up by Uvira in the late '80's. They are still looking much like they did when delivered and have not been touched. The new cork gaskets used at the time have done well to keep the dust and moisture out of the area by the bulb.

1936D2 - I would have thought you might advise tracking down the cause of the resistance in the circuit which Gundog99 has found to be causing the switch to overheat rather than try and aleviate it through any other means. I doubt that the halogen lamps are responsible for it and as I said before, a direct earth would be my suggestion although I would not presume to have all the answers. Good headlamp reflectors are a pre requisite for maximum lighting efficiency and form part of the, now voluntary, M.O.T (Ministry of Transport) test. It is an area of concern for those of us in the U.K. who feel that relaxing the mandatory requirement for pre 1960 cars to be tested was a poor decision. There are, of course, others who do not share this view.

Ray.

1936D2 - I would have thought you might advise tracking down the cause of the resistance in the circuit which Gundog99 has found to be causing the switch to overheat rather than try and aleviate it through any other means. ...

I totally forgot about the M.O.T. We don't have those requirements over here, (at least in most States), on this side of the pond. It's a good idea as long as there are not any fines involved or excessive costs to have the inspection done. (Whoops... maybe I walked into a bee's nest here.)

We have an MOT over here in many states and counties, the DMV inspections or Dept. of Motor vehicles scam.

I am glad that the county I live in does not require these inspections cause they can make life difficult.

1936D2 - Sorry for not paying attention!

No danger of getting stung by bees - they have practically all died out.

The M.O.T. is now voluntary for pre 1960 cars. It costs about $60.00 and is an opportunity to get your car up on the ramp to check it is safe. The reasons for the safety test being introduced in the first place are, I believe, still valid and serve to maintain standards. The argument that classic car owners take such good care of their vehicles that independant testing is unncessary is contradicted by the failure rate. I believe that the motivation is more to do saving money than saving lives.

I must declare a bias in that I worked for a while (as a young man) as a tester's assistant in our family's garage. Some of the horrors of D.I.Y. mechanics have stayed with me.

Ray.

I completely agree with 1936 D2, Clean tight connections are extremely important,this is probably of greater concern now than when our cars were built, judging by the quality of some of the electrical terminals. The relays are just electoral switches which the main drawn current now go through rather than the original over heating one. The original switch now only controls the relay switches without over heating. The original 2249 and Standard switches are a particular weakness as they are not very well made ,the terminals are mounted on tick cardboard which over time has warped and softened.I intended to rebuild a spare using modem circuit board material to mount the original terminals on.

Yes .. My 34 was assembled here in Australia by T.J. Richards.... The Australian built ones were knocked down and assembled here... The Aussie ones have wooden frames as opposed to the US built Budd bodies which are all steel... Great to see they have survived and made the journey back to the UK..

Hi Richard (thetservice),

Great to see another one here in the UK, I assume yours is a US-built car being LHD, 1924 and on coil ignition?

Mine's from Australia, 1925. I guess yours is also all-steel bodywork?

Richard (another one) :-)

This one looks tidy, been in the UK since 1969...

1924 Dodge 116 | eBay

This one looks tidy, been in the UK since 1969...

1924 Dodge 116 | eBay

Now thata a car Id be all over if I could

Good afternoon everybody or maybe goodmorning/night for some =) !

My apologizes for a late reply,but I've been bussy lately so I coudn't check the forum sooner..

The story behind my DA is that it comes from my aunty.

She owned before some other great historical cars like Duesenberg,Alvis,Shelby GT350,Ferarri Dytona,ect ect...but as my uncle sadly passed away 10years she started to sell her collection.

The Dodge was the last car that stayed for some personal reasons wich she gave into my hands couple of months ago after a storage of 3-4 years.

I asked for more information where the car came from,but she coudn't give anymore information anymore,as she have the age of 82 now and is in a beginning stage of alheimzer.

She had the car since 1980,so she was the owner for the last 33years.

I know that the car had once a complete restoration in the beginning '90 wich was done to a high standart by my uncle self (The owned a company who did restaurations and taxations of Oldtimers and classy cars) .

It run in alot of Classic car rally's here and in France.

As the car stands today,it's still in a great shape after all those years.Of course it missing here and there some small bits,but these will be changed to standart in the couple of months (if I can find the parts).

Anyway,I don't have anymore information as today wich is quite sad as I always like to know the story behind.

Hope to find more information of these cars in the couple of years.

For the rest I'd like to thank the great comments about this Dodge,wich is always pretty to read by great enthusiasts like you people!

As Ken Lincoln say's,my floor is also made out of wood,so guessing this was a Ozzi build DA?

Where is it possible to find the Chassis/VIN number please as I haven't look till today,but dunno where to start first on the chassis to be honest?

Wich where the original rear lights as I think that mines aren't original

Then I'm still looking to find a doorhandle of the rear door + some original buttons as some have been changed in the eldery days by ''NOS''switches...

Unfortunaly the locks of the sparewheels are locked and don't have the key for it,so will have to change these locks too.

I just CNC'd the original radiatorcap as the original had broken spokes.

Anyway,hope to enjoy more of this forum soon and follow some great projects/cars on here!

Thanks

Jean

Ps : @ 1930 ,What would you like to see?

Hello Jean, all DA floorboards are made from wood, chassis number may be found R side frame rail just about the rear shackle of the front spring.

Original tailights would be marked Fi Lite or I have also seen De-Lite, do a on-line search and I am sure you will be able to find a view of an original by comparing what you find.

Door handles are being re-produced here www.vinatgeandclassicreproductions.com

Dont know what you mean by buttons

If you do decide to buy new locks I would buy the originals you have without the key, replacement locks ( you would have to use your original bar ) area avail from the same site I have showed above. If I were you I would just have keys made for your original locks, search this forum ( this page ) for key information

I would like to see pictures of anything you would be willing to take a picture of

Hi Richard (thetservice),

Great to see another one here in the UK, I assume yours is a US-built car being LHD, 1924 and on coil ignition?

Mine's from Australia, 1925. I guess yours is also all-steel bodywork?

Richard (another one) :-)

Hi Richard,

yes, the car is on coil ignition and is all steel (and pretty heavy!)

Still not had time to get her running properly. Seems to be running extremely rich and can't seem to lean out the mixture. I believe the previous owner may have used paraffin to "cool" the regular unleaded, not sure what anyone else uses?

Must try and get some details on how to set the carb up.....

Richard

Hi Jean,

Yes, your car looks great. I'd agree with Richard. I think most RHD drive cars came from Australia where they were assembled from what I think was called CKD (completely knocked down) kits sent from the USA. I think a few were assembled in NZ also. I assume you don't have much history on your car?

The Australian contingent may be able to give more idea as to how many were built there...anyone??

Cheers Andrew

Chrysler assembled cars, including Dodges, in London, England, from CKD units shipped from Detroit. Chrysler also owned a plant in Antwerp, Belgium, that assembled cars for Europe. The third foreign site owned by Chrysler was in Windsor, Ontario. All other Chrysler assembly sites in the world, including Australia, before WW II were owned by local distributors.

In the case of Australian production, RHD chassis were shipped to Australia and bodies were supplied by local builders, such as Holden and T J Richards. Both the London and Antwerp plants used bodies from the U.S., although some European bodies were used for convertibles.

Shipping parts to Australia, assembling the car, and then shipping it to Great Britain would be a very costly and time consuming process. Much cheaper and easier to ship CKD units from Detroit to London and assemble them in London for sale in the UK.

Chrysler did ship Valiants to the U.K. from Australia in the late 1960`s but those were Australian-built cars and not US-sourced CKD units.