The joy of working on a 1916 Dodge Brother touring

[30dodge35]

Recently I got a email from a fellow Dodge Brother about a 1916 DB Touring with problem, he was to far away to try and fix it over the phone, especially since we old timers are hard of hearing.

I got got me in touch with owner.

To my surprise it was located on 30 minutes away In Crowley Louisiana, It belongs to Bill.

Not sure exactly at the time what problems were, when I got there found out engine is stuck,

Tryed to bump it in gear with no success, filled cylinder with mystery oil , will fight this another day,

i looked at at the plugs the were wet fouled , indicating the engine has been running rich, which in my opinion has contributed to the engine getting frozen ,

we have a lot of humidity here in lower Louisiana , we breath our water intake in, instead of drinking. LOL!

The cylinder walls get the oil washed off with to much Gas.

according to Bill, ther orginal problem was lack of power , which he fixed with a Carburator plunger sticking?

also points were pitted,

I will go back next week and haul it to my shop, where I have a lift , I will pulled the head and drop the pan and see what going on?

Excited for the chance to work on the older 4 cylinder,

i have mainly 6 cylinder, sold my 27 , 128 fast four recently after getting it running,

i will send the link to Bill so he can post pictures, of a Nice 1916 DB

i will also post the continued story of this car , after I get it in the shop

Jesse

[30dodge35]

Bill sent me a picture for everyone enjoyment

I think everyone will agree this is a nice example of a 1916 DB.

[Taylormade]

Nice looking car, great story. Let us know how it all works out.

[30dodge35]

More pictures

when he bought it

the car was red

[vergil]

When I bought it ,the car was in an open field, the top dry rotted and I was surprised that the tires still held air. First thing was new tires. As I could not find anyone who knew how to mount the new tires on split rims, I decided to tackle it myself without the help of a rim spreader. My first attempt was a real success. I am not a mechanic by any means, bit with help from various DB members, notably Doug Walters, I was on the road in no time. Next project was to order new top bows and with help from a very kind lady who makes tops for vintage fords, I installed a new top. I have had so much fum with this car in California an here in Louisiana until it presented the current problem. I'm sure it is going to be an education as well as fum,bringing the old gal back to running condition. Dodge Brothers (i.e.,Club members) are the greatest!

[30dodge35]

Well the journey continues, today was a good day, I got the 1916 in my shop,

I tried again to brake the stuck engine loose, when I rolled it off the trailer, but life is not that easy.

Bill and I removed the head, and inspected the piston and cylinder walls , there was no damage visible,

Apparently this engine had been worked on before because pistons were marked .030 oversize.

Inspected all valves and none were stuck.

Sprayed all four cylinder with Penetrating oil, install the jack on the hand crank , put quite a bit of pressure but was unsuccessful , That's when the main tool came out , "Big Hammer", with a block of wood, hit on all cylinder , apparently the #1 and 4 were stuck.

Finally let go, then it was easy to turn , no scaring in cylinder that I can see,

We cleaned the carbon out, and put Head back on, checked the Compression , the #1 is almost non existing 2,3,4 or around 50, Set the points ,open the fuel and cranked it up.

Engine runs , but was a little rough, After shut down rechecked Compression still the same,

That was it for today, lots of Fun,

I will fix me a adapter for spark plug tester to check with a Differential compression tester to determine weather it is valve problem or ring problems,

More will follow,

Jesse

[30dodge35]

Another good day in the shop,

Determined with differential tester , the leak was on intake side, removed head again, removed the valve pin keeper, and pulled valve out of crank. As you can see in picture, apparently something was pulled in and damage face of valve, doesn't seem to have scared up the seat.

Had a couple of scars on exhaust where it was discharged but nothing on face or seat.

Ordered new valve from early dodge, I am hoping to get by with minor valve grinding and seating of valve.

The journey continues

[30dodge35]

Some people may question why I thinks it is a good day when intake valve needs to be Changed.

#1 , if I wake in the morning and not see my name in obituaries, it is a great day

#2 when you find the problem with a machine and pinpoint the object, that's been causing the problem that's half the battle.

I have changed many parts on cars and aircraft to prove it wasn't,t the problem . But who hasn't,t done that.

That's the reason for Good Day, it will be a Great Day when it is running with full power.

[nearchoclatetown]

It looks like that valve was replaced at some time before. I think the original would have had a cast iron head swedged to a steel stem. Good for you finding the problem, at least it's an easy fix.

[30dodge35]

Well another good day in the shop, the valve and head gasket were delivered yesterday, Bill was scheduled to come early ,but with the Moonson rains we had to wait till this afternoon.

I got out my old trusty Zim valve seat grinder and Lapper. Install valve after lapping. Set the clearance .Reinstalled the head with new gasket, then we performed a compression test, all cylinder were OK.

Reinstalled plugs, reset points on with handle in retard side.

Then we cranked it up and adjusted Carburator.

It ran for a while then stop. Found fitting on fuel line to Vacum Tank loose. Changed fitting and cranked it up again.

Bill and Bandit took it for a road test, car ran smooth. Bill says it never ran this good. It had a vibration before. I told him it look like it had been running on 3 cylinders for a while.

This is a video of on the road

The car is back at Bill's ,we are hoping to take it to the Rayne Frog Festival car show next Saturday.

Life is Great!!

Jesse

Edited May 28, 2015 by 30dodge35 (see edit history)

[vergil]

I'm still not sure just how easy this all was, but it sure has been an education for me. I can't believe how smoothly she runs. Formerly at idle the headlights and chassis noticeably vibrated and I took that as being normal for  a car of this vintage. She may indeed have been running on three cylinders for a long time. Now she purrs like a kitten (a little exaggeration). Aside from all the skill  involved, the greatest joy was meeting Gwen and Jesse.

[trini]

I believe this Dodge is a 12 volts negative ground. If it is I have a 12 volt 4 cylinder distributor type 10004 in nice condition, no rotor ,no cap. Free plus shipping if you need it for a spare. I am near Toronto, Canada. If interested contact me hsahu8034@gmail.com or 905 889 0621.

Cheers mate. Have a nice day.

Harry

[vergil]

Removed the gas tank today for cleaning and sealing. There was quite a bit of rust due to sitting so long,  She may be back on the road for the 4th.

[30dodge35]

See if they can remove drain plug and replace before sealing

Let me know if more assistance is needed

[nearchoclatetown]

What are you going to clean it with?

[30dodge35]

I think Bill is bringing to the Crowly auto shop, don't think they use Molassa They probably use and avid , the they will coated with the POR Kit, They do a lot of Motorcyle tanks,

Bill handling it,

[nearchoclatetown]

10-4. Like I told you, here radiator shops won't touch them anymore. Would cost about $350 to have one done here. I just cleaned one for myself with  caustic soda I bought at a hardware store meant for septic tanks. Heated works much better.