Gunsmoke

OK, my CD8 Roadster was 2 chromed footman loops, 2.25" center holes, short leather piece. Yours are quite complicated for such a simple task eh! Mind you my roadster doors are only 24"x24", no glass, very light.

Thanks TM, you are far too modest regarding your superb work to date on your Dodge. I will be taking the Medical Doctor's first rule "do no harm" in approaching my work on this rare car. If I had another $50K available, I might consider trying for a full restore, but even that would likely take 5 years plus, as many pieces are virtually impossible to find, the 4 chrome strips that bolt on rear deck behind folding top, a set of 5 white faced gauges with dash lights and ignition, a quality bullet rear stop/tail light and stand, sidemount hardware, not to mentrion bumpers, wheels, running boards, miscellaneous brackets, steering wheel and controls etc etc. I understand a good rebuildable 4 speed CD8 transmission goes for Can$4000-$5000+, a good set of front fenders perhaps $5,000, quality bumpers $4,000+rechroming, etc, so spending another $20K+ on parts alone would not be difficult. There are likely folks out there who have some of these scarce pieces but want an arm and a leg, which would leave me with no limbs to do the work! I searched for a while for an affordable donor candidate CD8 sedan (a complete car in $4K-$5K range), but nothing. Saw one in Western US for circa $10,000 which delivered to me would have been about $17K in Canadian funds ($2K delivery + 30% exchange, +15% local sales tax).

OK wise guys, enlighten us guys with post '20's cars, what are they?

The photos show current state of my recent barnfind '31 CD8 Roadster, a car which was "hot rodded" in the early 50's, using the popular Cadillac V8/LaSalle/Auburn drivetrain formula with a no-name steering box/wheel. The car was heavily modified due to it's body's poor state (rust) as well as to accomodate the foreign running gear, key crossmembers were changed, new frame rails from cowl to back, and all of interior and exterior trim missing. However, the primary sheetmetal was kept intact although lots of patch work. I have assembled a full suitable primarily CD8 drivetrain, head and cowl lights, door handles, and a few other odds and ends. Still missing 4 good chrysler drums (have all the rest of brakes etc) and good proper wheels, and bumpers, along with a wiring harness and a few small items. Since it will be virtually impossible to fully bring this car back to 100% original, I'm thinking I will do 3 things: 1st, I will restore and maintain the chassis to near CD8 specs, i.e. I have replaced missing crossmembers, restored springs/silent blocks etc. I will keep full Chrysler front end (it is actually from a '33 I think) including drag link, and steering. I will use the CD8 Deluxe engine mated to a DC8 3 spd transmission, and keep the ball and trunion driveshaft and proper Chrysler rearend. All brake system will be CD8 or equivalent. I have no shocks, so will figure that out later. So mechanically, car will be largely '31 Mopar. 2nd: I will maintain and restore the main body (rad shell, hood, cowl, tub, rumble seat ) pretty much as a CD8 came off the line. However, the entire floor is missing and I plan to make a replacement floor sill system similar to DC8 Roadster (oak and steel subsill system). The fenders and running boards are rough or homemade, and would need literally many weeks of work to make presentable, and I have no bumpers or proper wheels or drums. 3rd: So my thinking is I will adopt a "race style version" of the car, planning to lower it slightly (2" adjustment to rear axle saddles), a mix of things up front including re-arcing springs and smaller diameter wheels. I will not use any running boards, and consider using a modified "cycle" style fenders front and back (utilizing original brackets or secured to brake drums) . I may not use the folding top, or just fit the wood bows back on and use the bare folding mechanism. I have always felt the CD8 Roadster had lovely lines, but using the more stately "sedan" lower sheet metal made the car too high, and also took away from the classic sleek "roadster" lines. So by making a race version (I don't plan to race unless a big Caddy pulls along side), I'll keep the car available down the road to revert to a more closely matching CD8 spec, if all the remaining missing pieces magically show up (good fenders, bumpers, wheels, etc). I know many of you may recoil at the thought of what I am thinking of as an "interim plan". I say interim, because it will allow me to quickly get to use and enjoy the car without going bankrupt trying to fully restore it to then have it sit as a trailer queen. However, car was only 40% complete when I found it, and virtually noe of that was free of previous modification. Any thoughts pro or con are most welcome. Pics were taken today, placed rear fenders on loosely just to have a look.

Interesting. So does it pull outwards, then lift upwards and fold onto folding top sort of? I'm trying to figure how it might work as these hinges are located 3-4 inches back behind the RS toeboard braces(one is shown). I'll most likely forego this feature for now, may simply make a folding or hinged seat!

This photo shows a wood bar across the area between the back of the front seat, and the rumbleseat area of my barnfind '31 CD8 Roadster. On the back side of this wood are 1/2 dozen twist style clips that hold the interior panels which line the RS area. What I am curious about are the 2 heavy duty recessed hinges on passenger side, which are mounted with what appear to be original carriage bolts. Can anyone offer a thought on just what was in this area to require such heavy hinges? Ignore the lower parts of the car, it was rescued from the weeds and years of neglect in early the 50's and a crude plate steel floor put in to replace the then rusted out floor. I am replacing all of that.

Perhaps for a different car then, the CD8 chassis has a crossmember in that location to support the rad, only about 12" from front horn. They are very thin metal which suggests to me they may not be for exterior but rather for an interior application of some sort. There are also small "bend-over style" rivets and rivet holes along one edge, suggesting an interior application. One of them had a tiny scrap of fabric/insulation held to a rivet? The semi-circle notch to accomodate a round item is also intriguing. In any event, don't think they belong to my car, so I'll hang them on a wall and someone may ID them some day

These 2 sheet metal pieces came with my barn find '31 CD8 Roadster, I have no idea what they are, cannot figure any spot on the Roadster where they masy go. They match profile of front frame horns? Measure about 20"x6". Any ideas what they are?

The handles I recently purchased for my '31 Chrysler CD8 roadster project have the pins as noted above in both handles, neither of which is locking. The pins are smaller than 1/8", perhaps 3/32", and the spring keeps them tight in the hole. The nice thing about this method is you can do the drilling and pin fitting before you send them out, and would not have to mess with the handles once you get the chrome work done.

I have noticed the Chrysler key chains/fobs on ebay have the ruby red as mentioned above, but have the area around the "Chrysler" in black. Looks like a nice combination. Did the emblem use such a combination later?

That's 2 for 2, so I will proceed accordingly when the time comes. I think masking the 2 semi-circles out from rest of badge and spraying the area red is easiest approach. When paint has set well, I'll carefully remove the paint from lightning bolts using a magnifying glass and sharp blade of some sort. That is unless someone has a better idea!

The Rad badge for my '31 CD8 Roadster project has been stripped of its original painted finishes by a PO as shown. The badge is small, about 1.125" diameter, and re-doing the various paints will be painstaking. Anyone have a good photo that can give me an idea of the proper colors for the various insets, and any suggestions about applying paint. Appears to be made of a copper/brass/bronze alloy?

Awesome to be able to watch a superb sheet metal craftsman at work. I am in midst of restoring a '31 Chrysler C8 Roadster, bottom 4" of sheet metal all around is poor and ideally should have new patch panels complete with all the similar rolled contours. Those rear lower corners are going to be a big challenge. Don't know of anyone around here who does it, but I will be searching some one out. Thanks for posting.

Since posting the initial thread, I have looked more closely at the Dodge DC8 set or rear springs I purchased, while I was cleaning all the plies with a belt sander today. Although the DC8 set had been messsed with, including having a few 1&3/4" plies/leaves added, it appears they originally had 8 plies, based on height of the rebound clips. I note my '31 Chevy Coach also has 8 ply rear springs. Since the DC8 spring length appears close to CD8, I'm inclined for now to assume 8 plies is OK. This is a roadster, with sidemounts, so weight to the rear is minimal for '31 CD8's, as compared to a sedan for example. I will use the 2 rebound clips, and a tight clip for top 2 leaves at end close to spring eyes. The second leaf is drilled and countersunk from above to allow for fastening this clip.

I am refrubishing the rear springs on my barnfind '31 CD8 Roadster which appears to have had the springs worked on in the past. The car came to me with 11 plies on each side, some had been cut off on ends(as if made from other londer plies) and as expected they were pretty rusty between plies and reluctant to flex much. I have a decent set of matching plies from a DC8 Dodge (same width and arch, all 1/4"). I plan to keep the current main springs on the CD8. The CD8 springs also had 2 thicker 3/8" plies on each side spaced within the set, and these had a groove/recess on underside, which I will also keep. The DC8 sets I have did not have these thicker plies. My question is how many plies did CD8 rear springs have? Were the thicker plies special to CD8's? I'm thinking 10 plies seems about right?

The driveshaft I have has ball and trunnion on both ends, identical set up each end, can be put in end for end wither way, 4-bolt plate both ends. So it has the springloaded B&T joint each end, no splines, just a pair of original laced leather boots. I had a machinist who has done work for me before on old car stuff come by this evening and he has lengthened such shafts before, took the necessary measurements and so we will see.

I think we need to give a bit more credit than we sometimes do to the engineers back then. I suspect the brake shoe lining configuration came about after a great many experiments with shoe linings of equal length and various combinations, both in research, and in producrtion. They would have been trying to have them as smooth braking as possible under all circumstances and speeds, while avoiding unnecessary lockup, chatter, differential braking (side-to-side, front-to-back), good reverse braking, etc while lasting as long as possible. So I'm inclined to go as factory suggests. Those who use equal brake linings and find them satisfactory likely have not put their car through the rigorous tests and extremes these cars would have faced in a few years of driving by numerous less then charitable owners! Do it by the book.

By way of introduction, I am fitting a '30 DC8 transmission, propellor shaft and rear differential in a '31 Chrysler CD8 chassis, boltted up to a CD8 Engine. Everything mates up well. However,the wheelbase on CD8's is 124" and is 116" on DC8's. So the ball and trunion style propellor shaft/driveshaft is about 4"-5" short and needs to be lengthened accordingly. I am trying to determine proper length to get it made. As you may know, these shafts have ball and trunnion sliding joints each end, and a spring each end to keep the shaft from sliding easily back and forth and to also allow for some flexing of chassis. So my question is how do I establish the correct length to have the shaft made. I have installed one end on the transmission and bolted that end tight, and with the spring in place, there is about 1/2" of movement when shaft is pulled or pushed to limit. My logic suggests to me that the normal resting length would allow for 1/4" of movement in either direction (in or out) at each end. In other words if the shaft was pushed in tight at one end (that spring fully compressed), there would be 1/2" play at other end, and vice-versa. Any one have experience in fitting one of these?

I've been following your thread recently, and not only am impressed with your fine work and dedication, but appreciative of the great resource the thread is for us neophytes just starting a Mopar restoration. Keep up the great work.

I'm tempted to do just that. It's about 50 miles from home, and would make a good yard ornament if it was carefully placed on stands and leveled. I'll keep you posted.

Production of new model year cars in those days typically started in September and ran to June following year, with a couple of months then left to tool up for the next year's model, so about 10 months of production. About 37,000 CM6's (ser #'s 6,520,501-6,557,327) were built, an average of 3700 per month. Your car is about #16,000 in the production sequence, so by simple extrapolation, your car would have been built circa early January 1931. Of course if you want to be precise, $45.

I'm curious if there are any difficult to find parts that would make it worthwhile to haul it out of there and disassemble it. Likely can be bought for $100, but I don't need any of it. Rearend looks like it may be good, frame is solid, some special brackets, etc survive. The old fellow who lives on this vast property said he backed it in there about 50 years ago and just left it! He has some nice early Model T's in a barn elsewhere. These photos show 3 of the 6T's he has, a Tourer, a Sedan, and a Roadster Pickup. He loans them out for movies.

Went to have a look at what someone had described to me as a '29/'30 6Cyl Dodge that might have some spares. Here it is sitting in the weeds, I'm not a Dodge expert, perhaps someone can identify it. It has a 6 cyl motor, and has had a rough life. I was thinking mid-twenties? Were 6 cyl engines available then?

Camera was tilted a bit, so engine slope is not as much as it appears, I calculate it as about 2-3 degrees, and it results in crankshaft end lining up well with centerline of driveshaft hole in crossmember, and path to rearend. A previous poster indicated these power plants were sloped down towards rearend, so I'm thinking it's close. Since the original holes are in the siderails for the 2 piece rear mounting brackets, I'm inclined to asume the engine/ chassis angle is near spot on. Once I lower everything off of jack stands, I'll still be a bit in the dark, I don't know how close the front and rear springs are to original arc specifications, the front wheels are 15", rears 16" etc, and of course, adding the body and the rest of the weight may change front/back pitch. As near as I can gather, a degree of variation is not crucial other than perhaps visually the carb may sit slightly off vertical? I appreciated your careful, knowledgeable and thoughful advice and interest. Hope to put transmission and rest of drivetrain in place soon, then will know how close things are.

The Deluxe CD8 engine has finally settled in where it belongs, in my '31 barnfind CD8 Roadster chassis. Was a bit of a thrill I must say to see it fall into place, the original engine was probably removed about 70 years ago, circa 1945. Thanks to Rob for the engine and rear outriggers, everything bolts up amazingly close, considering all the modification the PO's made in fitting a Caddy flathead and an OHV Ford V8 over the years.The intermediate cross member under engine is missing, so now that I can see final dimensional requirements for its manufacture, I will make it. Engine is sitting on an axle stand at rear for now. The lack of the missing crossmember resulted in the chassis spreading outward 1/4" on passenger side bottom, not a big deal, I will try to pull it back at the bottom using a couple pipe clamps, but if it does not want to move easily, I'll leave as is and make crossmember a tad longer. This is my Father's Day present to myself, all the best to you other Dads out there.