Kevin bc

John Is the transmission knob part 16 still available, can you get back to me if it is, if you send to Australia regards Kevin BC

Just at the stage of priming the bonnet on my 1930 DC dodge Phaeton, and I noticed a insert in one of the side pieces, where it joins onto the top piece. There is not a similar piece on the other side piece. My thoughts are that it is probally an "anti rattle insert" , or a " wedge to align the bonnet pieces correctly", It is reasonably loose fitting, and can be moved slightly with the fingers. Looks like it is just a piece of steel or copper bent into a U shape, and is lightly crimped over the bonnet side. It looks as though it would bear on the hinge pin Members let me know your thoughts. I am going to re assemble it as is,but I'm just interested to know what it is actually for. My DC sedan, does not have this insert on either side of the bonnet Kevin BC

Just an observation, look at the tires on the ice cream trucks. Looks like the nice surfaced roads didn,t go too far, as they all have mud on their sidewalls, with the exception of the traytop at the left of the photo. Uniforms and trucks look pretty clean , and ready to go Kevin BC

Ian Kevin BC here, was that "A Class Metal finishers" that did your horns here in Adelaide, if it was I'll just give them a plug , as I use them, just sent the 6 wheel bars for the spare tire wells down to them ,very badly pitted, thought they would never get them perfect, but they came back, with not a pit to be seen, they do an excellent job, apparently do defence work as well , which you don't get if your work is not up to par. They are not the cheapest, but the price is reflected in the quality of their work. Kevin

Keiser Kevin BC from down under near the rally. John would be right, that there are no 31's around our neck of the woods, I have two 30 Dc's, the first I picked up in 1969, and the second in 1982, we think their were only about around 50 DC's bought to Australia from Canada?? in Mechanical Kit form in 1930, due to the depression, plus a handful of Budd Coupes and roadsters.(4 Budd Coupes came in apparently, there appears to be a few more roadsters than that), plus I know of one DC Budd sedan restored in Sydney. 1931/2 would have been at the peak of the depression, and it looks like there were no bulk imports of 31's , could have been a few Budd sedans cars privately imported. have seen a few 32 bits. I have been a DC man since 69 , and can say that I have never seen any 31,s in my travels, or even bits from one. Parts have not been a problem for my Dc's as no one has wanted the parts that were around.I have sold a few Budd parts that I got at swap meets back to the US, as other than mechanicals , very few Budd parts will interchange, even door handles are different, sidelights are different, bonnets and latches are different, doors wont interchange, steering box is different(worm turns the other way), sunvisors are different too, dash is separate and removable on Aus car, whereas on a Budd car it is part of the Cowl, plus the windscreen headboard is wood, and has a pressed steel winder mechanism, unlike the Budd one with its diecast cogs. The DC's in Australia had bodies(built of wood framing, built by Richards body builders in Adelaide, on them, and I have seen photos of several DC ambulances built in Melbourne. regards Kevin

Minnibago I wonder if the rim was inserted at a too sharp an angle to start with, I have just changed a tube recently, and am trying to remember the event as the rim slipped on quite easily, I am pretty certain I didnt have the rim at such a sharp angle as I replaced the rim, having said that the lip on my rim is like a roll not a acute lip like the wheel in question has , so thats my reasoning for thinking in this case the angle was too great and it is stuck across that lip , and I definetly think those bolts have to come out, before there will be any success,I think one of those bolts must be fouling in a hole or on the locating piece of metal if it has one as mine does. I also wonder if the rim could be out of round???, and the wheel has just hit the narrowest part of the rim. I just went and checked one of my rims, and discovered that you cannot remove my rims without taking the bolts out as one hole in the wheel rim has a steel cover over it, and if bolt is not removed the rim would sit on top of the bolt and not seat into the rim, and cause the problem at hand maybe H Burgh sorry for talking around you, but we are trying to brainstorm your problem and get a solution for you Kevin

Kevin BC here If I remember correctly with my Dodge DC wheels, I found that in my case it was neccessary to have all the bolts removed to replace the rim, I think it just made it a lot easier, but I still had to use a rubber hammer to just tap the rim into place, as the rims do not settle in a 100% round shape, when they are snapped shut, and dont settle in place till they are all bolted up tight.Having to insert the valve stem first thus putting the rim at an angle to the wheel means you have two slightly different diameters in play which causes the slight jam between the rim and the hub, and this is where the rubber hammer comes into play.I USALLY GIVE THEM QUITE A WACK TO GET THEM TO POP INTO PLACE I presume that if the bolts are still in there the angle of the holes may foul the the bolts adding more pressure to the problem. Removing the bolts to take it off make it easier too I found, once again just give them a hit with the rubber hammer, and they will pop out easily. The threads on the bolts, are pretty coarse and forgiving of a rubber hammer.

Axial Kevin BC here again Just looking at your photographs again and another observation. The fuel line from the pump to the carbi, runs very close to the exhaust manifold at the front. It may have been rerouted when the heater was installed?. If you live in a colder area of the states probally not a problem, but here in Australia we have to keep the line as far away from the manifold as possible, other wise we can have trouble with vaporisation of the fuel( especially the rubbish fuel we get these days}. The DC fuel line comes out of the pump, turns right and heads straight up to the carbi (line as short as possible). Once again a check of a handbook should verify the placement of the fuel line on your vehicle. regards Kevin BC

Just a question to to any DG owners out there,, I noticed in the photos of the sedan, that the speedo is on the right side of the instrument panel, and the ignition switch on the left. Would work well here in Australia, but wouldn't you want the speedo on the left hand end of the instrument panel more in front of the driver in the US, as they are fairly hard to read at the best of times, without being half way across the car. Is it in the correct position?. I guess someone with a DG handbook should be able to set me straight. On the 1930 DC8 the speedo and ignition switch are either side of centre, so can be switched around easilyto suit right hand drive here in Australia. Just an observation Kevin BC South Australia Down under

Axial Nice car , I have a 1930 Dc Dodge 8, your car looks very origonal around the motor area, it has the country aircleaner, which mine has, I presume the cleaner is supposed to filter more dust out than the round city type,. Not a lot of DKs around, as I guess it was depression time, and the extra money wasn't around to spend on more expensive cars. I have attached a photo of a pretty standard DK coupe that I downloaded off the net a few years ago as I thought it worthy of keeping it for someone one day Happy motoring Kevin BC

Kevin BC here from Sth Aus I have two DC Dodges, a sedan on the road and a Phaeton half restored. I can get you a brass crank hole cover cast up, at a foundery about 30 kms from me at Callington in the Adelaide Hills. I have a blank , waiting for the Phaeton, I have to go down to the foundery in a couple of weeks to pick up a set of bumper over riders, and a set of outside door handle back plates. I can take the blank with me and get one cast up for you, I would probaly get two cast up to have a spare, you never know when someone wants one???. It would need some work on it to get it to chroming stage, and the wire retainer would need a thread tapped into the cover to hold the bracket to it. The wire retainer is made from a piece of flat steel.I will dig it out tomorrow and send a photo. Kevin BC

Kevin BC here There is a seal Company I deal with in Melbourne, and they have supplied most of the the bearings and seals for my DC, with the exception of one bearing cone in the steering box, which I had to have made up , as they said they had the last one in the world, and I needed TWO.. they are "The AA bearing Company" (contact@aabearings.com.au) I know they definetly had the axle grease seals ,but I don't know about the inner oil seals , as I know I searched for many years for them, and a set popped up on Ebay one day, maybe worth a try Kevin

Some interesting photos from South Australia down under, A 1930 Dodge DC ambulance in Melbourne, would appear there were several made, as there is a photo around of 5/6 parked in a row. Cars in Main Street of Murray Bridge in Country south Australia where I grew up in the mid 1920's Car bodies and bits in Richards Factory Adelaide , appears to be going to a Company in Perth(not a lot of security on that lot) would have been transported by rail 2000 miles, and 3 railway gauge changes at that time. Appears they might have sent the cars unassembled to Perth.? Couple bodies loaded on truck at Richards - no modern assembly lines here in Adelaide

Kevin BC here . Another option which I used on my DC is to run a wire in where the centre wire comes in and put it under one of the cap screws. If you put it on the fuel line then you are relying on the connection between the fuel line , the tank through the screw, to the unit. that makes a few places that a dry joint can happen. Make sure there is no paint under the screw on the unit. the idea behind this is you want an earth to the unit not the tank. Kevin BC

rjp I have two 1930 Dodge 8 's a sedan and a phaeton, they are rare cars and I have been communicating with Dodge 8 owners in Australia , Canada ,and the US for as long as the net has been working , and the members of the Forum have more than enough info on most issues that will confront you. there will always be a difference of opinions on some issues but the owners and members will always be ready to help Kevin BC from Down under

Kevin BC here from South Aust You haven't said if you are in Aust or US, or Canada, if you have an Australian Car most of Steel rubbers products won't fit, as they are for US budd body cars,(All Steel bodies), and I know the vents on the Aust bodies are a different size to the US DC 1930 dodge models, even though they look very similar,also the door handle seals are different shape too between the countries. Kevin BC

Kevin BC here from downunder. I had the same problem with my 1930 DC eight, I had some new over riders (thats what we call them down under) cast up via a friend in Sydney who had a Budd bodied DC8 which must have had flat bumpers, so when I got them and went to fit them I noticed the error, - solution was that I had to use a large halfround file,and a lot of elbow grease and shaped them up to take the curved bumper, which my DC8 had.. Having fixed that problem, I must say there are DC8's in Australia with both types of bumper bars, Richards Body builders might have used the rounded bumpers,as the rounded material was normal for other cars of this period here in Aus, being in the middle of the 1930 depression, they probaly just used what they had in the factory, as they did with the sidelights,which are not pointed like the US lights, but are 29DA shells with the crest soldered on top, or later pressed in. DA shells here are quite rounded at the rear, not pointed like the headlights. Have you been able to find a flat unit that you could modify ,and get them cast up from there. Are the bumpers on the rear flat,or rounded regards Kevin BC

Matt On page 12 of your thread,there are a couple of photos of the top of the cowl showing the seals on the cowl for the windscreen stanchions(pillars in Aust for our US friends). Did you manufacture the seals or buy them. Steele Rubber in the US have some ,but they are too big for Aus models and don't have a square hole like I need, they have a oblong shape with one side rounded, our smaller overhang of the pillar base wouldn't cover the rounded edge I dont think. I was thinking a flat piece of rubber about 7 or 8 mm thick, and then rout out about 2-3 mm to get a lip might work, whats your thoughts on that, or are they available from anyone is Aus that you know of. Kevin BC

Ian My Local AutoPro shop at Hahndorf SA got me in 2 x 1 litres of gearbox oil Mild EP G/box oil for my 1930 DC gearbox. Auto pro actually rang the Penrite Engineers , and thats what they recommended for my car Oil at this Shop must be one of their main sellers ,as they carry shelves and shelves of Penrite oil, but had to get mine in, only took a few days regards Kevin BC

Guys Removed the rubber strip I have running along the chassis, and have managed to get the filler in place, still a bit tight on the front edge, will remove the rubber between the top of the tank and the chassis, and replace with some thinner rubber probaly 2mm, I think i have used 4mm rubber which I thought was similar to the orig woven material, but appears to be too thick. Also used 4mm on the chassis rail so probaly should reduce that too. The cover is sitting down on the top of the knuckle at the moment so 2 mm rubber should just lift it off. I may have to elongate the tank cover hole a little more I think, it was badly damaged in that area probaly from the tank being ripped out before I got the car, so may need to reshape it a little more to get reasonable clearance in that area. If anyone has a cover off at the moment could you give me a measurement of the length of the elongated diameter. Just adding to Davids comments and photos, that car was found in a clay pan near a railway siding on the old Ghan Railway at Curdamurka ,about 600miles north of Adelaide in the vicinty of Lake Eyre, and was about 4 Miles from the nearest road, so were very lucky to locate it as only had a hand drawn map on a piece of paper, more than 10 yrs old. There were only 134 of these phaetons built by dodge in the US, and we have only found 4 of these Australian built ones all wood of course

McCargar, your right about painting the cover first, thats why I'm playing with it at this time, E116 had sent me the filler,which I fitted up , and I thought I had better fit it in the chassis and check that the filler cleared all parts of the the elongated hole in the cover, its obvious its not missing by much clearance, I have the chassis on stands about 3 ft off the floor so can drop the tank to about 45deg, but it just won't clear the edge of the cover, I have one more trick to try, and that is to pull the rubber packing back that I have on top of the chassis which may just drop the cover enough for that bottom edge to drop through. the other thing that could be fouling the whole operation is that there is a little distortion in the ovalness of the tank. Sounds like when fitting the final fit there is a lot of scope to loose paint off the cover, might have to use a lot of masking tape. Dropping the tank at a angle is a balancing act too as the more you drop it the further the filler is pushed away from the cutout in the rear chassis panel as the edge of the petrol tank hits on the chassis. The cutout for the filler in the rear chassis panel below the cover cutout does not have a lot of clearance around the neck, so another option may be to enlarge the U shaped cutout in the chassis, so the filler has a bit more room to move around while on the angle. All thoughts gratefully accepted David H thanks for resurrecting the old photos, it reminds me how much work there has been to get it back to its present position - that is - ready to put some paint on, and it reminds John of putting his nose in the path of a fast moving jack handle Kevin

Kevin BC here again Some photos of my dilema, The cover is flat on the chassis at the filler end, and raised at the other end I cant push the tank up any further, because the end of the tank has hit the chassis. I need to get the cover over the neck then the cover can move back the other way, and everything will fall into place. This filler came off a roadster, but one would think that the gas tank covers and filler should be the same, as the carriers fit all.

Dodge Bros I am having a problem. After searching the world for 10 yrs or so I was lucky enough for a friend in the US to find me a bent gas tank filler neck for my 1930 DC Phaeton. Bent fillers are only used on the coupes ,roadsters, and phaetons of this model that have Dodge luggage carriers on them. If the standard straight filler is used it fouls the carrier mount, and you cant get the fuel in. . I have the tank finished so I mounted it all up, with rubber strapping and packing against the mount. bolted up the straps, and the tank looked good and ready to test fit the tank cover. The tank cover has a elongated hole in it for the filler, as it bends towards the outside of the cover, as opposed to a round hole on a standard tank. I thought just drop the cover on the chassis,and it will sit down on the chassis and I will be able to check that the filler clears the edges of the elongated hole. Wrong!!!!. You cant get the cover over the filler because you cant get the side of the gas tank cover over and down the side of the chassis,when you are holding the cover at 45 degrees to get the hole over the filler. It pushes the cover out a couple of inches away from the chassis. the only thing I can think of is to extend the filler pipe with a piece of tube over it and perhaps slide the cover down over it and slightly distort the cover sides to pop it over the chassis,but the cover is not very flexible around the knuckle area Have any members come across this before , and is there a simple answer. I have dropped the other end of the tank, so the filler is more vertical, and then tried to push it up, but then the tank fouls the inside of the chassis, and you cannot push the tank far enough over to pop the neck up through the cutout in the chassis. Kevin BC

Kevin BC here from Down under Aus. Do you have a copy of the Dodge 8 brochure "65000 Miles in 26 Weeks" a small booklet approx 5" x 5" (14 Pages). According to the rear of the brochure I have copy 504. I am happy to send a copy of it if you don't have one regards Kevin BC

Thanks guys, thats given me some more ideas Kevin BC