MikeC5

These cars were built during prohibition... Could be an owner-mod secret access panel for hiding hooch.

Outstanding!

Watching this video closely, It also appears the distributor drive end slot and drive gear slot are more/less aligned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8y0gjGofwU

We learn from our mistakes and confession is good for the soul... I did look around the shop to see if I still had the old shaft lying around but I think I machined some rivets from it. I think we can take some educated guesses though. The picture here shows the water pump before I touched it. The clean, un-corroded portion of the shaft must be where it was exposed to oil in the gear drive. The heavily corroded portion must be inside the water pump (rust from water and galvanic action from contact with bronze impeller). If correct, this would mean the right end of the shaft in my original photo was the aft end (I flipped it and re-pasted it here). This suggests that the gear drive slot and the end slot (where rubber coupler goes) should be aligned, although when I look closely there does appear to be some offset between the two... maybe 20 degrees? It's a shame I didn't have that photo in focus. I can't explain why they would have bothered to put the slot in for the fan drive out of alignment with the gear drive though. The moral of the story? You can never take enough photos of tear downs.

Hi Tony, The shaft I purchased from Romar had them all in line. Sorry I don't have a photo of the new one here is a (poor) photo of the old one. This is from my '25 which has the combined starter/generator and it appears to show 3 woodruff key slots in-line. The drive gear slot had wallowed out a bit. Hope this helps.

It's great than you had a mentor/good friend to learn those skills from. The anchor is beautiful.

You have put your well equipped shop to good use. Have you only done this kind of work as a hobby or professional?

Here's another one. They were clearly not hand stamped.

Thanks anyway Willie. I've got a lot of other work to do before I worry about the top rests anyway. I got a pair in a box of parts that came with the car but they seem a bit too small to (lengthwise) to grab all 4 top sockets (and that is without the roof fabric getting in the way) so I'm going to wait until I get the top on, then fold it down and measure what's really needed. The real Dodge ones seem to be as rare as can be so I'll probably just make do with a matching pair that are functional but not 'correct'. My car has had a lot of rust repair and won't be winning any trophies so I'm not concerned about that level of authenticity.

You are doing a fine job there Matt. You have some great sheet metal skills. Was all this done with just a roller and brake? Or did you use an English Wheel?

Yes, I did get a rear window but thanks for asking.

44 for me too with no hints.

Has the car not been started for a while? If so, it could be something is gummed up. If the dash pot is stuck I believe it could cause a problem like this. A vacuum leak can also cause this symptom. This cross section shows the dash pot and is from Dyke's Automobile and Gasoline Engine Encyclopedia. I found it on Google and was able to download a copy. Lots of good general troubleshooting info in there. Do you have a copy of the DB Mechanic' Instruction Manual? I often see reprints available on Ebay for not much money. Have you searched this forum?

'25 Dodge Touring (no top) is pretty comfortable at 40-45 on a straight smooth road. It can go a little faster but I sense that the engine doesn't really like to be at the higher rpm.

Matt, I'm glad you were unscathed. It appears that the wood crushing must have absorbed a lot of the energy. It looks quite fixable but it does take time away from driving and enjoying. I hope you can get it back on the road soon.

Hi Willy, I have this photo from a '25 touring (unfortunately without scale). The Dodge parts list says the top rests are part numbers 1420 (RH) and 1421 (LH), which may appear on the casting part of the assembly.

Looks very nice. You work fast too!

I'm pretty sure you will. It may not appear so in the photo but this is a tapered end on the axle and tapered joints can be really tight.

The e-brakes had the same friction material as the service brake on my car and the internal shoes are not that much smaller than the surface area of the service brakes. As such, I can lock up the rear wheels with either but I find the e-brake harder to modulate. I don't use them normally but I did test them because it's good to have a redundant braking system. There isn't much to adjust (just the one bolt on the right to center the assy) but you do want to check that the pins on the internal linkage are in good shape. New ones are available at Myers. Otherwise, the adjustment is done at the front clevis.

I find the DB font to be quite interesting. The Amelia font, as used by the Beatles is also a favorite of mine.

The new brushes will have leads with screw eye terminals, just like the ones in there now.

My '25 is hooked up as positive ground. The battery cable (assuming it is original) seems to support this since it would be a little short to reach the other side of battery box.

The Lexus sounds nice Ray. I hope you get to enjoy it too...

That sounds like a great idea! I'm glad you didn't sell too.

That's very interesting Ray. I didn't know the Dodge's history traced back to the UK. It's nice to see the setting will be preserved.