Pete K.

A couple of ways to retrieve broken parts from "down under". Place a small magnet, like the heftier ones in the back of some refridgerator magnets, on the flywheel and slowly turn it 360 degrees. It should pick up any ferrous metal parts when she comes back up around. Another way is to clump a handful of axle grease on flywheel, turn that flywheel again, with the crank, and it too, will pick things up. Then remove grease. Just don't let the grease get into anywhere else, and don't use the red stuff, try to find the older brown, thicker type grease. It tends to stay put better. As far as your problem with starter, If you're running 12 volts, it's hard on your Bendix!! If it's the original 6 volts, check the little spring and tooth in the starter drive gear. It's probably bad, letting your Bendix drive gear to float on Bendix spiral, sometimes engaging onto flywheel when you don't want it to. Don't grease the Bendix, spray the parts with silicone lube if anything.

Well, you really have me scratching my head on this one. Not owning a car like yours at this time, I can only speculate. I don't think it is the volatility of your fuel at all, having a no or low level of fuel in carb bowl. A few ounces of pure alcohol or pure gasoline in that carb bowl will not completely evaporate in a few days. Where would it go to? The throttle plate being closed, No way can the fuel evaporate out through the tiny vent hole. There HAS to be a leak, somewhere. If you say only a shot of starting fluid gets it going, Ok,--- that will not "un-stick" a faulty float valve, so I will count that problem out. The fuel must be leaking out through either a bad gasket under one of your carb jets, or a loose jet. Or of course, a cracked carb, but that would be quite obvious. Keep in mind, the carb float and the up-stream components have to be verified OK., like the fuel pump and it's internal check valves, pump diaphragm and the pump's push rod. Even the fuel line from pump to carb must be checked for tightness of the fittings and good shape, in the original configuration! I've seen problems arise with people varying from factory spec's and incorporating a loop in the line, now causing an air blockage with certain conditions.

John, I take it you've installed a good condenser now. Whether your timing is right or wrong, you still should get "a spark" at the points. Here's how to check--remove dist. cap with coil wire still attached to it and lay it aside on your engine block so the little center contact is on one of your head studs, making a ground. Next, turn your ignition key "ON". Go back over to your distributor and with your finger,open the points. (start this procedure with your points closed). You should see a small spark between the points. This is only your battery voltage, you won't get shocked. If NO spark is present, stop there and trace the problem backwards all the way to your battery for loose or dirty connections. If your Ford has any modern up-dates or non-Model A add-ons, double check those. I only run stock Model A's, They're easy to fix. I also want to mention, the problem may exist under your top plate in distributor. There's a little wire under there that's prone to break if it's 80 years old or a crummy repro wire, that breaks all the time. Let me know what's happening.---Pete.

That club sounds nice Steve, I'm still trying to find a pre-war only meet in my county, or surrounding counties. Washington State from the north of the Boston area is kind of a long afternoon drive. I would have to pack a lunch, or two...or thirty!

Jason, here's the two photo's I posted some time ago of the one type heater valve and controls. Click to enlarge them. The large portion of the assembly is the cast iron collar that secures to the exhaust pipe. One would cut a hole in the bottom of the exhaust pipe. It has a butterfly valve in it not unlike a carburetor would have. That has a long rod attached to it, and a flange that screws to the floorboard. The end knob controls the valve opening, like an old stove damper would control the heat. This unit seems to have two outlets for perhaps a front and rear heater coil set-up. The flex pipe is not shown but it attaches to the iron collar and would run up to the floorboard heater coil. A gentleman posted a photo of a rear passenger compartment heater coil unit at the time of my older post of this contraption. This is so rusted, I can't move any of the parts unto itself to really see it function.

The heat exchanger part in the cabin was a coil with many round fins on it, like baseboard heat. As far as I can see, since the unit I have was never installed on my Dodge, the exhaust recycled back through itself and out the exhaust pipe it would go. The exhaust gasses moving through the regular system provides a lower pressure, whereas there had to be movement of hot gasses, as a slow heat-up it would seem to be. The part that connected to the "collar valve around the pipe" where the holes are was a round flex tube that connected the coil unit mounted in the rear floor of the sedans. I have parts to a much shorter version too, where a short flex tube came up to a floor register on the front passenger side toe board. It has a small knob that you can adjust the heat flow, but I do not see any trace of a coil unit to this one. I'm assuming the pipe collar valve was not a valve at all, just a collar, to collect the heat from the forward part of the exhaust pipe. Some time not too long ago, I posted a photo of one type valve and controls I have here.

Those holes were put there for the car's heater. The Dodges used a cast iron assembly that bolted to the exhaust pipe, robbed hot gasses from pipe when lever was pulled inside car, in turn heating a coil that gave off the heat. Someone took off the heater bypass unit and left the holes. I have one of these units here.

I can't be sure what your tail pipe was like on a '26 coupe, but on this '25 touring, the system is VERY old and looks OK, where the tail pipe exits straight out the muffler then zigs down 45 degrees, goes about 8" then zags 45 degrees back to level and the pipe ends about 8" before the rear axle housing. The exhaust is aimed just under the rear axle. It is not a very long pipe. Hope this can help.

Steve, I really wish we had a pre-war club around this county. Not THAT long ago it was like what you describe, around here. I just wonder what happened to all the great early vehicles that I remember in this area just as far back as the '70's and '80's. I suppose they are today's "barn finds"???

Don, Here's a set of photo's of my '25 Dodge brothers fuel gauge. The $ bill is for size gauge. This unit looked like a burned up bean burrito when I pulled it from my tank. I was sure this was history and would be needing a replacement. Instead, I soaked it in a container of Evapo-rust overnight. A quick restoring of the faceplate and a new synthetic float where the old cork was and I'm back in business. Myers Early Dodge parts sold me the new float and gaskets, OK. This little gauge can be fabricated in a small shop, at home. Myers Dodge also has the little brass gears as seen in my photo's, but these are the originals here and work fine. Maybe this unit would fit the Kissel?

It did have a flange on it originally. I bought a replacement years ago for my '30 Buick. Don't even remember whom or where, but I'll keep looking for your part.

Coley, one of the best investments for information, cheap, is a reproduction printing of the Model a Ford "owner's handbook" for the 1930 Ford car. They are always on fleabay for around 9 bucks or so. The timing procedure is spelled out clearly in the book. Always retard the spark lever when timing or starting the Ford. (the lever on the left, under the steering wheel). "UP" is full retard. The lever must be advanced when driving, usually not "all the way down" if your timing is done correctly, as too much advance of the spark lever can be hard on your center main bearing, while not advanced at all while driving can lead to overheating in a short time, especially in this weather.(HOT).!!

Yes oldsprinter, I've got the whole thing around here somewhere. I would need specifics on the parts you need though. I can match up what my '25 has on it, what do you need? To Steve9; Yes, Lincoln had the lock, along with Packards also. I always stay with the original stock, especially pre-war cars. They are no longer $50.00 Erector Set play things as was in the '50's. They are living history now. I had a guy near me at a car show yesterday say that he found a "super nice" 1932 Chevy sedan (all original) in a barn up in N.H.--The first thing he did was to trash the original engine and start chopping the body. This is all going on as I was sitting on the running board of my all original '31 Ford model A pick up truck. I told him what I really though of him and his stupid antics. I let him walk, as I have too many things to do than spend a week in the local lock up for assault and battery. He was speechless, as it seems today no one speaks their mind in public.

Welcome aboard Richard! I think you'll find a wealth of information and a great group of "Dodge Brothers" here on this forum. I know I have. The transmission lock you speak of was found in some other auto makes as well as Dodge back in the day. It was provided as an extra security device above and beyond the ignition key lock. The lock on transmission can only be "set" when the transmission is in neutral. Once locked, the gear select lever will not move to any of the forward or reverse gears. In those days, the dashboards were somewhat open access for tinkering at the back of the ignition switch. If a crook got your car running, he still would find he's not able to move the car with the transmission locked. Ford on the other hand, was quite cost-conscience and did not use a trans. lock in his open cars. He had what was called the pop-out ignition, using a key, the armored cable to the distributor from the dash would be grounded out and in theory, keep the car from starting.(Model A's). This system can be hot wired quite easily. All you need is a medicine bottle cork with a small nail driven through it and a 2' length of wire. The Dodge trans. lock is a great innovation but the location of the key, sticking up on the floorboard behind the shift lever is near the heel area of the driver and passenger, just asking to be broken off if left in the lock cylinder. So, if you have a transmission lock key, keep it on your key ring with ignition key!

Mike, I couldn't say it any better than DodgeKCL did. Sometimes a strand of the inner cable will catch inside housing tube and foul things up. If you take the stranded inner cable out of the outer housing cable, beware of any broken strands while running your fingers on the thing. Don't ask me how I know this.

Hey scliim, On the computer, go to "Myers Early Dodge", click onto their on-line catalog, at bottom of list, click onto their "Production list, 4 cylinder". I think you'll find that interesting.---Best, Pete.

I've noticed your question has gone un-answered for a time. I hope it's not holding up your work on the engine. I do not own a "Fast Four", but if you torque the head nuts in the proper sequence to 55-60 ft. lbs, I would think you'd be right in the proper torque. I get this information from the Ford Model A spec's which uses a very similar, cast iron four cylinder engine, using a standard copper head gasket.

Thank you Tony!---Pete.

Here's a photo of a real "hummer". This came out of my parts bin of early Dodge parts, When I applied 12 volts to it, I found that the coil is weak and she "hums" out loud. Scliim, If you trace your fuel line from stem to stern, you will find out if you've got an electric fuel pump or not. They do hum also. Many folks install an electric pump in place of the Stewart tanks, because of damage to the tank, or they just don't understand them, followed by mistrust of the simple but effective vacuum tank system most all auto's incorporated prior to 1929, Ford being the major exception. I still use nothing more than the original Stewart tank vacuum system. When rebuilt correctly, that system is pretty fool-proof.

Roland, About the Wattage of the replacement resistor,"size does matter". The smaller the physical size of the resistor, the less Wattage it will carry without burning up. One would need to know the Wattage of that system, being the high beam headlights, stop and tail lights, wiring, to and from, and the connections, and an extra safety margin. This I don't know, as I don't have a Watt meter, like the type "Fluke" used to make. (I think they still do). I'm very surprised no one else has commented on this thread, since many of those coils are either missing or damaged. I do know in this state, one does need to have working lights for the inspection sticker, even with antique auto plates, or "year of manufacture" plates. I personally want my lights working correctly anyway. Without the dimmer coil, do the lights work anyway? I imagine one could not dim the high beams?

As my engine in the '25 does not use this set-up, I have an idea. Go to your local hardware store that has the isle with the hundred or so little cardboard drawers with all different fasteners and so forth. I've seen a drawer that has different size white, Teflon washers. Get a couple, bring bolt and water neck with you to check size. You may end up customizing the Teflon a bit. When installing, coat both sides of teflon washers with silicone or Permatex form-a-gasket non-hardening sealer (the brown stuff), the first Teflon washer goes against water neck, use a good steel washer under bolt head with a smaller Teflon washer in between bolt head and steel washer also. Marv, this idea is only speculative on my part--it may not work. If you want to try another idea, use a copper washer, maybe like the type that is used on a spark plug, only thing is you'd have to find a small one and a good fitting one. I'm now out of ideas and I'm going to bed. (I'll bet everyone's glad to hear that!)

Sorry Chris, I had to re-read your original post to straighten me out on the problem. I'm trying to figure this out. I suppose you could try a remote gas can to the PUMP intake to verify pump is doing it's thing. Use known good fuel in can if you think you may have gotten some bad gas. Place gas can lower than pump to check the holding action of the fuel pump's check valves. A collapsing screen on sending unit shouldn't be problem, fuel should still flow through it enough, if it's a clean tank. it's the pick-up tube you should worry about. I once had one that had a hole half way up in the pick-up tube. At a half tank of gas, I would "run out" of gas. Jack M made a good point of the older flex lines. It happens.

All your hard work paid off! What a nice car! I like that color combination too--Best of luck Steve.

It's got to be your reverse-current relay in the starter button box in floor that you hear humming. I'm sure your polarity is hooked up right, you're driving the car and everything works OK, battery is charging OK, etc... Many starter boxes are over-looked for restorations, the iron box only has a thin paper gasket to keep all moisture out. The old contact points in there are corroded and weak windings on the coil will give the humming effects you hear. That unit may be on borrowed time.

Try running a gravity feed gasoline container to carb temporarily. If it clears up, look in other places, if same problem, look into the carb for your problem. Be very careful with gasoline! Use your common sense when experimenting with gas.