Taylormade

Thanks for the offer. Maybe we'll get lucky. This is the good one, so the one I really need is a mirror image.

Oh, boy, this isn't going to be good. I was taking a look at my door latch mechanisms on my 1932 Dodge Brothers DL today. The driver side front seemed to work fine after I did a little cleaning and lube, but the passenger side was binding badly and just didn't want to move. So, I began by comparing the two to see if I could spot any differences that might be causing the problem. Uh, yeah, it didn't take long. Check this out... Driver side on the left, passenger on the right. I'm sure you can spot the problem, even without the arrows I've so thoughtfully provided. The sheet metal housing on the passenger unit has split in two places and is bent three ways from Sunday. Notice that the drivers unit is also beginning to split, but hasn't reached the catastrophic failure of the other side. Realistically, the chances of finding replacements is slim to none. I'm not sure if these could be welded up, but if so, I'm going to have to take them apart. This brings up my next question - how do you remove the circular springs? I've seen replacements for sale, so I'm sure they can be removed. This is the back side. Do I bend the two tabs in the circle to get the spring off? If anyone has run into this problem before, I'd sure like to hear your solution. I'm afraid the stress on this part means it's going to take a very good weld to fix it. The thinness of the metal makes me think it's not a feasible fix.

Oh, boy, this isn't going to be good. I was taking a look at my door latch mechanisms today. The driver side front seemed to work fine after I did a little cleaning and lube, but the passenger side was binding badly and just didn't want to move. So, I began by comparing the two to see if I could spot any differences that might be causing the problem. Uh, yeah, it didn't take long. Check this out... Driver side on the left, passenger on the right. I'm sure you can spot the problem, even without the arrows I've so thoughtfully provided. The sheet metal housing on the passenger unit has split in two places and is bent three ways from Sunday. Notice that the drivers unit is also beginning to split, but hasn't reached the catastrophic failure of the other side. Realistically, the chances of finding replacements is slim to none. I'm not sure if these could be welded up, but if so, I'm going to have to take them apart. This brings up my next question - how do you remove the circular springs. I've seen replacements for sale, so I'm sure they can be removed. This is the back side. Do I bend the two tabs in the circle to get the spring off? If anyone has run into this problem before, I'd sure like to hear your solution. I'm afraid the stress on this part means it's going to take a very good weld to fix it. The thinness of the metal makes me think it's not a feasible fix.

Success, thanks to Spinneyhill's advice. Driving the pin out did the trick. I actually had to drive it out the opposite direction that he suggested, but it came out with a little persuading. Here is is almost out. And the disassembled handle. My next problem will be the door latch mechanism. The passenger side works great, but the drivers side front latch is binding badly and I can't quiet figure out what the problem is. Anyone know how to remove the spiral spring that holds the latch open? I need to get it off to see where the parts are binding and the force of the spring makes that difficult.

Success, thanks to Spinneyhill's advice. Driving the pin out did the trick. I actually had to drive it out the opposite direction that he suggested, but it came out with a little persuading. Here is is almost out. And the disassembled handle. My next problem will be the door latch mechanism. The passenger side works great, but the drivers side front latch is binding badly and I can't quiet figure out what the problem is. Anyone know how to remove the spiral spring that holds the latch open? I need to get it off to see where the parts are binding and the force of the spring makes that difficult.

Yes, the tabs are what's holding it on. I can't see any way to get the tabs to recess into the square tube enough to slip the cylinder over them. The tabs are actually one piece. I'm at a loss as to how this all goes together. They obviously put the trim cylinder on when they made it, so it must come off in some way.

Page 25, post 618 in the Ressurection Of Daphne thread in the Dodge & Dodge Brothers section. Worked great and didn't damage the wheel.

The small end is inside a square metal tube and is swaged into place by four rather deep "dimples," one on each side, visible in the first two photos. Drilling those out would pretty much ruin the unit. I doubt even aggressive tapping would drive it out.

Okay, this is apparently a rather obscure problem.

As I said, the lock cylinder was removed long ago. When the locksmith went to remove the cylinder he discovered there was only the circular disk with a key slot and no cylinder behind it. I tried the wire in the small hole in the part I need to remove, but it didn't seem to do anything. I can't see how you can get the part over those projecting tabs.

I'm in the process of getting the exterior door handles on my 1932 Dodge Brothers DL Six rechromed. I've run into a problem with the passenger side front door handle - the only one that locks. Paul's Chrome sent this handle back explaining I needed to have the lock cylinder removed so they could take the handle apart. I hadn't provided them with a key and discovered that the keys I had did not fit. After a trip to the locksmith, we determined that there wasn't a lock cylinder in the handle, just the outer piece for the key. It must have been this way when I bought the car in 1965, and I don't honestly ever remember locking it. Anyway, here is my problem. This is a shot of the handle and the piece I need to remove (green circle). This piece slides back a forth so it is loose on the shaft, but it won't come off because of the tabs in the shot below. The tabs are actually just one piece that is held in there by something I can't figure out. Where the lock cylinder once resided I can see some slots, but can't determine just what is supposed to come out to make the removal of the trim piece possible. Does the entire square shaft come out of the handle or....? I need to get the piece circled in photo one off before a good chrome job can be done. Anyone out there gone through this before? Also, if anyone has a lock cylinder or a handle with a working lock, I'd be interested in purchasing it.

I'm in the process of getting the exterior door handles on my 1932 Dodge Brothers DL Six rechromed. I've run into a problem with the passenger side front door handle - the only one that locks. Paul's Chrome sent this handle back explaining I needed to have the lock cylinder removed so they could take the handle apart. I hadn't provided them with a key and discovered that the keys I had did not fit. After a trip to the locksmith, we determined that there wasn't a lock cylinder in the handle, just the outer piece for the key. It must have been this way when I bought the car in 1965, and I don't honestly ever remember locking it. Anyway, here is my problem. This is a shot of the handle and the piece I need to remove (green circle). This piece slides back a forth so it is loose on the shaft, but it won't come off because of the tabs in the shot below. The tabs are actually just one piece that is held in there by something I can't figure out. Where the lock cylinder once resided I can see some slots, but can't determine just what is supposed to come out to make the removal of the trim piece possible. Does the entire square shaft come out of the handle or....? I need to get the piece circled in photo one off before a good chrome job can be done. Anyone out there gone through this before? Also, if anyone has a lock cylinder or a handle with a working lock, I'd be interested in purchasing it.

I just bought a set of long, thin 1/2 inch tappet wrenches off EBay. For twenty bucks I can't go wrong. Maybe this will help.

Very cool car. I wish I could help with parts, but I'm a 32 Dodge guy. Good luck getting her back together.

Looks like the Dodge Brothers escutcheon has a slightly different pattern. A little fancier.

Hmmmm. Since I could never get the hang of chopsticks, I may be in trouble.

Ian, Did you plate those surrounds? They look terrific. The ones on my 32 seem to be aluminum. I was thinking about polishing mine, though I doubt that was done by the factory.

Despite some good advice from several sources, I'm having a heck of a time setting the valve clearance on my 32 Dodge Brothers six. You have to use three 1/2 inch wrenches to do the job. The bottom wrench holds the tappet from turning via flat sides on the tappet cylinder, the middle wrench moves the lock nut and the top wrench turns the bolt that adjusts the clearance. This is a newly rebuilt motor, so I have to adjust everything cold. My good friend and fellow 32 DL owner Phil Kennedy says he has had good luck with cold settings of .014 exhaust and .012 intake. He drove his car from Connecticut to Detroit for the DB Centennial, so I think those figures will work fine for me. I'm not the most dexterous person and I'm having trouble getting the job done. I loosen everything, get the adjustment correct, but in the process of tightening everything back up, I guess I move something and the adjustment is never accurate. Trying to hold the two bottom wrenches, get the feeler gauge in and then tighten things down is not working for me. I'm thinking a second person holding the bottom wrenches while I handle the gauge and the top wrench, might make things easier. Kind of embarrassing to totally fail at a task most folks seem to find easy, but there it is. Any tricks of the trade that might help me out?

I can send you photos and measurements from my 32 Dodge DL. They may be the same.

Apparently they use a machine that actually "weaves" the material around the wires. They actually offered to weave a wiring harness for me if I wanted to make the harness myself and send it to them. The guy explained it's done by some machine that is probably as old as the hills. I found this out when I was considering making a harness as a DIY project. I was looking at the wrappings or tubes or whatever they are that are sold to cover or enclose the wires. I, too, wondered how to handle the branches and called Rhode Island Wiring, and that's when I found out how it's done. My wife ended up buying a harness for my birthday so it became a moot point.

My 32. Still had the impregnated cloth cladding. The new loom I got from Rhode Island Wiring had the correct covering and matched what was left of the old loom perfectly. There were no metal pressings at the branches.

Thanks Phil - and everyone else who posted. Lots of good information. I'm always amazed at the help and support I get on this forum.

I guess I'm lucky they decided to put a timing mark on the flywheel by 1932. It makes life a lot easier.

John may very well be correct, but don't panic until you get the body off and can take a good look at the frame. Since you are doing it yourself, you have nothing to lose but some enjoyable time in the garage. To me, the most fun in a restoration is taking things apart and trying to figure out the problems and how to solve them. Have fun!

Thanks for the detailed advice hchris. Regarding the position of the rotor, as I mentioned, I was glad to see it was in the one o'clock position at TDC, which is correct according to the owner's manual. I had my wires on the cap in this configuration, so I won't have to adjust anything.