Taylormade

I posted this in the Dodge section, but I think it's a common problem in prewar cars and would like to get suggestions, experiences and soutions from other members. looked over my pitman arm and the drag link of my 1932 dodge DL today and the news is not good. The ball on the pitman arm is of the cast on type and is not replaceable. As you can see, it has some flat spots and it sure isn't the good old perfect sphere it used to be. I have heard a new ball can be welded on by turning the old, worn ball down to a shaft on a lathe and then inserting a bored ball onto the shaft and welding it on. Some have also suggested that the ball can be build up by adding metal to the worn areas and then turning the ball to the correct dimensions. Anyone have any experience with this who could recommend someone who knows what they're doing in this area? This is one operation that has to be right - failure is not an option, especially at 45 miles per hour. The drag link doesn't look much better. The keyways are worn pretty badly. I have a rebuild kit with all new balls, springs and cups, but that doesn't help the worn keyways. I have heard that you can take an available Chevy draglink and cut off the ends of both draglinks and weld the ends of the Chevy link to the shaft of the original Dodge drag link. The smaller diameter of the Chevy link fits into the Dodge drag link section and with a good weld should be okay. Bummer day of disappointing discoveries, but I have all winter to deal with it if necessary. If anyone has a line on these parts in better condition, let me know. I suppose some will recommend Rare Parts, and I'm sure they could make them, but I'm figuring the cost would be astronomical based on some other quotes I've gotten from them.

I looked over the pitman arm and the drag link today and the news is not good. The ball on the pitman arm is of the cast on type and is not replaceable. As you can see, it has some flat spots and it sure isn't the good old perfect sphere it used to be. I have heard a new ball can be welded on by turning the old, worn ball down to a shaft on a lathe and then inserting a bored ball onto the shaft and welding it on. Some have also suggested that the ball can be build up by adding metal to the worn areas and then turning the ball to the correct dimensions. Anyone have any experience with this who could recommend someone who knows what they're doing in this area? This is one operation that has to be right - failure is not an option, especially at 45 miles per hour. The drag link doesn't look much better. The keyways are worn pretty badly. I have a rebuild kit with all new balls, springs and cups, but that doesn't help the worn keyways. I have heard that you can take an available Chevy draglink and cut off the ends of both draglinks and weld the ends of the Chevy link to the shaft of the original Dodge drag link. The smaller diameter of the Chevy link fits into the Dodge drag link section and with a good weld should be okay. Bummer day of disappointing discoveries, but I have all winter to deal with it if necessary. If anyone has a line on these parts in better condition, let me know. I suppose some will recommend Rare Parts, and I'm sure they could make them, but I'm figuring the cost would be astronomical based on some other quotes I've gotten from them.

Caught again! I'm considering having Lars Corporation rebuild the steering box, but it ain't cheap and I'm not sure it needs it. They say it will never leak after they install new seals and do some machining. I have a complete rebuild kit for the steering arm but I'm not sure about the slots in the arm itself. They are worn, but not that badly. I have heard that mid-thirties Chevy drag links available from The Filling Station can be adapted using the new ends and the old shaft.

One other note, make sure you have all the seals and bearings you need before you start the job or your car will be laid up until you get them. Most important on that inner seal. I live about an hour and a half away - if you get stuck, I have all the tools and would be glad to come over and give you a hand.

As I'm sure you know, the first thing you need to do is get the brake drum off. This is the hardest part of the job unless you're extremely lucky. Usually you need a large three or five arm hub puller. They show up on EBay quite often . It's better to buy a good old one made in the USA - the new made in China models will break on you. Mine cost 80 bucks and it has been worth every penny. The puller arms bolt to the drum and a center screw is screwed against the end of the axle. There's a dogbone shaped device on the end of the screw that you beat with a sledge. Make sure you leave the nut loose on the axle as the drum can pop off with a great deal of force and fly across the shop. It may take some time and you may have to keep tightening it over the course of several days, but it will come off. Also make sure the brakes are backed off and not grabbing the drum. Remove the outer axle seal. Now take the key off the axle and slip the drum back on the axle shaft loosely. Put the nut back on. The drum should be loose enough to slide back and forth on the axle. Grab the edges of the drum - not the backing plate - push it in and then pull it sharply forward against the nut. In my experience, a few good pulls with the drum rapping sharply against the nut will pull the axle out with no problem. With the axle removed, the bearing races are pulled out with a two or three armed slide hammer. The claws/arms grab the inner lip of the bearing race and a few bangs with the slide hammer will pull them out. You need to buy or rent a good puller. They usually run about 90 bucks new. You will destroy the inner oil seal getting the inner race out. This information is for my 32 Dodge, which has two bearings on each axle. At some point they switched to a single bearing and I'm not sure which you have. This method will work on either type axle. I can post some pictures if this isn't clear. Good luck.

Mine probably had them, too, but I'm not about to go and redo the brake lines at this point. Just something someone can point out at the next meet, "Hey, did you know your brake lines are all wrong? Just saying..." I got the emergency brake lever and the shift lever restored and back in and was going to proudly say that the chassis was finished! Then I remembered i still have to finish the rear shocks. Oh well. And the new crankcase ventilator tube is now in place, which should relieve all the worried minds out there.

That figures, I message the guy to see if we can roll it on a trailer - and it's sold! So, still looking.

For anything structural I like to use Ash. It's flexible and durable.

My 48 Plymouth had them.

I'm using a Canon T6i with a 18=200mm zoom. There was none of the spring wire around my brake lines when I got the car, but they could have been replaced before I owned it. The valance above the running boards does protect the lines for a good deal of their run.

Working on the last greasy part, the shift mechanism. This is another Rube Goldberg device that does make sense, but you have to wonder...? Since the entire engine and transmission is rubber mounted, it moves while the frame doesn't. But this means that if the shift lever were solidly attached to the transmission, it would wobble like a son of a gun. So, the lever is solidly mounted to the frame brace and a pawl or lever on the bottom passes through a gate and then down to the levers on the transmission. I guess it works because the lever never wobbled when i owned it. Here's the gate in place, held to the transmission brace by the three bolts in the rear. The shift lever fits on top in the two open holes. This part does not contact the transmission. I also got the fuel lines in place. Like the brake lines, they go on the outside of the frame which exposes them to damage, but that's the way they did it back then. That's the old line on the floor.

Thanks Handleman, looks like a good candidate.

I'd like to build an open two seat speedster with my granddaughter. Looking for a twenties era frame with axles. Motor and wheels not that important. This is a low buck project so I'm not looking for anything exotic or rare. Anyone have any yard art or old frame that needs a new home? PM me if you have something that might work. I'm in central Illinois and would prefer something within 500 miles. Thanks!

Yes, we straightened things out.

Joe, The tube arrived today and it fits perfectly. After a little wire brushing and a bit of metal straightening it's out in the shop with a fresh coat of paint drying. Thanks again!

That's what I thinking, but I have this nightmare where I'm cranking away and still no oil pressure, and suddenly the bottom end of my engine falls through my oil pan. Better to crank with the plugs out? Less stress on the motor/starter?

I'm interested in the oil priming question, too, but apparently no one else is.

It extends out like that to form the top support for the front Floating Power rubber mount.

Straight down is what shows in the side view of the motor in my Owners Manual. That's why Phil's photos threw me for a loop. Just another mystery in the long line of DL oddities.

Holy moly, Batman! That is certainly not what I was expecting. The current tube on Daphne was never curved like yours, that's for sure. Was the Auto Cluch an option? I'm not sure if my car ever had one, but there is an extension on the clutch shaft that appears to have a part missing - or, at least is providing a space for a part. My splash pans and air cleaner have long since disappeared into that great junkyard in the sky, so who knows on the Auto Clutch. Anyway, my current tube, cut off or not, was not curved. Thanks for the photos - I hope you didn't throw your back out crawling around down there.

Thanks again, Joe. I'll let you know when it arrives.

I was at this point about three years ago in my restoration. I remember the rust and grease all too well. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Thank you, Joe. PM me when you get a chance.

The car was driven by both Phil and yours truly for a number of years, and probably many years before that, so it must have been working to some extent. If any one out there has a spare tube, let me know.

This is why this forum is so helpful - to save idiots like myself from making even more mistakes than usual! The bellhousing cover was a true senior moment. I've had it on before - correctly - and have no idea why I decided to put it on the wrong way just to proudly display my work all over the forum. Here is the correct orientation. And I don't know what it's for, either. I think it's a vent, but for....? As far as the breather tube goes, this is going to be a problem. Apparently, someone cut it off. It certainly wasn't me, and I doubt that Phil would have been so cruel, so it must have been sometime before we owned the car - shrouded in the mysteries of the past. Why someone would do this is beyond me, unless the bottom of the tube rusted off, but the top is in excellent, solid shape, so I kind of doubt that. Does anyone out there have a tube I can purchase? If not, I may be able to find tubing of the correct diameter and get it welded on. In this shot you can see the cut edges of the tube and the rough metal inside indicative of someone taking a hacksaw to it. Are other year breather tubes the same?