Taylormade

I started cleaning the motor today, getting ready for painting. A few weeks ago I received my build sheet from Chrysler historical (lucky me, since I hear they are now not accepting requests until November) and it revealed a few interesting facts. By the way, the charge for these early, prewar cars is only 25 bucks as they don't "translate" the information codes as they do on the later cars. I always knew my car was an early DL, but not this early! The DL was introduced on January 1, 1932. From July to The end of December the earlier DH models were officially sold as 1932 Dodge Brothers cars. My car was built on December 18, 1931, thirteen days before the DL model was even officially announced. The first DL carried a serial number of 3558101. I'm not sure of the actual build sequence, but if you go by serial numbers alone, it appears that my car (3559282) was the 1181th built. The car was delivered to Rockville, Maryland, and the gentleman I purchased the car from in 1965 was from Maryland. The L.H. SEDAN WIRE103 is pretty obvious since I have a left hand drive four door sedan with wire wheels, but the 103 - I have no idea what that means. The motor number matches the motor in the car - another very early number. The body number is also correct. Under WHEELS it lists 2 WELLS, which is correct as I have a dual sidemount setup. The PAINT AND TRIM CODE lists 20004BFC. No idea here. I know my car was originally and still is black. The factory chalk marks inside the body verify this. I wonder what the BFC means? I believe my car came with yellow wheels, a light straw color, and perhaps it refers to that. Under REMARKS it reads PLATE, and I can only surmise that refers to plate, rather than laminated, glass. My car did not come with laminated glass. If anyone knows more about some of these codes, let me know. The motor is cleaning up rather easily since it was hot tanked during the rebuild. Mostly surface rust that wire brushes off with little effort. I'm going to give it a rigorous wire brushing, followed by a good scrubbing with Dawn dish washing soap, forced air dry, and a good washing with wax and grease remover before I apply the epoxy primer. This is about ten minutes work. The motor number is nice and clear. I also noticed these four stampings at the same height as the motor number along the block. The are stamped, not cast. They read, from front to rear, P C C B (or maybe P, this stamp is a bit low). No idea what they mean, but they must be there for a reason and appear to be factory stamped. Finally, the casting marks. I'm not sure if the 12-3 refers to the date of casting or if all blocks had that on them. Just some interesting information on the car. It's really nice to know she's almost totally original.

Any luck contacting Brad?

Here's another example for 30 grand less. No bidders, and this car appears to be in better shape than the Packard. I'd give my eye teeth to have either car but these prices are unrealistic. http://www.ebay.com/itm/19310000-Other-Makes-Marmon-Model-88-/111714064934?viewitem=&item=111714064934&forcerRptr=true&nma=true&si=iJgajQZSWvcbtNOwROmQON6taEU%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Man, that was fast! I feel like I'm taking way too long with my restoration. Your Dodge looks great.

Some of those look close, but the diameter of the pin has to be correct. I had no luck finding any of these when I had my 29 Plymouth Model U, and I discovered that shackles from an early Chevrolet would fit, although they didn't look original. The ones on my Dodge are in excellent shape so I escaped the problem. You may have to do some adapting to make things work. I found on the Plymouth that not only were the pins worn into an oval shape, but that the two cast sides were also worn and the holes had enlarged to the point they had to be replaced. You might try advertising in the Buy and Sell threads. Best of luck.

The clips would be great. I have most of them, but a few disappeared over the years.

The pins press in. These are Tryon Shackles and a bit of a pain to find these days. If you can find a NOS set, they look like this fresh out of the box. You press out the old pins and press in the new ones. The oval shaped springs set the correct tension on the shackle. My 32 Dodge Brothers uses the same shackles.

I have a nice complete one that works. Sent you a PM.

Continuing on with the brake lines. The front passenger side line was very convoluted - lots of hills and curves that seemed unnecessary - but I've learned my lesson that most of this stuff was done for a reason. Also, after proudly photographing my work, I discovered that the short, driver's side line was incorrect. The original had rusted away in several places and I boldly bent the line they way I figured was correct. Then I checked my notes and discovered that the line should go into the top of the junction, not the side. Luckily it was the shortest line on the car, so I didn't waste much material. Sure enough, once I got everything on I realized what all those bumps and curves were for. The front motor cradle has to bolt on in this same area. All those curves were to clear the cradle and allow access to the mounting bolts. If I had taken a more straightforward approach and ignored the original lines, I would be doing everything over. I was able to use the original clips, which was a relief since they are very hard to find. Sorry about all the shop dust - makes the frame almost look rusty. There were petrified remains of grommets in the frame holes where the brake lines pass through. I'm surprise Dodge routed the brake and fuel lines on the outside of the frame. It seems inside the frame would have been easier and safer. You can see the grommets buried under the grease in this shot. This after shot is a little cleaner. I still have to run the long line back to the rear axle and then I'll be finished. Both brake cylinders, master cylinder and brake shoes are all refurbished and in the mail. Does anyone have a source for the large, thin nut that holds the brake hose to the frame extension seen in the shot above? I need one for the back fitting. I also need new star washers for all three fittings.

I don't have one. I've bid on a few on EBay, but they quickly zoomed out of my pay scale. I have drawings and pictures of a home-made tool that was posted on the P-15 D-24 site that looks like it would work. My brake drums also have small access plates that allow you to get a feeler gauge in between the shoe and the drum for accurate measurements. If anyone out there wants to rent their Ammco tool, let me know - I'll take good care of it.

Those are temp brake cylinders I used to get the line routing correct. My original cylinders (being resleeved) and all the hardware will eventually be used. It's been awhile since I looked at the differential. I'll check everything carefully before the cover goes back on. Thanks for the heads up. eventually go on the car.

I finally got up enough nerve to attempt making the brake lines. This is a first time experience and it turned out to be quite easy and almost relaxing. I used NiCopp nickle-copper alloy lines (not copper!) that match the look of the copper coated steel lines that came originally on the car. They are very easy to bend and do not flatten out even in sharp curves. I was able to bend the lines by hand to match the original lines, but the finished job is very sturdy once everything is clamped into place. I didn't realize how dusty everything is until I posted these photos! The job was made easier by the Eastwood Brake Flaring Tool, which worked exactly as advertised and made perfect double flares every time. Of course, I haven't pressurized the system yet, and if brake fluid comes spraying out of every fitting, I may change my mind. But the flares were even, flat and perfectly formed - at least to my untrained eye, and the tool does not mark up the tube like the cheapo clamp tools do. On to the front brakes tomorrow.

I was expecting your driveshaft to be much the same as was surprised at the photos, yours is quite a different beast than mine even though the cars are only a couple years apart. Seems like they used a more conventional cross type universal joint with a splined drive shaft on some of the Chryslers and DeSotos as well as some of the trucks. But the plain jane Plymouths kept that ball & trunnion with floating shaft for a lot of years. Only one year apart. Interesting that they went with two different setups. My 29 Model U had fiber disks for driveshaft joints. As I remember my 48 Plymouth P15 had a setup like yours.

I'm surprised a setup like that has enough movement to work properly. But I'm surprised by a lot of things these days. As always, let us know how it all works out. You certainly have your share of interesting problems with your hybrid roadster.

This is the setup on my 32 Dodge DL. The splined shaft on the end of the driveshaft slides inside the ball and trunnion assembly that attaches to the transmission. The drive shaft with the splined end to the left and the differential ball and trunnion to the right. The splined end. The round object at the right end of the spline is the shaft seal that screws onto the transmission end ball and trunnion. As far as I can see, this sliding shaft takes up the movement and distance as the car is moving. This is the transmission end which bolts directly to the fitting on the trans output shaft. You can just see the threads at the top where the seal screws on. I assume your driveshaft has a similar setup. If so I will measure the distance between the trans and the differential from flange to flange and compare it to the length of the driveshaft. The only problem is that I don't have the engine in the frame yet and it may be a few weeks before it's ready to drop in. One thing my Owners Book makes very clear is that these shafts were balanced at the factory and that they must be put back in the position they were originally installed. My shaft has markings for this purpose. I'm not sure what steps you will need to take to get the shaft back in balance after the new section is welded in. Another option is to have new, modern u-joints adapted and a new axle made. I know it's not original, but parts for these old ball and trunnion joints are hard to find and I have no idea what kind of shape of yours are in.

I'm not an expert, but from the traces of what I believe are the original paint on the engine assembly, everything was gray, the sump, the water pump, tappet covers and the fan. I'm not sure about the manifolds as there was no trace of paint left on them. I have to believe that Dodge simply painted them the same color and the paint quickly burned off. I will probably have them ceramic coated - not original but a lot more durable.

Yeah, she stopped pretty good when I drove her and we didn't have any problems screeching to a halt when you were driving us around Detroit, Phil. You're probably right. I'll have to see what my linings look like when I get them back, but I believe my guy does one short and one long per factory specs. If so, I'll follow the book. I was pleased to find that the drums required very little turning and are well within spec. No thicker linings were required. I was also interested to discover that the brake line leading back to the rear axle has a factory installed union about six inches from where it passes through the frame. You can see it in the brake line diagram in the Owners Book. The brake lines are a bit of a hassle to bend to shape and that union must have been a bailout to make installation easier.

For brake parts try: Roberts Motor Parts http://www.robertsmotorparts.com/store/ Andy Bernbaum http://www.oldmoparts.com/parts-service-brakes.aspx Hagens http://hagensautoparts.com/chrysler/9-brake/2767/ Your motor has factory installed hardened valve seats, so no additives should be necessary. Pictures of the mason jars might help. Are any hoses attached and, if so where, do they go? Chrysler used a glass jar to hold window washing fluid on some cars with that option. Check EBay for manuals. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1952-CHRYSLER-SHOP-MANUAL-GOOD-ORIGINAL-BOOK-C51-C52-C53-C54-C55-/161754226608?hash=item25a94d9fb0&vxp=mtr http://www.ebay.com/itm/1951-1952-Chrysler-Repair-Shop-Manual-51-52-New-Yorker-Windsor-Saratoga-Imperial-/221816703981?hash=item33a54e4bed&vxp=mtr Good luck and have fun with your new acquisition!

Does yours have the two mounts between the bellhousing extensions and the frame? You can see in the photos of the motor/transmission that my belhousing has no extensions and is not attached to the frame at all. The three things attaching the motor to the frame on my car are the front bracket (with a rubber mount between the bracket and the motor), the rear bracket (with a rubber mount between the bracket and the transmission housing) and the small leaf spring that attaches between the bottom of the bellhousing and the rubber mount on the side of the frame. It truly is floating as in Floating Power. The fact that the pedal bracket is mounted to the frame and the bellhousing is moving on the rubber mounts may also explain the complicated clutch mechanism. Perhaps the lever system allows positive contact with the always moving engine/transmission.

It may have something to do with the vacuum clutch, although mine was removed long before I ever bought the car the first time back in 1965. At least I know it works in it's current configuration.

At one time or another some of the brake lines on my car were replaced. There is a mixture of single and double flared ends on the lines. On examining the large line that goes from the master cylinder to the distribution block, I was surprised to discover that this line (bigger than the 1/4 inch line on the rest of the system) is make of copper, not the copper coated steel line found on the rest of the car. I assume it is original or very old, since it has single flares for the fittings. I'm going to try and find some Cunifer line of this size to match the other new lines I'm installing, hopefully not in the 25 foot rolls it usually comes in as I only need about two feet of the stuff. Just waiting for my resleeved master cylinder and brake cylinders to arrive to get the brakes done. The brake pedal/master cylinder bracket is ready and waiting.

A bit more progress. I have the pedal assembly finished and mounted on the frame. There are several bolts with nuts that are attached inside the boxed frame. I'm not sure how they did it at the factory, but it was a real pain. It's a complicated setup. This is the other half of the levers which are to be painted gray as they are attached to the bellhousing and were painted with the engine assembly. Speaking of the engine, if it ever stops raining I'll wheel it out into the driveway and clean and paint it. As far as I can tell (from the remains of the old factory paint) the engine, transmission, front mounting bracket and rear mounting bracket were assembled and then painted a greenish-gray as one unit. You can see some of the original paint on the bellhousing. The front and rear brackets will also be gray.

I think the Lockeed angle is the answer. Several articles mention the self-energizing Bendix brakes. I can't find much on the Lockeed style. They're a different animal as all early Mopar fans know!

Well, that article says short lining to the front. I still trust the handy dandy Owners Book. Maybe the Dodge engineers had reasons for what they did. Or maybe they were wrong eighty years ago!

Looks great!