Rogillio

But...but....but....cars are special! :-) Best I can find via Google, there are over a billion cars currently on the planet! Our family of 4 owns 7 of them. :-) You are right though...most people would only see vintage cars in movies and museums.....that is why I love dring my 'museum' around town.

Pretty sure they didn't use cherry wood coated with polyeurathane either. :-) I was at a car show once and was looking at a 1933 tricked out rat rod complete with chrome exhaust manifold and chrome a/c compressor. Some woman looked at the trunk that was fur lined and said, "Now the trunk wasn't originally this nice was it?" I was thinking, really?! That's the only thing you see on this car that might not be original?! :-)

I call it a '26 because it was built Sept 1926. Technically it is a 27 'model'. If I wrote 1925 it was a typo.

I finally got the metal back from PC and finished the floor. The wood is cherry from trees from our place that I had milled into lumber and kiln dried.

Nope. Don't give a ratsass what people think. I care only about what I think about myself. I don't like feeling like I got screwed....could not care less if you think I got screwed. Likewise, I like to feel like I got a good deal....doesn't mean squat that you think I got a good deal. At any rate, there will always be suckers who pay too much and lucky people who paid way less than the market average. ETA. When I say you, I mean the generic you, :-).

I guess I'm the odd one. I care. If someone pays 1/2 as much as I paid for a very comparable car, then I feel like I paid too much. Likewise, if someone paid 2x as much for a very comparable car I feel like I got a good real. I understand all cars are different but that only goes so far.

So if I find someone who will pay $75k for my Raptor and he is happy with it then that was the right price? Hmmm. I suppose. Some would say the buyer wasted money by paying about $25k too much.

I am not currently in the market for another car but I can't help but use my internet surfing time to look at vintage cars.....more specifically, the year and make of my cars. Maybe I'm thinking I will stumble upon a 'barn find' of someone who doesn't know what the car is worth and I will get a real bargain. But more often than not what I find is people who think their car is worth WAY MORE than it is worth. Over the years of looking literally hundreds of cars for sale I have a pretty good feel for what my cars are worth. And every so often I will see my car listed at 3x, 4x or more what the car is actually worth. I can't help but think they are in for a rude awakening and if they would just do a modicum of research they can easily find what the current market price is for their vintage car. OTOH, there are buyers out there who also fail to do their research and will pay 3x, 4x or more what the car is worth thinking they are getting a good deal. I know because I bought a car off eBay that the owner had bought off of CL the day it was listed. He THOUGHT he had found a great car that he could flip....but after a week on eBay and doing some research he found the car was worth about what he'd paid for it. So he got his money back when I bought it from him but he did not make it rich like he thought he was going to do. Full disclosure. I also know there are idiots who pay too much for a car thinking they are getting a bargain because I have done exactly that! I saw a car on CL that I thought was a steal! I made an offer and he accepted and I just knew I was getting a great deal. Turns out, after doing the research (after I bought the car), the car was worth about 1/2 of what I paid for it. Ouch! If there is a point here it would be, "do your research before you buy!" :-)

Thanks. I didn't know that.

I got fire! The new condenser I got today did not fit so I put he old one back in. I've been reading about weak spark and that points to the condenser. I found another condense in my shop and put it in....and finally got a good spark. Sort of. It was a white/red spark not a blue one....but it was hard to tell as I was by myself.....in the cab to push the starter button on the floor staring to look out at the plug I had out laying on the head. The condenser does not have a bracket so a made a little holder for it....not a tight fit so not a good ground for the capacitor. I may solder the bracket to the capacitor. Or might try to find a better capacitor.

I use the term cable for any heavy wire. But I did make the batter cables and crimped them with a vice, hammer and anvil. But you are absolutely right, solder in the brass terminal would be best. So I did the above suggestion and saw sparks when I open the points. I still can't get a visible arc at the plugs but did get shocked when holding the plug wire. So that's a good sign. I need to adjust the points and see if that helps. It is hard to find the timing mark on the flywheel when manually using the crank....and shinning a flashlight into that little hole. Maybe it would be easier if I put a stick into the number one cylinder and look for TDC?

Got nothing. So then I checked the coil. Nothing. Back to the switch. Nothing. Check battery. 6v. Check neg post to the switch. Nothing. Crap this is a cable I made! Took it off and the only thin holding it on the wire was the shrink wrap. I was getting 6v at the coil last night. Evidently the connector made enough to wire to register 6v on my DMM but not enough contact to allow enough current yo energize the coil. When I cut the shrink wrap off the cable I made the connector just fell off....it was not properly crimped. Victim of my own shoddy workmanship. Might still be other issues but at least I found one smoking gun.

Good tip. I have 6 volts acorss the coil so I know the parth from the switch to the coil is good. I will check the connection to the points tonight. That sounds like that might be the culprit. Just thought of another thing to try.....I can take the distributer cap off my other car and try it. I worked thru an issue with that car with carbon tracking. Actually, my mechanic friend figure it out. My engine was only hitting on 1 cylinder. There was small crack in the distributer cap....it had filled up with carbon.....so the fire was going from the rotor, along the crack tp the nearest cylinder. To show me what was happending, he took the wire off of that cylinder and then the car hit off of 3 cylinders. I was amazed! I took a Dremmel tool and cleaned out the crack and it ran great.....used that until I got a new distributer cap. I will definatly check for a short thru the distributer! That sounds promising too.

I forgot to mention.....my first thought was to check the plug wires. I had bought new wires from Meyers but I had not built/installed the new wires. So checked all 5 wire with a meter and 2 of the 5 showed no continuity. I just knew I had found the problem! I quickly made the 5 wires and installed them. No joy. Now that I'm thinking about it, I did not check the continuity of the wire from the coil to the side of the distributer. Will check that tonight. I thought maybe the rotor button was bad....so took the one off my other Coupe that I know if good but that did not help. I will do some more troubleshooting tonight.....but if I can't get some fire soon, I'm gonna punt and go with the electronic. I'm not sure how those electronic ones work but am wonding if the manual spark advance/retard will work with the electronic ignition?

I am having trouble getting fire to my plugs on my '26 DB. I have a new 6V coil.....I got no fire. I pulled the condenser and put one in there that I had in my shop but not sure where it came from. Still no fire. I have a new condenser on order and will be in today. I noticed last night the points were not opening! So much for the "it was running when it was parked line I got from the guy I bought it from". So I adjusted them....still no fire. My last hope is the new condenser will solve my problem. But if not...... ....I am considering an electronic ignition conversion. I know the purist will cringe but I am not a purist....I am more concerned with having a running, dependable car to drive than to have it "100% period correct". Anyway, any pros/cons of converting from points/condenser to an electronic ignition?

Wow!! I lose money on every car but I make it up in volume! ;-)

Ray, you make a good point keeping receipts.....if I were to sell my car that I bought for $6k for $15k I'd have to report that as income and pay taxes on the gains! OTOH, if I can show I put $10k of parts and labor into it, I can decuct this this as a gambling loss. :-) I mostly just keep a mental record. The spreadsheet I posted above all came out of my 'best recollection'. Last night on the way home I bought gasket material, somre screws, nuts and bolts nad a sringe for injecting some gas into the carb and some radiator flush.....spent about $25. There are lots of 'expensese' like these that I don't count....sand paper, new tools, cleaning solvents, Mystery Oil, WD-40, Penetrating oil, beer......etc

I'm trying to figure out how you do a brake torture burn with no front brakes?!

"My only hope if I die is .. she does not sell the stuff I have for what I told her it cost." Had to read this twice till it sunk in. This is hilarious.

Glad you saw that, I was wondering the same thing.

I converted my 6v system to 12v. The horn sounded awful. I got a 1 ohm power resister and put in series with the horn dropping the voltage seen by the horn to about 6v. And it sounds great.trim.CD30C025-0A85-4CE3-8FF6-65AE7C674030.MOV

http://northmiss.craigslist.org/cto/5130586644.html This looks like a pretty good deal. I wish I had room for it.....

Shhh! Don't tell my wife! My big concern is the condition of the motor. It show 96k miles.....no idea if this is the original motor or not. The guy I bought it from said that the guy he bought it from that his grandfather drove the car till he got too old then he died. In other words, "It was running fine when we parked it" LOL Riiiight! I think have about $12k in my other Coupe....also worth about $8k....maybe....if I was lucky and found the right buyer. :-) I’m not complaining. It has never been about the money. I only keep rough tabs on what I’ve spent to keep my sanity in check. I enjoy the work and at the end of the day I will have a fun vehicle to putter around in….let the grandkids use it in the homecoming parade, use it for weddings….and just enjoy the heck out of driving it. It turns head and gets smiles everywhere I go. As I pass cars I see people pointing and can almost hear them saying “Oh cool, look at that old car!” I know becasue I’ve said that all my life when passing vintage cars. I was at the gas station a few weeks ago in my other DB Coupe and some guy comes up to me to thanks me and shakes my hand. Thank me? Huh? For what? He said he wanted to thank me for preserving a piece of history. He said there were not many of these old Fords left. Ford? Needless to say, he got a little education about Ford and the Dodge Brothers and we had a good chat. My thinking is, the cars should hold their value or increase in value as the years roll on. If I bought a new bass boat…..20 years from now will be worth about a fourth of what I paid for it new. And I enjoy working in my shop about as much as sitting on the lake.....

Format got hosed up. Here is a better view IMO. I tell my wife all the time...."Baby, If I bought a new bass boat it wold cost me about $50k....and in 20 years will be worth about $10K" I think all I've done is manged to screw myself out of a new bass boat......

I posted this in the Dodge forum then I realized it applicable to most any restoration. I lose money on every restoration but I make it up in volume! The big unknown is the condition of the motor. If I have to have it rebuilt…..well….uh….let’s not go there yet. At any rate, I’m not sure how many rounds of golf I could have paid for with but I’ve never been a fan of chasing a little white ball around the woods. 1926 Dodge Brothers Coupe Restoration Refurb to be done Cost Get front glass back from shop $200 Install glass and windshield Install battery (might be shot) $100 Rewire horn Rewire head lights Rewire cowl lights Rewire brake light Get dash back from shop Mount gauges on dash Mount dash in car Get floor metal back from shop Install floor metal in car Install last floor board Replace clutch cover Grease all zerk fitting Find/make dash light $10 Wire dash light Check tire pressure Plug vacuum hole on carb Put gas in tank $10 Check tank for leaks Check fuel pump for operation Fix fuel leaks Shroud lacing $5 Switch lever $10 Clean front axle/steering Replace rear differential seal $25 Pull water pump Have water pump rebuilt $150 Reinstall water pump Get radiator shroud back from shop Mount radiator in shroud Install radiator and shroud Flush bock cooling system $5 Fill radiator with 50/50 $15 Take 6V generator off old DB Pull POS gen off new DB Install 6V gen on new DB Replace passenger glass $100 Fix front shroud around crank Rebuild running boards Undercoat running boards $5 Undercoat fenders and trunk $10 Rebuild trunk boards Build dovetail box for behind seat Make/install headliner $30 Rebuild/cover door panels $20 Interior cardboard $20 Interior trim $10 Make temporary fat man seat $20 Get insurance on car $100 Register car $20 Mount vintage plate Fix passenger door handle $50 Find/install rearview mirror $25 Paint fenders black $150 Paint interior black Paint green $200 Paint headlights Install headlight support rod Fix rivets on left fender $7 Clean front hubs and steering Install hood lacing $10 Install hood pads $10 Install hood corners $10 Find/replace window crank $75 Replace plug wires Paint wind frame Clean wind crank assy Total $1,402 Completed to Date Cost of Car $6,000 5 new tires $875 5 new tubes $200 5 new rim rubber $100 Remove old tires/tubes Powder coating 5 rims $250 Mount new tires x 5 Gas tank cleaning $40 Gas tank powder coating $40 Sun visor powder coating $40 Radiator shroud powder coating $80 Floor metal powder coating $40 Window frame powder coating $80 Rebuild Carburetor $30 Replace carburetor float $50 New plugs $32 New plug wires $24 Buy and install electric fuel pump $30 New 6V coil $30 Drain oil and siphoned sludge Remove/clean/reinstall oil pump Make gaskets for oil strainer and pump Rebuild roof with cherry Material for roof $120 Rebuild flooring cherry wood Rebuild back dash wood with cherry Misc SS screws/staples/tacks $20 Rewire coil Wire in electric fuel pump Degreaser $25 Clean/pressure wash car and engine Total $8,106 Balance to Go $1,402 Grand total $9,508 Estimated man-hour - so far/to go 100/300 Estimated Car value when done $8,000 Net gain of restoration -$1,508 Value to Mike of restoring Priceless