[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

Getting there with the radiator surround. I’ll be the first to admit it is a bit of a struggle with what I’ve got. But it’s almost got the first coat of nickel on it. 
radiator before plating finished with scotch brite. 
plating it in nickel I can only do a side at a time. The lines polish out ok were it joins. I have found lowering the voltage to 2.0v has helped getting a more even finish. 
 

I will be picking the dodge up tomorrow so will have some pics of it almost finished. 

[1934 Dodge Full Body Off Restoration]

Congratulations on becoming a grandfather for the first time. 
The car is looking just amazing. That was a nice fix on the radiator. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

 Started getting the tanks ready today for plating the radiator surround. 
I’ve put another row of anodes into the bottom of the tanks to try and get some better coverage on the surface facing downward in the tank. Hopefully this works out ok. We will know tomorrow as we have a 36 degree day here so a good day for plating in the heat. Nickle anodes in the tank. Copper anode tank. I originally made these tanks for my roadster bumper bars. 
washing and acid tanks. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

2 minutes ago, nat said:

     I hope they appreciate what they have and what you've done.

     I challenge anyone and everyone to to prove they have a better car than that you have built.  

     Your work is the most thorough, systematic, complete and speedy of any I've ever seen.  The finished product that you've, (mostly), done by yourself sets you well apart from most everyone else.  

     Half of knowing something is knowing that you don't have the necessary skill or kit.  

     What few things you have sub contracted to experts in those fields is testament to your goal of perfection.

     Congratulations.  Nice work in every detail.

Thanks Nat I appreciate your comments. 
Ben and his family absolutely love this old car it’s been part of their family for 100years which in itself is pretty amazing. 
They are all looking forward to seeing it finished and have all been following the whole thing closely so their appreciation is 100% felt in every way. 
When you think about growing up and getting old having an old car in the background through 4 generations it would just be so much part of your family. It’s crazy how attached you can become to a car. Being able to do this restoration for Ben’s family has been pretty amazing, giving them back the car as good as new to go through another few generations is quite a privilege. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

4 hours ago, nearchoclatetown said:

Will you be doing a shake down run before you give it back? What will the owner be doing with it, tours or shows? I hope it's more then an ice cream car. You have a lot of effort in this one, you should be proud.

Thanks Doug, I’ll be giving it a few runs to make sure everything is working and running well. Ben’s family has quite a few plans for her straight away, It’s his daughter’s wedding at the end of this month. After the Wedding he’s taking it down to his mums place and the whole family is going to have a photo done with the car. He said the car is the talk of the family so it will be well cared for and used for sure. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

I heard from the upholsterer today and he should have it all done by next Wednesday or Thursday. He’s finished the interior and seats and is doing the hood / Top now. Can’t wait to see it done. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

6 hours ago, nat said:

      Vinyl is final but looks out of place if it's glossy.  The remains of my two leather back rests must have been things of beauty when new.   The door and side panels look like they are some sort of, (black), impregnated canvas which I would choose over anything glossy.

     My car is a ratty "survivor" but I don't loose any sleep when the grands dump an ice cream on the back seat.

 

     So........  In addition to making the spoke copy lathe, (and other wheel jigs And fixtures), this guy made the tanks and power supply for electroplating?

     Woodwork, metal work painting and plating.  Damn few are so capable.

The upholster sent the vinyl back because of that and got some that looks almost identical in colour and sheen. 
 

I will take some pictures of the tanks with the new anode set up once I have them done for you. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

2 hours ago, nearchoclatetown said:

Matt, how's the radiators shell coming? I would think that is a real challenge as thin as it is to make perfect for plating. 

I haven’t started on it yet Doug I’m going to just rearrange the anodes in the tanks a little bit to see if that helps get better coverage. It’s all ready to go though, I’ve got it wrapped in plastic to keep it in perfect condition. I’ll definitely keep you updated on the progress. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

51 minutes ago, nat said:

     What upholstery material are you using?

Tan leather for the seats and a door trims, A matching vinyl for all the other bits and pieces. Hartz hood material for the top in a beige colour. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

7 hours ago, nat said:

Five, six, who's counting?

Thanks Nat appreciate it very much. Hopefully one day down the track some young fella will fall in love with making wooden wheels and I can pass it all on. The copy lathe definitely makes light work of making the spokes. 4 at a time with the pattern in the middle. 😂👍

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

Without this forum and help from you guys on here there is some things that would be hard to find out. A little bit of help and different comments on things goes a long way to helping out. So thank you to everyone that followed the restoration and put there 2 cents in. 👍👍I do really appreciate it. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

3 hours ago, MikeC5 said:

I like the varnished top bows.  Do you plan to leave them uncovered?

Just the centre up to the curves will be covered I think Mike. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

The old girl is off to Grant White upholstery tomorrow for the interior and Top. Ben decided to go with a dark Tan interior and mid tan top. I think it should look great all done. 
steering wheel is finished, it got about 7 coats of clear. 
Hood bows are also fixed in. They are definitely a time consuming job getting the tapered end to fit in correctly. 
I got the side curtain frames made out of some 16x3mm flat , I used 5/16 stainless steel pins so the don’t rust  She got a good hand wash to get all the work shop dust of it before going to grant’s. 
Loaded on the trailer ready for it’s bit over an hour’s drive to grants. 
Onto the radiator surround now while it’s away. 

[S.A. Cheney]

If it’s the same business it’s still going today Doug , Now known as Paterson Cheney. 
They have Isuzu, Toyota, Mercedes and probably other dealerships here in Melbourne. I think they started in Port Melbourne. 

[Australia 🇦🇺 Day at Vintage Drivers Club.]

41 minutes ago, Minibago said:

The perception (misconception) of the danger of losing your life in Australia due to the prolific, deadly wildlife population is a myth.

 

Please stop perpetuating the Myth.

It’s quite surprising what the deaths are caused by I will admit. Interesting hey. 

[Australia 🇦🇺 Day at Vintage Drivers Club.]

3 minutes ago, dodge28 said:

Mattml430, Ron Lawson is my close mate . He is in Stake Hill, Western Australia. A real live wire. 

Yes mate Ronny is a great fella he sent me these pics of Busselton yesterday. A BBQ chair bit Ron on the ass the other day and layed him out flat. 😂

[Australia 🇦🇺 Day at Vintage Drivers Club.]

I don’t think Doug was saying so much about them killing you but more biting and stinging you. We have plenty of them here , I had a red belly black snake going across my driveway yesterday and my stupid dog was trying to sniff it so I had to try run both of them over so the dog would run the other way. Don’t know where the snake went I couldn’t find it. Probably up under the truck somewhere now. 😬🫣

[Australia 🇦🇺 Day at Vintage Drivers Club.]

4 hours ago, nearchoclatetown said:

Matt, it's refreshing to see a bunch of old cars that isn't 80% Fords, like here in the US.  I hope you had a good time. I had to lookup what Australia AU day was, kind of like our July 4th. Looked like a bunch of protests took place. Too bad it  is spoiled by a bunch of libs with nothing better to do. I think you should all be proud of your country, even if you have lots of animals that can eat you, or sting you. 

Don’t get me started Doug. I think it’s disgusting how people aren’t proud of the country they were bought up and live in. 
Governments are listening to wack jobs and not real people anymore. Australia is still one of the best places in the world to live I think. 

[Australia 🇦🇺 Day at Vintage Drivers Club.]

We had a great turn out at our club today for Australia Day. 
We cooked a big old BBQ for everyone it was pretty good. 
There was a lot of cars there today. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

11 minutes ago, Minibago said:

We used the range of Gee Jay kits in the Airforce back in the 1980’s the empty tins are now advertised on ebay as collectable and priced more expensive than when they were full.

I have quite a few Gee Jay tins amongst them all. Some are in perfect condition too. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

Just now, Minibago said:

Sorry Matt, not sure when it happened but this address now houses 

Discount Party Imports.

McMaster it will have to be.

 

Yeah I wasn’t sure weather they still existed. The box I have is probably pretty old. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

Well the old dodge made it out of the shed today under its own steam. Took it for a quick drive and just needed to adjust the brakes a little. Took it for another drive and she runs and drives just beautiful it surprised the shit out of me how well it went and sat on the road. 
Few small jobs to do still and it’s off to the upholsterer on Tuesday for the seats and top. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

2 minutes ago, AussieBuick said:

Thanks Matt for the detail on the steering wheel construction, it is quite impressive in terms of quality and speed. A further question on linkages , is there an Australian supplier of the Bent-Swivel Ball Joints ?? My best efforts have located them at McMaster-Carr in the US.. 

Regards  Norm

I have some of all the parts I bought of Bill Eldridge. It’s in a GJworks grab kit. I don’t know how old it is but has come in very handy. I’ve never been able to find them either. 
The address is on the picture, maybe try calling them. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

I will be fitting all the new linkages that I made today into it tomorrow so once the wheel and steering column is in I can then take  it for a test drive. I get great use out of my dad’s old P&N tap and die sets. These things are probably 20 years older than me and still cut perfectly. 
all the new linkages made up from the old ones. I’ve gone up a size so if there’s any play in the holes I can drill them out to the next size up. 

[25 Dodge tourer restoration]

The steering wheel is all together and ready for painting. 
centre spokes all polished up ready to be fitted. I use hot melt glue to stick it on my wheel facing machine so I can get it perfectly round and flat. Machining the inside and outside edges. 
Trueing up the face to be clamped together. 
One half all trued up ready for the end of the spoke to be cut in. 
each half has the spoke end housed out with the joins 60 degrees apart. 
spoke Locke in once both halves are joined together. All glued up with epoxy. 
Out of the clamps after about 6 hours and I can clean up the edges and rout a rounded edge on them. 
I stick it in the lathe  to speed thing up a little and it gets it sanded nice and even. it gets glue back onto the wheel table and I router cut some finger grooves into the back of it. Finished sanded with 320 grit and ready for staining. ready for a coat of clear. After the first coat I’ll remove the tape off the wheel centre and give it a quick polish up, and then clear coat the whole lot so it will always look like new.