bobs1916

Mark I suggest you get ALL the available manuals for your car.This includes but not limited to BOOK OF INFORMATION (find the edition published around the time that your car was built) MECHANICS MANUAL available from several DB resellers. There are also publications about North East electrical system, Stewart Vaccuum tanks , and several others which escape me for now.....THESE ARE MUST HAVES FOR DB OWNERS . READ THEM STUDY THEM AND THE CAR'S VARIOUS SYSTEMS WILL QUICKLY BECOME SECOND NATURE TO YOU....most important HAVE FUN!!! And of course come back to this great forum to ask any and all (including dumb) questions as we ALL have done at one time or another.. bob ........

hello I am in the process of restoring a 16 DB touring car I have the top bows but they are warped and before putting on a new top i plan to have a set made. Romar has told me that he has a source to get new bows made for early cars and i plan on sending him the bows to get them made .Perhaps you could get a set as well. He quoted me $240 for the 4 bows. I expect to send these to him in 1-2 weeks . The bows are all the same general size but are rounded at different edges so as to prvent chafing of the fabric. All new bows are supplied unfinshed as to the length of the return on the sides as well as not shaped to insert into the top sockets nor do they have the rounded edges I described. If you keep in touch with me I will let you know the status of shipping to him.............If you simply want a general measurement I could do that but you wont have the details of how each bow is finished. I hope that this was not a ramble!!

al a final look at the car as it was rolled out of the barn in Wisconsin 3 1/2 years ago

Al one more thing as I wait to get the car over to the upholterer to complete the seat backs I used old army blankets to cover the original fron seat . We used to vehicle last week in a local pre-St Patty's day parade honoring a famous Irish unit in ww1 Heres a picture of that plus some of the guys!!!

Hi AL yes thats a fair request!!! As I have mentioned on previous posts the car a June 1916 build date was found in a Barn in Wisconsin where it had sat for 50 years. I wanted to restore a 16 17 or 18 so as to replicate a military Dodge of that era. The 1916 came along and I felt that I would have the model that was used by General Pershing as he persued Pancho Villa along the mexican border in 1916 and 17. Needing a full rsstoration I opted to paint it in US Army drab of that era .I was fully aware that the first Army Dodges were factory black in color. Using samples from my collection of ww1 artifacts I had the correct shade of brownish green made up for me by a local auto parts deal It is a PPG paint I plan to use the car for ww1 living history events . I also own a 1943 Dodge 3/4 ton command car from ww2

I will be trilering my 1916 touring car to the upholstery shop and I wondered what advice /experiences anybody could share. I have trailered many cars but none as old as the '16. I mostly am concerned with the front end. Do the front wheels need to be strapped along with the front avle assembly ? It looks like the front axle is not the beefiest place to strap a car Thanks as always folks.

When I got my 1916 DB there was a sunvisor installed It appears to be aluminum and brackets attatch to the windshield stantions. My question is WHEN did these first appear ?? I didn't think that they were from the factory in 1916

hello guys the area code is 530 I spoke with John and plan to send the sockets to him for repair. 2-3 month wait. ANY BODY HAVE SOURCE FOR NEW BOWS ON EAST COAST????

I need the front bow for a 1916 touring car Mine is warped so that the brackets do not line up with the windshield stantions Does any body have a front bow for short wheelbase car/ OR a recommendation for where to get a replacement bow fabricated . Thanks guys

Jack reached Mr Ripley todsy he is booked up for about a year or more ............Must be good!!! thanks again bob

Jack I tried that number it is a FAX machine Is there another number??? or is that his Fax bob

thanks Jack Thats one I shall contact ANY MORE OUT THERE GUYS?????

Can anyone recommend an upholstery shop or individual for the seats door panels and top on my 16 touring . I live in CT so closer the better .Certainly I can travel several hours for a quality job at a rasonable cost . Does any one have any panels looking for a door??? Thank you

Does anyone have a set of rear hubs for Budd disc wheel for the early free floating rear axle??? Thank you

thanks I welcome any other input that might be out there

Gentlemen can anyone verify or dispute whether Dodge Cars used in France during WW 1 were ever fitted with Michelin Budd disc wheels. All the photos I've seen show wooden wheels but research about General Pershing tells that his and perhaps other vehicles used in the field were retrofitted with disc wheels. It appears that the wooden wheels did not hold up to shell craters at the front and were prone to breaking up.. If someone has a good picture of the "ww1 Dodge Army car"(with disc wheels) as Dodge liked to refer to in their advertising I would like to see it . I look foward to your comments thanks

roger thanks for trying on the factory pictures but they did not come up Can you try sending to my email bob487thbg@aol.com thanks for the effort sincerely bob

JACK Do I understand that there should be carpet on the fromt of the REAR seat as well ??? Or just on the back of the front seat Also can you verify that 1916 and 1917 are the same thanks..bob

I am up to the interior on my 1916. Can someone describe the rear carpet style please.Also how was it attatched to the floor boards (tacked or snapped or ??) Also the lower kick panel in the back of the front seat by the rear passenger's feet............was that the same carpet as on the floor???? Finally does anybody have a small sample of this material kicking around after their restoration that I could use so that I could get a close match . As always thanks for the help.

hi I have a 1915 body available needs work(seat frames are gone) but genaerally intact outer skin. I am in CT and if you can use plus it will be cheap bob

yes you guys who thought valve seats are the problem ARE RIGHT !!! Lapping in new valves with old seats won't work even though they appeared and felt tight. .SO now we will have to get the correct tool and grind in new seats. Any suggestions welcome

RAH I would appreciate if you could send me the info on having new bows made from old ones as a pattern I need one or two for my 16 touring car thanks bob bob487thbg@aol.com

Jan I picture that exactly Great idea!!!!! Well head came back an was not warped and the shop merely freshed up the underside SO repainted it and will try again tomorrow. By the way do you all agree on 55 lbs torque on the head bolts???IF PROBLEM CONTINUE I WILL RECHECK THE VALVE SEATS

hello This is not a newly rebuilt engine OLD OLD OLD original. The head was removed with difficulty because of rusting around the studs It took plenty of penetrating oil and very thin tools not screw drivers or chisels to free up and remove the head . Yes the old seats were used but they really cleaned up quite well when the valves were ground and excellent fit was accomplished . Well thats my situation and I welcome any suggestions or advice

Well I sent the head out to be machined to be sure that it was not altered when I removed it It took a good bit of prying to get it off!! We used new valves and valve guides and lapped them in the old way with grinding compound and a suction types valve spinner! Tonight removed all valves and found a good amount of carbon had not been removed from the intakes and perhaps some got under the valves or valve and did not allow a good seat . I also checked the offending cylinder with brake cleaner to see if the rings were tight and there was no seepage of the very thin cleaner past the rings so Its not the cylinder. The nuts are NOT acorn type so they should seat as far as needed. I am leaning towards and hoping that the carbon situation and the head needing milling is the issue. Any one have a problem with the composition gasket as opposed to copper crush??? Thanks for all the feedback.