dave38fastback

Hi There CP !! Gearbox should be very easy, remove floorboards, disconnect driveshaft, speedo, handbrake, gearstick etc, remove the four bolts that hold the gearbox to the bell housing sit inside the car, with legs either side of the gearbox and slide rearward. I have had my gearbox out 3 times in the last 3 months (don't ask !!!) the gearbox should NOT hang up in the clutch area.

I have made the following adaption to make master cylinder filling easier. Replace the fiber washer on the filler plug and also I drilled a hole right through the top, to which I fitted a brass fitting and rubber hose and plum the other end to a remote brake reservior that I fitted to the firewall. Don't forget to block the little breather hole in the top of the plug that is in the master cylinder or your brake fluid to gravity feed down and out through that hole. Now brake top up is easy as lift the side hood, tip in more and go. You can often pull the plastic remote reserviors off wrecked trucks.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: wbower3</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Dave, I still have my 16" wheels with 20 year old Firestone implemant tires on them (and they hold air), but they're 5" wide. Did yours end up 6 & 1/2" wide? They look great. I'm currently using a non-Mopar wheel to be able to use a radial,215x60x16. </div></div> Hi There, I honestly can not remember to orginal rim width, 4 inches I think and now out to 5 1/2 inches. I too had some old bias tyres, but they were hard and had a mind of their own !! The new radials are far better to drive with, but yes you do loose some of the originality of the car.

Hi There I have a brother ('38 Dodge Coupe) who is currently in Reno, but likely to relocate to Eugene, Oregon in the next 2 years. My brother has quite a few contacts and has been involved with these cars for many years. Send me a PM if you want his e-mail I have a '38 Dodge Fastback.

Hi There Knobs...looking for a "wiper" one and if I could find one with "choke" on it I would be happy. I have a manual choke on my car, so don't even know if the "choke" knob was made redundant by the Automatic choke if fitted to some of these. Wheels....widened rims, split them and put another 1 1/2 inches onto the width. Then found a nice set of 16inch radials and she is good to roll. And yes I get to keep the original hubcaps on the car. I have 3 spare wheel rims so can revert to original if I want to.

I ended up with a replica set that are fully vulcanised onto a new running board "bed". This means that when you look at the running board you only see rubber, no metal at all (metal is only visible from underneath). These are not "Dodge" types, but then the body was Plymouth (ex Canada) anyway with a Dodge front clipped on....so the whole car was odd from the day it was made.

Hi CP, trust all is well with you. Good idea, also on the wish list is someone that makes replica knobs for the dash switches, I have most but could use a couple more !! On the "must do" list I recommend that others replace the driveshaft with a new modern one....that takes care of many vibrations that can not be good for the rest of the car !!

My 38 was bit of a mission as front doors were not original. However, here is a few ideas. Remember that they do not have to be perfect like a modern car. The car probably left the factory with doors and other parts a bit gappie. So don't chase the impossible. I decided which gaps were important for looks and which I would allow to be uneven, then concentrate on the gaps you want looking right. Now if door is warped, get it as good as you can, then wrap a block of wood in an old towel, wedge this in the gap between door and car frame and start pushing. Easy at first but I had to brace myself against the wall on one occasion. I also strapped doors hard against the towel and block and left them for several days. I am told panel beaters often do this on chassis straightening jobs, to let the tension ease out of the steel. I spent around 3 hours per door, my back ones are very good, but my front will never be perfect, but they shut and stay shut and do not rattle.

Had a similar problem with my '38, and even harder to find as it is right hand drive. So......I cleaned up the existing as best I could and then fitted/glued a CV boot to the area where the shaft goes through. This filled the gap nicely...however is not authentic.

Hi Tarsha I have a '38 Dodge, which is fairly newly restored and complete. Sills are quite an issue and I ended up buying a set up in the US having them shipped and stitched into the car. I am based in Cambridge, so can help with advice if you want it and are in the area. The rear tail pan is also usually a problem area in these cars.

I have done a similar thing as Elmo, just used a rag to stop the water back flow from the bottom pipe, and had an air gun also feeding into the radiator through the rag. Ran the water and pulsed the compressed air at the same time. It certainly shakes a lot of crud loose, but if your radiator is weak then this method could kill it if you are not careful.

Good on you Dan, you are starting to improvise and just work your way around the problems. That is how it is done on these old cars, they are generally very simple (with a few exceptions) and very robust. Just keep at it you can not be very far off start up now. A few years back I was having engine problems with my 38, a very good and older mechanic said "if you give it fuel and spark at the right time it will go...the engines are that simple". Keep up the posts !!!

Hi Delux. If your fuel line is disconnected from the tank and fuel does not freely run out the outlet no pump will help as you still have a problem. (I assume there is not a goose neck or similar in the thank) I would suggest you drop the tank out, this will take just 10 minutes and give you great access. Onec out the tank can be rolled and tipped until you remove whatever is in there which could be almost like tar. Question to others about the oil pressure issue, should Delux also be checking the oil pressure release valve or is this what you are calling the bypass?

Hi there. There is also an alternative method, a little random but others have done it. Remove the split pin, loosen the axle nut 1/4 turn, replace split pin and if for example doing drivers side take a short drive anticlockwise around the block/parking lot. This is supposed to break them free so that you can return home and pull them by hand. Never done it myself, but if I do I will give it a try. However as I have a 3.23 Ford diff in the rear this method may never be required by me.

Hi Wingwalker. Have you got a workshop manual for your truck? Brakes can be tricky and have to be right for obvious reasons. Roberts Auto Parts may be a good place to start for Master and wheel cylinders. If this is your first time with these brakes then I would suggest you buddy up with a older local mechanic/brake guy (make sure the guy is old, the young guys just don't get this stuff)and see if you can be his unpaid helper whilst he shows you through what needs to be done. This may cost you a few bucks but will save you untold grief. DO NOT scrimp with the brakes, it could kill you.

Hey Dan. All good advice you are getting here. Be patient, you are bringing the car back from the dead so there will be issues. Also try and buy some fuel tank cleaner, you will probably need to drop the tank out which is easy so that you can slosh the stuff around. I put a length of chain in mine and gently rocked it. If you put chain in do not roll the tank as you may end up with the chain tied up inside your tank !! Another reason to drop the tank is that it gives you the chance to replace the rubber pipe between the tank and the filler spout.

Hi What you have is very odd, the tank on my '38 is just that a tank, with no tricky valves or anything. You said that the gas tank looks new/refurbished??. I wonder if something has been done wrong and that is what has brought the car to a standstill. Try this...put the drain plug back in, put the sender back in, leave the fuel line off and again presurise the tank, if not venting then stick the coat hanger inside the tank and see if that opens it. This may not fix any problem but it will tell you exactly where the issue is. Or as a wild card now that you have blown the rubbish out of tank and lines tip in some new fuel and see if the tank delivers it.

Hi There. Sounds like someone has fitted an orphan part to your car. And I can not see how it is an advantage. Suggest you source a distributor better suited to your engine and one with a vacume advance.

Hi There sounds like you have found the needle valve going into your carb. Put it back point first into the carb. To by-pass your faulty fuel pump put a can of gas on the cowl in front of the windscreen and with a flexible fuel resistant hose connect directly into the carb. Allow gravity to feed the carb, and the needle valve should regulate how much enters at any time. Expect a bit of seepage form the carb as old seals have dried out. Follow the wise words about the oil/priming etc. If she fires and revs don't rev it too hard, just let it settle to an idle for a few minutes. Keep us posted this is a great thread you have started !! Rgds Dave

Hi There I am sure there is one here in Cambridge, almost complete and close to being a runner, very nice and with lots of extras. Let me know if you want to be put in contact with the guy. Oddly enough I also have a TJ Richards body badge pinned to the wall of my workshop. Contact me at david.lazarus@convex.co.nz if you want the Royal details.

Shawn, neat car. I also have an unusual model, but like you wanted reliability and relative ease of driving. I agree with others that if brakes are re-furbished and adjusted correctly when you tramp on the brakes the car will stop real quick. Worth a try before shelling out $ for disks. I would absolutely change off the bias tires, when I did the entire personality of my car changed. I pulled the 4.11 diff and put in a 3.23 and can cruise easy at 55mph. I have just purchased some Langdon headers and twin intake manifold to spice up the power. Apart from paint and trim (both non standard) everything I have done can be undone in about 2 days. What I have now is still different from a modern and fun to drive, but some of the now unacceptable traits have been minimised.

Also try bleeding brakes with two people, one at the wheel and one at the pedal, open bleeder nipple and the have someone depress the pedal and hold it down, tighten the bleed nipple and the allow the pedal to return to its up position, repeat this maybe 10 times or so. I have sometimes found this seems to pull the fluid through. Check the lines are not kinked and all connections are tight, also that the flexible hoses are not twisted.

What have you done so far? Bleeding the brakes is very simple....if everything is correctly installed. Given what you found out about the brake shop anything could be going on with this. Tell us what is happening, how does the pedal feel when pumping it down, fluid level dropping in the reservoir? Rgds Laz

Hi Bill. Sorry for delay in reply, have been away for a few weeks. I had standard rims that I think were 3 1/2 inch, and I added 1 1/2 to the width. ALL the extra was added to the outside of the rims to avoid rubbing during turns. This also gave the car a slightly wider stance. Even with the extra width rims and the extra width from the radials the wheels are still clear of the guards. I have now fitted a 3.23 ratio diff and when my speedo registers 47mph I am actually doing 60mph. So the car will run all day at 60mph without the need for earmuffs !! Rgds Dave

Hi There try going to the discussion forum of www.p15d24.com You will find lots of really great ideas for your year of car, however also remember that you will have to include gearbox, diff and rear suspension if you go the V8 way. Check out some of the cool things guys have done to the standard engines as well.