Ian_Greenlaw

Looks great Ron...........come over here and help me will ya !!!

Not as nice as your car I'm afraid ! Don't know about you but god I'm sick of these damn lockdowns. I feel sorry for my wife....she's a Nurse manager at a medical practice....almost doubled her hours with the Covid Vaccine and now the flu clinics... We had this weekend booked to go away to the country........well thats not going to happen ! Ho hum....

Well Matt, I have enjoyed reading you progress but disappointed your finished.....the inspiration has really spurred me on ( I'm a little slower than you ). You have done an amazing job. Well done. I'd like to catch up one day.......... Cheers Ian

Thanks Joe. Given that the door cards are potentially thicker than that used in 1934 maybe a bit of grinding of the back of the card may help ?

I've actually posed this question under Dodge Brothers and was just wanting to see what other members thought. I'm in the process of installing the door handles ( interior ) to my 1934 Dodge. There seems to be different thoughts as to which way the spring goes and if it does, to what extent is passes through the lining board. Just from looking at it I'm assuming the spring ( small end ) sits against the metal of the inner door frame and passes through a hole cut in the lining board. Again I'm assuming the spring rests then against the padding and interior covering material. The complete upholstered door lining card is then installed. This would then produce two bulges in the material around the shaft that the interior handles are installed on. The escutcheon is then placed over the shaft and pushed back to reveal the shaft. The door handle is then installed and the retaining pin put in its place. Once this is done the pressure applied to the escutcheon ( so the handles can be mounted ) is then released thus giving the finished product. The problem is that the little spring when turned around fits exactly into the escutcheon so was wondering if this is a better mounting option ? Also is what I've said above correct or does the the spring pass through the board, padding and lining material and sit inside the Escutcheon plate ? Experience in this area would be appreciated. I've attached some various pics to look at. Cheers Ian

And to top it off I have a large hole on the window winder and a small hole on the door opener......just to confuse me further.

Check out the spring direction.....hmmmmm

Heres an interesting pic...........

Thanks again Kevin. That actually makes it really clear. I went out but the old door cards are gone. What the upholsterer has done is on the card, cut a reallylarge circular hole for the window winder and a tiny hole for the door lock....I can't win :(.....I may have to support the window winder hole somehow. Oh well....keep plodding along.

So Kevin, from what you are saying, The hole really doesn't have to be that big.....only enough to get the window winder and door opener square bit through. So the spring is pushing everything else inwards towards the inside of the car ? I think I'm going to have a sleepless night thinking about this one......It's Matt's fault !

I'll post a photo when I get home if I still have my original panel. I may have given it to the upholesterer. Matts the cause of countless people having countless sleepless nights !.....lol.........I wish I had his stills, time and patience ( don't get a big head Matt ).

Hi Kevin, So the larger end of the spring sits behind the door fabric / leather....i.e. doesn't protrude through the material.....it only goes through the door panel. Hope this is making sense !

Thanks Kevin, Funny I was just thinking to myself ....I wonder if the door card is the same thickness ? Then your info just popped up. I'm sure when I was working on my old Holden the larger part of the spring sat against the door and the smaller part sat inside the Escutcheon. This is so odd.

Thanks for the time taken to answer this, its really appreciated. Something I thought would be a breeze is turning out to be a headache. I just had this sinking feeling that the upholsterer hasn't made the holes to take the springs !....I'll have to check. I think I have an original door panel at home so I'll check that out too. Funny thing is I thought the spring went the other way and the smaller part of the spring went inside the escutcheon...it fits really well ! I'll keep playing.

Thanks guys, much appreciated support there. These little things certainly take a lot of time I must say. Just trying to understand...what benefit does the spring have behind the door card ? I'd have to remove the garnish moulds again so trying to avoid it if I can.

Finally getting back to the Dodge now. Fitted the two rear door garnish moulds in place. Interesting that one side where the screws go has threaded holes and the other side had plain holes. I had to order some Stainless Steel Metal Threads ( Slotted Round Head Countersunk ) and the same with self tapping screws, so now I've got that sorted its on with the door and window winder handles. This is going to sound like a noobie question but which way does the springs behind the escutcheon plate go ?....I'm having a senior moment and for the life of me I'm just not sure. Promise I'll keep going now !

Hi Les, Sorry been off the forum for a while. Too mant things to sort out here...so far this year either family or friends, 6 have passed away now......now I've been through the process myself I'm helping other people with the paperwork. My front shocks were rebuilt when I bought the car so I didn't need to do them. One of the other guys on the forum might chime in and assist with this one.

Absolutely stunning Matt. I need to get my act together. It’s going to be a long year !

Hey Matt, Not sure if this helps but to remove the bunching up my upholsterer applies heat to the leather. He left the seat in the sun and it disappeared. He also used a hair dryer to warm ( not heat ) the material and again this removed the bunching up. looking great.......you certainly have a lot of talent to attempt this.

Oh my god........you’ve certainly copped both end of it haven't you ! Take care mate, I’m thinking of you........your health come first.

What a great tone the car has and looked great. Well done Bud.....absolutely stunning. Now I feel inadequate !.....thanks

Hey thanks Keith. Yeah both rear brakes I've used it and now I'll do the front as well. Both this tool and brake spring tool make a job I was dreading a lot easier to deal with. Cheers Ian

Thanks Matt, Tried to keep it in with the year of the car. Wish I had the drive and experience you have with the cars. I'm aiming at trying to finish mine mid this year but see how we go.

That’s weird.....I work around the corner from them. This is where my tyres are coming from when I’m ready. Ben and the boys will look after you !

Ok, so back on the car now we've got a lot of my mum's estate sorted. I didn't want to pay a solicitor to do the probate so I did it myself....its actually quite easy with step by step instructions on the supreme court website. ( anyone in Oz that has to go through the same process its worth a look ) Soooo....finished readjusting the rear brakes, cleaned up the pistons and bolted everything back on. I used my nifty little brake adjustment tool I got from a guy in the States. Now I have to redo the front brakes and bleed them. Started back on the interior. I recut the patterns myself and gave them to the upholsterer. This is only temporary but the rear garnish molds fit a lot better now the panels have been remade. At lot of adjustments to go, but getting there. I've tried contacting the guy who is redoing the rope at the rear of the front seat as well as the passenger assist straps but can't get hold of him. He has my original chrome plated ends for all these so I'm just hoping he's still there. More progress soon I hope ! Cheers Ian