TonyAus

Yes - me for one. Tony

And do you have a vacuum leak around the top gaskets?

Mike I am not sure what those holes in the rear crossmember are for but they are certainly not for a rear exhaust bracket - too close to the centre of the vehicle. There may be three holes in a triangular pattern between the the punched holes in the crossmember just aft of where you have the new bracket in picture two. A forged hanger would have been riveted here. In any event, to fit the later type hanger you will need to drill two holes in the lip at the front of the crossmember. Put these to the right of the rivet head - the pipe should pass under the wider section between punched holes four and five in your number two photo.

The bump stops you need are available from Spectrum Rubber here in Australia (Spectrum Rubber) - product number 270.008. They are made fom an original sample I sent them many years ago. I have a set on my 1925 roadster.

Myers have reproduction tail light glasses. Headlight glasses come up regularly on Ebay.

Don't be too concerned about diff leaks - they all do. There are holes in the body to lubricate the ends of the brake rods and you will always get a few spots of oil on the floor. However, leaks from the front and rear gaskets should be attended to.

Bill The oil pressure will only drop back when the engine is hot. If not, make sure that your relief valve is OK - the large end of the spring should fit over the ball. Oil pressure can also be reduced by fitting a thicker gasket to the oil pump. High oil pressure should not hurt the engine but could increase leaks and blow oil out the breather -ask me how I know!

The correct cable has a knob with a series of concentric grooves on the shank. A sprung ball engages in these grooves to hold the mixture needle in the desired position. Mike, I think you need the cable retaining assembly which bolts up behind the dash. Surely they cannot be too hard to find - someone out there must have one. Can anyone help?

The emergency brake should operate the inside shoe.

I think the three arm fixing is later than 1925. Yours is likely to have a cup soldered to the badge which, as you say, is an interference fit in the hole. Removal procedure is the same - carefully tap out from the back with a suitably soft drift.

Bernie If you want opinions on this subject I can add my two cents worth. Automotive development over the years seems to have followed market demand rather than as a result of innovation for its own sake. It also seems to have moved in a number of distinct steps. Historian James Flink has identified 1906 as the time when the automobile reached technical maturity, that is, it became a practical and reliable means of transport. One could argue that the majority cars made after that time followed a formula worked within market demands - poor roads meant relatively low speeds and motoring was only for a small minority of the population. While the ever lower pricing of the Model T Ford tended to expand the market, the design of that machine remained as one aimed at poor on non-existant road conditions. One could further argue that World War I and the economic downturns which followed it only tended to perpetuate the general trend of automotive development. It was probably only from about 1924/5 that improved roads and a nearly saturated market meant that greater technical development was required to differentiate product in the mass market. This took a number of courses - the performance-related developments to which you refer, functional developments such as mass produced closed bodies and esthetics - the styling and colour aspects exploited by the major players such as General Motors. Within this environment the Model T died a natural death. I am sure that I will be beaten to death by other members who can raise individual examples which go against these trends. However, I would stress that my observations are of general trends only. The automotive market was, is and always will be diverse in its developments and influences. Bernie, as you rightly observe, your Packard was not immune to the trends of the 1920s and it is those trends which, in my humble opinion, make the decade one of great automotive interest. Now, get back to restoring that Packard! Tony

The pump is sealed with graphite impregnated string. The string is wound onto the shaft and held in place by glands which are secured by left and right handed nuts. The string is available from Meyers, Romar or engineering suppliers sold as steam packing. You need the stuff which is about the same size as domestic twine. There is a fair chance that your water pump shaft is worn or scaled and will chew up any new packing. The ultimate cure is a new shaft - again talk to Meyers or Romar.

Instal the battery negative to ground. Flash short across the two large terminals on the starter switch and the polarity will be reversed. If your ammeter reads backwards, short the output terminal to ground with a screwdriver or similar while the engine is running. If the battery is not charging I would suspect the cut out in the starter switch. It may not be closing properly or the contacts are burnt. The starter generator will automatically change its polarity according to the battery connection. However, in the process, the cut out contacts may be burnt. This is why you need to short across the starter terminals - the resultant spectacular flash only slightly burns the terminal ends rather that ocurring at the cut out. I suspect that the previous polarity reversal may have burnt your cut out contacts. Hope this helps

Not sure about the earlier Dodges but my 1925 has aluminium rivets on the top sections which provide rests for the corresponding section when the hood is opened.

And I bet the brass plate on the dash says Standardised Motors (NSW Dodge distributors).

This looks remarkably like a 129 series, given the four wheel brakes. It would have been built between october 11 1927 and July 27 1928. Serial numbers are between A-1,000,000 and A- 1.019,644. Number is on the RHS of chassis near rear front sping bracket.

To pull the brake cross rods you will need to first remove the remove the brake levers which are pinned to the rods - note well where each came from and the direction they lean. From memory, the backing plates are rivetted to the axle assembly and would best be straightened in situ. The pillow blocks are in halves around the axle, held together by screws which cannot be accessed without removing the springs.

The timing marks on your flywheel should be visible through the hole in the bellhousing. Turn until "C 1&4" appears then another eight degrees until "I" - that is your full retarded ignition point for no 1 cylinder. If you do not have the hole, ascertain TDC on no 1 cylinder by holding your thumb over the spark plug hole. The eight degree point past there is when no 4 exhuast valve is just closing. In any event, due to the two bolt connection for the distributor you can only be 180 degrees out with the timing. If the engine will not start, turn the coupling through 180 degrees.

Sooner or later you will need to remove the apron - for example, to pull the engine. It will be a lot easier if the fender does not have to come off with it.

For what it is worth, I use Penrite Transoil 250 in the transmission and diff of my 1925 DB. The specifications indicate that it has viscosity equal to 600W steam cylinder oil (ie molasses in midwinter)! It seems to minimise the usual leaks and makes shifting relatively easy. However, given the properties of the proverbial molasses I have learned not to leave the car in gear during cold weather - extraction can prove difficult.

Mike I can send you a copy at cost - $A6 plus postage. Tony

Problem easily solved! The key blank you require is a YA3. There is a number on the bottom of the lock barrel (mine is DB253) which may assist your locksmith in cutting a replacement key. An original key is marked Yale "security" which may give him a clue as to the series for code purposes. Otherwise, the locksmith can pick the lock and reconfigure the tumblers to suit a selected key profile. If needed, I can send you a copy of my key and you can work from there (providing you don't intend to swipe my prized 1925 roadster !!

Nothing to worry about. When you are in top gear the drive goes straight through the main shaft and the layshaft is disengaged. Moving to neutral involves disengagement of the front sliding gear with the main shaft and its engagement with the front gear on the layshaft. If you are moving at the time there is usually a snick as the sliding gear hits the stationary layshaft gear. Moral: wait until nearly stopped before selecting neutral. BTW, it is this connection with the layshaft which causes the gearbox to howl in neutral - disengage the clutch to hear the difference.

Yes, the starter remains live. The ignition switch just isolates the coil. The starter switch contains a cutout which protects the battery from drainback when the generator is not charging. The main starter switch contacts isolate the starter from the battery. Just be careful wher you put your feet!

Are you talking about he brake rods which go across the back axle or those which connect the foot pedal and emergency brake to same? If the latter, there are four in the set. The longest goes from the brake pedal to the left hand intermediate hanger located on the chassis crossmember. The next longest goes from the emergency brake to the right hand intermediate hanger (assuming of course that your car is left hand drive). The footbrake connection goes from the left hand intermediate hanger to the crossbar which connects via curved upright levers to the front cross shafts. The emergency brake does the same to the rear cross shafts. The emergency brake crossbar the longer of the two and has cranked ends. If you are talking about the cross shafts, these are substantially different to each other. The foot brake shafts have levers at both ends whereas the emergency brake shafts have cams at one end to expand the internal shoe. To distinguish left from right, the inner upright levers should curve to the front. However, when setting up the brakes it is imperative that the levers lean to the rear so that they do not pull over centre. The best available view of all this is the chassis lubrication chart which should fold out from the rear of the Book of Instruction. Sadly, most of these are missing from available copies.