four cyc. engines

[billstewart]

what was the last year for the db four cyc. engine ?

[beetles]

Hi Bill

1932 D.M.

Some will tell you it was 28 but in 32 D.B. made a budget car and I am pretty sure the model was called a D.M..

I have seen 1 and freind has seen 2 here in Australia.

Cheers

[keiser31]

There's one here in the US, too.

[Guest DP_3Window]

The last true Dodge 4 cylinder engines were produced for the 1928 models.

The 1932 Dodge DM was an export model that was based on the 1932 PB Plymouth.

For the European market the car was a slightly modified PB Plymouth with Dodge hubcaps & nameplates.

As for the dash, instrument panel & rediator shell, .... I don't know as I have never seen a piture of one, .... however the Aussie version was supplied as a chassis.

This "chassis" is essentially a whole PB car sans the body shell, so the familiar PB fenders , lights & bumpers remained.

The body shell was a cut down version of the 1932 DL & it was made by TJ Richards in Adelaide.

I have some body parts from a DM sedan & the panel above the windscreen is a standard DL item with a section removed from the centre. The quality of the hand welding job which must have been done with some very early gas equipment is a sight seldom seen today. It was just about perfect & I could see it clearly only after it was abrasive blasted.

The dash, instrument panel & complete radiator & shell were DL items although the dash must also have been narrowed.

The very earliest 1933 DP bodies that were made by TJ Richards also used this Aussie DM roof panel & I have seen only two in the last 45 years.

I suspect that not more than 50 were ever made like this & some who were involved wth the industry back in the 50's & 60's had never seen any at all.

While the DM engine nuber is actually stamped with the 'DM' prefix the reality is that this willing little powerplant is really a Plymouth unit with a new nameplate that was intended to be sold in markets where the Dodge name was well known & respected & was likely to sell better than some unknown new kid on the block.

It must be remembered that 1932 was the low point of the depression & any sale was a ritical factor in any manufacturers survival, so disguising a Plymouth as a Dodge was simply a sound business strategy.

[billstewart]

Thanks guys, bill