Taylormade Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 (edited) This is the story of Daphne, the Black Daliha, my once and future 1932 Dodge DL sedan. Warning: this is a story of lust, loss of innocence, betrayal and redemption. Read at your own risk. It was 1965. I was a sophomore at Syracuse university. Life was good. Vietnam was just a distant dark cloud on the horizon. I had everything - except a car. I'd just joined Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. All the cool guys in the frat owned cars. I wanted to be a cool guy. I lusted after a set of wheels. But not the wheels the other brothers were driving; not an MGA, or a new Chevy convertible, or a 58 Corvette, no, I lusted after a big, black 1930s sedan. After all, my favorite TV show had been "The Untouchables." Those long, curvey, full-fendered monsters roaring down a rain-slicked street got my blood boiling. Not a coupe, not even a convertible, but a four door sedan - with sidemounts, of course. That was MY idea of a car! I was immediately shunned by most of my fraternity brothers. On a pleasant spring day I was walking to class and happened to pass by the staff parking lot. Sitting there, under a huge oak, was the car of my dreams. Stunned, I pushed my way through the hedge to get a better look at her. It said Dodge Brothers on the winged badge that adorned the chrome radiator shell. The front fenders held magnificent spoked wheels and hulking Allstate tires. The four door body, black as coal, stretched off into the distance. Lust doesn't even describe my feeling at that moment. I had to own that car. I would kill to own that car. Two minor problems: I couldn't find the owner and I was broke. Day after day I passed by my obsession on the way to class. She sat there, taunting me. My attention slipped, my grades suffered. I spent long nights staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Then, one day, I noticed something different about the black beauty. Was it...? Yes, a sign in the window: black with red letters - FOR SALE. And below, in ball point pen - $400. My euphoria was short-lived as I suddenly realized the magnitude of my dilemma. My heart sank. I was doomed. Where was I going to come up with four hundred large? My palms grew damp, my eyesight dimmed. This couldn't be happening. Someone was bound to snap up this gem and she would be gone forever! What to do, what to do? Holding up a convenience store was out of the question. What would my parents say if I got caught? My parents...hmmmm. Yeah, I could call my dad, already strapped with paying my tuition and gearing up for my brother's entrance into the ivy halls of higher academia, and try to extort the $400 from him. My mouth dry, my fingers numb, I dialed sunny California - where my parents had conveniently moved from New York just after I decided on Syracuse as college of choice - and hit up the old man for four hundred clams. Things remained fairly calm until I mentioned the car in question was a Dodge. My father, a GM claims adjuster/manager/executive for 18 years (it would be 40 years before he retired) was appalled. A Chrysler Product! Was I out of my mind? And what year was it? I wasn't sure; late twenties, early thirties? Who cared? It was cool! To this day I don't know why my father said yes to my buying a 33 year old non GM product, but he did. He sent me the money and I was the proud owner of a 1932 Dodge Brothers DL sedan. My loss of innocence came fast and hard. I treated my gem, my overwhelming desire, like dirt. She never let me down, despite my indifference, my abuse, my thoughtlessness. I was remiss in changing the oil, maintaining the fluid levels, washing her, keeping her safe. I drove her in the snow, in the slush, through the brutal upstate New York winters. I piled into a parked car during a blizzard and somehow managed to scrape up enough cash to have the damaged passenger side fender repaired - twenty-five bucks. I owed her that. A fellow Delt backed her out of the driveway - the driveway was our only parking space and musical cars was the game of the day - and he ran into a parked car across the street. The back window was small on these sedans - low visibility. Gone was the tail light and the fender was crumpled. I couldn't raise enough money to fix it, so I slapped on a cheap aftermarket tail light and soldiered on. She always started, always got me to where I was going, but my treatment of her was beyond the pale. Deep in my heart I knew I was the villain a she was the suffering victim. Then, the call from my dad. Oh, the horror, the horror! My brother was in college now, times were tough and he couldn't afford the car insurance anymore. I'd have to sell the Dodge. I begged and pleaded, tried to talk him into putting her into storage. No deal, sell the car. I put an ad in the paper. The guy who sold it to me called. I wanted $400. He said that was too high. No one wanted my car. It wasn't cool. I wasn't cool. Then a fellow Delt, a kindred spirit, Phil Kennedy, found out I was selling the old girl. His sensibilities were apparently as strange and twisted as mine. He wanted to buy the car. He loved the thirties styling. He'd never owned a car. He lusted after my Dodge. Just one problem - he was broke. He nervously called his father, who read him the riot act and then agreed to give Phil the money. The deal was made and the Dodge passed out of my life - I thought forever. Forty-five years passed. I met the girl of my dreams, got married, had a daughter, three grand-kids. I thought of my old Dodge often, wondering whatever had happened to her, figuring she was probably part of a 1986 Subaru or something equally horrifying. In a moment of insanity, I was talked into joining Facebook by my daughter and granddaughters. I began to catch up on old friends. I thought about Phil Kennedy and my old car. Any chance he still had...no, impossible. I finally tracked Phil down and discovered he had bought another 32 Dodge. My old car was sitting in his grandmother's - now his - garage, and had been there since 1970. At that point I had a 1948 Plymouth and a 50 Dodge Wayfarer roadster. Phil and I exchanged amenities and promptly lost track of each other for three years. I came in from the workshop one day after fighting with the rusted out floorboards of the convertible. My wife could see I was miserable. "Do you really care about the convertible?" she asked. Now, I thought the Wayfarer was a neat old car, but I had to admit my heart wasn't really in it. And then it came to me - the car I really wanted to restore, the only car I really wanted, was my old Dodge, my first car. I struggled to find Phil again. Would he still have the car? Would he sell it? Through another Delt brother I found Phil's email and sent him off the message. It was like that spring day in Syracuse all over again. I lusted after my old car and this time, if I was lucky enough to get her back, I would treat her like the lady she always was. Phil's reply was too good to be true. Since he had purchased his all original 32 he had decided he'd never have time to restore "my" old Dodge. He was thinking about selling her, and had actually though of me first - but he figured that since I already had two cars, I wouldn't be interested. I quickly got that idea out of his head! We made a deal and my first car was coming back home after 45 years. Over the last two months I have sold the Plymouth and the Wayfarer. I hated to see them go, but I wanted to devote all my time (and money) to the restoration of the Dodge. Here's the Plymouth heading off to Texas. I hope to have Daphne finished in time for the 100th anniversary of Dodge in 2014 and drive her up to the big show in Auburn Hills. It will be a daunting task, but she deserves it after what I put her through all those years ago. Edited July 7, 2017 by Taylormade (see edit history) 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 What a GREAT story and I wish you all of the luck on your efforts to make it to the Dodge Brothers meet. I am striving to get there, too, but it's looking quite dim at this time. I am glad you got your old car back. I could never stand to think about selling my '31 coupes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 (edited) Last month I traveled from Southern Illinois to Connecticut to get my first look at Daphne after 45 years. Phil Kennedy (the current editor of the Dodge Brothers Club magazine) had sent me pictures, so I was prepared. I didn't think she'd look like she had in 1967, but it was still something of a shock as I still remembered her as she was all those years ago. She'd been sitting up on blocks in the same garage since 1970, most of the time sharing the space with Phil's grandmother's DeSoto Hemi. After Phil sold the DeSoto, Daphne shared the garage with Daisy, Phil's "new" 32 DL. This is what I saw when the garage door first opened. Although I think Phil was a much better caretaker than I was, a few bumps and bruises had appeared over the years. The first was an unpleasant encounter with the back of a truck that left the two front fenders a bit worse for wear. Next up was damage that occured in 1970 when an icy driveway made it impossible to get Daphne in the garage. As she sat in the drive that night, a giant slab of ice slid off the roof and landed square on her roof, leaving a dent, then it bounced off and mangled the cowl and hood. The result, a dent in the roof above the windshield, broken trim piece on the cowl, dented cowl, smashed driver's side hood, flattened headlight and dented radiator shell. The damage to the driver's side rear fender, done when I owned her, was still there. Note the chip off the tail light stalk. Sometime in the early eighties, Phil had attempted to replace the rear inner axle seals. Once he had everything apart, he discovered he couldn't find the correct seals, so the rear end remained disassembled for several decades. Phil and I put things back temporarily so we could transport the car to my place. Phil did most of the work while I took pictures. Then we took her off the blocks and set her on the 45 year old tires - which still hold air. We actually got her started and backed partially out of the garage where she enjoyed sunlight for the first time in nearly half a century. All in all, it was great to see Phil again and catch up. It was also a sobering reminder that I wasn't going to have an easy job with the restoration. Edited July 7, 2017 by Taylormade (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 (edited) You have your work cut out for you, but you know what? You have your car back and can now love it back to sweetness. The top of the '31 DH hood may be the same. I have an extra that you can use. With measurements, we can determine if it will match. The sides of course, will not match since you have the turning latch and I have two latches per side. Edited April 2, 2013 by keiser31 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 (edited) Daphne arrived in central Missouri yesterday, overshooting her eventual home in Illinois in order to get her to the body/sheetmetal shop where her fenders and other assorted damage will be addressed. Passport Transport did a nice job getting her there in one piece. She shared space with a Ferrari, a Tesla, a 427 Corvette and a Porsche. Slumming to say the least. We got her off loaded, onto the trailer and off to the restoration shop. Edited July 7, 2017 by Taylormade (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 (edited) Once we arrived at the shop - too far back in the country for the semi to get to - we backed her into the shop and Ed, the body expert, and I took a close look at the car. Aside from the aforementioned problems a few other areas that will need work reared their ugly heads. Mice had gotten in under the passenger side door sills and had eaten away a lot of the metal. this hole shows the worst of it, but the whole strip from cowl to the fender will need to be replaced. Not the kind of news I wanted to hear. Although the car was high and dry for 45 years, the mouse urine did a number on the metal. I have no clue where this came from. Ed thinks something may have gotten behind the poor undercoating the car received at one point in its life. This is an easy fix. The rear door seems to have been sprung at one time. This will need some sheet metal massaging and hinge work. My wife and I are going back to the shop this weekend to remove the interior and get things ready for the woodgraining and upholstery work. The good news is that all the door handles, knobs, ashtrays and other hard to find items are still there. I am looking for a backseat footrest if anyone has one. Edited July 7, 2017 by Taylormade (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1930 Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Great pictures and nice story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Very cool. Looking forward to your progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_Greenlaw Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Great story and pics. It looks like when you're unloading her that your in the middle of nowhere !It is interesting how things come full circle sometimes.Keep us posted on your progress. I'm at the panel refitting stage and can't wait to get into the garage but family life and work keeps me away.CheersIan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 A fun and interesting read for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 Great story and pics. It looks like when you're unloading her that your in the middle of nowhere !It is interesting how things come full circle sometimes.Keep us posted on your progress. I'm at the panel refitting stage and can't wait to get into the garage but family life and work keeps me away.CheersIanThanks, Ian. I've been reading your restoration thread with interest. I wish I was as far along as you are. Most of the Midwestern U.S. is, indeed, in the middle of nowhere, which is why a lot of us live here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Zetnick Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Great story, photos and descriptions. Glad you got her back again. Looking forward to see photos of her restoration in progress. Have fun. BTW, I didn't realize mouse urine could be such an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Great story, photos and descriptions. Glad you got her back again. Looking forward to see photos of her restoration in progress. Have fun. BTW, I didn't realize mouse urine could be such an issue.That stuff will eat through metal and rot wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 On my way to the body shop tomorrow to take the interior out of the DL. Sometime before I bought the car in 1965, someone started to reupholster the car in black vinyl. They did the front seat, the passenger side door panels and the headliner. Ever seen a black vinyl headliner before? I haven't. I guess something happened and they quit, leaving me with a mish-mash of original cloth and cheap vinyl. It will be interesting to see if LeBaron Bonney or SMS have anything close to the original fabric. It's a tan broadcloth with very small, almost invisible, close spaced ribs. Interestingly, the seats and the door panels have the same fabric - different from many cars of this era I've seen that use a less expensive cloth on the doors.. I'm going to have to rely on Phil Kennedy's photos for the original headliner. The plainer fabric around the rear window and between the doors is still there for a sample and patterns. I'll take some pictures of the process and of what I find lurking below. Also, as soon as the inner window frames have been removed it's time for woodgraining - something I'm really looking forward to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 My 1931 coupe seat cushions have the same mohair material as on the door panels and rear package shelf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 Maybe it was a Dodge thing. My fabric isn't mohair, more of a broadcloth. Phil Kennedy had what appeared to be the same fabric in his original car. By the way, I'll measure the hood when I'm there tomorrow and take a few more pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Maybe it was a Dodge thing. My fabric isn't mohair, more of a broadcloth. Phil Kennedy had what appeared to be the same fabric in his original car. By the way, I'll measure the hood when I'm there tomorrow and take a few more pictures.My other '31 coupe has broadcloth on the seats and door panels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 (edited) I wonder if it was an option? It obviously wasn't a coupe - sedan thing if your one coupe had broadcloth. Edited April 4, 2013 by Taylormade (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I wonder if it was an option? I obviously wasn't a coupe - sedan thing if your one coupe had broadcloth.You were able to order either material according to my build records and master parts book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 Interesting. Does the parts book mention color options, or did you get whatever Dodge Brothers deemed was correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Interesting. Does the parts book mention color options, or did you get whatever Dodge Brothers deemed was correct?There were MANY options and are listed as "(as req.)" which I take to mean "as requested by the owner". There is also leather listed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 (edited) In the middle of the depression I suppose most folks didn't want to spend any extra for unnecessary "frills" that took money out of their pocketbooks. I wonder if you could actually order a red mohair interior, or if their was some book or chart of fabrics you could choose from? I remember when I was restoring my 1929 Plymouth U, I discovered in the saleman's book that you could order the frame and under the fenders painted in the car's body color for five dollars extra. That always seemed very cheap for the amount of labor it would take to pull the car out of the line and do a custom paint job. But, five bucks was a day's pay back then, so maybe it wasn't all that cheap after all. Edited April 4, 2013 by Taylormade (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 The book only lists colors of the trim (olive and slate), but not the seats and panels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 You have some work to do but it still looks like a solid base for a great restoration project. Best of luck getting it all sorted out by 2014! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 You have some work to do but it still looks like a solid base for a great restoration project. Best of luck getting it all sorted out by 2014!Thanks. Yes, she's pretty solid almost all there and my wife and I have a pretty comprehensive plan to get her ready for next year. Of course, when things like mice urine and a rusted body part you never expected somehow show up, things can get off track quickly. I'll keep our progress posted as we wade through this restoration. I've done it before with the 29 Plymouth U and I know what's in store for us, but at least I'll take an all steel body over wood framing any day of the week. It'll be interesting to see what other hidden treasures I find under the upholstery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_Greenlaw Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I'm in the process of looking at material for my car. I found a company in the States that sent me out some samples and I do know they have broadcloth. they are on the Internet.......Veteran Company........veteranco.com and they are based in Los Angeles Ph (323) 937 2233.ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Not many of us get the chance to buy back our first car and I bet you are glad you did. The restoration should be straight forward as most of the nice original features are still there. The body shop should be able to straighten out the damage and the rest should be a rewarding task. When the car is finished you will have the chance to take better care of her the second time around. Being older and wiser you should find a love rekindled and this time I don't think you will take it for granted. I hope you both have a happy future together. Ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 6, 2013 Author Share Posted April 6, 2013 (edited) The Deconstruction Begins I spent a 14 hour day yesterday at Ed’s shop doing what I consider the most unpleasant job in the restoration of a car – taking out the interior. I most cases, I like to tinker with a car when I first buy it; get it running, drive it around the yard, have a little fun. It’s impossible with this restoration as I’m trying to get her ready for the Dodge anniversary meet next summer. I can’t enjoy the usual luxuries of a long, slow-paced rebuild. Not that I’m trying to emulate the reality show BS – this car HAS to be finished in three weeks or it’s the end of the world – but I’m really making an effort to get things done in time, so there isn’t a minute to waste. I drove the two and a half hours to the shop were Ed is graciously allowing me to work on the car whenever I need to. I figured removing the interior would help all concerned as I can get the seats and panels to the upholstery shop to get that process started, and we’ll have a bare, non-flammable canvas to work on when the body work commences. As a caveat, this is the first restoration I’ve been involved with where I am not attempting to do “everything.” I was of the school that if I wasn’t hands on with every aspect of the work, I was cheating. I guess I’m older and wiser now. The metal work on this car is way beyond my pay grade. I’m sure my wife and I could do the upholstery and have it ready in a year or two. But I want to drive and enjoy this car in the years we have left, so I’ve contacted good folks who will do the bodywork, painting and upholstery – and at a reasonable price. I’ll be there at Ed’s shop helping with disassembly and any other way that I can, but he will be doing the real metal work. For my part, I’m doing the frame, suspension and mechanical work. If the motor needs rebuilding, that will go to a pro shop. I still really enjoy working on these cars, but I’ve become a realist in my old age. Anyway, back to removing the interior. I’m still getting past the fact that I haven’t owned this car for 45 years. I know better, but I keep expecting things to be as they were in 1967 when I last drove her. They are definitely not. 40 years in an unheated garage in Connecticut have taken their toll. What’s left of the fabric is so dry rotted it literally comes apart in your hands. The vinyl crumbles at the touch. I could only imagine what critters had left waiting for me under the seats and headliner. The bi-polar nature of the interior still baffles me – half original, half vinyl, as if whoever started the job gave up halfway through. The carpet came out first. There was non-original carpet up front instead of the correct rubber mat. It was hiding under a couple of cheap rubber mats. A plus was the discovery of all the door sill plates under the carpet. The back carpet was non-original black and was good for patterns only. Next, I tackled the seats. Both bottom cushions simply lift out. The front seat is actually adjustable and sits on two slides bolted to the wood floor. Four screws and it came off. This attachment method would definitely not pass a modern safety test! In typical fashion, the upright cushion of the back seat was held on by two bolts at the bottom and hung by two hooks at the top. Everything came out very easily with no broken bolts and little effort. I was happy to find the seat springs in good shape with most of their black paint still shiny and intact. This should help out the upholsterer. With the carpet and seat gone I got my first good look at the floorboards. They were wood from front to back. In the front corner on the driver’s side was a triangular wood piece held on by wood screws. I removed it and found and enclosed space that I believe was the tool storage area. I didn’t know what it was when I first opened it as it contained a mouse nest approximately the size of Connecticut. The stench this unpleasant discovery gave out was overpowering. I quickly donned rubber gloves and a mask, but even after I cleared everything out the smell remained for the rest of the day. With that out of the way I tackled the floorboards. As I attempted to remove them the going got quite a bit rougher. The floorboards are held in place by bolts that pass through holes in the wood and into metal tabs on the car frame. Years of upper New York State snow and salt had done a number on these bolts and most of them refused to budge. Ed came to the rescue with an impact wrench and we broke everything loose in short order. Notice the hole burned in the floorboard above the muffler. We found several sheets of asbestos nailed to the bottom of the board. OSHA alert! With the exception of the front floorboard, all the rest were in pretty good shape. I was surprised how well they had held up. I still plan to replace them all with marine plywood just to have a little peace of mind as they are the only thing between me and the road. Interestingly, the footboards are solid steel, very thick gauge and in two pieces. They had surface rust but it appears they will clean up well. There may be a few pinholes in the lower piece, but nothing that can’t be repaired easily. You can just see them at the top of this shot. Now I had my first look and the frame – greasy, dirty, but everything looked solid. There were no rust holes or any damage. A very beefy frame – new for 1932 – with a large, heavy X-section stared back at me. I found it interesting that there were no metal cross-braces in the body. It was open from the cowl to the back seat pan. Everything in between was simply wooden floorboards. I figured there would be a brace between the door pillars, but the Dodge Brothers engineers apparently believed the frame was more than strong enough to keep everything in place. At this point, I took a lunch break and contemplated my next course of action. Edited July 7, 2017 by Taylormade (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1930 Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 It would be a real shame in my opinion to toss out the original floorboards. They have made it this far with no issues. How do you access the battery, I see no removable window like the earlier cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 There is a photo of the battery area above where it shows him removing the floorboard in the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 I found excellent upholstery material I needed from a company called SMS Fabrics in Oregon. They had perfect matches of broadcloth for my '51 Cadillac. I paid around $60/yd at around 1997. They're still in business and have a website.I've subscribed to your thread. I can't wait to read more about the restoration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 6, 2013 Author Share Posted April 6, 2013 (edited) It would be a real shame in my opinion to toss out the original floorboards. They have made it this far with no issues. How do you access the battery, I see no removable window like the earlier cars.I don't intend to toss them out. They aren't bad, but suffer from a really crummy undercoating job that must have been done in the 50s. Sanding that off may do more damage than I'd like - or the wood can take. Also, the glue in these boards is 80 years old and tends to start failing, leading to delamination of the wood. Just as a safety matter I think replacing them - in exactly the same pattern as the originals - is the way to go. The battery is accessed by a metal cover in the floorboards. Edited August 16, 2013 by Taylormade (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 6, 2013 Author Share Posted April 6, 2013 I found excellent upholstery material I needed from a company called SMS Fabrics in Oregon. They had perfect matches of broadcloth for my '51 Cadillac. I paid around $60/yd at around 1997. They're still in business and have a website.I've subscribed to your thread. I can't wait to read more about the restoration.Thanks for the heads up. I've sent samples to SMS and LeBaron Bonney. I've got my fingers crossed they'll come up with something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1930 Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 (edited) I don't intend to toss them out. They aren't bad, but suffer from a really crummy undercoating job that must have been done in the 50s. Sanding that off may do more damage than I'd like - or the wood can take. Also, the glue in these boards is 80 years old and tends to start failing, leading to delamination of the wood. Just as a safety matter I think replacing them - in exactly the same pattern as the originals - is the way to go. The battery as accessed by a metal cover in the floorboards.Thanks for the info, metal cover, interesting, I will have to go back thru your pictures and see if I can find it. I am admittedly a bit sensitive when discussing florrboards, mine did not come with the original boards and it was only by some stroke of something ( I cannot say luck ) that I found someone hotrodding their car which carried the same bodystyle as my own and I was able to get the boards out of his. If it had not been for his car my own car would still be missing many impossible to find parts.I could be wrong but I would be interested to hear if the original floorboards were held down by a machine threaded screw maybe 2 inches long with a bit of a point on the end. The point was to puncture the original felt lining that was laid down in narrow strips on the underside of your boards to help stop squeaking as the boards shifted slightly under motion. Edited April 6, 2013 by 1930 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 6, 2013 Author Share Posted April 6, 2013 Yes, the bolts had a pointed end. I wondered what that was for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 (edited) Damage found After lunch it was time to examine things and see what needed work. It’s always interesting to me to see what you find under all that old upholstery, dirt and grime. As I said before, I found the door sills under the carpet. They weren’t even screwed down in the back - amazing that they survived. I also found the steel battery cover under the carpet. Phil told me he thought it was gone and I’d have to make a new one. That was a nice surprise. I took off all the door panels and received an unpleasant shock when I looked at the rear passenger door. Ed, my body guy, already expected it had been damaged at one time, possibly by flying open at some point – they don’t call them suicide doors for nothing. This is what I found. Ed and I tried to decide what had caused this. Our two theories were: 1. the door blew open and was damaged and had been repaired by a total hack, or 2. the glass had been broken (maybe by the door blowing open) and the idiot who replaced it didn’t know how to remove it correctly and cut apart the door to get it out. Either way, it’s a mess. That top weld is a lapped weld. Ed will cut it all apart and weld it up correctly, also taking out some metal damage on the door skin around the hinges. Other than that, all the doors looked good – no real rust, the bottoms were solid and everything was where it should be. I then noticed that only one of the four doors still had its stop attached. This was a strap that extended out when the door was opened and stopped it before it bent back on its hinges. Steele Rubber carries them so I’ll be ordering four. Next up was an examination of the lower door sills on the body. As I mentioned in a previous post, the passenger side sill was badly rusted, but the driver side looked okay. WRONG! Some gentle probing with a pick revealed rust in both sills. They will have to be replaced. This was a little discouraging. I knew the fenders would need a lot of work, and the dents from the ice fall would have to be addressed, but I never saw this coming. Ed was very reassuring, telling me that this might have been a problem a few years ago, but since he got his new pullmax machine, he can make a set of dies and reproduce the sill with no problem. We plan to cut the section along the green line from cowl to the rear area… …and then replace the area marked in green. The rust did not develop from a concentration of mouse urine as we thought earlier. It turns out this area was designed as a closed box. Over the years moisture tends to condense in a space like this and slowly rust it out from the inside. Dodge Brothers engineers created a very strong structure, but it’s very design eventually resulted in its failure. All this means that after Ed finishes the fenders and top work, I will remove the fenders slash aprons and running boards at his shop and we will lift the body off the frame and make the repairs. To save time, I’ll take the fenders to the painter so he can get started on them. I removed the cover above the windshield to get a better look at the space behind the big dent in the roof. Two problems – first, another mouse nest. A really nasty one creating even more odor. Second, there is a double wall in the body in this area and it’s spot welded together. This means that Ed will have to carefully cut a section of the inner wall away, make the repairs and then weld the section back together. Like I said, the metal work on this car is way above my pay grade. The rearview mirror is not original, the support looks correct, but someone grafted a modern mirror onto it. If anyone has an original mirror, let me know. Taking down the black vinyl headliner – I still can’t figure out who had that bright idea – revealed still another massive mouse nest infestation. It was raining you know what. Boy was I glad when that was done! All the wood looks good, so the top replacement should go smoothly. Notice there is no padding left - the mice used all of it for thier nests. With everything bagged, photographed and labeled, I packed it all into the SUV and headed home. Next trip will be to retrieve the gas tank, free up the rusted bolts on the running boards – which will have to be replaced – and take off the rear luggage carrier so I can get it to the painter. Edited July 7, 2017 by Taylormade (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Very, very neat to have your first car back! One lets these things like first cars go and you never see them again! I'll be following your progress with interest. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 . . . The rearview mirror is not original, the support looks correct, but someone grafted a modern mirror onto it. If anyone has an original mirror, let me know. . .Years ago I got a reproduction mirror from N/C Industries in Sayre, PA for my '33 Plymouth. They mostly do windshield frames but they also carry 33 and 34 Plymouth and Dodge reproduction parts. If the '32 Dodge mirror is the same or similar to the '33 and/or '34 one you might want to check with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1930 Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 If its the same as 29/30 I have some spares as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 (edited) Here are a couple of shots of my mirror. it appears to have the original base with a more modern mirrior grafted on. As far as the wood floorboards are concerned, these photos should illustrate the problem. Moisture has started to delaminate the wood layers. They are good for patterns, but not really safe to use. The two back boards might be saveable, but I'm afraid sanding off the undercoating would damage them. Notice the undercoat on the bottom of this board. It has soaked deep into the exposed layer of wood and would be almost impossible to remove with out tearing it up. The hole burned through it doesn't help, either. This is the battery cover. I have no clue if it is original. Someone drilled a new set of screw holes in it at one time. Edited July 7, 2017 by Taylormade (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now