The Ressurection of Daphne - a 1932 DL

[Spinneyhill]

Impact setting on cordless drill? or even cordless impact driver?

[Spinneyhill]

Impact setting on cordless drill? or even cordless impact driver?

[jpage]

The screws look to be 12/24 or 1/4 in. if you should have to drill them out, I would suggest using a couple of left handed drill bits to help back out the screw body. If done carefully, you might be able to save the captive nut. We don't know if the nuts are regular or tube type, but if you would have to drill out the retainer, they do make what is called a "nutsert". If you are not familiar with them, they work similar to a pop rivet. They are aluminum tube type nut that screw onto a mandrel which then is pulled and crimped tight like a pop rivet. They are very handy for that kid of blind repair but the downside is that you'll have to buy a kit which includes a crimping tool and being a specialty, can be expensive and usually can only be found a good industrial stores or good body supply stores. It's always something with these cars! Good luck with it.

[Taylormade]

There is no captive nut, the plate is about 1/8 steel that has threaded holes.  The screws just screw into the plate itself.  You can see some of this through holes on the inside of the car above the windshield opening.  I'll try to get some shots of what I'm talking about.  It's a heck of a lot easier if you can see it rather than trying to understand my convoluted descriptions.

[30dodge35]

my 30 dA has the hinge

i had to grind off heads 

then carfully drill screws 

some i had to tap to 12-24 in the plate on car

the hinge on my windshield was spot welded 

also i have a rubber seal between hinge and car

got it from steele

it prevent water from getting push up in car when running down road 

[Taylormade]

Is that the bottom of the visor I'm seeing in the first shot?  And what is the cylinder through the top of the frame.  Your photos and advice are greatly appreciated.  Looks like I'll be going through what you did.  Thanks 30dodge35 and everyone.

[30dodge35]

yes that is the visor

the cylinder is mount for windshield wiper

it is mounted on windshield frame

[Johnthistle]

On my '31 DH the continuous windshield hinge is just suspended from the hinge bracket screwed to the heavy side-to-side metal strip without any end posts or brackets. The threads for the screws are tapped directly into the metal strip that runs clear across the front; there are no nuts. 

[RickBrinker]

When do we get to hear it run ?

[keiser31]

On 10/28/2017 at 1:41 PM, Johnthistle said:

On my '31 DH the continuous windshield hinge is just suspended from the hinge bracket screwed to the heavy side-to-side metal strip without any end posts or brackets. The threads for the screws are tapped directly into the metal strip that runs clear across the front; there are no nuts. 

Yes, mine is the same....

[Taylormade]

5 hours ago, RickBrinker said:

When do we get to hear it run ?

 

I guess I'll have to give the same answer I've been giving for the last eight months - SOON!

[Taylormade]

One of the things I love about restoring a car is the weird and wonderful things you discover as you go through the process and the number of wonderful people that will help you out at every turn..  I've posted on this particular item in the past, but now here is the whole story.

 

Back during disassembly, I discovered this strange bracket on the frame.  I wasn't sure what it was for.

 

 

 

So, I contacted my old friend Phil Kennedy, who has a very original 32 DL, and he crawled under his car to check.  Well, he had the same bracket, not attached to anything.  We both scratched our heads and pondered the mysteries of the universe.

 

Then 34dodger came to the rescue and posted a shot of the bracket with all the bells and whistles that were supposed to be attached.  it was an exhaust bracket.  Close proximity to the exhaust pipe probably should have given me the clue.

 

 

So, I was missing the piece that went from the bracket to the exhaust pipe clamp.  So was Phil.

 

What was left of my bracket was in bad shape.  The rubber had gone bad and separated from the metal part of the piece.

 

 

 

 

At this point I thought the missing bolts that attached this part to the missing extension were embedded in the rubber and had fallen out.  i was amazed that the rubber had remained with the steel backing as it literally fell out when I took the bracket off the frame.  Now I had the old familiar problem - could I somehow restore this mess or was I going to have to give in and use a standard exhaust hanger.  After all, this was under the car and who was going to see it?  Well, I couldn't bring myself to take the easy way out.  I was determined to fix the problem correctly, fool that I am.

 

First problem - the missing extension.  I posted wanted ads and contacted other DL owners to no avail.  It's obvious that once the rubber crumbled and separated from the steel backing, the next new exhaust system installed would lead to the tossing of the bracket.  it undoubtedly came off when the old exhaust was pulled off and discarded.  Phil's and my car were sterling examples, and both had makeshift hangers installed on aftermarket exhaust systems.  Since the bracket attaches to the back of the muffler, a new muffler probably meant the end of the original bracket.

 

Then another site member came to the rescue.  1935EB saw my posting on the problem and sent me very detailed drawings of his bracket.  I took the drawings to my fabricator Ed Thomas of Thomas Restorations and he made me a new bracket from scratch.

 

 

Now I'm getting someplace.  34dodger also told me he had his rubber bracket re-vulcanized by Then And Now Automotive.  This was great news as they had done a very nice job on my Floating Power motor and transmission mounts.  i contacted them and they said they could do it, but would have to make a mold and that might take several months.  This was puzzling and I told them they had already done one of these and had to have the correct molds.  They worked with me, and once 34dodger sent me a copy of his old invoice with the part number, they found the molds.  Now, I figured I was all set.  But then 34dodger sent me a nice drawing of his bracket and I realized I was missing another piece!

 

 

I had the outer metal piece, but now I discovered there was an inner metal piece that the bracket bolts were attached too.  I had assumed, wrongly as usual, that the bolts were embedded in the rubber.  Now I had to find this piece!  I contacted Then And Now and explained the problem.  Mike, the guy who does the molding, listened patiently to my whining and told me to wait a minute while he when out back to see if they had any spare parts.  A few minutes later he was back and said, "Yeah, we have a bunch of spares back there, no problem."  The final problem solved.  Friday I received my refurbished mount with the original back piece and the spare front piece, and it looks great.

 

 

And when I checked the fit of the bracket Ed made - it was perfect.  The accurate drawings and Ed's craftsmanship had come together and saved the day.

 

 

So, a long, torturous journey to get one lousy exhaust bracket correct and back on the car.  The bracket is off to powdercoating and then I can finally hook up my new exhaust and muffler.  On to the next adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gunsmoke]

They didn't cut any corners in those days, nice sturdy bracket. However, while the vulcanized rubber might last 50-100 years, the bond to the steel probably does not especially in a sandwich like this with constant vibration and shock from potholes etc. I'm having to making a lot of parts for my CD8 project, and finding details on what they originally looked like is always a challenge. Fellow old car owners are so valuable to have. 

[Taylormade]

Cleaned the garage in preparation for the winter months.  I always find I get lots of small jobs done over the winter since I can bring many of them inside and work on the kitchen table.  The garage is not heated, but stays pretty comfortable unless the temperatures really get cold.  My main jobs this winter are finishing the rebuilds on the rear shocks, cleaning and assembling the window and door latch mechanisms, restoring the instrument panel and gauges, installing the rear tailpipe and muffler, installing an electric fuel pump and pressure regulator and installing the windshield and all the other glass.  Most everything is now cleaned, painted  and ready to install.

 

The garage - as clean as it's been all year.

 

 

Front bumper installed.

 

 

 

Carb in place with new bypass tube installed and the air cleaner temporarily in place.  it obviously still needs to be painted.  This thing is basically a tin can with louvers.

 

 

 

Horn finished and ready to be installed.

 

 

Door handle/latch mechanisms partly cleaned.

 

 

I had posted earlier about the cracks that had developed on all the latch bodies.  Even some newer ones, with slightly thicker steel (from a 34 dodge) had the cracks.  I welded them up and, hopefully, they will remain in one piece this time.

 

 

Here are the new welds.  This was obviously a design flaw in the cars.

 

 

Nothing earthshaking, but progress continues.  I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

 

 

 

[keiser31]

Very nice!

[Taylormade]

Started work on the instrument panel.  When I first owned the car back in the sixties, all the original instruments were still in the car with the exception of the water temperature gauge, which had been replaced (in the instrument cluster) by a black-faced gauge.  I have found an original DL temp gauge, but it will need rebuilding and the face restored/replaced.  I really like the art-deco look of the gauge cluster and the gold instrument faces.

 

The panel with the incorrect temp gauge removed.

 

 

The surround was filthy, corroded and generally in disrepair, but it was solid and not dented.

 

 

I carefully separated the surround from the rest of the gauge cluster by bending the metal tabs back.  It was a delicate job, but I managed to get it off without braking the glass or snapping off a tab.

 

I polished the surround and removed the dirt and corrosion.  Here it is halfway through the process.

 

 

 

  Here is a breakdown of the cluster parts.  once the surround was removed, the rest just separated with no problems.  The glass hasn't been cleaned and shows the faint outline of the cork gasket that goes between it and the outer surround.  i went to make a new gasket and discovered the cork sheets I have are 3/16" rather than the 1/8" needed.  Looks like I'll have to order the correct stuff.

 

 

The inner piece of the cluster has a very interesting metallic silver design to it.  I'm not sure how they did this at the factory.  Dipping it in unmixed metallic paint?  Some sort of transfer process?  Anyway, it looks great and I was lucky that it's in perfect condition.  There was a bit of corrosion on the outside flat areas, but they don't show and most of it came off with a gentle rubbing with a cloth.

 

 

 

 

The instruments themselves all work and are in good condition.  The faces may need a bit of gentle cleaning, but I'm going to leave them with a bit of the "lived in" look rather than making them look brand new.

 

 

 

It's always amazing to me how much time it takes to do a simple job.  The cross-bars between the firewall and the radiator are a perfect example.  They had 80 years of rust and grime on them.  It wasn't too much of a job stripping them down with a wire brush, but it still took two hours to clean everything up.  it's these times when you realize just how many parts there actually are in one of these cars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, if the weather just stays warm enough to paint these tomorrow...otherwise, I'll keep the parts and paint in the house to keep them at the correct temperature.  Then race out into the garage, hang up the parts, quickly paint them with the warm paint, then rush the parts back inside and hang them in the back hall.  My wife, of course, just loves the smell of drying paint in the house.  I'm praying for warm weather!

 

 

 

 

 

[keiser31]

Those instruments are gonna look GREAT!

[R.White]

I am glad you had a good instrument panel to work with.  How lucky were you to find the right water temperature gauge?  

 

Such an attractive set if instruments!

 

Ray.

[Taylormade]

Continuing on with the breathtaking saga of the instrument cluster...hey, no yawning out there!

 

The biggest pain the the you know what was trying to make a pattern for the cork gasket between the glass and the outer trim piece.  The original had crumbled to pieces and further disintegrated when I had to pry what was left out of the groove in the piece.  There was no way to trace the shape, so it took a lot of cutting and fitting until I had a decent pattern in card-stock.

 

 

Then I cut the cork from a rolled sheet of the correct 1/8 inch thickness.  The only cork I could find that was large enough came in a roll and it was very difficult to cut, as you can see in this shot, as it constantly wanted to roll back up.

 

 

I finally got it cut out, cleaned the glass and put everything together, bending the tabs back to hold the four pieces as a unit.

 

 

Next I cut the gaskets for the gauges.  It's a fiddly, if not all the difficult, job.  Not as perfect as the factory cut gaskets, but i doubt anyone is going to crawl up under the dash when this is finished.

 

 

The cleaned amp meter in place.

 

 

The oil pressure gauge gasket in place.  Here's a question that gets pretty deep in the weeds - what's that paper around the speedometer opening?  it's obviously there for some reason, but...?  There is a gasket for the speedometer, you can see a piece of it under one of the screws, so why the paper?

 

 

The oil pressure gauge in place.  This area was a real mess - there was oil all over the back of the gauge.  It cleaned up rather easily.  i suspect the fitting on the back was a little loose and the oil residue accumulated over the years.  I tested the gauge with compressed air and it seemed to be spot on, corresponding to the air pressure I applied measured with the very accurate gauge on my compressor fittings.

 

 

I still need to clean up the gas gauge and speedometer and send the water temp gauge out for restoration.  It needs a new bulb and tube and the gauge face restored.  I'm pretty happy with the way this is going to look in the car.

 

 

 

 

 

[keiser31]

WOW! Nice job on those.

[Spinneyhill]

They WILL look smart.

 

Is it possible the paper was some sort of seal to show the speedo had not been tampered with, i.e. removed by an unscrupulous seller of the car and wound back? We have had many used "modern" cars imported from Japan with "clocked" speedos.

 

Or maybe it was the production order, giving the model it was for and speedo calibration (miles or kilometers)?

[Taylormade]

Could be, although I can't make out any print on the paper.  It also appears to be under the gasket, so you could remove the speedo without disturbing the paper.  It was obviously put on there for some reason, but I can't figure it out.

[ply33]

Regarding your ammeter, it looks like it has a fuse on the back and it look like one of the leads to the fuse has a riveted connection. Different shape, etc. than on my '33 Plymouth but a similar concept.

 

One issue I had with my Plymouth was that the riveted connection had deteriorated over time and developed enough resistance that when the headlights were on the heat would melt the solder in the end cap of the fuse. End result was an oddly open fuse (look at it and it did not look blown but it had no connectivity) and all the electrics in the car (except ignition and fuel gauge) failing. Not a desirable thing on a night drive.

 

It looks like you've nicely cleaned things up but you might want to double check the resistance between various points on that assembly.

 

In my case I ended up soldering the rivet to the metal conductor strip to cure the resistance/heat issue. I know it would not look authentic, but it is under/behind the dash and a little solder won't be spotted by any judge there.

[Ron Lawson]

Ply33 Your comment about corrosion in electrical connections jolted my memory I had the same problem with the light switch on my 2249 Senior and this was with a NOS switch My cure was the same as what you done I cleaned and soldered the joints Problem solved 

 

[Phil 32DL6]

And, if you DO end up installing an electric fuel pump, make sure it's on it's own fused & switched circuit.

 

Mine wasn't when I bought the car, and when I turned the headlights on during my first night drive, a short in a headlight blew the fuse. The pump stopped and I soon ran out of gas on a busy turnpike at dusk!

[Taylormade]

Phil, was that your current car or Daphne?  

[Phil 32DL6]

5 hours ago, Taylormade said:

Phil, was that your current car or Daphne?  

My current car. If I remember correctly, I installed a simple inline toggle switch on Daphne when I owned her, and the feed wire was attached to the negative post on the original fuse "box." I never had a problem with that set up, but, as I said it CAN lead to problems. So on my latest DL, I bought a NOS clamp-on fused switch (that matched my heater switch) and ran a wire to the negative post on the main fuse "box."

 

BTW, the reasons I like adding a switch for the electric fuel pump are twofold: it allows you to use it to "prime" the carb in the winter, and starve the carb in case you flood it (although that's hard to do on a DL's updraft carb!). Also, it acts as another layer of theft-proof security if you turn it off when you park the car. A thief won't get far on only a float bowl full of gas!

Edited December 4, 2017 by Phil 32DL6
grammar (see edit history)

[Buick 59]

Been following your build since the beginning and enjoying it as much as anyone. 

Wondering what your final decision was with the windshield...are you going to stick with the original design or go with the continuous hinge?

~ Tom

[Taylormade]

At the moment I'm sticking with the original design.  The problem is with the rubber "hinge points" in the top corners of the windshield opening.  Mine are rock hard.  I'm going to make a pattern and see if I can cast new ones.  We'll see how that experiment works out.

[Taylormade]

I just wanted to let everyone know I'm still alive and kicking.  My wife had a knee replacement over the holidays and this, combined with the bitterly cold weather, has put a bit of a freeze on progress with Daphne.  I'm picking up my re-silvered headlight reflectors tomorrow and I've been working on some small inside jobs like wiring and instrument cleaning and repair.  Pictures and progress reports soon.

[keiser31]

Thanks for the update. We (I) have been wondering about the progress.

[Taylormade]

Well, another fly in the ointment.  After helping my wife recover from knee replacement surgery, I went and tore the meniscus pad in my knee.  I was operated on last Tuesday and can finally limp around with a cane.  The doctor says two months before I'm back to normal. Hopefully I can get back to some "sitting" jobs - rewiring  the headlights, cleaning and painting small parts - in another week or two.  This is a serious monkey wrench in the restoration and I'm not happy as we've had sunny, warm weather here and all I can do is sit and stare out the window at the garage.  I'm afraid my dreams of attending the Dodge Brothers National meet in Green Bay this summer in Daphne have probably been short circuited.  To put it mildly, I'm bummed!

[Bullfrog_eng]

Wish I could find something funny or inspiring to say. But I can't,  so just good luck and best wishes.

John

[frank29u]

Speedy recovery for you and your wife.    frank

[keiser31]

Get well quick!

[R.White]

You guys deserve a break!  (sorry, pun not intended)

[Taylormade]

I guess it's the price of advancing age.  I actually had a moment wondering if I'd live to see my car completed as they rolled me into the operating room.  Hoping the coming Spring and sunshine improve my outlook.  I have really enjoyed talking about the restoration, taking pictures and discussing problems and solutions.  At the moment I'm missing all that terribly and feel I should be doing something, but physically just can't do it.  Limped out to the garage today - a first - and the sight of Daphne waiting got the juices going. Hopefully I'll have something interesting to say here soon, rather than complaining about personal problems.  No more bitching, I promise.

[Johnthistle]

Hey, look at all the athletes who have come back and again been superstars after ACL, etc surgery. Lots more fun ahead with just a little more luck!

I've still got to get to the unholstery in my '31 DH and I'll be 79 in June!  Cheers! John

[Ian_Greenlaw]

I know how you feel. My wife had both her legs operated on to reduce the swelling of the Achillies Tendon. She was limping around and this is her first day back at work for two months.

Still trying to do small things on the car but I'd like to take a month off work and focus on getting it completed.

We'll get there eventually.

Now I got a pinched nerve in my shoulder and I've lost strength in my right hand.....what next !!!!

[Taylormade]

Looks like we're both on the same page.  Maybe we could swap my shoulder for your leg.