Help identifying a 1927 Dodge roadster... what is correct and what not?

[V.Milke]

Hi:

 

I live in Mexico and I collect old cars and have a few of them.

 

I am looking for my next toy, and a friend of mine is offering me a 1927 roadster that he restored but never finished.... but what he did is perfectly incorrect, color wise, but with very good workmanship and paint quality. He is selling it for the new owner to do upholstery and top, but the rest is apparently done... at least according to his personal tastes. Even the engine was done and apparently works fine, though I haven't seen it running yet.

 

Unfortunately it was converted to 12 volts!

 

Can any of you help me correctly identify the car and tell me what may not be correct on it? I want to make a sort of list of what I would need to correct on the car... and the color would have to stay as is, as it would be too much of a problem and high cost to change it.... and in the end, I have to admit that though it surely is not an original combination, it sort of looks good/cute.

 

Follwing are a few pics...

 

Thanks!

victor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 14, 2016 by v.milke (see edit history)

[V.Milke]

The car's serial number apparently is: 8917373 or B91737... not sure about which.

 

And some more pics...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will appreciate any comments... Thanks!

Victor

Edited January 14, 2016 by v.milke (see edit history)

[nearchoclatetown]

It should have an " A" before the number. Dave Wollam would be the best to tell you what's right and wrong on a '27. Appears to be a fast four, with distributor on the head. The floorboards should have linoleum. The spare tire mount should have a small DB medalion in the center hole, can be found on Ebay.  The headlights should have frosted lenses, but that COULD be a Mexican thing. Laws may be different there. Nice looking car, even if it's the wrong color. 

[MikeC5]

It is quite nice looking.  I'd say do the interior and top how you like and drive it as-is. 

[22touring]

I am going to say that it is a Series 124 car, which started production on March 22, 1927 and officially ended production on June 28, 1927, although touring cars, roadsters and bare chassis were made until November 30 as 1928 models.  Serial numbers for these cars ranged from A875,380 to A934,104. If I am correct, it should have the "standard shift pattern" transmission. Feel free to correct me if you disagree.  

[Spinneyhill]

Nice looking car. Probably goes quite well...

 

The question is, how accurate do you want to be? Based on my 1930 DC, it should have wire hose clips, Parkerised. The spark plug leads should be braided black with metal ends, probably vertical onto the plug. On mine the radiator hoses were red as was the fan belt. The engine would have been painted assembled, including water pump, sump, valve covers, manifolds. Thus all the nuts and bolts should be painted (e.g. the head studs and nuts) engine colour. Most of the nuts, bolts and screws were cadmium plated. The bright-ware should probably be nickel plated (I believe chrome came in a year or two later). Engine accessories - starter, generator - were black.

 

I like the wrap-around bumpers. Were they original  accessories or after-market?

[keiser31]

The most obvious thing wrong that first popped out at me was the fact that it has the incorrect radiator emblem. It looks to be a 1936 or so Dodge trunk emblem. It should look like this one....

Edited January 16, 2016 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[V.Milke]

Thank you all for your replies. Sorry to have been so slow to respond but my friend has been eluding the possibility of selling it... I guess he is not in the mood now, but I guess it is just a matter of time till he will say yes again to the possibility.

 

Yes, radiator emblem is clearly wrong, same as headlight lenses (I dno't beleive we had any particular laws for that back then and most of the old cars I know have their headlight lenses as in the US models). 

 

I have no clue on engine number (I took it from the car's papers) and the transmission pattern. I need to go see the car and find out.

 

What was the original engine color supposed to be? 

 

Thanks,

victor

Edited January 26, 2016 by v.milke (see edit history)

[dwollam]

Ok. I don't get in here much any more. Yes, it is a 1927 124 Sport Roadster with the famed "fast four" engine. Actually John, the radiator shell emblem should be all brass and not enameled, although the earlier looks better in my opinion. Yes it has a S.A.E. shift pattern. The headlights, headlight bar and taillight are incorrect. The brass looking switches to the left of the instruments is not DB. It appears the front leaf springs are in backwards which moves the front wheels too far back as the bolt is not in the center of the springs. And as you said, the colors are incorrect but I could live with them except for the dark green on the engine. It should be a light gray green. However, each to his own. I personally paint my engines light gray because I don't like green! That all being said, it is much nicer looking than any of my three 1927 DB Roadsters, 2 of which are 124's.

 

Dave

[keiser31]

Thanks. I was not certain which year had the all brass radiator shell emblem.

[V.Milke]

Thanks! From what I have read so far, I now know grill emblem, headlights, headlight bar, taillight and brass looking switches are incorrect. Nothing that sounds impossible to correct, once I find the proper parts, if I get the car. I will keep my fingers crossed to get the car and let you all know.

 

Curious about the fast four nickname for the engine. Was the earlier four really much slower? 

 

Thanks again for all the help!

victor

[V.Milke]

Oh! Dave, I forgot to thank you for pointing out the possible problem with the front suspension. When I saw the car personally I did notice it looked strange with the wheel not centered in the fenders curvature, but luckily, from your description, it does not seem to be a very tough repair.

 

Thanks again

victor

[MikeC5]

That is interesting.  I missed reading that but sure enough, the front wheels are too far back...  Maybe I should check that on mine....

[dwollam]

Fast Four was not a Dodge Brothers name. Believe it came from advertisements where Dodge called them "Fastest Four in America". And yes, they are faster than the previous DB 4 cyl engines. More modern design with intake and exhaust, distributor through head, many small things. About all that remained the same was the cubic inch displacement of the engine. This same engine was used in 1928 in the 128/129 cars with totally different body, fenders, frame, axles, tranny, etc. Whole new car, same engine. 

BTW, since my last post I bought a 1927 GB Screenside with the Fast Four engine, mostly complete but very rusty. Probably will be a parts rig. I now have 4 of these engines, 3 in rigs, 1 spare.

[V.Milke]

Just a brief update... no changes so far. I called my friend and I will be visiting next week. I hope he decides to sell it.

Victor

[trimacar]

The generator is incorrect on this Fast Four.  Starter may be correct but missing nameplate.  Other issues have been discussed.  This is a five main bearing engine, so very robust, nice car, hope you get it!!

[V.Milke]

Thanks! I hope so too!

[22touring]

Dave Wollam wrote: "Fast Four was not a Dodge Brothers name. Believe it came from advertisements where Dodge called them "Fastest Four in America". And yes, they are faster than the previous DB 4 cyl engines."

 

I have always wondered where the "Fast Four" name came from, Dave, since as you say the name doesn't seem to have been used in advertisements and the DB histories I have read seem to skirt the issue. I'm thinking that it probably came from an automotive industry publication of the time. It would be interesting to try to find the first time the name ever appeared.

 

So tell me, how does the performance of the Fast Four compare to that of the Model A Ford? The Model As I have seen seem to have pretty good acceleration and top speed in second gear; much better than a standard DB four.

Edited April 16, 2016 by 22touring (see edit history)

[dwollam]

Well, this is kinda an "apple vs orange" kind of comparison. We are talking 1927 which for Ford was still a Model T, so no comparison there. The DB is a much bigger, heavier car than a T or an A. I own DB's, T's, and A's. They all run different. I had a hard time driving my 22 DB Screenside with a bunch of T's, especially on dirt roads. They liked to cruise at 18 mph! That meant 2nd gear in my Dodge.  Really noisy in 2nd as I assume you all know. So I got a T. My Model A's run more like the T's and will chug along at that too slow 18 mph just fine. On the hi-way, My DB's are smoother,especially the "fast 4's". My 31 Model A roadster pickup will run 55 ok but will blow a little oil out if run for long periods like that. The DB will run that ok. The 1928 DB 128 fast four should be a faster car as they are shorter wheelbase and lighter too I think. Now we are talking Model A era. Not too many Model A's are totally stock though. Most have high compression heads, as do my Model A's and T's. I have had all my old cars over 60+ mph. 62.7 in my 22 Screenside by GPS!