Patrick De Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 (edited) After having searched for several months for 'The right car for Peking to Paris 2019 rally' (topic on General Discussion), we have found our baby! A 1933 Dodge 6 convertible. Why this car? Mopar was the right choice we decided after all information we received on this forum. Thanks to all enthousiast for the tips and leads! Bernard and I have enjoyed the pimped W200 Dodge Pick-Up we both had 25 years ago. Since than Dodge remained in our heart. Open prewar car with the looks we wanted High ground clearance 4 leafspring suspension Reliable, bigger 231 flathead 6 'torque' engine Succesfully participated the Peking to Paris 2007 Etc My first questions, others will probably follow. What is the exact type and model name of this car? (E.g. there is roadster, convertible and drophead coupe?) Where can I found a left front fender with wheel well? The 3 speed gearbox in not in good shape. Which original, later model gearbox we easily can bolt to our engine? Where to find? Who can repair the fuelgauge in our instrument panel? Where can we find the 'modern material' parts to overhaul our engine? To optimalise its performance to the max without touching its legendary reliability. Who can help us with information and parts to prepare the front and rear axle for the tough circumstance in the mongolian desert, etc..? (car my not change look!) Thanks in advance for all help! Kind regards, Patrick Motorist Mechanic Edited April 28, 2017 by Patrick De Language corrections (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Carl Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 HI Patrick ! Apparently I have the honor of being the first here to congratulate you ! What a beautiful '33 roadster you bought ! You will get plenty of help from the guys here. What preparations were made for its first P2P ? - Carl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Nice car. The good news.... 1933 was the first year Dodge Brothers used insert bearings rather than poured Babbitt bearings. Much easier to rebuild the engine. Solid x-frame chassis made for better handling and ride. Four wheel, hydraulic brakes. Very dependable and well built car with an all steel body. The not so good news... Engine, trans and rear end combination mean a cruising speed of 55. It will go faster, but your engine revs will be very high. Due to the Floating Power engine and transmission mounts, putting a different or later transmission in is not as easy as in some other cars. No water jacket around the engine cylinders, the full water jacket and water tube came several years later. Good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 2 hours ago, Taylormade said: Nice car. The good news.... 1933 was the first year Dodge Brothers used insert bearings rather than poured Babbitt bearings. Much easier to rebuild the engine. Solid x-frame chassis made for better handling and ride. Four wheel, hydraulic brakes. Very dependable and well built car with an all steel body. The not so good news... Engine, trans and rear end combination mean a cruising speed of 55. It will go faster, but your engine revs will be very high. Due to the Floating Power engine and transmission mounts, putting a different or later transmission in is not as easy as in some other cars. No water jacket around the engine cylinders, the full water jacket and water tube came several years later. Good luck! Agree with the good news. On the not so good news, I've heard that the early DeSoto, up to 1937 or so, over drive transmissions can be fitted into the '33 Plymouth fairly easily. I believe the '33 Dodge and '33 Plymouth are very close mechanically so it may be true of the '33 Dodge too. Apparently swapping out the top cover plate on the transmission with the one for the '33 allows that funky '33/34 system of mounting the shift lever on the frame cross member rather than than the transmission to be used. The control cable originally intended for the freewheeling can be used for controlling the overdrive. Good luck on your adventure! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Well, that's good news on the transmission. I know on my 32 it would be a real job due to the design of the rear transmission mount. The 33 and up may be different - I sure hope so. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_Greenlaw Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 I look forward to following your progress and what a great car to take on the trip. A while ago a couple of Australian brothers took a 34 Dodge on the Peking to Paris rally and they did very well. Look forward to more photos. Cheers Ian 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Scafani Posted April 29, 2017 Share Posted April 29, 2017 Beautiful car! The body must have been built by an independent body builder, (Holden in Australia), probably wood framed. Dodge did not build a roadster in 1933. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Lincoln Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 Found a couple of pics of Australian entrant that Ian mentioned 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_Greenlaw Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 I'd love to do this. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike36 Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 I too would love to do this. Has to be a fantastic adventure! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostonhemi Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 I may have seen some fenders on ebay and a similar car for sale too (yellow). You have a very nice car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick De Posted May 9, 2017 Author Share Posted May 9, 2017 On 28-4-2017 at 8:12 AM, C Carl said: HI Patrick ! Apparently I have the honor of being the first here to congratulate you ! What a beautiful '33 roadster you bought ! You will get plenty of help from the guys here. What preparations were made for its first P2P ? - Carl Hi Carl, thanks! I'm very happy!! The previous owner, who has the right pre war car for each pre war car competition disclipline, ended top twenty by overhauling engine and gearbox, electrical fuel pump, extra fuel tank and 6 to 12 volt conversion including a alternator. He also fully cleaned the leafsprings and wrapped them fully greased in a kind of tissue so no dirt of water can get to them. He strongly advises even not to put a second spare wheel, because this adds more weight. We would overhaul the engine and maybe put a two barrel carb on it. Take a new copper radiator, new clutch, etc.. Where thinking of changing the heavy rumble seat, trunk door by a light alloy door. I only have time for collecting the Dodge after 25th May. Whe than have a close look and see what more to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick De Posted May 9, 2017 Author Share Posted May 9, 2017 On 28-4-2017 at 7:35 PM, Taylormade said: Nice car. The good news.... 1933 was the first year Dodge Brothers used insert bearings rather than poured Babbitt bearings. Much easier to rebuild the engine. Solid x-frame chassis made for better handling and ride. Four wheel, hydraulic brakes. Very dependable and well built car with an all steel body. The not so good news... Engine, trans and rear end combination mean a cruising speed of 55. It will go faster, but your engine revs will be very high. Due to the Floating Power engine and transmission mounts, putting a different or later transmission in is not as easy as in some other cars. No water jacket around the engine cylinders, the full water jacket and water tube came several years later. Good luck! Robert, the previous owner who drove Peking to Paris, told me he was indeed cruising all day at 55 to 60. He installed a rpm gauge with a red marker at, I think 3000 rpm. I spoke with my engine and gearbox builder regarding your transmission remark and he proposes to look for the same gearbox, but in its 'most recent' version. Do you have any idea untill when the made this gearbox? Some people say I have to look for a end 50's 251 or 265 flathead six because this will be much better and almost suits on the chassis. Anybody who have some tips or advise on that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick De Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 On 28-4-2017 at 9:44 PM, ply33 said: Agree with the good news. On the not so good news, I've heard that the early DeSoto, up to 1937 or so, over drive transmissions can be fitted into the '33 Plymouth fairly easily. I believe the '33 Dodge and '33 Plymouth are very close mechanically so it may be true of the '33 Dodge too. Apparently swapping out the top cover plate on the transmission with the one for the '33 allows that funky '33/34 system of mounting the shift lever on the frame cross member rather than than the transmission to be used. The control cable originally intended for the freewheeling can be used for controlling the overdrive. Good luck on your adventure! The previous owner has put a electrical overdrive on it, but said he barely used it, and took it off later. Thanks to you remark, I have found this interesting fully detailed article http://www.dacoglu.com/desotocd/11A_ThreeSpeed With Overdrive/Plymouth Bulletin - Overdrive Transmission.htm I would like to have a slighty higher cruise speed, but it is not clear to me yet which way to go. So few people here in Europe know about these great American cars. I'm lucky I have this forum. Do you know a specialist in your country who can some advise and sell the parts that go with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick De Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 On 29-4-2017 at 5:38 AM, Bob Scafani said: Beautiful car! The body must have been built by an independent body builder, (Holden in Australia), probably wood framed. Dodge did not build a roadster in 1933. Thanks! what a nice collection you have. That makes sence, as I did not understand. I will have the car in two weeks and will have a close look to it. So Dodge itself did not used wood framed bodies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylormade Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Not in the US built cars. My 32 sedan has wooden floorboards and a few odd wooden pieces to tack on the interior trim, but the car has no structural wood in the body. I believe most the Australian built cars received the chassis from the states and had a Holden body installed. I believe the Holden bodies used wood framing, but our friends from down under will probably quickly confirm or deny my conjecture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stooy Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 Hi Patrick, I am very jealous, that car looks amazing! And doing the Peking to Paris rally would be a dream. My brother, father and I are in the process of restoring a 1930 Dodge Straight 8 Roadster here in Australia to use for competition, so I probably have a few thoughts/research for you. In terms of performance, it would be worth seeing if any of the Edgy products will fit your engine. - http://www.edgyspeedshop.com/products.html Higher compression, a more modern camshaft grind and better carburation will make the most performance difference. We have an amazing engine builder here in Melbourne who has warmed up a number of Chrysler straight 6's with great success I can probably put you in touch with him if you like? For example he uses modern bearings in the bottom end, as the old NOS bearings are not as durable. He is doing my motor at the moment. In terms of gearing, your other option is to look at lifting the diff ratio. Given the roadster is a light car and you won't be towing or anything you could consider getting a new ring and pinion cut, or from another model. These guys have a lot of stuff, though it doesn't look like for your car from what I can see, would be worth a call. http://www.vapinc.com/ringandpinions/main.html Also if you can increase your power and torque, you then can pull a taller diff. Very happy to provide you will all the info I can and look forward to following your build photos. Cheers Stewart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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