1925 Dodge Brothers Touring #'s Question

[Guest johnnylawn1]

Hello, 

This is my first time posting. My father and I have started work on a barn find 1925 Dodge Brothers Touring Car. As I tear into the re-build I will start to post updates and I'm sure plenty of questions. The forum has been very helpful so far and I appreciate the advice that is offered. 

My question is.......... Are the numbers on the body tag and the engine block supposed to match? Both numbers show build dates in 1925 but are months apart. I wasn't sure if this was normal or our car has a replacement engine from the correct era. Obviously, an original numbers matching vehicle would be ideal. However, it's pretty much 100% complete as far as parts go, just needs a lot of love.  

Any help is appreciated!

 

thanks!

[keiser31]

I believe that the numbers were months apart, so it sounds like you may have the right engine. Sorry I have no numbers for the 1925 DBs.

[Guest johnnylawn1]

Body # is A-298282 - March-April 1925

Motor # is A-369928 -June - July 1925

 

 

 

 

[nearchoclatetown]

By body number what do you mean? If it is the tag on the firewall that is of little use. It is the sequential number of touring bodies built. The serial number is on the floor board and the frame. The engine number will be approximately 50,000 higher then the serial number. Good find, have fun, be patient. 

[Guest johnnylawn1]

Thanks for the info, yes by body # it's what I read off the passenger side floor board tag

[Taylormade]

Try the Dodge and Dodge Brothers section on this site in the Chrysler Products section.  I'd also join the Dodge Brothers Club.  Lots of great information on both sites.

[MikeC5]

Great find!  Do you know any history on the car?   I'd like to see more photos when you get a chance.  

[Guest johnnylawn1]

Thank you for the interest. The car was acquired by my father who purchased it from his families estate. It belonged to his mother's cousins located outside of Bethlehem PA. I visited the farm where the car was during the sorting out of the estate. It was a barn find dream going through all of the buildings. I don't remember exactly but there were hundreds of parts and probably 20 or so different vehicles spread through the property. For some reason the Dodge was the only one near the house in the barn. We have more pictures too. The documents we have show that the car has been parked since the 70's. We have had it now for over 10 years in our garage. 

Overall it's not in bad shape, not driveable but it's all there. Clearly it's been painted at some point, we plan on going back to the original black. The engine spins freely, valves were stuck, oil pump is frozen......

Plan us to do a frame off over time and do the body last. Going into winter things will slow down. Getting my first shipment in from Myers this week. 

 

I'll post more pics old and new as we bring her back to life.

 

 

 

 

[nearchoclatetown]

Then that number on the floorboard is the serial number and the engine would be correct as it's about 50,000 higher. Good find.

[Guest johnnylawn1]

Thanks for the info!

[MikeC5]

Looks like a nice compete car.  Clean up the fuel system, change the oil, file the points and I'll bet it will fire right up!

[Guest johnnylawn1]

Tried to fire her up. Valves were stuck. Carb had some issues. Water pump seized. Had spark though!

[R.White]

Welcome to the forum, Jonny.   Just for future reference, it is recommended that you remove the trans before taking out the engine.  This is to avoid damaging the clutch.  I know it is a nuisance but the rear axle has to be pulled back to allow the prop shaft to drop out.  To do this you would need to drop the springs, disconnect the brakes, remove the exhaust, and battery box and various other tasks.  All this is necessary because the front cross member does not allow the engine to be pulled back straight.  I assume you will be removing the trans anyway and if you have any questions please feel free to ask.  That's what we are here for.

 

Ray.

[keithb7]

Great stuff. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to seeing this rebuild move along.

[Guest johnnylawn1]

Yes, thanks for the tip. I read about the joys of removing the trans first, then the engine. The current space I'm working in is a little crowded at the moment. I know it's not the right way to do it but I was able to disconnect the torque tube at the trans and do a little shifting and persuading for it to come out. 

Plan is to pull the rest of the driveline, remove body, tear down chassis and start from the ground up. 

 

Hopefully the clutch will be ok, patience is something I'm still in the process of fixing...

 

 

[Spinneyhill]

1 hour ago, johnnylawn1 said:

patience is something I'm still in the process of fixing...

In my experience that is very difficult to fix. It is all Instant Gratification 'round here!

[MikeC5]

Looks like you had some critters living in the bell housing.  Mine did too.  When you say the valves were stuck, do you mean rusted stuck?  It looks like the car was fairly well protected from the elements.

[Guest johnnylawn1]

After turning it over and trying to light it up with some ether I checked some things. Pulled the valve cover plates and only saw a couple springs moving while the engine was spinning. Pulled the head and saw that the valves were a little siezed up. After some deep creep penetrating fluid and a rubber mallet they all eventually freed up. #1 cylinder exhaust port had a bunch of crud stuck in it too. I would have slapped it back together but I figured it all needed to come back apart and get checked out anyway. I'm comforted in knowing the cylinder walls look great and there are no obvious red flags at this point. I'll be putting the engine on a cradle this week and move on to the transmission and Interior removal if time allows. Thank you all for checking in!

 

 

[alsfarms]

I wish my later 1922 Touring was in as good of condition as is your 1925!

Al

[Pete in PA]

Great story!  Great pics!  Were the extraction shots taken near Bethlehem?  Seems kind of hilly but I don't know that area very well.

 

I also noticed the mouse condo in the bellhousing.  I once worked on a farm truck that was parked in a barn for years and the owner thought needed a clutch.  It didn't.  It did need to have the large mouse condo removed to let the clutch throwout bearing move again.

 

Check out my 1936 D2 resurrection thread; it's a similar story to yours.  My car  was parked inside a semi-heated garage since about 1980 and I bought it about this time last year.  I'm fortunate that my car is also nearly complete and the engine cranks.  The underhood wiring is such a mess that I didn't dare put power to the electrical system and risk a fire.  I do have a new wiring harness now so I need to install that (and clean the fuel system) to get her running again.

 

I look forward to following your progress on the '25.