Jeffltd Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Dodge friends, I finally finished recommissioning my 1954 Dodge Royal coupe. It was last registered in 1975 and until January of the year, it was sitting in a garage in Hollywood Ca. I purchased it from the original owner. It came with an original letter from the dealer congratulating them on their new purchase, the DMV receipt for the registration, the paper temporary plate, a postcard letting them know their plates were ready for pick up and the original build sheet. It was sitting on it’s original Super Cushion tires, with a matching spare in the trunk, all showing wear of less than 10 k. The speedo indicated 9,857 miles ( I had mistakenly said 9,872 in a previous post) Because of the low milage, I took extreme care in getting it up and running. I started by dropping the pan and then decided to remove the heads, pulled the pistons, made sure the rings were in good order, lightly honed the cylinders, replaced all the gaskets. Some of the hydraulic lifters were sticking so I bought a new set and replaced all of them. I used some assembly lube and light oil and put it all back together. I rebuilt the carburetor, starter, all six wheel cylinders, blew out all the brake and fuel lines. I installed a new fuel pump, master cylinder, battery and fuel tank. The tires were as hard as hockey pucks and rode like Fred Flintstone wheels, also because of the flat spots, (This was during short tests down my street) so I replaced them with some 225 75 15s. I color sanded and polished the original paint and was able to bring it back to a very respectable shine. I cleaned the interior and installed some new carpeting. I’m still looking for one hood spring. The car drives like a dream. It starts right up and the ride is incredibly smooth. It certainly feels like the super low milage car it is. Thanks to the group for all the advice and encouragement and a special thanks to Jack for the useful shop manual. Below are a few shots. I need to figure out how to upload more and I have a nice “before" video if anyone can advise me on how to attach. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 VERY nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 A fantastic survivor! A real time capsule...I can see why you are excited to have it back on the road. I used to own a '50 Plymouth so I understand the appeal of early and mid-fifties Mopars! Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzcarnerd Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 So those are the 'original' miles - what other kind of miles are there? I often wonder why the need to add 'original'. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 8 minutes ago, nzcarnerd said: So those are the 'original' miles - what other kind of miles are there? I often wonder why the need to add 'original'. Party pooper! Ben 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE POLLARD Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Great job.... looks fantastic ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 6 minutes ago, nzcarnerd said: So those are the 'original' miles - what other kind of miles are there? I often wonder why the need to add 'original'. Because the term "original miles" has come to represent a car with a reading on its odometer that has not been reset, rolled over, altered, or which otherwise reflects an inaccurate reading of how far that car has traveled in its lifetime. The same goes for "authentic" and "actual" miles. On cars with 5-digit odometers, this can be quite relevant: a car with 102,363 miles will show 2363 miles on the odometer. How to tell people that the reading they can see with their own eyes is not an accurate reflection of the car's actual use? Well, fortunately we've developed a term for that in this hobby: "original" or "authentic" or "actual" miles. Yes, yes, yes, I know it seems so very witty to suggest people using this term are rubes or to say that "original" or "authentic" miles aren't any different than regular miles, but like many other generally-accepted terms this phrase does not necessarily conform to the pedantic specifics of those particular words. Just like a "frame off" restoration or "new old stock" parts, the exact definitions of the words being used aren't the relevant part, yet they nevertheless convey a generally-accepted and specific meaning within the hobby. Whenever I have a low-mileage car (like that 1956 Olds with just 3607 miles on it), I get probably half a dozen E-mails with this idiotic word play from people who just think their thoughts are too funny not to share. What's an "authentic" mile? Where can I buy "original" miles? How far is an "actual" mile? Haw, haw, haw. Enough already, everyone knows what it means. 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
54vicky Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 mileage aside that is as some else said a true time capsule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Great to see cars like this get appreciated. Great job on bringing it back to life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzcarnerd Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Unfortunately the disease has begun to spread to this side of the Pacific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Lookin good Jeff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 On 3/25/2019 at 1:06 PM, Matt Harwood said: What's an "authentic" mile? Where can I buy "original" miles? How far is an "actual" mile? Haw, haw, haw. Enough already, everyone knows what it means. At a mile-long 'stoplight drag' in your 1970 Mach1 vs. the 1969 Trans Am next to you, where you've hit every red light, both of you have probably done five miles in those 12 blocks according the odometer!! Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 On 3/25/2019 at 3:06 PM, Matt Harwood said: Because the term "original miles" has come to represent Matt, I will always recall walking into a friends shop with my Mom and she says "I think that is my Austin Healey" - and we then verified via a pattern that for theft purposes State Farm asked to be drilled into a brace matched to it being Healey blue, with blue leather, and ... About that time the car owner showed up and he then proclaimed how lucky he was to have a car with just 32K miles. My mom looked at him odd and said it had 60K on it when we sold it. He then said he doubted a Healey could have 132K miles. Mom looked at him oddly and said, no the car has 232K miles and he about ripped her head off. She then said, we sold it to the next door neighbor's son and for a number of years he drove it back and forth from Dayton, OH to Los Angeles - he drove a week out, worked two week in La, drove a week back, worked two weeks in Dayton, and .... And, then she said, we sold him the extra new transmission, rear axle, and suspension we bought when the dealership closed. When the shop got into the car, the said great that it had no rust, but there was not a decent mechanical part on the entire car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 On 3/25/2019 at 2:09 PM, Jeffltd said: Nice preservation work ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Smolinski Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 I worked in an auto reconditioning shop for a few years a long time age. It was after MN made it illegal to spin odometers back. The dealer(s) would send a guy over to our shop & he would disassemble the dash enough to get at the odometer. He'd spin it to a nice lower mileage, reassemble the dash & it went up for sale on the dealer lot as a nice lower mileage, say 50,000 mile car instead of the 132,000 it really had on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 3 hours ago, George Smolinski said: I worked in an auto reconditioning shop for a few years a long time age. It was after MN made it illegal to spin odometers back. The dealer(s) would send a guy over to our shop & he would disassemble the dash enough to get at the odometer. He'd spin it to a nice lower mileage, reassemble the dash & it went up for sale on the dealer lot as a nice lower mileage, say 50,000 mile car instead of the 132,000 it really had on it. I think Jay Leno said he worked at a used car dealer that turned miles back. Don't think he did it personally, but the business did. I always found this idea funny, though: all the dealers turn the miles back on cars to 30,000 when they can get away with it...to the point where nobody believes the mileage reading from dealers. Then the dealer actually gets a 1967 Impala that actually has only 30,000 miles on it...and nobody believes it! 😄 I want to reiterate how cool this '54 Dodge is. I looked for a hood hinge but no luck. Best wishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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