BobinVirginia Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 5 minutes ago, Lahti35 said: Thanks for the kind words! You’re welcome and they’re deserved. You’re doing a great job covering details of bringing the Dodge back to life. Great detail on stuff that matters. No BS just facts of what’s needed 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 On 6/16/2024 at 6:22 PM, Lahti35 said: I replaced the tie rod bolts and bushings this afternoon, there was play but not as severe as the springs. I made a bushing remover/installer out of some threaded rod, nuts, washers, and certain size sockets to allow the old bushing to be pulled out the bottom and the new one pulled in from the top. It worked pretty good. The old ones came out without much fuss. Here's an original next to the replacement. Inserting the new ones in place after cleaning and lubing the castings... I did run onto a snag with the hardware supplied for the tie rod bols. The nuts were too short, I seem to run into this pretty often... The new castle nuts aren't as tall as the old ones and as a result the cotter pin holes in the bolts sit past the nut. Are they going to back off? I guess not all the way but it bugs me so I found a box of vintage nuts some time ago and have been using them instead. You can see the old NOS one (green arrow) is taller than the new unit. All buttoned up... Same issue I encountered on the ball stud replacement on my 1925 Buick Standard. One of the original nuts was cracked. So I had to go to the modern style. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 (edited) The spring shop got the front leaf spring today and will start working on it Monday. Hopefully I can get it back early the week after next and get it back on as i'm on vacation then and that would be a great time to do it. Other smaller springs require attention as well... This week I did some research and chatted with other owners about the accelerator linkage spring. I was sure what was on the car was not factory. There seems to be a lot of variation over the years on the gas pedal style. I found pictures of various springs attached to the throttle arm on the carb but that didn't seem right either. Other pics showed a spring running from the gas pedal to a tab on the bell housing... That got me looking close at the gas pedal and sure enough there was a hole hiding under some dirt. I think the spring in the cobbled up wire mess was the original spring, although a but mangled, it did fit well. I did get a new spring in this afternoon and put it in, with no issue. The gas pedal now sits much higher off the floorboards, it had little travel before. It also returns much more positively too. I enjoy undoing these past "doings", it looks better and it definitely functions better in stock form. It's just a small thing but between research, parts ordering, and conversing with Dodge owners I've got 1 1/2 hours into it. I can see the appeal of a 5 minute patch job with some wire, lol. Straightening this out was a team effort in the Dodge sub-forum, thanks to all who contributed! Edited June 22 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted June 23 Author Share Posted June 23 (edited) I'd been trying to figure out what to used for packing around the enricher shaft on the carb... It was too small for typical graphite packing and the small rope looking stuff for faucents at the hardware was suspicious. I found a member who used it and said it failed and leaked after some time. I found some suggestion to use soaped up string, viton O rings, and another to use the yellow gas tolerant thread tape. I found this last tip on the Yesteryear Tractor forum and since I had some I thought I'd give it a go. Will it work? We'll see! I took a length of the stuff and twisted it into a thin rope, then coiled it around the shaft and ran the packing nut down some to compress it. It compressed well and did offer resistance to turning the shaft when tightened so we'll see. I also got my new spring for the carb so I put that on as the old one failed when I removed it. I made sure to set the shaft so the needle inside the carb was just touching the dashpot without lifting it, then adjusted the stop screw so that it was just touching the arm. This is a critical adjustment and needed to be done right. When I pulled the carb apart there was a fiber washer under the domed head/vaporizer that kept it up 1/16" from touching the lip of the carb body. I couldn't find anything about it in books or from fellow enthusiasts so I removed it, must have been someone's "fix" for something. Factory setting complete! Since the carb was done I decided to get it off the work bench and put it back on the car. I cleaned up the flange and removed a set of bad cracked gaskets from the block, then installed the carb with one new gasket. I hooked up the enricher "choke" cable. Then the throttle rod went on. The throttle butterfly setting looked good so no adjustment there. I did notice a slight amount of play but not sure if that's shaft wear or bore wear, if the car runs good i'll address that over winter if need be. The accelerator spring puts just a slight amount of tension on the rod when it's in place, just the way it should be. I'm going to try and roll the engine over briefly tomorrow, just a few seconds to see it if will do it. When I get the spring stuff back in and get the Dodge rolling again (it's on jack stands now) I plan on pulling the water pump/distributor assembly and going through that. I'm avoiding having multiples of things going on at once to keep stuff contained and keep myself away from the rabbit hole. I finished up the tie rod bolts today after pulling the alemite fittings out of the cleaner, blowing them out, and then installing them back in the tops of the new bolts. I did grease the bolts on assembly but I'll pump some grease into them (and the spring bolts) once the front is down off the jack stands and back on it's wheels. Edited June 23 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted June 24 Author Share Posted June 24 I pulled the worn out shackle bushings out today... Maybe I should say I battled them out because they were happy to remain in place after 104 years and it was a fight! I tried the puller I made first with no luck, they didn't budge. Then I turned a piece of metal to fit the bore with a step in it to pound them out which also failed to move them. Then it was on to drilling them out 3/4 of the way through while increasing the ID to ease the pressure holding them in. This finally worked and I was able to pound them out without excessive force. Removed! There was a slight lip from metal being pushed around through contact over 104 years, I put a slight chamfer on the hole to help the new bushing start ok. I thought I was really in for a fight but after greasing the bores and the bushings they went home without much drama or crazy force. I cleaned up the shackles without going overboard (don't want them too new looking!)... They're in ok shape but a bit worn, I may look for a better set down the road. For now they'll be ok. I wanted to get this done while the springs are out so it's ready to go when I pick the springs up. The other thing I did today was stick a battery in the car and turn it over briefly to see if it would. I'm happy to report that it turned over great with no issues I could hear. It was nice and steady too, none of the RRRRRRrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRrrrrrrrr you normally get with a starter motor. I was surprised how easy it was compared to other 20's cars where you have to really push and hold on the floor button to make it all happen. Next up is pulling the steering box for cleaning and adjustment due to play in the mechanism... 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 (edited) Since the carburetor was back on the Dodge I decided to pull the steering box tonight. The heat finally subsided and it was a pleasant evening for the job. It was pretty easy to remove, gotta hand it to those Dodge brothers. Teardown was pretty easy too, not much to it. The grease zerk was full of dried grease so I didn't have much hope for the insides and I wasn't disappointed! What was once lubricant had become a solid with the consistency of Kiwi shoe polish, but harder and with chunks. I got it pulled apart without too much fuss. The good news is that nothing appears to be broken and the only bushing with excessive wear is the one the steering shaft passes through at the top of the box. There wasn't a ton of slop when the box was on the car, it was more of a cumulative effect of wear in the various steering parts adding up to 2" at the wheel. I'll get it all cleaned up and go from there. To replace the one bad bushing it looks like I'll have to pull the steering coupler off the shaft, the shaft itself looks ok though. Edited June 27 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericmac Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 I love watching how you break repairs down into simple, understandable steps. Those looks like a very worthwhile project. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 I wish my steering box came apart like yours. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 20 hours ago, ericmac said: I love watching how you break repairs down into simple, understandable steps. Those looks like a very worthwhile project. Thanks! It's all one big puzzle made up of a bunch of smaller ones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 14 hours ago, Mike "Hubbie" Stearns said: I wish my steering box came apart like yours. Mike I wish they all came apart like this one, easiest one I've ever done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted July 2 Author Share Posted July 2 (edited) So I had a mini-disaster and cracked the steering worm when pressing it off the shaft. I'm not a happy camper about it but stuff happens and i'm sourcing a replacement... In the meantime I pulled the distributor/coil assembly off to check it over and fix what needs fixing. I marked everything prior to disassembly so it can all go back together the same way. The flexible joint is rock hard so I've got a new one of those as well as a new rotor contact and original condenser to retrofit a modern unit inside of. I'll be glad to ditch the condenser hanging of the bottom of the distributor, condensers in random old car locations bug me! Any distributor fastener seems to have been fair game for hanging a condenser at one time or another over the decades... I popped the coil assembly off the end and found the advance mechanism to be dirty but all there and not froze up. I had a few minutes after dinner so I dug into the coil to see how bad it was. There is a modern style coil hooked up to bypass the original so no telling how long ago the original coil has been dead... The replacement style coil could have replaced another replacement decades ago. I pulled the coil out of it's cast housing and was surprised to see it looked pretty clean. The inside could be junk but who can say at this point. I did find that the contact, which is a blob of solder looking stuff, was covered in thick white oxidation. I scraped it off and was surprised how thick it really was, sort of a fluffy paste covering the whole thing. I also found the contact spring laying in the housing. It goes in the center of the bakelite cap but upon further inspection it was broken with the base still in the cap. The contact in the cap is pretty corroded too... Maybe this coil just needs the contacts cleaned and it will be back in service or maybe it's a paperweight. I'll invest a bit of time cleaning the contacts and take some readings on it. Even if it was in working order there's no way any sparks are passing through all that corrosion. Edited July 2 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted July 4 Author Share Posted July 4 (edited) No word from the spring folks yet... Kind of a bummer as my schedule was perfect for picking them up this week, next window is three weeks so hopefully they're done by then. I cleaned up the distributor assembly yesterday. It looks pretty good and did clean up well. Before: After: Lots of gunk to clean out. The zerk was packed full of hard grease but I got it in the end, it's ready to fill. I put a new contact in the rotor as the old one had a bent spring and was worn down severely, way past the little hat on top. The distributor shaft itself is ok, no play, but the horizontal shaft for the advance mechanism is worn and loose. I ordered a new shaft and will install it when it gets here this weekend hopefully. Other than that I just need to retrofit a new condenser into the original condenser case and it'll be all set. I set about cleaning the varnish out of the gas tank this AM but made sure to test for leaks first by just filling it up with water which showed it was leak free (at least with the varnish sealing the inside, lol). I decided to try using lye after reading a few posts about it on the internet. I filled the tank about 1/2 full with water then added my can of "Red Devil" lye and waited for a bit. I wasn't sure what to expect exactly so I took the cautious approach. I did see a bit of vapor come out the filler neck and some dirty looking bubbles but that was it. Satisfied it wasn't going to erupt like a grammar school science fair volcano I filled the tank up the rest of the way with hot water and let it do it's thing. More dirty bubbles at the now full filler neck but that was about it again... I've got the tank set at a slight angle to make sure there is no air trapped down at the end opposite from the filler neck. I used some sealant around the gas gauge and taped it to be sure as the screw on cap does not screw on well. The threads on the tank and cap are ok but It's not the right gauge for the tank and maybe the cap isn't either. Someone in the past epoxied the incorrect gauge over the remnants of the original, it's a mess. I checked it an hour ago or so and the bubbles cleared up, the temperature of the mix is up too... There's definitely something going on in there releasing heat. I'll let it go 24 hours and see where it's at. Edited July 4 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFranklin Posted July 5 Share Posted July 5 (edited) I clean wire wheels in a tub of lye water, it removes most everything. I use 2 cans of lye in a tub big enough to hold a model A Ford wheel. Removes paint, dirt, and rust. Can get a few done per batch. Edited July 5 by JFranklin (see edit history) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 On 7/4/2024 at 10:03 PM, JFranklin said: I clean wire wheels in a tub of lye water, it removes most everything. I use 2 cans of lye in a tub big enough to hold a model A Ford wheel. Removes paint, dirt, and rust. Can get a few done per batch. My lye experiment failed. It was so bad inside the tank that I ended up having to take it to the radiator shop to have it cleaned. I let it sit for days at home and while I did get some out it wasn't anywhere near clean. Even the shop has had it going for 2 weeks now and it's finally looking good. It's really nasty! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 I spent some time working on the distributor/advance mechanism this weekend. I wanted to get it back together, the workbench is getting crowded. I needed to transfer over the advance mechanism to the new shaft as the old one had worn down causing play. The shaft took the wear leaving the housing ok so that was good. As anyone who has tried to run a pin through a collar on a shaft knows, getting holes on old parts and new parts to line up can be anywhere from a snap to a nightmare. Most of the holes on the new shaft were pretty close but the one under the advance mechanism was off center. I had to drill and off center hole in the collar, align the new collar hole with the new shaft hole and then finish drilling through the other side of the collar for the pin. I wish the shaft would have come without the holes drilled but they don't so too bad for me! If you look close you can see the old hole on the collar no longer in use. The pin runs through the new holes and is peened on both ends. The advance mechanism sits on the end of the shaft and is captured by a nut with a locking washer. Too tight and the mechanism won't move so you have to check while you tighten, then bend the locking tab to keep it there. The other end of the unit has a collar to control endplay and a flange for connecting to the water pump shaft in front of it when attached to the engine. The shaft hole lined up well with the holes in the collar but the collar itself needed to be shaved just a bit to allow the shaft to move freely. I couple of shaves on the lathe gave me the clearance I needed... After the collar fiddly bits the flange went on with no issues, I peened the pin ends and called it good. Everything spins good with no side/side or up/down slop. I got a new drive washer also as the old one was totaly petrified. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted August 9 Author Share Posted August 9 (edited) Work is progressing on the Dodge but at a slower pace than I would like... Still working on front springs, lots of running in circles the last few weeks without much progress. The first set I had made didn't turn out, I think the spring maker got in over their head and did their best but they wouldn't work with the gaps around the bushings. I was able to get a refund and move on to other options. I sent pictures to Eaton spring after not having any luck finding originals and they say they can make them just like OEM so I'll send the springs out this week when the new bushings arrive. In other news, I got the new condenser hidden inside the old condenser casing and installed in the distributor. Looks nice and tidy... Edited August 9 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted August 9 Author Share Posted August 9 I've also been working on the steering box... I spent some time cleaning the last parts up today in preparation for bushing install. All cleaned up... The steering shaft and bushings were well worn so I had a new shaft and bushings made. The shaft is set to go but the bushings will need the inside completed by me before install and then a reaming for the final fit. The shop accidentally made me two sets of bushings which they didn't charge me for as it was their oops, nice of them! The steering box I got from another super nice forum member for the worm gear was slightly later and used bearings instead of the 3 thrust washers in use in 1920. They cleaned up fine so I'll upgrade to those as the housing insides are the same and they fit. Might as well take advantage of the tech update Dodge made use of. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted August 18 Author Share Posted August 18 I've been going around in circles for the last month trying to get springs, I finally gave up on originals and went back to new ones... However the USPS sent my new spring bushings on a grand tour and held up things until today. The bushings came in yesterday and I UPS'd the whole works down to Eaton this afternoon. In the meantime I did a bit of work on the steering assembly by pressing the worm gear on the new shaft. The original key is a bastard size so the machinist cut the shaft for a standard one and also provided the key. The old key was messed up anyway, no great loss. I did have a bit of trouble getting the gear pressed on... First attempt I got halfway there and the key started climbing out of the keyway so I had to press it back off. Next I made sure the key was set right and tried again with the same issue. The third time I shaved a bit of the flat of the key and got it on there... The gear placement was based on the wear marks from the old bushings on the shaft. The later bearings should be an improvement over the older setup. The other part of this deal are the bushings I had the shop make up. They are the right OD and length and will be reamed to size once installed. The interior work was up to me so I set about finishing off the upper bushing today. The upper bushing has a gallery in the middle fed by two grooves to get grease distributed. I cut the inner groove with my lathe no problem. I shrank it 10% or so over the original to allow the shaft to have more support surface. The two grooves are at 180 degrees from each other and only from the bottom to the center grease gallery. I debated about how to do this and decided on mounting my Dremel tool to the lathe and run a ball burr. I found an arm threaded for the nose of my Dremel tool online pretty cheap. It works great, I tested it on the old bushing. Unfortunately the ball burr I picked up for this task was bigger than anticipated and made a groove too wide. I tried to find a smaller one while I was at lunch today but they were all way too small. I ordered an 1/8" one that should be perfect. Since I had the lathe going I made a small stand off with a centering ring for a washer to mount a vintage reflector on the back of the dodge. I blasted the zinc off the washers and stud so they rust and match the car. I replaced one of the bolts holding the taillight in to mount the reflector, I need all the sparkle I can get so no one rear ends me! The reflector came with a parts car I bought recently, it came in a box of parts and was pretty beat up but I tapped the dents out of it and got it looking presentable. The parts car itself came last weekend, a restored chassis done sometime in the past with an unrestored body. The plan is to sell what I can't use and keep the parts I can for current and future needs. It's an early '23 car so the wheelbase is the same as my '20. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Perkins / Mn Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 (edited) I like those disc wheels on the parts car……you are planting the Dodge bug in my garden. Keep up the great work! Edited August 18 by Jeff Perkins / Mn (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted August 19 Author Share Posted August 19 22 hours ago, Jeff Perkins / Mn said: I like those disc wheels on the parts car……you are planting the Dodge bug in my garden. Keep up the great work! I gotta say you could do worse! These early Dodges are pretty simple and easy to work on, most parts seem to be available, and the two main vendors are great. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 On 8/18/2024 at 6:06 AM, Jeff Perkins / Mn said: I like those disc wheels on the parts car……you are planting the Dodge bug in my garden. Keep up the great work! Hey there Jeff P! I have never had a Dodge of any year. But I have known at least a dozen people that have/had 1910s or 1920s four cylinder Dodge automobiles. The general opinion I gather is that the Dodge is only slightly slower on the open road than a good model T Ford (lower gear ratio). However, every one of those people love their Dodges and loved driving them almost anywhere. Does that help? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Perkins / Mn Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 3 hours ago, wayne sheldon said: Does that help? Doubtful….I’ve had Model T Fever for 50 years now…..no known cure😂😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Bennett Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 How very unusual for me to be totally lost for words to explain how lost for words I am regarding your progress on the 1920 Dodge Roadster. There is always something I can add, suggest, criticize or recommend regarding a project of this enormity, but in this case I can only say pay particular attention to the starter/generator relay in the starter switch. They are super prone to going bad, are polarity sensitive and it takes a single short circuit to kill one. Your dashpot setting in the carburetor is right on! The vacuum tank is a critical part of the fuel system, and it appears that my 1923 Dodge Brothers Roadster doesn’t like an electric fuel pump. Safety issues are withheld for a future discussion. Your non-fast four engine has no intake manifold. However, there is an air intake pipe running through the block to the air intake port of the carburetor. There is a temperature setting on this pipe, between the carburetor and where the pipe enters the block. Make sure this (preheated) pipe is present and the opening is in the “open” position. Beautiful car and great project/progress……congratulations on both. Jack 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Bennett Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 Forgot to mention. It was necessary to add brake and turn signals to the 1923 DB Roadster to make it street legal. I went LED on both the headlights and the tail lights. The tail light addition is frenched into the fenders and hardly noticeable until they are used. Jack 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted August 22 Author Share Posted August 22 (edited) Thanks for the kind words Jack! I keep that little stove pipe intake door closed when I'm not working on it, looks like a good mouse entrance, lol! I do plan to run it open. Fortunately where I live cars are not required to have any modern lights/equipment unless it left the factory with it installed. I'll have to rig up something on mine so I don't get run over by the general population. The car came with a magnetic tail light that looks to have been used for excursions... Nice looking roadster you have there, I can appreciate the effort it took to get it looking like it does. Many happy miles to you and yours! Edited August 22 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Bennett Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 My 1923 DB Roadster sat in the basement of a fellow from 1958 to 2022 with the short block sitting loose on the frame. He had installed the tail pipe to the exhaust manifold, but the head and other engine parts had not been installed. During the year I replaced several bent valves and corrected the camshaft timing in hopes to get it running. But, to the best of my efforts, even though the engine had good compression, fire, and fuel it would not hit a lick. Rodger (Dodger) Hartley, (deceased), was the technical advisor for the Dodge Brothers Club, and he lives near me here in Tacoma. So, in sheer desperation I told him of my dilemma, what I had done so far, and asked for his advice. I scoffed when he told me that the mice, using the exhaust pipe as a entry, had built a nest in the portion of the block used as a manifold, and I needed to clean it out. Swallowing my pride, I used a straightened piece of wire coat hanger and began the task of prodding the intake and exhaust ports. And, exactly as Rodger had said, I fished out shreds of animal hair, bird feathers, string and what was probably the remains of a twin size mattress. That done, the engine was sealed up and has ran like a clock since. Jack 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted August 23 Author Share Posted August 23 11 hours ago, Jack Bennett said: My 1923 DB Roadster sat in the basement of a fellow from 1958 to 2022 with the short block sitting loose on the frame. He had installed the tail pipe to the exhaust manifold, but the head and other engine parts had not been installed. During the year I replaced several bent valves and corrected the camshaft timing in hopes to get it running. But, to the best of my efforts, even though the engine had good compression, fire, and fuel it would not hit a lick. Rodger (Dodger) Hartley, (deceased), was the technical advisor for the Dodge Brothers Club, and he lives near me here in Tacoma. So, in sheer desperation I told him of my dilemma, what I had done so far, and asked for his advice. I scoffed when he told me that the mice, using the exhaust pipe as a entry, had built a nest in the portion of the block used as a manifold, and I needed to clean it out. Swallowing my pride, I used a straightened piece of wire coat hanger and began the task of prodding the intake and exhaust ports. And, exactly as Rodger had said, I fished out shreds of animal hair, bird feathers, string and what was probably the remains of a twin size mattress. That done, the engine was sealed up and has ran like a clock since. Jack They are invasive little buggers, I have to keep chicken feed stored in metal containers as they ate through my rubbermaid garbage cans once! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Bennett Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 1 minute ago, Lahti35 said: They are invasive little buggers, I have to keep chicken feed stored in metal containers as they ate through my rubbermaid garbage cans once! The first old car I bought was a 1927 Willys Knight 70A sedan. The car was placed in a grain silo probably fifty years ago. After thirty or forty years in the grain silo, the Great Grandfather of the girl I bought the car from died and his son moved it outside. I suppose this must have been in the mid to late 1970’s. Then the grandfather died and the girl inherited the car in about 2020-2021. Her husband had several classic cars he was in the process of restoring, so trailering the car from Oregon to Tacoma was no real problem. But, the Willys didn’t fit the description of the sort of cars the girls husband worked in, so it was placed in a darkened rear corner of one of his garages and left for another year. The car finally came up for sale, and, since I had decided to buy a old car to restore, I went to look at it. As I’ve said, the garage was dark and the car was in a corner so I was unable to get a good look at what I was buying. The guy put battery in the car, it started, and I bought it. A few days later they brought the Willys to my home on a trailer and I nearly choked on my own Adam’s apple when I saw it. Apparently the rats, having eaten all the grain in the silo, started consuming the Willys, from the top down. In the five or so decades it was in the silo, I guess they eat the top and almost all the wooden slats it was made of. Then, it appears, they chewed all the wood used to make the window, door and windshield frames.. It was probably about then the roofless car was moved outside into the weather and this made it possible for them to eat the wooden floor boards and all the upholstery. By the time I saw the car for the first time the roof, the wooden parts of the body, the floors and every speck of upholstery had been eaten and pooped neatly in a stack where the rear seat springs rested. I am truly amazed that such small creatures could eat so much, of such big things, and poop a literal mountain of something so disgusting. And even more amazing is that something this disgusting could be made even more so by being rained on for the same amount of time a kid is born, attends grade school, college and med school, becomes a doctor and retires . Jack 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Bennett Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 On 5/26/2024 at 7:51 PM, Lahti35 said: I did some more digging today... Found some good and bad. The water neck was gooped with sealant and looks beautiful. The pump itself is leaking from the packing nut. When I address it I may just get a new shaft for the packing to ride on. I noticed it started leaking after I turned the engine over by hand and has some corrosion creeping out of it. The reinforced rubber connector disc from the pump to distributor is petrified and in need of replacement. Some funky spring extension going on here... At some point someone added a filter to the vacuum tank. I don't like it hanging way out there on a pipe extension. We all know how fragile these SW vacuum tank tops are so it has to go. I have seen an "Gascolator" made filter that hooks directly to the vacuum canister top with a banjo bolt and washers so i'll try to find one of those. Note the dark urine sample in the red filter... The old girl needs to drink more water. I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the distributor cap and rotor. I believe the distributor is missing it's original condenser that goes into the two holes under the rotor at the bottom. The points look ok too. I pulled the spark plugs to get a look at what was going on in the cylinders and am very happy to report they all are dry, no oil. Rich with carbon but no signs of oil sneaking past rings. They all look just like this one. Something also sort of neat is the number of alemite fitting caps that are present. I've found several in place so far, never had a car with so many caps. After surveying I officially started in at my favorite place to begin, the battery cables. They're the typical crusty, corroded, mess I'm familiar with and will all be replaced. I pulled them along with the starter switch box for rehab to measure cable sizes and connectors. Time to start ordering parts. As you redo the battery cables and starter switch wiring, pay particular attention to the need for a dedicated ground cable between the chassis ground and the starter switch box. There is a, too often ignored, lug on the rear of the starter switch box labeled “ground” and it was put there for reasons other than cosmetic. That box has a set of relays which redirect the amperage provided by the battery to turn the starter. These relays also break the high amperage circuit required to turn the starter to a lower amperage current now flowing from the starter/generator to charge the battery. The windings of the relays cannot handle the overload of amperage flowing between the battery, switch and starter, and, because the switch is mounted on a wooden floor panel, this is exactly what happens when grounding is sent directly to the relays using the ground provided by the ground lug of the generator relay. It takes less time to destroy this switch with a faulty/missing ground wire than it takes for the noxious smell of it burning to reach your nose. Sure, we old guys have a lot of loose money, and we love to waste it on our old cars……….but it is more productive, and a lot cheaper, to install a good ground wire to the switch than it is to buy a new switch……and since there are at least four versions of this switch……..the slight probability of finding another in good working order. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 3 Author Share Posted September 3 On 9/1/2024 at 10:52 AM, Jack Bennett said: As you redo the battery cables and starter switch wiring, pay particular attention to the need for a dedicated ground cable between the chassis ground and the starter switch box. There is a, too often ignored, lug on the rear of the starter switch box labeled “ground” and it was put there for reasons other than cosmetic. That box has a set of relays which redirect the amperage provided by the battery to turn the starter. These relays also break the high amperage circuit required to turn the starter to a lower amperage current now flowing from the starter/generator to charge the battery. The windings of the relays cannot handle the overload of amperage flowing between the battery, switch and starter, and, because the switch is mounted on a wooden floor panel, this is exactly what happens when grounding is sent directly to the relays using the ground provided by the ground lug of the generator relay. It takes less time to destroy this switch with a faulty/missing ground wire than it takes for the noxious smell of it burning to reach your nose. Sure, we old guys have a lot of loose money, and we love to waste it on our old cars……….but it is more productive, and a lot cheaper, to install a good ground wire to the switch than it is to buy a new switch……and since there are at least four versions of this switch……..the slight probability of finding another in good working order. Jack My car does have a ground wire from the switch to the engine. Typically I add at least one non-factory ground strap from the engine directly to the frame to ensure a good connection. No exceptions here, this roadster will get a good grounding to ensure everything is working correctly. I sure don't want to fry any parts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 3 Author Share Posted September 3 I'm pleased to report I have finally been able to wrap up the coil/distributor assembly. The parts car had a function stock type coil on it's assembly so I swapped it to the original case. Turns out it was a vintage coil and not one of the reproductions. It's in nice condition complete with label. The original case was kinda nasty inside so I sand blasted it and primed the interior. I made new gaskets and cleaned all the contacts to ensure no resistance issues. Installed on the assembly... Complete with correct North East wire nuts! I was missing one but the parts car had two so now I've even got a spare. Ready for install. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 3 Author Share Posted September 3 (edited) I also got into the fan today. The tips of the blades were bent and it was flopping around on fan shaft so the bushings or shaft were worn. The parts car had a nice fan although it was the wrong type being 4 blade instead of 6. I figured I could swap the shaft and bushings from the 4 blade fan to the 6 blade and be good to go. The 4 blade fan parts cleaned up nice and indeed were not worn like the original. Pulling the original was a bit of work as you can't just pop it for the block mount, not enough room between the fan and radiator to get it off. I had to loosen the two radiator mount nuts on the front frame crossmember then undo the radiator brace from inside the dash so I could tilt the rad forward enough create space. Once it was off I degreased it, gently straightened the blade tips, and checked for cracks (none found). Installing the salvaged bushings was straight forward, they just need to be reamed to fit the fan shaft. Edited September 3 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 3 Author Share Posted September 3 I've been curious about this block water connector since I got the Dodge. Someone had been attempting to stop a leak with 1/2 a tube of sealant at some point... It didn't look any better removed, lol! The parts looked much better after cleaning, I was surprised the casting wasn't rusted up bad, it was actually mostly rust free. Turns out it was cracked though on the hose side. This must have been the leak they were trying to stop with all that sealant, none was applied to the cracked area. When in place it would have been hard to find so I can see why they missed it, maybe the block joint was leaking too... Who can say! Fortunately I have a spare in the parts bin so no big deal. The other odd thing about this setup is the washer that was on the stud holding the neck in place. I looks like some kind of floorboard fastener nut but it had some old non-hardening sealer in the recess like someone tried to stop a leak there too. I think a regular washer and some permatex non-hardening sealer would do the job but I'm digging into what's correct... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Perkins / Mn Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 The value of a parts car cannot be overestimated. Good move picking that one up. If one has spare room (in or out) and is recommissioning a lower production car, parts cars are a necessity. I have done this several times over the years. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 3 Author Share Posted September 3 (edited) Still waiting on the springs. Eaton said they could do it based on a picture I sent, last time I checked they were in the que for production late last week. Hopefully soon, the roadster is starting to look like barn find as it's been in the same spot for months now. I thought I had the steering box squared away last week but the new shaft I had made was bent just under .004" so I had to take it apart and get the shaft back to the shop so they can straighten it. I couldn't figure out why the shaft would not rotate smoothly through 360 degrees until I put a dial indicator in it. Stuff happens, no big deal, it will be nice when done. Lots of going in circles on this car but we'll get there eventually. Back when I got it I had a brief fleeting dream of taking the roadster to the Old Car Festival in Dearborn but that was short-lived, like less than a week, lol. It'll have to wait until it's sorted but the wife and I plan to go this coming weekend. I hear the featured make this year is Dodge🙂 Edited September 3 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 Lahti35: Hope to meet you at the OCF. Sorry your Dodge Brothers can't make it as I was sorry not to meet up with you and your Nash. We will be doing the Lansing to Dearborn run (as passengers). We will just be visiting fellow Buick buddies and their cars on Saturday. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 4 Author Share Posted September 4 9 hours ago, dibarlaw said: Lahti35: Hope to meet you at the OCF. Sorry your Dodge Brothers can't make it as I was sorry not to meet up with you and your Nash. We will be doing the Lansing to Dearborn run (as passengers). We will just be visiting fellow Buick buddies and their cars on Saturday. Let's make it happen, I sent you a message. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 6 Author Share Posted September 6 (edited) Finally some progress! I'm 99% done with the steering box, just need to finish drilling the shaft and installing the pin for the steering shaft connector. What a fight it's been. I picked up the straightened shaft from the machine shop yesterday as well as some extra bushings I had them make for other boxes. This AM I pressed the worm gear onto the shaft without issue. Once I had the bearings and bushing collar on I set about spending the next 2 hours trying to get the steering shaft coupler on. I don't know if they grew or what during removal but the fit was too loose and I could almost slide it on by hand. I thought maybe it would firm up using the press to slide it down the rest of the way but nope, still loose in it's final position. I didn't want to do anything to the shaft as the bushing has to slide off the backside so I figured I could mabe shrink the steering shaft collar a bit. I used a torch to heat the end up red and put it in my lathe chuck then closed the jaws a bit, worked too well on the first one I tried and I made it too small. The second one worked great though and I ended up with a nice press fit and no shimmy. I set the steering arm gear to a spot that had no wear and and adjusted the backlash with the small nut on the side that locks the eccentric bushing in place once you get it where you want. I was fortunate that my eccentric was in great shape with only minimal wear. On went the gasket with some non-hardening sealer and then I buttoned it up and set the in/out play with the adjustment nut on the cover. Before I locked everything down I checked the movement and finished filling the box with 00 grease. I found this stuff at Tractor Supply and is their equivalent to the JD corn head stuff. I think it will work well, it's stiff enough to not run out like oil but flows well enough to get into all the crannies. The top of the box has a leather seal that the locking bolt for the upper bushing runs through. It is an opening (although small) into the box so I made sure to reproduce the original part and fill up the gap in the casting. As soon as I get the pin material I'll finish it up and set it aside like the distributor/coil assembly. The spring parts are currently being finished and it will be much easier to put all this stuff back on once I can move the Dodge out from it's current space, wedged against the woodpile inside my barn. If I had known it was going to take this long to get springs I would not have put it there, a cramped work area if ever there was one. It's been a real fight to cram myself down the drivers side with only 12" of space, looking forward to freeing her from the purgatory I created back in June! Edited September 6 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 6 Author Share Posted September 6 I've been doing a little shopping this last month... The Dodge came with no mirrors, nor did it look like it ever had any. While I do live in a rural area I need something to check my six for those attempting to run me down. The trick is finding stuff that matches the car's condition. I don't want to start bolting chrome plated reproduction mirrors on... I found a NOS vintage accessory rear view mirror that mounts to the windshield and installed it. I also found this spotlight with a mirror that matches the condition of the car very well... Even though the mirror is a touch poorly from age the light itself just looked too perfect. I'll have the mirror resilvered at some point and rewire the spotlight to get it working again. I'm also working on putting together a vintage tool kit for the old girl. It came with a jack and a few other bits but it's not much. I found this Monroe tire pump patented in 1920 and was able to locate a period advertisement that shows it's inner workings so I can restore it to working condition. The rubber hose is surprisingly soft and flexible, go figure! I've never restored one of these so it will be an interesting little side project. Last but not least I found this nice, working, little tire gauge that dates from the late 20's but looks right at home with the rest of the stuff. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 8 Author Share Posted September 8 (edited) I got my springs this evening... boy what a disappointment. Eaton said they could do it when I sent them pictures but the eye to bushing fit is so bad you can wiggle the bushings around with your fingers... No way I'm putting these new springs on a front axle. I sent them a letter so we'll see what they say. In any case I'm much better off rebushing the original springs, the eye is formed much better and holds the bushing securely. I'm not sure how they did it 100 years ago but I can't believe it can't be reproduced today, crazy. It must just be too tight a bend for today's equipment. These were not cheap either, I'm not a happy camper but i'll give them the chance to make it right. I'll rebush the originals and put them back on the car while I keep a look out for some better originals. The rest of the day was nice... My wife and I went down to the Old Car Festival at Greenfield Village and spent the afternoon looking at cars and breathing in fumes. Lots of neat stuff to see. I ran into a few people I know and met up with forum member dibarlaw and his wife. They had been passengers in the lansing to OCF run featuring prewar iron traveling from Lansing MI. to Dearborn MI for the show. We had a good time talking with them about their experience on the run and getting acquainted... Nice to meet you Mr. & Mrs. Dibarlaw! Turns out my wife is very fond on Lincolns and Packards, she just loved watching them drive around. We also stopped at Ford's Garage for lunch where I ate, then pee'd in a beer keg, and then washed my hands in a tire. Fun place to eat, lots of parts stuck on the walls, and the staff was very nice🙂 There were quite a few Dodge cars there at the show and I got to talk at length with the man who sold me the parts car about his 1923 touring that was present. I didn't know he was going to be there so that was a nice surprise. His touring is a very nice car, very correct. The 1915-1923 or so cars were kind off by themselves down in a depression near the field where they play the "car games". It was a nice little spot that seemed to have a low key friendly atmosphere, I hope they put us there when I apply to take the roadster next year. The other notable thing I saw was a young woman driving a Fiat touring car on the road around the car games area. She was really giving it the gas! She's get on the straightaway by the train tracks and floor it, it was fun to watch the big car take off. Edited September 8 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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