Guest mspringsteen Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Hello- I have owned my 1937 Dodge 4 door sedan since 1968. I bought it while in high school, drove it as my only car for a few years and over the years it has gone where I have gone, but mostly sat in the garage. . Complete restoration would be great,but I'm not sure the expense would be justified in this make/model. At this point I am having the dings taken out and some painting on the body where needed, am looking at new rubber on the running boards,have considered re-chroming(seems to be a very expensive proposition), would like to find a way to restore the interior metalwoodgrain look on the dash and window trim etc. In doing some investigation on line I see that there is a lot more available than I had realized. I'm not sure how far I will go with this project, but I would like to get her so that she looks good, drives good and is dependable. This forum seems like a great place to share and get new information. when I bought the car while in high school I was a mental midget when it came to mechanics. Owning the car forced me to learn and pick up some limited mechanical skills. I now own and can use a pair of tappet wrenches. What I wasn't able to do the mechanic at the local Standard station could. Back in the 60's every gas station had a mechanic and many of them were still familar with cars from the 30's. Not so today. I appreciate any information and discussion that comes through on the restoration process, repair work and finding available parts. I am glad to have found this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearchoclatetown Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Try www.woodgraining.com for the woodgrain info. They have a video that teaches you how to do it. Saw them at Hershey. Tell them a H.A.M.B.er sent you, they will understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34 Dodge Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Where are you located? I'm in southern California and just had my '34 Dodge restored. I've got a few ideas for you.Ken Sobelhypnotist01@sbcglobal.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mspringsteen Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 I live in the north woods of Michigan-the UP- I'd be interested in hearing your ideas and experience with your restoration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34 Dodge Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Please e-mail me your phone number and I'll be happy to relate my experiences with the restoration, including having the running boards revulcanized in Ohio.Ken Sobelhypnotist01@sbcglobal.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Whip-lash 1 Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 I just read your discription of your '37. I have just completed my '37 Coupe which I have owned since 1962. I was a voyage of challenges. I and my many "new" friends restored it to close to the original as practical - a real buff of '37 Dodges would notice the changes without to much difficulty. Basically I change the 6v to 12v and now the 6 fires when cranked, there is a new drive line in place so I have elimiated the 49 mph shimmy, and it is sporting the new Craiger Mags (I always wanted them when I was a punk but no money) plus an after market heater and electric wiper motors. This summer just completed the interior which has made the whole thing come together and fun to drive. I still and higher geared rear end (any thoughts?) to made the thing cruise easier. I would like to hear what you have to say and how things are going.Happy Holidays!PS - had the wood grain thing done once and it didn't keep so now its painted red to match the rest of the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwollam Posted December 25, 2004 Share Posted December 25, 2004 Hey, I know a guy has a car just like this one! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />Good to see ya on here!Merry Christmas to All!Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mspringsteen Posted December 25, 2004 Share Posted December 25, 2004 This auto forum is OK. What a great way to in hear from others about what works, what doesn't- And get a chance to talk about something that you are interested in.I checked out the web site for the woodgraining process and it looks very good. It looks like something that I could do-but if it doesn't hold up, that's good to know. I don't recall the vibration in my drive line when I used to drive it all the time years ago-but it's bad now. The heater works well if you are sitting in the front seat-especially if you are the passenger-the defroster on the driver side is weak-The head lights have always been very dim-I changed them to sealed beams about 30 years ago -it helped slightly-but I never liked the look of them as well as the old stle with the thin chrome rings. Finding bulbs for the lights before they were sealed beams was difficult. After I changed the lights and still didn't get the results I wanted I suspected that part of the problem might be in the headlight switch, but I haven't done anything about that yet. When I bought the car it had a Stromburg carberator with an automatic choke on it. The choke never worked very well and the carberator had some other problems. When I replaced the carberator I ended up with a Carter. I installed a hand choke that has worked well. I still have the original Stromberg.I would like to keep the car as close to original as possible, but still be practical and have it run well. I have the original 6 volt system in it- that has always worked well for me. It starts well. I also have a crank for it- I got well aquainted with it one winter when money was tight and the starter went out. My temperature sending guage has never worked- The rear main leaks(I just remembered this)- As I write this I keep thinking of things that need to be fixed, repaired or changed-but I'm excited about getting it done- The car was always a lot of fun to drive- my buddies and I had a lot of fun and great memories- tooling down the road, with the front window cranked out, riding the running boards, going down the back roads. When it idled it was so quite and smooth you could hardly tell that it was running. And it still is lot of fun to drive- and it's fun to look at too. The mechanics of todays cars are better and more dependable- the style and beauty of the older cars however are hard to beat. Merry Christmas to all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdee Posted December 27, 2004 Share Posted December 27, 2004 The 37 had a nice woodgrain, very fancy.I sent you an e-mail with more info.Jdee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest carlnut50 Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Dear Whip lash,I had a 37 Plymouth and changed the rear end from 4.11 to a 3.73 ratio It helped alot.All Dodge,Plymouth and I believe Desoto and Chrysler 1937-1956 will work.Allyou do is change the center section.(hogs head)is what we call it.There are 2 sizes of axle splines and you might need to exchange axle gears.Be careful w/shimms to get the right axle float.A 1955 Plym/dodge 6 cyl 3 speed is 3.73 ratio Some powerflite cars are 3.54 Other ratios were optional.Too tall a ratio and you will be down on power.Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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