Looking For An Expieienced DB Mechanic

[busaf4]

I have come to the conclusion that my 1920 Dodge car will never see the road unless the car is looked out by a professional.I simply to not have the knowledge or skill level to correct numerous problems. Knowing the theory of operation is a whole lot different than practical experience.I was wondering if anyone know of someone in the NJ/Eastern PA/ NYC area that knows how to fix these cars. I learned a good lesson about old cars with a 1967 XKE JAGUAR. It basically sat for 15 years and none of the tinkerers who called them selfs mechanics could fix it. Generally they usually made things worse. By a stroke of luck, someone put in touch with a professional that had over 35 years experience just fixing XKE's. To make a long story short, I now have a great car that I could even feel confident of driving long distances and it has been a joy to own and drive. I hope this will happen to my Dodge.

Art

[nearchoclatetown]

What is wrong with your DB?

[Jan Arnett]

A 1920's Dodge is not a Jaguar. I have owned them both. Most cars in the teens and twenties were designed so the owner could work on them and he/she did not have to be a mechanic. If you take it one step at a time and concentrate on electricle or fuel first it will not take you long to get it running. Do not try to work on everything at once. Start with one problem post it to the forum and we will get you running in no time. As mentioned earlier what will it do and what won't it do. Get on ebay and buy a owners manual for your car and it will help you solve 90% of your problems. Here are the steps I follow when confronted with a car that has been sitting for twenties. 1. Drain all gas lines and blow out the lines. 2. Remove the spark plugs and replace them. 3. Drain the old oil and dump a gallon of kerosene in the crank and let set for a day. Drain and flush again. On the dodge remove the oil line, strainer and oil pump and clean. 4. Check the distributor cap, wires and points. 5. Check the coil and condenser with the battery install. 6. Squirt some oil in the cycl. and put fresh oil in the crank case. 7. Turn over the engine by hand. 8. Check for spark at the plugs. 9. Prime the engine. See if the engine will start. 10. Put gas in the vac tank and see if the carb. holds gas or leaks. 11. Try and start it.

[busaf4]

Thanks Jan for the advice. I do have the manuals however much of the problems are because of "buggered work" from previous owners. I suspect the electric fuel pump is flooding the carb since it was designed for a vacuum gravity feed system. Much of the orgianl wiring was removed and new wires were installed in sloopy and perhaps incorrect fashion. I did flush out the gas system. I have yet to find some information that shows where each of the three North East G-1 brushes are postioned. THe North east booklet does not show that. I do not touch anything that I am not sure othrwise I will have more problems and just be another "bugger tinkerer"

Art

[Jan Arnett]

Art: You are on the right track. Just take your time and fix one thing at a time. I have never seen a car designed for a vac tank work correctly on a electric fuel pump unless you rebuild the carb with plastic tipped needle valves. You can just not lower the fuel prssure low enough to stop leaks. If you have the origninal vac tank they are simple to rebuild and then get rid of the fuel pump. The electrical system is very simple to rewire and i wrote an article on how to do it. If you will send me your email I can send it to you. I will pull out my electrical manual and see if I can give you a picture on the brushes. As long as they are in theirolders and have springs they should auto center so I am not sure what you are looking for. Hope this helps. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />