What do do with a 1928 Dodge Tourer?

Hey Guys,

A friend of mine has got his hands on a pretty nice straight 28 Dodge Tourer, original everything and in pretty good shape. Its almost a complete car except for the rag top which has disintegrated.
My question is.....what should he do with it? he's not a hamber but I am trying to convince him to keep it traditional. He could restore it but that doesn't seem a whole lot of fun. I was thinking maybe an RPU but I'm into 40's and 50's stuff mostly and I'd like to be able to point him in the right direction - can anyone help? I know its his car, his build but he is kinda just scratching his head right now!

 

Build a tourer out of it. That would be cool!

 

Which body is it- DA, Victory 6, etc?

 

I believe its a DA?

 

here's a pic

 

Don't these era Dodges have juice brakes? Rebuild suspension, brakes, run 16" wheels and
Try running a later flathead 6 with some speed equipment. Tell him to keep it a Tourer.

 

It would be a shame to not keep it as a tourer I agree

 

I don't know about the DA's, but Victories had hydraulic brakes.

chevpickup- thanks fir the pic... I'm at work (school), so it's not showing up- will take a look at it when I get home!

Try PM'ing noboD- he's a Dodge Bros guru!

 

I would put Victory 6 axles & Wire wheels on it ...

Wires look Better & then you can have 4 wheels Juice brakes.

That one you have, I believe has NO front Brakes & Mechanical rear brakes.

Lower it a Lil Bit & leave the rest Stock'ish.

55MERCURY on the HAMB, Sids Dropped Axles in Oaklahoma did a Dropped axle for my '22 Dodge which should be the same axle.

Check out
Dodge Brothers Club - Official Web Page of the Dodge Brothers Club

Just dont chop it up !!!!

 

chop it up and make a tub with a slant six. LOL

 

I'd build a hot rod tourer out of it. Not a high zoot street roddy thing, mayube a trad type of a mill. Some chromies or steelies of some sort and a mild shinney paint job. then drive the wheels off of it.

 

There is a pic floating around of a Ford T touring with the original roof, fenderless, wire wheels, it looks wild. All the touring cars seem to get shortened and made into roadsters, it would be nice to see one complete Dodge or Ford.

Can you suggest that he become a HAMBer? Maybe he could do some searching here, and that will bring him to the wild side. If he isn't that interested in the project maybe he could pass it on to a HAMBer who is.

 

I imagine a Mopar flat 6 would fit a lot easier that a /6.

 

Touring Cars are soooo coool!!! I would love to have a Model A one, even if it's just a chopped up tub!

 

thanks for the advice guys - I'm with you, its too nice to chop up. He has a hemi from another project he'd like to use so that will probably go into it - will try and get him to join up!

 

definately tourer, the "uted" tourers are the reason the rear sections are hard to find he has the rear section on a what looks like a solid car.

 

Without a doubt, this car would be a prime candidate for restoration, and I love to look at beautifully restored or incredibly well-preserved original cars. However, a bone-stock car of this vintage is not much fun to own unless hauling it around in an enclosed trailer is your idea of fun. Unless you're in a very small town or a rural area with little traffic, even in first-rate condition it's not practical to take out on the road and drive. The car probably has a stump-puller rear end ratio so the engine is wound up tighter than an eight-day clock to go 40 MPH. And I'd really hate to have to make a panic stop from 40 MPH with mechanical brakes only on the rear end. I don't want anything I can't safely drive at highway speeds. I'm all for keeping it looking like a '28 Dodge, but I vote for a later Dodge flathead 6, geared for highway cruising, lowerd down out of the clouds (not only to look good but also a lower center of gravity makes it less likely to turn over and makes for fewer white knuckle rides when you get a crosswind or the wind off a big truck passing you), seat belts and brake light/turn signals, 12V electrical system, good brakes on all 4 wheels, upgrade the steering box with something like a Ford Econoline or Dodge A-100 van box. As for the slant 6 suggestion--I am fond of the little leaning tower of power, great engines that are really hard to kill, but I just can't see one fitting very well into the narrow engine space of a '28 Dodge. I guess I'm saying build something that looks like it could have been built in the '40s or '50s--I'd go with the flat 6 unless I could find an early '50s Dodge Red Ram, which would be beyond cool and really HAMB-friendly.

 

As a Hemi person, I give that a thumbs up!