Projects the 1939 dodge sedan build.....

Hi again..I had a thread for this car before , but it was taken off the site unfortunately . So I´m putting this up again just as a post script to the people that helped me in the last thread (Can´t remember there names as all the information has obviously been lost).

anyway. after 4 months the d11 luxury liner arrived in barcelona and I brought it back home last friday.

last friday was the first time I had actually seen the thing..it was in worse condition rust wise than I had hoped but was much more beautiful than I had imagined from the fotos. the curves are very nice and the interior art decoesque detailing is great.

I fell in love with it straight away




so obviously the frustrating wait turned itself into adrenalin and I´ve been on it until now, .

the floor came out, the front came off, the urgent rust has been stripped , treated and primed, horn now works (awesome !!), starter motor works and generator. and today after changing the leads , plugs and sanding the points, the old flatty started up

the gurgling sound from the exhaust is what I´ve been dreaming about




heres the start up vid...it must have been very many years since this has run....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNAMVCr1wgM&feature=youtu.be

 

Hi Sig - change the oil right quick. Some loose stuff & rust in the motor are now loose and should be removed.

Motor does not sound bad, congrats!

 

did it yesterday while the engine was warm,,,expected less than came out so theres a massive oil slick on the floor now, amongst the water and petrol !!

theres a small amount of smoke/ exhaust coming out the oil filler hole when running.is this normal or really bad??

 

by the way, for those who remember the original thread..things have changed based on ridiculous spanish rules.

originally I was going to transplant the engine and running gear from a 1988 jaguar into the dodge (assuming it to be totally knackered and dangerously slow ( I was told 80kmh top speed , which is too slow for around here)

however its impossible to get it registered as an "historico" with non standard engine etc.

so now the flatty is working it gives me faith to go the trad route.

I´ll be giving it a mild channel (6-7 cm) while the floor is out, use the engine and rear suspension, and interior dials etc (which are glorious!)

the worrying thing is the front crossmember, which is rotted through and all the bushes and rubbers, and bearings are long gone. I reckon that simply patching up what I have on the (factory) IFS will cost about 500 € with postage and customs etc...and I have the jag front clip sat right in front of it which measures the same and is the same mechanism (but has disc brakes and better steering ) for free....what would you do????

heres the old and the new (or at least newer)

 

Swap that suspension.

 

yep, that is the obvious logical option...but possibly not the one favoured by the spanish men in suits !

it needs to get documentation..i´d be very surprised if they don´t allow improved braking!!! but then this is spain!

radiator is now back on, oil changed, starts within 3 second and gurgles like a baby

 

You will probably want to put a PCV valve in, hooked up to the road draft tube. Check on p15/d24 for someone who has done it.

 

small update. the jag stuff fits although I won´t dwell on all that, a lot of the rot in the panels has been chopped out and replaced with stainless steeland I´ve loosely bolted it back together to see how much I need for the channeling..10cm will take it to a useable and subtle lowering..the rest can be done on the suspension parts when the official exams have been taken

heres some pix

 

body dropped by about 11cm..starting to look less like a 4 x 4..got to get rid of those jaguar wheels!

 

Mo Mo Mopar!

subscribed!

 

thanks for your support ulu
made up a fender skirt to try out the look whilst repairing the rot in the rear inner fender
I think I might go with it for a while and see....

 

Nice fit on the skirt. I've fought with my skirts from day one. I've never liked the way they fit, but part of that was the fenders were beaded and not really shaped right.

My love-hate relationship with fender skirts has me almost ready to throw them out and radius the wells.

 

I beaded the skirts and the fenders are also, so the fit was easy (took about an hour)
since then the wings are welded , smoothed and starting the blending..also working out the inner details, exhaust (old jag item..double exhaust) and the rear seat which had to be chopped down the fit (by 20cm)

 

out line built a new rear bumper today, a bit inspired in the continental kits that I´ve always liked...only spot welded at I´ve run out of MIG gas !!!

 

I mostly like the bumper but what happens to your paint if you bump something? Does it still work as a bumper at all?

 

The shape is interesting.

 

starting on the visor, made out of the rear wings of the old jaguar (can´t afford a fulton! )
difficult job getting the curves and angles right, but I think it adds to the look

 

How wide is that visor at the center? Looks too thick in the pic but may be an illusion. It looks like it would hamper your visibility.

 

today I had to take the ford out from inside the workshop to have a good look at it in the daylight for finishing, so I used the occasion to turn the dodge so I can start on the "bad side"...which is scary in comparison...3 weeks until the hotrod show !!!!

 

rot on the 2 passenger side wings repaired, rear inner wing repaired (4 m of weld !)..filler primer on which is smoothing out the pocks a lot, rear wing widened by nearly 2 inches, and welded on. front reverse smoothies (or a copy of) made from scrap yard renault steel wheels...I´m knackered!

 

For our colonial readers:

Wings = fenders
4m = 13 feet
Knackered = very tired.

 

hahaha ! better than google translate !

 

save the sway bar off the old front end they are desired by restorers

 

will do ..I´m keeping everything that isnt just rusted out tin just in case. however I can´t imagine theres much call for the stuff here in europe??

 

Love any old Mopar, keep us posted. By the way the skirts look good.

 

Skirts good!....not serious about the continental kit are ya?.....cool build

 

haha, no I used to like ...and probably still do ! the continental kits but not for this.

been busy with the rear end. bumper brackets adapted and bumper fitted, 2nd skirt built and fitted (albeit temporary). number plate moved and holes filled on the boot lid (trunk) to try and bring the aesthetic weight lower. also I threw some lamps that I used to use on the Lambretta on the bumper to give me an idea of how it might work..starting to look like a proper car

 

Looking real good. I love your skirts, keep up the good work.

 

cheers orn. as its in primer and therefore temporary I decided to have a play with some ideas and styling....you´re all gonna hate me !

 

this weekends efforts..3 of the sills are reconstructed, 3 of the door skins, all 4 wings, both bumpers on, the front wheels I reversed, the running boards are nearly there and integrated into the bodywork lines. trying to rebuild the rear light housings also which is very difficult