Future Dodge Project

[03coloradowrangler]

Figured you guys would get a kick out of a few photos of my upcoming adventure this summer.

Backstory. Grandpa acquired a 1940 dodge from his supervisor for transportation while working in Saleen for Ford Motors. without a vehicle at the time due to a recent collision he picked up this old dodge for cheap - from what he remembers. drove it for a few years, parked it, sat in a field then drove it into his barn and covered it with a tarp. ~60 years later we pulled the tarp off and looked it over.

Frame is solid, body is 99% surface rust specs from the tarp and motor is beautiful. drivers door jamb lower needs some attention, a dent nearby in the door, holes in the floor and some door glass replacement & the interior fabric is non existent other than what the mice and other rodents have pulled off the seats onto the floor everything else is there. its going to be one hell of a project but the intention here is to basically just get it up and running and on the road for short trips. no intentions of full on restoration whatsoever.

 

[Chris]

That has the potential to be really awesome when it’s done!

 

[Modoc Guy]

Cool old ride!

Even better that it’s from your grandfather. Good luck with a great project!

 

[Jamison C]

@Squatch

 

[Squatch]

Figured you guys would get a kick out of a few photos of my upcoming adventure this summer.

Backstory. Grandpa acquired a 1940 dodge from his supervisor for transportation while working in Saleen for Ford Motors. without a vehicle at the time due to a recent collision he picked up this old dodge for cheap - from what he remembers. drove it for a few years, parked it, sat in a field then drove it into his barn and covered it with a tarp. ~60 years later we pulled the tarp off and looked it over.

Frame is solid, body is 99% surface rust specs from the tarp and motor is beautiful. drivers door jamb lower needs some attention, a dent nearby in the door, holes in the floor and some door glass replacement & the interior fabric is non existent other than what the mice and other rodents have pulled off the seats onto the floor everything else is there. its going to be one hell of a project but the intention here is to basically just get it up and running and on the road for short trips. no intentions of full on restoration whatsoever.



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That is awesome! Love stuff like this. If you're into this kind of thing, might I suggest "Cold War Motors" on YouTube. They've been on for ten or eleven years, but the earliest ones are a little hard to watch (very raw production). A good start would be to watch "Straight-8 Showdown". That is a small series of episodes, but is very well done. There are plenty of other shorter episodes where they get these old rigs up and running. New episodes every Saturday at 1:00pm. Roughly an hour long.

 

[03coloradowrangler]

the real joy here is that its very simple electronics and basic mechanics & grandpas excited to see if it'll get up and running on the road.

it is a bit out of my realm as I'm more familiar with plugging in a scanner and pairing it with my phone to see whats wrong with a car... in general. I have seen and been around points, carbs, disassembled motors and transmissions. but the real curiosity for me is physically getting my hands into the ignition system and carburetor and adjust/set & learn how what they are hands on.

I realize this is a massive undertaking and not just a simple snap of the fingers and its running but I do have access to a trailer, the tools, someone with knowledge of old vehicles and plenty of time to putter around with it.

being that this thing has no real collector value per say especially at the condition it is in I believe I will have plenty of hands on repairs be it body, electrical, mechanical and whatever else.. even though it may not be the correct way of doing it, there will be a way.

I expect further pictures and progress of this once the weather improves, the grounds covered in snow and the soil hasn't fully froze yet & the barn its stored in has quite a incline leading up to the 2nd floor entry door. additionally the new home barn for it currently has my jeep stored in it for the winter among 4 other vehicles that require rearranging first.

That is awesome! Love stuff like this. If you're into this kind of thing, might I suggest "Cold War Motors" on YouTube. They've been on for ten or eleven years, but the earliest ones are a little hard to watch (very raw production). A good start would be to watch "Straight-8 Showdown". That was is a small series of episodes, but is very well done. There are plenty of other shorter episodes where they get these old rigs up and running. New episodes every Saturday at 1:00pm. Roughly an hour long.

ill look into it, ive been watching Keiths garage a bit lately. very explanative what he's up to with his Plymouth as he's doing things and learning as he goes it seems but knowledgable for the most part.

edit - ill subscribe. quite the collection of cars.

 

[Squatch]

the real joy here is that its very simple electronics and basic mechanics & grandpas excited to see if it'll get up and running on the road.

it is a bit out of my realm as I'm more familiar with plugging in a scanner and pairing it with my phone to see whats wrong with a car... in general. I have seen and been around points, carbs, disassembled motors and transmissions. but the real curiosity for me is physically getting my hands into the ignition system and carburetor and adjust/set & learn how what they are hands on.

I realize this is a massive undertaking and not just a simple snap of the fingers and its running but I do have access to a trailer, the tools, someone with knowledge of old vehicles and plenty of time to putter around with it.

being that this thing has no real collector value per say especially at the condition it is in I believe I will have plenty of hands on repairs be it body, electrical, mechanical and whatever else.. even though it may not be the correct way of doing it, there will be a way.

I expect further pictures and progress of this once the weather improves, the grounds covered in snow and the soil hasn't fully froze yet & the barn its stored in has quite a incline leading up to the 2nd floor entry door. additionally the new home barn for it currently has my jeep stored in it for the winter among 4 other vehicles that require rearranging first.


ill look into it, ive been watching Keiths garage a bit lately. very explanative what he's up to with his Plymouth as he's doing things and learning as he goes it seems but knowledgable for the most part.

edit - ill subscribe. quite the collection of cars.

I have an absolute love for the old and obsolete. The simplicity is such a draw. I hope you find it to be the same. Enjoy, my friend!

 

[Cheesy]

Great old car. Even better that it's pre war. Has it got a a manual or semi auto trans?

The old Chrysler Corp. flat head sixes are pretty bullet proof but can suffer from overheating. Do yourself a favor and give the cooling system a serious once over. Pay close attention to the water distribution tube on the valve side of the block, behind the water pump. If it's blocked with crud, or worse, collapsed, you'll have no end of trouble until it's fixed. My Dad cooked a piston in his 48 DeSoto because the tube was blocked.

The odd shaped thing left of the round hole is the water distribution tube in now my DeSoto. Not only was it blocked with RTV and crud, this one is a replacement and installed incorrectly. The edges of the tube should be tight against the block.

 

[rjinaz86323]

Great project. My first car was a '41 Plymouth Coupe. Sadly it got caught in a flood and was destroyed. Had a lot of fun in though.

Right now I am helping my best friend do a frame-off rest mod of a '68 Dodge D100 pickup. Had a slant six / 3 speed, but when finished it will sport a mild 383 with a Torqueflite 727. We are mounting the bodywork on an '89 Dodge frame to ge the independent suspension. So far it is completely dis-assembled and just returned from the sandblaster with a base primer coat. Now the re-assembly begins.

 

[Rick Flair]

It’s not hard to learn the basics. Do that. It won’t be a 2020 car but you can work on it and it’s not hard.