1934 Dodge Full Body Off Restoration by Ian_Greenlaw

4 minute(s) of a 362 minute read

Hi all,

Got the radiator cowl back and he did a brilliant job. ( mind you it hurt the bank balance something fierce !! ). I'll decide later if I'll leave as is or I'll get the front part painted as it forms a point at the base where the crank hole cover goes. Mounted the crank hole cover and I found a guy in central Victoria that redoes the glass enamel emblems. I sent him my original but he said it was too far gone so he said he'd keep an eye out for one for me. Two weeks later he found one and he restored it to original. The skills these people have ! I've attached a photo but this is a 1933 emblem so mines a little different but you get the idea of the quality of work he does. Installed the radiator into the surround and mounted on the chassis. Connected up the radiator hoses. I also put a little extension hose on the drain tap of the radiator so if I did drain it, I wouldn't get radiator fluid everywhere. This hose just pops out below the chassis. Also had the tailshaft fitted with universal joints and balanced and I installed that as well. I bought an Optima red battery as they tend to have a long life when not in use as much. Only thing now to do is start her up and see how it goes. I'll have to wait until a friend drops by as I promised I'd wait until he came over.

Cheers

Ian

6-22-2013

Hi everyone, Went to start the engine and couldn't get it to fire. Had excellent compression and turned over nicely. No fuel in the fuel bowl. Checked the fuel filter I installed and there was fuel in that and all seemed to be ok but still no fuel in the fuel bowl. Decided I'd pull off the short fuel line between the outside of the chassis and the fuel pump and these was the problem. When they made the fuel line they didn't drill a hole in the end for the fuel. Good one ! Drilled a hole, reinstalled the line and she coughed and spluttered a few times and finally ran like an engine should. Holding good pressure too so at least everything worked. Did a few adjustments and left it as it was so I can start it once a month as suggested by the engine rebuilder. After searching for a few years and pair of original Dodge horns came up on Ebay so I decided to buy these and I'll restore them later. No cheap but well worth the look to have original horns. I took my original running boards to Graeme my body shop guy and he had a good look at them. He said that to repair the rust, blast and replace all the surface metal as well as rerubber them the cost would be quite high as they are labour intensive. I spoke to a few people and was recommended Buckeye Rubber and two other people in Australia also wanted new boards. Graeme, my body shop guy for his 34 Chrysler ( as this has the same pattern as the 34 Dodge and Kevin who has a TJR Body Dodge in Portland Victoria. Graeme suggested I contact a friend of his who imports Mustangs from the States and all I had to do was to get them from where they were made to California. All seemed to work out reasonably well and the order was placed. All I had to do was pay the money, wait and hope they look good when they arrive. Cheers Ian