Andydodge

Rodney, I used to watch them here on TV as a kid in the early 60's, think they were on saturday arvo........will check what payTV has listed on the OZ TCM......thanks, andyd

Check the wire inside the distributor and how old are the plug leads?..........andyd

Roger, the Holden book only covers bodies made by Holden, it could be quite possible that the 34 Plymouth Tourer was made by TJ Richards.........and Richards pre war production figures are not known.....supposedly......nice car either way.....andyd

Bill, Eddie Ford publisher of Custom Rodder ceased it publication in the early /mid 1990's, he still does Restored Cars magazine. As for 39 Oz Dodge & Plymouth & big/little bodies, there appears to be 2 different 1939 Dodge/Plymouth bodies used in Oz, at least thats what I have seen........from what I have seen there was an "early'' or maybe 1st series 1939 that had the 1939 front clip on the 1938 "humped back" sedan, this also still used a floor change.......then I have seen what I term a "late or 2nd series" 1939 which used essentially, to my eyes the same basic body shell or similar to Oz 1940 Dodge/Plymouth body shell with "no hump" and this late or 2nd series used a column shift setup..........all 1939's that I have seen as far as I can determine have used the same front sheetmetal within the actual make, ie all 39 dodges used the same front sheetmetal, likewise 1939 plymouths irrespective of the body shell. And then we come to the Cooupes, up until recently I had only ever seen a 3 window, Willys style coupe in 1939 Plymouths & Dodges, however a mate has a 1939 Dodge Coupe that he is rodding & its a 5 window coupe, built by TJ Richards........will get a pic & post....... And of course theres the Utes.....most were 3 Window Coupe Utes........but there must have been the odd exception.........the front on pic of the 1939 Plymouth was taken in the mid 70's by a mate of mine who dissassembled this car which was basically complete......I ended up with the "cab" shell that is it the other pic, yep it was a genuine 1939 Plymouth Roadster Ute, built by TJ Richards, what I had was the cowl, passenger door, passenger rear cab quarter, rear cab panel, drivers side rear quarter and the floor, the cowl included a normal 1939 Plymouth dash and the windscreen posts appeared to be indentical to 1936 Oz Mopar Roadster/Tourer posts........I had these remains for about 10yrs then sold them........DUH!!!........the rear of this Ute was a table top affair, rather then the normal "ute" and was made from wood with various steel brackets, etc. And I thought I'd attach another pic of my 1940 Australian Dodge D15 Coupe..........this was taken on the day I sold it, around 1985/86 and you can see how short the roof was and that use of 4dr sedan doors, also the size of the golf club door........this car has disappeared.........a pity......its the same actual car as shown in the magazine pics.........trust these help to confuse things........lol.......andyd

Fred, muffler bandage would work, you could get the hole welded up or the best bet........drill a few more holes around it so you won't notice that rusty one and the new sound will overcome the old puff, puff sound........lol.......andyd(teenager at heart)

From what I understand that waterpump housing started in 1957 with the lower hood line, also note the 2 barrel carby & intake........yum........speed, power..........lol........andyd

Bob..........lol.........yeh, I know, I rave on a bit.........its just, its just, its just........that I have all this mopar info and its been repressed for 40 yrs and I need to get it out............lol........p1u2n3t&u4a/t7i?o9n was never my strong suite.........lol.........Bob, tell ya what......would you like to be my editor.........you'll only take 40%?........such a deal........lol........you're better than a wicked stepmother to me.........seriously tho' I do appreciate it.......regards, andyd

Mike.....thats Stewart Campbells roadster, he is worth contacting regarding the intake manifold & any other bits you need........andyd

Bob, that dark Blue 1940 Plymouth Coupe was the same body shell as my 1940 Dodge Coupe, only differences were the grille & sheetmetal surrounds, the rear mounted spare was a factory item and the boot lid was in fact the SAME stamping the the Oz body builders TJ Richards used in both Dodge & Plymouth Roadsters and Coupes up to and including 1940.......the boot/trunk lid that my car came with had BOTH the stampings/pressings for the boot hinges AND the side pressings for the rumble seat brackets on the inside boot lid stamping and I know that this Blue Plymouth also had the same boot lid as mine........I ended up getting a replacement bootlid from a 1936 Oz mopar that was indentical to my 1940 lid and have seen the same boot lid used on Oz 1939 Dodge & Plymouth Coupes. For 1940 AND ONLY 1940 TJ Richards based the Oz Coupe used by both Dodge and Plymouth on a SEDAN BODY SHELL........when I pulled my car apart(as every 16yr old does) I found a leaded seam running from one side to the other thru the door openings on the roof and the rear 1/4 sheetmetal attached to the door jam/opening where a normal 4dr sedan centre pillar lived!!......yep I know it was a centre pillar as the pressing for the suicide rear door were there , there were also various sheetmetal joins thru the rear shell around the boot opening and the fact that the sedan rear seat floor riser was still spot welded to the floor indicated that it must of been a case of......." Hey Fred, we've got another order for a coupe.....go & get a sedan shell from out back will ya?......and bring the oxy & hacksaw blades on ya way back" .......and you mention a Ute?........I have only ever seen one and it appeared to have the same roof as the 1940 Oz coupes I have seen........btw did you notice that small rectangular panel on the US drivers side between the door and rear fender........Yep thats the Golf Club Door that all the 1940 Oz Dodge & Plymouth Coupes had, it was about 18" x 12" and went into the front of the trunk or boot........it was the only way short of climbing in that you could get to the front of the trunk, these coupes had a single seat same as a sedan style front bench with a fixed angled timber panel and small parcel shelf under the rear window..........The only exception to this that I have seen was the maroon & cream 1940 Plymouth Coupe thats pictured in a wrecking yard.......I took that pic in about 1970 and that car had a split bench front seat with folding "jump" seats that folded out from the SIDES of the body, NOT like the ASC seats that the USA 40/41 Coupes use. I cannot remember whether this coupe had the golf club door , if it did it was obviously fixed as the jump seat on the passenger side would have taken the place of the door...........and PatS......LHD can be used on both normal and "Club" limited use registration once the car is over 30yrs old. Lee belongs to a local Historic car club and has just recently had his car approved for use under their club plate scheme..........he can use the car on club sanctioned runs and "service" calls........its cheaper than full rego and not quite as strick as normal full rego.........andyd

Bill........sorry, thought you were Barry..........lol........now who am I again?........andyd

Barry......my Oz built 1940 Dodge Sedan used the same TJ Richards built body shell for both the 1940 Dodge and Plymouth, they also both used the same fenders,hoods,trunk lids,head & tail lights & bumpers...the grille sheet metal, grilles, side chrome moldings, badges, emblems, dashboards were make specific............My 1940 Dodge is a D15D a "D15 De-Luxe Sedan"(spelling as per the factory Brochure), it uses the same wheelbase and body shell as the 1940 Plymouth, ie 117" wheelbase.......I have original Australian sales brochures for both 1940 Dodge and Plymouth and whilst the Plymouth only lists the 117" wheelbase both the 117" AND 119" wheelbases are listed in the 1940 Dodge brochure, however in 41yrs of playing with 1940 Dodges I have only ever seen ONE Australian made D14 Dodge , a 4dr sedan that had the US fenders,hood,headlights however it used the Oz style body shell........I have also seen at least one, maybe 2 D15 Special sedans that only had one wiper & tailight.........all the Oz built sedans and coupes for 1940 that I have seen all used the Plymouth tailight........as for what body shells were used I would be pretty certain that from the early 30's the only US based body shells that may have been used would have been the Chrysler & De Soto Airflows and the very occaisonal Imperial Limos..as far as I am aware all pre war ie up to & including 1941 Dodge,Plymouth,DeSoto & Chrysler 4dr sedans would have used Oz built, TJ Richards body shells.........dunno if this helps.........btw have attached a pic of what a genuine Oz 1940 Dodge(and plymouth for that matter) Coupe looks like.....this is a pic of a car I owned, and pulled apart.....hey I was only 16 then, in 1970......I bought the 1940 Dodge sedan I still have as a parts car for it.........the pics are .......(1)my car before I bought it as shown in an Oz magazine, (2)my car 12yrs later after I'd pulled it apart and roughly assembled it to sell, (3) a 1940 Oz Plymouth Coupe in a wrecking yard and (4) a pic(taken in 1974/5) of another 1940 Oz Plymouth Coupe that is now a "restored" turquoise blue/grenn with a supposedly factory dickey/rumble seat which is incorrect.......regards...... andyd

Not sure whether Earl does an intake for the 25" engine, however as these were the more common of the 2 mopar length engines here in Oz there are a few that turn up here from time to time, as for the side plate/valve covers I am pretty sure these are also different between the short & long engines.............check out Vintage Speed in Florida , they list a few mopar bits also .........andyd

Bob, my condolences to your wife & family......my best wishes and regards, Andy Douglas

Yep that gas spill was shown in the US ebay pics and apart from other things, it was this mark that stood out when I first saw the car when my mate was doing the wheel alignment..........its bog stock apart from the Cragar rims that Lee had sitting around so he put them on, it came with the stock rims & hubcaps, its completely stock, am pretty sure the upholstery is the original or a very old redo, its a tan cloth/mohair type of material. Its really neat to be able tosee what changes had been made between the original US 1940 Dodges and when they were released here in Oz, as my car is as mentioned based on the 1940 Plymouth it uses Plymouth fenders,headlight surrounds, bumpers, hood & tailights, note all the little differences in the pics and it was interesting to see how the US hood to nose cone fitted and see that there was sheetmetal in front of the radiator under that nose cone that is completely foreign to me........another thing which I found interesting was that there was a thread on this forum a few days ago about a 1940 Plymouth Glove Box and parts, particularly a "Glove Box Spring"............I'd never heard of such a thing.......but was interested in seeing a pic and realising that even tho I've had my 40 Dodge since 1971 I had always thought the glove box mechanism odd..........in fact my wife had commented that the thing was hard to open as you had to press the button & at the same time open the door.........very difficult sometimes.........I just thought thats how they are..........anyway when I was looking at this 1940 Dodge Coupe yesterday I noticed the glove box slightly ajar, as no lock button or mechanism was present.................guess what?............I had a look inside the glove box door and at the bottom, behind the hinge is?..........yep a glove box door SPRING, which assists to open the GBD when the button is pushed..........o/k, I know I rave..........but THIS IS WHY I THINK THIS FORUM IS GREAT AND THE BEST ON THE NET........after 40 yrs I have learnt something new about my car...........thanks guys.........Andy Douglas

Dunno whether to put my 2cents worth in here........lol......its 11pm Sunday night.........92 degrees F...........anyone got some spare snow?........lol........andyd

Finally had a chance to catch up with the new car in town, this is the first genuine USA 1940 Dodge I have ever seen and I caught up with its owner today with camera in hand. It was an ex Arizona car that the owner Lee bought over about 8-10 mths ago.........anyway I went for a drive around the local area today and took my camera & called in.........he was a pleased as I was, was good to be able to compare the differences between the 2 coupes.......will have to take my 1940 Dodge Sedan next and compare it.....its an Oz Plymouth based car so there are some differences, anyway hope the pics aren't too big....andyd

I'm o/k here on the north coast of NSW but they have been getting a heap of rain up in Queensland a 1000 kms north of me, there was a member of the forum, Rob who I think lived up that way tho' I haven't seen any post from him for a few months now......Andy Douglas

Aero, not sure as I haven't seen the ebay one that you refer to.........but I would think there is a good chance its the same or has been made from the same mold as there wouldn't be too many around.........andyd

Heres a pic of the Edgy head that Earl Edgerton makes for both the 23 & 25 inch engines, this is on my mocked up 230.......hopefully this will get around 150/160 hp......the highest the factory 230's got was 140hp in 1958/59 when they had a twin barrel carby & 8:1 compression.......the Edgy head is suppose to be 9.0:1 so with the extra squeeze, carbys,split exhaust,balance & me leaning forward who knows what it will make...........lol...............andyd

Sixbanger.......these engines are never gunna turn 8 second 1/4s, but with a finned head/milled stock head, 2-3 extra carbs, exhaust headers/split manifold, decent ignition, a good balance job, hot cam, etc.......they might give a flathead ford of similar specs a run for its money.......eventually my 230 will be finished, at present the build is stopped due to lack of funds to proceed.........hopefully soon.........heres where its been at for the past 12 mths..........lol............one day soon........also a pic of the crappy engine bay at present........andyd

Don...nah, we just eat 'em raw.....we're tough down here!...........lol........with few teeth....lol.............andyd

Alan,Moose & Oldguy are right, its just a straight piece of pipe that goes into the oil guage with the small brass collar, these are called "olives" here in Oz, I ended up getting them at a local Hydraulic repair shop........the original mopar one is not the normal rounded shape but if you look closely at Oldguys pic you can see it has a concave area where it seats into the back of the oil guage.......have fun, there a pain but without them theres oil everywhere..........lol...........andyd

There are at least 3 different exhaust manifolds used on the 23" Plymouth engine, each has the exhaust outlet in a different spot........this might not be an "exhaustive" list but.......there is one with the outlet between # 1 & # 2 exhaust ports, then another with the outlet between # 5 & # 6 exhaust ports and a third manifold that has the exhaust outlet after # 6 exhaust port.......My 41 Plymouth uses the second variant, with the exhaust dump between # 5 & # 6, so I got another of these manifolds & a front outlet manifold and cut both exhaust heat risors off, and had the locl blacksmith weld up the open ends.......I now have a pair of split manifolds.......lack of funds at present means I haven't mounted them onto the car but they should work quite well........andyd

Those carbs look to be either Zeniths or English Strombergs......I've got these Oz built Strombergs on my mocked up 230, these came from an Oz 186/202 cube GM Holden six & are a common multlple carb update over here........andyd

Louie, checkout a rack from a Holden Camira, they are the same as the US Cavalier/Pontiac J2000 and are a centre pivot rack, completely different to the Commodore style and as the tie rods pivot from the centre they don't have bump steer problems, I have an Austin 1800 rack in my 1940 Dodge, originally I used a Morris Minor rack as it had the narrowist tierod pivot points however it was no strong enough, I ended up narrowing the Austin 1800 rack 9" which works pretty well, this was in the late 70's, well before Camira's were around.......I'd be checking the Commodore setup real well as I don't think it will be that good..........andyd