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1952 Kingsway fuel gauge


shanes52

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Hey ladies and gents, Im new to the group. I recently bought a '52 kingsway which is on its way to be far from stock.

Biggest issue I have right now is that all of the stock wiring has been scrapped

With that, Im wondering if the stock fuel gauge will handle 12 volts? and if not, is it as easy as adding a resistor? Also, there's a nut with a stud on the gauge, as well as a bullet connector..which one goes to the tank?

Thanks in advance!

gauge back.jpggauge front.jpg13398606_886069008188488_796422642_n.jpg

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Get a 7805 voltage regulator.  It will knock the 12 volts down to a rock solid 5 volts.  Wire it to the + side of the fuel gauge.  They cost around $2/3 bucks.  They will also work well with a stock 6 volt system as it will provide a steady voltage to the gauge as opposed to the voltage swings caused by the charging system.  A lot of after market gauges have regulators built into them.  

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I am guessing your car is a 1951, not 1952. The '52 had silver gauges with black lettering and the '51 is like yours with white lettering on black gauges. Also the name on the trunk is incorporated into the licence plate light bezel in '52 and not separate like on your car. Yours might have been a very late build and registered as a '52 but it shows the signs of being a '51 model. Basically the same cars with only a few minor differences.

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On 11/25/2016 at 5:30 PM, ptwothree said:

Get a 7805 voltage regulator.  It will knock the 12 volts down to a rock solid 5 volts.  Wire it to the + side of the fuel gauge.  They cost around $2/3 bucks.  They will also work well with a stock 6 volt system as it will provide a steady voltage to the gauge as opposed to the voltage swings caused by the charging system.  A lot of after market gauges have regulators built into them.  

My plan was to run a chevy alternator in the car so ill have the voltage regulator built in with that, Just a little less messing around considering the whole car will be 12v. My thoughts are after talking to a friend is to just run a resistor before the gauge to make sure it is only getting 6v and not the full 12

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On 11/25/2016 at 5:49 PM, 1950 Special Deluxe said:

Great photo with the Pilsner can in the background.

Where abouts in Saskatchewan are you?

There are a few of us here.

I have a 50 Special Deluxe.

Welcome to the site.

Haha Thank you! those pil have been the relief to a lot of long nights on the car. Im from Moose Jaw

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On 11/25/2016 at 6:25 PM, RobertKB said:

I am guessing your car is a 1951, not 1952. The '52 had silver gauges with black lettering and the '51 is like yours with white lettering on black gauges. Also the name on the trunk is incorporated into the licence plate light bezel in '52 and not separate like on your car. Yours might have been a very late build and registered as a '52 but it shows the signs of being a '51 model. Basically the same cars with only a few minor differences.

I bought the car last spring from a local car guy. His favorite part about it was confusing people on what the car actually was. Its tagged as a '52 Dodge Kingsway, but I've been finding a lot of things on the car seems to be from different years and models. I'm new to the car, so correct me if I'm wrong. I've been doing lots of research, and can't find the Kingsway with the torpedo style trunk back, but I've found that the Wayfarer matches more to what I have. But! The licence plate bezel, trunk handle, and tail lights to more suit what the Plymouth Cambridge had. Although the Wayfarer had the badge of the front fenders below the chrome trim, my car has the Kingsway badges above the chrome trim.. Again, correct me if im wrong. I would appreciate some more knowledge on what I have. So far I'm going with the theory that the factory that assembled it did it on a friday afternoon, and just used what ever they had laying around for body parts that day

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The USA equivalent to your car is a Plymouth Concord, model P-22, on a 111" wheelbase.   The Dodge Wayfarers had a different, though similar-looking, body.  Your car may be a '52 because Chrysler Canada may not have re-tooled the license plate light to include an integral nameplate due to low anticipated production volume.  A Canadian shop manual from that era may have a serial number breakdown that would help confirm the model year, or someone here can chime in if they know of another reference source.

 

Hope this helps.

Harold

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I wrote an article in the Plymouth Bulletin entitled Who says 49-52s are all the same.  It defines most of the differences.  As Robert KB says above, your car has the look of a 51 BUT I have encountered some which were built with a mixture of defining parts.  Here are several things which will define a 52 Canadian car.  Ball and Trunnion U Joints rather than Spicer, Main wiring passes through the side face of the firewall rather than through the firewall pad  Silver backed instruments with red needles   No over center spring on the clutch.  Several trim differences noted above.  I have a 52 Kingsway convertible which is a different kettle of fish in that it was built in Detroit with the 23 inch engine !

          

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1 hour ago, dpollo said:

I wrote an article in the Plymouth Bulletin entitled Who says 49-52s are all the same.  It defines most of the differences.  As Robert KB says above, your car has the look of a 51 BUT I have encountered some which were built with a mixture of defining parts.  Here are several things which will define a 52 Canadian car.  Ball and Trunnion U Joints rather than Spicer, Main wiring passes through the side face of the firewall rather than through the firewall pad  Silver backed instruments with red needles   No over center spring on the clutch.  Several trim differences noted above.  I have a 52 Kingsway convertible which is a different kettle of fish in that it was built in Detroit with the 23 inch engine !

          

I remember your article in the Plymouth Bulletin about the differences in those models and also several other articles you have done too. Very interesting reading.

John R

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10 hours ago, shanes52 said:

I bought the car last spring from a local car guy. His favorite part about it was confusing people on what the car actually was. Its tagged as a '52 Dodge Kingsway, but I've been finding a lot of things on the car seems to be from different years and models. I'm new to the car, so correct me if I'm wrong. I've been doing lots of research, and can't find the Kingsway with the torpedo style trunk back, but I've found that the Wayfarer matches more to what I have. But! The licence plate bezel, trunk handle, and tail lights to more suit what the Plymouth Cambridge had. Although the Wayfarer had the badge of the front fenders below the chrome trim, my car has the Kingsway badges above the chrome trim.. Again, correct me if im wrong. I would appreciate some more knowledge on what I have. So far I'm going with the theory that the factory that assembled it did it on a friday afternoon, and just used what ever they had laying around for body parts that day

Here are a couple of pictures of my 1951 Dodge Kingsway business coupe when I bought it in 2013. Car looks a lot different now as the motor has been rebuilt and the car has been painted. Hopefully on the road next year or the year after at the latest. Note the trunk name tag and licence plate light bezel. These cars are basically a Plymouth with Dodge trim and quite different than the US Dodge.

DSCN8136.jpg

DSCN8139.jpg

DSCN8315.jpg

And now

IMG_0581_zpscjhpo0w2.jpg

Edited by RobertKB
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  • 4 months later...

The 1951-52 Dodge D39 (Kingsway), D40-1 (Crusader) and D40-2 (Regent) are all based on 1951-52 Plymouth P22 (Concord), P23-1 (Cambridge) and P23-3 (Cranbrook).  Next to nothing on the American Dodge D41 (Wayfarer) and D42 (Meadowbrook / Coronet) will interchange with the D39 or D40.  The D41 and D42 bodies are both longer and wider than the Plymouth bodies.  The D42 body was shared with DeSoto and Chrysler.

The major differences between the 1951and 1952 small Dodge (D39, D40) is the rear nameplate,license lamp housing, and fender side nameplates.  The 1951 version was carried forward from 1950 while the 1952 moved the name down to the license lamp housing.  The nameplate on the front fender used block letters in 1951 while the 1952 models used script.

The Dodge hood ornament was changed for 1952, but I am not sure what was changed.   The hood ornament and the letters on the hood, except for the middle "D", are some of the few parts that are the same for the small and large Dodge models.

One thing about working on old cars - Never assume that what is on the car today was on the car when it rolled off the assembly line.  Many things can happen over the years.  An incorrect trunk nameplate could be the result of someone using an older trunk lid to replace one damaged in an accident.  Or transferring the nameplate from one car to another.

By the way, the serial numbers for 1951 and1952 D39 models -

1951 : 97,004,001 to 97,006,504  -  2,504 built

1952 : 97,006,601 to 97,007,582  -  982 built

Bill

Vancouver, BC

 

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On 11/26/2016 at 11:52 PM, shanes52 said:

My plan was to run a chevy alternator in the car so ill have the voltage regulator built in with that, Just a little less messing around considering the whole car will be 12v. My thoughts are after talking to a friend is to just run a resistor before the gauge to make sure it is only getting 6v and not the full 12

The correct verbiage is "Voltage Limiter". It's a great idea, this guage will not survive a direct 12 VDC.  Most Mopars utilized Voltage Limiter's well into the 1970's.  

These are small, and you can easily mount it on the back of your gauge cluster.  You can make quick easy brackets using a "P" clamp.  I prefer the ones wrapped in rubber....

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I have run a Voltage Resistor on my 1940 Dodge fuel gauge since 1973 when I stuck a 318 poly, auto and complete 12 volt system in it.........the Fuel gauge has the resistor, oil & water gauges are mechanical and the amp gauge reads amps and works fine..............andyd  

IMG_1539.JPG

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  • 2 years later...
On 4/19/2017 at 9:28 PM, B-Watson said:

The 1951-52 Dodge D39 (Kingsway), D40-1 (Crusader) and D40-2 (Regent) are all based on 1951-52 Plymouth P22 (Concord), P23-1 (Cambridge) and P23-3 (Cranbrook).  Next to nothing on the American Dodge D41 (Wayfarer) and D42 (Meadowbrook / Coronet) will interchange with the D39 or D40.  The D41 and D42 bodies are both longer and wider than the Plymouth bodies.  The D42 body was shared with DeSoto and Chrysler.

The major differences between the 1951and 1952 small Dodge (D39, D40) is the rear nameplate,license lamp housing, and fender side nameplates.  The 1951 version was carried forward from 1950 while the 1952 moved the name down to the license lamp housing.  The nameplate on the front fender used block letters in 1951 while the 1952 models used script.

The Dodge hood ornament was changed for 1952, but I am not sure what was changed.   The hood ornament and the letters on the hood, except for the middle "D", are some of the few parts that are the same for the small and large Dodge models.

One thing about working on old cars - Never assume that what is on the car today was on the car when it rolled off the assembly line.  Many things can happen over the years.  An incorrect trunk nameplate could be the result of someone using an older trunk lid to replace one damaged in an accident.  Or transferring the nameplate from one car to another.

By the way, the serial numbers for 1951 and1952 D39 models -

1951 : 97,004,001 to 97,006,504  -  2,504 built

1952 : 97,006,601 to 97,007,582  -  982 built

Bill

Vancouver, BC

 

hi, 

so reading this post, since i have a 1951 D40-1,  have a Dodge shop manual,  Here the question

so I should get a Plymouth shop manual also??

thank you 

Clem

Edited by lepic56
wrong year
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to answer a question away back.  Bullet connector  to the tank sender.

Resistor power supply to the stud.   a marker light from a 70s 80s car makes a good (if makeshift) resistor.

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