johnjnr Posted March 4, 2019 Report Share Posted March 4, 2019 Hi All, new to this site and residing in the UK and looking for help. I am taking on a D15 Dodge Coupe from my uncle but unfortunately he has lost all the paperwork for the car. I know the car is a 1940 but would like to know when it was built. I have the engine, serial and body nos and these point to a D15 coupe. ie D14 but export model. The exact model specification I'm a little unsure but its a right hand drive and my uncle imported from South Africa over 20 years ago. If anyone can point me in the right direction i would appreciate it. Regards John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpollo Posted March 4, 2019 Report Share Posted March 4, 2019 the speedometer unit may have a date stenciled on its rear cover. Not proof by any means but a clue. Serial number lists are not necessarily sequential but also may yield a clue. Wheels also may have a date on the inner rim (tube side) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted March 4, 2019 Report Share Posted March 4, 2019 John, welcome aboard.....I too have a D15D 1940 Dodge Sedan, it was an Oz assembled car with a T J Richards body which was an Oz design, similar but different to the US bodies.........I'm curious as to why you need the exact build date.........generally US cars are sold from around September/October as the coming model year car and are the current year vehicle till about August/September when the new model is due........here in Oz I know that was not the case and due to a slow market etc new cars may have been on the market for a year or more after their release but would be sold as the correct model year vehicle, NOT the year of 1st sale...........I also had a 1941 Plymouth Coupe which was a factory RHD export car assembled in South Africa.........my understanding is that Chrysler opened a factory there in 1941 however closed it soon after Pearl Harbour, possibly early 1942, maybe late 1941........whilst your car is a 1940 D15 Dodge due to various delays such as shipping etc I wouldn't be surprised if it may have been assembled in the South African factory in early 1941, however this is just a bit of supposition on my behalf.......have attached a pic showing the D15D(for Deluxe) and body number 475 both on the top passenger side of the firewall...the other chromed plate is the T J Richards/Serial number for 1940.........BTW can you post a pic?..........from the pic of my car you can see the use of various 1940 Plymouth parts used on the D15 models..these include fenders, hood, headlights and tailights, bumpers and the 2" shorter Plymouth wheelbase.............regards, andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnjnr Posted March 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2019 Hi AndyD, Thanks for your reply. Im currently trying to get the Uk registration process sorted and the more information i can get the better/easier it maybe. I have no physical proof that the car is a 1940 however the serial number seems to point that way. From what i have previously gained from the web is that exports were called D15, (as per the extract above??) however the engine number on this car starts D14 and as you can see so does the body number. I understand that the ASC stands for auxiliary seat coupe however i do not know what the 4058 stands for. Hopefully when i submit the forms to our DVLA they will then issue me with a new registration document and appropriate age license plate. Any relevant technical info anyone has would be of a great help. Regards JohnG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted March 5, 2019 Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 O/k..........that IS a 1940 Model Dodge, no ifs, buts or maybes....that is a 1940 Dodge Grille, and RHD dash.............the Plymouth hood and headlights also indicate a D15 as the D14's used a short hood that opened inline from the radiator and the parking lights above the headlights were a 2 piece trapiezoid shape not the triangular D15 Plymouth style.....also does your cars grille attach to the sheetmetal via small screws from the radiator side, ie, you have to remove the triangular metal piece in front of the radiator after opening both sides of the hood and use a screw driver from the rear of the grille........this may seem like a useless piece of info BUT the D14's attached their grilles using screws from the FRONT as having a short hood that stopped you gaining access to the area in front of the radiator meant that the only way the grille could be attached was from the front which is how the D14 cars are............the attached pics of the green 1940 Dodge D14 Coupe belonged to a mate a few years ago, he imported it from Arizona around 2007..........note the differences in the hood, fenders, headlights, taillights, front bumper, overriders...............yep its the "same" as our D15's but with lots of differences...........that maroon car in the background was my 1941 Pymouth ASC Coupe.....ASC stands for Auxillary Seat Coupe...........mine did and does yours have the two small folding seats behind the folding bench seat?.............more pics......we need more pics.....well, I do.........lol.............regards from Oz.........Andy Douglas...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnjnr Posted March 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 Hi Andy, Thanks for your reply you certainly know your stuff on Dodges etc. I'm sure in time I will know a little more but with your knowledge and others no doubt my info file will grow. Here is a picture of when it was in great condition in South Africa and a couple more that I have of the car at present. I hope to get it back to somewhere near to the SA condition atr some point. My first task is to get it up and running! Thanks and Take Care John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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