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You've got it covered in the 'specialty tools' department Paul - from matchboxes to tweezers to planks of wood!

Maybe you need to mount a PA speaker in the grill and play the sound of a Top Fuel Dragster cackling at idle, at a very high volume.

Well, last weekend we finally got the 1949 Dodge Coronet D-30 Sedan home to roost is SC. Car has 88K miles on it and as one would expect needs some TLC. The 230 runs smooth with no smoke and pulls hard. The Gyro shifts good (taking some getting used to). Right of the bat it needs a left rear wheel cylinder and shoes, two freeze plugs, a radiator flush, and a good service. The folks we bought it from have had the car in the family for 50+ years an were honest and up fornt. All in all a good buy. Follow along as I progess on it. Thanks to all who have welcomed my thus far. Jim

When I was collecting all the bits to build the hotrod 230 engine.........finned edgy head, Offy twin intake etc...I realised that the standard gasket set generally included a copper head gasket which is a no/no with an alloy head, after speaking to a guy here in Oz who plays with Frod flatheads he suggested contacting Best gaskets in the US.........which I did, they had no problem making a steel 230 head gasket to go with their standard mopar gasket set, all new parts, a good price and happy to deal with someone in Oz so I'd recommend contacting them, also their set contained all 2 or 3 of the different types of rear crank seals without me asking..........regards, andyd

http://www.hotrod.com/features/1504-yes-there-really-is-a-car-wreck-trail/?sm_id=social_aumohotrodsshub_default_20150416_43864496&adbid=10153324391281579&adbpl=fb&adbpr=138558591578

I do experience that too. I think the masses are used to loud cars and they just don't even hear these flatheads. Take the muffler and tailpipe off FEF and they'll hear you comin.

The movie was "Speedy" starring Harold LLoyd released April 7, 1928. Harold lost his thumb and forefinger of his right hand while being photographed with a "fake" prop bomb that blew up in his hand. Afterwards, he wore a prosthetic glove in all his movies.

One more bit of good news. I was having a hard time finding someone to do the front end alignment on Dolly. I found one shop that said they would do it, but I wasn't confident they actually knew how to do it. Other shops said they only work on modern vehicles and don't bend axles anymore. Then a guy at Napa suggested I talk to one of their employees, Howard, a long time family friend. He retired several years ago from his tire and front end shop he owned and now works at Napa part time. He has been doing front end work on the weekends at the auto shop behind Napa. He worked on Dolly when I was in High School. He said he is trying to not do anymore vehicles, but he had promised a guy with a hot rod he would do it for him, so he said he will schedule time for Dolly and the hot rod on the same day and they will be his last two vehicles. He did great work and has all the correct tools to do the alignment. I am excited. I hope I can take pictures (I also hope the front end is ok, I did new king pins and bushings, and straightened the tie rod). I did a rough toe in adjustment according to the manual, but I suspect the other adjustments need tuning too!

LOL! You trying to get us in trouble? :^) 1954p25 post in the classified section, (that Brent guy has been know to scan it every so often) also, someone closer might be able to help also. do you have the bench "rail support" or did they pull that out with the rest? any photo's? might make a difference as what others have installed.

I didn't buy from Kanter's at all. I've since rebuilt the carb also.

Thanks Jim I ouwould keep my old original one till i find an old desoto OD. Thanks for the response. Glad i found a forum that has so much information

Noooooooooo.........! But I should be boogyin w/the Hemi 'bout then and looking for excuses to give rides.

I meant gaskets 1 and 3 in the photo I posted. See how they extend over the top of gasket 4. Just curious and I know there is more than one way to skin a cat. I just don't want to have to redo this.

My repair manual shows the long flat gaskets resting on top of the end gaskets which are suppose to be sticking up above the pan gasket between 1/8" to 1/4". Don, did you cut your pan gasket off at the ends ?

STORY 1 OF 7 George from Oregon. I met George last year at the 2014 BBQ. I learned about him and his family through out the day as I made my rounds that Friday before the big day. First I saw the beautiful truck he had put together and the truck and trailer it was transported with. When I asked "Who owns the 38?" I was surprised to see a bright eyed gentlemen zip on over on his motorized wheel chair and have a nice lady say to me "He's the owner". I asked the usual questions, where did you find the truck, what motor, how long did it take to put it together...etc. He stood from the chair shaking, but walking, and shook my hand and answered my questions. It was a pleasant meeting and nice to see a guy get around so easily on my gravel roads with his powered chair and have enough strength to walk as well. . As the day wore on I realized they were leaving the truck and heading to the hotel for the night. I knew I would get a private moment with the truck which was important because I have a 38 in my fleet of unrestored trucks, and was in need of a good role model. I took pictures later and marveled at how clean it was. The next day, they showed up early and we decided to move his truck to front of the shop. I found out he had never driven the truck and may never due to his illness. It was then I started asking questions about his health. Without hesitation, the group of us said "Get in the truck George, we'll push it in place and you steer it!" The picture Dave posted of George smiling through the driver side window, was that very moment. It was a cool thing to see and experience the smile he had on his face. As I rode my ATV around helping and such, I came upon a "kid" working on his diesel truck in the parking area of the ranch. I offered him my tools and whatever help he needed from my shop to fix it. He smiled and said "that's ok, I have all the tools I need" his smile look a lot like George's...."isn't this George's tow truck?" I said, "yeah, I'm his grandson....I drove it" He went on to say he took his leave from the military so he could help get it to the BBQ. "This BBQ is on his bucket list....he really wanted to get here"......That statement put a chill up my back and about at a loss for words, "really?" I said with a hint of doubt. "Yeah....been really looking forward to it." To me its always about the people, the guys and gals getting together to have a burger and a truck to talk over.....but this was different. Or it seemed different. Or should it be different? ....I really thought hard on it and realized.....no, its not different. I was determined to give George the same experience everyone else was having......a burger and a truck to talk over. He was a dude like the rest of us and fit right in. Because of his health, and the work he did to get to the show....he earned "The Tough Trucker" award, and rightly so. That Sunday after the BBQ, they packed up the truck, said a bunch of goodbyes to the remaining crew and were on they're way. I knew they would be back next year!..... When I heard George had a stroke, seemingly right after he had just packed up for his second trip to the BBQ, I was worried. When I heard that he was not likely to make it.....I teared up. When Dave had us cheer for him over the phone at the show, I clapped and smiled. When I heard he had passed away on Sunday...I cried. He was a tough trucker, a good ol boy, he was one of us. I'm proud to have met George. 48D

My take on the BBQ! No comment! I don't have the time or the band width to tell the good but I have time to tell the bad! Here it goes: TO D-- SHORT!!! Good job Tim and his helpers. NOW the sad news. I'm very grateful for the crowd that chimed in with the phone call to George while lying in the hospital bed. For the ones that didn't know George. He owned a resto shop in Oregon and had done a 37 Dodge 1 1/2 ton flatbed truck. Black and yellow. This man was 75 years old with Parkinsons. Same dreadful disease as Mickael J Fox has. This was to be his last vehicle to restore before hanging his bump hammer and spray gun up for good. He and his family made it to the 2014 BBQ. He had called me a week later and Quoted: I hope to live 20 more years to attend 20 more BBQs. Last Monday, He called me and informed me that his truck is on the trailer and will be heading for the BBQ Thursday. Monday night, his sister called to inform us that George had suffered a major stroke. He had passes away Easter Sunday at 1:15 PM Here are some pictures of Georges truck.

mike .. the switch and the wiring appears to be oem , also it is in the shop manual in the wiring schematics .. show how it is wired in .so..... II wonder if the other models of 1954 mopar have this light switch feature.hummmm. I agree with you mike, the 54 dodge is all by it's lonesome self .. all the websites I've seen out there do not include the 1954 dodge year for some reason.

Could this have been added by a previous owner or was it exclusive to the pace car since I have now switch on my regular 54 royal convertible. Iv'e been thinking we need to start a 54 dodge registration. It would be nice to find out how many of these are still out there and get a network of people together for info like this.

pics of the convertible top installed. NICE !!!!!!!!!!!!!! got it home just in time ....the next day, it snowed and the city laid down salt on the roads ..

grill is assembled . Man ..............that was a big job .. alot of work . turned out real nice though.

My apologies for the question. in short: soot is not rust and always nice to learn about new 'tools'. At my age I don't have the time luxury to 'search' all my questions though I do a lot of 'search' research. I do know that soot does not come off the tools with soap and water, yet if it has penetrated the rust, to remove the rust will be to remove a lot of the soot.