brian b

I don't know how you could possibly get an accurate answer to this. For example, years ago someone made the definitive statement that there were 72 1939 Dodge business coupes in existence. Period. For a while I referred to mine as #73 because I couldn't figure how it would be known it existed. I have a regular Penna licence plate, and my yearly registration has no car year, just lists a Dodge Coupe. I don't belong to any clubs that would document it, so how would it be counted? Does the insurance industry give out that info? As pointed out there are a lot of undocumented cars lurking in barns and garages, and yes, rusting in fields, but nonetheless still in existence. Not that many years ago two Deusenburgs showed up that weren't on any register. One was on an estate in Mass or Ct, engine trouble years ago and simply put away and forgotten. The other was a Deusy model A in a garage covered with junk. Of course they called Leno to come buy it. My point is if they can't keep track of Deusenburgs in existence, no way can they track 39 dodge D-11's, or P-15's or D-24's. brian b owner 73'rd coupe in existence ; )

My 39 Dodge coupe has a 330 horse 440, 727, and 8 3/4 rear. I couldn't be happier with the drive train, with a few buts. The oil filter needed to be relocated, Transdapt made a kit to do this. Biggest problem is the steering shaft, starter and exhaust all want to exist in the same small space. The engine is offset to the passenger side a bit, and the hot post on the starter was trimmed to clear the shaft. BTW, a mini starter did not help. My 440 isn't the hi po version from a road runner or super bee, it is from a 67 New Yorker. 4000 rpms is about tops, but its putting out gobs of torque and acceleration, even with a 2.98 to one rear gear. One more thing, add front discs, you will need the stopping power for when a 16 year old girl texting pulls out in front of you. Good luck with your build. brian b

My 39 used to do this, the pistons would stick in the wheel cylinder when the brake was applied, then wham!, the brake would come on full force. This was the left front, and it would try to throw the car out of the lane. The pistons were corroded, almost a galvanic corrosion from dissimilar metals in contact. This in spite of being NOS packed in cosmoline when I first got them . Added to several other brake related problems, I converted to front discs and no more brake problems. brian b

First Mopar experience was my dad's new 68 Imperial, maroon, black interior, every option. We lived in Bethlehem Pa. and went across the state to Pittsburgh to visit my grandmother. I still can remember almost every song on the demo tape that came with the 8 track player, a new toy for us. Played that one tape the whole trip. Most of all I remember the Mopar promotional slot car set that came in the trunk . Eldon 1/32 scale with a Charger and Coronet slot cars, and a pickup truck body easily swapped onto one of the chassis. Box was bright purple. If any exist they would certainly be a holy grail of accessories. Also remember the car was filthy when picked up at the dealer, and looking at a row of GTX's in bright colors. Heady stuff for an 8 year old. Unfortunately for my dad, the car was a terrible lemon. On occasion, my dad would have to get under the hood and stick a quarter into an electrical connection to get the car to start, usually when he and my mom were all dressed up to go out. Traded it in on a gold 69 300 that was even more unreliable, and then went back to Buicks, his true car love. Dad was very much against my buying my Dodge coupe, tried to talk me into a Buick. brian b

My 39 Dodge coupe has a disc brake kit from Master Power Brake, a huge improvement over the stock drums. For a master cylinder I used I used a non power disc drum set up for a Mopar product like a Fury or a Polara, from Napa. Rear brakes are 11" x 2" drums on an 8 3/4 rear end. Car stops very well without a lot of pedal effort. The master cylinder is mounted on the firewall like a modern car. In my opinion, the disc brake kit is the best thing I've ever done to the car. You can save the stock parts, and if you sell the car, the new buyer has everything to convert back to stock if desired. The cheapest new car on the road has four wheel disc stop-o-matic brakes. Your stock drums are fine untill the seventeen year old girl texting almost misses her turn, and slams on her Kia's brakes to make a turn. You will hit her. brian b

Grea235, Once your shock mount project is complete. and your car is back on the road, could you give us a report on the results of the project. From what I've heard and read, its a worthwhile modification, I'm interested in hearing how the car performs. Thanks in advance, brian b

Gary, Your 39 looks terrific, you must be really proud of her. Couple of questions...... Did you wind up having the bumpers chromed, or are they polished steel, as was your original plan. Either way, they look good. Next, were your instruments in good shape, or is there a company making new numbers or doing restoration. Mine are quite brittle, the numbers being printed on a celluloid material. Hard to even handle them without the stuff falling to pieces. Everything looks really good, interior, dash, even the maroon paint, which is close to the shade on my 39, at least what paint is left. Its great to see another 39 coupe brought back to life, and future work on my coupe will most certainly use your photos for reference. Take it for a long cruise, and enjoy the results of your hard work. brian b

Several issues ago, Old School Rods magazine advertised an electric power steering unit that installed under the dash, and had variable assist. I don't know anything about the product, but it sure sounded like a good solution to a tight under hood area, much like my 39 Dodge. Don't know the price either, but i can guess its not cheap. If you don't have access to the magazine, but are interested, I''ll look up the company and contact info. brian b

Something to keep in mind with "bolt in " 8 3/4 rear ends. The cars from the 60's and 70's may have wider leaf springs than the 30's-40's-50's cars, so the "feet" or whatever you call the part that sits on the springs may need to be changed to a narrower part from an old rear. This was the case with my 39. Don't try using the newer wide feet on the narrow springs. I did, the U bolts didn't hold properly, and it sheared off the top of the bolt holding the leafs together. The rear shifted back on the spring, and I was lucky to be close enough to home to drive it back crabbing down the road at an angle. Get the proper sized part for your width of spring. A final point to make in regards to all the fuss over modifying a car. If my 39 coupe hadn't been hot rodded some 45 years ago, it wouldn't be around today. 45 years ago there was little interest in an old Dodge, and even less when Iacocca was making K cars. Ford guys used to call us the ugly cars. Whatever is done to a car can be un-done. Check the HAMB for 32 ford projects using cars pulled out of creeks, or one down under pulled out of an orchard. A v8 equipped car can easily be made back into an inline 6. There is a lot of sheer talent out there, and even more determination. As long as we like them and take them out and drive them, 4, 6. 8, doesn't matter. brian

O K Donald, I think I've got it, thanks again for the explanation. Unfortunately, the wiring on my Dodge is not its strong point. Lots of the wiring has been replaced, disconnected, simplified, typical for a 60's hot rod. When i got the car the horn was a doorbell button screwed to the bottom of the dash, to give you an idea of what I deal with. I rigged a switch as described to get the horn switch back in the steering wheel, but no relay, and yes, its a wimpy horn. Wiring improvements are on the long list, particularly the headlights, and with your explanation, some horn wiring improvements are on the list also. You guys are a great group, I learn something from this site every week. brian b

Andy & Donald, Thanks for the explanation how the stock horn circuit works. Sounds like you would only have one wire through the steering shaft, and the horn would be insulated from the body. My jury rigged set up uses two wires to complete the positive current to the already grounded horn. The factory set up is a clever set up. More than one way to skin a cat. brian b

Can't offer any help on this, my 39 doesn't have a horn ring, just the center part to push on. Original switch long gone, I adapted a push button switch to line up underneath the center part. Works fine, nothing worse than a horn switch sticking. brian b

Very nice 41, The only way to adapt a different wheel is to get a trashed Mopar wheel that fits the splines on your steering shaft, and cut out the center and use it to make an adapter to mount your aftermarket wheel. Don't think anyone has ever made a commercial adapter for a Mopar steering shaft. If you go with a smaller steering wheel and keep the stock steering box, it may be difficult to park or do any slow. tight turns. You may wind up going back to the stock wheel. if you're converting to something like a rack and pinion, everything will change, including the shaft, so you may not need to make the adapter. brian b

thsmedley, Had a chance to look through my barn, found a tube of trim. The vendor was Fat Fendered Relics of Vancouver Washington. Looked on the web, found a phone number, 360-260-0434. I dealt with them a number of years ago and they were very helpful. Bought several trim pieces for my dodge, and recalled a conversation with the owner, stating he was able to re bend and adapt trim from other bodies to fit my coupe. Again, this was some time ago and companies can change, so as always, buyer beware, but I would call and see if they have what you need. brian b

Thsmedley I'm not going to have much for you at this point, but there used to be a vendor who advertised in Cars & Parts magazine who specialized in trim, especially Mopars. I was able to get a couple of pieces for my 39. If I can find a receipt with the trim, I'll post the name. I no longer have my Cars & Parts mags to look for you. Can't keep everything. brian b

I have been running a pair on my 39 for at least thirty years. Agree with all posted, a little bit of air can be helpful, but you can't jack them up with 80lbs of air and try to compensate for worn springs. Not sure of the dynamics involved, but I've also heard too much air can break the bolt holding the leaf spring together. I have separate air fill lines for each shock, and its fun to play around with air pressures and how it affects "launch" from a stop. More air in the right shock makes a difference as far as traction. Everyday driving, maybe run 10-15 pounds both sides. brian b

As soon as I saw the picture of the 3 window, I thought Willys, especially the thin rounded top of the door. I also thought gasser, thinking of all the Wilys, and the gasser 39 Dodge that races in the south, Quick & Dirty. Everyone's entitled to their opinions, and none are more diverse than opinions on what an antique car should be restored as. I don't like the faux gassers made to be over exagerrated, like cartoon on a t shirt, minus a Roth style creature hanging out of it. Gassers were a huge part of drag racing, a quest to get more speed out of a car with the then marginal tires, by way of quick weight transfer to the back of the car. As soon as Goodyear developed drag slicks with sticky rubber compounds, the whole design went away. To me one of the most fascinating eras in drag history, much cooler than the cubic dollar stuff of today. The original Ramchargers Plymouth was the grand daddy of them all, but just my opinion, wouldn't want to build a replica and drive on the street. To each his own...... brian b

Cruel as they were, I think the whole concept of the ASC or club coupe as ford called them, was to do away with the rumble seat, and get everyone inside the car out of the rain and dirt. I've seem fairly late model pick up trucks with the side mounted seats; just as cramped and uncomfortable as the old cars, unless you were a little kid. Again, I think the idea was get everyone inside, as riding in the bed wasn't legal anymore. Andy, your 41 had a great looking interior, and the red paint looks close to mine. Really like the red piping. brian b

The trunk is completely open past the inside door. You can open the access door, put down the passenger seat, and haul lumber in it. There is no divider, all one big trunk. Not sure how the 40 or 41's were set up. 40's seem similar to 39's, 41's are very different. Very practical for car shows. You don't have to worry about what to take, coolers, chairs, etc, take everything. Old cars could really be practical. Business coupes were pretty much pickups with a trunk lid. brian b

Bruce, I finally got the right day with time to get the Dodge out and get some pictures. Hope these help. The edge of the shelf is steel covered in a varnished canvas. The door is wood with the same varnished canvas on one side, and a sort of faux alligator skin material on the trunk facing side. Two hinges hold it in place. The spare tire cover is rubberized canvas with fasteners on both sides. I'm missing a couple, and a few don't align anymore, but it still does the job. Thats a temp spare from a Jeep; a full width spare puts too much strain on the cover. The trunk itself is big enough for four spares. The space behind the tire is wood with metal framing, and the cover fasteners are on a wooden strip. As far as I know this is all 1939 stuff. I've never messed with any of it and nothing looks like it was changed. sorry for the delay....... brian b

Gary, Sorry I can't really help, my 39 has the original headliner, and so far I haven't messed with it...........yet. Who is WLS? If the price is reasonable I wouldn't mind changing mine, as it seems the logical starting point to spiff up the interior. Somewhere I read that when changing a headliner, start in the middle bows, and work to the front and back. I've also heard to wet the headliner and stretch into place, and when it dries it shrinks tight. I mention this, but I don't know if I would try it. happy new year to everyone on the list, brian b

My 39 dodge coupe has the access door with no tarp, and a tarp over the spare behind the drivers seat. Can't think of a reason to have a door and a tarp. The door was to allow a salesman to access sample books in the front of the trunk without climbing in from the back, or having to unload. A tarp would make things harder. The spare was behind the seat, again, so in the event of a flat, the trunk wouldn't have to be unloaded to get at the tire. My dodge is original in the area behind the seat, no sign of a tarp in front of the access door. brian b

Sorry in advance if I'm wrong on this, but I think Wheel Vintiques can make adapter clips to mount odd sized caps to their chrome smoothie wheels. Might be able to make something to adapt readily available moon caps to your wheels. Probably less cost than looking for needle in a haystack caps that fit . brian b

Rich H & Dr Doctor, Thanks for the info in regards to clear lights and re silvering. Appreciate the help, brian b

Hi Andydodge, Right now I have sealed beam buckets and mounts from a Jeep, modified to bolt to the three threaded holes in the fender, that the stock reflectors bolted up to. I have a set of stock reflectors, but as you mentioned, good silvering makes all the difference, and mine look like old tarnished silverware. I wondered if the chrome powdercoating would work, as I'm guessing re silvering isn't cheap. Thats why I thought I'd start with the clear sealed beams. I will also need a good relay to operate halogens, Holley the carb people recently released a decent looking one that would work. BTW, your sedan is terrific. brian b