Uncle-Pekka

Terraplane was the entry level Hudson brand all throught the 30's. "The small Hudson" if you like. Thus the dealer was for Hudson, actually. Off topic: I have always loved the genious brand names used by US car makers, such as "The Roadmaster", "Speedwagon", "Powerglide", "Airflow", etc. "The Terraplane" is one of those legendary brand names which give the impression of ultimate speed and power...

Smile through the tears? Sincerely I understand your pain... Do not be offenced.... /pekka

Very sorry to learn this happened. I'll quote a blues song; "Bad luck is the only kinda luck we'll have..." Man, I surely wish you'll get her straightened up with the help of the fine folks in here at the forum. It is not easy to get the body sheet metal for these ol'ladies, but fortunately they are pretty straight forward and rugged in everything that lies under. The hope is not lost. Let the Phoenix rise again! Cheers from up North! /Pekka

Weell Folks, Let us fight who'll be the first lucky bastard to grab this jewel at g'id ol' e'bauy.. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1963-Chrysler-Tire-Chock-Block-1964-Dodge-1962-1948_W0QQitemZ380064899853QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item380064899853&_trkparms=72%3A727%7C39%3A1%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245

Thanks for the nice pictures, Jon. Interesting, that '42 seems to be 100% identical to 46-48 for the sheet metal, but 100% different in trim, dash moldings & instruments. 1941 is totally different from frame up, I suppose. Of course this is only natural, considering the history events and economy of the fourties. In late 30's, early 40's the economy was picking up and there were new models and comprehensive face lifts for each new year. After the war they had to begin from where everything was discontinued by the breakout of the war. Thus also the Dodge took the '42 and re-decoreted it with new brightwork and dash - Zap: D24 was born. I'd call it very successfull facelift; to me the D24 appears well porportioned package.

Jon, Nice pictures of your fine car! Thanks for sharing. I would be courious to see the dash of your '42. Is it much different from D24? War time Black-out theme there as well? Cheers, Pekka

Are u still awake? Just to bore you more, here's a true story behind the band: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OkIiXqNwTU&feature=related

What ho? Nuthing much to comment. Bunch of crazy guys "doing their thing" and right after the collapse of the Soviet Union the one of them who's a clever manager recruited the Red Army Choir to join at the gigs. Have to point out, that they are not specially finnish thing. More like a pre-punk punks... Here are the same guys 30 yrs back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_3IidZvF30 Some more early recordings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw4jFlqtpv4&feature=related - on this one the fellow who plays guitar & sings is actually a guest star, a finnish blues guitarist-songwriter. "The band" is just messin' around for fun. Finally, to all of you who listen fluent finnish; This video explains, how the Leningrad Cowboys was born from the ashes of the Sleepy Sleepers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq5BMfuSH24&feature=related Oh, I almost missed the Red Army Choir: The group gained short time popularity when they managed to get the choir their mascot. It was considered some sort of ultra rebel act, to recruit the forefront of the once mighty russian terror to join a a band which once was a dirty punk act.

Hmm... Should it go like; "You can fool all the people sometimes and some people all the time, but not all of the people all of the time..." I quess, we at the forum are those "some people" ... all the time. However, Reg's "SpitSfire" is the coolest flattie in the west. If I ever get my engine painted tidy silver, I will steal that idea and paint my own SpitS... That would make my D24 the only SpitSfired Dodge in Finland.

Nice looking kustom and superior finishing - I like it! ...still, I agree with Dennis: Where do you haul the beer? Bacon? Schnaps? Seriously, tell me, why the speakears are in the trunk, aimed backwards? Does the MOB play music for the corpse in the trunk these days?

True - but... I've checked my oil pump. The pump has been replaced, it is tight and producing flow. The problem are worn main bearings. The oil pressure is low because there is much more space for the oil to run through than spec allows. In the hydrodynamic theory, however, main factors are speed, viscosity and area. In the case of worn engine (crosscut area grown) it is easiest to work with the viscosity of oil.

eBay is loaded with shop manuals and owner manuals. I bought my copy of 1941-48 D19-22-24 from Bisho Books at $20. Same as below: http://cgi.ebay.ca/1941-1942-1946-1947-1948-Dodge-Shop-Manual_W0QQitemZ290252601894QQihZ019QQcategoryZ34218QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Excellent book to have, a copy of original issue by Chrysler corp. You will also find original owner manuals frequently in eBay. You will not need owners manual in case you have shop manual (what you really need), but it is a nice period memory to have in the glove box or on the bed table.

My engine is quite worn, I've had problems with oil pressure. When I ran 10W30 last summer the pressure was hardly even 20Ibs running 50mph road speed. Dropped to zero idling a hot motor. Since I only drive in summers I changed to old time 40 weight mineral this summer. Pressure is much better now: 35-40Ibs after starting cold almost any rev. 30Ibs at 50 mph hot motor, even will stay 5-10Ibs at low revs when hot. Another issue I heard from a fellow who has loads of experience on pre-war engines: The told the valve lubrication on most flatheads is based on vaporized oil. He said that modern syntethic or semi- oil is "too good" as it does not turn to vapor even in high temperatures, thus actually it is lacking á feature that is necessary for the flathead "health"...

What a great picture Arthur! It really made me chuckle. Kind of a version of the classic "Bullit" chase in San Francisco streets with a P15 and a scooter! There is a sense of speed and danger in that picture. Especially I like "the parashute effect" of the P15 roof...

I have not really measured, but roughly my D24 takes 15liters/100kms on the road, which is 15-16mpg. I am quite satisfied with that number, taking in account, that I have not done anything but adjusted the timing for the engine. It lets out a cloud of white smoke in every cold start and the oil pressure is low even if I run SAE40 thick oil in the sump, thus I know at least piston rings and main bearings are worn. P.S. -off the topic - (don't throw me off the forum) My 1998 Renault Scenic RT does 32mpg in same conditions. Scenic is a family car what you could call a small minivan, it has 2.0 liter four cyl. injected engine, actually very nice car to drive and have... Much better to japanese rivals in my opinion. I've had it for six years now -I open the hood once a year to change the oil. Nothing fancy but does the job.

I've been using industrial 2k epoxy for some time now and I am exxrrtemely happy with it. It is a sealer and filler in the same package. It is not very reactive, thus I have not had any problems with old paint in case some left on after sanding. When dry it will seal effectively in both directions. It is also easy to lay several coats for thick filler. It takes a bit longer to dry and is harder to sand than a filler, thus before final coat I use regular PPG filler where needed.

Bloody awesome party, "Bloody"! I wish my back yard would some time look half as great as yours did in your party. The blue/white 1953 DeSoto 2D in the end of your 1st posting (7th pic.) looks stunning. All the details are perfect and styling simply cannot get better than that. Also the black chopped Plymouth with blue pinstripes is a work of art. Details in nice balance. Thanks for sharing the great party with us!

I bought mine from Andy B. and installed last winter. The rubber is a bit small, it needs to be stretched quite a bit to fit in the groove on the cowl panel. What I did, I removed the vent door & linkage (removed rust and painted with POR15), sanded the paint in the groove, applied contact type adhesive in groove and on rubber. When installing, I used clamps and pieces of plywood in each of end and in front "v"-head to hold the rubber in place. I do not think it is possible to install the rubber without help of clamps, it really appears a bit too small. It may be intentionally, I recall having read an old instruction of installation where stretching & using clamps was mentioned also.

My condolences, Fireball... Look at the bright side: Once over the hill, the rest of the journey will go faster rollin' downhill. Comments on the photo: - Please send me the phone number of your beautiful daughter, old man. - Are the the midgets lodgers or helpers when servicing the underside of the car? Cheers, Pekka

Interesting production details. Could it be, that Budd supplied bodies (or at least doors as we see here) for the coupes, but Chrysler did big batch models such as sedans. As said, there is no body builder badges found anywhere in my 4D custom sedan.

Interesting. No such plate in my D24 4D sedan. I've had panels off of all 4 doors... I cannot enlarge the posted picture enough to read it - What does it say?

Great looking D25 coupe! - Thanks for sharing nice pictures and a great day out. The D25 does combine the best design features of P15 and D24, indeed. I've been driving my D24 some hundreds of miles this summer, but haven't attended any special event so far... Hope the sun shines for us here in Finland some weeks still...

Fireball, I read a story in a web-magazine and do belive the restoration/soft rodding of the Plym has been a heroic effort. It is stunning now. Bob, There is no text in the hub caps. If I trust my memory, the wheels are appx. size 235R15 and chrome trim on them looks like aftermarket. They do look very good under the P12, though.

Pat, No sweat - I did not took your comment as critic on the car. Just that I do not know the car or the owner and externally it appeared very original exept the wide wheels and full moon hub caps. After having learned a little bit of the cars history and power plant, I admire it as much as I did in the first glimpse. It is a fine machine and reliable modern V8 does not make it any worse. Obviously it has been a huge job to bring it back to present glory... Let the good THINGS roll. P.S. Fireball, Do you know the (possible) story behind the extraordinary nose badge "Lentävä Hevonen" ?

Thanks for your compliments, Gregg... Pat, I am a bit ashamed, but I have to admit I did not noticed the trick while gazing at the cockpit myself - Is there an automatic transmission dial on the column? - I must defend by telling that this is the 1st and only P12 I've seen "live", thus details do not jump on me... I just learned from another forum, that the owner/builder of this P12 is Mr. Kauko Latva from helsinki. The car was imported as a wreck in 2004 from USA. I also learned, that the car has won a torphy in a hot rod show in street rod class, thus I belive it may hide V8 and o-matic under the silky skin...