louie the fly

OK you blokes, I need some answers. Can someone tell me what the difference is between a Canadian and non Canadian 230? I see on NAPA Online they list several gasket sets (Felpro) as either Canadian or Excl. Canadian. My engine is a 23" 230ci, engine # P25-235257 in a 54 Dodge D49-2. It has no "bump" on the head. My other car appears to be a 54 model D49-3 Custom Crusaderand has a 25" 250ci with a KEW-2P-14***** engine number. I can't read the last few digits. What parts are common to both engines? I'm thinking the water pumps look the same, & maybe the bellhousings are interchangeable. These Australian Dodge cars are so damn hard to ID at times... And I'm so over the rain - 900mm so far this year!

And you're towing it with a Furd? Should be the other way round. Shame, shame, shame.

Hey mate, welcome aboard from the not so sunny (at the moment, rain) Adelaide Hills. You know what they say, 'wet one day, wet the next". Nice Kingsway. Nice to see people choosing them instead of Cussos & 50's Chebbies. I have two of them at the moment, a 53 & a 54. The 53 is a parts car which I bought recently. My 54, which I've had for about 6 years, is a mild custom, has a 230 & 3 speed, whereas the 53 has a 250 with overdrive & a few cool 60's accessories. Might change out the 23" for the 25" & OD as it's a good solid engine. Cheers

Thanks all for the ideas and opinions. Once I get some time to work on my car again I'll sort out what I'll do. Pro's & con's of all ideas here I think. Cheers

I've seen things on the web about wiring an electric pump into an oil pressure sender, or through a relay, and so on. What's the easiest, &/or best way to wire a pump? I want it to be safe so it will need to cut out if the engine stops. But it's obviously got to supply fuel when cranking. I plan to gut the original mechanical pump and just pump fuel through it. To keep it looking proper, you know...

That looks hideous. Something like Batman's old man would have driven.

There you go. 32 Ford = This guy's loaded. 46-48 Dodge = This guy's switched on. I know a guy that spent $18k on paint & trim on a plastic 32 roadster replica.

Hubcaps.com has them for $90 each. Ring Johnny Rosen and tell him he's dreamin! I read the ad. "Funny" wording to say the least.

Aussie D25, try these places. They sell trim (& rubber) Rare Spares - sell windlace & other stuff Scott's Old Auto Rubber - sell, err, rubber stuff mainly... & Spectrum Rubber and Panels Pty Ltd PO Box 328 St Marys NSW 1790 Tel: 02 9623 5333 Fax: 02 9833 1041 Email: sales@spectrumrubber.com.au Website: www.spectrumrubber.com.au Spectrum appear to have some trim, & all the rubber you need for your D25 (and my D49). Check out page 26 of their dogalogue. Louie

I think you nailed it with the trim pieces. I just looked in my History of Holden book and it shows an FC Special sedan & wagon. The trim looks like it. As for the star thingy, yeah, it kind of looks like it could be a clock. There's no brand or part number markings on it at all. Was going to list some surplus bits on egay today but it raining like mad so I'll stay inside, have a beer, & watch the Crows beat Richmond.

The trim pieces are mint condition except for one small bend on one end. Where shown in red, that's where another trim strip joins up by the look of it.

The rods have a kind of egg shaped end. They are screwed into the hub. The hub is hollow and has a threaded bush screwed in from the back. On the back there is a slight recess and 3 small screw holes - for attaching a cover or something I expect. The car also has vacuum assisted brakes, and what looks like an old fashioned upper cylinder lube system that goes into the back of the carby.

That's frightening stuff. I remember the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983. I lived in the city then and you could see the glow in the hills for days. I now live where the glow was. Ironic really. I love summer, but I don't like the bushfire season. We had a woman sentenced last year for lighting something like 20 fires in our immediate area. Good luck.

I just found the same thing, wading my way thru google searches. 1 down, a few to go. The copper gizmo really has me curious.

My parts car arrived today from Melbourne. It's a 1953 Dodge Kingsway Crusader with a 250 & 3sp with overdrive. Body is reasonable for someone to restore (not me though) and has all exterior SS trim, except some grille parts missing, which I have anyway. Inside the car it is a treasure trove of bits & pieces. What a score! I found all sorts of stuff including a 1954 service supplement manual in good nik, plus a heap of brake & steering parts, heaps of window glass, and a full set of new 15" tyres. But there's a few bits that puzzle me. Can anyone identify the parts in the pictures? One of the bits I'm sure isn't off the car because it's 220V powered. It's an ATOMISTER, made in USA. Anyone know what it's for? Same goes for the star thingy. It's got what appears to be a copper hub & copper rods radiating from it. The rods are about 6 - 8" long & the hub is about 4" diamater. The other parts I've seen somewhere before, but not sure what they areoff, are those SS trims (both same hand). There's a multitude of parts with it. If anyone needs anything let me know. Cheers Louie

I just consider myself lucky then. I struggled with mine for an hour or so. Next day I mad a hook for my slide hammer. Hooked it in the hole at the top and gave it a good whack. Out it came. In fact, it came that easy I nearly wore it in the family jewels! Wasn't ready for it... I've heard of people knocking a bit of 20 x 3 flat bar down the sides of it to free the crud up, but I didn't need to do that.

Ring him & tell him he's dreamin.

Several times. I wish the internet was around back then.

I think that's part of the problem I had - there were no instructions in the kit. It was a good quality kit (Sykes Pickavant), but no instructions. There were plenty of experts to tell me how to do it, but at the end of the day, not many of them had actually done one. I buggered up a fair amount of tube. I have a couple of new lengths hanging in my shed still.

I just bought this 53 Dodge Kingsway D49-as a parts car . I thought that was the best way to get the bits I needed. There is a fair bit of stuff on it that I probably won't need so I can sell heaps of stuff & get the purchase price back plus a bit to put towards my car. This model was made in Adelaide by Chrysler Australia Ltd from 53 - 56 in Plymouth, DeSoto & Dodge. This one has the 230 engine & 3 speed. I've not seen one before with the trim below the doors. Just got to get it here from Melbourne now. BTW, Mrs Fly isn't too annoyed with the new purchase. She didn't share my enthusiasm about it though. Cheers, Louie

I spotted one on Ebay today as a matter of fact. Not chrome like mine, but the wheel is good apparently. Might see how I go with it. The postage is dearer than the starting price. lol

The Tex Magna-Lite was made in England by Magnatex Ltd. Mine is a Type S 1580. I found a place on the web just now called Pangolin 4X4 in the US somewhere (Ph. 541-606-0095) that do repo ones but I can't work out how to fit it. Their instructions say to remove the old rubber and slip the new one on but there are 4 pins that stop the rubber wheel from slipping. The original assembly is a diecast piece, then rubber, then a plate that's riveted. The 4 posts are the rivets. They come through the steel plate, then they are peened over to hold it all together. You can't really take it apart without stuffing it up, as I found out...

So it's freezing again today, and I'm a bit bored. So I removed the Magna-Lite turn signal switch to give it an overhaul. The rubber wheel is shot and needs replacing. Anyone know if you can get them, and where from? Cheers

Marc, I live about 45 minutes from the beach, and I hate the salt water. Full of sharks & things. But the surf is pretty good they say. Especially on the south coast. I tried doing some flares once. Had the proper tools in a rod club I was once in. I've been doing this kind of stuff for like 30 years, but I couldn't get the knack of getting the flare right so they would seal. So I left it to the experts. It didn't cost all that much either. I reckon it's money well spend since my family were going to ride in the car. 48 DeSoto 3W hey? Got some pics? My dad had a 48 Plymouth sedan when I was a boy. Big, ugly, & very cool. Louie

Hey Marc. Not sure how things work in your neck of the woods (not even sure where your woods are) but the brake places I've used in my area, in South Australia, will fit the nuts and do the flares. Just measure the length of the original tube with a bit of string taped to it at strategic intervals. Then when you get them home you can bend them yourself with a small hand held tube bender. Then just tweak them to fit. That's what I did. As for SS or steel tube, depends on what you're doing. Weren't the brake lines painted black originally? Cheers