dodge38

I think the exact size of the kingpin is 51/64" which is 0.796875 so .797 is the correct reamer size

Derek, Posies front springs would be 525usd a pair, those would be only 1-1,5inch lower than original. They were saying that still it makes sense to lower the rear more since originally rear was quite high. No idea yet about the shipping costs so didn't order anything. Found a front end from 38 dodge coupe here in Ontario, it has usable leafs so may use them if buy that, it's about 3 hours drive away. Measured the spring eyes again and now looks like they are 7/8 inches.

Hi Bob, Yes, the driver side tail light was wrong, it has a Dodge text on the lense and understood it's a truck model. I already found a replacement pair which were suppose to be from a 37 Plymouth and looks correct to me. Thanks for the picture, I like that idea of using the original pedals and newer master cyl. I may buy a front end with usable front leafs and disk brake setup. Not sure about the master cyl bore size needed, I guess 1" should be better with manual brakes.

Thanks Art, I also convert to 12V system and keep the 6V system in storage just in case, yeah the coupe looks good as well, I think Butch's Cool Stuff sells bolt on master cyl/booster/pedal combos and disk brake conversions as well. Thanks Darren, yeah always liked the ganster movies and this was close enough for me. Sounds good, already got some advice on the springs here. A bit cold in my garage now so quite slow progress.

Thanks Derek, that price sounds much better. Posies is saying that they can provide the springs to the front as well but it won't be much lower than the original. Waiting for the quote and some more details. I also asked if they recommend the original shackles or if I could use some modern style. Seems like all spring eyes are 3/4 inches so would be quite easy to add urethane bushings.

Derek, I got the quote for the Eaton front and rear springs, 758 cad per pair and that sounds quite steep to me. Those both would be 2,5 inch lower than stock, 5 leafs in the front, 9 leafs in the rear. Posies rear springs I understand are around 400 usd a pair, do you mind me asking how much your front springs were? I'm waiting for Posies to reply to me if they could provide the front springs as well. Your original springs still usable...?

Thanks guys, there is quite a lot of pictures now in the flickr page, just finished tear down of the rear suspension. Thanks Bill for the colour info.

Thanks for the excellent information Bill, seems like you live quite close to me. I have a Canadian built car serial nbr 9416xxx and the plate says it's built in Windsor, and it has a 25" long block. Do you happen to know what these codes mean? Color 183 Trim ALM

Kiitos Mark, hyvaa Suomea kirjoitat ainakin jo There is quite many guys working with old American cars in Finland, and in Tuusula there is a real Hot Rod shop Hersti Autoshop www.herstiautoshop.com Now, back to garage...

Thanks guys! Rick, I lived earlier in Tuusula which is in southern part of Finland about 50km north from Helsinki. I moved to Canada 2010. I also lived in US in Irving Texas 1999-2001, I kind of liked the "warm" weather there. Fred, you may have seen almost the same introduction in Canadian Rodder forum. I haven't touched the engine yet but did some research already and like you said a lot of parts available. Seems like it would be quite easy to stroke this 218 engine with some Chrysler parts all the way up to 280 cid. I plan to start some project thread for my Dodge hoping to receive some good advice and guidance from the experts here, and anyways I'll keep adding the pics to my Flickr account. / Hannu

Hello all, I have followed this forum a while now and decided finally to join it. I live in Mississauga Ontario Canada. I had earlier a 1970 Plymouth Duster with 360 cid V8 and 727 auto with manual valve body, I did quite a lot of work to that car but then lost the interest and sold it 2001, that was back in Finland where I'm from and that explains my weird name I just bought my first rod project in April last year, it's a 1938 Dodge D8 4d sedan, it was quite original with the 6 cyl engine and 3 speed manual, it's not been driven in 50 years and it needs a complete rebuild. Few project pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/1126097...7639061490723/ My plan is to keep it fairly original with the 218cid 6 cyl engine and 3 speed manual, I'll convert it to 12V system but not sure about any other changes, I haven't decided what to do with the brakes and suspension yet. - Hannu

Thanks Derek for taking the time to measure the springs! Seems like your front springs are a bit different than either one of mine, and the arch difference explains why my car was quite low already. According to Eaton the correct way of measuring the springs is along the leaf (check the link) but those numbers you gave me are good enough for comparison purposes. http://www.eatondetroitspring.com/how-to-measure-leaf-springs/ Thanks for the tire info as well, I'm more confident now to use that setup in my car as well.

Derek, About the Eaton springs, I just discussed with their reseller here in Canada, they are looking into the specs still. Basically they can provide the springs with any specs I need, just need to find out what I need or want. I'm hoping 3" lower than the original. From your pics I calculated 11 leafs in the original front set, and 6 in the new front set. The modern shackles I think should be easy to add since different length of side bars and bushings are available and seems like some Jeep/GM shackle sets would fit directly, only thing I'm not sure about is the passanger side front leaf spring rear eye if there is any room to add bushings inside the frame bracket or if that needs to be modified. Great looking chrome you have, are those bumbers new/re-chromed or are you just lucky with the weather there in California and no rust, and the Firestone white wall tires look really good, are those 600 x 16 Bias Ply and how is it to drive with them?

Thanks guys! Bob, the pictures were sort of an accident, I just added a http link to my Flickr page "Dodge Set" and that was the end result. Flickr account is free and have room for 1 Tera Byte per user. The Plymouth looks good and really similar to mine, looks like it needs some work as well. Derek, thanks for you help. If you could measure the length of your original front leaf springs and calculate the amount of the leafs that would be great. I tried to find an introduction page earlier but didn't find it yet, will do that when I figure out what's the location in this forum. And could start a build thread as well. And thanks for your compliments, it won't be a show car by no means but I'm quite happy with the work so far with the primitive tools I use now here. I had bit better tools last time I built a car which was 15 years ago back in Finland where I'm from, my father had a sheet metal company and all the tools needed, the car was 1970 Plymouth Duster and it was even more rusty than this one. The front axle is I-beam style in Canadian built cars which mine is, that's what I read somewhere I think.

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I live in Canada, I'm working on the 1938 Dodge D8 4d sedan which hasn't been driven in 50 years, just started with some welding and teardown. Few project pics here: Deathbound, Great info in this thread and excellent pictures and a nice car! I have the same exact leaf spring setup than you have, mine are all broken and I don't have any anti-vibration devices either in the front. The problem I have in the front also is that the leafs are different lengths and amount of leafs are different compared to each other so not sure what's the original setup. I know that coupe and sedan should have a bit different setup but could you share the specs of your front leafs, the lenght, nbr of leafs, and especially the final arch you ended up with? The rear Posie's springs you have, I understand they have the reversed eyes which help already to lower the rear, but what's the arch in those and any idea what's the original? Also, have you thought about using some modern style shackles with polyurethane bushings, I'd guess the original threaded steel "bushings" are not too pleasent to drive...? I try to get new front and rear springs from Eaton Detroit Spings which they resell here in Canada. Below the details of my setup (A front to center bolt, B rear to center bolt, C arch): Front left: 12 leafs with reversed eyes (length 36 3/8", A 18" / B 18 3/8" / C 2" arch), front shackle 3", rear shackle 2 3/4" Front right: 10 leafs with reversed eyes (length 37", A 17,5" / B 19,5" / C 4" arch), front shackle 3", no rear shackle since attached to the frame bracket Rear left: 9 leafs (length 53", A 24" / B 29" / C 4,5" arch), rear shackle 4" Rear right: 9 leafs (length 53", A 24" / B 29" / C 4,5" arch), rear shackle 4" Thanks, Hannu