Andydodge Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Finally had a chance to catch up with the new car in town, this is the first genuine USA 1940 Dodge I have ever seen and I caught up with its owner today with camera in hand. It was an ex Arizona car that the owner Lee bought over about 8-10 mths ago.........anyway I went for a drive around the local area today and took my camera & called in.........he was a pleased as I was, was good to be able to compare the differences between the 2 coupes.......will have to take my 1940 Dodge Sedan next and compare it.....its an Oz Plymouth based car so there are some differences, anyway hope the pics aren't too big....andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie D25 Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Looks pretty good... stock engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Elder Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Looks like the P/O didn't put his gas in very carefully, looks to be a nice car tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldodge41 Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 They make a nice pair! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
49 Dodge Dude Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 I am sooo jealous when I see cars like those. *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INJUNTOM Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwcars88 Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Good looking cars. My 46 coupe will do the same thing ( gas tank spill over ) if I fill the tank and go home when it gets warm the gas swells and runs down the fender, now I only fill the tank when I leave for a drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted January 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Yep that gas spill was shown in the US ebay pics and apart from other things, it was this mark that stood out when I first saw the car when my mate was doing the wheel alignment..........its bog stock apart from the Cragar rims that Lee had sitting around so he put them on, it came with the stock rims & hubcaps, its completely stock, am pretty sure the upholstery is the original or a very old redo, its a tan cloth/mohair type of material. Its really neat to be able tosee what changes had been made between the original US 1940 Dodges and when they were released here in Oz, as my car is as mentioned based on the 1940 Plymouth it uses Plymouth fenders,headlight surrounds, bumpers, hood & tailights, note all the little differences in the pics and it was interesting to see how the US hood to nose cone fitted and see that there was sheetmetal in front of the radiator under that nose cone that is completely foreign to me........another thing which I found interesting was that there was a thread on this forum a few days ago about a 1940 Plymouth Glove Box and parts, particularly a "Glove Box Spring"............I'd never heard of such a thing.......but was interested in seeing a pic and realising that even tho I've had my 40 Dodge since 1971 I had always thought the glove box mechanism odd..........in fact my wife had commented that the thing was hard to open as you had to press the button & at the same time open the door.........very difficult sometimes.........I just thought thats how they are..........anyway when I was looking at this 1940 Dodge Coupe yesterday I noticed the glove box slightly ajar, as no lock button or mechanism was present.................guess what?............I had a look inside the glove box door and at the bottom, behind the hinge is?..........yep a glove box door SPRING, which assists to open the GBD when the button is pushed..........o/k, I know I rave..........but THIS IS WHY I THINK THIS FORUM IS GREAT AND THE BEST ON THE NET........after 40 yrs I have learnt something new about my car...........thanks guys.........Andy Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Watson Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 The 1940 Dodge also used the 1940 Plymouth body with a longer front clip. If you compare your 1941 Plymouth with the 1940 Dodge you will find that the main body is almost identical between both cars. The rear fenders and taillamps are different but I believe the trunk lids are the same, save for the holes for the trim. (Do not have my parts books to check. Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler all used a new, larger body for 1941. One thing I just noted is that the front fenders on the Australian 1940 Dodge appear to be the same design as used on 1940 Plymouths and the Plymouth-based Dodges. Do you know the wheelbase of the 1940 Dodge? Also, were Plymouths sold in Australia in 1939-40 using the Australian body? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted January 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Barry......my Oz built 1940 Dodge Sedan used the same TJ Richards built body shell for both the 1940 Dodge and Plymouth, they also both used the same fenders,hoods,trunk lids,head & tail lights & bumpers...the grille sheet metal, grilles, side chrome moldings, badges, emblems, dashboards were make specific............My 1940 Dodge is a D15D a "D15 De-Luxe Sedan"(spelling as per the factory Brochure), it uses the same wheelbase and body shell as the 1940 Plymouth, ie 117" wheelbase.......I have original Australian sales brochures for both 1940 Dodge and Plymouth and whilst the Plymouth only lists the 117" wheelbase both the 117" AND 119" wheelbases are listed in the 1940 Dodge brochure, however in 41yrs of playing with 1940 Dodges I have only ever seen ONE Australian made D14 Dodge , a 4dr sedan that had the US fenders,hood,headlights however it used the Oz style body shell........I have also seen at least one, maybe 2 D15 Special sedans that only had one wiper & tailight.........all the Oz built sedans and coupes for 1940 that I have seen all used the Plymouth tailight........as for what body shells were used I would be pretty certain that from the early 30's the only US based body shells that may have been used would have been the Chrysler & De Soto Airflows and the very occaisonal Imperial Limos..as far as I am aware all pre war ie up to & including 1941 Dodge,Plymouth,DeSoto & Chrysler 4dr sedans would have used Oz built, TJ Richards body shells.........dunno if this helps.........btw have attached a pic of what a genuine Oz 1940 Dodge(and plymouth for that matter) Coupe looks like.....this is a pic of a car I owned, and pulled apart.....hey I was only 16 then, in 1970......I bought the 1940 Dodge sedan I still have as a parts car for it.........the pics are .......(1)my car before I bought it as shown in an Oz magazine, (2)my car 12yrs later after I'd pulled it apart and roughly assembled it to sell, (3) a 1940 Oz Plymouth Coupe in a wrecking yard and (4) a pic(taken in 1974/5) of another 1940 Oz Plymouth Coupe that is now a "restored" turquoise blue/grenn with a supposedly factory dickey/rumble seat which is incorrect.......regards...... andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted January 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Bill........sorry, thought you were Barry..........lol........now who am I again?........andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Now there's something I've not seen before.....one of those style coupes with a continental kit. Looks maybe like a rumble seat also. Kinda cool allright. Seems to have the smaller roof rather like a ute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatS.... Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Does the fellow with the 1940 Dodge imported to OZ have to have it converted to RHD? What are the rules for that? Here, they let RHD vehicles on the road as is no restrictions. It's obvious some folks are beyond their skill set being on the "wrong side" of the car over here!!! The car is fine, the drivers are horrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Bob, that dark Blue 1940 Plymouth Coupe was the same body shell as my 1940 Dodge Coupe, only differences were the grille & sheetmetal surrounds, the rear mounted spare was a factory item and the boot lid was in fact the SAME stamping the the Oz body builders TJ Richards used in both Dodge & Plymouth Roadsters and Coupes up to and including 1940.......the boot/trunk lid that my car came with had BOTH the stampings/pressings for the boot hinges AND the side pressings for the rumble seat brackets on the inside boot lid stamping and I know that this Blue Plymouth also had the same boot lid as mine........I ended up getting a replacement bootlid from a 1936 Oz mopar that was indentical to my 1940 lid and have seen the same boot lid used on Oz 1939 Dodge & Plymouth Coupes. For 1940 AND ONLY 1940 TJ Richards based the Oz Coupe used by both Dodge and Plymouth on a SEDAN BODY SHELL........when I pulled my car apart(as every 16yr old does) I found a leaded seam running from one side to the other thru the door openings on the roof and the rear 1/4 sheetmetal attached to the door jam/opening where a normal 4dr sedan centre pillar lived!!......yep I know it was a centre pillar as the pressing for the suicide rear door were there , there were also various sheetmetal joins thru the rear shell around the boot opening and the fact that the sedan rear seat floor riser was still spot welded to the floor indicated that it must of been a case of......." Hey Fred, we've got another order for a coupe.....go & get a sedan shell from out back will ya?......and bring the oxy & hacksaw blades on ya way back" .......and you mention a Ute?........I have only ever seen one and it appeared to have the same roof as the 1940 Oz coupes I have seen........btw did you notice that small rectangular panel on the US drivers side between the door and rear fender........Yep thats the Golf Club Door that all the 1940 Oz Dodge & Plymouth Coupes had, it was about 18" x 12" and went into the front of the trunk or boot........it was the only way short of climbing in that you could get to the front of the trunk, these coupes had a single seat same as a sedan style front bench with a fixed angled timber panel and small parcel shelf under the rear window..........The only exception to this that I have seen was the maroon & cream 1940 Plymouth Coupe thats pictured in a wrecking yard.......I took that pic in about 1970 and that car had a split bench front seat with folding "jump" seats that folded out from the SIDES of the body, NOT like the ASC seats that the USA 40/41 Coupes use. I cannot remember whether this coupe had the golf club door , if it did it was obviously fixed as the jump seat on the passenger side would have taken the place of the door...........and PatS......LHD can be used on both normal and "Club" limited use registration once the car is over 30yrs old. Lee belongs to a local Historic car club and has just recently had his car approved for use under their club plate scheme..........he can use the car on club sanctioned runs and "service" calls........its cheaper than full rego and not quite as strick as normal full rego.........andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Andy.....I subdivided your message, to make it easier to read....... Bob, that dark Blue 1940 Plymouth Coupe was the same body shell as my 1940 Dodge Coupe, only differences were the grille & sheetmetal surrounds, the rear mounted spare was a factory item and the boot lid was in fact the SAME stamping the the Oz body builders TJ Richards used in both Dodge & Plymouth Roadsters and Coupes up to and including 1940.......the boot/trunk lid that my car came with had BOTH the stampings/pressings for the boot hinges AND the side pressings for the rumble seat brackets on the inside boot lid stamping and I know that this Blue Plymouth also had the same boot lid as mine........I ended up getting a replacement bootlid from a 1936 Oz mopar that was indentical to my 1940 lid and have seen the same boot lid used on Oz 1939 Dodge & Plymouth Coupes. For 1940 AND ONLY 1940 TJ Richards based the Oz Coupe used by both Dodge and Plymouth on a SEDAN BODY SHELL........when I pulled my car apart(as every 16yr old does) I found a leaded seam running from one side to the other thru the door openings on the roof and the rear 1/4 sheetmetal attached to the door jam/opening where a normal 4dr sedan centre pillar lived!!......yep I know it was a centre pillar as the pressing for the suicide rear door were there , there were also various sheetmetal joins thru the rear shell around the boot opening and the fact that the sedan rear seat floor riser was still spot welded to the floor indicated that it must of been a case of......." Hey Fred, we've got another order for a coupe.....go & get a sedan shell from out back will ya?......and bring the oxy & hacksaw blades on ya way back" ....... and you mention a Ute?........I have only ever seen one and it appeared to have the same roof as the 1940 Oz coupes I have seen........btw did you notice that small rectangular panel on the US drivers side between the door and rear fender........Yep thats the Golf Club Door that all the 1940 Oz Dodge & Plymouth Coupes had, it was about 18" x 12" and went into the front of the trunk or boot........it was the only way short of climbing in that you could get to the front of the trunk, these coupes had a single seat same as a sedan style front bench with a fixed angled timber panel and small parcel shelf under the rear window.......... The only exception to this that I have seen was the maroon & cream 1940 Plymouth Coupe thats pictured in a wrecking yard.......I took that pic in about 1970 and that car had a split bench front seat with folding "jump" seats that folded out from the SIDES of the body, NOT like the ASC seats that the USA 40/41 Coupes use. I cannot remember whether this coupe had the golf club door , if it did it was obviously fixed as the jump seat on the passenger side would have taken the place of the door........... and PatS......LHD can be used on both normal and "Club" limited use registration once the car is over 30yrs old. Lee belongs to a local Historic car club and has just recently had his car approved for use under their club plate scheme..........he can use the car on club sanctioned runs and "service" calls........its cheaper than full rego and not quite as strick as normal full rego.........andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Bob..........lol.........yeh, I know, I rave on a bit.........its just, its just, its just........that I have all this mopar info and its been repressed for 40 yrs and I need to get it out............lol........p1u2n3t&u4a/t7i?o9n was never my strong suite.........lol.........Bob, tell ya what......would you like to be my editor.........you'll only take 40%?........such a deal........lol........you're better than a wicked stepmother to me.........seriously tho' I do appreciate it.......regards, andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 No problema Andy. 40% will be fine. I didn't think you'd mind me separating things a bit for readability. My attention span is only so long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Watson Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Andy, Thanks for the great detail on the Australian 1940 Dodges and Plymouths! For 1940 only in North America Plymouth and Dodge shared bodies with the Dodge having a longer nose, just as T.J. Richards did! What did the Australian 1939 Plymouth look like. In North America the 1939 Plymouth used the 1938 body with a new nose and a two-piece windshield. Chrysler, DeSoto and the big Dodge shared the same body, which is the one T.J.Richards built in Australia, at least as far as styling goes. After the war T.J. Richards updated the front clip, doors, rear fenders, and rear window. I know the body was used for Plymouth and the small Dodge but was the big Dodge also built in Australia. Also, is Custom Rodder still published in Australia. Used to subscribe to it back in the early 1970s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Bill, Eddie Ford publisher of Custom Rodder ceased it publication in the early /mid 1990's, he still does Restored Cars magazine. As for 39 Oz Dodge & Plymouth & big/little bodies, there appears to be 2 different 1939 Dodge/Plymouth bodies used in Oz, at least thats what I have seen........from what I have seen there was an "early'' or maybe 1st series 1939 that had the 1939 front clip on the 1938 "humped back" sedan, this also still used a floor change.......then I have seen what I term a "late or 2nd series" 1939 which used essentially, to my eyes the same basic body shell or similar to Oz 1940 Dodge/Plymouth body shell with "no hump" and this late or 2nd series used a column shift setup..........all 1939's that I have seen as far as I can determine have used the same front sheetmetal within the actual make, ie all 39 dodges used the same front sheetmetal, likewise 1939 plymouths irrespective of the body shell. And then we come to the Cooupes, up until recently I had only ever seen a 3 window, Willys style coupe in 1939 Plymouths & Dodges, however a mate has a 1939 Dodge Coupe that he is rodding & its a 5 window coupe, built by TJ Richards........will get a pic & post....... And of course theres the Utes.....most were 3 Window Coupe Utes........but there must have been the odd exception.........the front on pic of the 1939 Plymouth was taken in the mid 70's by a mate of mine who dissassembled this car which was basically complete......I ended up with the "cab" shell that is it the other pic, yep it was a genuine 1939 Plymouth Roadster Ute, built by TJ Richards, what I had was the cowl, passenger door, passenger rear cab quarter, rear cab panel, drivers side rear quarter and the floor, the cowl included a normal 1939 Plymouth dash and the windscreen posts appeared to be indentical to 1936 Oz Mopar Roadster/Tourer posts........I had these remains for about 10yrs then sold them........DUH!!!........the rear of this Ute was a table top affair, rather then the normal "ute" and was made from wood with various steel brackets, etc. And I thought I'd attach another pic of my 1940 Australian Dodge D15 Coupe..........this was taken on the day I sold it, around 1985/86 and you can see how short the roof was and that use of 4dr sedan doors, also the size of the golf club door........this car has disappeared.........a pity......its the same actual car as shown in the magazine pics.........trust these help to confuse things........lol.......andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Elder Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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