New to the Forum, need help with starting out

[1940_dodge]

How's it going classic car enthusiasts,

Just got my 1940 Dodge Deluxe and I'm just starting out in the restoration field. So any tips you can give me or resources for instructionals/parts, especially the dash, would be really great.

The floorboards are all rusted to hell, and there's rust in the trunk and on the fuel tank. But the radiator fan spins freely so I'm assuming that the engine's not seized. But the dash is the worst part, the speedometer has just disintegrated and the buttons for the factory radio have all just crumbled away. That's why that area I'll desperately need help with in order to restore it.

Thanks for checking this out!

[40phil41]

Welcome to the forum. Here are a couple of before and after photos of my 1940 Dodge Model D14 sedan (1968 and 2005). I found that once I started dis-assembling my car the body was in much worse shape than it appeared. I have been collecting parts from various sources for over 40 years now . There is always lots of stuff on eBay for '40 Dodges. That is where I purchased my reworked speedometer and the gauges. Make a list of everything you need and start searching. Post a note in the parts wanted section of this web forum.

Good luck,

Phil

[JIPJOBXX]

Looks like a big project to me and maybe you should watch for a donor car to help you out with spare parts. Good luck and enjoy your new toy!!!!! Jon

23 years latter

[JIPJOBXX]

[randroid]

1940_dodge,

Welcome to the forum! You picked the right spot because there are several members here with Dodges about the same year as yours who will be able to give you pointers on things specific to your car, and most of the rest of us have cars similar to it so far as general questions are concerned.

My '48 P-15 was in somewhat the same general condition as your when I got it although there were no rusted-out body parts. The advice you'll probably get from most of us is to first clean it out; remove the remaining strands of headliner, pull the seats, that sort of thing so you can see into it and make a list of what needs to be done to give yourself a better perspective of the task in front of you. If you're like most of us the next thing you'll do is become daunted by the list and start doing piddly stuff here and there, and that's okay because you'll get a different view of the project once you get your hands dirty a few times.

Where are you located? There might be another forum member down the street from you. Will you be able to store it or some of the removed parts inside?

That the fan turns freely indicates only that the water pump isn't frozen, but that's a start. At the top of the page is a button labeled "Search". Click it and a box will open where you may type in whatever you want to learn about, be it replacing floors or unfreezing the engine. Use it often.

Good luck!

-Randy

[Rusty O'Toole]

2 things you should know, old Chrysler products have left hand threads on the left side wheel bolts, right hand thread on the right side.

And the electrical system is 6 volt positive ground. So not only does it need a 6 volt battery it goes in "backwards".

Beyond that, yours is one of the best built cars of its time. Be careful who you listen to, before you tear your car apart check out your ideas on this web site. No matter what you run into no doubt someone has the answer.

Some more suggestions. Go over the car and give it a good cleaning, save all the parts you find even odd looking bits of metal and rubber that can't possibly car parts. If you throw them out they will turn out to be some critical part it is impossible to replace.

Get a clip board and write down all the parts and repairs it needs. Make an estimate of what it will cost in time and money. Double it.

If you are not ready to commit to that STOP and get out while you can. No use jumping into a money pit if you can help it.

Just a few things I wish someone had told me when I first started. Not that it would have stopped me lol.

[Joe Flanagan]

Yup, good advice. I have a 49 Plymouth and I was worried about finding all the dash and interior parts. I found E-bay to be enormously helpful in that respect. Most of those things you're just not going to find at a junkyard. They'll be as deteriorated as what you have now. Lots of guys on the forum have redone their floors and rockers, too.

[1940_dodge]

Some more suggestions. Go over the car and give it a good cleaning' date=' save all the parts you find even odd looking bits of metal and rubber that can't possibly car parts. If you throw them out they will turn out to be some critical part it is impossible to replace.

Get a clip board and write down all the parts and repairs it needs. Make an estimate of what it will cost in time and money. Double it.

If you are not ready to commit to that STOP and get out while you can. No use jumping into a money pit if you can help it.

Just a few things I wish someone had told me when I first started. Not that it would have stopped me lol.[/quote']

Haha, thanks for the heads up and the good read. Even if it does cost a fortune I wouldn't get out anyways either, I've wanted something like this since I was a kid. Do you know a good place to get a service/repair manual?

[1940_dodge]

1940_dodge,

My '48 P-15 was in somewhat the same general condition as your when I got it although there were no rusted-out body parts. The advice you'll probably get from most of us is to first clean it out; remove the remaining strands of headliner, pull the seats, that sort of thing so you can see into it and make a list of what needs to be done to give yourself a better perspective of the task in front of you. If you're like most of us the next thing you'll do is become daunted by the list and start doing piddly stuff here and there, and that's okay because you'll get a different view of the project once you get your hands dirty a few times.

Where are you located? There might be another forum member down the street from you. Will you be able to store it or some of the removed parts inside?

That the fan turns freely indicates only that the water pump isn't frozen, but that's a start. At the top of the page is a button labeled "Search". Click it and a box will open where you may type in whatever you want to learn about, be it replacing floors or unfreezing the engine. Use it often.

Good luck!

-Randy

That's too bad about the radiator fan, I thought I was in the clear.. I live in San Dimas, Ca (yes, raging waters, excellent.) right now but I'll be graduating finally with my bachelors in December and I might be going into the Air Force so I could end up all over the place.

Edited October 13, 2011 by 1940_dodge

[1940_dodge]

Welcome to the forum. Here are a couple of before and after photos of my 1940 Dodge Model D14 sedan (1968 and 2005). I found that once I started dis-assembling my car the body was in much worse shape than it appeared. I have been collecting parts from various sources for over 40 years now . There is always lots of stuff on eBay for '40 Dodges. That is where I purchased my reworked speedometer and the gauges. Make a list of everything you need and start searching. Post a note in the parts wanted section of this web forum.

That looks beautiful Phil, what would you say the biggest headache for your restoration was? Excluding money

[1940_dodge]

Looks like a big project to me and maybe you should watch for a donor car to help you out with spare parts. Good luck and enjoy your new toy!!!!! Jon

Thanks man, your car looks great.

[T120]

2 things you should know' date=' old Chrysler products have left hand threads on the left side wheel bolts, right hand thread on the right side.

And the electrical system is 6 volt positive ground. So not only does it need a 6 volt battery it goes in "backwards".

Beyond that, yours is one of the best built cars of its time. Be careful who you listen to, before you tear your car apart check out your ideas on this web site. No matter what you run into no doubt someone has the answer.

Some more suggestions. Go over the car and give it a good cleaning, save all the parts you find even odd looking bits of metal and rubber that can't possibly car parts. If you throw them out they will turn out to be some critical part it is impossible to replace.

Get a clip board and write down all the parts and repairs it needs. Make an estimate of what it will cost in time and money. Double it.

If you are not ready to commit to that STOP and get out while you can. No use jumping into a money pit if you can help it.

Just a few things I wish someone had told me when I first started. Not that it would have stopped me lol.[/quote']

Haha, thanks for the heads up and the good read. Even if it does cost a fortune I wouldn't get out anyways either, I've wanted something like this since I was a kid. Do you know a good place to get a service/repair manual?

It is good advice...As in any hobby,the reward is in the time spent doing what you find enjoyable and not necessarily a return on the dollar.

...Manuals sometimes appear on ebay

Edited October 13, 2011 by Ralph D25cpe
added

[Young Ed]

That's too bad about the radiator fan, I thought I was in the clear.. .

Turn the fan again and watch to make sure the crank pulley is turning with it. You can use your other palm to put extra tension on the belt to help. If the crank pulley turns its not stuck.

[busycoupe]

Reprints of the service manual are available from Berbaum at oldmoparts.com or Roberts Motor parts. Roberts also has a website. You should also get a parts book if you can. It has exploded views which are very helpful.

Dave

[1940_dodge]

Reprints of the service manual are available from Berbaum at oldmoparts.com or Roberts Motor parts. Roberts also has a website. You should also get a parts book if you can. It has exploded views which are very helpful.

Dave

That site skips my model year though. Starts in 41.

[BobT-47P15]

Hi. Welcome. Another place to check for books (good reprints) is

Bishko. http://www.autobooksbishko.com/

[40phil41]

That looks beautiful Phil, what would you say the biggest headache for your restoration was? Excluding money

The biggest headache was when I had to have work farmed out. For example, the paint. I did all of the major body surgery and had the car in primer and then sent it to a local body shop for paint.

Promise: 6 weeks + X dollars

Actual: 7 months + 2x X dollars

It is very difficult to get a reliable paint/body shop. The more you can accomplish yourself the better. If you are not up to painting your car yourself then shop around before paint. Ask others in your area who had similar projects where the best place is.

Phil

[1940_dodge]

The biggest headache was when I had to have work farmed out. For example, the paint. I did all of the major body surgery and had the car in primer and then sent it to a local body shop for paint.

Promise: 6 weeks + X dollars

Actual: 7 months + 2x X dollars

Phil

I know what you're talking about, my dad has a 1970 Plymouth Fury that he was having the same problem with. Ended up becoming a huge problem and they had to redo the paint after he first got it back. Freaking ridiculous what some shops try to pull.

[Andydodge]

Welcome to the best mopar forum there is.......I have had my Oz built 1940 Dodge D15D Sedan since 1971, its a hotrod with a 318 Poly v8/auto, 4wheel discs etc.....as mentioned its worthwhile getting a parts book & also a service manual, ebay & the net have been a blessing as its now possible to find lots of pics of other cars the same as yours and parts, etc so you can see what it is you should have or need, etc.......it certainly would have helped me in building my car 40yrs ago....anyway best thing is to checkout the various technical posts on this site, go thru as many posts as you can as you will learn a lot from what others bring up and again, welcome........btw if my car looks a little different its because Oz built 1940 Dodges used the Plymouth chassis/body/fenders etc with Dodge trim, badges, grille & dash.......regards, andyd

[Don Coatney]

I'll be graduating finally with my bachelors in December and I might be going into the Air Force so I could end up all over the place.

If you are going into the air force I would suggest you do not start disassembly of anything on this car at this time. Over the years I have seen many repaireable/restorable cars disassembled by young owners who start new lives and lose interest. These cars frequently end up crushed. I would hate to see that happen to your car.

[1940_dodge]

Welcome to the best mopar forum there is.......I have had my Oz built 1940 Dodge D15D Sedan since 1971, its a hotrod with a 318 Poly v8/auto, 4wheel discs etc.....as mentioned its worthwhile getting a parts book & also a service manual, ebay & the net have been a blessing as its now possible to find lots of pics of other cars the same as yours and parts, etc so you can see what it is you should have or need, etc.......it certainly would have helped me in building my car 40yrs ago....anyway best thing is to checkout the various technical posts on this site, go thru as many posts as you can as you will learn a lot from what others bring up and again, welcome........btw if my car looks a little different its because Oz built 1940 Dodges used the Plymouth chassis/body/fenders etc with Dodge trim, badges, grille & dash.......regards, andyd

Haha, I saw the right hand drive and I thought to myself, "wait a minute..." Looks great even if it is on the wrong side.

Does anyone have a first step for this car once I get it to it's temporary home? To me it would be pictures pictures pictures, having a reference to show before and after, let alone how to reassemble it would be a big reason for this.

[Don Coatney]

Also keep in mind that the new post option wouldn't go away, just the format of the threads. Right now it seems like the majority of you use the new posts regardless of sub forums.

Is this supposed to be posted on another thread?

[PatS....]

Does anyone have a first step for this car once I get it to it's temporary home? To me it would be pictures pictures pictures, having a reference to show before and after, let alone how to reassemble it would be a big reason for this.

Welcome!!

Step one...resist every urge to disassemble!!! If you are in a temporary spot, one car is easier to move than one car and a thousand parts!!! You can even throw a blanket over the seat and drive it!

Step two...get it running.

Step three...continue to resist the urge to disassemble:D

Step four...rebuild the brakes or install disc brake kit

Step five...Buy tires.

That will cover the first 5 yrs or so:eek:.

Edited October 16, 2011 by PatS....

[1940_dodge]

Welcome!!

Step one...resist every urge to disassemble!!! If you are in a temporary spot, one car is easier to move than one car and a thousand parts!!! You can even throw a blanket over the seat and drive it!

Step two...get it running.

Step three...continue to resist the urge to disassemble:D

Step four...rebuild the brakes or install disc brake kit

Step five...Buy tires.

That will cover the first 5 yrs or so:eek:.

But once I get to step 6 it will be running, driveable, and almost restored. That means I will have never disassembled it at all.....I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

Edited October 16, 2011 by 1940_dodge

[Plymouthy Adams]

But once I get to step 6 it will be running, driveable, and almost restored. That means I will have never disassembled it at all.....I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

yes..but do you..that I think was the reason for the post...after all, you are the one asking questions...that is the price one pays for soliciting advice..