Hello; New Member.

[Carlo]

I followed a link here from inliners international, where I've been an on-again off-again participant for over 10 years now.

I'd heard of this site before, as it's mentioned occasionally at inliners, but didn't realize what a great resource it is until my first visit yesterday.

I enjoyed the registration process; great way to keep the rifraff out. Anyone who can't say fifteen-thirty-six-twenty-four (what the old-time mechanic said when I asked him what the firing order of my 223 Ford engine was as a 16 year old aspiring mechanic) doesn't belong on a site dedicated to cars that only ever had inline 6-cylinder engines.

I don't actually own a P15 or D24, I have a D29.

Here's a current picture of it.

Just noticed that my profile has a typo, that should read 1949 Dodge...

Edited April 12, 2013 by Carlo

[Oldguy48]

Carlo,

  Welcome aboard.  Perhaps you'd like to share some details on your Dodge.

[BobT-47P15]

Hi Carlo.  Nice looking coupe.  Yes...a little more info on the car would be nice.

I can see the wheels and that piece of side trim are not original.  Otherwise looks pretty much stock. 

Glad to have you on board. 

 

I think you can go back in and change the year of your car..........

Edited April 12, 2013 by BobT-47P15

[P15-D24]

Welcome to the site! The firing order question really killed the offshore spammers trying to register! 

[Don Coatney]

Hello Carlos;

Glad you found your way here from Inliners. I have enjoyed the innliners site for well over 10 years too. Hudsonater Hud 1-2 are really great friends on that site. Glad to have you aboard here..

[Plymouthy Adams]

those wheels are quite unique...do you know the source/aftermarket maker?

[Carlo]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

I'm the second owner of my Dodge. It was bought new by my aunt Bunny in Minneapolis, and driven to Stockton, California when she moved west.

I remember standing with my cousins in the space behind the seat with my cousins, while the grown-ups sat in front.

The car came into my possession around 1976 when I was doing some carpentry work for my aunt. She said she wanted to get rid of it, so I took it instead of payment for the work.

The body is currently pretty much as it was when I got it.

I know the entire history of the car.

Since you asked....

Paint job and rebuilt engine sometime around 1960. The paint is still holding up, but I had another rebuilt engine installed not long after I got the car.

It had about 50,000 miles on it when I got it, and it's currently about 20,000 miles into the second trip around for the odometer.

Around 1990, it was starting to get pretty tired, and I parked it for about 10 years.

I eventually decided to put it back on the road, and pulled the engine. On inspection I found that the bores were still good, with ring gaps within spec, but it had a burned exhaust valve on #4 cylinder. The rod bearings were beginning to wear out also, so I replaced all the rod and main bearings, and put in all new valves.

The work was done by an old hot rod builder who was into mopars named Jerry Collins. He'd built a '32 Dodge roadster which placed second at the Oakland Roadster Show back in the 1970's. Jerry had a set of Fenton headers and an Edmunds intake manifold, which he sold to me along with a pair of Carter B B carbs for $400.

Since that time, the car has had a pretty uneventful life, until I bought a coffee table book about Chrysler Hemi engines as a Christmas present for a good friend who owns a 1955 C300.

Of course I read the entire book before I wrapped it up! There was a picture of a 1952 Chrysler Saratoga that was the same color as my Dodge, which had run in the Carrera Panamerica. It had a set of Halibrand mag wheels on it, which really inspired me.

Originals were out of the.question (grossly expensive, and most of the ones I saw on ebay looked unusable) but there are several makers of aluminum copies for decent prices.

I'm now in the process of (reversible) modifications to turn the car into a replica Southern California dry lakes racer, consistent with the original purpose of those Hlibrand wheels.

There's a write-up I did around 2002 on my personal website at http://www.carlbest.com/dodge%20pics/index.htm which tells the story in detail, and has a lot of pictures.

Edited April 12, 2013 by Carlo

[Carlo]

those wheels are quite unique...do you know the source/aftermarket maker?

These are replicas of the first magnesium wheels, designed by Ted Halibrand in 1946, and used on virtually every Indy car from the late 40's through the late 50's, as well as many , many drag racers and dry lakes racers during the same period.

Several companies make repicas of them. I got mine from Rocket Racing Wheels. http://www.rocketracingwheels.com/rocket-igniter-as-cast/p43

You can read more about Halibrand wheels at http://www.hemmings.com/mus/stories/2011/03/01/hmn_feature11.html

[Plymouthy Adams]

thanks..