1940 Dodge D14 Build Thread

[knuckleharley]

22 minutes ago, kridgleyud said:

I was thinking about some high-temp engine clear

Gotcha. I wasn't even aware there is such a thing.

[pflaming]

When I use clear coat, I use Prep and Prime from ACE first, it clear primes the metal and I think the clear adheres better. Just an unstudied observation.  All this looks so familiar. A very nice morning read, TKS. 

pic of my front frame '53 Plymouth, engine is waiting for installation. 

[kridgleyud]

On 10/31/2017 at 7:56 AM, kridgleyud said:

@Bryan my stock pump fits.  If you have the right angle pump with bowl mounted under it mounts ... its tight, but fits.  The fuel pumps with the bowls coming out almost parallel to the ground, it will certainly interfere with the exhaust.  

@Bryan Here is a photo of the right angle pump with Langdons Headers.

[kridgleyud]

Hello Folks still following this ... motor was installed Sunday, just getting around to uploading pics to this thread.

Couple hiccups but nothing major.  this motor has the oil pan sump forward ... so had to remove a steering arm temporarily until I put on the original pan ... need to clean up and paint to match.  Hoping the pickup doesn't need to move, but this is doable if needed.  She went in pretty easy and looking good.

I've got the old oil pump that I knocked the drive gear off of to prime her ... need to work out accelerator linkage, recheck torques, fittings and the static timing and get ready to fire it up.  stay tuned.

[Andydodge]

Like it, like it...............looks like its ready to eat some Frods.............lol..........andyd

[mrwrstory]

Nice job!  Great looking engine!  Tx for the thread. 

[T120]

29 minutes ago, mrwrstory said:

Nice job!  Great looking engine!  Tx for the thread. 

X2 

[kridgleyud]

was hoping to post some good news ... but I've got a set back ... used an old oil pump with drive gear off to prime the passages, was able to get pressure on the gauge but noticed an oil leak ... dripping from the clutch cover.

Was hoping it was the oil pan or something ... well it appears the rear main seal is leaking, flywheel and clutch are all wet with oil.  bummer, but it is what it is ... so I'm going to start getting ready to tackle that, motors coming back out.

[knuckleharley]

1 hour ago, kridgleyud said:

was hoping to post some good news ... but I've got a set back ... used an old oil pump with drive gear off to prime the passages, was able to get pressure on the gauge but noticed an oil leak ... dripping from the clutch cover.

Was hoping it was the oil pan or something ... well it appears the rear main seal is leaking, flywheel and clutch are all wet with oil.  bummer, but it is what it is ... so I'm going to start getting ready to tackle that, motors coming back out.

MUCH better to find that out now,than after you put the fenders and everything else back on it.

This can be a lesson to us all. We should probably prime a rebuilt engine with oil while it is still on the engine stand.

[kridgleyud]

To be safer I used the chassis as the test stand. Burns me up a little to have to backtrack but it's not that bad. 

Pull motor, bellhousing and clutch back off, drop oil pan then I can tackle the seal. Big bummer is that the clutch disk was exposed to the oil. Not sure if there is a way to save it or if I'll need a new one?

[knuckleharley]

8 minutes ago, kridgleyud said:

To be safer I used the chassis as the test stand. Burns me up a little to have to backtrack but it's not that bad. 

Pull motor, bellhousing and clutch back off, drop oil pan then I can tackle the seal. Big bummer is that the clutch disk was exposed to the oil. Not sure if there is a way to save it or if I'll need a new one?

Wish I could help you on that one,but if there is a way to remove oil from a clutch disc,I have never heard of it.

[Andydodge]

With the amount of oil that seems to have exited I am wondering if you installed the side"ears' or whatever the things are, they go on the side of the block underneath the rear main cap and fit around the main seal edge and outwards, there are 2 different styles tho at 1st glance they appear similar.........my 41 Plymouth had a major leak and even tho' it was supposed to have been a "restoration" these side ears were not even present, lol, anyway hope you have some joy with this................the rebuild is looking good............andyd  

[40plyguy]

I've cleaned many brake shoes  from leaky wheel seals by a hot tank bath or using a  degreaser and then rinsing them off or you can use brake clean.  I would think the same would go for a clutch disc.

[knuckleharley]

44 minutes ago, 40plyguy said:

I've cleaned many brake shoes  from leaky wheel seals by a hot tank bath or using a  degreaser and then rinsing them off or you can use brake clean.  I would think the same would go for a clutch disc.

That might work ok with riveted brake shoes,but wouldn't the degreasers dissolve the glue used to bond it together?

Granted,that has to be some SERIOUS glue to be able to withstand the heat and pressures of braking.

[fstfish66]

looks great

[kridgleyud]

alright everyone ... was thinking about this all day at work, so crawled under there to take another look.  I attached a pic of the rear seal area ... not as wet as I thought, hard to see now where it was coming from.  It's soaked up around the starter as i look up into the bellhousing.  Is it possible it's not the rear seal or oil pan?  Not sure what else could leak back here.

Next, I think I'll get a helper to hit the starter for me as I look at where the oil might be coming out from.

I was at least able to determine it has the outside the block style seal ... is that really all there is?  Or does this have the rope inside as well?  1950 Dodge truck motor, 218.

[Tom]

Hi Kridgleyud...l have been following your build thread with much interest as l have the same car under construction as well. Mine, however, looks to be coming from much further back than yours. It does have a good running stock engine and a fairly straight rust free body..so l do have something to work with. And, like you, l am interested in keeping it mostly stock but with some upgrades to make it a safe and dependable driver...highway friendly rear end, disc brakes, seat belts, electric wipers, etc.

l can sympathize with the noise of power tools and neighbors and in my case grandkids..

l see from your profile we share common interests besides our old cars...fishing, beer (l Like Beer) Tom T Hall... and you are way back east...cold winters!

Keep us posted...important to get out of the cave and share! Appreciate it!

[kridgleyud]

@Tom Nice looking car there!  Looks solid.  It's starting to get pretty cold out here, but I was able to get the front end done before moving her back into the garage.  I'm going to pull the motor next and figure out where this oil is coming from and rest her back in there.  I'll do the cam break in on the frame then move onto my planned winter projects.  My wiring harness just showed up and I've started looking whats needed to get the gauges restored.  Any questions or odds and end parts you need, feel free to ask away.  Keep us posted on your progress too!

-Kev

[classiccarjack]

1 hour ago, kridgleyud said:

@Tom Nice looking car there!  Looks solid.  It's starting to get pretty cold out here, but I was able to get the front end done before moving her back into the garage.  I'm going to pull the motor next and figure out where this oil is coming from and rest her back in there.  I'll do the cam break in on the frame then move onto my planned winter projects.  My wiring harness just showed up and I've started looking whats needed to get the gauges restored.  Any questions or odds and end parts you need, feel free to ask away.  Keep us posted on your progress too!

-Kev

Hi Kev,

Thank you for sharing your progress.  This topic is inspiring me.

I use Redline to restore my gauges, Shannon does great work.  If you have someone else in mind, please let us know how it turns out.

-Jack H.

[mrwrstory]

On 12/6/2017 at 9:50 AM, classiccarjack said:

Hi Kev,

Thank you for sharing your progress.  This topic is inspiring me.

I use Redline to restore my gauges, Shannon does great work.  If you have someone else in mind, please let us know how it turns out.

-Jack H.

I used Redline as well and am very satisfied with the service and the result.

[Robert Smith]

Fun reading this build.

Just a fun fact, you may like to know, Dodge offered an electric wiper motor early as '39. I was surprised  to see an electric wiper motor under my dash of my '40 D-14. I looked it up and sure enough, electric was an option on the Luxury Liner Deluxe models, but most D-17 "base model" Dodge's had the vacuum setup. 

 

Edited July 11, 2018 by Robert Smith

[Andydodge]

And here in oz the six 1940 D15 Dodges that I have pulled apart over the past 48yrs have all had electric wipers...........at the time, early 70's I didn't think much of the wipers and their bracketry so didn't keep any but my D15 sedan I've had since 1971 has had a BMC cable operated 12v wiper since the early 80's, its mounted on the inner cowl bracing behind the RHD glove box, in that area between the glove box lid and the door pillar, see pic and works fine...............andyd   

[kridgleyud]

On 7/11/2018 at 3:28 PM, Robert Smith said:

Fun reading this build.

Just a fun fact, you may like to know, Dodge offered an electric wiper motor early as '39. I was surprised  to see an electric wiper motor under my dash of my '40 D-14. I looked it up and sure enough, electric was an option on the Luxury Liner Deluxe models, but most D-17 "base model" Dodge's had the vacuum setup. 

 

@Robert Smith I believe this one has the electric wiper motor installed as well.

[kridgleyud]

Quick update for those still following this build ... I know it's been a while.

Motor is back in the car and all oil leaks have been addressed ... crank had odd hole in flange, some fittings loose, oil filter can was leaking ... all set now.

 

Current set back is what I believe is timing.  I reset the timing to #1 TDC prior to trying to start ... got some detonation and figured I was 180 out, adjusted for that ... same thing.  So I decided to check the valve movement via the springs with the front cover open ... my intake valve is not moving on #1, seems to be stuck for some reason ...

 

Next steps ... quick compression and leak down test then pull the heads off and see what that shows me ... was rebuilt a while ago and has been sitting for almost 2 years now so could be some stuck valves.  

[knuckleharley]

On 10/6/2017 at 11:59 AM, 46Ply said:

Not sure I understand this comment.  Why wouldn't all those upgrade mods make a difference?

You won't notice any power difference between the modified 218 you bought  over the pretty much identical 230 you were going to build.