Door Arm Rest

[fhubler]

Last week my wife & I were very happy to acquire a 1948 Dodge Town Sedan from the grandson of the original owner.  One rear door trim panel arm rest is loose.  Any advice on how to R&I this piece without doing any damage would be greatly appreciated.

[Andydodge]

Dunno if this helps but the door armrests on my Oz 1940 Dodge use a timber base to the armrest which has foam then the upholstery tacked onto the timber........the timber base is screwed onto an "L" shaped metal bracket which has elongated or slotted holes into which a pair of 1/4" UNC threaded knobs screw thru into a piece of 1/4" thick plate welded to the door body...........the knobs are loosened to allow the armrests to adjust forward/backwards about 1.5" then tightened where you want them.........the upholstery is obviously not original as it is a hotrod, however the method of the armrest attachment is original.............BTW....welcome aboard...........andyd  

Edited November 8, 2017 by Andydodge

[fhubler]

Thank you, Andy.  My front door arm rests attach in a similar way, the rear  doors appear to be different.  There are no visible fasteners...  Beautiful trim, panel, by the way...  We are quite enamored with the '48 Town Sedan.  Its like the space shuttle compared to our Model A  

[Andydodge]

I can't help with rear door info tho there was a thread a couple of weeks ago that had a few different pics of the Town Sedan style bodied mopars, FOUND IT......thread is "Town Sedan??" by John Riddell......it might offer some help..........maybe the rear armrests only attach to the actual door panels and not the door, which would be a strange setup but who knows?...................the comparision to the Frod made me laugh.........lol.......got any pics of the new car?...........andyd 

Edited November 8, 2017 by Andydodge

[fhubler]

I am working on pictures, but right now driving it is more fun than taking pictures of it...  I did get the documentation into a binder last night, though, including the original bill of sale from Oct. 29, 1948, dealer brochure, tire inflation notice, heater & radio owner's manuals, shop manual, etc.

[Andydodge]

Good to get all the literature & manuals, especially considering the years that have passed since the car was made.....when I bought my 1940 Dodge Sedan in 1971 it was only 31 yrs old but came with the original owners manual and an Oz workshop manual, I'm sure that the  owners manual is a Nth American print, maybe Canadian as all the pics are of LHD cars and there is a pic showing part of the headlight surround which appears to be the Plymouth surround which the Canadian D15's used the same as my car which is also a D15........I was able to get both an Oz 1940 Dodge and 1940 Plymouth sales brochures in 1972/73 and they are the only ones I have ever seen or know of........its interesting that there are separate manuals for both the heater & radio but I suppose that as these items were both optional then they would not be mentioned in the standard issue owners manual...........my car did have the remains of a factory style vertical radio but as its a RHD car there was not enough space behind the dash to fit the radio & its box due to the brace from the firewall..............the radio "face"in my car used two cables that travelled to a separate radio box that mounted onto the firewall............yep its good to drive these cars as often as possible.......cleans cobwebs outa them and also out of ourselves..............lol.............regards, andyd            

[DrDoctor]

Andy,

   I agree with you wholeheartedly—my wife and I get great pleasure out of just driving around in our ’46 Plymouth Club Coupe—much more than polishing it (so we just don’t polish it) . . .  That’s why we don’t frequent car shows any more, either as participants or as spectators. Too much “my car’s better than your car” BS going on at car shows around here. Regards . . .

[fhubler]

I will eventually get photos uploaded of the details of the 48 TS... maybe this weekend.  From my very limited knowledge of the car, it appears that the options/accessories would include: Windshield Washer, Electric Wipers, Turn Signals, Backup Light, Radio, Heater/Defroster, Visor Mirror, Exterior Mirrors, Locking Gas Cap and Front & Rear Grille Guards.  I am still figuring out what features were unique to the Town Sedan model (body shell without rear quarter glass, upholstery, black dash control surfaces, lighter dash wood grain, etc.).  The car also has both outer & inner wheel covers (hub cap with trim ring).

I agree with you, Dr., on driving vs showing!  We have the very good fortune of living near someone who gets the local Model T & A drivers together once a month to drive the back roads all day & enjoy one another's company - no club, no judging, no set up & tear down, etc. just a bunch of car people who love to go out drive until the next thing breaks & then get together & fix it   Some of the cars are 300 pt. show cars & some have no paint & no upholstery!  We make a lot of people smile & we laugh at each other a lot...  Now, where do I find a small group of old Mopar people who do the same thing?...  Somebody should be following me who can identify what parts fall off of the Dodge and tell me if I really needed that or not 

Edited November 10, 2017 by fhubler
Spelling error

[DrDoctor]

fhubler,

   Wow!!! We DO envy you—if there was a group around here that drove their cars like you described, we’d be all in!!! Now that’s the way to do it!!! We do something simile, bet we’re a group of ONE. Obviously, you’re going to have a blast with the car, and I’m looking forward to hearing tales of your escapades. Warmest personal regards to you and yours!!!

[bob westphal]

What do define as a town sedan? Most two dr. & four dr. sedan arm rests aren't in the door. They are on the body. 

[Frank Elder]

Town sedan has normal doors for the rear seat and are longer than suicide doors thus you have to put the arm rest on the door.

suicide sedan

 

[fhubler]

Bob, here are the photos from the factory sales brochure.  The engineering trick here is to provide a long wheelbase (i.e. luxury) experience for the back seat passengers on a standard (i.e. cheaper) wheelbase chassis.  The rear door on the Town Sedan is longer, extending into the quarter panel.  This allows for easier ingress/egress for the rear seat passengers, but the larger opening in the quarter panel necessitates moving the quarter glass & arm rest from the quarter panel to the door and moving the hinge pillar from the quarter panel to the center pillar to keep the vertical alignment of the hinges.  Moving the quarter glass to the door also allows for a wider sail panel (or "C" Pillar), giving the rear of the body a more formal appearance.  The cleaner roof line has more of the look of a coupe roof than that of a sedan.  You might think of it as a Chrysler for the price of a Dodge, similar to the idea of the Toyota Avalon being essentially a Lexus for the price of a Toyota.