First car Dodge D14

[Larkin.19]

Just got my first car, a 1940 D14 De Luxe, and I was just wondering if you had any suggestions for me? I'm a kid in Highschool. ????

[Andydodge]

Larkin.............I knew a kid who also got his 1st car also back in high school, it was a 38 Ford and he got it when he was 15, tho' sold it soon after then when 16 bought a 1940 dodge Coupe and pulled it apart...........by the time he was 17 in his last year of high school he decided he needed another 1940 Dodge for parts and he bought a 1940 Dodge D15 4dr Sedan..........after getting a lot of bits restored he decided to hotrod it in 1973 and installed a 318 Poly V8, auto, disc brakes etc, etc..............funny thing is...........nearly 48 years later and I've still got it.........lol.............you'll notice lots of similarities between my car and yours and lots of differences.........Oz 1940 Dodges used the Plymouth chassis witha 2" shorter wheelbase, Plymouth fenders, hood, headlight & taillights & bumpers but Dodge grille & badges on a 1939 Oz made & styled body shell...........I see that your car even has the original crank hole cover........lol........I just recently bought one from a guy in the USA, having never seen one here in Oz.............anyway have attached a couple of pics, the light brown one is the only pic taken when I 1st bought the car...............but the deal is I have to see some more pics of your car...........lol..........my suggestions would be to start with assuming that its complete, would be to try and get it running and driveable as soon as possible ...........once you have to chance to drive it then you can decide what you intend to do with it, restore it or modify/hotrod it...........there are various ways to upgrade the stock front suspension , engine & drivetrain with plenty of help & suggestions available from these guys...........but whatever you choose its your decision and your car...............many thanks for the post and Welcome Aboard  from Australia.........Andy Douglas          

[casper50]

I'd get it running and stopping first.  Enjoy it that way for awhile before doing any major teardowns. Does your school have an automotive class?  If so I'm sure that the instructor would be happy to have the class work on it to help.  Good luck.

[mrwrstory]

Where you at?  Just sold my 40 Plymouth to a young fellow.  Maybe y'all connect at least on line.

Edited April 5, 2019 by mrwrstory

[Silverdome]

Welcome young man. Tell us what you know about your car and include lots of pictures. Don't be afraid to ask questions. It's good to see young people that are interested in these old cars. Like Casper said get it running and stopping so you can enjoy it. Then make a plan of what you can realistically do to make it more enjoyable.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Silverdome

[garyp]

Like Silverdome said ask questions this website is a goldmine of information make sure you do a search of old posts first there is so much info there good luck. 

[Larkin.19]

On 4/5/2019 at 5:56 AM, casper50 said:

I'd get it running and stopping first.  Enjoy it that way for awhile before doing any major teardowns. Does your school have an automotive class?  If so I'm sure that the instructor would be happy to have the class work on it to help.  Good luck.

Unfortunately no, we do not have autoshop, but I do have a few people with great knowledge of cars. Thanks!

[Larkin.19]

On 4/5/2019 at 1:32 PM, Silverdome said:

Welcome young man. Tell us what you know about your car and include lots of pictures. Don't be afraid to ask questions. It's good to see young people that are interested in these old cars. Like Casper said get it running and stopping so you can enjoy it. Then make a plan of what you can realistically do to make it more enjoyable.

Thanks for the welcome! My dodge is a D14 DeLuxe with the original flathead straight 6. New exhaust had been put on the car before I purchased it, but I haven't checked the exhaust thoroughly yet. Pretty much everything else on the car is stock, and as far as I know, original to the car. Just got a new battery today; engine turns, horn works, and so does the ammeter. Nothing else has power. Checked for spark and there is none, and no current to the coil. Brakes are still drums and need to be redone, and suspension looks ok.

[Larkin.19]

On 4/5/2019 at 6:36 AM, mrwrstory said:

Where you at?  Just sold my 40 Plymouth to a young fellow.  Maybe y'all connect at least on line.

NorCal, though I bought it from a guy who had it for 10 years.

[Larkin.19]

On 4/4/2019 at 9:49 PM, Andydodge said:

Larkin.............I knew a kid who also got his 1st car also back in high school, it was a 38 Ford and he got it when he was 15, tho' sold it soon after then when 16 bought a 1940 dodge Coupe and pulled it apart...........by the time he was 17 in his last year of high school he decided he needed another 1940 Dodge for parts and he bought a 1940 Dodge D15 4dr Sedan..........after getting a lot of bits restored he decided to hotrod it in 1973 and installed a 318 Poly V8, auto, disc brakes etc, etc..............funny thing is...........nearly 48 years later and I've still got it.........lol.............you'll notice lots of similarities between my car and yours and lots of differences.........Oz 1940 Dodges used the Plymouth chassis witha 2" shorter wheelbase, Plymouth fenders, hood, headlight & taillights & bumpers but Dodge grille & badges on a 1939 Oz made & styled body shell...........I see that your car even has the original crank hole cover........lol........I just recently bought one from a guy in the USA, having never seen one here in Oz.............anyway have attached a couple of pics, the light brown one is the only pic taken when I 1st bought the car...............but the deal is I have to see some more pics of your car...........lol..........my suggestions would be to start with assuming that its complete, would be to try and get it running and driveable as soon as possible ...........once you have to chance to drive it then you can decide what you intend to do with it, restore it or modify/hotrod it...........there are various ways to upgrade the stock front suspension , engine & drivetrain with plenty of help & suggestions available from these guys...........but whatever you choose its your decision and your car...............many thanks for the post and Welcome Aboard  from Australia.........Andy Douglas          

 

 

 

I love the exhaust! It's really cool to see everyone come together from around the world on this forum, and I appreciate the pictures and story!

[soth122003]

Hey Larkin,

Welcome to the forum. First thing to do is get a shop manual for it. That book will help solve 95% of all the problems you'll have. Second thing is a basic tool kit 1/4" to 3/4" wrenches and sockets if you don't already have them. Two special tools I highly recommend are a compression tester (Harbor Freight about $20.00) and a Vacuum gage kit (again Harbor Freight about $20.00). The last thing is to research the forum. It has had almost every problem listed here at one time or another, and when in doubt ask. We be more than happy to help. Remember this, these cars were built and designed so that the average guy could work on them. The are easy to work on if you have a basic understanding of general mechanics.

 

Joe Lee 

Edited April 11, 2019 by soth122003

[Andydodge]

And further to Joe Lee's point about researching this forum...........as mopars from about 1940 were pretty much the same thru to 1948 when you search don't just search under 1940 Dodge as whilst there may not have been someone with the problem on their 1940 Dodge there may well have been the exact same issue on a 1947 Dodge so its good to widen the scope of where you are searching and even just browse thru various threads and you'll be surprised at what you'll pick up............anyway, we still need some more pics of that nice car you have....regards from Oz.......andyd.

[Larkin.19]

I'm having a little bit of a spark issue; I checked the coil, condenser, points, rotor, and they all check out. I do get a tiny bit of spark, but not enough voltage. My dad thinks its all the dirty connections from the ignition switch, and I haven't cleaned all of them yet, but I'm in the process. 

[Silverdome]

13 hours ago, Larkin.19 said:

I'm having a little bit of a spark issue; I checked the coil, condenser, points, rotor, and they all check out. I do get a tiny bit of spark, but not enough voltage. My dad thinks its all the dirty connections from the ignition switch, and I haven't cleaned all of them yet, but I'm in the process. 

Dirty connections can cause weak spark. If your wiring is corroded under the insulation this can cause resistance also. I had a weak spark at one time on my '48 and I fixed it by replacing the wire from the ignition, the wire had been spliced together and was not in good shape. I would also check your battery cables as they are the main source of power from your battery to your ignition.

[NickPickToo]

Hi Larkin

 

Im working on my first car as well 47 P15.. The guys on this forum have been awesome.   

[Jj1981]

Make sure the wire that is inside the distributor is good mine was bad  easy fix 

[Andydodge]

Larkin........how are things going, we love to hear progress reports even if theres not a lot to report...........lol..........andyd 

[Larkin.19]

On 8/10/2019 at 4:55 PM, Andydodge said:

Larkin........how are things going, we love to hear progress reports even if theres not a lot to report...........lol..........andyd 

Hi Andy, there hasn't been much progress since I broke the lug studs off of the driver side wheel. Ordered new ones but they were the incorrect ones. Waiting for the correct ones to arrive in the mail. I took out the radiator and flushed it clean, with no leaks! Also ordered a new wiring harness from Rhode Island Wiring and that is taking 5-6 weeks to be built. The fuel tank was removed and also flushed with gas to clean it. Things are pretty slow since I got my job, but I'm making the money needed for her!

[Andydodge]

Larkin............when you say the "lug studs" .....does it have left & right screw in bolts or left & right studs that use left & right nuts.........here in Oz as all Oz built mopars, ............ Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto & Chrysler up till the introduction of the Valiant here in 1961 all were Plymouth based and used the left & right screw in bolts but I understand in the USA the differing brands had differing wways of attaching the wheels............lol............andyd 

Edited August 12, 2019 by Andydodge

[Silverdome]

Stock threads on lug bolts or studs is left handed threaded on the left side of the car and right handed threads on the right side the studs or bolts should have an L or R on the outside end of them to indicate which handed they are. A lot of these were changed to all right handed threads through the years so be sure to check.

[Larkin.19]

15 hours ago, Andydodge said:

Larkin............when you say the "lug studs" .....does it have left & right screw in bolts or left & right studs that use left & right nuts.........here in Oz as all Oz built mopars, ............ Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto & Chrysler up till the introduction of the Valiant here in 1961 all were Plymouth based and used the left & right screw in bolts but I understand in the USA the differing brands had differing wways of attaching the wheels............lol............andyd 

Yeah I broke the left studs without knowing they were opposite. Ordered new ones though now that we know!