New here :-) 1947 Dodge Custom

[Dan Hiebert]

Dodge had three Custom versions, club-coupe, four-door sedan, and the Town Sedan.  The Town Sedan was the most expensive.  Town Sedans had a different woodgrain pattern and color than the others, as well as black painted accouterments such as steering wheel, steering wheel column, parking brake handle, etc., and black plastic dash knobs, instead of the taupe (tan-ish) color on others.  So far, every Town Sedan I've seen also has a back-up light with the commensurate on-light indicator next to the starter button.  Unknown if that's standard, or an option and just happenstance that the few I've seen all have it.  Your car does not have a curved face radio, it kinda looks that way in your photo, but that's an illusion from the lighting.  For the three year run of these Custom models, ('46-'48), there were 27,800 Town Sedans made, vs. 333,911 4-dr sedans, so it is fairly rare in comparison.  I've only seen one in person, and just a few in this Forum.

[Imperigal]

It's running!!!!! I taped up any areas I saw broken insulation on the wires, cleaned connections that looked suspect, put a little starting fluid in and it fired up after a few tries! I couldn't have been more shocked LOL. Some adjustments to the choke and throttle kept it running on its own. 

 

I need to look at the starter because it did slip a couple of times. I noticed that it also feels a little loose as I was wiping grime off of it.

 

The motor itself sounds great, which was a huge relief. I spent enough time turning it over by hand, lubricating the cylinders, and making sure it had fresh fluids before starting it. I forgot how much different a flat 6 sounds than my usual V8. I love it ?

 

Next I will address the tranny. Fluid change and then we'll see where we're at. I know my biggest challenge will be brakes because there are absolutely none right now. I've never owned a car without power brakes so this will certainly be another learning experience.

 

I'll try to post a video this afternoon ?

[49D-24BusCpe]

    The following model details come from a '46 Ross Roy 'Dodge Data Book'. These brief descriptions and specifications assisted dealership sales personnel quickly answer many customer questions.

 

 

 

 

    

[Greenbomb]

Back in ‘64 I sort of inherited a ‘46 Town Sedan. It was just an old car that didn’t run so I tore it apart to fix it. I had no idea what was wrong with it. Dad got tired of it sitting around and one day it disappeared. DOH!!!!!

[Imperigal]

Got it running, now it's moving...now I just need to work on the "stopping" part! ?  Spent the afternoon cleaning the interior and removing most of the hard water stains on the driver's side.  Here's a final pic for this thread and them I'm off to research the brakes!!