How to start my Dodge

[johnjnr]

Hi All.

 

So i have reached the stage of trying to turn over and then start my RHD Dodge coupe for the first however this is my first issue. Having taken this car on i have never had it running let alone tried to start it. So this is my question how do i do this?

 

There is a button that is situated between the brake and clutch peddles on the floor. This maybe a starter button as some other posts have suggested? However what i dont know is what any procedure maybe. So any advice / help / guidance greatly received. So thanks in advance and i must say that this forum has been a great help to date in this long recommissioning process.

 

Attached a couple of pics that show the interior and finally some power to lights that hadnt been switched on in at least the last 2 years that i have had the car. 

[andyd]

O/k.......I am assuming that your car is a factory RHD car and has not been converted by some backyard mechanic.....it certainly looks factory RHD, well at least the dash does.......that button on the floor should be the Hi/Lo headlight dimmer switch and when pressed will change the headlights to Hi or Lo.....when on Hi there is a little light directly above the speedo on the edge of the dash which lights up.......

..............now to start the car you place the car gearlever in neutral, pull the choke button out say halfway, pump the accelerator pedal a couple of times, then turn the ignition key to the right and then press the starter button, which is that chromed button on the right hand side of the dash, to the right of the oil and fuel gauges.........the starter button engages the starter and the engine should turn over..........don't hold it down for too long, maybe 5 seconds at a time......once started leave the choke out for a minute or two till the engine warms up then progressively push it in and let the car idle.

..........your dash is basically the same as mine tho' over the years, 51 years actually.........lol.... I have changed a couple of things but its essentially the same......., yep my car is a hotrod, V8 auto etc has been since 1973 but I enjoy stock or modified cars......any help, ask away 

...........regarding the suggestion that the floor button is the starter that suggestion would come from those with a LHD car as their starter button IS on the floor and has a direct mechanical link to the starter motor which is on that side of the engine.......with a RHD car a mechanical linkage to the starter on the other side of the car would have been very convoluted so mother mopar gave us RHD guys the benefit of a starter button on the dash, something the LHD guys didn't get for a few years......... 

.........trust this helps.........Andy Douglas  

[Doug&Deb]

The chrome button to the right of the steering wheel is the starter. Turn the key on, hold the gas pedal halfway down and push the button. What year is your car? We love pictures here. I’m not sure about the button on the floor. Windshield washer perhaps? When I say to hold the gas pedal down I’m assuming an automatic choke. If it’s a manual choke hold the pedal part way down and pull the choke cable out then hit the starter button.

[andyd]

His car is a 1940 D15 Series Dodge.........the D15 is the Plymouth based Dodge mainly used in export markets like Oz....as my car is....see pic.note Plymouth fenders,headlight surrounds,hood, straight front bumper, rear bumper was originally straight also, Plymouth tailights, etc........his car is I think a Detroit factory RHD car whereas mine was built here in Oz....note the external door hinges used on all Oz mopars from 1940 to 1948...........and the floor button is as I mentioned the Hi/Lo headlight switch......RHD cars do not have a foot starter due to the location of the starter motor....andyd 

Edited September 27, 2022 by andyd
more info

[johnjnr]

20 hours ago, Doug&Deb said:

The chrome button to the right of the steering wheel is the starter. Turn the key on, hold the gas pedal halfway down and push the button. What year is your car? We love pictures here. I’m not sure about the button on the floor. Windshield washer perhaps? When I say to hold the gas pedal down I’m assuming an automatic choke. If it’s a manual choke hold the pedal part way down and pull the choke cable out then hit the starter button.

 

Thanks for you input and Andyd is right. Its a 1940 Dodge Coupe. But the export model so i think is classified as a D15 which apparently is effectively a Plymouth P9 with Dodge badging? A few pics provided here of the car. The car originated from Detroit but was sold new in South Africa and was imported to UK in 2001. Having spent a while sources some new parts and then fitting new petrol tank, fuel lines, brake lines and cylinders all round, water hoses, water pump etc etc, my son and I are at the point where we want to see it alive. Engine turns by hand after some lubrication down the bores a year ago and fitting the battery last weekend saw headlights and back lights working. So there power in there somewhere we just need to find it. 

[Doug&Deb]

Beautiful car!

[Marcel Backs]

beautiful car! I have been locating some pretty good NOS parts suppliers for pre ww2 Mopars like yours in Ontario (canadian cars were nD15 as well). With a 72 cent Canadian $ I have been seeking out suppliers of NOS parts in this side of the border. Your car has a manual choke, so there is no need in setting the automatic choke. Give it a little throttle and full choke and start cranking until engine starts. Manually reduce choke from full pretty much as soon as car starts to ensure you do not flood it. If engine has not run in a while pour a little gas in carburetor to get it running and drawing fuel from the tank.  Ensure fuel in tank is fresh and clean. If you are looking for different bits for that coupe I can direct you to some pretty cool suppliers. Gotta love those old Mopars! M

[johnjnr]

6 hours ago, Marcel Backs said:

beautiful car! I have been locating some pretty good NOS parts suppliers for pre ww2 Mopars like yours in Ontario (canadian cars were nD15 as well). With a 72 cent Canadian $ I have been seeking out suppliers of NOS parts in this side of the border. Your car has a manual choke, so there is no need in setting the automatic choke. Give it a little throttle and full choke and start cranking until engine starts. Manually reduce choke from full pretty much as soon as car starts to ensure you do not flood it. If engine has not run in a while pour a little gas in carburetor to get it running and drawing fuel from the tank.  Ensure fuel in tank is fresh and clean. If you are looking for different bits for that coupe I can direct you to some pretty cool suppliers. Gotta love those old Mopars! M

Marcel, thanks for the advice, i will give that a try when i get back to the car very soon. Would be interested in any suppliers of reasonably priced parts as some from the USA are quite expensive and with the import charges and tax, it becomes an expensive hobby.

[greg g]

Contact Mark or Marcel at rdusaclassics.com they have a business shipping american cars and parts from the US to The Netherlands.   Mark lives about 5 miles from the locations of Andy Burnbaum, and Robert's Motor Parts.  Both are well known vendors of parts for early Chrysler Corp cars and trucks.  As they send containers of cars across the Atlantiv, they can ship parts in the cars in the container.  They can also arrange direct shipping if you don't want to wait for the container to arrive.   Check out their website, contact Marcel with your needs.  Check out what's available on the vendors online catalogs.

 

Rdusaclassics.com

 

As for starting, my P15 owners manual says this for cold starts.

 

Pull the choke out to full travel

Press the gas pedal quickly to the floor (this gives a squirt from the acc pump, and sets the high idle cam on the linkage,

Press the gas pedal and hold 1/4 to 1/3 open and hold

Engage the starter

Don't crank more than 30 seconds

If no start, pump gas pedal once repeat.

 

For warm starts, car being restarted after being driven at normal operating  temp

 

Open gas pedal 1/4 to 1/3  open, engage starter while holding steady open.

Edited October 2, 2022 by greg g

[Merle Coggins]

13 hours ago, greg g said:

For warm starts, car being restarted after being driven at normal operating  temp

 

Open gas pedal 1/4 to 1/3  open, engage starter while holding steady open.

 

I concur... I always need to open the throttle slightly for hot restarts if it's been sitting for a few minutes. 

[keithb7]

After a long cold nap there may be multiple issues when trying to get the car to fire up. 
There are many tricks that can be done. 
 

Pull all spark plugs. Re-install plug wires.  Lay a plugs on cylinder head, to ground them. While cranking over the engine with key on, do you see sparks? Having a friend to assist from in the cab helps here. Put about a teaspoon of engine oil or Marvel Mystery oil down each sparkplug hole. Leave plugs out.  Crank engine over again. Now remove air filter. Look down carb. With key off the engine sitting, cycle the throttle linkage fully a couple of times. You should see a stream of raw fuel squirting down inside the carb. No fuel? Get a smaller-ish syringe from a pharmacy. Re-install all spark plugs. Suck gas into syringe. Manually squirt some raw gas down the carb. Not too much. leave air filter off. Walk back to the cab. Turn key on and push  the floor starter. No choke required. Does the engine run for a few seconds, then stall?  Repeat again, squirting raw fuel down carb and start engine.  If engine stalls , do it one more time. If engine stalls again, your fuel system is likely the cause. 
 

Look down the carb again. Cycle throttle open wide a couple times.  Are you seeing raw fuel squirting inside the carb yet, while cycling the throttle open? You should by now. If not, time to test the fuel pump. Do you have fuel in your glass bowl at fuel pump? 
 

Remove fuel inlet line to carb bowl. Crank engine over. (Spark plugs out is preferred, easier to crank over) Do you see any raw fuel flowing out the fuel line while cranking the engine over? No? You may have a fuel pump problem. Or constricted fuel line. 
 

More troubleshooting required. 
 

No spark right from the beginning? Then its time to deal with that first. Then come back to the fuel testing described above. 
 

My old Mopars require no throttle at all to start when hot. They flash up instantaneously. This phenomenon varies by car for many reasons. Including; engine state of tune. Dwell. Timing. Carb cleanliness. Health of ignition system. Plugs, wires, points, condenser coil.  Valve seal ability. Valve lash gap.  Amount of compression engine makes. Type of choke system. Type of fuel being used. Ethanol, non-ethanol. Winter blend or summer blend fuel. Fuel pump pressure. Float height setting. 

Edited October 3, 2022 by keithb7

[johnjnr]

23 hours ago, greg g said:

Contact Mark or Marcel at rdusaclassics.com they have a business shipping american cars and parts from the US to The Netherlands.   Mark lives about 5 miles from the locations of Andy Burnbaum, and Robert's Motor Parts.  Both are well known vendors of parts for early Chrysler Corp cars and trucks.  As they send containers of cars across the Atlantiv, they can ship parts in the cars in the container.  They can also arrange direct shipping if you don't want to wait for the container to arrive.   Check out their website, contact Marcel with your needs.  Check out what's available on the vendors online catalogs.

 

Rdusaclassics.com

 

As for starting, my P15 owners manual says this for cold starts.

 

Pull the choke out to full travel

Press the gas pedal quickly to the floor (this gives a squirt from the acc pump, and sets the high idle cam on the linkage,

Press the gas pedal and hold 1/4 to 1/3 open and hold

Engage the starter

Don't crank more than 30 seconds

If no start, pump gas pedal once repeat.

 

For warm starts, car being restarted after being driven at normal operating  temp

 

Open gas pedal 1/4 to 1/3  open, engage starter while holding steady open.

Greg thanks for your advice and website contact details. That may be a good route to follow up on.

[johnjnr]

9 hours ago, Merle Coggins said:

 

I concur... I always need to open the throttle slightly for hot restarts if it's been sitting for a few minutes. 

Thanks Merle. Forum member help is always appreciated.

[johnjnr]

8 hours ago, keithb7 said:

After a long cold nap there may be multiple issues when trying to get the car to fire up. 
There are many tricks that can be done. 
 

Pull all spark plugs. Re-install plug wires.  Lay a plugs on cylinder head, to ground them. While cranking over the engine with key on, do you see sparks? Having a friend to assist from in the cab helps here. Put about a teaspoon of engine oil or Marvel Mystery oil down each sparkplug hole. Leave plugs out.  Crank engine over again. Now remove air filter. Look down carb. With key off the engine sitting, cycle the throttle linkage fully a couple of times. You should see a stream of raw fuel squirting down inside the carb. No fuel? Get a smaller-ish syringe from a pharmacy. Re-install all spark plugs. Suck gas into syringe. Manually squirt some raw gas down the carb. Not too much. leave air filter off. Walk back to the cab. Turn key on and push  the floor starter. No choke required. Does the engine run for a few seconds, then stall?  Repeat again, squirting raw fuel down carb and start engine.  If engine stalls , do it one more time. If engine stalls again, your fuel system is likely the cause. 
 

Look down the carb again. Cycle throttle open wide a couple times.  Are you seeing raw fuel squirting inside the carb yet, while cycling the throttle open? You should by now. If not, time to test the fuel pump. Do you have fuel in your glass bowl at fuel pump? 
 

Remove fuel inlet line to carb bowl. Crank engine over. (Spark plugs out is preferred, easier to crank over) Do you see any raw fuel flowing out the fuel line while cranking the engine over? No? You may have a fuel pump problem. Or constricted fuel line. 
 

More troubleshooting required. 
 

No spark right from the beginning? Then its time to deal with that first. Then come back to the fuel testing described above. 
 

My old Mopars require no throttle at all to start when hot. They flash up instantaneously. This phenomenon varies by car for many reasons. Including; engine state of tune. Dwell. Timing. Carb cleanliness. Health of ignition system. Plugs, wires, points, condenser coil.  Valve seal ability. Valve lash gap.  Amount of compression engine makes. Type of choke system. Type of fuel being used. Ethanol, non-ethanol. Winter blend or summer blend fuel. Fuel pump pressure. Float height setting. 

Keith, thanks for your advice. I have seen a few of your you tube videos on brakes etc and always find them both informative and easy following, keep it going.