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'38 Dodge update


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Finally got around to dropping the fuel tank in my dad's old Dodge. Per Murphey's law, it was chock full of gas and took forever to drain, but the job is done and the tank out.

Along the way I discovered what was causing the car to stall and not restart. Although we suspected that crud in the tank ws causing the problem, the actual cause was a bit of a surprise. Yes, there was a fair amount of sediment in the gas - but the real problem became obvious as I poured the last of the fuel from the tank. An approximately 2"inch square chunk of an old leaf flowed out of the filler neck as I tipped it up! That'll stop the fuel delivery in a hurry.

So next will be having the tank cleaned and sealed and (hopefully) replacing the sending unit so that the fuel guage will work properly. The tank itself is in very good condition overall - pretty amazing after more than seven decades of service.

These repairs, an oil change, and a new battery then it will be time to write up an ad and get this old car sold.

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The old girl is up and running!

Picked-up the tank mid-morning. The shop boiled out the crud, re-did some old repairs properly, and sealed the inside. I brought it home and gave it a quick scotch brite treatment, prime and paint. Then I installed the new sending unit/gasket, the tank itself, and a new fuel filter. Charged-up the battery and ran the car a while. Lousy weather, so no test drive, but no leaks either and the gas gauge seems to be reading fairly accurately now.

Not to shabby for one rainy day.

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  • 2 weeks later...

When ever I get interested in buying a British car, I will usually have a British car guy say something like...."If your not already addicted, stay far, far away."

I was around British sports cars as a kid, and miss them. But I don't miss the way they break down...or the massive self ignited roman candle that my friend Chip's MGB became in his driveway...

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What body style is it?

Any pics??

:smilewide:

It's a D8 sedan. There will be lots of pics soon, but here's one to tide you over:

post-394-0-03406300-1315874761.jpg

This is the day it arrived, and my parents posing with it.

Wow, what a cool car, and it looks like it is in great shape too!!!!!!!

Thanks, CMG. It is in pretty remarkable condition for being over 70 years old - and it is very original. Now I just have to work out this fuel glitch and it will hit the market.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Installed the new battery today, and the car fired right up and idled smoothly. There was none of the hesitation when giving it gas that it had before. Thinking that this may have solved the problem, I let it sit and run for a long while.

It wasn't to be.

The car stalled and would not restart. After a long cool-down, it fired right up again and ran well. I put it back in the garage and shut her down - no restart.

Whatever is wrong is heat related. The leading suspect is the coil which seems to be a tough find.

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A bunch of research and phone calls later, there is a fairly strong consensus that the coil is the issue here. But, this is a real oddball piece and no one is making reproductions. So, I have to order a universal 6 volt coil and a plate to mount it, and run a new wire from the ignition switch to the new coil.

The old coil is a really strange affair the mounts to and through the firewall into the underdash area where it then has a steel disk held to the bottom of the coil with metal tabs on the coil itself. In the center of this disk, a metal conduit is mounted which runs back to the ignition switch. Inside the conduit, is a wire that attaches to the bottom of the coil (behind the steel disk)with a screw.

So goofy.

The new coil and mounting plate/ring have to come from Washington state. I sure wish that I could find someone with a 6volt coil they could lend me so that I could be sure before I go through all of this.

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OK, here are the pics of the old coil, the new coil, and underhood/underdash shots of the Dodge.

Old coil in all its weirdness:

post-394-0-46300300-1319324567.jpg

post-394-0-52878500-1319324622.jpg

post-394-0-41640700-1319324653.jpg

The hole in the firewall where the coil mounts:

post-394-0-45199900-1319324691.jpg

Here you can see the metal conduit that runs to the coil from the ignition switch. You can also see the odd metal disc at the end which was held to the bottom of the coil by metal tabs on the body of the coil itself:

post-394-0-02047900-1319324976.jpg

Seems that the "new" bracket was an NORS piece, check out the graphics and branding on the box:

post-394-0-20650600-1319325035.jpg

The new coil with the bracket and old rubber gasket:

post-394-0-67087800-1319325168.jpg

New coil installed with new wire run from the end of the conduit and snaked past the coil:

post-394-0-73270000-1319325267.jpg

post-394-0-65960400-1319325301.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

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