View topic - New Member & New To Dodge Brothers 1928 Standard Six..

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PostPosted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 10:38 am 
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Hi everyone, I'm new here. Thanks for allowing me access to your club forums.
I am in Western Canada. I am a member of our local Vintage Car Club. The Club recently gained access to a 1928 Dodge Brothers Standard Six. A group of us got together this week to inspect the car and come up with a list of needed repairs, and a budget number. Our hopes are make it drivable and safe.

My understanding is the car has been stored in a garage for many decades. It seems mostly stock and in good overall condition. The Dodge Brothers cars are new to me so any help pointing things out are appreciated.

Car SN that I found on the kick board is J37014. I was informed this reads as an early June 1928 build. The engine SN on the block is J49-049. I am not sure, but suspect this may be the original engine in the car.

We expected to find hydraulic brakes, but discovered mechanical brakes. It seems higher model DB cars had juice brakes in 1928, but the Standard Six did not. Is that correct? We pulled the front 2 wheels to inspect further. A lot of wheel bearing grease was found in and around the brakes. I removed the shoe assembly and front 2 cables. The two brake cables were pretty corroded. Some cable wire strands were broken and fraying. They are dry and not moving well inside the outer shielding.

I have been doing hours of internet research, but so far have had no luck finding a source for these replacement cables. Does anyone know of a source? If not, maybe there is a way to salvage what we have and build new cables? Any help on this is much appreciated. The brake shoe assemblies will be degreased in a hot tank this week. Most likely we will have them re-lined.

I heard mention that the headlights were maybe not stock. The engine is not seized. We did a compression test yesterday and the numbers were encouraging. Compressed air was put into each cylinder as well, to test for valve sealing. All appear good. A puller will be acquired this week to remove the rear wheels. I expect we'll find the cables to be in the same condition as the front.

Below here are pics of the car as it sits today. Also a photo of the two brake cables. Thanks very much in advance for any info. - Keith

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PostPosted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 6:13 pm 
Welcome Keith, looks like you found a good car to work with. I saw your post over on AACA. The brakes are called steel-draulic. They were not used by many companies. You will probably have to have cables made. A good cable maker can remove your ends and replace the cable.


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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:42 pm 
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We were able to lube up the brake cables well. They seem to be reusable. The shoes are out getting re-lined. Once they come back we can get the brakes reassembled and see how the cables work again.

Does anyone have any leads on a heater core? This 28 has in cab heating and the core is not salvageable. Any tips or leads on where to buy something that may work, used, or reproduction is appreciated.


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PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:33 pm 
The heater is likely aftermarket as I don't know of any DB having factory heat at that time. A GOOD radiator shop can make you a core. A friend used to disassemble them, measure the core and buy a new one. Often times he had to use end plates where the hose connection tubes are or parts of the old one to assemble a new core. Took some time but worked. He has since retired and sold his radiator business.


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 10:32 am 
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Thanks Doug. We will see about having a heater core made.
I think it's about time I tried to track down any service & repair publications for this car. Does anyone have any recommendations where I may be able to buy the correct manual? Looking on E-bay it seems difficult to identify the proper manual for this specific car.
Any help on getting the right manual, or manuals is appreciated.


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 8:53 pm 
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We are making good progress on the car.

Rad shroud re-chromed here:
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Wheels refinished. New hardware. New brakes. Windows move now as they should.

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Seat belts installed. Rad serviced. Engine running. Valves set. Fuel pump canister rebuilt.
All mechanical brake parts removed, cleaned and reset with all new re-lined brake shoes. Cables were able to be free'd up, lubed and re-used. New tires.

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Canister type removable media engine oil filter installed. Rear brake and signal lights. New safety glass windshield. Wiring repaired. Fuel tank pulled, cleaned. We're getting closer.

I have spent quite a bit of time on the mechanical brakes. Learning a ton about them and finding it quite interesting. We were able to get them set up "in the ball-park" today. More tweaking and tuning to go on the brakes, but they are working. Yay!


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 8:53 pm 
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I happy to say that today the project has been completed. The Car Club's 1928 Dodge has been revived. The group worked diligently over the past few months giving the car all the repairs needed.

The car is almost all stock except for a few things. Paint, headlights and rear tail lamp brackets that were fabricated. The car now runs like new. The brakes work excellent. The car is ready to lead the club's Easter parade on April 1st.

I joined the local vintage car club just in Sept of this year. The timing of this project was perfect in that I was able to work on it. I had tons of fun, learned a lot, and made some great new friends. It's true, old guys rule. They taught me a ton. I feel fortunate.

Here it is. Probably the one and only time it will ever see snow. We took it out of the shop to get some photos and test the brakes. All is well. Another Dodge Brothers car is back on the road.

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 11:03 pm 
Good on you guys for getting it back to running. What do you think the headlights are from, look kind of like Ford 8N tractor lights. The DB club is having a meet in Wisconsin in June, you should bring it.


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 11:49 pm 
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Here is some background on the car:

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