1937 Dodge D-5 4 Door Touring Sedan

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Dad,

A bunch of work going on with Ol Bessy, between hunting trips. All of the jobs can be broken down into hours so that I can keep driving her daily.

1. Cut the ears of the top of the 12 bolt differential. They were about 3/4 inch from the floor. I now have three inches clearance and have ordered axle snubbers 4 inches long to cut down to the right size. What ever size Ol Bessy tells me is right. In the long run, since the GM 12 bolt is larger than the original Dodge rear, I may have to either add helper springs, 500 lb capacity ought to do or better, cut out a section of the flat floor under the rear seat and add a new piece of metal that has a hump, to increase axle clearance and movement. A step at a time. No surgery untill i get the snubbers on and load it down again for a ride.

2. The tune increased mileage from 7ish mpg to about 11 or so mpg. Still running very rich, she is easy to start. Starts before the completion of the first rotation with no choke. Plugs are dark grey and fluffy black and the tail pipe is black, sooty. Acceleration is okay, I'd call it lazy though, very little snap. So, before I dive in and start jetting her down for better economy, figured I'd replace the very small and very restrictive air cleaners. This should help some with the rich fuel condition and let her breath easier. There are no oval or even round air cleaners for a dual duece set up, so I had to modify the base plate to fit. But looks decent and should allow up to a 6 inch tall air cleaner depending on how much air Ol Bessy wants. Still some refining to do and the base plate will need a new coat of paint, but she looks good and locks down nicely on the twin carbs.

3. Right front tire is dragging on the right front fender brace in a hard right going thru ruts/bumps and up into steep parking spaces. I measured, the arch of the fender on the right side is 3/4" lower than the left, frame is level though so, I'll have to loosen it up and get the fender brace moved out and up some to pick up the clearance needed at the arch for those turns.

4. I got the front kick panels sealed. Now the hot air off the engine dosn't blow into the cab. I think i'm going to get kydex (gun holster plastic) to make up the fire wall and kick panels, and door panels. I'll also use it for building new rear arm rests. Good stuff. Moldable, holds its shape and immune to moisture. Plus, it'll hold a staple/tack so it can be upholstered over. Once in, it should never warp on us.

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Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Ok Dad,

Rear axle snubber are on. I think they will work fine. They are late model jeep snubbers trimmed to fit.

I also got the right front fender moved up and out for tire clearance, matching the driver side. Time to load up and go for a ride.
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Dad,

Looks like we licked a few issues yesterday and today.

With floor clearance and axle snubbers in place the back end dosn't bottom in the ruts and bumps that it used to. Front fender seems to be clear of the tire on turns. Next check will be to load up with 3 or 4 passengers and go for another ride. With luck maybe we can avoid modifying the floor or adding helper springs. I doubt the nos rear springs are strong enough for a big trailer but if we can load a small trailer and/or passengers or deer without bottoming I'll be happy. Of course, most of the nations roads are a lot smoother than the ones I test drive on around here!

As for the new air cleaner, what a huge positive difference. We'll still have to do some jetting of the carbs but its pretty obvious she's breathing better. The slight roll at hot idle is gone, pretty much a smooth steady idle now. Also, not near as lazy when accelerating and noticeably more responsive to the throttle pedal. A side benefit is its a damn site quieter now! For now I'll finish out this tank of gas and run a couple more and check plug colors before diving into jet changes. I think later this week I'll pull the air cleaner and paint it to match the body color.

Progress, progress. Every trip out gets her closer to reliable and daily driver status.
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
New air cleaner is better in blue and will go faster than a chrome or black one anyway.
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Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Dad,

I think the next week or so will see me getting back to some heavy work, suspension. I think the rear end still needs some tweaking of the pinion angle. Both the angle finder and the Tremec Corp application for pinion operating angles drives me crazy with no two similar trial measurements ever giving the same results. So, I'm tuning the operating angles by feel......when she stops vibrating I'll have it right. But with the trans tail down 3.7 degrees and the differential nose down 1 degree she runs smooth up to about 55 mph then some slight vibration. However, this is not likely the best pairing of angles as evidenced by some continued slight vibration approaching highway speeds. Overall, Its much better than it was and the speed range where vibration starts is now much higher but I am pretty sure the differential needs to nose up at least a couple of degrees on those rear springs.

On the front end, its time to break loose the lower ball joints and rotate the springs a quarter turn into their higher riding position. It appears they have started to settle in nicely but shes a touch too low in the front now. At least by the gut definition.....e.g. my gut no longer fits under the front end! So, i'll get them rotated and see how the front end picks up so they can finish taking their set to final ride height. I'll try not to launch another spring across the garage when I do it!
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Shes finally out of VIN jail. I received the clear NC title Wed. Only took 90 days to look at pics of the vin tag and compare it to my original title.
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Dad,

First highway run today. Made the run to Rockingham for gasoline, (this tank 11.23 mpg mostly on short hop drives). She ran 60 mph on the trip down, pretty smooth. 65 mph on the way back, slightly less smooth.

Notes for adjustments over the next few weeks:

1. Dual deuces are harder to keep in adjustment than a single 4 barrel carb. Especially the idle speed. Mostly it seems about getting and keeping both butterflies closed at idle the same way each time. Usually a goose will clear it up but I think we need to fix that issue and move on to jetting.

2. Let her sit more than five days and the modern half gas/half additives all evaporates out of the bowls and she is much harder to start.

3. I will need to raise the front end about 1 inch to be comfortable with tire to fender clearance. Springs have taken all their set now and we could use a small bit of extra clearance for these rough country roads and for when we have passengers aboard. A .5" isolator on top of the springs should give up to 1" of rise over all.

4. Rear pinion angle wants a bit more preload. I think i'll nose down about 1 degree more and see where that puts us. Based on the last test, Ol Bessy dosn't want any nose up at all on the pinion.

5. Those 1.75" wide NOS rear springs are soft, bumps the bump stops but not the floor now. Made for 87 horses. 220 horses likely twist them up a good bit. Still up in the air but might try some over leaf helpers in front of the rear axle to hold the pinion angle and firm up the ride a bit better.

6. She's fun to drive!
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Dad.

Have a decision to make....dual deuces or one 4 barrel. Leaning to the 4 bbl for simplicity and reliability.

Checked jets today to start tuning and find new problems. Cant keep an accelerator pump seal working. Secondary seal was off shaft and balled up. Primary seal broke in two pieces. See photo.

Got her back together and now to decide. I have to replace the seals just to drive but may just swap carbs to edelbrock. Yours is 20 years without a hitch so.....20201021_094053.jpg
 

45/70 hunter

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
It's been many years but the last carb I replaced I swapped a Holley with an Edelbrock. The old Holley always seemed to need adjusting wheras the Edelbrock was pretty much plug, play, and never touched it again.
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Same with dads Edelbrock 600......on, adjust, forget for 20+ years.

She runs great with the torn accelerator cup. I'll try some new ones, heavy duty from Mikes but should the duels continue to be rather finicky, I'll pull them and put on a single 4 bbl.

For now, off to order pump cups, gaskets, clips and jets.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I was wondering WTF you were doing when you went with the double dueces at the onset. Two of anything when one that will do the same thing makes life so much easier. One of the reasons boat carbs are such PITA. The link and sync always is the issue more than the carbs themselves.
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
No issues but the jetting and the pump cups so far. Like I said, running good with torn cups. Carbs are not synched. Set up is progressive. Secondary seals tight for 19.5 in mercury, smooth idle, etc. I can't complain. So far no harder than tuning a DGEV 32/36 or a pair of 40mm delortos on a vw. But the poor quality of the pump cups was a surprize. For $40 I'll give it a good shot with smaller jets (needed those anyway) and new cups. If the new cups are no better for reliability, perhaps change it out to leather cups or last stop will be to a single 4 bbl. Dad won't be happy but I don't want to be replacing cups every 3 months either.
 

bigten

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Rich, on reassembly, lube the pump cups with vaseline. That will eliminate the chance of getting an edge roll that is possibly what happened there. Once in place it'll stay as there's not enough free space in the lower section of the pump well to allow the cup to flex out and up.
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Rich, on reassembly, lube the pump cups with vaseline. That will eliminate the chance of getting an edge roll that is possibly what happened there. Once in place it'll stay as there's not enough free space in the lower section of the pump well to allow the cup to flex out and up.

Thanks!
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Dad, Good news. We have Ol Bessy back up and running like new. I think the carb issues are temporarily vetted (more tuning likely required). The accelerator pump seals had broken in both carbs. One balled up, one completely torn in half. She was jetted so rich that she started and ran okay anyway. Although these seals were ethanol resistant, they were very thin and floppy, kind of cheap. New ones are more robust and have expanders. So, I know you always said change only one thing at at time.....but, while i was in the carbs to replace the pump seals (used new ethanol resistant heavy duty cups with expander springs) I replaced the very large #57 jets on the primary carb. Now both primary and secondary carbs are running the same size jets, #55s. The test drive went well with a marked improvement in acceleration and response to throttle inputs. Several pulls from second and third to wide open didn't result in any pinging. I'll have to drive a tank or two, do some tuning and check plugs to see if the primary carb will want smaller jets than these but its a step in the right direction. Now to get back to front suspension, pinion angles and improving the rear springing........ She Runs!!!!! Celebrating with a cigar and an R.O.C-Co-Cola!
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Just filled the tank. Ran one half on the fat jets and one half on the new smaller jets. Mileage rose again, showing 11.88 mpg with mostly stop and go driving. We'll see what it looks like with this new tank running through on those 2 step smaller jets. Still havn't reset the idle mix from the fat jets....I'll have to get to that soon, but right now its hunting season and all my time is in the woods.
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Dad, Big step forward. First high speed highway run for Ol Bessy in about 25+ years. A photo out over the hood headed south on I74.....and a short video of the speedometer and serene music, as we steadily roll South bound at 70 mph. (She's loud and thirsty at that speed but pushed her past 75 mph for a stretch and we know she can do it relatively smoothly. But, with no upholstery at least she's no louder than she was running that weak flathead lawn tractor motor all those years.) I think we finally have the right operating angles for the drive shaft. Bessy no longer shakes her self apart on hard acceleration and running the highway at 2800 to 3100 rpm didn't elicit any untoward vibration from the drive line.


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Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Dad,
Last year i went with the Ford style swan neck mirrors that bolt on. The clip on style for the old dodges always vibrated and fell off.
Problem was the curvature of the door shell didn't allow the ford mirrors to swing in enough to be usable without really contorting your neck.
So, I cut a 3 degree shim for the drivers side and a 7.5 degree shim for the passenger side and now, I can see out the back on both sides without breaking my neck.

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Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Dad,
First endurance run today. 232 miles. Left this morning at 0945 and arrived home at 1600. Just over a full tank of gas and we netted a strong 12.25 mpg with some stops and averaging cruise speeds of 55 mph.

From Pekin, NC we went north through Troy, NC to the Pisgah Covered Bridge. Stopped for photos. Then North/around and through the Uhwarrie National Forest to the west side and South to the town of Uhwarrie. From there to Troy, NC again for lunch at Better Burger. Down State 109 to Wadesborough, NC and further South and East to Bennettsville, SC by way of Cheraw, SC. From there back up State 15/501 to Aberdeen, NC., North and West through Seven Lakes and Candor, NC on 211 and finally, out State 731 at the South end of the Uwharrie National Forest to home here in Pekin.

She ran great. Tune seems fine and the carbs are working fine. Next endurance outing will be up the interstate from Pekin, NC to Fancy Gap, VA and back holding highway speeds.

Todays trip confirms about all we need to do now mechanically is raise the front end on new springs, get the rear springs under control and probably rebuild the rear differential. Then, it'll be upholstery time.

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Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Resprung the front and picked her up a bit over 1.5 inches. Should clear the tires now. If she sets down again wilm have to go to a heavier spring.

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Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Driving at least twice a week. Saving for a rear differential rebuild. Planning to run her to Northern VA as soon as possible since Dad/Mom can't travel. Looking at getting her set up for a cross country run in the March to Sept Time frame......Prolly hit the GoodGuys Truck in Texas, March or the other goodguys run in CO or UT or Iowa over the late spring/summer. Either way, me, Dad and Ruger running around.

Differential first though......Can't decide if I'll do it at home or take it to Tracey in Wadesboro.....want to drop it to 3.08 during the overhaul.

Prolly just take it to Tracey.....then over to Burris in Sanford for a complete front alignment.
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Easy road...back roads through NC and SC. 60 mph all the way. A stellar 13 mpg! Rain all the way. Newport wipers work great. Heater melts sneakers. Burned headlights for the whole 3 hours, so confidence in the electric system now as well. Rear end noisy but holding together.....overall, very pleased. Hell, the stereo even answers the cell phone!

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