Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014 Posts: 6319 Location: Derby
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Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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The speedometer was behaving erratically so I had speedy cables make me a new cable. The drum was also "catching" on the casting. This is apparently quire a common fault with "pot" metal casings. A complete strip down and refurbishment kept me occupied for hours!
The engine and gearbox is support is bolted either side through the chassis rails. I couldn't believe how badly these long bolts had worn!
Another unusual design (I think) is the hollow front engine mount, which is bolted to the front cross member and is through which the starting handle goes. There is a plug which is screwed into the end and seals the engine from the ingress of dirt etc. and also prevents oil from leaking out.
Unfortunately repeated hand cranking had badly bruised the threads so the plug was no longer a tight fit and a small but constant trickle of oil was ever present on the front valance. I restored the thread on my lathe and re fitted the engine mount to the cross member. I fashioned a new gasket to the plug which has a square recess that corresponds to the other end of the crank handle. Once tightened it no longer leaks oil.
. This may give sleepless nights to any machinist looking on but rest assured I was only gently cleaning up the threads with the tap so quite safe really. |
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014 Posts: 6319 Location: Derby
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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As Rick knows to his cost, the DB 4 blade fan is a fragile thing and can do untold damage if it breaks. My fan failed in a completely unexpected fashion. The central hub disintegrated and the solution was not apparently obvious. In the end I opted to beef it up by attaching a collar as these photos show.
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Rick Site Admin
Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 22449 Location: UK
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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Ray White wrote: | As Rick knows to his cost, the DB 4 blade fan is a fragile thing and can do untold damage if it breaks. My fan failed in a completely unexpected fashion. The central hub disintegrated and the solution was not apparently obvious. In the end I opted to beef it up by attaching a collar as these photos show.
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That's exactly what's happened to my replacement fan.
I also have a slight drip down the front valance, something else to attend to one day.
RJ _________________ Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014 Posts: 6319 Location: Derby
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:02 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry to hear you had some bad luck with the replacement fan, Rick. If you carry out a similar repair to the one I did may I suggest in addition to the soldered joint, you add more than just the two screws that I did. (Belt and braces etc).
I also found that a noise coming from the lower pulley was where it was actually touching the engine. The clearance is quite tight there. The pulley is located with a woodruff key which when worn allows it to run out of true. I needed to replace the water pump shaft anyway so that solved another problem.
I also found that backlash in the water pump shaft could be controlled by adding a washer or two behind the gland retaining nut. Although I don't need packing now I have rubber lip seals, I retained the nuts for originality and as it happened, a practical use too. Because the washers are exposed and free to
rotate with the shaft, I used plenty of grease and will keep an eye on it.
When it came to cleaning up the threads on the engine mount I originally had great difficulty in removing the sleeve from the engine. It was very tight but eventually I managed to knock it out from underneath the car. The threads are 3/8" 16 tpi UNF but as I didn't' have anything that size to hand I used a whit worth tap. The difference is in the form - with UNF being 60 degrees and the Whitworth 55 so close enough especially as I wanted an interference fit.
A better option would be to buy a refurbished exchange mount. Alternately you could have a new collar machined to fit but that might also be pricey. With any luck all you need is a new gasket... |
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014 Posts: 6319 Location: Derby
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Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:09 am Post subject: |
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The disc wheels take 450/475 x 21 tyres and the inner tubes should have a metal valve bent at an angle so that they go through a slot in the disc. Unfortunately, three of the tubes have ordinary straight rubber valves which means that when ever I want to check the pressures or inflate them, I have to get to the inside of the wheels which is inconvenient today the least. The tubes have also rotated in service resulting in the valves being twisted over at an acute angle on the two front wheels.
I resolved to change these inner tubes and searched every where I could think of but no one had any in stock. One of the tyre fitters I contacted was Vintage Tyres who are based in the NMM at Beaulieu. Mike there was helpful and came up with a solution. He supplied me with three 880 x120 tubes which would normally be fitted to beaded edge tyres and they accepted 90deg. valve extensions. I should explain that the reason I wanted metal valves is that they are in contact with the rather rough hole in the rim and tend to cut through the rubber ones.
The new inner tubes arrived the other day and although very expensive are undoubtedly heavy duty and genuine Michelin. Unfortunately, my usual independent tyre fitter refused to handle the wheels because they have a split retaining ring (or bead) and apparently should be inflated in a cage. It was also doubtful if the 21" rims would fit on their machine.
I tried another local garage who also said the wheels were too big for them.
Then I visited a commercial fitter who was happy to do the job. Two tubes fitted for £50. and not a cage in sight!
I have now fitted the wheels to the car. Unfortunately, they were not balanced (which for that money I would have expected they would be) so I have done my own using small powerful magnets as weights inside on the rim.
This is how the valve should look. The new valves only just protrude enough to accept a tyre inflator but will be o.k. The split retainer is visible (painted black)
This is how one of the correct originals looks from the inside of the wheel.
This is one of the new inner tubes with bent valve extension positioned in a tyre ready to be fitted. |
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014 Posts: 6319 Location: Derby
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 10:21 pm Post subject: |
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I had been out in the Dodge and was feeling good about the way the old car had been bounding along then quite unexpectedly the hand throttle lever became floppy and useless. I didn't know quite what had happened but I had visions of a breakage of some kind. Further investigation revealed nothing serious. The two levers for throttle and advance on the steering wheel are held in place by two little studs and a nut had come off one of them.
The method of concentric tubes passing through the steering column with operating levers clamped to their extremities is a common enough practise - as is passing the horn wire down the inner most tube. It was fortuitous that I had to remove the clamps to extract the tubes because I noticed the horn wire insulation had perished just at the point where it emerges from the tube and a short circuit was imminent. The easiest solution was to wrap some insulating tape around the break and refit the wire.
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014 Posts: 6319 Location: Derby
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2019 11:56 am Post subject: |
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I have again been plagued with a sticking exhaust valve. This time I was unable to free it by levering the spring so the head had to come off. I managed to free the valve and on removal I notice the same sticky deposits that I had seen before. The strange thing is that this is always on cylinder No2 and I noticed a deposit of hard material on the cylinder head. It looked like glass beads and was rock hard.
The only thing I can imagine is that when the cracked valve seat was "cold stitched" they used Loctite to bind the threads together. As the engine heats up some glue melts and either escapes from the repair or is from a spill.
I can only hope it doesn't happen again. |
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014 Posts: 6319 Location: Derby
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Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2019 5:45 pm Post subject: |
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The Dodge Brothers has now gone. Sold to the highest bidder (after the auction) and life goes on. Whoever has bought the car will benefit from hundreds of hours of my work and should be able to enjoy the car. The amount this vehicle has cost me has been eye watering because everything has had to come from the U.S.A. so my next project will need to be home grown!
The new owner will also benefit from a good selection of spares (worth a considerable amount) but there are still one or two things that could be improved. The windscreen is incorrect and I needed to add a 4" wooden fillet to the front edge of the hood to raise the roof height so both the hood and screen could do with being replaced if being correct is the new owner's thing.
The engine and gearbox have been overhauled and there is a new clutch. Other new or refurbished parts include:
dynamo
water pump and fan
radiator repaired and surround nickel plated +new DB emblem
starter motor,
carb.
fuel pump, vacuum tank and gauge.
engine mounting bolts,
horn,
speedo and cable,
complete ignition system including distributor housing, ammeter, battery and leads. Ignition switch refurbished.
exhaust system including manifold,
motometer,
2x DB tail lamps and brackets.
toe board repairs
body repairs and paint work worth £4k |
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Rick Site Admin
Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 22449 Location: UK
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014 Posts: 6319 Location: Derby
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Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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The last one nearly caused a divorce...that one would probably be fatal!
Incidentally, that one is not a fast four. It is a pre 1926 car with 12 volt electrics and a 3 bearing engine.
I would have thought you could find a home for it! |
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