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Old 28th February 2014, 18:56   #46
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

Man JayD. Waiting for this tread for 3 years man. Come on get the rest of the pics out..
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Old 28th February 2014, 20:08   #47
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

Coimbatore- A city best known or its mechanical prowess. It is well known that, if there is anything that needs to be made, the lathes and foundries of Coimbatore are the ones that make it best! In most cases, the outcome will be far superior to the original.


One of the roadblocks which we encountered during this project is the removal of the rear axle. It had gotten stuck to its position over the years, and refused to come out even after repeated attempts.

Usually, in such cases, what the local mechanics do is to attach a puller and with a huge hammer, repeatedly hit at the axle nut. This may loosen the axle, but in turn also causes irreparable damage to the crown and pinion, and of course the drum.

This being a very crude method, we were sure on NOT doing it.


There had to be some way to pull it out, and that search took me to Coimbatore. To see if any arrangement can be made to do so.

There i happened to meet an old gentleman, who also has a Plymouth. He too, like almost every other engineer from cbe, was an expert craftsman, and used to run a foundry.

He invited us home and we discussed with him at length, the various roadblocks we were facing with the dodge.

The first thing to sort out was the axle.

In his workshop, He made us a jig, to help pull out the stuck axle. The jig has small depressions on it, which would mesh perfectly with the projections on the drum, and was a tight fit. Then with a crowbar, a small turn was all it took, and Voila, the operation was done, and the axle same loose, with no damage!
Attached Thumbnails
My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-20140228_093929.jpg  

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-20140228_093953.jpg  

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Old 28th February 2014, 20:26   #48
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

With the axle out of the way, we shifted our focus to the next part that needed fabrication.

The accelerator in this car, employs and intricate system of metal rods, linked to each other, to control the throttle opening.Since the previous owner had played around with the engine, the entire system in our car was missing.


The easiest option would be to just connect a cable from the accelerator to the carb. Since that would be moving away from originality, we decided to go with the original route.


The problem was that it was impossible to find a set. India or abroad!

The same gentleman from Coimbatore, removed the links from his plymouth, and fabricated an exact replica for our car.

Hats off to his kindness, without which a lot of this would not have been possible.

Attached herewith are the pics of the links. Right down from the base of the Accelerator pedal to the Carb.
Attached Thumbnails
My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-20121208_125922.jpg  

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-20121207_082439.jpg  

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-20121207_082522.jpg  

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-20121207_082844.jpg  

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-20121207_082900.jpg  

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Old 28th February 2014, 21:14   #49
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

Quote:
Originally Posted by JayD View Post

Please share the pics of your creation too!
Actually I lost some photos, and the table and other parts are at my home in Kerala. Will post once I go home. I found couple of pics containing the coffee table made from the engine block, but they don't show any details. In the second pic it's very dusty, too. Sadly I don't have better pics
Attached Thumbnails
My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-engine-block_coffee-table_resized.jpg  

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-engine-block-table2.jpg  

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Old 1st March 2014, 07:56   #50
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

The Dodge seems to be literally smiling, as the Perkins is taken out!

Where on earth did you get the straight six from?

For how many years was this car standing?

Any pics while the Straight six is being put in?

Cheers!
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Old 1st March 2014, 10:30   #51
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

Quote:
Originally Posted by FINTAIL View Post
Where on earth did you get the straight six from?
If am not mistaken, the owner had it stored somewhere. I saw pictures of the Qualis (?) that carried the engine to his home - it's rear had bottomed out with the weight of the engine, probably needed a suspension job afterwards
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Old 1st March 2014, 14:03   #52
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

Quote:
Originally Posted by FINTAIL View Post
The Dodge seems to be literally smiling, as the Perkins is taken out!

Where on earth did you get the straight six from?

For how many years was this car standing?

Any pics while the Straight six is being put in?

Cheers!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steeroid View Post
If am not mistaken, the owner had it stored somewhere. I saw pictures of the Qualis (?) that carried the engine to his home - it's rear had bottomed out with the weight of the engine, probably needed a suspension job afterwards
As steeroid has mentioned, the original engine which was taken out of the car was kept safely aside, and was procured along with the car.

The engine swap by the previous owner was a flop show, and hence he didn't drive with it.

Ive put back the original motor to make it a numbers matching car again.
Attached Thumbnails
My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-d0009.jpg  

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-d0010.jpg  

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Old 2nd March 2014, 00:09   #53
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

For any restoration, the most vital tool, i feel, is an original shop manual.

Over the years, many original bits and pieces of the car would have gone missing, also many parts would have been modified due to lack of parts availability.

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-20140301_103543.jpg


As explained earlier, the original engine was out of the car, and we needed to put it back.

To do that, one critical component was missing. The Engine bed. The same is illustrated in the pic from the shop manual.

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-20140301_104051.jpg


My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-20140301_104035.jpg

Again, a 100% accurate replica was fabricated, in coimbatore. And that is now in our car!

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-engine_bed1.jpg
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Old 2nd March 2014, 00:17   #54
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

Coming back to the bodywork, the patchwork on the body was done, and we now moved onto the painting stage.

The car was originally Light green in colour, and we had no doubts on going back to green. The original shade was very light, and since we had another car planned out in that colour, a small change in shade was made, and a new medium green was custom mixed. The top was to be painted in a pearl white to give it a nice contrast.

The pics below show the test coat being painted in the engine bay, right before the Straight 6 is dropped in.

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-dscn5095.jpg

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-dscn5096.jpg


Also, check out the side trim pieces for the front seats, now finished and painted in body colour. Looks pretty different in the pics as it is a night shot from a phone cam.

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-28215_2013072901425200_img2012031600413.jpg

Last edited by JayD : 2nd March 2014 at 00:46.
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Old 2nd March 2014, 00:43   #55
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

Parallel to the paintjob, the work on the interiors had started too.

The seats, especially the rear ones had all but collapsed, rendering them unfit for refurbishment. There were issues with the front seat mechanism, and the backrest of the rear seat too was out of shape.

Thankfully, we found a dodge that was just going in for some interior work, and as a result, could take detailed photographs of the seat base, and the mounts.

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-img_9391.jpg

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-img_9394.jpg

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-img_9395.jpg


Using the pics as reference, we started work on our seats.

Not only was the frame in bad shape, the springs were literally powdering away when we opened them up.

They were of a peculiar shape, and very different from the ones which were locally available.

A lot of searching yeilded no results and finally, we found a guy who could manufacture them for us, and got them made by him!

The seats were then given to a so called 'expert' who kept them for a long time and ruined them further.

Finally, they were brought back home. The frame was worked upon and new springs were put in.

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-20120911_175142.jpg

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-20120929_180656.jpg

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-20120911_175209-copy.jpg
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Old 2nd March 2014, 00:55   #56
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

With the work on the seat frame and springs done, it was now time to get the Upholstery done.

The colour chosen for the seats was a Medium dark brown. And the doorpads would be in 2 tone Brown and grey.

The foam on seats shown in the pics turned out to be a little higher than needed, that was later corrected. Also, the original Ashtray was added back on to the rear of the front seat.
Attached Thumbnails
My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-img_0273.jpg  

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-img_0274.jpg  

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-img_0107.jpg  

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-img_0110.jpg  

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-img_0115.jpg  


Last edited by JayD : 2nd March 2014 at 00:58.
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Old 2nd March 2014, 01:00   #57
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

Amazing story ! Equally, the dedication of the technicians is outstanding. I recall the movie (the Original) " Flight of the Phoenix " with Jimmy Stewart, Richard Attenborough & Hardy Krugar ! How the the plane took shape bit by bit and actually flew ! Your car,
sir, will be a sight to behold when completed and a joy to actually hear the flat six come to life ! Good luck !!!
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Old 2nd March 2014, 01:08   #58
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

A Temporary paint booth was set up at home, and the paint work was progressing.

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-28213_2013072901425100_img2012031600411.jpg

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-28214_2013072901425200_img2012031600412.jpg

The painted bonnet, put out in the light to check the colour.

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-img2012032400190.jpg

The recreated front window base.

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-img2012032500199.jpg

At the same time, managed to import a set of whitewalls for the car, and got them mounted on the OE rims, painted in green.

The KING finally got his shoes!

My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'-28216_2013072901425300_img2012031600414.jpg
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Old 2nd March 2014, 08:36   #59
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

Quote:
Originally Posted by JayD View Post
A Temporary paint booth was set up at home, and the paint work was progressing.

Attachment 1213849

Attachment 1213850

The painted bonnet, put out in the light to check the colour.

Attachment 1213851

The recreated front window base.

Attachment 1213852

At the same time, managed to import a set of whitewalls for the car, and got them mounted on the OE rims, painted in green.

The KING finally got his shoes!

Attachment 1213853
Wow. Wow. Wow..
Goosebumps, on seeing the Rise of the Beast!
Great JayD! Appreciate your effort
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Old 2nd March 2014, 11:44   #60
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Re: My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration'

Amazing Project !! I have seen pictures of your bandmaster too ! brilliantly done.
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