Thread: '37 Dodge sedan

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Took a drive this morning to Lynden, WA. It's about 120 miles round trip, almost to Canada, but not quite. Came home with a 3.73, limited slip 8.8 rearend out of a '99 Explorer. Love coming home with goodies for the sedan; every piece gets me that much closer to putting this old girl on the road.

I also ordered a new set of original style rear leaf springs and the Ford 5x4.5 rotors I need for the front end because my kit was sent with Chevy 5x4.75 rotors by mistake. Hope to be finishing up with the body work soon, so these pieces of the puzzle were necessary to continue work once I pull the body.

IMG_20180311_152155893 by Ryan Mazingo, on Flickr

That rearend looks great compared to the one I got, Mine was in the dirt for awhile and needed sandblasting very bad. I'm don't remember for sure what your using for suspension but I have a 4 link and coil overs and I found that a rear sway bar off of a trailblazer fit perfect for me ( I'm posting some pics of it tonight ), If your using leaf springs than I'm sure the 8.8 one should fit just fine..

Originally Posted by 53 Chevy5

That rearend looks great compared to the one I got, Mine was in the dirt for awhile and needed sandblasting very bad. I'm don't remember for sure what your using for suspension but I have a 4 link and coil overs and I found that a rear sway bar off of a trailblazer fit perfect for me ( I'm posting some pics of it tonight ), If your using leaf springs than I'm sure the 8.8 one should fit just fine..

I'll be using leaf springs. I have a triangulated 4 link kit here in the shop that I got in a parts lot at an estate sale. I considered using it in the sedan, but I've since decided to stick with the leafs. I found brand new springs on eBay last night for about $250 (one of mine has a broken leaf) so I went ahead and ordered the set. Least modification required and it makes for the cheapest way to the finish line. I'll have to move the perches, but it should be fairly easy to get it in there.

A couple goodies showed up today, thanks to the FedEx man. The new springs and a couple gallons of Ospho should provide several hours of entertainment in the shop in the coming months.

IMG_20180319_183944063 by Ryan Mazingo, on Flickr

IMG_20180319_184013723 by Ryan Mazingo, on Flickr

Also picked up the new molasses tank, 6ft diameter and a little over 2ft deep. Should be able to get all 4 doors in there at once and hopefully a fender or two with them. I know for sure I can fit all of the large items in it, which was the whole point to begin with. I'll pack a bunch of smaller stuff around the outside to make the best use of the time.

IMG_20180319_183811726 by Ryan Mazingo, on Flickr

Wow, that's a big molasses tank if it's the same as what we call a lick tub around here used for a supplement for pasture animals.
I'm unfamiliar with OSPHO rust stopper. Keep us updated on how it works.

Originally Posted by 53 Chevy5

Wow, that's a big molasses tank if it's the same as what we call a lick tub around here used for a supplement for pasture animals.
I'm unfamiliar with OSPHO rust stopper. Keep us updated on how it works.

Ospho is great stuff, I've been using it for years. It works well in areas where you just can't get to with tools. Spray it on and let it dry, surface rust turns black and becomes a paintable protective layer. I usually pour it into a spray bottle and squirt it on just about everything that's going to be hidden behind another panel, or might not get completely covered when I paint.

The tank is just a regular old stock tank, typically used as water troughs for livestock. I've been searching the many classified ads for quite some time for a deal on a large enough tank to fit the sedan's monstrously large fenders and doors. The seller had this one listed for cheap, so I figured I'd better just scoop it up while I had the chance. Molasses works great for getting into the wire edge of the fenders and down into the seems of the door skins where they wrap around the inner structure. Pretty sure I can get the running boards in there, too! I'll throw as much into the tank as I can and let it stew for a couple weeks, then clean it all up and shoot some epoxy primer on everything. This was a must have item to keep myself to my schedule for the build, so I'm pretty excited to have finally located and aquired it.

Got it on 4 wheels now that I have the correct rotors. Assuming the coils compress as much as I think they will with the weight of the engine and all the parts that will be mounted up front, I think it should fall exactly where I wanted it to. I used stock spindles in my set up, so I can easily drop another inch or 2 with relative ease.

IMG_20180320_181003118 by Ryan Mazingo, on Flickr

The obligatory curb level view:

IMG_20180320_181013455 by Ryan Mazingo, on Flickr

Those body lines look very nice from here.

Originally Posted by 53 Chevy5

Those body lines look very nice from here.

They're close, but they'll be better before I'm "done".

Nice new parts and good metal work on it. You might have to remove a leaf from those springs to keep your butt in the seat.

Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe

Nice new parts and good metal work on it. You might have to remove a leaf from those springs to keep your butt in the seat.

That was my first thought too, but they're actually pretty soft. The originals are dang near perfect, but the driver side spring pack has a broken leaf, so I'll have to wait these out a little and see how I feel about them later on.

They probably feel soft until you get them closer to flat due to their length. That's a lot of leaves for a car. Just my opinion so don't take offense. My 40 had half ton 48ish ford pick up front springs in the rear of it. It was an old chassis engineering parallel leaf kit. Man was the ride not great.

I'm still alive, just been too busy with life to have any time for the car. Been working a lot of hours because my wife left her job to stay home and focus on our daughter's development. She's almost 2 and a half and still has no interest in speaking, so getting her on track is the primary focus. If I can manage 10 hours of OT every week it's basically like my wife's income isn't missing from the equation, so progress is going to slow down somewhat on the car. But I haven't lost motivation! Hoping to get back in the shop this weekend, just have to figure out how to make better use of my time now that weeknights are mostly off the table.

I salute you and your wife for your focus on your daughter! Being a full time Mom is super cool, and you being willing to make that happen with OT is great! Great job, Dad!

Thanks for keeping us up to date, I was just wondering if you were still at it. I'm glad to hear that your putting your daughter before these earthly projects. Be patient and enjoy their unconditional love.