Vintage Drivers Club

1932 DODGE BROTHERS FOUR COUPE –

Roy & Midge Marshall, Sale, Victoria

If you thought the Dodge Brothers Four cylinder car was only made from 1914 to 1928 you could be excused, as that is what most of us believed. Did you realise however, that Dodge produced a Four cylinder car in 1932 , the Model 'DM' for export only ? It was not sold in U.S.A., and was produced by Dodge Brothers in their Canadian factory. This particular Dodge Four is owned by Sale, Victoria members, Roy & Midge Marshall. They have owned the Dodge for 40 years & have had the car back on the road, after restoration by Roy, for about 5 years. It was imported into Australia in chassis form, and had the two door coupe "King of The Road" Wooden framed body built & fitted by T. J. Richards & Sons, bodybuilders in Adelaide, South Australia. The motor is different from the 1928 Dodge Brothers Four Side valve motor however, and is almost identical to the 1930 Plymouth Model 'U' Four cylinder motor. The coupe is fitted with a free wheeling unit(original), located at the rear of the gearbox, and an automatic clutch (also original), but Roy has disconnected both of these, so the transmission is now entirely conventional vintage.

On the road, I found the Coupe a pleasant car to drive, no doubt helped by the 18" wire wheels , and the rubber mounted motor. The car handled well (4 hydaulic shock absorbers), steering & brakeing were also good - 4 wheel internal "Lockheed" hydraulics  with 11" brake drums. Clutch was nice & smooth. The hand brake is activated on the tailshaft by an external band on a drum behind the gearbox. The fuel feed is an "AC" mechanical fuel pump, from the tank at the rear . The pump is on the right hand side of the motor, driven from the camshaft.

Roy has painted the coupe maroon, and as you can see from the 'photo's it is a very attractive vehicle. Some records show only 16 Four Cylinder "DM" models sold in Australia. In any case , few seem to have survived. I have only seen 3. 1932 in the depths of the depression would not have been a good time to introduce a new Dodge model, it was only produced in 1932 and it was the last Dodge Four. I think this model may have been an early example of "Badge Engineering. The Chrysler corporation took over Dodge Brothers in late 1928 & I guess this model may have been trying to capitalise on the good reputation the Dodge Four had, particularly in Australia. Congupna, Victoria member, Keith Raverty also has a Coupe the same as this one. A 'photo of Keith's Coupe appears in our January, 1995 "Vintage Driver". When Roy purchased this Dodge, it did not come with an owners manual. After searching for many years, Roy was able to obtain one at our last Yarra Glen Swap. Roy & I would be very interested in any other information on this fairly rare model.

Doc Doherty, Briagolong, Victoria

Specifications:

Rear Axle: Final drive gear ratio: 4.33 to 1

Clutch: Single dry plate type.

Cooling: Water pump. 4 blade 16" fan

Engine: Side valve, "L" head. Bore: 3 5/8" Stroke:4 3/4" S.A.E. horsepower: 21.03 Developed horsepower: 65 Piston displacement: 196 cubic inches. Full force- feed lubrication. Three bearing crankshaft. Aluminium alloy pistons. Crankcase ventilator with air cleaner and oil filter.

Electrical: Delco - Remy system. 6 Volt. Distributor & coil. Full automatic mechanical spark advance

Fuel System: 10 imperial gallons (45.4 litres)

Length: 174 inches (including bumpers)

Springs: Semi elliptic

Steering: Worm & sector, 17" three spoke steering wheel

Tyres: 18" x 5.25"

Instrumentation: Speedo, ammeter, oil guage, Fuel guage, temperature guage, choke & throttle control buttons. Horn button & light switch at centre of steering wheel.