ClassicCar

Tom, you may want to visit the P15-D24 forum at http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/index.php

You will find it is for 46 to early 49 Plymouth and Dodge vehicles but many there have newer and older cars of the same including 40 Dodge's. This is a great site for learning about your new car and very quick to help in questions i'm sure you'll have in the future. I personally dont know a lot about the 40 dodge but originally it was a POSITIVE ground 6volt. It is pretty much the same as the post war cars like my 48 Dodge. I dont know if the battery is under the floor like on my 50 chevy truck but you should be able to follow the solinoid wire to where ever the battery is located.

You will find that these cars will crank slowly due to simple things like small gauge wire instead of 00 gauge hooked to the battery. Many times the generator is thought to be bad for this same reason. Also you will get a slow crank to nothing if the battery is hooked up with a negative ground when it is supposed to be the opposite.

Before jumping the gun and assuming the problem is the generator check the battery when found and see if these items mentioned are in order. Also register with the other forum and you will find your questions will be answered very quickly. Most important to this group is a small introduction of yourself only because folks there just like to get to know what you have, etc. only to get to know who they are helping and who just may be near by and possibly give you some hands on help as well.

ClassicCar.com is not as active as the site mentioned above but I know some who visit here are reg's on the other forum so i'm just trying to increase your chances in getting help with what you will be needing along the way. Congrats on your 40 coupe. Nice cars, Ed

Tom, I dont know if that is a stock setup or not on the location of the battery for your Dodge but it does sound like the same way my battery is setup stock on my Chevy. Look under the carpet/rubber mat for the "trap door". If it wont pull up then twist the handle like a radiator cap and it should come up.

The post war dodge had the battery under the hood but it's possible they came like yours stock pre war, I just dont know. Best way to find out is find someone who has another 40 dodge which there are some who are on the other forum who does.

When you do get to see the battery look to see if the positive side of it is grounded as it should be and not the other way around like modern battery setups. It will run either way but will drag more when cranking and your amp meter will keep showing a draw and not a charge on the battery.

Does your 40 coupe have just a front seat or does it have a back seat? I'm just curious if it's a business coupe or a coupe. Eventually I'd like to get my hands on a 37 or 38 Dodge business coupe.

Ed

Tom, Just getting back to the computer and had asked on the other forum about your battery. Dont know if you read it there or not but they say it would be under the seat. Have to remove the bottom cushion to get to it. Here's the Q and A about your battery at the other site:

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=1948

I know what you mean about the big butt's. Beleave it or not but from the stories I've read you wouldnt be the first to put a mattress in the back. I've read several stories about the "use's" that you can get out of all that room lol. Good luck with your battery, Ed

Glad to hear you figured it out Tom. You would have thought the seller would have swapped out the geneartor along with the rebuilt engine since he converted it to 12 volt. With the engine rebuild and him telling you "the gen. may not be working properly" I would be wondering why he left it like that along with just how honest he was about the engine or even how well it ran before because as you see it cant be driven.

I guess one of the easiest ways to have checked would have been seeing the battery but since you were not able to yet then lookng at the voltage stamped on the front or rear light bulbs would have worked as well. The best part is now you know what your working with and can swap the gen. out for a 1 wire alternator.

There may be a section on "how to" listed from the main page of the P15-D24.com site. If not you can always ask here and there as I know several have done this swap on the forum there. As far as the "type" of people who visit that forum you have a mixture of all which pretty well balance's itself out. You wont find it to be the same as the HAMB board along with a few others. It's been said there that they've visited various sites and end up back there for the various reasons mentioned. Like I say theres a mixed bag of folks who use the forum there , HAMBers, POC's, etc. along with people like me who have no affiliation with any clubs. I can only say for myself that I've been going there since I first found it abt 3 or 4 yrs ago and have stuck with it because of the people there. Just as in life you wont find everything "peachy" every day but I think once you've visited it long enough to know how much help is provided as well as the help you may be able to give, then you'll enjoy it a great deal.

The one thing that keeps everyone there on top of things is the fact that basically most are dealing with the same setups on their cars or trucks, the flathead and even then some have other setups but yet the same bodies that most will interchange. Finding a group like that in one place has to be a wealth of information as well as having the same interests.

I just hope to find the same type of forum with as much interest, activity and specialty for my 50 Chevy truck for help when needed. General Motors covers a great range to ask certain model questions but so far the couple of answers I've gotton back have helped a great deal and I think I'll stick around and see how it works out here as well

I dont know if it's possible to post pictures here or not but I havent seen it yet. If it were possible I have pic's from my buddies shop of completely restored 37 an 47 Terraplane trucks I would post.

Good luck with your new car, Ed

In answer to your question Ron I'm not familier with the Chevy Talk site and if the 49 to 54 board is here I dont think I've found it yet either, only the General motors... .

I really hadnt spent alot of time on this forum and the format is kind of new to me so I dont know all the bells and whistles available. The other forum I've been mentioning has only been using this same type format since around November so I havent learned it completely as well.

I do use Photobucket to hold pictures online but I wasnt sure if you could upload a certain size and type picture to this board from my computer since I keep most on disc.

I've tried to spend more time in the garage lately and not as much on the computer. I would like to locate the two places you mention if you could steer me in the right direction. Thanks for the help, Ed

Fast Eddie Spaghetti;

You can post pictures here same as the P-15 forum.

Don Coatney

Eddie;

I dont think I have them anymore. If I do they are buried in the bowels of my puter. If I stumble upon them some day I will send them to you.

Don Coatney

My husband just bought an original 1940 Luxury Liner Deluxe Business Coupe and with it came an original paint chart - colors are: Aircruiser Red, Patrol Blue, Gunmetal Gray, Regal Maroon, Aircuda Blue, Lakeland Green, Dodge Gunmetal 40, Hawaiian Blue, Arbor Green. His is the D-14. His is the gunmetal 40 its its an awesome lookin car!

hey i just bought a 40 dodge coupe(business coupe) no back seat .although my hood looks like a 40 plymouth and grill is a 40 dodge without the huge rounded hump above the grill .do you know if they change the syle for these business coupes?sighned randy /confused