1925 Dodge Coupe a.k.a. "Big Dodge"

A while ago I posted a pic of a chopped '49 Plymouth 4 door that my high school friend Leo gave to me (in pieces) about 6 years ago. Well, Leo showed up a few years later and said that I had agreed to help him build a hot rod in exchange for the Plymouth. Frankly, I didn't remember that part of the bargain. But, then again there's many things that have escaped my 66 year old memory. So I agreed I'd help him throw a T Bucket together. Leo has serious rhuematoid arthritis among many other ailments and when he tried to get in my '27 Lakes Roadster he just didn't fit. A few weeks later Leo called all excited. He had bought the perfect hot rod body off eBay and we needed to go get it. We hopped in my S-10 and headed for a small town near Green Bay and picked up the body. Then Leo disappeared for a few months. Finally, he called me from the Vets hospital where he had been and still was. Things looked grim and as the months went by I doubted we would ever build a rod for him, or that he would even get out of the hospital. I was building another rod for myself but had some time between different steps so I hauled his body in the garage and began patching it up. I thought pics of the progress might be a motivator for Leo. At least it might lift his spirits.

Here's Leo's 'perfect' hot rod body. A '25 Dodge 5 window coupe. I spent many weeks making and welding in patch panels and subframe rails. We Norherners are used to starting with some pretty rusty junk, but this one was on the outer limit of what I'm capable of working with.

There was no rocker panel or door sill on the passenger so I made that stuff out of 14 ga. to add some strength. The driver's side looked about the same. Leo got out of the hospital after almost an entire winter and I didn't see him again until last summer. I put the Dodge in the back garage assuming he would show up one day and say he sold it. Leo's physical condition was now so bad that any car work was impossible for him. His hands wer simply too knarled and painful and he could hardly walk.

Leo showed up last summer and was not in good shape. He asked me to help him move out of his place. He could no longer take care of a house, so he moved in to the Vet's Home. While helping him we talked about the fate of Big Dodge. Leo had bought lots of parts for it on eBay and we hauled all that stuff to my house. Finally, he said that I should just keep everything for myself. I said I couldn't do that. Finally we agreed that I would use everything he bought and I would do all the labor and invest the rest of the money. Leo would then drive Big Dodge as long as he could and when he could no longer drive the car would be mine. Late last summer I began building the car. Here is the frame. In keeping with my reputation, I have built another goofy frame. Some of the features were to satisfy Leo and aren't necessarily how I would have done it for myself. Starting from the front there is the suicide perch, headlight stands, friction shock link tabs. On the right is the steering box mount. At the rear are the coil spring upper mounts pads.

As I continue to assemble this monster I'll keep posting pics. I hope you enjoy the build.

I hope Leo gets to see this completed. As usual, great workmanship. Keep us posted.

Very interesting build bob w. The progress looks great. Please do post updates.

Bob, awesome that you are doing that. I hope he gets to enjoy it.
I am dealing with a basically disabled 'nam vet too. He has realized that he can no longer continue on any of his projects and I am getting his collection of 300-6 parts. I think just spending 3-4 hours with him a couple times a week helps a lot.

Thanks for the comments guys. Leo is a real character. I'll slip in little tidbits about him as I go along. Any guy that has been married 4 times for a total of less than a year is pretty unusual. Not to mention the flames tatooed on his temples. I'll try to get a picture of that.

Kool story... kool build!

Bob,
Kool story... kool build. gettin' old is hell! I'm just glad I can still get around & still drive. I dread the day I can't drive any more! You've done some great work & I wanna see the progress & I definitely wanna see the flames on Leo's temples! ; - >

BoB

I've been priming and painting frame and suspension parts and mudding the patch panels on the body. The garage is one big dust bowl. Can't wait for warmer weather so I can take a 100H.P. leaf blower and get all that dust out of the garage. Also, I have a space management problem and can't start assembling the chassis untill I clear a space to do it.
I built a pair of friction shocks for Big Dodge and when I went to mount them I had a conflict. The headlights and the shocks wanted to be in the same space. After a lot of head scratching, I decided to mount the shocks on the axle and run links to tabs on the frame.

This shot shows the friction shock and the 3/8" thick mounting plate I welded to the Super Bell axle.

Here's a view of the shock bolted to the axle and the link that will attach to a tab on the frame.

Top view. The shock tension is provided by a sbc valve spring. I'll use conveyor belting for friction material. The shocks only add a couple pounds to the unsprung weight.

You're a great friend, Bob. I hope Leo's health holds out long enough so he can enjoy the car for a while after it's done. Great progress so far.

I started putting stuff on the frame. This is one long frame. Painted with Rustoleum satin black.

A Superbell axle, Posies spring, homemade wishbones all hung on a suicide mount. The brakes are '55-'57 Chevy. There's aluminum adapters for the backing plates. I've never seen this setup before. It was bought used off another guy's street rod.

The rear suspension is the dreaded 2 link that many people say won't work. The bars have Mustang II upper control arm bushings in the pivot end. They were left over from another project. The 8" ford rear end u-bolts to the bars, the springs rest on pads on the bars and the lower shock mounts connect to the bars too.
The Mustang II bushings have enough flex to avoid most of the problems associated with parallel ladder bars

Another view of the rear suspension. The coil springs are from Speedway, the shocks are from my garage attic. There is a panhard bar with urethane bushing ends. The 12" springs are intended to compress 3" when fully loaded. The trailing arms and the panhard bar will be horizontal at ride hight.
For those interested in my partner on this project; I hadn't seen Leo for 3 weeks, then Saturday he left a very short message saying he fell and broke ribs and would be in touch. Don't know if he is in the hospital or the Vet's Home. I'll find out tomorrow.

Bob , you build more cars than SO-CAL............

My name is Bob and I am a hotrodbuildingaholic...
24 Dodge, each of the last three was going to be my last one.

Yeah right!!!

bob w said:

each of the last three was going to be my last one.

Click to expand...

Famous last hotrodding words... This is gonna b my last build!!! ; - >