1958 Dodge Custom Royal

[Bucket]

Introducing my new to me 1958 Dodge Custom Royal .
Aussie delivered RHD , it was last registered in 1974 .
The 2 brothers i bought it off have had it for 7 years , before that it has been sitting in a shed for 43 years . .

They got it running , 350 runs smooth as , gearbox shifts fine , they did brake work , all good there .
May take a few months for me to get it on the road , i will go through and clean all the electrical terminals .
Steering is very stiff even with the adjuster nut backed off on the steering box , i'm thinking maybe the center/drag link may be tight .
It has lots of patina and this is how i want to keep it .
I still haven't decided what i want to call here , something that starts with D i guess .

 

[Bucket]

More photos

 

[ayilar]

Welcome @Bucket and thank you for posting your 1958 Dodge! There are a number of OZ members on the board:

@LeBaron73 @Northern Australia @SOVIET @crv @Oz Sport Fury @Imperial Pete @Dactor68 @MRHEMI392 and many others

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Love that RHD Australian dash!

Was that an import conversion, or is this a true Australian car?

 

[Bucket]

Love that RHD Australian dash!

Was that an import conversion, or is this a true Australian car?

Going by the VIN tag it was made in Detroit , Aussie delivered RHD . Apparently one of 208 Aussie delivered RHD .

 

[Bucket]

I spoke too soon about it running smooth .
I was cleaning electrical connections and noticed the ballast resistor connectors looked crusty .
Cleaned them and reconnected , now she won't start .
I have never seen a ballast like it , the screws that hold the wires on go down through the ballast . .
The terminals on the ballast looked rusty

 

[marko]

Going by the VIN tag it was made in Detroit , Aussie delivered RHD . Apparently one of 208 Aussie delivered RHD .

In both 1958 and 1959, Chrysler Australia released Plymouth Belvedere, Dodge Custom Royal and DeSoto Firesweep models which were imported from the US in CKD form and assembled at Chrysler's Adelaide facilities. The Plymouth was fitted with a 318-cubic-inch V8 engine and the Dodge and de Soto models featured a 361-cubic-inch V8. Assembly of the three models was discontinued in 1960 and they were replaced by a single model, the Dodge Phoenix, which was produced by Chrysler Australia through to 1973.

 

[ayilar]

I spoke too soon about it running smooth .
I was cleaning electrical connections and noticed the ballast resistor connectors looked crusty .
Cleaned them and reconnected , now she won't start .
I have never seen a ballast like it , the screws that hold the wires on go down through the ballast . .
The terminals on the ballast looked rusty

@58Belvedere @58Special @saforwardlook may have suggestions

 

[Bucket]

In both 1958 and 1959, Chrysler Australia released Plymouth Belvedere, Dodge Custom Royal and DeSoto Firesweep models which were imported from the US in CKD form and assembled at Chrysler's Adelaide facilities. The Plymouth was fitted with a 318-cubic-inch V8 engine and the Dodge and de Soto models featured a 361-cubic-inch V8. Assembly of the three models was discontinued in 1960 and they were replaced by a single model, the Dodge Phoenix, which was produced by Chrysler Australia through to 1973.

It has a 350 in it .
I thought LD3 with no letter after it meant made in Detroit .

 

[Bucket]

@58Belvedere @58Special @saforwardlook may have suggestions

Yeah , i think it's , shagged .
I did a ohms test on the terminals where the screws go in , went up to 12 then nothing wherever i tested .
I then scraped some crud of (white arrows) and did a test , 1.1 one but only every now and then .
It is very rusty , wonder if it is the original ballast .

 

[Bucket]

I have a new ceramic 2 post ballast which measures .7 ohms , sometimes 1.1 if you move the probes around .
Would this suit points ignition ?

 

[3175375]

Is that a record player below the dash? Please tell!

 

[ayilar]

I have a new ceramic 2 post ballast which measures .7 ohms , sometimes 1.1 if you move the probes around .
Would this suit points ignition ?

@Big_John @CBODY67 @Davea Lux @Boydsdodge @david hill

 

[Big_John]

I have a new ceramic 2 post ballast which measures .7 ohms , sometimes 1.1 if you move the probes around .
Would this suit points ignition ?

OK, here's what I did. I looked in the '57 Dodge FSM and was surprised to not see the resistance listed, but they did list the part number PU-4003. I did a search on that part number and managed to find a 7 digit Mopar part number associated with it #1689336. That crossed over to a bunch of replacements and I picked the Standard Motor Products part #RU-11 eCatalog and that lists .5-.6 ohms resistance. Since you are using probe, there's always added resistance and that will explain your measurements varying. In other words, it's not the resistor, it's the meter probes giving you those inconsistent readings

So I would say that .7 ohms is gonna be close enough.

 

[57fury440]

That resistor has seen better days. Even if you got it to run with that one, I would not trust it.

 

[Bucket]

OK, here's what I did. I looked in the '57 Dodge FSM and was surprised to not see the resistance listed, but they did list the part number PU-4003. I did a search on that part number and managed to find a 7 digit Mopar part number associated with it #1689336. That crossed over to a bunch of replacements and I picked the Standard Motor Products part #RU-11 eCatalog and that lists .5-.6 ohms resistance. Since you are using probe, there's always added resistance and that will explain your measurements varying. In other words, it's not the resistor, it's the meter probes giving you those inconsistent readings

So I would say that .7 ohms is gonna be close enough.

Thanks Big John , excellent research . I am ordering a FSM from Rockauto so will see if they have a RU-11 as well as some other parts i need .

 

[BigWally]

Very nice! Good luck mate!
How about "Doris"

 

[Bucket]

Is that a record player below the dash? Please tell!

Sure is , plays 45's with the big center hole .
It isn't working at the moment so i will investigate why .

 

[Bucket]

OK, here's what I did. I looked in the '57 Dodge FSM and was surprised to not see the resistance listed, but they did list the part number PU-4003. I did a search on that part number and managed to find a 7 digit Mopar part number associated with it #1689336. That crossed over to a bunch of replacements and I picked the Standard Motor Products part #RU-11 eCatalog and that lists .5-.6 ohms resistance. Since you are using probe, there's always added resistance and that will explain your measurements varying. In other words, it's not the resistor, it's the meter probes giving you those inconsistent readings

So I would say that .7 ohms is gonna be close enough.

The .7 ohm ballast worked , started straight up .

 

[Bucket]

Very nice! Good luck mate!
How about "Doris"

I like it .