Fast Facts
'38 Dodge Brothers D-8 Business Coupe
Owned by Rick Kamp, North Port, Florida
Mopar Power
- Engine: The inline-six doesn't provide enough oomph for the D-8. Rick and his friends assembled and transplanted a 1969 Dodge Charger 383 drivetrain into the early Dodge. It has been bored .030 over and benefits from a .484-inch lift camshaft with a 292-degree duration. The 906 heads have been ported to match the 1 5/8-inch Jet Hot-coated headers with 2 1/2-inch collectors. Sitting on top of the mighty Mopar is an Edelbrock single plane Torker 383 intake manifold with an Edelbrock 750cfm carburetor. The exhaust system is dumped underneath after the 2 1/2-inch Flowmaster 40 Series mufflers. The ignition is delivers through an MSD Blaster 2 coil and Accel Spiral Core wires.
- Transmission and Rearend: Directly after the 383 is a 727 automatic with a 3,000-stall converter and a B&M Quicksilver shifter. The rear is a 8 3/4-inch suregrip rearend.
Sure Grip
- Suspension and Brakes: The 110-inch wheel base now features front disc brakes to assist the rear drums. The front suspension has been converted over to a Heidts Mustang II independent suspension. A Cadillac telescopic steering column was installed and is controlled by a black Grant GT steering wheel. New KYB shocks front and rear dampen the bumps and rear leaf springs set the ride height.
- Wheels and Tires: The 3,100lb curb weight is supported by a set of 15x6 front and 15x8 rear Centerline smooth face wheels wearing BFGoodrich T/A tires.
High Impact
- Paint and Body: The body of this classic Dodge is now over seventy years old. Needless to say, the condition was far from stellar and needed a great deal of work. Rick went to work on replacing the firewall and addressing the rough floors and body. After he was finished with body repairs he took the D-8 over to Jacky's Body Shop in Port Charlotte, Florida to have it sprayed with PPG Sublime paint. The trim was tough to track down and most of it came off of Ebay and shipped from Australia.
- Interior: Sonny Tetting of Port Charlotte, customized the interior with all new grey carpet from Automotive Carpet. The bucket seats were pulled out of an SHO Taurus and matched to the new carpeting and door panels. Sonny made custom two-tone back rests and completely refinished the trunk and it now incorporates the Pentastar Logo.