I agree completely with what Tim has said, but, I would ask Tim to
clarify/reiterate one point: did the factory ever 'officially' offer,
or advertise, the second carb/intake/air cleaner assembly as being
available for purchase, by the general public, as an individual
ensemble/assembly, in 1956?
Neil Vedder
*************************************************************
To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to
http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1
--- Begin Message ---
- From: DupontTim@xxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2007 01:07:40 EST
The Dodge 2 four barrel air cleaner was part # 1734944. It is a large
round dry element air cleaner that was adapted from a very early
Purolater unit specifically for the Dodge and has relief for the heater fan
motor. I also have an earlier dry element 56 Chrysler unit it does not have
the relief. I believe there was enough clearance on the Chrysler so a relief
wasn't needed. Furthermore and perhaps more important for D500 history is
the continuing claims that the dual carb option was an in the trunk deal. It is
very certain that as the very first D500-1 Maximum Duty cars were being produced
that the only available carb set up was a single 4 barrel. So as I have said on
the list many times there is a good possibility that you could locate a
Dash One car and find it is a single 4 and still correctly a Dash One.
The initial bulletins that show the upgrades to the Dash One models show a long
list of upgrades from the D500, for instance the HD 11 Borg and Beck clutch and
HD taxi manual transmission were stock. It came to pass that Dual Quad were
needed for maximum performance and who could argue this point, could you imagine
the Chrysler 300 of 55 without Dual Quads an engine that was a mere 16 cu in
larger that the 315 Dodge. Danny Eames Carl Kiekhaffer and many others
contributed to what became the Known as The Dual Four-Barrel Carburetor Group.
The DFBCG was a collection of parts that transformed the D500 Hemi into a
true race hemi of it's time. Now many people may remember that the introduction
of the aluminum manifold was hurried to be available for Speed Weeks and was
passed out to racers to retro fit to their racecars, this is not to be confused
with the DFBCG, racers were given only the intake carbs and linkage. The DFBCG
was first introduced with part numbers and content before Speed Weeks on
Jan 12 1956 while some of the parts most notable the exhaust manifolds were not
even in production, Dodges intent was to get a Nascar assembly approved ASAP
which required options be released to the public for 30 days before they could
be used in racing. It wasn't until March that all the intial DFBCG components
were assembled for the complete package for production. This included the high
flow 2.5 in exhaust and MUFFLERS and the aforementioned air cleaner.
Dodge was still making advances however and subsequent upgrades were not
far behind including on March 14 when Dodge amended the DFBCG to include
10.1 compression cylinder heads and shorter intake and exhaust pushrods. I have
all the Dodge division bullitens with all the part numbers and Dates. For me the
big issue here is that Dodge created a race hemi and it was not something that
was sent to the dealer in the trunk, Dennis Kennedy was a big Historian on the
56 D500 and this was his contention but it doesn't sound true
when the facts are laid out, the DFBCG was a collection of many parts including
an entire exhaust system. The factory was offering the DFBCG as a special order
option by their own brochures. It doesn't ring true that Dodge would build the
D500-1 Chassis and send it to the Dealer to install an elobrate and
extensive changeover of parts. Granted the cars were not produced until
late March 56 and Ceratinly were rare. It's also true that earleir cars may have
got the parts over the counter or in the truck but lets put the DFBCG myth to
rest. Too many restorers are thinking that they add the dual quads and they have
a Dash One, THIS IS SIMPLY NOT THE CASE. The DFBCG was a final touch to the Dash
One that put it on a level only the 300b could compete with and it was a full
level above a standard (but HOT) D500. No testing was ever done by any magazine
of a D500 with the DFBCG option, however it was noted that the cars were
available by all sources. Hope this helps put some clarity to the Real D500-1.
Tim in Golden
*************************************************************
To unsubscribe or set your subscription options,
please go to
http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1
*************************************************************
To unsubscribe or set your subscription options,
please go to
http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1
|
--- End Message ---
|
|