Good day,
I bought a vintage Dodge and am now trying to determine the exact model and type.
He was up for sale as a Dodge Kingsman.
But with a search I don't really find anything on Kingsman.
we always end up at Dodge Kingsway but when I search for pictures I can't be sure about that.
It is a car built in 1953 and the type designation on the plate under the hood is D 49-2

How do I identify which model/type/etc. it's exact so I can hopefully find some more info about it?
Who can help me with this?

The intention is that I will completely restore it together with my son, but I have no idea where to start and what to look out for, where to buy parts, etc.
So really try to orientate now.
Greeting

Daniel

 

What country are you in? Dodge had some models that weren't sold in the US......

 

Look at those Dagmar's! Front and rear.

https://www.allpar.com/threads/1928-...-guide.237290/

 

I am from the Netherlands, the car comes from Belgium (no idea if that is also the official country of origin)

 

I have looked in this guide and found the model code D49-2
it tels me that it is a Dodge 6 from 1954
But serial numbers das not match. This is serial 98,068,001 til 98,080,956

My Chassis number starts with 137.....

also tryed using tools for searching VIn numbers, but that das not work with 8 number Chassis numbers (also not with 0's in front of it)

 

I think the Kingsway name was an export-only title...

Looking at pictures online I'd be confident enough to say yours is a '53. The '54 models were similar, but without the long chrome strip and with chromed fins on the rear extremities.

The engines supplied in these in Australia, at least, were the 230ci flathead six and the 250 flathead six. If fitted with a standard 3-speed manual gearbox they had the 230, if they were automatic or had the 3-speed with Borg Warner overdrive they had the bigger engine. You can readily determine which engine you have by measuring the length of the cylinder head. If it's over two feet long it's a 250, if it's shorter than two feet (and not much) it's the 230.

It's quite possible that the Kingsway name emanated from the Chrysler plant at Windsor, Ontario.

 

I had a similar car for a long time. Mine was a 1954 Dodge Coronet with the V-8 Hemi and automatic. Yours is originally a 6 cylinder car because the hood doesn't have the air scoop. (Yes, it WAS functional.) The rear quarter panels are slightly different with the U.S. models having a very slight bump, that turned into fins in 1956.

There wasn't really a serial number back then. You had chassis numbers and the engine number was the serial number in the U.S. for title purposes. Here is a promotional film from 1953.


Here's an original ad for the U.S. version of the 1954 Dodge.


I can give you some tips on driving your car. First and foremost, get some newer model wheels. 1970's or later. They are a standard 5 on 4 1/2 bolt pattern. Chrysler used that pattern for decades. Put radial tires on the newer wheels and DON'T use your original wheel covers. I would swap my original wheels and covers at car shows but the old bias ply tires were miserable to drive on anything other than perfect pavement. I rebuilt my front end to factory specs and a guy who worked on them new did the work. He was about to retire. It still followed every crack or seal ridge in the road. Radials had it planted solidly and at times I ran the car as fast as 80 mph with no issues. The old wheel covers wouldn't stay on the new wheels and radial tires though. The third time I had to stop and chase down the cover, I put newer covers on.

Your car had a choice of manual or automatic transmissions. This was the first year for the Powerflite transmission. You have a lot of work ahead of you but the car will actually drive fairly well. Make sure you don't put a smaller steering wheel in it as you really NEED the leverage of the bigger wheel. I pretty much went from bumper to bumper on my '54. Power steering was an option that year but I've never seen a Dodge with it. Chryslers and Imperials, yes, Dodges no.

I'm pretty sure your car was originally exported to France, or at least a French speaking country. I know French is spoken in some of Belgium so perhaps it was sold new there. Somewhere I have all sorts of books from that era. I don't know how much use they will be for an export model, but I never get rids of my books.

The brakes on your car are different. There are a lot of little tricks to working on them. Especially your parking brake. It's on the tail shaft of the transmission.