Dodge Series 116: the main Dodge of the mid-1920s

The Dodge Series 116 was named after its 116-inch wheelbase and was Dodge’s main model from July 1923 to 1926. It was a middle-class automobile with a flathead four-cylinder engine, a three-speed manual gearbox and an all-steel body.

Dodge Series 116 at a glance

Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Dodge Series 116. The material is short, so this page is brief.

History of the Dodge Series 116

The Series 116 was Dodge’s main model in the mid-1920s. It was updated in 1924 with a higher bonnet line, a brake light and new springs, and came with a three-speed manual transmission and an advertised 35 horsepower flathead four-cylinder engine. The gearing in the rear differential was reduced, giving the car a top speed of about 40 mph, slightly slower than earlier models.

Depending on the body style, luxury optional equipment included door locks, a transmission lock, an exhaust heater, disc wheels or wood-spoke wheels with demountable rims and roll-down windows. The car used a positive ground to help with corrosion, had an all-steel body, a starter-generator chained directly to the engine and a vacuum tank for pulling fuel into the carburettor. In 1926 Dodge switched to 6-volt electrics, which was the standard of the time; the industry returned to 12-volt only in the mid-1950s.

The Series 116 belongs to the first period of Dodge cars, before the company moved to six- and eight-cylinder models. It is the model behind the early Dodge records in this collection, which cover the touring cars, roadsters and phaetons of the 1920s.

Design and features

• 116-inch wheelbase: the measure that gave the model its name.
• 35 hp flathead four: a modest engine with a top speed of about 40 mph.
• All-steel body: unusual for the middle of the 1920s.
• Positive ground: an early anti-corrosion measure, replaced by 6-volt negative ground in 1926.

Dodge Series 116 versions

• Series 116 touring and roadster: the open body styles of the period.
• Series 116 sedan and coupe: the closed versions with optional roll-down windows.
• 1924 update: higher bonnet, brake light and new springs.

The Series 116 came before the six- and eight-cylinder Dodge generations such as the Dodge Meadowbrook era, and its body styles lived on in later Dodge Coronet ranges. More Dodge models are in the Dodge collection.

Sources

• Dodge Series 116, English Wikipedia: production, engine, equipment, electrics