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At Dual Motors the MoPar components
are assembled;
Bumpers & Overriders----Both front and rears are standard
1956 Dodge but the rear bumper is sectioned in the center to make it
more narrow to fit the Dual-Ghia.
Suspension---1956 Dodge D-500 suspension (Chrysler 12”
Brakes), 6-leaf rear springs, Chrysler station wagon rear, etc.
Wheels---1956 MoPar 15x5.5 tubeless with wheel covers held in
place by screwed on “knock-off” center cap
Steering---Power steering driven by a pump attached to the
rear of the generator.
Motor---1956 Dodge Motor choices (2) Either the standard V8
or the D-500 hemi (with one 4-barrel). It is reported that about ½
of the 117 cars built received the standard V8 and the other ½
received the D-500 Hemi. There is no known “factory” built D501
motors installed (dual-4 barrel).
The original design had the front
of the motor sitting above the front suspension, as per the original
56 Dodge. But that proved to become a handling problem for the
shortened chassis and the motor was relocated farther back on the
frame to achieve a better Front to Rear balance. This created a
second problem in that all of the cars had Power Steering and the
steering box was now in the way. The solution was to move the motor
over to the right by 3-inches to clear the steering box.
Transmission---All cars
utilized the PowerFlite two speed transmission controlled by a cable
that is attached to the floor shift lever.
The motor and transmission on all
cars are repainted; from the original 1956 Dodge colors, to a Coral
color. Some motors have painted metal ignition wire covers and
others are chrome plated. The air cleaner is the dry 1957 Dodge tank
type air cleaner.
Under Hood Electrics---All
solenoids, relays, etc., are MoPar mostly AutoLite brand. The horns
are Spartan which were the OEM from MoPar in 1956. All electrics are
Green tagged 12-volt. The heater blower motor and some of the duct
work appears to be 1954 MoPar components.
Distributor---Mallory dual point with a mechanical tachometer
drive and Mallory #12000 “Bee Hive” coil.
Exhaust---since there is no chassis depth to protect the
exhaust pipes the dual exhaust pipes, that run under the floor of
the car, are pressed into an oval shape to obtain a bit more ground
clearance.
The windows of the early cars had manual “wind-up” using Italian
winding mechanism and Italian curved glass. There was a 1956 review
article (I think Popular Mechanics) that complained that there were
13-turns of the window crank to bring the window down. The owner of
Dual Motors, Gene Casaroll, read the review and issued a recall of
all delivered cars and a change that all future cars have power
windows. The cars were equipped with MoPar power window motors and a
2-gang MoPar power window switches mounted below the dash. The
rarest of Dual-Ghia cars are those WITH manual Windows that did not
respond to the recall. There are less than 4 or 5-know to exist of
the total of 40 or 50 remaining Dual-Ghia cars of the original 117
cars built between 1956 and 1958. The only change being made to #137
is the addition of a modern Air Conditioning system.
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