1916 Dodge 30-35 'Fast Four' 2-Seat Tourer

There isn’t a lot of solid history accompanying this 1916 Dodge 30-35, but some grasp of its past can be gained via online searching. It seems that this car was purchased in mainland Europe in the mid-1990s, by which time it had already been restored. Its British buyer brought it to the UK in 1996 and ensured that not only was it well-cared for, but also well-used, taking it to many Vintage Sports-Car Club and Veteran Car Club events.

Although an older restoration, this 106-year-old vehicle is in good running order throughout. As far as we can ascertain, it seems to be to largely to factory spec, albeit with an electric fan and SU fuel pump added, plus small indicator lamps sensibly installed front and rear.

Finished in bright red with nicely contrasting black mudguards and grille, this is a very pretty and cheerful-looking little machine that is every inch the archetypical Edwardian-style small tourer. It may look quite fragile compared to later vehicles, but don’t forget, it’s survived over a century already. And Dodges were used by the US military before and during World War One, soon earning a reputation for durability and reliability under tough conditions. Over 8000 Dodge touring cars similar to this one served during the First World War. Although they probably weren’t painted a very noticeable scarlet… Anyway, the point is, whatever the apparent daintiness of the Dodge, it’s obviously a lot tougher than it might look.

The current odometer reading is 32,988 miles. The last MoT undertaken was in 2012, when the mileage was noted as 28,717 miles. The earliest MoT available to view online is from 2007, when the mileage was 28,156 miles. So in 15 years, this vintage machine has covered under 5000 miles. There is no indication of when the restoration was undertaken but via some educated guesswork, we reckon it’s likely to be during the early to mid-1990s at the latest. Nevertheless, the Dodge is surviving pretty well.

The welded steel body is generally in good, sound condition, but does show some signs of age and use. There are a couple of what looks like paint touch ups on the driver’s (ie left-hand side) door, in a slightly different shade to the rest of the red around it. Elsewhere, there are some chips, cracks and a few areas of flaking paint, mainly around opening panels, with the most noticeable spot is under the passenger door. The lower regions of the body do show some bubbling and blossoms of rust in places. The black-painted mudguards also have some cracking and areas of rough or worn paint. However, it’s all pretty much what you’d expect from something that has obviously been driven and enjoyed, but also looked after.

The hood is in reasonable and weatherproof order, although would benefit from some cleaning. It comes with sidescreens for more effective weather protection, should the new owner wish to use this car come rain or shine. There isn’t a lot of brightwork; the most obvious areas are the headlamp surrounds which do have a smattering of rust around the rims. One of the running boards has a modern battery isolator switch adjacent to one of the doors.

All the tyres are Goodrich Silvertown Cord crossply items, and look to have plenty of life left, with no damage to the sidewalls and plenty of tread left. The wire wheels have a good coating of red paint and the spokes all seem sound and secure.

Take a look through our gallery for a large selection of images, where we’ve photographed all areas of the Dodge to give an accurate record of its condition.

The interior is finished in black buttoned-down leather, with the hide in a nicely-preserved state presenting very little in the way of wear. The wood-rimmed steering wheel is well-polished from decades of hands, but still seems strong and free from any weaknesses. The metal dash looks to have its full compliment of instruments and switches, with the gauges marked with ‘Dodge Brothers’ branding suggesting they are authentic. There’s a modern Dodge sticker under the glovebox lid proclaiming that one should ‘grab life’. It’s a worthy enough message, but it does look out of place in such period surroundings, especially given that there’s a website address printed on it as well.

Overall, there’s a nice patina to the cockpit; it’s used but showing wear rather than being worn out. This is a car that has weathered its century of use well.

Under the bonnet doors, the engine is a working environment and shows it; while the block is painted light blue and the exhaust manifold white, there’s some grime and grease, plus surface corrosion. But it’s not excessive, and everything looks functional enough. The electric fan doesn’t scream out as being too out of place although, obviously, anybody who knows their historic engines will recognise it as a modern fitment. But it’s probably a wise fitment on a car that will be used - as we hope this one will be - rather than just squirrelled away in storage.

Everything looks solid underneath, and there’s not even much in the way of surface corrosion, probably thanks in part to the smattering of oil. A spin-on oil filter conversion can be seen on the right-hand bottom of the block. The only wood to worry about is on the underneath of the running boards, and it all looks like it won’t have any problem taking the weight of entering and exiting passengers for quite a while.

The Dodge has been part of a private collection, and the 12-volt battery holds charge, it has a strong starter motor and all the lights work. The engine starts 'on the button'. There are some dangling wires and because of these, we didn't take it for a test drive. Take a look at the video to see it start and run.

The paperwork folder is quite limited unfortunately. There’s the V5C, a print-out of the online MoT summary back to 2007, a technical diagram and a Vintage Sports-Car Club eligibility document dated May 2012. Google is your friend in finding out a few more details from t’internet, but most of this car’s 106-year story is lost in the mists of time.

This is an endearing machine, and a rare one too, especially in this part of the world. There are some other 30-35s in the UK, but they’re very few and far between. We like that this one has obviously been campaigned quite enthusiastically in recent years at VSCC and VCC events, and we hope that it will continue to be used as Dodge always intended; being driven rather than stored away somewhere. It needs checking over and a little wiring work to get it up to scratch, but fundamentally, it seems a good, honest centenarian that has plenty of life left. 

Turn up somewhere in this, and it’ll be the centre of attention (even at events where there are vehicles of a similar age) because of its scarcity and charm. It’s difficult to put a price on something so out of the British ordinary, but we reckon around the £15,000 - £20,000 mark is a reasonable estimate. It’s both rare and really rather lovely - and it also marked the birth of one of the more famous American automotive manufacturing empires.

Viewing is always encouraged. This particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays between 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.