1936 Dodge D2 Six Convertible Sedan: 116-Inch Wheelbase

Dodge built the D2 passenger-car line for the 1936 model year with a 217.8-cubic-inch L-head six rated at 87 horsepower and a three-speed manual transmission. The Convertible Sedan placed that drivetrain beneath a folding roof and four-door body, making it one of the most elaborate and costly forms of the otherwise high-volume D2.

Best known for combining genuine five-passenger open-car utility with Dodge's durable flathead-six chassis, the D2 Convertible Sedan is now among the body styles most closely examined for completeness, structural condition, and authentic open-body fittings.

The car belonged to the Pre-War Dodge Six era, when Dodge sold sturdier and generally more expensive cars than Plymouth while remaining below Chrysler in the corporate hierarchy. The D2 was neither a sports model nor a homologation special. Its appeal came from practical engineering, hydraulic brakes, a smooth six-cylinder engine, and a rare body that offered nearly all the passenger access of a sedan without a fixed steel roof.

For collectors, the distinction between a factory Convertible Sedan and a later open-body conversion is fundamental. Correct doors, windshield framing, top hardware, body reinforcement, serial documentation, and period photographs carry greater weight than cosmetic condition alone.

Quick Facts

The following table summarizes the core facts useful when identifying a 1936 Dodge D2 Convertible Sedan. Dodge used D2 as the model-series designation, not as a modern platform code.

Period totals commonly place overall D2 production above 260,000 cars, but that figure covers the complete passenger range. Surviving body-style totals for the Convertible Sedan are not reproduced consistently enough to treat every published number as definitive, although its low survival rate and high original price clearly separate it from the ordinary closed sedans.

Why the D2 Convertible Sedan Matters

The mechanical components beneath the Convertible Sedan were conventional D2 parts, which was precisely why the body made sense in 1936. Owners received the same serviceable six-cylinder powertrain and hydraulic braking system used across a broad production line, but with four proper doors, a full rear seat, and a folding top.

That arrangement disappeared rapidly as steel-roofed bodies became quieter, safer, cheaper to build, and easier to seal against weather. A four-door convertible required more labor, extensive top hardware, specialized glass and weather equipment, and additional body reinforcement to replace stiffness normally supplied by the roof. The D2 therefore records the final phase in which an American volume manufacturer could still catalogue a formal open sedan alongside inexpensive coupes and fixed-roof family cars.

The body also creates a demanding standard for restoration. An ordinary D2 sedan can donate many mechanical parts, but it cannot supply the Convertible Sedan's complete identity. Missing top irons, altered door structures, incorrect windshield pieces, or an improvised rear body section can turn an apparently straightforward project into a costly fabrication exercise.

Historical Context and Development

Dodge in the 1936 American Market

By 1936, Dodge had been part of Chrysler Corporation for eight years. Chrysler organized its makes with Plymouth serving the lower-priced field, Dodge above it, DeSoto farther up the price ladder, and Chrysler at the top. The distinctions were expressed through wheelbase, trim, engine size, body details, and price rather than radically different engineering philosophies.

The D2 competed in a market dominated by Chevrolet's six-cylinder Standard and Master lines and Ford's V-8 models. Plymouth was also an internal competitor for buyers more concerned with price than Dodge badging or equipment. Dodge answered with a long-stroke six, hydraulic brakes, steel-intensive body construction, and restrained styling rather than Ford's V-8 marketing argument.

The D2 followed the 1935 Dodge DU and preceded the 1937 D5. It was a one-model-year series in the normal American annual-model cycle, which makes the D2 code essential when ordering mechanical parts or checking serial references. Similar-looking Dodge cars from adjacent years can differ in sheet metal, trim, engine details, lamps, instruments, and mounting hardware.

Styling and Body Design

The 1936 nose used a tall, narrow grille, separate headlamp housings, flowing front fenders, and a hood divided by horizontal side louvers. The upright passenger compartment and running boards still belonged to early-1930s practice, but the fenders and grille showed the increasing influence of streamlining without following the radical Chrysler Airflow formula.

With its top lowered, the Convertible Sedan appears substantially longer and lower than a closed D2 because the uninterrupted beltline runs from the windshield to the rear deck. With the top raised, the long fabric roof and compact rear quarter create a formal profile. Correctly restored examples retain the visual weight of a family sedan rather than resembling a later custom phaeton.

The interior was designed around broad bench seating, centrally grouped instruments, painted metal surfaces, and durable upholstery. Open-car materials, top well details, door caps, curtain or glass arrangements, and weather seals deserve close comparison with factory literature because later restorations often substitute convenient modern materials.

Engineering Priorities

Dodge emphasized tractability, low-speed operation, and ease of service. A long-stroke side-valve engine delivered useful torque without high engine speed, while a conventional frame and beam-axle suspension tolerated the uneven road surfaces still common outside major cities.

There was no motorsport homologation requirement behind the D2. Its engineering reflected American passenger-car use: starting reliably, pulling from low speed, carrying several occupants, and being repairable by dealers already familiar with Chrysler Corporation's flathead engines and hydraulic brake systems.

Engine and Drivetrain

The D2's engine was a water-cooled inline six with its valves located in the block beside the cylinders. This L-head layout kept the cylinder head simple and the engine relatively low, although its breathing and combustion-chamber shape limited high-speed output compared with later overhead-valve designs.

A single downdraft carburetor supplied the fuel mixture, fed by a mechanically driven fuel pump. Ignition used a distributor, coil, spark plugs, and conventional low-voltage wiring. A belt-driven water pump and radiator managed cooling, while pressure-fed lubrication protected the principal internal bearings. Cars with accessory bypass oil filters require the correct plumbing and filter arrangement rather than a modern full-flow assumption.

Power passed through a single dry-plate clutch to a floor-shifted three-speed manual gearbox, then through an open propeller shaft to the rear axle. The broad spacing of the gears suited the flexible six, but drivers needed to plan steep climbs and overtaking rather than expecting rapid acceleration.

The documented dimensions and factory power rating provide the most reliable basis for comparing a D2 engine with later replacement units.

The 4.375-inch stroke is central to the engine's character. It favors steady pulling at modest speed, but sustained operation at modern interstate velocities places demands on cooling, lubrication, bearings, and rear-axle gearing that were not central to its original design brief.

Chassis, Suspension, Steering, and Brakes

The D2 used a separate steel frame beneath its body. On a Convertible Sedan, the condition of the frame and lower body is especially important because the fixed roof cannot help resist twisting. Door fit may reveal structural trouble, but hinges, worn latches, and poor past bodywork must be eliminated before sag is blamed on the frame alone.

Front and rear suspension followed conventional beam-axle practice with semi-elliptic leaf springs. This arrangement was rugged and familiar to repair shops, but it carried more unsprung mass than later independent front suspension. Lever or hydraulic shock absorbers, spring condition, shackle wear, tire construction, and alignment all have a strong influence on how a restored car steers.

Dodge's four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes were a meaningful selling point when Ford still used mechanical brakes. Correctly rebuilt, centered, and adjusted drums provide progressive stopping for period traffic. Fluid contamination, aged hoses, corroded wheel cylinders, distorted drums, or poor shoe arcing can make the same system pull sharply or produce a long pedal.

This table concentrates on equipment relevant to chassis inspection and road behavior.

A D2 that wanders, shimmies, or requires constant correction should not automatically be dismissed as behaving normally for its age. Worn kingpins, steering joints, wheel bearings, spring shackles, weak shock absorbers, incorrect toe, and modern tires of unsuitable dimensions can compound one another.

Driving Experience and Handling Dynamics

The long-stroke six starts its useful work at low engine speed. Throttle response is measured rather than sharp, but the engine should pull cleanly without persistent hesitation, detonation, or exhaust smoke. A healthy example feels smoother and less strained than its modest horsepower figure suggests when driven within the speeds and gradients for which it was geared.

The manual steering is heaviest while parking, then lightens once the car is moving. A large steering wheel supplies leverage, and the tall bias-ply tires contribute to gradual turn-in. The beam front axle communicates ridges and broken surfaces through the steering column, while the leaf springs permit visible body movement if a driver changes direction abruptly.

The floor-shift gearbox rewards a deliberate hand and a pause between ratios. A fast modern shift can expose worn synchronizing components or produce gear clash, while excessive gear noise may indicate bearing or tooth wear rather than period character. Clutch take-up should be progressive, without violent chatter from contaminated facings, weak mountings, or driveline misalignment.

Brake effort is higher than in a power-assisted car, but a properly serviced hydraulic system should give a firm, intelligible pedal. The Convertible Sedan's structure may flex more than that of a closed D2 over diagonal bumps. Loud movement at the doors, changing gaps, or a windshield frame that visibly works against the body calls for inspection rather than romantic acceptance.

Identification and Originality

Serial and Engine Numbers

The D2 predates the standardized 17-character Vehicle Identification Number. Its identity rests on a factory serial-number plate, title records, body evidence, and the engine number. Serial ranges differed by assembly location, so any number should be checked against a recognized Dodge production reference rather than decoded from a modern VIN website.

A correct-period engine normally carries a D2-related model prefix in its stamped engine number, but the engine number is not the same as the vehicle serial number. Flathead sixes were frequently replaced during their working lives, and Chrysler Corporation produced several externally similar versions. Displacement, block length, casting details, accessory placement, and stamped number all require inspection before an engine is described as original.

The modern phrase matching numbers must therefore be used carefully. A continuous documentary record connecting the car, its serial plate, and its original engine is more persuasive than an unstamped block or a freshly refinished pad. Restamping destroys confidence and can create legal problems.

Confirming a Factory Convertible Sedan

A genuine D2 Convertible Sedan should be evaluated as a complete open body, not merely as a D2 chassis with four doors. The windshield header, door tops, rear quarters, top well, top bows, latches, side-weather equipment, rear-seat area, and frame reinforcement must agree with factory illustrations and known surviving cars.

Closed sedans are common enough to have supplied doors, trim, frames, engines, and front sheet metal to many projects. Those substitutions are not necessarily improper when disclosed, but a converted sedan body does not acquire factory Convertible Sedan identity through correct-looking paint and upholstery.

Body tags, serial plates, engine numbers, old registrations, dealer invoices, photographs, and restoration records should form a coherent history. A loose plate presented separately from a body has little evidentiary value. Inspect its fasteners and the surrounding metal for evidence of transfer.

Paint, Trim, and Date-Correct Equipment

Period paint-chip sheets and Dodge sales literature should guide color selection. The absence of a simple modern paint-code label means an owner may need to combine documentary research with careful examination of protected areas beneath trim, behind hardware, or inside folded seams.

Six-volt electrical equipment, generator, starter, gauges, lamps, carburetor, distributor, wheels, hubcaps, horn, and heater equipment should be checked for type and period. Casting dates can support a restoration timeline, but they do not by themselves prove that a component was installed on a particular car at the factory.

Top material and upholstery frequently depart from period appearance because modern vinyl, incorrect grain, or heavily padded construction is easier to source. Reproduction rubber, wiring, glass, and maintenance parts are often practical, but rare castings and model-specific open-body hardware may require restoration of originals.

Variant and Body-Style Breakdown

D2 mechanical specifications were broadly shared across the passenger range, while body construction, seating, luggage accommodation, and price created the practical differences. Catalog descriptions could distinguish trunk-equipped touring sedans from bodies with more limited external luggage provision.

The Convertible Sedan should not be confused with the smaller open coupe or with a fixed-roof four-door sedan converted after production. No factory racing, homologation, or high-output D2 Convertible Sedan version is documented.

Performance and Dimensional Specifications

Standardized acceleration testing was not routine for this class of American car in 1936, and surviving reports do not provide a dependable Convertible Sedan-specific 0-to-60 mph or quarter-mile result. Published top-speed and weight figures also differ with body style, equipment, test conditions, and the distinction between shipping and road-ready weight, so unsupported numbers are omitted.

These figures describe a car intended to maintain road speed through flexibility rather than high engine speed. Rear-axle ratio, tire diameter, engine condition, and body weight can produce substantial differences between two restored examples even when both retain nominally correct equipment.

Compared With Related Dodge Models

1935 Dodge DU

The preceding DU belongs to the 1935 model year and uses its own serial references, trim, sheet metal, and service details. Its broad mechanical philosophy is similar, but restorers should not assume that visible fittings interchange simply because both cars use Dodge flathead-six power and hydraulic brakes.

1937 Dodge D5

The D5 replaced the D2 for 1937 and reflects the annual revisions expected in the American market. Front-end styling, trim, instruments, body fittings, and model identification differ. A D5 engine or component may sometimes be made to function in a D2, but mechanical compatibility does not make it factory-correct.

Plymouth and Chrysler Corporation Relatives

Period Plymouths shared Chrysler Corporation engineering practice but were not badge-swapped D2s. Wheelbase, engine dimensions, sheet metal, appointments, and model coding must be checked individually. The same warning applies to later Dodge, DeSoto, and Chrysler flathead sixes, some of which look similar while differing in block length, displacement, mounts, or accessories.

Ford and Chevrolet Rivals

Ford promoted V-8 power, while Chevrolet relied on an overhead-valve six. Dodge countered with an L-head six and hydraulic brakes. The comparison illustrates three distinct American solutions: Ford prioritized cylinder count and smoothness, Chevrolet retained its valve-in-head identity, and Dodge emphasized proven Chrysler engineering and fluid-operated braking.

Ownership and Restoration Notes

Mechanical Parts and Rebuilds

Routine flathead-six parts are more obtainable than Convertible Sedan body components. Ignition pieces, bearings, seals, brake parts, clutch components, and some engine internals are supported through specialist suppliers, old-stock inventories, and interchange knowledge. Exact fit still depends on engine number, dimensions, and the components already installed.

An engine rebuild should include crack inspection, bore and crankshaft measurement, valve-seat and guide assessment, oil-passage cleaning, and careful examination of the cooling jacket. Flathead engines can accumulate rust and sediment around the rear cylinders, contributing to localized overheating even when the radiator appears clean.

The gearbox requires inspection for bearing wear, damaged gear teeth, worn synchronizing parts, and leakage. The rear axle and driveshaft should be checked for backlash, bearing noise, seal condition, and universal-joint wear. Installing a different rear-axle ratio for higher cruising speed changes both authenticity and hill-climbing behavior.

Structural and Body Restoration

Water entering around the folding top can attack floors, sills, door bottoms, rear-quarter cavities, the top well, and frame mounting points. Running-board brackets, lower cowl areas, fender edges, and metal trapped beneath trim also deserve inspection. On an open four-door body, corrosion around the center pillars and door apertures can affect both fit and structural integrity.

Top restoration is specialist work. The bows must describe the correct profile, latches must locate the header without excessive force, and the folded stack must fit the well without crushing the material. Reconstructing missing irons from photographs is possible, but labor rapidly exceeds the cost of ordinary mechanical repairs.

Maintenance Expectations

Period maintenance called for frequent chassis lubrication, fluid checks, ignition adjustment, brake inspection, and engine-oil service by modern standards. Low annual mileage does not eliminate condensation, fuel deterioration, wheel-cylinder corrosion, or cooling-system deposits. Cars displayed more often than driven should still be brought fully to operating temperature and tested under load.

Buyer and Inspection Points

A prospective buyer should begin with identity and structural completeness before considering paint quality. Mechanical faults can usually be corrected more predictably than absent Convertible Sedan hardware.

A complete but worn car is often a better restoration basis than a glossy example assembled from unidentified parts. Particular caution is warranted when the top cannot be raised, the doors have been adjusted to hide sag, or the seller cannot show the serial plate in place.

Collector and Market Relevance

Collectors value the D2 Convertible Sedan for body rarity, visual presence, and its ability to carry four or five occupants in an open pre-war Dodge. It is not sought because of racing victories or exceptional speed. Its market appeal depends on the survival of a body style that was expensive to build and particularly vulnerable to weather, neglect, and incomplete restoration.

Factory identity, complete top hardware, sound structure, correct flathead-six equipment, and documented restoration work matter more than bright paint. Authentic upholstery patterns, a convincing top profile, proper six-volt wiring, correct instruments, and restrained period colors generally carry more authority than hidden modern drivetrains or heavily modified interiors.

Closed D2 sedans remain useful sources of mechanical knowledge and some shared components, but they are not direct market substitutes. Conversely, rarity alone does not rescue a poor Convertible Sedan restoration. A misproportioned top or questionable converted body is conspicuous because the roofline and four-door opening define the entire car.

Cultural Relevance

The D2 belonged to the era when American cars moved decisively toward all-weather steel bodies and annual styling changes. Its Convertible Sedan body preserves an older touring-car idea within a modernized 1936 production car, complete with hydraulic brakes, steel fenders, electric starting, and a practical six-cylinder drivetrain.

It has no substantial factory competition or homologation history. Its modern public life is instead found in Dodge and Chrysler-product clubs, concours fields, historical tours, museum collections, and preservation events. A properly sorted car can participate in regional touring, although its gearing, braking distances, lighting, and weather protection require period-aware driving.

The model also illustrates why club archives matter. Factory parts books, sales folders, service manuals, period photographs, and comparisons with unrestored survivors often answer questions that generic parts catalogs cannot, particularly around top construction and body hardware.

Frequently Asked Questions

What engine is in the 1936 Dodge D2 Six?

The D2 used a 217.8-cubic-inch, approximately 3.57-liter, L-head inline six. Dodge rated it at 87 horsepower at 3,600 rpm. It used a single downdraft carburetor and drove the rear wheels through a three-speed manual transmission.

What does D2 mean on a 1936 Dodge?

D2 is Dodge's passenger-car series designation for the 1936 model year. It is not a modern chassis platform code or a 17-character VIN designation. D2 references should appear coherently in period serial and engine-number research.

How can I tell whether a D2 Convertible Sedan is genuine?

Check the serial plate and title against recognized D2 records, then examine the windshield header, door tops, rear body, top well, folding mechanism, and structural reinforcement. Factory literature, period photographs, and known original cars are essential references. A D2 sedan serial plate attached to a modified closed body does not establish factory Convertible Sedan provenance.

Are 1936 Dodge D2 engine numbers supposed to match the vehicle serial number?

No. The engine number and vehicle serial number are separate identifiers. Documentation may establish that an engine is original to a particular car, but identical stamped numbers should prompt careful investigation rather than being accepted as normal matching-numbers practice.

What are the most serious problems on a D2 Convertible Sedan?

Structural corrosion, frame distortion, incomplete top hardware, poor door alignment, cooling-jacket sediment, hydraulic brake deterioration, and incorrectly identified replacement engines are major concerns. Missing body fittings can be more difficult and costly to resolve than a complete engine rebuild.

Are restoration parts available for the 1936 Dodge D2?

Many maintenance and flathead-six mechanical parts can be found through Chrysler-product specialists, reproduction suppliers, and old-stock sources. Convertible Sedan top irons, latches, windshield pieces, body trim, and model-specific interior fittings are much less available and may require restoration or fabrication.

Why is the 1936 Dodge D2 Convertible Sedan collectible?

It combines the usable D2 drivetrain with a scarce four-door open body that few owners preserved intact. Collectors particularly value documented factory bodies, complete top mechanisms, correct six-cylinder equipment, straight frames, and restorations based on period evidence rather than custom-car assumptions.

Collector Takeaway

The 1936 Dodge D2 Convertible Sedan deserves attention because it turns ordinary, durable Dodge running gear into a difficult and increasingly scarce piece of open-body coachwork. Its 87-horsepower flathead six and hydraulic drum brakes explain how it drove, but the four doors, long folding roof, structural reinforcement, and specialized hardware explain why so few straightforward restoration candidates remain.

Buy the body, the identity, and the top mechanism first. Engines, brakes, and gearboxes can be rebuilt with established knowledge, while missing Convertible Sedan architecture can consume years of research and fabrication. When those elements are authentic and the restoration respects the car's measured pre-war character, the D2 is not merely a rare Dodge body style. It is a precise record of the moment when the practical American sedan finally made the four-door convertible obsolete.