Projects Free engine followed me home today

I ran into a guy at the cruise last week who said he had an old mopar engine I could have if I would come and get it.I went over there today.Never been to his place before.For the last 20 years I had known him as a guy who raced a very quick OT car.I got to his house and there are 59 Olds,55 Stude and various other HAMB friendly parts cars sitting back in the woods on the access road.I got in the garage and there is all kinds of stuff like a really nice model A sedan,old dodge,pretty 55 stude,several 348-409 engines etc.place is about 4 garages deep,last one full of model As.So under a shed there is an A engine\trans,some kind of dissasembled straight eight flathead engine(Pontiac,packard-not sure)and a very complete Mopar flathead six engine\trans complete right down to the air cleaner sitting right by another clean Stude.That is the one I got to take home. I reckon it is early 50s Dodge or Plymouth,not the long Chrysler. I got home,blew the top of the engine off with compressed air,pulled the plugs and WD-40d the cylinders generously.Unbolted the trans and pulled it off and adapted an engine stand to bolt to the back of the bellhousing.Removed the air cleaner and noted that the carb wasnt frozen,Took the fan belt off,water pump and gen turn OK.Pulled the starter and got the pry bar on the ring gear,a moments resistance and it rotated! I am pretty pleased! I reckon tomorrow I will clean and set the points,put fresh oil in it and see if it will run.

 

That will be neat if you can get it to run, then you will have a running boat anchor

 

Don't try to run it on that engine stand.

 

Measure head length -23 or 25 inches. 23 inch is Plymouth or Dodge, 25 is Chrysler or DeSoto.

Could be from 201 to 265 cubic inches.

 

Sounds like you will be following that engine home soon.

Best wishes

 

The first time I heard the term" runs like a sewing machine" was when someone got one of those engines running....smooth.

 

Sounds like you have a new friend.
What are you putting the engine in?
Maybe you should go back and negotiate to buy one of those Model A's he has.

 

Or see if you can trade up.
unless you already had a plan for it.

 

Hot rods ta hell, I will be going back there shortly to buy one of the model A engine\trans he has sitting there we agreed on a price yesterday, my little truck just wasnt likely to carry both.I am not sure what I will use this engine for.I have been seeing a picture in my head for the last few months of something like an "A" style chassis with a cowl a 2 seats and a gas tank-in other words a bobtail.Just dont know yet. wBuiltfer comfort,thank you for your info.I already know it is a plymouth or Dodge,I am familiar with the old Chrysler "spitfire".Buckeye buicks I dont own a boat Thank you Avater.

 

Free engines are like free puppies. They don't stay free very long! Cool start to build a project around. Or plant flowers in it.

 

Looks like a non trad hand crank. LOL

 

In my experience those engines are tough as hell. Good score.

 

Nice score , lots of interest in flathead mopars , they're just cool....Hamber just scored one from me...a 25 incher..... Got a 1950 Plymouth 6 available , rebuilt for reasonable offer ..Mac

 

There is no such thing as a free engine. Sooner or later it will cost you money. One way or another.

 

Yes that may be, but so will most engines you buy.

Don't be so Glas - half - empty - kind of guy. LOL

 

Yeah- I'm all there on the free engine thing. Hope that motor proves all the nay-sayers wrong.
I got this from a friend who said he "had no use for it" would I like to throw it in my truck and take it?
HELL YES!! ( complete with tri-power!)

 

Kinda like a wife!

 

Well that's like not playing fair.

 

Free! Damn,
Nice score,

 

I got the engine to run today.Not well,it has a couple of sticky exh valves,pretty typical of a flathead that sat a long time.Has oil pressure and no bad noises.All I really had to do was clean and set the points and hang a coil on it.I did have to fix the starter,the C clip that retains the starter clutch lower thrust washer had fallen apart.Replaced it with a modified H.D mainshaft 3rd gear snap ring,seems to work.I cant do video,but if you look at the pic you can see the smoke hanging in the shop.

 

I pulled the head today.Actually I started yesterday,loosened all the bolts 1 turn,applied penetrating oil,turn bolts back in ,back out and more penetrant etc.I have never ever taken a mopar flat six apart that didnt have stuck head bolts.This one is no exception. They all have "wet" headbolts and corrosion can make them really hard to get out.This morning I took the O\A torch and heated each bolt ,squirted more penetrant and took them out.3 broke .I got all three out at about an hour apiece.Engine is a 218 all stock,no appreciable ridge.Likely worth rebuilding.Pics are getting the broken head bolts out,might be useful to someone.To remove a broken head bolt-. First carefully file the broken off end flat,coat the end with dykem or magic marker,measure the OD of the bolt with your calipers,set calipers to 1\2 diameter-IE if bolt is .400" set caliper at .200",set caliper jaw against side of bolt,use other jaw as center line,move caliper 90 degrees and repeat.The center of the cross mark is the center of the bolt.Centerpunch bolt at that spot,note that if you hole goes in off center all else is in vain---Drill about a 1\8" pilot hole all the way through the broken bolt-use really good drill bits(USA) and go slowly,use lots of cutting oil and clean bit frequently.Once you get this done try a 1\4" bit,then 5\16" then 3\8".This leaves you with a thin shell of the bolt that can be
collapsed with a small punch and picked out.You can then run a tap through the hole and you are all set.

 

Sorry,I hit the wrong button,here are the pics.

 

And the rest of the pics.The object in the bolt hole is the collapsed piece of the drilled out bolt.The little piece on the needle nose pliers is the last piece of the bolt to come out.BTW the intermediate length head bolts from an SBC are exactly 1 1\2 threads longer than the stock head bolts-just enough for a washer !

 

Are you concerned at all about hanging that heavy engine on that stand by the trans mounting holes on the bellhousing? I may be overly cautious but then again I've seen an engine stand fail.

 

Oh really,

I once paid to have "an engine" delivered to my house from 300 miles distant,
You came and picked it up,
And you Never offered to reimburse for gas or expenses,
You never even said thank you when you left with a running 292 engine and transmission
that others on the hamb were trying to offer me money for.


.

 

I have too.IME those chink engine stands usually fail at the top of the vertical post or by the lower tube (that goes to the front wheels) collapsing where the pinch bolt squeezes the rather thin tube.You cant see it in the picture,but that stand has a piece of 1\4" flat stock reinforcing inside the lower tube with a bolt and nut retaining it rather than the pinch bolt.As far as the top,that stand has been in use for several years and shown no weakness there so I reckoned it as an acceptable risk.If I rebuild the engine it will go in the hot stand for any further running.

 

Nothing like hard work dedication and perseverance.

 

Got a lot of external pieces off the engine today,int\exh manifold,distributor,starter,water pump.Ordered an Offy 2X1 intake from Summit and a set of cast headers from stovebolt too.Water tube is stuck as usual.

 

I think you have a problem with the engine's center of gravity being over the front wheels because you have the bell housing on. Looks to me like it can easily topple head-over-heels. Oh, and let's please not use racial slurs to describe Asian inferior quality manufactured merchandise.

 

We're there any aftermarket heads for these engines?