desoto flat 6

Hello, This Thread is concerning a Desoto flat 6 i got from school. I was wanting to know the history behind the motor. Also if they have been or for that mater can be hot rodded. The story so far, I got the motor earlier this year from my high school (i go to a tech school) they where going to send the motor to the s**** yard. I asked the teacher about it and he said I could have it for free. so my buddy and I dragged it home over the cape cod c**** in the bed of his ford ranger which could barely handle the weight. I was told it came from a p*** teachers 51 desoto that he swapped a early Hemi in , but other than that I don't know much else about the motor. Also the motor rotates and that I've pulled the head, valve covers, and drop the pan plus the boor looks good you can still see the cross hatching from the hone. If i can get some help i would greatly appreciate it. Thank you-RR

 

Yes, DeSoto flathead sixes were very good engines. They shared engines with other Chrysler products; usually the larger Chrysler six, most of which displaced 251 or 265 cubic inches, but some used the smaller Plymouth/Dodge flathead, which displaced 218 or 230 cubic inches. Speed equipment was manufactured for both, although it is more common for the smaller engine. There are several threads on this forum about Mopar flatheads. Try searching “mopar” and you should find them. Good luck.

 

Those are good motors. I had one that came from a San Francisco Yellow cab. My dad bought the whole cab for $15 so that I could pull the DeSoto motor and stick it in my '48 Plymouth. That engine never owed me anything. Wish I kept it. And almost everything else.

 

speed equipment is pretty expensive....when you can find it.

 

A '51 DeSoto six was the 251 cubic inch engine rated at 116 horsepower ('51 Mercury V-8, by comparison, was rated at 112 horsepower, '51 Ford V-8, 100 horsepower)

I had a '54 DeSoto club coupe with the six and powerflite trans. It ran great. Sold it to a friend six years ago and have been trying to buy it back ever since.

 

In stock form they are very durable and in hotrod form they are very respectable performers. No, not powerhouses, but lots of low speed torque to move some heavy cars.

What are your plans?

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i wouldnt mess with em. Mine runs great as a stocker =)

 

How cool is that! Love the parking brake spinning in the wind!

 

go to all par and search flathead 6. You can get split intake and exhaust manifilds, electronic ignition etc. Best bang for the buck, mill the head to icrease compression.