Hello, I'm a newbie at this and it is my first post. I hope no one thinks I'm a putz, but I could really use you're guys' expertise. I want to remove the enigine and tranny out of my '46, but I'm unsure of how to get the two apart.... How exactly are they held together? It seems like the tranny can come out through the front floorboard area, is that the best way to do it? I love this car already, it's my first classic car, and I just want to do things the right way.. Here are a couple pics, if anyone would be kind enough to help a young man before he pulls his hair out it would make my day! Thank you guys and if I'm wasting time and space, I'm sorry, I've looked and looked and just kind find the answer I'm looking for. Thanks again!
Should I have posted this elsewhere? If I'm going about this the wrong way just tell me. Hopefully I'll get the hang of this, I'm not trying to annoy anyone. Thanks
Try a Google search and see what comes up. If it were me, i'd try finding a shop manual for it. There will be a lot of other things that come up that might need rebuilding. Might try looking around and find a Chrysler club in your area. Mike
Check with George Taylor in Pasadena TX for a shop manual and parts. He is the Mopar expert on 42-48 Chryslers, especially the Town & Country models.
Transmission goes out the bottom, I don't know any specifics to your car, but that's how most are and the picture proves yours to be the same. Next step will be to put the car about 18 inches in the air. You might also want to throw a big piece of cardboard under the car, then go nuts with a scraper and spray bottle of soapy water. Remove 75% of the gunk, then fold up and throw it all away. It'll make the disassembly process easier. Things always come apart hardest the first time. Study & think, everything unhooks with wrenches and screwdrivers. Don't be like my buddy, he's a "cutter" then his stuff is all f-d up from the rig jobs to repair the cuts, even though the rest of the replacement is a decent job. good luck
Thanks guys! I've got a shop manual, but it doesn't explain things very well. Parts of it are very helpful and then: BLAH! No details. And yes Shifty, she's a very dirty girl right now..... Thanks for the vote of confidence. I don't want to destroy it, I want to give her a new lease on life! I'm gonna avoid the plasma cutter as much as possible. I could use bigger arm muscles anyways. There should just be a number of bolts that attach the block and bell housing I would think.... But, as soon as I can get her on the lift out comes the scraper and some goggles. If anyone has ever done this before, help me o wise one 'cause I'm ready to learn.... Thanks!
Go over to the P15 fourm it is a great site for these and a wealth of knowledge is to be had, here is a link. http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/
Thanks guys! I found enough info to remove the tranny over Christmas with my brother-in-law. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, but it was so dirty we were scraping and brushing forever! Next step is removing the clutch, fluid-drive, and housing. Any suggestions or tips? Here are a couple pics.... Thanks again.
Thanks! It's my father-in-law's shop, we've got a lift, air tools, plasma cutter, welding equipment, etc. I'm lucky he lets me work on my cars in there! This car was given to my wife and I as a wedding gift. I was stoked! The body is in decent shape with one dent in the rear quarter panel and one of the triangle shaped rear windows is cracked, but that's no big deal. The Spitfire 6 is froze up, so it's coming out along with the fluid-drive and eventually the rear end. I'm planning on dropping a 318ci Mopar in here, possibly with a torque-flite tranny..... I'm unsure of what rear end to use though. If you have any suggestions, please enlighten me. I'm also unsure about suspension options... Should I just replace the stock pieces or go with a more modern setup? I'd like it to look something like the pic I've attached. I know I'm nowhere near it now, but it'll get there. I basically want it to be a cool car to drive on the weekends. I love the fact that it's not something you see everyday, we never see any old Chryslers cruising around. I will post some more pics soon....Thanks guys!
For your suspension question, the old Mopars had failry decent front suspensions with a few modifications. Disc brakes and front shock relocation will help a lot with minimal outlay/work. Olddaddy on here has kits for both, just look him up in the members section. No real need to go with a subframe or anything like that. I use my 48 Plymouth with the flathead 6 and 3 speed OD as my daily in and around Dallas. Running the stock rebuilt suspension with no issues. Again as suggested above I would jump on the P15-D24 site. There is a ton of knowledge there for the 40's and 50's Mopars.
It looks like you've got a great tutor, a valuable thing for this kind of experience. What are you going for in this car? I see nothing wrong with the 318 from a lot of standpoints, but that engine isn't very "chrysler". Yeah it's a mopar, but chrysler is still the flagship brand and the good ones have something special going on underhood. Usually though, special means $pecial. Suggestions? Don't throw anything away, even if it seems small and useless. There's little aftermarket support for old chryslers so small parts are hard to come by. If you don't end up needing it, nearly everything is sellable to offset the cost of new parts. Treat the stainless trim like it's made of gold. Guys with odd cars that get serious about shiny paint and finish.....end up buying a parts car just for 3 pieces of stainless. Not because it's cost effective, but because it's the only way to get parts-in-hand good luck, keep us posted
Do a search here for more info on swapping, and one of the member's blogs http://shadowmtkustomz.blogspot.com/ covers a lot of your questions.
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