Hi All, I am interested in putting a small hemi (241?) into a 1953 Dodge Power Wagon type D civilian model. I want to keep the stock powertrain from the old 230. Can it be done? Thanks, Scott scottwaters@peoplepc.com 817 307 5537
Sorry to be a wise guy. I've got a little 270 dodge Hemi and used the manual bellhousing that came with it to adapt an A833 O/D behind my 354 hemi. You gave us almost no pertinant information. Without looking at what you have behind the 230 it's a little difficult to tell you what will be needed to adapt. Did your 241 come with a bellhousing and/or a transmission? What sort of trans is behind the 230. a manual or automatic? Do you have any pictures? It's possible the the trans behind the 230 might just bolt up to the 241 bell. What have you got?
the power wagon should have a bigass truck bellhousing and a granny 4 speed trans, along with the transfer case and whatnot....right? My guess is it won't all bolt up....
What "squirrel" said. It has the stock unsyncronized 1953 Power Wagon trans in it, with all the 4x4 stuff, all stock. It doesn't seem to have a catchy name like A833, just Chrysler Corporate transmission. Someone swung the replacement 251 flat six in it, which is almost as pitiful. I have seen two PW's with hemi power, but it was years ago, and I don't know the owners.
The transfer case is a New Process 200, the transmission is also a New Process, I just don't remember the number. I wouldn't be putting too much torque in that old beast lest you want to replace axle shafts on a regular basis. The civilian (W series) Power Wagons of the later 50s had 230 flathead sixes as the base engine and had the poly series as options, so it would work if the bell-housings hadn't changed.
Unless some serious coin is spent the little 241 shouldn't overpower things. Stock compressions were pretty low. I was thinking the same thing as 1952Henry about the bells. Have to start measuring and comparing. Does the 241 crank have a pilot bushing/bearing?
I don't know, never thought to check! I think scootermcrad was looking for my intro...guess I got the horse before the cart, so I just posted the intro for those interested...but it's kinda lame. I checked with vintagepowerwagons.com but they were non-commital.
Thanks to all who took the time to respond...but I still have not found an answer. Has anyone out there put a red ram hemi in an otherwise stock power wagon?
Here's as close as I've come. One of my first swaps was a 354 hemi into a '58 Plymouth that came stock with a 230 inline. I used the original 6 cyl. bell and flywheel, swapped out the Auburn P/Plate for a Borg and Beck, used the 6 cyl. starter. Everything was a bolt up. My guess is once you fab up some front mounts it's an easy swap.
First off, I gotta ask, what is a "power wagon model D civilian"? I was under the impression from all the info I've read was until 57, all power wagons were military. Not to say Mopar didn't sell the military trucks to civilians, but that could be the sourch of your lack of info. If you indeed have one of the oddball Dodge trucks (which is very posible) no one will know what was in your truck, so they won't know what will need to be done. All that said, Dodge did install the Hemi with the granny low gear in big trucks starting in late 54. One would suppose that everything from the said trucks should connect to your transfercase and you should be good to go. Did your 241 come out of a truck or did it come out of a car? Once past the bell the trans is likely the same, car or truck, and the 4x4 would probably have been added from there. But alas, having not ever been under a 53 4x4 all I can do is speculate. My 50 civilian cab is on an 80 4x4 chassis. Gene
The classic Power Wagon built from '46 to '68 with the flat fenders and flatstock grill is often referred to as the "military" style as it resembles the WW2 Dodge WC series 3/4 tons. With the advent of the W series Power Wagons (Power Giant era) that shared bodies with the two wheel drive pickups came the term "civilian" style. Clear as mud?
Hi, if you visit www.vintagepowerwagon.com you can see the differences between the civilian and the military versions. The civilian stuff has the much more rounded cab like yours.
The Jalopy Journal
