Thinking of buying late thirties Plymoth, stock flat six, 3 speed. I've heard these engines can be made to run ok. Who has built one and who sells parts. Are parts interchangable into the late 50's. Who knows Plymoths?
This is where you want to go...see ya there! http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2
You can get most of your engine parts from Terrell Machine in DeLeon, Tx. Pick up a copy of Hemmings big monthly mag and go to the Chrysler general parts section and you will find several different venders. I belong to a forum P15-D24 for 46 through 48 Plymouth and Dodge cars but the members have everything from 29 to 54 MoPars, stock and modified. I have a modified 48 Plymouth flat head 6 that I took on a 4600 mile trip summer of 2007. From central Texas to Reno Nev. for hot August Nights and then on to Bonneville for speed week. The only problem encountered was the newly installed electric windshield wippers had a switch failure and could not turn off the wippers off with the switch. Pete "Blueskies" Anderson has a site where he has photos of the build of his 50 Plymouth. You need to see his engine. He is also a member here on the H.A.M.B.
Thank you James. My thoughts on keeping the stock engine is: Why fix something that isn't broke. I had a friend long ago that had a 36 Plymoth coupe (just like the one Humphry Bogart drove in "THE BIG SLEEP") that ran great. He said that his engine was built by an old midwest dirt tracker that ran them back in the day.
Here's mine... I have about 16,000 miles on this engine, and love it. I drove my '50 Plymouth from Idaho to Tulsa, OK last June, a total of 3,300 miles round trip. I did 10 hours a day at 75mph with overdrive, and it didn't skip a beat. More at www.50plymouth.com Pete
I've had several old mopars and they all have ran great and been very easy to keep running good...my current one is in a 54 dodge panel with twin carters and split exhaust and it cruises right along...not a ton of power but it will move ya along just fine and it gets decent gas mileage especially considering it's a panel truck...my plan was to drop in a small block whenever it gets too tired but the damn thing shows no sign of ever doing so...run the flatty six for now
By all means keep the original engine in case you decide to sell it or restore it later,but you might want to look for a 1942 or later Dodge 230 cubin inch flat 6 to put in there. They make a LOT more horsepower stock,parts from earlier engines are hard to find and mostly not interchangeable,and the 230 was used from 1942 to 1959. This means parts are easy to find for it and cheap,and that even hi-performance parts are more common for it and easier to find than any other flathead 6.
Do a search here for "plymouth" you will get a lot of info. Search flathead 6 on the ALLPAR site, ar as noted before check out the P15-d24 website. Engine swaps were common with these cars in the 40 and 50's to keep them running. There is an engine number on the block above the generator, just below the cylider head. It should start with a "P". The early 6 cylinders did not have full length water jackets. So untill 35 you can see the individual cylinder castings on the driver's side of the block. 35 and later had full waterjackets, and a flat sided block. Engines are simple and reliable albiet not really HP makers. I believe ther are about 85 HP for that vintage but feature more than adequate low RPM torque. The engiens are long stroke and either 198 or 201 cubic inches. Good riding cars with full hydraulic brakes. Trans however may not be synchronized. Check to see if it has the Philip Marlow option...the underdash pistol dispenser.
Here is one I had a couple years ago. It was a long wheelbase 33 Plymouth PD sedan that had been wrecked and rebuilt as a speedster and supposedly raced on local dirt tracks in the 40's. Never did know for sure. It has a stock flathead six and was not fast. It sure was fun though. We loved it.
A junkyard I was in 3 or 4 years back, had quite a few old race cars in it - and here's this 53 or 54 Plymouth sedan, stripped down, roll cage, wheels cut out, hood is gone.. and it had a six in it. It was the only one like it, the other racers were mostly 55-57 Chevys and Fords, but someone must have run it. Probably at Accord Speedway, although where this place was it could have been Orange County possibly or some track that no longer exists, too.
been messing with flathead mopars since 76' and they are damm reliable engines and they made millions of them. i drove a 54' plymouth until i couldn't stand the knocking rod anymore put it up for sale and the guy that bought it dropped the pan and slipped in a used bearing and away he went quite as hell. using the later carbs that langdons sell (2300 ford carbs/pinto) really make a difference as they have idle circuts. upgrading the ignition is also a big plus.
Don't know who built it yet, but my bud Augie just got this one a couple days ago in Atlanta. Bored =.060, stroked, and hot cam.
I have not researched this yet, but I was told that the early 40's Plymouth flathead six engines where used buy Catipilar and there are lots of engine parts that can be found through theier parts department. I also have a 1951 Plymouth 6 that I may be putting into my first 40 Coupe. I was told that all that is involved to swap was to swap the mounting plate on the motor and my ****** would bolt right up. Looking at both motors, most part are interchangable ie card,manifolds ect... Hope this helps... correct me if Im worng. Newbee to Plymouth's.
Great engines that run forever. Here's one I ran for a while. It hadn't run in 15 years and all i did was install new outer gaskets, rebuild the carb, new water pump, tune up and a 12 volt conversion.
These engines were also used in combines, welders, water pumps, airport tugs, and fork lifts, a**** other things... They were in production into the mid sixties. Most everything you could need for these engines is available from your local NAPA parts store. If you can't find what you need there, there is Vintage Power Wagons, Terrill Machine, Kantor, Bernbum, etc. Pete
I learned to drive on a '40 Plymouth four door sedan. It was a really nice car but it had a serious rod (I believe) knock. My dad just kept on driving it. He commuted about 40 miles a day in that car even with the knocking engine. It was my job (I was about 12 at the time.) to check the oil every afternoon when he got home. I remember putting three quarts of oil in that thing at one time. Dad said that since it burned so much oil he couldn't see putting new oil in it, so he bought recons***uted oil from Sears buy the case, gl*** bottles and all! I sure was mad when he traded the thing in on a '57 Dodge station wagon -- those push ****ons were cool though.
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