Dozerman51

Looks to be a solid car. Plus in Idaho, your rust problems should be minimal with that dry air. Good luck on getting her restored and on the road. “It’s Mopar or no car”.

Ok, thanks for the Info. The 230 has a longer stroke thus more torque and hp. All depends what you want out of the motors.

55 Fargo Spitfire, That’s exactly what I was thinking also.

The T-215 is a 23” 230 CI motor 3 & 1/4” x 4 & 5/8” originally installed in all late series 1/2 ton Military Dodge WC 4x4 trucks. If he is talking about a big and small motor, perhaps the 218 is a Canadian built 25” motor .. 3 & 3/8” x 4 & 1/4” not the US built 217.8 23” motor 3 & 1/4” x 4 & 3/8”.

Dodge Central of Michigan sells similar types hooks like on Reg Evan’s truck. The only difference is that the hook part is bent at an angle not, straight like his. This type hook was used on numerous WWII military vehicles including the WC-12 I drive. Thy are not cheap though. Believe they want $20.00 per hook. They are very hard to find .. hence, the steep price.

“2016 not “2106”.

No. My truck originally came with a 23” 230 CI motor. I had this motor in my truck from May of1987 until May of 2106. I then did a restoration on the truck and installed the 25” IND-7(used in a military arc welder) which I had lying around after changing the cam, and installing a “Spitfire” Head out of a 1941 Chrysler Royal. Very little modifications needed to install in the truck and absolutely no cutting or welding on frame to do it. Looks very nice in engine compartment.

Hello Fernando, I see you have a Chrysler Industrial motor in your truck. What is the IND number? I have always used mechanical fuel pumps in both the 23” and now 25” IND-7 I have in my WC-12. Have never had a problem with them other than the diaphragm breaking on one after about 15 years of service.

Hello Kubuhagiar, I had a hell of time installing those draft pads on my WC-12 Pick Up. I just cut them enough so they would slip on the pedal shaft and wrapped them closed with some very small gauge plastic coated wire. They seem to be holding up well. Say, I see you and I live close by. I’m down here in San Carlos. I know SSF well. I worked for the city for 28 years. It is a great city to work for. Maybe some day we can get together with our vehicles.

That head number was used on the 251 and 265 CI motors. Can’t pinpoint the year isn’t was cast. The -1 Number shows that it was the 1st series cast. Look around the left rear bottom of the block above the oil pan. The block casting numbers be there. You might get lucky and the casting date of the block will be to the front of those numbers around the distributor hole area. I would just do what BobK recommended. That will tell you the stroke and you can go from there. Good luck.

Great Idea BobK. I forgot all about that trick. Yes, a small diameter wooden dowel would work perfect.

I’m 62 years old. I feel like I did back when I was 30, but when I look in the mirror I yell out , “what the h... happened! LOL. My twin brother and I learned to drive on my Uncles 1946 Willy’s CJ2A with a column mounted 3 speed. He and my dad were Chrysler people. My uncle owned a 1941 Chrysler New Yorker with a straight 8, a 1954 New Yorker Blue Bird 2 door with a 331 Hemi, and a 1968 and later a 1969 Chrysler New Yorker 4 door with the 440TNT package. That car could move, let me tell you. My dad had a 1935 Plymouth 2 door, a 1947 Dodge 4 door and a 1947 Desoto 4 door. His last Chrysler car was a 1967 Dodge Polara with a 383 2 barrel. I have had a 1971 Dodge Colt, and a 1990 Dodge Shadow. I now drive a 2017 Charger Scat-Pack with the 392 Hemi. It’s a very fast and powerful machine. Last but not least, I have a 1941 Dodge Military WC-12 4x4 pick-up. It’s really my pride and joy. As I tell people who ask me questions about it, I always say that the truck comes before the “Bride”. Wish I could figure out how to post pic’s of it on this forum. I’m not that computer savy. As I like to say “It’s Mopar or no car”.

“Your” not “Tour”. Old Age creeeping in. LOL

Sounds like Tour tuck is a great resto-mod. “Outstanding”.

Thanks for the Pic’s and the Info on the one piece windshields. Did the one piece windshield crank out like on the smaller Airflows? That straight 8 looks as good if not better than any competitor’s motor of the same time period IMHO. Just absolutely beautiful.

Is 1942 the only year up until the 1950’s that they come with a one piece windshield? I thought in 1942 all Mopar vehicles had 2 piece windshields. Guess you learn something new everyday.

Hi Knuckleharley, Always like to hear about the way it was done in the “Old”days. I see you have a Dodge 4x4 Truck. What year and model.

According to a book I have, “Dodge Pickups- History and Restoration Guide 1918-1971, they claim you can mill the stock head anywhere from 0.060 to 0.125.

Believe you have a split ring wheel, not a split rim wheel. I have the same set up on my WC-12.

If you want to change to the later 57-59 head look for one that has a casting(And I believe part #) Of 1676337-1 or 2. If you are installing this head on a vehicle that used the older mechanical temp gauge, you will have to drill the electric sending unit hole out and re-tap for the mechanical tube gauge. If you are using this later head, look out for the extra water passage on motorsfrom 1951 and later. If you are installing a later head on an earlier engine, the later head gasket must also be used.

A two barrel intake and carb. were used to get to that HP. along with an 8:1 compression head. I installed one of those heads on my stock 230 motor in my 1941 WC-12 and I could immediately fell the extra “Pop” when I stepped on the gas. Chrysler Corp. changed the design of the combustion chamber in the head to get that CR. You can do the same thing by having your head shaved. Just be careful not to go too far or the valves will not like it. LOL.

What is the casting number on the head? This number is found to the right of the Spitfire name and after the lightning bolts. This number is also the part number in most cases.

Still trying to keep the paint job on the WC -12 looking like new. It’s only a year and 4 months old. It’s about 60 degrees and finally raining out here on the left coast of California. With my WWII 2 motor Tropic-Aire heater along with the Tropic-Aire defroster motor and all the ductwork, I’m fairly certain that I could weather any type of cold as long as the IND-7 keeps turning and the gas keeps burning. Now those vacuum wipers, well that’s a whole horse of a different color. LOL.

Easy way to tell a non-synchro. post war 4speed tranny from a synchro.(3rd and 4th gear) tranny is to look at the filler plug. A NS tranny will have the drain plug at a 45 degree or so at the bottom of the case. A Synchro. tranny will have the drain plug at the bottom rear of the case and it will be in a horizontal position. The bellhousings changed around 1955. Up to 1955 the transmission mounting bolt holes were offset on one side. They were not parallel to the opposite side. The 1955 and later bellhousing has the holes parallel to each other. So a 1955 or later transmission will not bolt up to a 1954 and earlier bellhousing. This is for the civilian trucks. I believe the Military M-37 4x4 truck used the earlier bellhousing throughout it’s production run. I could be wrong on that though. Food for thought.

The 1954-1956 Dodge trucks were called the “Funtional Design” series as opposed to the earlier “Pilot-House era trucks.