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Newbie Introduction


Tim Van Pelt

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Just wanted to introduce myself, Been into old cars my whole life(I just turned 51) Was raised around old fords but anything old is Kool. My latest project is a late 40's early 50's sprint car built out of junk. At this point my motor choice is a flathead six out of my pops 1959 Dodge mail truck. I dont know squat about dodge motors so I'm here to ask dumb question and try to learn a few things. Thanks for any help I can get here.

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Gidday from Oz...........what engine/gearbox did the sprint car originally have?, my understanding is that just about all of them ran a modified Model A Ford box as essentially an in/out setup so am curious how the mopar 6 choice will work...........by the late 40's there seems to have been a bit of hop up gear available for the Plymouth/Dodge 23" six such as finned heads by Edmunds, twin/triple intakes by Fenton & Edmunds, cast headers by Fenton and various ignition upgrades by Mallory and Scintilla and most likely plenty more............I would be interested in seeing how the mopar engine fits actually..........got any pics?...............regards, andyd

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9 hours ago, Andydodge said:

Gidday from Oz...........what engine/gearbox did the sprint car originally have?, my understanding is that just about all of them ran a modified Model A Ford box as essentially an in/out setup so am curious how the mopar 6 choice will work...........by the late 40's there seems to have been a bit of hop up gear available for the Plymouth/Dodge 23" six such as finned heads by Edmunds, twin/triple intakes by Fenton & Edmunds, cast headers by Fenton and various ignition upgrades by Mallory and Scintilla and most likely plenty more............I would be interested in seeing how the mopar engine fits actually..........got any pics?...............regards, andyd

Im building this thing as a I see fit , no rules at all. I do want to have it be street legal so I'm thinking of a headlight setup that will disconnect quickly.

One of the main reasons I joined this forum is to gain some Knowledge about the L head motor and source some parts.

IMG_2342.JPG

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Is this the one that started with some 48 Ford fenders and a Farm all tractor gas tank, with a Dodge truck engine and trans?  Flathead sixes from the Mopar line weren't know for high HP or willingness to sustain high revs.. Touque is their stock in trade.  So the truck trans and rear end aren't going to be aimed at a light weight vehicle.  Car and truck bell housing s differ in  the truck mounted to the frame and the cars mount to a riveted in cross member.  So you might have to do some mix match, fabrication o hang the bell and the clutch and brake pedals.  You will want to go to an online calculator and put in tire diameters, gears, and diff ratios to have the motor at around 2800 to 3200 rpm at your predicted comfortable cruising speed. Peak HP was figured by the factory at 3600 rpm.  Most revs north of that are mostly more noise than performance.  As for performance upgrades, bumping compression gives the most bang for the Buck, dual intake and dual exhaust are also good for more umph and better engine efficiency.  You can get around 140 to 150 flywheel horses with those mods.  Balancing the rotating pieces and lightening the flywheel are also worth doing.  A moderate can regrind and good valve job and you should have a snappy and responsive runabout.

 

There has been much discussion lately on transmission choices if you want to was through it via the search function.  1939 was the last year for floor shifted three speeds in cars. Gear ratios for those are 2.57, 1.83, and 1 to 1 top .  If you could find Laycock be Normanville frtom a Jaguar or Volvo over drive you would then have a decent range of gears with the split of second using the od. The car boxes are synchro second and third where the truck box is depending on year most likely a non synchro unit.  Since you are going to have a custom drive shaft made the LD overdrive will splice in fairly easily.  Below is a car that was put together in 46 or 47 and recently upgraded with some vintage style zoom zoom pieces.

 

https://www.conceptcarz.com/profile/26954,27598/1933-Plymouth-Speedster.aspx

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3 hours ago, greg g said:

Is this the one that started with some 48 Ford fenders and a Farm all tractor gas tank, with a Dodge truck engine and trans?  Flathead sixes from the Mopar line weren't know for high HP or willingness to sustain high revs.. Touque is their stock in trade.  So the truck trans and rear end aren't going to be aimed at a light weight vehicle.  Car and truck bell housing s differ in  the truck mounted to the frame and the cars mount to a riveted in cross member.  So you might have to do some mix match, fabrication o hang the bell and the clutch and brake pedals.  You will want to go to an online calculator and put in tire diameters, gears, and diff ratios to have the motor at around 2800 to 3200 rpm at your predicted comfortable cruising speed. Peak HP was figured by the factory at 3600 rpm.  Most revs north of that are mostly more noise than performance.  As for performance upgrades, bumping compression gives the most bang for the Buck, dual intake and dual exhaust are also good for more umph and better engine efficiency.  You can get around 140 to 150 flywheel horses with those mods.  Balancing the rotating pieces and lightening the flywheel are also worth doing.  A moderate can regrind and good valve job and you should have a snappy and responsive runabout.

 

There has been much discussion lately on transmission choices if you want to was through it via the search function.  1939 was the last year for floor shifted three speeds in cars. Gear ratios for those are 2.57, 1.83, and 1 to 1 top .  If you could find Laycock be Normanville frtom a Jaguar or Volvo over drive you would then have a decent range of gears with the split of second using the od. The car boxes are synchro second and third where the truck box is depending on year most likely a non synchro unit.  Since you are going to have a custom drive shaft made the LD overdrive will splice in fairly easily.  Below is a car that was put together in 46 or 47 and recently upgraded with some vintage style zoom zoom pieces.

 

https://www.conceptcarz.com/profile/26954,27598/1933-Plymouth-Speedster.aspx

Yes this is the car you decribed. I have a build thread on the hamb and it has a 22-23 dodge cowl.

I am not looking for a high revving race car I just want to build a car that gets more attention by the way it look more than a its performance, at this point I guess I dont care what transmission I use I just have to get one. I know that I dont think Im interested in an O.D. Thanks for your information. 

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59 was the last year the flat heads were used in cars. Trucks retained them for a couple more years.  So technologically the 59 was the end of basically the same engine since 1935.  So you have 8 to 1 compression as it sits.  Cars had 135 HP according to the factory.  Trucks may have been rated at brake HP and show a lower number,but the is likely little difference between them. 3.25 bore,4 5/8 stroke makes it a230. They already have hardened exhaust valve sears so no worries am out lead substitute.  

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Like Greg G says, big difference in car & truck bell housing. Car version will be lighter,

easier to fabricate cross member for. May be issues with flywheel to starter clearances

but thoroughly discussed elsewhere on this forum. Early floor shifts ('37-39?) require  a

bell housing from the same  era. Trannys from early 40s through mid 50s should be compatible

& are plentiful. How to build a floor shift for these also addressed elsewhere on here. Heads,

intakes, headers readily available for the "cool factor"/speed equipment. Good luck with your

flathead sprint car. You're building my dream car!   

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If you aren't particular about a transmission, maybe an auto would do you.  Years back a former forum member put a DeSoto engine with a turbo 400 behind it in a model A coupster bodied special.  Got a chance to have a ride on gravel roads through some Nebraska corn fields.  What a hoot, shooting along about 6 inches off the gravel,corn rows rushing by in a green blur, open header, tires spitting stones!  Thing was stoopid fast. He had some mods on the engine, probably made 140 HP, car couldn't have weighed more than 1500/1700 lbs.  Just a blast!

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2 hours ago, greg g said:

If you aren't particular about a transmission, maybe an auto would do you.  Years back a former forum member put a DeSoto engine with a turbo 400 behind it in a model A coupster bodied special.  Got a chance to have a ride on gravel roads through some Nebraska corn fields.  What a hoot, shooting along about 6 inches off the gravel,corn rows rushing by in a green blur, open header, tires spitting stones!  Thing was stoopid fast. He had some mods on the engine, probably made 140 HP, car couldn't have weighed more than 1500/1700 lbs.  Just a blast!

I want to keep this thing as period correct as I can. No autos here ,needs to be a top loader. My wife would love an auto tho:)

Edited by Tim Van Pelt
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6 hours ago, jhm1mc13 said:

The world needs more speedsters.   I'll watch your progress.

Jim M

Maybe I'll start a build thread. It's not all mopar stuff So I dont know how that will go over on this site.

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1 minute ago, Tim Van Pelt said:

I might have to do a build thread then.

I like the looks of your vehicle. The most important thing is to keep all the information in one thread and this thread is a good start. If you want to change the name of this thread to a build thread a moderator can do that for you. I look forward to your postings.

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If your looking for a 1930's car bell housing and transmission, let me know.  I have a few extras.

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4 hours ago, classiccarjack said:

If your looking for a 1930's car bell housing and transmission, let me know.  I have a few extras.

Thank you so much,  My first order of business is to get down and get the mail truck motor  running.  I will need some guidance on what parts fit with what parts.  A few guys I hang around with are going to the Tri state swap meet in Denver Co. in two weeks, maybe I will find some thing there.

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Okie dokie, keep me in the loop.  My other residence is in Kansas.  I go out there several times a year.  I can always drag something out....

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