55 Fargo

Thanx Ed, will fill em up with ATF tomorrow, should I add any solvent to that mix? I was thinking of having my Dad make me a round dowel, almost as large as the cylinder, he could turn this on a wood lathe, and make it out of oak. Or I have some real heavy 3 X 3 asian hardwood pieces, that I could try

okay will try your method, will use the shop vac, and get as much crud, out, then will pour what? What may be the best stuff to put in the cyls to try and loosen up the suspect psiton. Should I use a wooden dowel(does it have to be round, or just fit in cyl), and gently tap each piston to loosen things up. I am hoping to rebuild this engine, with whatever machine work done bya shop, and I will do assembly. My current engine is running well, so I am in no rush, this can be a couple year thing.

I pulled the timing cover, then removed the timing chain, the valves and camshaft are moving nicely, but the crank will not budge. I might as well fill each cylinder with some type of penetrating goop, and let sit, if that does not work, will pull rod caps and remove pistons, this is getting fun. Here is a short video showing you what I have done, please excuse my video.

Thanx James the valves all move up and down now, the lifter spin freely, so, I can rule that out, gonna pull timing chain cover and remove chain, that will tell me some more.....

Looks fantastic Joel.....

Way to go Brian, looks like a good find...

Right on Bob, wheres the pictures???

Here are 3 pics of my spare engine, wlthough it was fairly clean, it had 4 stuck valves, all are free now, but this engine is still stuck, so not sure if it is a ring or something else. I plan to very shortly dismantle and discover. I am not trying to hi-jack the thread, just posting what a flathead that wa sitting for many years exposed to the elements and the results. I plan to save this engine,if I can, it will be a spare engine ready to go into my coupe....

Okay Kerry, Edgy is just 1 of a few who can help you with flathead hi-perf parts, try Georg Asche, you have to phone George no email. Then there is Moose on this site he custom makes headers and intakes for flat head 6 engines. So here is the scoop, being we have Canuck 218s, which has an 8 bolt crank the the same as the 228,251 etc, the USA boys don't have this option as the 218/230 are shorter, and the 218 has a 4 bolt crank in USA only. Now you can bolt any of the following to your bell housing, all Canadian built 25 inch flat head 6s made by Chrysler of Canada, which would be 218,228,237,251 and 265s. So whichever you use, you can shave the head, deck block to raise compression, have cam ground a little more wild, add dual exhaust, and dual carbs or a 2 bbl holley webber, and that should give you some real boost. Differentials, stock Mopars that would fit, would be a 3.73 or 3.54 from rearends with 10 spline axles, you simply remove the pumpkin from you current diff, and replace with desired pumpkin. I would check and see what you have, it could be a 3.73, 3.90 or 4.11. Next you also could replace the 3 spd standard trans with a Borg and Warner R10 3 spd overdrive trans from an early 50s Mopar, this is a direct bolt in, and no issues with driveshaft length, some wiring would be necessary. So there you have it, BTW did you watch the You Tube video, my car has a tired Canadian 218 under the hood but runs well and basically keeps up with traffic..

Yup, sounds lke your engine prefers a heavier oil, typical of an old engine that is loose, and has some wear. I use Shell Rotella T 15 W 40, but have heard good things about Valbloin( I mean valvoline I posted this very early in the morning..LOL) oils. I also know some Guys add Lucas oil stabilizer, to thicken up the oil. Did you change the entire engine oil to Valvoline racing 50, or just add a quart?

Okay, decided to shoot a very short You Tube video of my car, which is a 1947 Chrysler Royal Club Coupe, weighing 3600 lbs, so more than a Plym or Dodge. The engine is an old unrebuilt engine from a 1951 Canadian Dodge, which is a 25 inch 218, 3 spd standard trans,dry clutch, and 3.73 rearend, tires are radials P205 75 15s. This engine runs very well yet, here I am cruising on the highway. Please excuse the audio, man my voice sounds awful, not sure what happened, once I uploaded the video. This is not to state pro or con, on keeping a flathead 6, or upgrading to a modern V8 , it is what my experience is with my car. I have a 251, that I want to use in this car eventually, whcih will hopefully give me a 125-135 hp, rather than my 98 hp now.......enjoy

Try Edgyspeedshop, Earl Edgerton, makes brand new aluminum finned heads, intakes and exhaust manifolds. He can regrind you cam to a more of a wild side if you like too. www.edgyspeedshop.com

Hey there, gonna try and dial in on a 1955-56, first, if not will look at others. I figure western Manitoba, up through the Parkland region should have potential to find a truck. Hey I would take just the cab and front end for now, find a box later. You know I hjave a 47 Chrysler Coupe on the road, and a buddy found 3 46-48 Chryslers on Dugald road jus out of Winnipeg, I looked for parts for years, and did not turn these up, so cars/trucks are out there, it's a matter of finding them...

Unless converted 1954 was 6 volt positive ground, check out the genny tag, is it green or red, does state on the voltage regulator.

This engine along with the 218, 228, 247,251 ,265 all shared the same block, cranks and rods created different strokes, as well as 2 sizes of pistons to create 2 bore sizes. So in other words, your 228 can be made into a 265 by using a 265s crank and rods. The bigger engines 251/265 sometimes also had full flow oil filtration, compared with by-pass oil filtration. You 228 would have had stock HP at about 102 to 110 hp, all Canadian engines had 8 bolt cranks, so you could bolt up to either fluid drive or regular clutch, and there housings too. The engines after 1951 had internal by-pass for the water pumps, as compared with earlier external water pump by-pass, your 1954 would also have a pressurized cooling system, the rad would have used a 4-7 lb cap. You could literally use any 25 inch engine, and get some beef froma 251 or 265, if you so desired.....Fred

Thanx Tom, although I am long ways from BC here in the heartland of Manitoba. But if it's a nice cab, it might be worth it.

Hey all, I still own a 1955 Fargo Truck Chassis, with 251 and 4 spd trans. This chasis has a later model dodge rear end, I am not sure from what though. I have a complete unit minus cab and box,the engine is a very good running specimen, and was last driven in 2006, before the previous owner pulled off the cab and box to mount onto a 1970s Chevy truck chassis, then the truck burnt, before body and paint was completed, a lesson in itself. My ? is, what years of cab and box will be a direct bolt onto this chassis? Young Ed did tell me he believes it would be 1954 to 1956 of either Dodge or Fargo, which is good by me, but if I cannot find these years, would any other years fit, with minor tweaking perhaps.

Check to see if the t/stat is functioning correctly, is it releasing coolant to the rad, is your lower rad hose collapsing any, when the engine rpms go up, thus reducing flow. I would think that temps of a super muggy dead air 102 f, would reek havoc, but would still asume the engine temp should not get so hot, at very moderate speeds for only 10 miles or so. Could you have a head gasket leaking hot exhaust gas into the coolant, resulting in an elevated engine temp. You know Jim, I drove my car one super hot day of about 95f, 12 miles to a car show, temp did not rise over 170. I am sure that if I were driven 50 miles or through the city, it may have risen another 20 degrees, but that's about it. Are you 100% sure you have good flow in your rad, restrictions to coolant flow and poor heat transfer, would show up on bvery hot days if that be the case, or any other thing that would not allow air to move through the rad, as the fan does not do all that much at highway speeds...

Jim, your t/stat, is it suspect, maybe stuck closed, or not opening very much. The water pump impellor, could it have been not mving toopump coolant. The rad is okay, isn't it? Higway speed should get things heated up, but only 10 miles, I can see running at 190 -200, but not pegging the gauge. Did you rad boil right over? Once the engine is super hot over 200, so oes ths oil, and $hit happens, crack blocks/heads, fry things. I wold suspect, the t/stat, timing, or water pump, if your rad, and engine coolant passages are clean and in good condition. An extemely lean fuel mixture could cause this also, at least I have seen that happen on some of my small engines. 102 and things can go south ina hurry I suppose. Let us know your speed, and all of what happened, that way maybe someone can help you sort this out. Also not that this would necessarily cause the engine to overheat, but does your heat riser work as it is supposed too....

I think he is referring to the channel steel ribs that support floor, and attach to rocker panels, there are the supports that also are attached to the floor and body mounts too,

Very cool Joel, pardun the pun. Here is a pic of where my Ma grew up, the weathered country Dude is my Uncle, this old homestead stands just out his door on his property, where they all grew up.

Thanx Wally, thee are great old workhorses, my old flatheads all have old block heaters in them....

Exactly what my Grandparents did in the 1920s,30s,40s,early 50s, My Grandad, would go and cut ice out of a pit, and bring it home