Loren

Dad was on an Army freight ship in the Pacific ( FS259 ) and it had a Bofors on the stern. For fun they’d take a big Oxygen bottle and drop it from the bow when they were underway. It would go way down and come shooting back up out of the water behind the ship. They’d shoot at it with the Bofors usually hitting it with a violent “Clang” with bright sparks sending it tumbling end over end. That gun takes at least three people to shoot it. One for up and down another for right to left and a loader. My Dad and a German Immigrant Sargent were the best team on that gun. Only once did they man it in defense. A “Betty” bomber spotted them made a turn and lined up on them bomb bay doors open. Just as it got in range it pealed off and closed the bomb bay. They figured the ship was too small to waste bomb on…. When the war ended the Navy came and removed the Bofors. I figured somebody in the government must have known the mischief they could get into with that gun. lol The last ship he sailed on was the FS344 for one trip San Francisco to New Orleans just after the war. Much later It was transferred to the Navy and became notorious as the USS Pueblo, a victim of North Korean piracy.

I had a very similar problem on my 49. The shifter kept getting stiffer and stiffer. The cause was a fabric bushing at the top of the shifter that was dry. Once I lubed it things went back to normal. Hope this helps.

In May of 1952 Plymouth began using the Borg-Warner R10 Overdrive. Your 1940 is the first year of “3 on the tree” so yes it will fit. You can check the rear end gear ratio online for you car and double check it under the car. The housing has the ratio stamped under the filler plug. Ratios are available to 3.54 which with an Overdrive would need a strong engine or a light car. It is my personal opinion that a properly working R10 Overdrive really benefits a Plymouth. Even at 55 mph the car is so much quieter because the rpm drops 30% in Overdrive. BTW don’t throw away your 1940 transmission. That’s the one with desirable 2nd gear ( the only optional gear ratio in 2nd )

I have to admit I am watching this thread. I am not particularly happy with my new muffler. It seems louder than my first 49 Plymouth. So when some one comes up with a better replacement, I’m in too.

Not sure you can find a new set BUT since most folks want 3.73 or 3.54 R & Ps you should be able to find lots of used 3.9 and 4.1 used cheap! As always a shop manual is a very good investment.

I use a pair of "duck bill" pilers to straighten and pre-load the teeth on the wheel covers. They seem to loose their "bite" on the wheels over time. I do it to keep them on more than stop the walk.

On my 49 Coupe I have a Stromberg. The P.O. said that the mechanic who he bought it from claimed the Stromberg starts easier. It does start very nicely when you drive the car often. Some times when it sits for a while the fuel pump has to refill the carburetor and you need to crank it more. An electric pump or perhaps a rebuild kit in the pump would help. What I have noticed is that Stromberg had a real good replacement business and there are new old stock Strombergs on eBay once every so often, while its hard to find even used B & Bs. I found two NOS matching Strombergs for my Thickstun manifold for a very reasonable $150 each from the same seller, so they are around. For a dual manifold there was never a question which carburetor to use. The Stromberg has the fuel inlet on the side while the B & B has it on the end which is not as easy to deal with. For single use an elbow fitting is in the box and the fuel line does not require bending. ( you do have to loosen the fitting at the pump though to avoid tweaking it ) I have had good service from Mike's Carburetor so I would keep them as a resource and a go to outfit.

One quart extra won't damage an engine. However it might lower your power and fuel economy. There are certain diesel pickup trucks which shall remain nameless, that inject fuel on the exhaust stroke periodically to heat up and clean their trap oxidizer. These engines routinely have fuel washing down into the their crankcases raising the oil to alarming levels. One gallon extra is not unheard of! I once bought a car with a sheared off oil pump drive shaft...it was in Lancaster-Palmdale and since I didn't own a trailer, I had to drive it home to Burbank, CA. 90 miles at 65-70 mph. So I just put in two extra quarts of oil and hoped for the best. I made it without any drama. Pulled the engine and removed the pan and there was nothing wrong except the pump shaft! A new oil pump ( for insurance ) and drive shaft and put it back on the road. The two quarts extra were 50% more oil than it was supposed to have ( 4 vs 6 ) so I figured that was a good ratio. Model A Fords will leak oil if parked on a steep driveway nose up. The only solution is to back in. Model T Fords have no oil pump or "dippers" on their connecting rods so you don't want to park them nose up in a steep driveway and let them idle for extended periods.

You’d have to check the Mopar parts book, which is the simple answer. The Dodge is 4 inches longer than the Plymouth so that makes the question a little more complex.

That big ole canister on the side is in fact a full flow filter, one of the first as a matter of fact. Chrysler wasn't convinced for some time that a full flow filter was a good idea. They thought it might plug up and stop the oil flow. This inspired them to engineer a "second chance device" into the system. It worked to by-pass the filter so that flow would not be reduced. However, the pressure seen on the dash gauge would drop about 20 lbs. It wasn't too long before a special plug was installed to do away with this as a plugged up filter never became a problem. Most spin-on filters have a by-pass valve built into them because the fear persists. On the two industrial engines I have, have the feature that the holes under the filter housing are threaded, making it tempting to install an oil cooler and a remote spin-on filter. It should be noted that the by-pass filter is a 10 micron filter, while a full flow is 30 micron. As far as I know one could plumb in a by-pass filter along with the full flow filter. When it comes to keeping the oil clean the biggest improvement is Positive Crankcase Ventilation. By placing the crankcase under a mild vacuum, any moisture from combustion is removed. Moisture along with acid ( also a product of combustion ) creates sludge. Now you filter it out or you can stop it from forming in the first place with PCV. The additive package in modern oil is designed to counteract the acid ( diesel oil also gets acid in it but it is sulfuric acid while gasoline has hydrochloric acid, that is why each has different oil specs ) So....my theory about the optimal Chrysler 237-251-265 oiling system would be an oil cooler in place of the full flow filter, a spin-on by-pass filter, a PCV system and modern high quality oil of your choice. That seems to cover all the bases.

That’s good to know! My 49 Coupe is rather light and makes the standard second gear seem almost silly. They came with 3.73 final drive gears so I have a 3.54 pumpkin ready to install. My other car is a 52 Suburban, a heavier car. Its no where near the weight of your DeSoto but it is heavier than the Coupe. Perhaps I should stick with the standard gear for it. If you go to eBay and search “1940 Plymouth Transmission Gears” you will find plenty of them. You’ll need the cluster ( which I bought for $90 ) and the second gear ( $50 ) sold by seller fmmpar.

It is safe to say the R-7 is more rare than the R-10. It certainly is more antique than the R-10. The first Mopar R-10 being May of 1952. I am sure it might bolt in but you might want to stay with the R-10 because of the volume of parts still around. I mean that is the safe recommendation.

If you came from the Ford side of this great hobby you may well have heard the term “Zephyr Gears”. The Lincoln Zephyr used a taller 2nd gear and is a very similar idea as the 40 Plymouth gear set. The hot setup for a Model A is a 39 V8 gearbox with Zephyr gears. This gives you a synchro/silent gear set more evenly spaced. The 39 gearbox is like the Plymouth being the last stick shift. What I have done additionally for my Model A is add the “Old School” Studebaker R-10 Overdrive mounted on the torque tube driveshaft. These were built in the 1950s for guys wanting to use their Model As on the highway. This is replacing the S-10 T-5 transmission that I have come to hate so much. For my Plymouths I have the R-10 Overdrive gearbox with the 1940 gear set. In my humble opinion this is far and away better than the S-10 T-5 on several levels, it gives four speeds but because of the freewheel feature you can ( if you desire ) and the Automatic Overdrive avoid using the clutch as much. The gear ratios make more sense and the thing bolts right in. My Coupe came with a 3.73 final drive ratio but I have a 3.54 from a 56 Dodge, I am going to try. So the “Fast second gear” is not some crazy rumor and it has a basis in other car makes.

Mike’s Carburetor may have a 6 volt choke that will fit. In point of fact I am not certain the existing choke wouldn’t work, its just a heater after all. Since I’m not a fan of Webers I can’t speak to their parts situation. I do know that jets, needle valves from 97s can be used on WWs. I put the fancy stainless banjo fittings on a pair of mine. Any Supplier of Ford V8 parts usually has 97 parts & tools. The good ones are reproduced in England now, with bargain ones made in China, so parts are readily available at reasonable prices. When it comes to the WW I can’t think of many car brands that didn’t use them at one time or another. I used them on 91 cid Ford/SAAB V4s and they came from the factory on 318s so they are very adaptable and tunable. I’ve even seen them on Mercedes 450SLs as a replacement for Fuel Injection! I think there are no bad choices between the two in this situation. The car in question is not a race car and good fuel economy tip the balance to the Weber.

Okay my 2 cents worth. The Stromberg does not fit the single barrel air cleaner and the 1955-56 6 cylinders used a vastly different linkage system. The WW is simply a bigger carburetor. As far as tuning parts are concerned they are probably easier to find than the Weber as they are roughly the same as Stromberg 97 stuff. Same jets, same jet wrench and I fitted 97 fittings to a pair of mine. The 230 exhaust manifold has provision for the choke heater. They made a lot of WWs so kits are widely available. On the Weber. It has a progressive linkage as I recall and it might be easier to hook up to the stock single barrel linkage. The barrels are smaller and open first one then both. You will not be over carbureted and very likely get better mileage. So there’s much to consider. Most importantly you have the Weber package and from where I sit it might be the path of least resistance. I favor the Stromberg because I have had so much good luck with them. I personally don’t care for progressive linkage carburetors because they are a compromise in my book. When I stab the throttle I want things to happen. One race car I drove had a Weber and it had a nasty habit of running out of fuel at unpredictable and unfortunate times. My Strombergs never let me down like that. I am all about the path of least resistance. The Stromberg maybe my ideal but if the Weber gets you on the road quickly and easily that’s the way to go. Besides you can always revisit the Stromberg later.

I have an S-10 T-5 in my 31 Model A Ford. The kit that was used was pretty awful but that's another matter. My main complaint is the choice of gear ratios used by GM in the S-10 T-5. They are terrible! The reason the S-10 T-5 is used is the location of the shifter and the fact that it has a mechanical speedometer drive. I know folks have problems finding B-W R-10 Overdrives but you have to be eagle eyed and you will find deals. I bought one on eBay a week ago on a "Buy-it-now" for $250 plus $93 shipping from French Lake Auto Wrecking. French Lake can be Googled and you can contact them directly if you'd like. I have been a heavy advocate for the R-10 over the S-10 T-5 as most readers know. In fact I've been a pain in the neck about them and I apologize ahead of time for repeating myself endlessly. What I like about the R-10: Bolts right in, no adaptors required. No cutting or welding. You don't lose your E-brake You can use the speedometer gear from your old transmission so there's no re-engineering there. If you have the long transmission now, there are no issues. If you have the short wheelbase car you'll need to shorten the drive shaft and lengthen the E-brake cable with a coupler and a piece of rod which you have to thread ( or an All-Thread rod ). Lastly there is the throttle switch and the relay. I have found alternatives to the very high priced reproductions. The wiring is easy and the diagrams are available on this site. The top gear in an S-10 T-5 is a 28% overdrive while the top gear in the R-10 is 30% overdrive. If you still have to have an S-10 T-5 I have one for sale.

A 1/2-20 straight thread it would seem to me would be sealed with an O-ring shoulder to shoulder (with the O-ring groove in the fitting). My first visit would be a Hydraulic Shop. The guys that make up hoses and have all the "AN" fittings. At first it may seem the tank makers did you wrong but you might find they've done you a service. To communicate what you need take a photo of the tank and the line you wish to connect....they may have an idea what the tank maker had in mind.

I was looking at a distributor the other day and it had a cork seal ring under the adjustment collar besides the one in the groove. I have noted on a block of mine there is a drain back hole under the collar. To be leak-free you might put an O-ring there too. when you can’t find an oval or square section O-ring for the groove, it is acceptable to use two O-rings in that position as long as the distributor fits in without forcing it.

Freewheeling was necessary on the two stroke SAABs because the oil was in the fuel. If you went down hill with your foot off the throttle ( not the proper way to drive a SAAB. The accepted method is WOT all the time…unless you chicken out ) the engine would starve for lubrication. An added benefit was avoiding skids in slick road conditions. The company retained freewheeling well after they stopped making two strokes ( 1967 the last year ) clear into the last 96 model in 1980, because the public expected it. Even the early 99 models had freewheeling. One neat thing about it is that if when you shift you let the rpm drop 1000 rpm, you can up shift or down without using the clutch. We always used freewheeling in off road racing to save the ring and pinion. Having it allowed the driver to down shift on entering a turn while he used the brakes to steer the car around the corner ( its a front drive thing ) then as the straight appears you could hammer down the throttle because you were already in the right gear, all without using the clutch. Done right and the car leaps forward exiting the turn. Martybose has identified the one thing that worries me about Plymouth Overdrive. Parking on a slant. A fellow I knew was going on a date, so he washed his Plymouth then went in to shower and shave but when he came out the car was gone! The parking brake did not hold and he found the car upside down in the middle of an intersection two blocks away. Automatic transmissions have “Sprag Clutches” too and all modern ones have a “Parking Pawl” to prevent the car from rolling while in park. So when I park the Plymouth I am really careful about it. Using the “Overdrive” cable with the car in low gear and an extra tug on the hand brake are all part of the drill. If there’s a curb, I use that too. If you like your car as much as I do there are no short cuts.

You know you can do whatever you want with your car. There is no car police and I am not volunteering. However, when I suggest that you install it as designed I do so from experience. 1952 Ford 215 cid 6 cylinder with an R 10 installed with a toggle switch. Driving along at 50 mph triggered the toggle switch and Bam! Now you may never in this lifetime have one fail like that, but I did. I have had other vehicles with an R 10 that never gave a hint of trouble that were factory installations. The last one being a 1964 International Travelall. So from my experience I prefer to have my Automatic Overdrive installed as engineered. I know for a fact that I am not qualified as an engineer, so I don’t pretend to know more than one. However, your mileage may vary.

I put a Plymouth R10-G in my 49 Business Coupe. There are number of things one needs to know to make it work. Wheel base of your car matters. The Overdrive came out in 1952 and is the same length as the long transmission. If your car has the short transmission like my Coupe ( and my 52 Wagon ) you have to get the drive shaft shortened. It’s easy to figure out how much by the difference in wheelbase. If you have a transmission that is the same length as the Overdrive then there is no issue. The Plymouth OD uses the same design speedometer gear as your as your old transmission, all you have to do is swap it. I did not have to do anything special with my speedometer cable so I am not sure about that. What I did have to do was lengthen the E-brake cable. I handled that by installing it normally then got a fine thread coupler from Ace Hardware ( True Value has them as well ) and a rod to cut to length and threaded. The rod makes up the distance if you had a short transmission. Next is the throttle switch, the relay and the wiring. Mopar used a switch on the carburetor while Ford used a switch in the floor under the gas pedal. On this site you can see many examples of linkage mounted switches. On eBay you can buy a usable switch for $6.25 don’t pay the $125 the suppliers ask. The relay can be had cheap too. The suppliers ask $125 for that too but you can use one of those little black Bosch type relays ( I bought a German made 6 volt for $8 12 volts are cheaper ) use 10 gauge wire to the solenoid. For goodness sake don’t over pay for your Overdrive! People are asking outrageous amounts for them. I’ve seen as much as $1995! I just bought one on eBay for $250 plus $93 for shipping on a Buy it now from French Lake Auto Wrecking. So a good deal can be had if you keep your eyes pealed. please please hook it up correctly! It was designed to be Automatic. A lot of folks take a short cut and hook it up with a toggle switch. That usually ends with broken parts. Save yourself some grief and do it right. Of all the cars that the R 10 and R 11 were put on, I think the Plymouth benefits the most. If you need more information I will be happy to help. I am out of town right now but I’ll be back home soon.

Vaseline by the way is the only approved assembly lube for automatic transmissions that I have worked on. Anytime you have to deal with shims and thrust washers and you want them to stay put while assemble something vaseline is really useful. It doesn’t dry out like a lot of greases do. Because it is a standard petroleum product, you don’t need to use the name brand. You can use the house brand.

The only clocks I’ve fixed were VDO. They had a “fusible link” of sorts. If the clock had unwound by having the battery disconnected over a long time, the first time it wound it would pop the link. It wasn’t all that easy to find (mostly because I didn’t know what to look for) the first time. But look for the power input to the magnetic winder there could be a spring like thing with a little solder on it but not connected to anything. Then within the arch of its movement you’ll find pin it was soldered to.

Poured babbit bearings are a real speciality almost an art. Yes there are people who do the work but it is not for the average person. You can have the crank polished ( any automotive machine shop which grinds cranks can do that for you ). They can measure it and tell you how close or out of spec it is. Then you can clean the bearing surfaces and get a kit of “plasti-gauge”. Follow the instructions ( I am sure YouTube has a video ) and you will know what your clearance is. You will find shims under each bearing cap ( don’t mix them up ). By selecting the proper shims you can tighten up the clearance. So if the babbit is good, a careful mechanic can bring the bearings back into spec. In the case of babbit needing replacement, its a lot more complicated and best left to the experts. I have watched a friend do Fords A & Ts. The process has its secrets to get the babbit to stick. Then you have to linebore the bearings to size ( with shims in place ) aligned with the cam bearings. If you don’t get the center to center distance right, the cam gears will not turn or the cam chain will be too sloopy. I went to the Model T Ford Club of America website once to find the center distance between the cam and the crank. They had the goofiest figure listed carried out 5 decimal places. The accompanying story told how someone took the time to measure 12 engine blocks, then averaged the results. Of course this guy was measuring with modern tools in decimals. When the Dodge Brothers built the first Fords ( up till 1914 ) machinists did not measure in decimals and engineers did not design in decimals. The blue prints were in fractions. I went to the chart and found the closest fraction to the goofy MTFCA decimal figure and found out that if you had used its mean you would been within tolerance but off from the fractional mean. So its part art and part science with a lot of history thrown in, and not everybody knows how to do it. There is another option. The Ford guys have scoured the bearing books to find insert bearings they could use. They linebore the blocks to fit the bearings and stack them side by side ( insert bearings usually come from smaller engines and need more of them to fit the long Ford bearings ). Easy peasy….until those bearings go obsolete. A postscript to this is that now insert bearings are made to fit specially modified Ford blocks, because poured babbit is such a lost art. You pays your money and takes your choice.

I saw an article in Motor Trend on how to make your own sway bar. They used 4130 that they bent with a Hot Wrench then sent to the heat treat to bring it back to 28 Rc evenly. I am not close to doing that project but I am planning to. I think 1 inch would be heavy enough. Summit has bushings to fit that size. My car didn’t come with a sway bar and even the stock one makes a difference.