JULIO1940

Thanks to everyone for all the help! I finally decided to try to do a compression test. The only reason I did not do it before is because the previous owner said it was knocking really bad. Hopefully this week I can get to it. I did talk to a old guy who overhauls flatheads from my town here in South San Francisco. He pretty much said that I was better off overhauling the Spitfire because it has more power. He did say that those flatheads will run forever. I wasn't going to get rid of the Spitfire. I was just gonna overhaul it later on. The old guy told me that the smaller engine did not have a whole lot of power anyway. I also found out that the overhauled engine I was gonna buy (which is probably a 218) was overhauled about 8 to 10 years ago and had never been run! So I was taking a big chance . He did say I was pretty lucky that somebody put that Spitfire in my car! He also said that $1200.00 seemed a little steep for the 218 since it could be 10 years ago since it was overhauled. There are no receipts either. He said if it was $500.00 that might be better but I'm still taking a chance. Also there could be rust inside the engine depending where it was stored. He said I should save my money so I could do a full overhaul on the Spitfire it would be worth it! If anyone is interested in the 218 motor I can send you the info of the seller. I will post a pic of my car when I figure out how to do it! The guy that owns the 218 originally bought it off somebody to put it in his WW2 command car but it did not fit. Recently he did find an engine out of an ambulance that will fit! On another note does anybody out there have a speedometer for a 1940 Dodge. THANKS JULIO

Great !thanks so much for the help. I figured it would take a Zen Master to know this stuff! You are correct my car has a long block in it because someone had told me that someone made some modifications to put in this bigger engine. The radiator looks like it was pushed forward a bit. A buddy of mine wanted to do a half overhaul on the spitfire engine without removing the engine. He said it is alot of work pulling the engine out, it would be easier to do it while the engine is in the car. I was a little nervous about this, because some one told me that chances are high that the engine could still fail later unless I did a complete overhaul. So it looks like I would be going from a long block (Spitfire) to a short block (1941 Dodge). How much power would I be loosing by going back to the short block. Would it be that noticeable? Which engine would be better in the long run. I'm not looking to hotrod it. I just want to be able to take vets out to lunch or dinner in a dependable car. I will try to get the measurements and all the other info tomorrow from both engines. I thought I would be better off with the rebuilt for $1200.00 versus doing a half overhaul on the spitfire engine for $500.00 or so dollars.

Hello, I have a 1940 Dodge 4 doorn sedan D14 with a Spitfire engine and two one barrel carburators with split exhaust. It never ran when I bought it because the guy said the engine had a really bad knock. I don't know anything about it except that it is not original. I found a completely rebuilt 1941 Dodge D19 engine with a fluid drive transmission that a guy wants to sell.It came out of a 1941 Dodge coupe. My question is, will this fit in my car? Can I use my old tranny or do I have to use the 1941 tranny. How do I know if my car has a fluid drive tranny or not! Will this engine fit in my car without any problems? Is the 1941 Dodge fluid drive tranny better than the 1940 dodge tranny? HELP JULIO