Paul Hoffmeyer

When and in what models did they begin using different bell housing patterns for M-6 and 3 speeds? In the '60s I took an M-6 off the back of a '51 Chrysler V8 and bolted a Fluid Drive 3 speed directly in its place. I think there may have been some extra holes in the housing. Paul H Western Wisconsin

What kind of Mopar do you have that does not have a driver side lock? I have had every year from '48 on up and all had locks on both sides. Paul H

There is a Yahoo site for your truck, very active, lots of info and a registry. <39-47Dodge@yahoogroups.com> Paul H

His car may well be non Fluid Drive. '53 through at least '55 Dodge and '55 Plymouth standard trans V8 cars used the Fluid Drive housing with a long sleeve or spacer to hold the throwout bearing that took up the same space as the fluid coupling. 6 cylinder cars may have used the same setup. Paul H

Ed, if you're in doubt about pipes freezing, leave a faucett running at a trickle overnight. Running water won't freeze as quickly as standing water..

50 Coupe, I don't know what the numbers are, but the 315 would be prefferable to the 270, primarily for the significantly larger bearing sizes with the 315. Paul H

My wife and I were at Lange's in October. Nice place, good food and service. Nice country to drive through. Paul H

The other sight labeled it as a Packard. Love the polish and chrome!

If you find any Dodge or Plymouth with Powerflight from '54 or '55, you will see the high, single front mount, with a crossmember bolted solid to the tailshaft housing; and either end of that crossmember mounted with the standard rubber mounts to another crossmember that is fastened to the frame rails. Thus you have the original three point floating power setup as designed by Chrysler. If you can find them, this could be replicated on a P15 or D24 with all stock parts. Paul H

Brake drum almost guarantees it's Mopar, side cover says '57 or later. Probably not a bolt in for '56 or earlier. Paul H

Ed, I never counted teeth, but counting the turns of the shaft of the 3 speed I took out of my '45, it is 3.4 in first, and 1.8 in second. I think about 3.8 in reverse. Years ago when it still had a flat six (230) I put a '57 Chrysler 2.93 complete rear in it and it drove well. No issues in starting out. Paul H

'56 starter is the latest year that will work. Flywheel tooth count was changed in '57 to 172, I believe, from 146 tooth '56 back to maybe '33? Paul H:)

Apparently not everyone knows that Mopar used the transmission mounted parking brake drum on all its cars up through the '64 model year. I had a '64 Dodge Custom 880 years ago with a 361 and Torqueflight and the attached parking brake. It also had a separate , horizontal lever under the push buttons for the Park function, thus the third cable you can see in the left side view coming from the tailshaft section. My 4 cents(inflation) worth. Paul H

I have one of those koolcars voltage regulators on my '45 Dodge pickup street rod to run the 6 volt wiper motors. Good product and good service, also. Paul H

Congratulations, Ed & Carmon; Is there room for an infant seat between the two of you in the '46 pickup's "roomy three-man-cab"? He needs his own set of tools so Dad's don't get 'lost'! Paul H:D

Mopar changed their manual transmissions in '57 and about the only thing even similar was the parking brake and driveshaft attachment. The bolt pattern in front, the shift arms and their functions, the gear ratios and sizes were all different. Linkage would have been very similar to Fords, Chevys, and most of the rest of the industry. '40 through '56 had much greater compatability. Paul H

I got 100%, but stumbled a little on the hood ornaments. Had to use process of elimination. 'Course I was a car crazy kid when most of these were new! Paul H

Big John, the 6 was used through '54 in the Chrysler Windsor and the DeSoto Powermaster. I had a '54 Windsor Deluxe years ago that had the 265 with Powerflight. Paul H

To my knowledge, the flywheel tooth count changed in '57 from the 146 that he has to 172. Should be able to find a solenoid starter from a '56 DeSoto or Chrysler that would do the job. Paul H

If the "new" tranny is from a '55 V8 truck, it will have an input shaft about an inch longer, and the bell housing will also be about that much deeper. Paul H

Glad you got your pickup back. The longest non-use of mine was the first two weeks of February when we were in Australia. Got over 3500 miles on it already. New window channels and insulation in the doors, etc. Ready for Hastings, N. St Paul, and maybe Mopars in the Park. Paul H

The 218 listed is the LONG block 218 made in Canada and would have larger rod and main inserts than any of the US made SHORT block engines, such as the 201,218(217.8), and 230.Paul H

Tim, many years ago I wanted to build a warmed up 265 and did some catalogue research. If you use the 265 crank and the 236 rods, the piston from the 241 V8, either Hemi or Poly, should bring you out at the same deck height. The V8 piston will be a 3 ring piston of somewhat more modern design ('54 vs mid '30s), the wrist pin is the same size and fit, and the compression height compensates for the longer rod of the 236. All stock parts and the pistons may be available in various oversizes. Substitute '55 Plymouth 259 pistons and bore to suit and you have a 283" flathead six. If your block is sound enough, you might try to go out to 3 5/8" and use the '55 Dodge 270 pistons, but then you may get into the head gasket failure somewhat common to overbored 230s. My $.02 worth, although with inflation, it's probably about $.27 by now! Hope this is helpful. Paul H

Mike; I just tried it myself and had to really dig for it. Try item # 140483223628 on Ebay. That is the one I got. Just as advertised and prompt shipping in the mail. Self drilling mounting screws included, even. This will provide the constant current to cope with the variation of load that your wipers will draw. I'm very satisfied. Paul H

I just did the same thing with a '45 Dodge pickup street rod. I tried resistors, but they got so hot they pulled the voltage down to where the wipers stopped! Go to Google or Ebay Motors and type in voltage reducers. I got one from a guy in CA for $65 including shipping that provides continuous 7 volts at up to 20 amps. It works like a charm and there is enough reserve capacity, I believe, to run a heater motor also. Hope this helps. Paul H