Johnny 5

I have a new Street Rodder magazine that shows a 1949 Dodge coupe with a new hemi. Like was said previously the old ones fit easy breezy and the new ones are way smaller so shouldn't be a problem mechanically, just electrically (computer, 12V system, etc)

I like to use vaseline instead of grease because it completely and quickly dissolves on the oil. Grease has the potential of balling up in places and plugging up the motor.

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Take this for what it's worth. I gather you're trying to clean out the chambers and piston tops right? It's easier and much more accurate to just get a head gasket and some new antifreeze, take the head off, clean the head with a wire wheel, valve tops too (closed of course), and pistons tops while at TDC.

An old broom handle works too.

Bad coil? They act up only when they get hot.

IMHO the best setup on the market is the George Asche 3x1bbl. It's got the best of everything. Proper CFM requirement, straight shot to the intake and a complete proven system.

The reason the Webers tend to run rich is because they're a bit large for a daily driver. If you put a realistic rev limit of 5200rpm on a flat six then it will need a maximum of around 350 cfm. At cruise it's only pulling a little over 150 cfm. Even the 251 Chrysler only uses ~160cfm at cruise and 380 at redline. The numbers are all rounded but I think you get the point.

It's traditional to round up so a .060" over 218 displaces 226 cubic inches but no sense splitting hairs over less than 1/2 a cubic inch. When you overbore any engine the displacement increases accordingly. Just for giggles I punched in a .060 over 265 Chrysler. It comes out to 274 CID or 4.5L. Not too bad for six-banger.

Anybody who wants my displacement calculator can email me an i'll send it to you. It's standard and metric, rod/stroke ratio and cfm/boost/rpm (0 fo rnon-supercharged).

The 1st one is basically a car angine with an industrial intake and valve covers, the 'truck' 354 probably has true truck/industrial heads so an aftermarket intake and water x-over will be more challenging to fit but not impossible. The Desoto is something like 1-2" narrower on each valve cover, the Dodge is even smaller. You can put whatever engine you want in it, it's your truck. Flathead 6's weigh as much as small blocks too but people have more fun with them. They're not boring like cookie-cutter engines.

You may be onto something with the distributor. Years ago I put a vacuum advance kit in my pickup with the lightest springs on someone else's advice. I didn't know any better. When I'd hit the gas, occasionally it would just kinda stop runnig for a second and then it would go again. Went through the carb, checked the timing, plugs, wires, fuel filter, vacuum leaks, and finally when I asked the guy 'Are you sure it's not the spring kit? I've tried everything else.' He said no way ------ so I replaced it with the stock springs. Problem solved. You may have sticky weights, a broken spring, leaky ar bad diaphragm, timing could be off, etc. This may not be your problem but it sounds like a good place to start.

Find that flat spot, slather it with bondo, give it a nice, round shape, base coat, clear coat, good as new!

That's a 392 right?

I don't get that. I love sharing knowledge. If someone asks a question I'll be happy to answer it if I can. Sometimes people don't like what they hear or care to take good advice but my opinions are based on experience, not wikiworld data. I'm just trying to help. And hey, if I don't know something, guess what, I ask a question myself.......

I can't find St Andrews on MS Streets and Trips, just curious as I'm originally from Moose Jaw.

These engines can probably all go to 3.50"-3.56" if the sonic test shows you'll have .175" thick cylinders afterward so sleeving isn't necessary. Custom pistons might be in order over 3.50". The only limiting factor in engine RPM is rotating weight. Fuelers can rev to 8000+ with 4.75" strokes so the stroke itself won't slow you down, the heavy throws and counterweights will. From what I know old flat 6's need the cranks cross-drilled for better oiling to the middle cylinders. If I ever get around to building one myself I'm going to do this, have the crank lightened, enlarge the 2 center main oil passages in the block a little, use Venolia pistons, an Edgy head and cam, port, polish, headers, etc. I figure this will be as good as any hot rod motor and make 1hp/cid with a multi carb setup. Turbo or blower will put it into the 350-400hp range. More work will be needed for it to stay together though. Thoughts?

I bought a 331 that I didn't have a history on a while back. I've bought plenty of seized engines and this was the only dud. I did the typical diesel soaking to loosen it up - no luck. When I tore it down I saw a huge chunk of cylinder wall in #1. The block was toast. Fast forward to 2007. I bought another 331 that was stuck. It wouldn't loosen up either but when I tore it down I was able to hammer the piston out with a 3 lb hammer and a drift. Forget about using a 2x4. You'll go through a half dozen and the pistons will still be in the engine. You'll have to work it up and down a few times before it gives up. Patience is key here. Beer doesn't hurt either. It doesn't do much for car parts but is sure loosens up people.

1999 S10 Extreme (POS that is). 2nd was a 1985 S10. They were basically the same truck, poor quality, poor handling, poor performance, the only thing good was gas mileage - when they weren't in the garage being fixed.

I like Rotella 15-40 in all my older stuff. 30W oil is a thing of the past. The only things I own that still recommend it are my lawnmower and air compressor pump.

I saw one in a Mopar magazine article in the 90's. They said it would run on virtually any fuel. It's cool but definitely made of 'unobtainium'.

Thanks for posting Earl's site. The old one went out of service. I spoke with him a while back and at the time he only had a stock chamber/stock outside 251/265 head with no fins. Looks like he refined it to the same standard as the little six head.

Having never met him in person, Norm seemed like a very knowledgeable and personable guy. My condolences go out to his family. As much as the people on this forum miss him, they will always miss him more.

Aluminum is the worst conductor of all metals. Electricity has to work harder to travel through it than copper so I'd switch to copper connectors for starters. Are you sure the connections are aluminum? They're usually just tinned or plated to prevent corrosion. And yes, DC travels through the conductor, not on the outer surface using the skin effect like AC or microwave. Current flow is positive to negative but electron flow is actually negative to positive. The no-ox stuff you're using is industrial strength. I haven't heard of anything better yet.

If I remember correctly the milky buildup is from condensation not being properly scavenged or excess condensation in the crankcase from sitting, cold starts, leaks, etc. I knew it as 'contaminated oil'.