JohnTeee

@Rusty - thanks for the good information. Those suggestions will get followed tomorrow, or the next day. @Don - I think you may have committed a sacrilege! Cheby parts in a MOPAR, indeed! <grin> Thanks for the pic's of your valves and springs. Cheers! John

DRILL PRESS : A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it. WIRE WHEEL : Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light . Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh sh--!' SKIL-SAW : A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short. PLIERS : Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters. BELT SANDER : An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs. HACKSAW : One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes. VISE-GRIPS : Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand. OXYACETYLENE TORCH : Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race. TABLE SAW : A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity. HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK : Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes , trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper. BAND SAW : A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge. TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST : A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect. PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER : Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads. STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER : A tool for opening paint cans Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms. PRY BAR : A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part. HOSE CUTTER : A tool used to make hoses too short. HAMMER : Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit. UTILITY KNIFE : Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use. SON-OF-A-BITCH TOOL : Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling 'Son of a BITCH! ' at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need. Hope you found this informative and this clears up any questions you may have had...

We join John in his continuing saga of exploration of new waters, also known as, 'The Engine Virgin' . . . In this weeks adventure, valves are in hand . . . I can see why the valves were giving me problems. They are coated with a tarry, shellac material. Shellac from the old gas that did not combust and collected? Vavlves are cleaning up decently with a wire wheel to the tops and bottoms of the valves and paint thinner and a rag to the stems. I'm finding: The exhaust stems have a mirror-like finish. Intake stems are a little more worn. The tops of the valves have some 'micro' pitting. The edges don't appear to be, 'sharp enough to shave with'. The seats look pretty good; will probably benefit from a little lapping. Is the difference due to the shellac wearing on the intake stem surfaces? Any reason not to put these valves back in after cleaning? In the pictures below, you can see a dirty intake, exhaust and cleaned intake. The other picture shows the tops of the valves. Cheers! John

I am NOT my brothers keeper (and I don't think he has any of mine). Cheers! John

Had a magnet on hand to catch them as they popped off and still had a couple fly that had to get tracked down. Believe me, I've counted them several times just to make sure one didn't get lost. Plugged the holes in the galley with paper towel to keep anything from dropping in there. Have to make sure I get all of those out. Wouldn't that make a mess of some of the small oil passages! I don't think I've seen that one. Good? My intake valves looked like they had something between tar and shellac on the stems and lots of crap on the undersides and in the ports. Got some cleaning to do. Cheers! John

And, we have a winner! Greg, below is the cleaned up number from my engine: Looks like the 'over-embossed' number it "t142", which would be a 218ci , 23 inches, Dodge Truck, Model B-1-B, 1948-1949. The head, as earlier noted, was cast 11/2/50 and has the 'P' on it. I'm still trying to find the engine number on the chassis, that was supposed to be on the drivers side frame, just behind the axle. Not seeing it. First picture is from the 'Power-Wagon Identification and Registry Help Pages'. Second picture is my cleaned up block. In other news . . . I've got my head back. Magnaflux, hot tanked and milled for $45. I've got a valve spring compressor from a local firefighter/motorhead I know, so I'm headed to pull valves. Already have a piece of wood drilled to keep the valves in order. Clean up the valve stems, clean up the valve guides with a brass brush and maybe throw a little valve lap in too boot. I'll get it running yet! Cheers! John

Glad you found them. I have a purty left side original that's your's for the asking. Cheers! John

Wiley Coyote, SUPER Genius! Cheers! John

I'll check the registration and see how it compares. And I'll clean that up and get a better picture of it. Got an e-mail back from Bob. Here's the car history. My dad's good friend, Bob Amme bought it in 1960 or '61 in Englewood, CO. He had seen dad's '48, which was black with a white top, and wanted one like it. It was sitting in the backyard driveway of the owner. He doesn't recall the mileage. Said it ran good, his kids enjoyed riding around Denver in it and he didn't take it on the highway much. It was probably originally the Sumac Red, as the dash and firewall are that color. It was black when he purchased it and he had it repainted in a shop in Englewood. The only engine work he ever did was a tune-up or two. In '73 he called up dad, told him he had four cars and two motorcycles and something had to go; one of the motorcycles had fallen over and creased a fender. Bob drove the car from CO to Los Angeles and dad bought it from him December 28 1973 for $800; the speedometer showed 22,500 miles. Bob said he often thinks of the Plymouth and that he should have built a bigger garage. I'm glad he didn't! <grin> We've had it since then. In '77 we drove the '48 and the '47 across country to Missouri. My brother and I had a lot of fun with the cars. We would 'accidentally' run into each other at Sonic Drive-In, admire each others cars, each hop in the others car and drive off. A lot of cruising up and down Broadway. Took a date to the theatre in it to see Grease - fun! Drive-ins were fun too. The '47 spent some time in storage here, in '81. When my family moved and left no forwarding address in the Fall of '81, it stayed here with me. So, Mr. Don Coatney, as it is said, possession it 9/10 of the law! Over the years we've done the usual maintenance and few other things: new windshields (got pitted in a sandstorm on the drive to CA), brakes, shocks, master cylinder, trani work, tune-ups, generator and starter rebuild, radiator repaired, u-joints, new top and interior ('86), clutch, throw-out bearings. Cheers! John

BobT-47P15, once upon a time you were looking for that "chrome doodad for the door" . . . Which side were you looking for?? Cheers! John

I know how to search a forum; just don't always know the right thing to ask! Here's my current engine (click for a larger picture): Cheers! John

The answer is "42". Oh,wait, that's the answer to everything. The heads are the same length. They were sitting head-to-toe to each other and tilted up on the water heater outlets, causing an apparent difference in lengths. And Greg, it looks like I'll take the 230 for 4 5/8! Just got two pistons up to TDC and measured down the two furthest down and got 4-5/8" inches. Whee Hoo! Even more not stock! Cheers! John

Merle, you are absolutely correct. I was thinking bass-ackwards on the gasket. I'll see what I get when I get the gasket. Since the bypass is backwardly compatible with the non-bypass, I could get lucky. I pulled the gasket off the '50 head, laid it on the '53 head and that, takes care of that! In other news, Greg, thanks for the tip of using the blow torch. I'm getting the valves moving - now, #2, #3 & #5 stick up, but slowly drop. The others are moving freely. PROGRESS!!! I'll probably see if I can borrow a valve spring compressor and clean them up as you suggested. I'm going to borrow Don C's idea of using grease to stick keepers in place during re-install. Cheers! John

OK. I think I have the thumbnail issue. Had missed the 'Paperclip' for pictures and was just doing inline with HTML. First Picture - the '50 and the '53 head. Second Picture - Combustion chambers. A noticeable difference between the two, with the '53 hollowed out more, away from the spark plug. Third Picture - #1 Cylinder on the block. You can see where the hole in the gasket was for the internal bypass. Fourth Picture - The 'hump' on the '53. Cheers! John

Hi Bob! It's a work in progress. <grin> I found Don Coatney's post of pages from a book showing amounts that can be shaved off heads and blocks. Will probably have a little bit done just to dress it up; maybe .035-.050? I'm waiting to get my gasket in to see if it's going to allow me to 'make it work'. Back to the valves. Cheers! John

You know what Robert, I kind of am. It's kind of a pull myself up by bootstraps project, but, with the help of you guys. I really appreciate it. After doing some research on the forum, looking at the block, the two heads and my water pump, I THINK I have an answer. The '53 head does indeed have the hump on the front and the extra hole for internal bypass. Of interest, the gasket on my old head is actually a gasket for an internal bypass head/block. Just no hole there The block is flat all the way to the back of the water pump and you can see where the 'false passage' is from the bypass gasket. Functionally, I think the following is going to be true: 1) If my replacement gasket does NOT have the internal bypass hole in it, that passage will be blocked off when the head gets bolted down. 2) That will make the head 'almost like' the an external bypass head 3) I have a functional external bypass thermostat housing, and an external bypass water pump, so the internal bypass head should act like just like the proper year external bypass head did. If that thinking is not correct, feel free to let me know . . . <grin> Cheers! John P.S. I was going to post some pictures of the heads, gasket and block. I want to figure out how some of the guys do thumbnails to pics before I really bog this thread down with more large pictures.

Thanks for the advice Greg. That will be today's project. Would REALLY like to get this running again. Maybe almost as much as my son. <grin> Yes, that was the number just above the freeze plug, above the generator. I e-mailed the gentleman we got this from asking him if he could relate any history on it. Find out if he replaced the engine or knows if the previous owner did. I'll have to check that stroke when my son comes home to give me a hand. Cheers! John

Hi Tim, Now that I know what to look for, my dad has the one you mention used for his Pos. Ground Cable. Mine is a longer cable and runs down to one of the generator mounting bracket bolts. Just realized, looking at that picture . . . Dad doesn't have a heater and I do! Cheers! John

Dale, if I remember correctly, the back up light was an option. My '47 P15 Convertible does not have one. My dad's '48 P15 Convertible has one, located on the left rear, er, would that be quarter panel? The strip between the fender and the trunk. Can get you a picture if you like. If you have two, you're just more Special Deluxe! Now, if you have a radio and clock too . . . <grin> There was a knob mounted under the dash for turning the backup light on and off. Cheers! John

I've got fuzzy dice on the rear-view AND a dancing girl in a grass hula skirt on the dash. <grin> Cheers! John

'47 P15 Special Deluxe Convertible Work on Special D is progressing slightly less than apace, but I'm getting there and learning new things. Got the head off without too much difficulty. Rear bolts were the hardest to free up. Impact wrench and PB Blaster got 'em all. Made sure to lift it and not slide it. Three of the head bolts are more like studs with nuts welded on top; #14, #15 and #4. Was that to assist in pulling the engine? The head? I'll probably follow recommendations and replace all 21 bolts. Bad news, the Temp Sensor Capillary tube broke off as the bulb was 'welded' to the head. Good news, I found a link to a repair for it elsewhere in the forums. One more project in this snowball! Valves (all intake) are still pretty stuck; mostly #2, #3, #4 and #5. I've whacked the stickers, turned the engine over and watched them come back up and stick again. Trying more PB Blaster and some more whacks. New valve time? Can I/should I do just the intake? Here's my 'Motorhead Wannabe' question. The current head casting number looks like 1311818-28, 11/02/50 (Engine is E17670 *I15425*) So, the head, at least, is not 'stock' and I can't find that engine number yet. I've got another head that I'm thinking about taking to a shop to see if it can be used. It's a 1405849, 12/09/53. Researching the casting number on that head, I found an interesting article on http://www.allpar.com that said, "A new cylinder head provided a change in combustion chamber design, resulting in improved performance, though the 97 hp rating remained the same as the 1949-51 cars. This head (with part number 1405849 embossed on it) could be retrofitted back through the P15 models." I've got to put a head back on it anyway . . . any thoughts? It's got some surface rust that should clean up; have to see how the insides clean up as they are a little nasty looking. Good news, I was able to find the carburetor flange gasket, header gasket set, thermostat housing gasket, head gasket and exhaust flange gaskets through AutoZone - special order. Cheers! John

Yah, this is sure turning into a snowball 'get it back on the road project'. Lesson here? Momma's don't let your sons let their cars sit! This will stay as stock as I can afford to. Maybe a nut, bolt, or other replacement here and there; whatever it takes to keep it on the road. Cheers! John

Thanks Bob. I'm already farther into an engine than I've ever been and looking at pulling the head. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I don't have to install new valves. <grin> Cheers! John

Done said: Well, I can now tell you that you should pay close attention to how the valve guides are re-installed, as: "exhaust valves install the counterbored ends upward" and "Intake guides are mounted counterbore down". In the picture, is that the intake valve guide with the counterbore on the upside? The area adjacent to the red line in the picture below? Am I looking at a valve guide installed backwards? What I can see of the exhaust valve guides looks like this: Should I be seeing the tapered shoulder in this view?

Thanks for the help guys. I've been repeating applications of PB Blaster and Gunk Liquid Wrench, with a little spring spreading in-between. Starting to look like I might be pulling the head. My son will be disappointed; he was hoping to cruise with his girlfriend before it got TOO cold. <grin> Picture and question of the day . . . With the headers off and looking in at the intake valves, should I be seeing valve guide sticking up? Will Whack-a-Mole push those back down? See picture below for what I'm seeing. 'Nother question . . . Is the rear of the exhaust header hanging on the firewall during removal a common problem? I finally pried a little bit with a crow bar between the header and the firewall to get enough room to back it off the bolt. Cheers! John