knuckleharley

Do NOT start creating burrs on the mating surfaces. Try taking the bolts out,and then taking your hammer and tapping each side to break the "Seal of ages" loose? You can then take something like a big set of vise grip "wide frame" pliers and try pulling it off by wiggling it from side to side until it comes free. Remember,when you start tapping on the sides,this is NOT a contest to see who can hit it the hardest or get it off the quickest. The idea is to break the seal,not shatter the cap.

And lets not forget the German BMW motorcycle. The Soviets bought several new in the crate in the mid-30's,and shipped them directly to Russia,where they were duplicated right down to the bolts and nuts,and IF I remember correctly,called the "Yural". The Red Army had tens of thousands of these things. They even had one with a sidecar with tracks for winter operations. You know your life sucks when you are a motorcycle messanger in Siberia during the winter. BTW,shortly after Communism collapsed in Russia,the factory in the Yural Mountains started painting them red and while,blue and white,and yellow and white,putting chrome rims on them,and selling them as civilian motorcycles. At one time I even remember them importing them into the US and looking for dealers. They had by this time had the electrics as well as the mechanics updated,of course. Nobody these days was wanting to buy a 36 hp motorcycle with points ignition.

Oh,MY! What a pretty,pretty car! I am eaten alive with envy! As for your engine,I am guessing it is just a 251 Chrysler engine. That's what the Plymouths in Canada had in them back then.

Well,youb could always clean out every cylinder to the best of your ability,make sure all the valves are closed,and then pour them all full of Marvel Mystery Oil before putting the head back on and pumping as much air into each cylinder as your compressor can pump. You can make the air plug you need from an old spark plub. Just knock the porcelein part out and then tap the top for a air hose fitting. Hook your hose to the front cylinder,turn on your compressor,and just let it eat. This ain't a contest. The idea is to free the rings gently,not quickly. It may take a day or two,but sooner or later the Marvel Mystery Oil wil lube up the rights thanks to the air pressure. You can hear it when it happens. Then move on to the next cylinder in the line,and repeat until they are all free. Once they are free,leave ALL the plugs out and try spinning the engine with the starter. Just try "bumping" t at first,and keep "bumping it" until the engine spins over. Once this happens drain all the oil out of the engine and refill it with fresh 30 wt non-detergent oil,and spin it again with the starter until you see oil pressure on the gauge. Once you see the gauge registering oil pressure,THEN you can put the plugs back in and try to start it. BTW,it might be a good idea to work on freeing up those valves first. Fill the cylinders with paper towels dampened with oil to catch the trash,and get the wire wheel working on the top of the block. Once you get that cleaned up,remove the side plate and see what you can see. You MIGHT be able to take a big plastic hammer and tap the open valves closed after lubing the stems and removing the keepers. Once you have done that,see about cleaning the inside of the cylinder walls and filling them with oil. I like to drop the oil pan after freeing an engine to clean all the crud out of that,too. Chances are it will leak and the gaskets will need to be replaced anyhow,once you have it running,so why start it with all that crud still caked up on the oil pan?

I would buy both,use one,and then use the other as swap meet goods. It's like buying one and getting one free at $800 if both are good. As for me,I would not right gravity,and use the 23 inch engine. The 55 230 Plymouth PROBABLY has more power than your 48 Dodge engine,and even mild performance additions count for a lot. If you were really serious about additional HP,you would just put a OHV V-8 in it and wouldn't have asked that question,so why make things harder and more expensive on yourself?

There is such a thing as wiring that isn't strange?

Do yourself an immense favor by buying a copy of "Motors Manual" that covers 1953 Model cars. Not only do they have mucho photos of what you need to do,they explain the process in layman's terms so you can understand it. 26th Edition -- 1953 - 1963 Hardcover – January 1, 1963 As you can see,each edition covers 10 years,so you can buy one that covers earlier models that will still over your 1953. LOTS of used ones out there in good condition,and if you look around,you can find a real bargain. Still,it is a bargain if you have to pay 100 bucks for you. The time,money,and most of all,the frustration it will save you is beyond price. BTW,do yourself a favor and go ahead and replace ALL the brake lines with the new copper-nickel brake lines (they don't rust inside or outside),and replace ALL the brake hoses with brand new ones. Brakes,steering,and suspension are places where you do NOT want to cut corners.

Ok,so put a mid-50's flat 6 from a Plymouth in it and gain 30+ horsepower. Add a mild cam,some headers,and 2 carbs,and get even more while keeping it flat 6. Nobody ever said you couldn't put power disc brakes up front for better stopping power,and nothing will have been changed that is obvious and can't be brought back to original if you didn't toss the original parts. You will have a car you can drive and enjoy,and won't have stoopid money in modifications to gain power that you will never use.

Didja whup him?

If you did,it's because you cheated,so it doesn't count.

Todd,if you want to know the numbers I PROBABLY have them on my "39IHC" file. If you want me to look and send them to you,send me a PM and I will be happy to do so.

Welcome! That looks like a really nice one,but put it up on a lift somewhere to get a good look under it and look carefully for plastic in the usual areas. If you can't see anything visually that makes you suspiscious,go over the "usual suspect areas" with a magnet. Regardless,the FIRST repairs you make should be focused on the brakes and the suspension. Pull the drums to check the shoes and see if they need to be replaced,and turn the drums if they are grooved. Buy NEW wheel cylinders for it,not kits. IF they are original wheel cylinders in your car,chances are they are pitted and need to be smooted,and you can actually buy new wheel cylinders these days as cheap as you can buy kits. Oh,and check the date on the tires. Old tires are more dangerous these days that ever before due to how the new rubber reacts to the sun.

Looks to be in pretty solid shape,judging by the photo. I wish most of my projects had looked that good when I brought them home. Not that it really matters what they look like until you get them apart and get all the metal blasted or cleaned. MY 48 Plymouth coupe looked perfect until about 5 years later,when "chunks" if it,complete with still shiny paint,started falling off.

YIKES! I am guessing you just put up a BIG garage?

I have had good luck in the past from taking the parts numbers off the wheel cylinders in the car,and then doing a web search using those numbers as the key word. Did this for my 39 IHC pu when the cheapest ones I could find from the typical suspect antique parts dealers were $99 each,and these were "who knows how old NOS" items. I discovered the 53 and 54 Corvette used the same wheel cylinders,and bought all 4 new on Amazon for $4.99 each,including shipping.

Could be he was just posting photos of his "new" car to show-off/bragg,and now he has that out of his system? I freely admit I lust after a find like that,and am excited that someone found and rescued it.

I have to admit,I got a little dizzy there for a moment.

Thanks! Ya kinda have to wonder which dunderhead came up with THAT name for a color,don't you?

HEY! Get in line,dammit! *I* asked first!

Every time I look at that car,I want it a little more. I think if it were mine,I would clean up the rust on the bumper and paint it with clear to keep it from rusting again,and then just do my damndest to keep it exactly the way it is in those photos. Original,untouched 40's cars are almost impossible to find anymore,and that one is such a fine example it would almost be a shame to mess with it at this late date. Do you have any history on previous owners and where it was stored and how it was used? My 42 Dodge coupe is an original 30 thousand mile car that was bought new by a woman in Boston a couple of days before Pearl Harbor,and she kept it in her garage and only drove it to church on Sunday,or maybe to a special event. When she died in the late 80's,the guy I bought it from bought it at her estate sale to use as a "model" to restore one he already had. The damn fool parked it out in his back yard and kept a door propped open so his dog would have a place to sleep out of the rain and snow. I saw it for sale with some fuzzy photos and asked him how bad the obvious rust was,and he told me "not too bad. Mostly surface rust",so I bought it. When the guy I hired to bring it to me got there to pick it up,it was so rusty he called me on the phone and asked me if I really wanted it. Since I had already paid for it,I told him to bring it. Not only that,but the trunk full of spare NOS parts was empty,and a couple of parts had been sold off the engine,like the carb and breather,and the hubcaps were all missing. I called and asked the seller about it,and he said,"Oh,yeah. I had my son come over to help me move it up front so your guy could load it on his trailer,and he mentioned that he knew where he could sell all that stuff,so I guess he took it." No apology,no nothing. He later had the stones to email me and ask me if I would send him progress photos when I started working on it.

There was actually such a thing as a "Military Maroon"? Every military sedan I have ever seen was either gray (Navy,Coast Guard) or olive drab,with a strong emphasis on the "drab". No matter how old you get,you can still learn something new every day. On good days,you can even remember some stuff you used to know!

That's easy. You should give it to me. When would be a good time for me to come and pick it up?

Two of those box wrenches that "ratchet" can be a big help in tight spaces.

Glad it turned ONE revolution while hooked to a 12 Volt battery before stopping???? Sounds to me like the cylinders and rings were drying,and it might be jammed/stuck now. Do NOT try to turn it again until you have poured some Marverl Mystery Oil (preferred) or ATF in each cylinder and let the car sit for a few days until you can look and see the fluid level in the cylinders has dropped. Then leave the plugs out and try to turn the engine over with a ratchet. Turn it over several times before hooking a battery to it,and trying to spin it with the plugs out until you see oil pressure on the oil gauge.

Am going to try to turn the motor over this weekend and see how that is, am struggling on the fence between keeping the 230 with gyromatic, or pulling it in favor of a 318/340/360 with a 727 transmission. My 14 year old wants the bigger engine, my inner 16 year old agrees with him. But, my 41 year old side says keep it stock, but add dual intake and dual exhaust, do some old school engineering on it and just enjoy cruising. I made my first "punch list" about a month ago and very quickly got overwhelmed with all that I need/want to do. Need to brake the elephant down into smaller bites. I like the 41 year old you best. Add a finned aluminum high compression head,a cam a little bit "rumpy",and some glasspacks,and then enjoy the hell out of it. Just don't get carried away with the cam. You ain't building a gasser,just a old car that sounds and runs nice. Too much cam and suddenly it's not as much fun to drive. As for the dual exhaust,*I* personally prefer the sound made cast iron headers over tubular headers,and with the prices stock,uncracked exhaust manifolds are going for these days,it's cheaper and easier to just buy new cast iron headers and sell your stockers to a restorer. After all,nobody is making the original ones anymore,so why cut them up and ruin them. This is providing of course you don't already have two sets of cracked stock exhausts you can use to make one complete "split exhaust".