meadowbrook

Pm sent. Thanks!

Hi. Would you be willing to scan part KA-42? Mira supposed to be a king bolt assembly for a 1931 Chrysler Imperial.

Thank you, I may do just that. I sold the car to a young guy who loved cars of this vintage. I recommended he join this group.

To everyone, after many years I’ve sold my Meadowbrook. Too many projects. I enjoyed it while I had it and a big part was the sage advice from this group. Thank you and keep up the great website! Joao

Hi, my 50 Meadowbrook’s original engine broke piston number 4 and since oil pressure has been excellent and a measurement of the cylinder bores and visual inspection shows I can still use standard size pistons and the walls are glass smooth, I am only honing and replacing pistons and rings. I was able to remove the pistons by unbolting the bearing caps, removing the head and pushing the rods up. There was some resistance to pushing the piston up but they came out. I’m assuming there is a minimal if any ridge , and only carbon buildup there. Is there a measurement to determine the need of a ridge reamer? Any brand of pistons to avoid? Napa provides them .

Funny part, it happened on the highway and the only symptom was occasional smoke and a random clicking sound on overrun. I didn’t even feel vibration or a loss of power.

Hi all, so my 50 Dodge fractured #4 piston and so I pulled the head and pan and pushed out all 6 pistons. There is no scoring on the cylinders and the oil pressure has always been 45 to 50 psi at anything above idle and the rod bearings looked dark but no scuffing. So what are the opinions here on me buying new pistons and rings, honing the cylinders and with new rod bearings, reassembling everything? The engine has 80,000 miles. I’m not sure what fractured the piston, I think a ring broke as it was gone and some pieces are stuck to the piston. What would break a ring? Age? Is it advisable to replace valves or springs? Lap them? thanks, Pics attached

I just asked because I’m not sure the Chrysler engine has that much more power and I could more easily upgrade the 230.

Why?

Thanks so much for the responses. Sounds like it’s more trouble than it’s worth.

Mechanically, are the Spitfire engine components as available as the 230?

Hi. Would anyone know if a Spitfire engine from a 53 Chrysler bolt into a 50 Meadowbrook?

Hi. Long time no post. lookinh for tips on a quick way to fix this issue. My 50 Meadowbrook's original engine broke a chunk off #4 piston , which caused a loss of compression and a rattling sound. Otherwise the engine ran fine, go figure. Pulled the head and was surprised to see no damage to the cylinder wall. I guess aluminum is way softer than steel. Anyway, it's the same for all other 5 cylinders, no wall damage. My oil pressure has always been excellent, about 45 pounds hot at anything above idle. I was thinking of dropping the pan, removing the rods and pistons, honing and replacing with new pistons, rings and rod bearings. Is there a Wayne to hone and covering the bottom of the cylinder to keep crap from the crank? I saw an old shop manual that showed a vacuum hone setup to suck out the particles. A readon son I don't want to do the whole engine aside from cost is project creep. If I rebuild, then I'll paint the engine then I'll have to re paint the engine bay and the the car. It's a survivor so I'd like to avoid that. It has 85000 miles.

Hi ! see attached my pics of the engine in my 50 Meadowbrook. Ive mentioned before that it started to make a clicking noise and lost compression on number 4 cylinder. I pulled the head and saw that this piston lost some of the material above the top ring and that explained the compression loss. I also noticed some debris was stuck to the piston, but maybe it was smashed in and not melted in. I never heard detonation. Anyway, the cylinder walls are all glass smooth so I think is will disconnect the rods, pull them with the pistons, hone the cylinders and get new pistons, maybe try to lap the valves but not pull the engine. The oil pressure has always been to spec so I assume the bearings are ok. Any thoughts?

Hi. I’m looking for tips and recommendations. Ive mentioned my 50 Meadowbrook has lost compression on number 4 (I suspect a broken ring and/or piston) and I will likely pull the head and perform a partial rebuild with just new pistons, rings, a hone if the walls are ok and maybe lap the valves. any recommended sources? I can go Napa, RockAuto, Vintage Power Wagons, Bernbaums or ?? If I find I need a full rebuild, would it be worth it to spec out a cam and intake and carb from a 1958 230? It was rated at 135hp and mine is 103.

Thanks for your concern. I am actually looking forward to opening her up. Never opened up a flathead beyond the oil pan. And she has gone some 20000 miles since it got her for free. Including a trip from Michigan to Pa.

Ok.

It's a car, and it's a 230.

That’s the first thing I did and the valves appear to be ok. i will pull the pull the piston and check. As far as parts, would Rock Auto be a good source of new rings and pistons if needed? They have them.

As long as I have owned it it has never overheated

Hi all, I'm back after a long hiatus. I covet your opinions on my latest issue on my 50 Meadowbrook. the original 230 on it has developed a sudden clattering noise that shows up when I rev it and goes away at idle. I have performed a compression test and although all pistons hovered around 100 to 85 psi, # 4 since the noise started can't go over 35 psi. I performed leakdown test and the hissing I hear comes from the crank case as I remove the oil fill cap. Engine still starts and runs fine and oil pressure is perfect but the compression loss tells me I either broke a ring or the piston cracked. So, here is the question. Is it doable and worth it to pull the pistons with the engine in place and assuming I need just a hone or a bore, to do so there by covering up the crank to avoid contamination?

I will do that. I'd like to add that I pulled each spark plug wire to see if any cylinder was the culprit but the noise did not change. I'll post a video but basically at idle it sounds normal As I slowly rev it you hear random clicking , then when I let go and it slows down you hear very rapid ticking until it again reaches idle and the ticks go away. Engine smoothness is unaffected and oil pressure is the same as before, about 20 at idle and 45 at anything above 2000 rpm. Temperature is normal too

Just happened on the highway but I made it home, oil pressure was not affected not did the car lose power but now under load at low revs I don't hear it until I go past 2000 rpm or so. Then when I coast or the engine spins back down I hear it at a much higher rate. The sound is like a valve ticking but On overrun it's like a playing card on bicycle spokes. It's coming from the front half of the engine and I also saw sometimes puffs of white smoke from the draft tube, again on overrun. Rod bearing? Valve keepers/spring? Broken piston or rings?

My 50 has a 1940 r7 overdrive and a stock 230. It's true, it will exceed 80 mph if given time.

Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like more trouble than it's worth. I will rebuild my steering box so maybe that helps. My car was owned by a woman prior to me so I can't imagine her trying to do a 3 point turn with this, steering I need two hands if stationary on rough concrete