meadowbrook

I know this is one of those topics that has many opinions, but I will share what I experienced. 1- I got my 1950 Dodge Meadowbrook with the original 230 with 70,000 miles after it sat for 12 years. I initially heard about the detergent vs non detergent oil thing about loosening sludge and ruining the engine. That makes sense, so I ran it for a couple of years. Then I realized that by the 1960s, detergents started to be used on oils and since this car was used all the way till about 1995, I suppose it had used standard available oil since most folks don't know about this concern. So I pulled the pan, cleaned it (it was not that sludgy), and started to use Valvoline VR1 20W50. It has the zinc and is readily available. That was 2 years ago. No issues so far. 2- On the issue that the detergent oil keeps the dirt in suspension so the bypass filtered 230 will pump this through out the engine, damaging it, I am a bit skeptical because I am also an air cooled VW fan and they never had an oil filter and use detergent oils without issue. At least my 1965 VW has the original engine and it still runs great.

Thank you Very much. I will pull the pan. I was actually able to remove the bolt from outside by using a dremel and making a little slot and driving it from outside in. I still have to remove the pan, but I wanted to see that the plate looked like. I'm hoping to reinstall the plate and timing chain first then pulling the pan because I can then reinstall the front mount and rain the car to get to the pan. Any issue with this order of assembly?

Hello all, I am removing the front engine plate from my 230 and I was told there is a bolt that comes from inside the engine, only accessible by removing the oil pan, that needs to come out . what is its purpose? It seems to only be attached to the plate and nothing else. Also there is another screw with a flat head screw driver head that I had to remove from the outside of the engine near the dowel that positions the plate. Do all engines have that?

Thanks for the responses, I will replace the timing set, any recommended suppliers? Don't want to buy a cheap chinese part.

Hi all. I am preparing my '50 Dodge for a trip from MI to the Hershey show and to maximize reliability, I am fixing the last original seal on the original engine (never rebuilt) and replacing the original radiator. Please, can you experienced folks respond to the following questions: 1- I pulled the water distribution tube and it looks very solid, there is some corrosion but no holes. Is it worth it to replace it anyway? If so, who sells good quality ones? I see a large disparity in prices, from ~$40 to over $100. Or maybe I should keep mine as new ones will never be as good? 2- Since I have the original harmonic balancer , (3 piece), I would like to have it rebuilt, I mean the rubber must be pretty hard with 66 years of usage, is the Damper Doctor good? 3- My timing chain has quite a lot of of sag. The shop manual says 3/4" is the limit, I am under than, but that 3/4" figure seems awfully large, is it correct? See attached pics and thanks for any advice.

Has anyone noticed their engine running smoother after having the old balancers rebuilt? I pulled the radiator on my 50 d34 and am debating having that done since I am removing it to replace the front crank seal.

Hi all. First the neat stuff, I am driving from Ann Arbor area to the Hershey meet and showing my '50 Meadowbrook in a 'driver' class. Dad will be there with his '56 Jag. Anyone in the group from MI or OH planning to taking the trip? If so, we could caravan. I'm DRIVING the ol Dodge there. Secondly, for those who care, I have added a 1" spacer between the carb and the intake to mitigate the percolation issue, and it still stalled after a very long stop and go driving stint in Woodward Ave during the cruise. So I think the next step would be a heat shield sandwiched between the carb and intake, extending to form a radiation barrier between the intake and carb. That or an electric fan for the radiator that would increase airflow under the hood when the engine is idling. Thoughts? And a final question. I am assuming percolation because I cant see the fuel line prior to the fuel pump getting hot because it runs well below the engine and far from the manifold, plus the heat shield for the pump is present. So when percolation occurs, I'm told the fuel overflows into the intake. Question is, wouldn't the excess fuel go up through the bowl vent out of the carb and thus prevent dumping into the intake?

Sweet! A couple of my 50 at the Woodward Cruise.

Ok, so I have determined the purpose of the electrical connection of the Sisson choke is to close the choke plate when the car is cold and the starter is activated. Why? The choke plate is already closed when the car is cold.

Hi all, I have an R7 Borg Warner 3 speed manual on my '50 Meadowbrook. I bought it from Asche a few years ago and was wondering about what to use on it if I change the lubricant. I am ready to just do what Asche recommended, Amsoil 15W40 engine oil, which he called 'sticky', as in hanging on to the gears longer. Just wondering what others here use. Interestingly, the original trans lube recommended in the manual for the standard 3 speed is 10W engine oil, so that makes using the Amsoil seem correct. However, it does leak through the rear seal, despite me changing it. Otherwise, the trans works well.

Thanks for all the responses. I am now driving it with the 1/2" spacer on the carb. If I again have an issue I will lower the float. I have lowered it before by about 1/32" but in itself it did not solve it. We'll see now.

At least in PA and MI, I rarely use any fuel system cleaner, only stabil for cars that sit in winter. Never a fuel issue except the one on my Dodge.

No smell of gas I can remember. On that subject, I just added a phenolic 0.5" spacer between the carb and intake. Had to get longer studs and also had to disconnect the choke rod and adjust the metal brace that bolts up to the air cleaner for support. We'll see if I still percolate this summer. Are there longer choke rods or levers to allow the choke to work when the carb has a spacer?

They look grey/ brownish. Car does not run rich, does not big and runs beautifully. fuel mileage is about 17 and I have gotten 22 at about 50mph on overdrive.

Hi folks. In following the group's advice on my vapor lock/ percolation issue, I removed the carb to add a spacer at the base and noticed there is a puddle of fuel sitting in the intake. Is this normal? I had run the vehicle the previous day and I have no issues with cold start flooding, which I'd expect to have if the intake were full of gas. Any ideas?

I can say one thing about AB, I have gotten a few parts and for the most part they were ok. I did get a pretty pathetic turn signal flasher that did not work and a heat riser kit with a hairspring that was not the bimetallic one, so it did not work as expected. However, when I called about the blinker, Chris was very nice and I have not issues getting my money back and he did not even need the part back.

Love all the responses, this is a truly great forum. I always brag that my Dodge has the original engine and original left head light at shows. So on the vapor lock, just one more question, it sounds like the fuel line section between the tank and pump is the one that would cause the vapor lock, no? If the fuel is vaporizing after the pump, it would still be pumped to the bowl. Since the line going to the pump in my car runs at the chassis level until it connects to the pump (through a rubber hose), it is all below the level of the manifold's heat. From the pump, it rises to the carb and goes near the manifold. I routed it as far from the manifold as possible but there is not much room since the heater box is on the other side. So maybe it is indeed percolation @ the carb. I have seen 2 things that may also indicate this. 1- The cast iron carb base is always looking wet. 2- Once after driving, I noticed fuel leaking from somewhere on the carb then it stopped. I rebuild the carb and was very fastidious about it (OCD) and aside from when it vapor locks I notice no leaks and it runs beautifully, I average 17 MPG and once on the open road with OD on and averaging 50MPH I got 22 MPG. Not bad for a 65 year old engine.

Is it really near 0? I think there is some paranoia here. My 65 year old never rebuild 230 when hot and idling at 450 RPM will idle at 10 psi, and rapidly rise when I blip it, rising to 25 at 650 RPM and practically live at 45 any time I am above idle, as a matter of fact the blow off valve must open at 45 because it never rises above that, even cold. I know this is a different engine but my '65 VW idles at 5 psi hot and the oil light does not come on above 2.5 psi.

Have you tried a laser infrared temp measuring device? My '50 230 engine, although never rebuilt and having 84000 miles runs at 3/4 the temp gauge normally, inching a bit higher on parades but it has never overheated, it only stalls because of vapor lock if not moving or going real slow. I used this laser device and the rad's top is about 180-190F as is the t stat housing, the head is more like 200 to 220 on its surface. Not sure you have anything to worry about. As far as oil pressure, at idle hot, the gauge is close to the '0' mark but exactly between the 0 and 20 mark, making it 10 psi, and at the slightest throttle blip it goes to 35-40. I use 20W50 Valvoline Racing oil.

Hi all. I was in a cruise this past Saturday and during the parade, sure enough, my car vapor locked and I had to wait 10 min to restart. I am convinced it is lack of fuel from heat and I have the stock heat shield above the fuel pump and part of the fuel line to the carb insulated. I was reading that some 70's cars like the Fiat X1/9 and the Datsun 280 ZX Turbo had an actual fan that blew over the carb and later the injector rail to prevent vapor lock. I was wondering if anyone had tried to add a little fan to blow over the carb and/ or the fuel pump. In my case it would need to be a 6 volt one.

Hi all. As the 230 supposed to have its head retorqued as a maintenance item? Were any Mopar flatheads? I am not sure mine was ever done and I have no issues.

Praying for you Don, I have learned a lot from this forum, and you have been a large part of it. Gosh maybe your Plymouth could be converted to a Torqueflight trans and power steering and brakes can be installed.

Well, looks like the coil might have been the issue. No miss after changing the coil to the original one.

Hi folks, thanks so much for the great discussion. I just noted another bit of data on my miss issue. The low rpm, high load miss only happens on a hot engine, meaning for the first 10 miles of driving or so, there is no miss. Would I be correct in assuming that this can rule out any distributor wobble issue? Maybe even a points issue? I am thinking an agnition problem that only happens hot could be the coil, no? Regardless, I will replace the Napa coil with the original one and see what happens. If no improvement, then I will reset the points. Oh, and one other thing, I have that little lever that operates the accelerator pump set on the hole that gives me the most travel, maybe the pump shot is too much? That would explain the heat related miss, maybe it is too rich when I accelerate under high load, low rpm conditions.