mrmcnew49

Yes like you I was looking forward to more power from the 251 Spitfire and other than the distributor all the other modifications like moving the radiator forward were no problem. We had the engine sitting in the frame and were getting ready to cut out the frame for the pulley clearance when the neighbor ask us how we were going to put the distributor cap on!! We looked at that and look at each other wondering how stupid could we be not to notice that and then wondered what did we miss or do wrong. Looking back at it now it is funny but at the time after all the work we weren't to happy. The 41 D19's built in Canada had the long block motor in them but not the US built. How strange is that. We should have it back up and running today and back on the road next weekend. It cost a bunch of money in parts and machine work to rebuild the 218 and I haven't added up all the bills yet, but even doing most of the work I have over $1200 in it now that I know for sure. We have had some fun driving the car in parades, proms and different events over the years it's almost like part of the family so I guess it's money well spent and it's still an all original car that's seventy years old still going down the road.

Well after a few months of machine work, chasing down parts and a major cash investment the original engine was set back in the car just today. Jerry took a few photos so everyone could see that the distributor has all the clearance it needs now. Like you pointed out the differance must be in the way the steering gear box mounts in the car between the US and Canada built D19's. I can honestly say that the long motor will not work in the 41 Dodge D19. I will get some better photos posted to show the difference. We hope to have it running this weekend and it should last a long time. I still have the Spitfire out of the 47 Windsor that runs very well. It was rebuilt years ago and I have the bills. The car had sit for 15 years or more and with some new plugs and fuel Jerry had it running like a clock. If anyone is interested in buying the Spitfire motor I would like to sell it. Thanks again to all of you for the help.

Thanks to all of you for all the photos and information. I decided to just rebuild the original 218 engine. I will post some pictures of the engine when I get it back together and sitting in the car. I just got back the crank and rods from being reconditioned and now I have decided to have the cylinders bored so it will be awhile before I get it back in the car. Thanks Again

I used new mounts and they look and the same as the old ones except the old ones had started to rot. I never had any clearance problems with the 218 in the car and I'm using the original fluid drive trans, bell housing, clutch, pressure plate and most of the original 218 parts. I wish I would have take some photos of the engine before we pulled it out. The 218 spun a rod bearing and now that we have it torn down I'm going to have the crank turned, recondition the rods, rings and put it back stock. I will post some photos of the 218 when I get it back in the car. The Spitfire engine had been rebuilt years ago and they never used the car a 47 Winsor so I bought the complete car just for the engine and scraped out the car which was a sad thing to do but it had sit in a field so long it had rusted up into the center post and the whole bottom of the car was gone. I also feel like you that the 2 inches isn't going to be enough to clear the gear box after looking at it so long but we'll see in a few weeks when I put the 218 back in.

I have both front engine mounts and they look identical and measure the same every way I can measure them. We used the original mount off the 218 in the 41 Dodge D19 with new motor and trans mounts. That's what you see in the photos. I will check for stampings on both front plates but changing them would not give me any more lift in the front. It's hard to get a real good photo of the clearance problem but the motor would have to come up a long way.

We have checked the front mounting plate from the 47 Winsor and it is exactly the same part. We have also lifted the engine so the distributor cap would clear the steering gear box but it would take over 2 inches of spacer in the front. That would change the angle on the transmission unless I raise the back motor mount also but then that would create other problems. I'll be changing the wire in the distributor and thanks for that information I have run into that problem in the past and forgot all about it.

Here a a few photos of the problem. It looks like my engines sits much lower. Thanks,

I used the original 1941 D19 bell housing. We have pulled off the front clip and radiator so the radiator isn't a problem. The bell housings looked the same and the mounts all lined up. We replaced all the mounts and had too redrill the front cross member for the front mounts. We then noticed that's there's no way to put the distributor cap on because of the steering gear box. I will have some photos later this afternoon. Thanks for the help.

Well I decided to try the engine swap from the 218 to the long block Spitfire engine. We pulled the engine out of the 47 Winsor after putting a few new tune-up parts and a head gasket on it. The engine ran great so my friend pulled it out and painted it and cleaned it up for the installation. I pulled the old D19 out of the barn after sitting for 16 years and had it running in just a hour or so. The brakes were locked up and the rod was still knocking like it was 16 years ago when I parked it there. We finally broke loose the brakes and drove the car a mile to Jerry's garage where he started the engine swap. The Spitfire is sitting in the car now but the steering gear box is in the way of the distributor making it impossible to install the cap. I can see no way to correct this problem. Is there something I'm missing? I'll keep searching the forums and attach some photos. Thanks for any help.

Thanks the photo tell the story really well. I haven't had a chance to compare the photos to my 41 D19 but from my memory it looks the same. Nice job on the cross member. I'm still considering the project because the old D19 is all original and I have reservation about the conversion. I also realize that it was under powered. I don't think it would change the value of the car all that much so I will most likely do the swap and save the old engine should I ever sell the car to someone else. Thanks for the link to the photos and information.

Thanks for the information and I'll try the search engine tonight. I'm new to this forum stuff. It sounds like something I'm going to attempt for sure if those are the only modifications I have to make to the Dodge. I just didn't want to start cutting on it, changing engine mount and all that because it is a nice original car. Not a show car in anyway but a presentable driver. It still has the tire changing instructions in the hub caps. It also has some rust, needs all new glass, fender welt and many other things but it is fun to drive so I think I'll be installing the Spitfire. Thanks again

I have a 1941 D19 Dodge fluid drive that I have owned for almost 20 years. I purchased the car knowing it had a rod knock and had every intention of repairing it but instead used the car for Ice Cream trips and a parade or two. About 10 years ago I drove a friends son and girl friend to the prom in it. On the way home the rod bearing must have spun so the car has been parked since then. Another friend found a 1947 C38 Chrysler Windsor that had an overhauled engine in it that had been sitting, they said, since the engine was rebuilt. The car was sitting out in a field and it had rusted out the floor and center posts. The people had the receipts from the rebuild back in 1984 so I decided to buy the car and use the engine in the 41 Dodge. Now I'm reading that the 1947 C38 Spitfire engine is longer. We have looked at both cars and there's not much room between the fan and radiator for a 2 inch longer motor and I'm also not sure about the bell housing, crank and other things like that. Both cars are fluid drive. I could sure use some advice on just what would be involved in switching engine or if maybe I should just try to find another good running 218. Thanks in advance for any advice or information. I'm new to this forum stuff so if I'm not doing something right please let me know. Ron McNew