drillmastertommy

I have this exact emblem and all the original paint left on the backplate is red.

That's not as daft an idea as it sounds! The Eurotunnel is only 2ish hours away from me, 45 minutes under the channel then another couple of hours the other side and the Eiffel Tower it is. One very happy if not deaf from the drive wife and a real change of scenery for the Plymouth. Will definitely need to change my pressure plate first though....

No snow here yet this year but we got pretty white the year before last. Today was winter check day including heater valve opening.

Just another perk of living in the UK, the pleasure of paying a lot for almost everything! Except milk, that's pretty cheap right now, don't mention petrol though!!!

Thanks guys, I hadn't even thought about trying to get mine rebuilt over here. I made some enquiries and got a recommendation, made a call and apparently it's no problem, will take two days and cost around $230. Time to start unbolting that box!

Hey all, it's come to that time where I can no longer put off replacing the clutch in my 39 PT81. I'm running a 1953 218 Plymouth engine attached to what I believe is the original 4 speed New Process gearbox. I've had a quick scout through VPW and Roberts websites and am not entirely sure which clutch package I need. I've also got a friend coming to LA in 2 or 3 weeks who has kindly volunteered to bring it home for me. My question really is can somebody help guide me to the correct clutch, a good supplier of said clutch and lastly advise on whether it's the kind of part that is on the suppliers shelf generally and able to be delivered to LA reasonably quickly, my friend is only over for up to two weeks. Thanks in advance for any help. Tom.

No, although I'm sure I would have if he'd made them. I got them from Langdons Stovebolt, arrived nice and quickly but not cheap to ship to the UK!

I have Edgy valve covers, head and dual intake with two 94's, dual cast headers and Pertronix ignition on a 53 218 in my daily driver 39 Plymouth PT81. Looks great if not a little grubby now, goes really well (I do now need a new clutch) but I went for the intake as well as i think it's the best looking one available and I like things a little different. Was a bit nervous drilling the bypass hole in the head but combined with ARP studs all went well.

I used grade 8's on my 218 with ally head and nearly cost myself dearly, threads all properly cleaned, thread seal applied then torqued in sequence. Re torqued after first heat cycle and all seemed well. Truck was idling when I heard a strange metal bang noise, engine was still running but I could not see anything odd until later that day I was admiring my handy work and noticed one bolt head didn't look as tight down as all the rest. Turns out it had snapped inside the head level with the top of the block. All bolts were immediately replaced with ARP studs and nuts which can be torqued down more as well, not cheap but cheaper than a new Edgy head, since then no problems head wise, plenty elsewhere but head good!

I run a pair of 94's quite successfully on my 218, I'd imagine the worst case with a 97 is that you may need to drop the main jets a number or two.

Patience and perseverance are two words you will need to be familiar with. I had numerous issues with my 218 flat 6 and getting all of the parts working correctly together but starting with the basics and getting a lot of help from this site meant I eventually got there and now run a fantastic motor successfully as a daily driver! I know there have been debates but I have a Pertronix ignitor system and it continues to perform faultlessly. Good luck getting yours sorted.

My wife and I should be there again this year but it'll be the first time for my Plymouth! I'm lucky enough that I can pretty much see goodwood from my house and work only a matter of minutes away. Great pics Robin especially the second one, lookin very cool.

It sounds like my refusal to shell out over £550 GBP was the right move! Cheers Marty.

Forgot to mention about 45 rebuilds to get this setting. I can now rebuild 94s in my sleep!

Marty, were you're 97s an original pair or some of the newly manufactured ones from over this side of the pond? Admittedly I never even thought about the carter webers but whilst trying to get setup advice everybody here kept telling me to change the holleys for strombergs because supposedly they are so much more easily adjustable and don't have power valve issues. Stubbornness meant I had to get the holleys to work and with the new jets, lower rated power valves and accelerator pump set to max I get consistent idle and very strong throttle response. Stubbornness sometimes pays!

Hey Charlie, if your looking to use those edgy parts you'll certainly be getting big gains power wise, also expect a large dent in your wallet! Having all these parts fitted to my 218 flattie I can say its worth it though! Earls intake manifold is made for use with twin barrel carbs, Holley 94s or stromberg 97s, I use 94s with 49 main jets and 3.5 power valves, took a lot of trial and error and fouled plugs to find the best setup and if I were to start a fresh being in the UK I would buy a new pair of 97s. No power valves to deal with, only easily sourced jets. Where abouts in the UK are you? I'm rattling around in my old Plymouth near chichester.

Good to hear your back on track!

Might as well have, was supposed to be 4 or 5 amps but inside the pile of melted charger we found a 40! Luckily old car owners and blacksmiths own a lot of fire extinguishers! That was over a year and a half ago and now I'm on the road trucking whenever I can but it did take a good couple of months to build up the enthusiasm to even start cleaning up the mess and carrying on with the build!

I thought frustrations like this were just part of owning old wagons like these, maybe even a right of passage. Much to the annoyance of the wife various areas of our driveway have been subject to coolant or oil spillages! I did however have to take some time away from my project after a friend helpfully replaced the fuse in my battery charger without telling me and said charger ended up one day going up in flames inside my cab. All new roof paint blistered, sound deadening liquified, new glass all round cracked, new leather seat ruined, new carpet a bit crusty and wooden steering wheel now used for charcoal sketches. Give me a coolant puddle any day, deep breath, day away and some zen something or another.

Well I haven't changed the stat yet but I have been out for the longest round trip to date and after warming up the gauge sat constantly at 200 as before. It did spit out the extra coolant I put in this morning and is back to the exact level it was at previously. I am going to install the 160 early this week, if for no other reason than to stop the in cab heater being so effective! Thanks for all the replies.

I've been rattling around in my old Plymouth truck recently and thoroughly enjoying it! Three and a half years in the putting back together and it's everything I hoped for and more. As per the thread title my question is about what the optimum running temperature of these old engines should be. Mine is a mildly hopped up 218 currently with a 180 thermostat and after running for a while it will sit at 200 according to the guage, I've no problems with boiling over or puking coolant at any point and I have read in my manual that a 180 thermostat was an option suited to colder climates where a hot water heater was also installed. Starting to open at 180 and being fully open at 200. Today I picked up a new 160 thermostat and plan to fit it tomorrow but after previously reading some info (elsewhere) that stated these engines should be run as hot as possible before the point of boiling, I thought I would seek sage advice from those that have so often supplied it! Supposedly the idea is something to do with crankcase condensation reduction therefore reducing sludge in the engine. I live on the south coast of the UK so it's rarely that cold, never more than minus a few degrees and if we're incredibly lucky a summer may see a 100 degree day (unlikely though). Anybody got any thoughts?

I thought my rear main seal had gone after a constant oil trail appeared down the back of my pan a while back, but after making a new gasket set when doing a ring and valve job recently I realised I'd trimmed the ends before. Left excess on newly made set and hey presto, leak gone!

My truck may be a little old for the pilothouse group, but this has been the easiest to use and most helpful forum. My flathead runs like a dream as a result!

I started a similar thread to this in another section of the forum recently, http://mopar.pairserver.com/p15d24ph_forum/index.php?/topic/32356-218-to-230-flathead-how-much-real-difference/ From the info I've found it seems to me if your keeping the engine stock(ish) then the 230 is gonna make a significant difference over a 218. I would imagine finding 230 cranks and rods will be considerably easier in the trucks homeland than over here in the UK.

Don, my truck will never be without a flat 6 all the time I own it! I have no desire to race it, it's just got to look good, sound good and keep going.