Jim Yergin

As I previously posted, I am in the process of rebuilding the 230 engine in my car because a piston disintegrated and punched a hole in the cylinder wall. I had my machinist check out the spare D24 block I had. After cleaning it up and magna fluxing it, he tells me it is usable but needs to be re-bored. He says it is already at 0.060 over. I couldn't find any 0.070 over pistons but I see that Egge sells 0.080 pistons so I assume that it is OK to go that far over. Other than limiting any future re-bore, is there any reason for concern about going to a 0.080 over re-bore? Thanks. Jim Yergin

I think the picture Michael posted is of a 1940 or 1941 wagon. My understanding is that the P15 wagons had the spare mounted behind the driver and not in the middle. Jim Yergin

Michael, I bought an NOS complete set-up for my '41 for $75 on eBay two years ago. Jim Yergin

Joe, I admire your persistence. I know you will get it fixed. Jim Yergin

Here is what the Borg Warner Overdrive manual says: Overdrive lubrication.pdf

Great pictures. Beautiful car. Thanks for sharing. Jim Yergin

Don, It is because of the way the kick-down switch bracket is fastened to the carb base so that the linkage can contact the switch. The base of my '41 carb would not allow the bracket to be attached. That is why I got a different carb from George Asche. But you would only have to do that if you want the kick-down switch in that place. I also followed Pete Anderson's lead and mounted a switch in the gear shift knob. In retrospect I would have foregone the one on the carb and just relied on the one on the gear shift. Jim Yergin

Joe, I agree with Ed. The difference was in the '41 set-up, not with the '53 transmission. One of my shift rods was different because of the different power shift lever on the '41 so I had to change that too. Your '49 wasn't offered with the power shift so there should be no problem. Jim Yergin

Actually, there is no need to change the carb except to accommodate the original style kick-down switch. I have an O/D from a 1953 Plymouth that was a direct bolt-in into my 1941 Plymouth. I did end up changing the carb with a rebuilt later model one from George Asche to allow me to attach the kick-down switch but that particular switch is not necessary to operate the O/D. Check blueskies' web site for information on alternative locations for the switch. You will need the O/D relay and a lock-out cable to make it work but those can be found on eBay if they are not with the transmission. The only other change I had to make was to change the shift levers in my car because it originally came with the power-shift option. That option was not offered in the P15 so that should not be a problem for Michael. Jim Yergin

Joe, I will believe it when I see it. I hate this cold weather. Jim Yergin

Here is what could have happened if it hadn't stayed together. This was in my 230 after 3000 miles on my rebuild with surplus nos pistons. This is what I saw when I removed the head. No loud noises just very rough running and then oil/coolant mixture surging out of the oil filler tube. Given your experience, I think my piston must have had a similar crack. Jim Yergin

Occupational Safety & Health Administration within the U.S. Department of Labor. Jim Yergin

Michael, You might want to click on "Return to P15-D24.Com" in the grey band above and then go to the "Downloads" section. There you can access a copy of the Borg Warner Overdrive manual that includes an explanation of the operation of the transmission. Jim Yergin

We label "off topic" threads with OT. I think this one should be labeled "TIC" (tongue in cheek). Jim Yergin

It was to me. I had never rebuilt an engine before but after spending time on this forum I got the bug. My car was a 20 year project so a little more time didn't matter. I never really drove the car with the 201, which I still have. I wanted my car to be a driver so the 230, the overdrive transmission, and four wheel disc brakes made sense to me. My woodie is one very heavy car so I am glad to have the 230. It really moves down the road. I can't tell you if it would be the same with a 218. The work on the car is a hobby for me and solving problems is something I enjoy. Unfortunately I am back to rebuilding the engine. One of the surplus NOS pistons I used in the rebuild decided to come a part and punched a hole in the cylinder wall. Did I say I enjoy overcoming problems. If you are going for an all original car to show or just drive occassionally and you are not interested in the hands on mechanical work, I think you should probably just stay with the 218. If after you have it back on the road and you want more power, it would not be a big deal to replace the 218 with a 230. Jim Yergin

Joe, How was the road trip with Rodney yesterday? Find anything other than snow and cold wind? Jim Yergin

I made a 218 into a 230. Took the crank and rods out of one engine that did not have a flywheel. Found a flywheel on eBay. It was a later 6 bolt version that bolted right up to the 8 bolt crank (engine was from a Dodge with fluid drive). The fluid drive cranks do not have the pilot bushing opening fully machined. I didn't discover that until I had it installed. I ended up reducing the outer diameter of the pilot bushing to make it fit. The only catch with the flywheel was that the ring gear on the later ones is different so I removed that ring gear and replaced it with one that would mate with my starter. My '41 originally had the 87 hp 201 so the increase in power was even more than Greg's. Jim Yergin

Could also be that in the middle of the Great Depression there just wasn't enough money to spend on repairs. Jim Yergin

What a neat picture. Thanks for posting it. Jim Yergin

Following up on Greg G's suggestion in another thread about supporting this web site, I just made a donation in memory of Norm. He will be missed. Jim Yergin

Thanks Rodney. I will keep you posted. Might start the process of removing the broken engine this weekend. I intend to remove the front clip first. I started on this car before my son was born. He is now 16 and 6'4'' so it is nice to have his strong back available to lend a hand. Happy New Year. Jim Yergin

With the water distribution tube removed, I was able to drop off the block at my machinist this morning. He is going to hot tank it, magnaflux it, and check the cylinder bores and crankshaft alignment. Should know next week if it can be used. Jim Yergin

There have been a number of posts on this forum in the past about using modern differentials with friendlier highway gear ratios. I only know what I have read here. You may want to do a search using the forum search function. My overdrive came out of a 1953 Plymouth. On the main web site there is contact information for George Asche. He deals in the overdrive transmissions. Jim Yergin

It is always very interesting to see the direction a thread can go off on, especially when it attracts Don Coatney's attention. Don, the block is actually blue. It has a D24 ID number. No indication that it was a Jasper. Probably just repainted along the way. Haven't gotten around to pulling the broken engine and dropping the pan to see what is what. As for the tractor wheel, I like to think it is just good old Virgina clay and not from the three dogs we have. Jim Yergin

One of the "joys" I get to experience while I prepare my spare engine block to rebuild the engine with the disappearing No. 3 piston, is the removal of the water distribution tube. I had hoped that the last time I had to do this was truly the last time. The one in this block was so stuck that even with a come-along attached to the tube and the other end to a rafter in my garage, the tube would not budge and the come-along only lifted the whole block off the floor. It hung there for two days with no movement. I then resorted to the puller set up that Young Ed had posted on this site a long time ago. Last night I removed the tube. I thought I would post pictures of the set-up in case it may be of use to others. Jim Yergin