Rusty O'Toole

These have been around for years, pioneered by Frantz over 50 years ago using toilet tissue. They were first for cars a light trucks, the big jobs with the paper towel roll were invented later for big trucks. Also used for filtering diesel fuel, hydraulic oil, trans fluid, cooling systems and so on. Other brands include Jackmaster from Australia and Motorguard. The OEM filters on old cars were bypass filters that worked on the same principle.

"As for the column shifter....been trying to figure that out. Would love to make it work. Will play around with a spare column I have and see if I can figure something out." Compare the floor shifter mechanism to the column shifter. Would it be possible to modify the column shifter to match the floor shifter, possibly using some floor shifter parts? Or if that fails maybe you could get 4 gears with the column shifter and add another handle under the dash for reverse? Just some ideas off the top of my head without seeing either shifter mechanism.

"I am also a big fan of Megajolt distributorless ignition. I happen to have a unit here that would allow me to run coilpacks from a later model car, and provide a fully mappable ignition system. I've used it on other carbed cars, and the change in the way the car runs is amazing.)" This is very interesting, the Megasquirt and Megajolt idea interests me but have never used them. Would be interested in your experience. There is nothing wrong with changing to 12 volt if you know what you are getting into. I try to discourage newbies who think it is easier to convert to 12 volt than to fix a 6 volt, it isn't. In your case it sounds like you know what you are doing.

Merle your engine sounds like an extreme case. No doubt when it is that bad the only solution is to rebore and do a complete rebuild. I believe Rockwoods engine was rebuilt not too many miles ago. If the pistons were tight in the cylinders, not worn, then a little rust would make them stick. So, if there is only a little rust it might clean up OK.

On thinking it over, if it was me I think I would prefer to flat tow a car with a tow bar. Either that or rent a car trailer.

I would push the piston down, clean the cylinder with fine sandpaper, oil it and push the piston out. If the rings snag on the ridge you will have to remove it but if it is as small as you say it should be no problem. If you can get the pistons bead blasted it will clean them up and make it easier to get the rings out. If they are stuck in the piston some heat should help free them up, the main thing is to not damage the ring groove, it is OK to break the rings as they are to be replaced anyway. In the worst case new pistons are $65 a set for NOS, $155 for brand new from Vintage Power Wagons.

My suggestion, turn the engine over remove the pan and take out the crankshaft. Be careful not to mix up the rod caps and main caps, put them back on when the crankshaft is out. Then try pounding the pistons down with a wooden drift. If this does not work, see if you can put the head back on and use a hydraulic pump. You have to fill the space completely with oil, any air space will compress and spoil the effect. If you do not have a hand pump a grease gun will work. Do not underestimate the power of a grease gun. They will put out a thousand PSI thanks to leverage. As the top of the piston is almost 9 square inches that means 9000 pounds of pressure. Once you push the piston down clean the cylinder and push the piston up and out. If there is a ridge you will have to remove it with a ridge reamer or the rings will hang up. It should not come to using the hydraulic pressure. Once the pistons are out you can clean the rust off the cylinders and hone them. Do not worry about a few rust pits if they are not too large. I know an old timer who rebuilt a truck engine that had been left outside for 2 or 3 years with the head off. The cylinders were badly pitted but he put the engine back together with new rings after honing the cylinders. He had no choice, this was during WW2 when parts were hard to get and new trucks impossible. He said the engine burned a little oil but after 1000 miles or so it settled down and ran perfect with no oil burning. A few years later he took the head off to do a valve job, he said the cylinders were polished smooth as a mirror but you could still see the rust pits, completely filled with hard carbon.

Rockwood I would try oiling with ATF or Marvel Mystery Oil and prying on the flywheel with a pry bar in the starter opening. If that did not turn the engine the next step would be to take off the pan, carefully remove the rod caps, and take out the crankshaft. Then remove the pistons one by one. Do not mix up the rod caps and put them back on as soon as the crank is out of the block. When the caps are off cover the bolts with pieces of rubber hose to avoid scratching the crankshaft. First tapping them down with a piece of wood then when they are free, push them up and out of the cylinder. If there is a ridge around the top of the cylinder you have to remove it with a ridge reamer or the rings will hang up. The pistons will not come out the bottom of the engine. The piece of wood needs to be a 2X4 or stove wood carved to fit into the cylinder and cut off flat at both ends. Rest it on the piston and strike with a big hammer. A carpenter's hammer is not big enough you need a ball pein or sledge at least 1 pound. If you can get a wooden plug made the exact size of the cylinder it would be perfect. It does not have to be hardwood or any special wood.

You could blow them out with compressed air. In the old days they used to flush with alcohol but you have to get all of it out or it could cause brake fade. Better to just blow out the lines, refill the system, and bleed out fluid until it runs clean. If the lines are real bad, replace them.

Another way to turn an engine is to remove the starter and pry on the flywheel with a pry bar. This gives a lot of leverage. Be careful and don't break any teeth off.

Do any of the pistons move? Have you tried tapping them down? Make a wooden drift as big as the piston and you will not damage anything. Usually only 1 or 2 pistons get stuck. 1 or 2 intake valves will be open when the engine is sitting, those cylinders will get rusty and stuck. Another way to shift a stuck piston. Put the head on, fill the cylinder with oil, attach a hydraulic pump to the spark plug hole. Have even heard of doing this with a grease gun. In that case the mechanic made a plate to bolt on top of the cylinder and screwed a grease nipple into it. If you can get the pistons to move a little bit it should be possible to get them out. You could try removing the pan and taking out the pistons that will move first, then work on the others.

Have seen them in Dodge pickups in local junkyards, in fact I saw one last week. Maybe I should get one. How does this trans compare with the newer T5 5 speed?

They sold cars in the American market when the going was easy in the late fifties- early sixties. When the going got tough they took their profits and blew. Falling sales, competition from US compacts and japanese imports plus new safety and emissions laws made the difference. Just a few years later came the energy crisis, high fuel costs, small car sales took off no matter what the price. A lot of foreign car makers including Fiat got back in the US market and creamed off some good profits for a few years then left their dealers and customers holding the bag again. Don't be too surprised if they take off in a few years and leave their dealers and customers in the lurch again.

This is great information, thanks for starting this thread. Have been wondering about this swap for a long time. Is there any chance of using the stock column shift with the 4 speed? It should be possible to shift 4 gears but what about reverse? Has anyone done this? What about the handbrake? Is it possible to adapt the stock handbrake onto the trans or do you have to change to a rear brake system?

If an engine is stuck it could be a good sign. An old worn out engine has lots of room for rust and does not get stuck easy. Rockwood your engine looks pretty good. The valves do not look burned, the cylinders do not look worn. How are the pistons, hope they are just dirty not damaged. Of course it is impossible to tell for sure just from pictures. If the valve seats are not cracked, you should be able to put it together with new gaskets, rings and grind the valves and have a good running motor.

How are you planning to change to 12 volt? Not being smart, I really want to know. I have changed a few old cars trucks and tractors but would not do it again. Too much work and expense, not enough benefit. I find it is easier to leave it stock and fix whatever is wrong. Just wondered if you have some easier method of changing to 12 volt.

10W30 oil came on the market in 1951. Chances are your car never used anything else. If it burns oil there is a good chance it is the rings stuck, and they will come free after some long drives. Solid lifters should make NO noise at all if properly adjusted. Unlike hydraulics they do not wear out, if they get a little noisy you can adjust them and as long as you don't wait too long they will be perfectly silent.

53 Cranny you do not state what kind of shape your engine is in right now. If it is in one piece, complete, and turns over 9 chances out of 10 you can have it eating out of your hand in a few hours. If the carb, distributor, or head is off it could be a problem but still possible to fix. If the block is cracked due to freezing, or the rod is sticking out of the block it could be time to look for a new engine. On the other hand, small cracks are not uncommon and can be fixed. Look along the left side of the block about half way between the head and pan, in other words along the bottom of the water jacket near the back of the block, that is where they usually crack. A small crack no big deal, if it is cracked from one end to the other it is a big deal. So how about some info on condition or possibly even pictures? Your motor may be better than you think.

Basically the Chrysler Corporation of Detroit made 2 flathead sixes, a small one and a big one. Chrysler Canada, being on a budget, only got 1 engine. They got the larger of the 2. This engine was first made in Canada in 1938 and was used in all kinds of Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler, Dodge truck, and industrial apps. So, you could put any of those in your car. They all fit. American made Plymouth and Dodge, not so lucky. The engines look practically identical. One way to tell for sure, is to measure them. The length of the head will be either 23 or 25 inches The one made in Canada is the 25" long job. Common versions of this engine are 218, 228,237,251, and 265 cu in. Common cylinder bore, 3 3/8 or 3 7/16 Common stroke, 4 1/16, 4 1/4, 4 1/2, 4 3/4. Any block can be bored to take 3 7/16 or larger piston. Any block will take any crankshaft. When swapping crankshafts you need to use the matching rods that go with it. Rods vary in length according to crankshaft stroke. The 4 3/4 stroke cranks are rather rare. They were only used in the last 2 years of Chrysler and DeSoto 6 production. In the US, only in Chrysler. They were also used in some truck and industrial apps up to 1968. If you see one with the oil pan off you can tell at once because the rod bolts have no heads. They had to make a special rod bolt to clear the pan rail, the crankshaft throw was right at the limit of clearance. When you look at Edgy's site he is careful to distinguish between the 217/230 block and the 237/251/265 block. The 251 block is the one used in Canada for all cars and trucks. In Canada it was also made as a small bore 218/228 for Plymouth and Dodge. If you are on a budget look at Vintage Power Wagons NOS pistons for $65 a set. If you bore your block to 3 7/16 a stock size 251 piston will fit, these are usually easy to get because they are not in demand, most rebuilds demand oversize pistons not stock size, so they tend to be cheaper and easier to get. So yes, you are limited to 251 stuff. It might be possible to put in a 230 but why bother? Don't worry about rear gears at this stage of the game. Once you get the car on the road you will probably find the original gears are fine. If not come back and we will discuss further. Also do not get carried away on the hop up stuff. Do a straight rebuild or overhaul. I recommend you do not even bore the cylinders unless they are worn, damaged or rusty. If pistons and cylinders are in good shape hone with a bottle brush hone and put on new rings. Check valves and grind or replace as necessary. Check crankshaft and replace bearings if necessary. Check timing chain oil pump etc. It may be possible to overhaul your engine for $500 in parts including gaskets, new oil and antifreeze. Later on if you get ambitious it is not hard to change intake, exhaust, even the cam can be changed if you take out the rad first. So build it mild first and see how you like it, chances are it will have all the pep you need.

There were a hundred makes of flathead sixes. Ford had flathead 4s and a flathead V8, Chev an OHV six. So it is not likely Ford or Chev. Pontiac, Olds, Nash, Hudson Studebaker, International trucks, etc etc etc all had flathead sixes. PS Ford made a flathead six from 1941 to 1951 but none were made in Canada and it is possible none were sold in Canada.

Can you check the block again? Number should start with a C (Chrysler) D (Dodge) P (Plymouth) S (DeSoto) T (truck) or IND (industrial). Engine Id is typically a letter or letters and 1, 2 or 3 numerals, for example C45= 1949 Chrysler, S13= 1949 DeSoto. Followed by a sequential serial number. Car serial number is found on the driver's door post. It will tell you a lot too, even what plant the car was built in. This system covers up to 1957, starting in 1958 Dodge heavy trucks, like 1 1/2 ton and up, used a different system.

Foreign cars had quite a vogue in the fifties. Then Detroit introduced their own compacts, starting with Rambler and Studebaker Lark, then the Corvair, Falcon and Valiant. This cut the sales of imports considerably, especially the economy cars and sedans, not so much the sports cars and luxury cars like Jaguar. A lot of foreign car makers dropped the US market because it was too much bother to compete. VW stayed on through thick and thin, because they needed the US dollars to buy steel, aluminum, rubber, etc in order to keep their factories going. In general the northerners (VW, Mercedes, Volvo) stuck it out while the southerners (Renault, Fiat) cut out when the easy profits ended.

Industrial engines came from the factory with the cylinders sleeved, possibly marine engines too. The 265 or 251 crankshaft will fit the Plymouth block which can be bored to 3 7/16 or larger. So if you have the crankshaft, rods, and pistons you can make a big engine out of any block. Chryslers from 1951 up had a full flow oil filter system. Older engines, and cheaper models had the partial flow or none at all. You can tell which you have at a glance. The full flow filter is an aluminum tower on the left side of the block. The partial flow filter hangs on a bracket and is connected to the block by 2 small pipes like brake lines. So the primo engine would be a 265 industrial engine with sleeved block and full flow oiling. The full flow filter is not a deal breaker but nice to have. It will not make much difference to engine life if you change oil regularly. Some industrial engines had gear driven camshafts, car engines had chain driven. Some marine engines were reverse rotation to be used in matched pairs with regular rotation. 54 was last year for 6 volt + ground.

OK let's be serious! It's only a suggestion guys! I am not going to drive over to anyone's garage and hold a gun to their head! I merely wanted to reassure the questioner, that his original flathead motor is plenty capable as a daily driver, provided it is in good shape. After all that is what he asked. He specifically said he wants to keep the original motor IF it is capable of keeping up with traffic in normal driving, which it is. There are lots of guys who have proven the old flathead is a good motor and is still capable of turning in good service.

Because I am smart.