Rusty O'Toole

Lightened flywheel is an old trick for faster acceleration. Old cars had very heavy flywheels for smoothness, and so granny couldn't stall the motor. Today's cars have very light flywheels compared to fifties and earlier cars. Take some weight off your old flywheel if you want, it won't hurt anything.

There are certain changes that improve efficiency, this can translate into more mileage or more power or both. Higher compression, free breathing exhaust, reduced friction, lighter flywheel for less inertia, are just a few examples.

Different pistons made by different companies have slightly different designs. All should function just as well. The T slot you mentioned is one way of compensating for expansion but there are other ways to accomplish the same thing.

I think the original was stiff paper or thin cardboard but cork should do as well although not as long lasting. I wouldn't use rubber that close to the carb because gas will ruin it.

How far below the fill line? Probably best to leave it. Maybe someone put the wrong top on at some time?

Old Cars Price Guide says 52 Plymouth coupe 111" WB Concord #6 parts car = $500 #5 restorable $1500. Yours would fall in there someplace depending on condition, rust out, missing parts.

Don't feel bad, my brother bought one and it put him off Chrysler products for life. They were going through a bad patch at the time and the car was nothing but trouble. He had it back to the dealer several times and finally palmed it off on a sucker (our father) and bought a Ford. So, you didn't miss a thing.

Trailer brake controllers are adjustable. Normally they have to be turned way down for a light trailer. The subject came up on another BBS devoted to trailers. A couple of people who tow with vintage vehicles said they had no trouble using 12V electric brakes on 6V, they just had to turn up the controller a bit.

Most likely bad rings and maybe even a broken piston. Is there a lot of blowby coming out the oil filler when idling? You could try a compression test to be sure.

2 things I would mention. One is, your description sounds like the normal working of a Fluid Drive. Chrysler described it as something like flying an airplane. When taking off the engine revs up and the car hardly seems to be moving, but soon you are flying along with the engine at normal revs. The Fluid Drive has less "bite" at low speeds than a torque converter. The second is, you are supposed to check and topup the Fluid Drive unit every 10,000 miles. The filler is on the right side of the transmission tunnel, directly below the dash. Roll back the carpet and you should see a plate held by philips screws. Remove the plate and you will see the bellhousing with a round tin plug covering a hole. Pry out the tin plug and turn the Fluid Drive unit by "bumping" the starter. Soon a plug will come into view. Stuff a rag around the hole and unscrew the plug. The fluid should be up to the plug. If not, top it up with straight #10 motor oil or TDH tractor fluid, ISO 32 or ISO 22 grade. TDH stands for transmission, differential and hydraulic fluid. ISO 32 is a little thicker than #10, ISO 22 is a little thinner. The thinner fluid works better if you can get it but the ISO 32 is more readily available. You can get it at Walmart, farm supply stores, and auto parts stores. Fluid Drive will work even when low on fluid but it has the effect of a high stall speed torque converter, it lets the engine rev up faster as you take off. This was an old hop up trick for faster acceleration. It won't hurt the Fluid Drive or transmission if it is a little low.

There is no reason your car won't tow a light trailer. If the brakes bother you install brakes on the trailer. This is a good safety feature as it adds control especially on curves and hills, and in case of unwanted sway. A complete new axle with brakes is under $200. Any electric brake controller will work on 6 volts.

"I hear ya, I've tried 3 emails to paxton to ask them if they could get back to they're roots with a set up for a mopar flathead, like the kaiser had, except with a fixed pulley....nothing. It'd be a simple manner of respinning the blower faster than a V8 set up because of the lower rpms required for a flathead...question is what are the correct pulleys?:confused:" That is why I suggested calling John Erb, 4019 PONDEROSA DR. Carson City, Nevada 89701. USA. Phone: (775) 883-6494. The McCulloch was designed for use on a flathead engine and was tested on Ford flathead V8s. When it was introduced in 1953 most engines on the market were flatheads and the biggest were under 350 cu in. "B) Aren't those listed as an offset piston...in another forum where they concetrate on inlines it was asked what said offset was...no-one seems to know due to lack of available specs. I think it was a slant 6 .060 over piston that would work for the 265....?" All pistons are offset pistons. Either the piston is offset or the cylinder is offset on practically every engine made since 1910. Most had offset pistons, the only engine I know of that had offset cylinders is the Ford flathead. In any case, the offset won't stop you from using the pistons. What will stop you is the deck height which is very low and bad for compression when used in a flathead. "C) Yup, stock they have T bolts for clearance issues but another guy who's done well with 23" motors seems to be planning a 25" 265ci with 25" 231ci{?} longer rods and a high pinned piston for a larger than stock displacement. Still in the planning stage....{Hud 1 or Hudson...dad and son} D) "1/8 overbore"...wouldn't that loose the sleave...I've heard the blocks are soft enough to require sleaves and that .060 was the max overbore with a sleave. I've seen the sleaves in my 265 and heard the 23" motors are the same, but, I haven't cracked open my 201ci motor yet to tell" The blocks aren't soft but some industrial engines had sleeves for extra durability. Most blocks made in those days could be bored at least 1/8 oversize. It was normal and expected for the engine to be rebuilt a couple of times during its working life. Engines built since the sixties are not expected to be rebuilt at all except in unusual circumstances, and have thinner cylinders that will stand only a mild overbore. Today, sonic testing will tell how far it is safe to bore an engine. A friend who has been racing and working on Chrysler B engines and hemis since the seventies, rebuilt a 1941 Plymouth six a few years ago. He told me they sonic tested the block and it had the thickest cylinders he had ever seen.

It is kind of pointless to hop up a flathead anything, or even keep a 50 year old car on the road when you can buy a good running 10 year old car for a few hundred bucks. Some of us just like old cars for their own sake. I like the flathead, only if you like the car it came in. That means you are slightly stuck with it (not totally stuck with it). If you have an old flathead car you like, you may be surprised to find it is not totally useless but in fact, can keep up with modern traffic provided it is in good shape. From rebuilding or overhauling the old flathead it is only a small step to do a mild hop up. This is a fun thing you can do as part of a rebuild or restoration, that gives you a little more performance without costing a lot of money. That is about as far as I would go. Do a few things that don't cost the earth or spoil the car's smoothness but give a little more pep. Of course some go farther than that, even race them and use them in Bonneville speed record cars but that is another question. Then it becomes a matter of getting the best performance within certain class limitations.

Maine SS can you tell us about your experience of the Fish carb? I have been intrigued by them for years, have read everything I can find and even bought Brown's manual. Would love to hear from someone who has used one and knows what's what.

"I have a McColluch supercharger and would love to use that on my 265 but I've got no support from them{paxton} so far as to how to repulley mine to be used for low rpms and still get full boost." John Erb in Denver is the man. He goes way back with the McCulloch blower and will be glad to rebuild yours for full boost at low RPMs and advise on pulley ratios. He is also a piston designer, I think he works for Ross pistons? so he could advise on pistons too. Speaking of offset pistons.. practically all engines since 1910 have had cylinders offset to the crankshaft (Ford flatheads are this way) or offset piston pins. OHV Chrysler engines use the offset piston pins, by .060 I believe. The purpose is to control piston slap by not having the piston "rock" from one side to the other at TDC. An old hop up trick is to reverse the pistons. This cuts friction but increases piston slap noise. Does anyone know if the flathead Chrysler products have offset cylinders or offset wrist pins? In any case it should not stop you from using the slant six pistons, if noise is not a big worry. On the subject of stroking the big Chrysler six. The biggest version, the 265 with 4 3/4 stroke, is about as far as you can go with this. The rods come so close to the block that they had to use headless rod bolts to stop them hitting. Now that I think of it if you ground the journals smaller and used smaller rods it might just be possible. But now we are talking about a 5" stroke which is getting out there. The 265 with stock crank and bored 1/8 over gives you 283 cu in which is about as far as I would want to go. If that wasn't good enough I would be looking at a straight eight or possibly a V8.

Exactly. Comparing "short stroke" to "long stroke" motors is comparing apples to oranges. Can you tell the difference? Some so called short stroke engines of large displacement actually have quite a long stroke. The longest "short stroke" on the list is the Cadillac at 4.304. No one would be shocked at a hopped up Caddy revving 5000 RPM. The Dodge at 4.625 should be able to do the same, if it had light weight pistons, modern rings and a good balance job. Whether this is advisable or not, especially in a workhorse like a Power Wagon, I can't say. The point is, if you want to invest in more modern, light weight, pistons the potential for higher revs is there.

Sounds like a typical marginal cooling system. Try blowing the rad out from behind with an air hose, and flushing the cooling system with vinegar, CLR or your favorite rad flush.

Re: the long stroke of the 230. It is considered a long stroke engine because the stroke is greater than the bore but how does it compare to some modern, short stroke motors? Dodge 230 = 4 5/8 Chev 454 = 4 Cadillac 500 = 4.304 Pontiac 455 = 4 7/32 Olds 455 = 4 1/4 Slant 6 225 = 4 1/8 So the stroke is long but not crazy long compared to some well thought of, more modern motors. With modern light weight pistons and a careful balance job 4500 or 5000 RPM should be within reach. Maybe not the kind of motor you want for a Power Wagon but not out of the question.

There is another thread on hopping up the flathead that has a picture and description of a newly made custom piston. The poster used rods from a shorter stroke motor, which are longer. This put the pin higher and gave better rod angularity. The pistons are 100 grams lighter than stock and considerably shorter, more like a modern piston. The old rules on piston speed and acceleration don't hold as much water as they used to. Today's pistons and rings will stand more stress than the old type and then there is synthetic oil. In your case you might use 217 rods with custom pistons and get a performance and longevity boost even if you never revved it higher than a stocker. There is also the possibility of putting a 250 or 265 six into your Power Wagon, they were standard equipment in Korean War era military Power Wagons.

A good cleaning should make it go easier. I like the idea of using a 12 gauge shotgun, saves time It should go in with a few light taps. When it is fully home I like to flare the end tight against the hole with a few taps of a small hammer. I doubt it makes much diff but I like to think it smooths the flow of water a little.

It is not necessary to reverse polarity and not a good idea unless you have a good reason. Main advantage of solid state vibrator is, no hum and longer life. Some say the wave form is not the same but it doesn't seem to affect tube life or performance.

I would peen the end, or put a few punch marks around the edge, or if it is flush put on a drop of braze.

Anyone killed in the wreck?

Get the original carb rebuilt and save your money and time. Nothing else you can buy will work as well, or be easier or cheaper. And don't try to hop up your motor unless you rebuild it first, or unless it was rebuilt within the last 20000 or 30000 miles. An old motor will often run for years if you take care of it but if you try to hop it up, it will blow sky high in a month or 2. I have seen this happen more than once.

Are you sure it is only 30 PSI? Did you try a different gauge? Is there an air filter and is it clean?