BIGBAND39

Thank you!

Sunday driving home from my brother's wedding, I went to check my oil and realized I was about a quart low. I threw in some STP w30 and went on my way. Shortly after, I noticed some performance issues and some very noticeable clacking upon deceleration. When holding the throttle steady at what seems to be about 2500 rpm , I get the noise consistently. The noise seems to be coming from my valve train. It's much more noticeable from inside the car. When I went to further investigate the issue, I reached my hand in to rev the engine up at the carb and, while being nowhere near the ends of my wires, I got a serious jolt. Has anyone experienced any clacking noises with wires that were at the end of their useful life? Also, has anyone had the same noise with different brands of oil? I do not remember the oil that I put into the car when it was last changed but I do know it was also w30. Thanks everyone as always for any information you can offer!

After recently moving, I have misplaced most of my Dodge literature and need the valve lash for a 1939 D-11. I believe it has the original 218. I have a Plymouth service manual but it doesn't reference the 218 until 1942. Would the specs be the same?

Two questions vintage Mopar fans....... 1. What from a 1940 Dodge would fit my 39? Looks like doors and glass would be the same. Hood halfs and fenders? Mechanically, I know everything is spot on. 2. Would any of my pre-WWII Dodge brethren be interested in any parts? Yes, I know it's a sin not to find a home to restore this but parts need to come from somewhere. :-/ Not purchased yet but considering.

I always had a vibration but, to be honest, I would expect that out of a 75 year old car doing 55. The vibration definitely became more noticeable after the rear main seal was done. I personally thought it was a driveshaft issue possibly from it not being properly indexed. This new mechanic is dead set on it being engine related. It still doesn't seem to make sense as, when I push in the clutch and wind the motor down I still get vibes at high speeds.

I was under the car with my mechanic when it was pulled apart. I wasn't there when it was reassembled. I appreciate the suggestion but, although he may not be 100% with older vehicles, he is very thorough. I think he would have tightened everything up. If they should be tightened to a specific torque spec, that's a different story. I'm not sure if that would make a difference.

I do have a parts manual! I just hadn't made my way home yet to reference. So, comparing the two, the harmonic balancer is a crankshaft vibration dampener. Looking at that post and others I was confused that some 218s came with dampaner and others didn't. This is a non-Fluid Drive three speed set up.

Does the 218 of this era have a harmonic balancer with an option for the crankshaft vibration dampener?

After talking to the mechanic he did say that if the flywheel only bolts on one way that it's likely not the culprit. I sat in the car today and, at about 1500rpm, she has a very noticeable vibration. He tells me that he thinks it's in the motor. He also mentioned having the harmonic balancer rebuilt at a cost of $200+ without labor. Funny enough, I drove the car today and the most noticeable vibes hit when I'm driving 50+ mph. If I take the engage the car, the vibes persist. If this was a engine balance issue, wouldn't the vibes go away when the clutch is in allowing the engine to wind down?

Could one simply unbolt the flywheel from the crank and rotate it until the vibrations go away, Don? After talking to the mechanic he did say that if the flywheel only bolts on one way that it's likely not the culprit. I sat in the car today and, reving at about 1500rpm, she has a very noticeable vibration. He tells me that he thinks it's in the balance of motor. He also said it wasn't likely the harmonic balancer due to my idle being so smooth. He said the rebuilt would be at a cost of $200+ without labor. Funny enough, I drove the car today and the most noticeable vibes hit when I'm driving 50+ mph. If I take the engage the car, the vibes persist. If this was a engine balance issue, wouldn't the vibes go away when the clutch is in allowing the engine to wind down?

I just came back from my mechanic after telling him about what I thought was a driveline vibration. He informed me that the vibration also occurs when the vehicle is in neutral; that it can be felt in the wheel. He asked me what work I have had done since my purchase and I explained the my rear main seal was replaced. He had asked if the last mechanic had indexed the flywheel and "flywheel cover" and I told him that I didn't remember him doing so. Can anyone explain in layman's terms exactly what indexing and balancing the flywheel entails? I could imagine that if it was out of balance, it would cause a vibration. Also, the engine was rebuilt years before I bought the car. I would guess that a professional shop doing the job would also balance the engine during the rebuild. Is this engine internally or externally balanced? Thanks for any insight. As a shade tree mechanic, I've never come across this sort of stuff.

My '39 is like that too. This comes from the factory service manual for a '38. I'm trying to find my '39 supplement, which should be much more similar to your '40. Let me know if this helps.

I had thought of that too, but figured that if the hoses were collapsing that they would do it all the time. When she first starts off, she runs really strong for a while with no issues.

Thanks for the tip, Plymouthy. I plan on running her tonight and keeping an ice pack handy to see if that makes a difference if the situation arises again. I wasn't aware that it would be evidence if the coil was not throwing the needed strength of spark that it's supposed to. I will also check on that as well. I realize it must be frustrating when the newbies come online and ask these questions. With some luck, I'll find a solution and I'll be able to help the newer guys coming online after me.

My coil looks to be recessed into the firewall and held by the same clamp that Tod had in his picture of the aftermarket coil.

Would I buy a wire set for a '46+ to work with such a replacement? As I said, the plug wire is held on by a threaded collar on mine instead of a boot. I'll check and send a picture of my mounting situation.

I would agree. Does anyone have any pictures of how they retrofitted a newer coil with my application?

Mine is mounted to the firewall. :-/

The funny thing is that she'll rev up strong with no issues at a stand still, but she'll choke up if I put a load on her. I'll definitely take a look.

Am I correct that the difference between a $165 coil for my 1939 and a $40 coil for a 1946 is the threads for the cap that hold the wire on?

Both of those are great ideas. LOL. On the bright side, we met a lot of nice people while we were stuck. Being stuck on the road, one of Providence's finest was gracious enough to sit with us and talk for three of the five hours. He made sure we were safe and deterred any riff raff from coming our way at 11pm.

Last night while I was driving around I learned the hard way that an eighth of a tank according to my gauge means that I'm out of gas. The indication was that she started to hestitate, ESPECIALLY if I tried to push her. She was able to make it to a gas station with a push for the last few feet. I filled up the car and she refused to start. I tried everything, including starting fluid. The fuel in the in-line filter was clear, as was the fuel in the fuel pump bowl. After waiting for Hagerty to find a tow solution for 5 hours, we finally got her home. I charged the battery for six hours, started her up the next day, and she started on the first crank with cloud of white smoke. I took her around the block and she ran perfectly! I let her sit and run for about a half hour to charge the battery, hopped back in, and when I drove her around I got the same symptoms as if she was running out of gas again. I parked her in the garage, turned her off, and she wouldn't start again. The generator is charging and in both cases she cranked over strong. Any ideas??

I did see that, Greg. I meant if I wanted to pony up some cash to split this beautiful rental with you fine folks.

I will be doing the valve covers soon. Would I be able to see any sludge buildup? The motor was completely rebuilt in 2008 and has not seen more than 10K since then. It would seem unlikely that sludge would occur that quickly, right? I'll see how long it extends when she's up on the lift again. I'm not sure if the diagram I posted is to scale, but it looks as if it should extend down to the end of the pan.

The event is mid-week? I'd love to go up and, being a realtor, I have some flexibility in my schedule. I just wish it was a weekend so my girlfriend could come too.