Andydodge

Kevin.....do you have a pic of the trunk lid lock that your car has?........what I've seen on ebay looks very similar to what my car, an Oz assembled 1940 Dodge has...... which was based on the 1940 Plymouth chassis but with an Oz made body shell......if your trunk lock is what I think it is I maybe able to help..........so have you a pic of your trunk lock?...........andyd

Bryan...........lol........a good question.......that pic was of just a few parts mocked up on the bare 230 block........... my intention would have been to get it running on an engine stand with a stock manifold then and only then once everything was o/k instal in the car.........the car had the original 201 installed in 1941 which ran o/k, slow to start but it was 1941 parts.......BUT......I installed a Stovebolt Engineering HEI distributor and the difference with just that was amazing......the car had been converted to 12 volts before I bought it and started o/k but as it had a key ignition/start installed, once the HEI was in it I could stand outside the car, reach in to the key thru the open window, turn the key and instant start...........and it ran smoother, seemed to have more power and was just a much better car to drive...........I also had the stock airport tug industrial 230 cam reground by Waggott engineering to 1/2 race specs............with the finned head,cam, carbs,twin exhaust,HEI,no fan & balanced assembly I was hoping to see around 180-190 horses, the best a stock factory installed 230 was 132 hp in the late 50's with a 2 barrel carby and 8:1 compression......the finned head was supposed to raise this to 9:1...........anyway thats my story.........lol............andyd

A good cheap way to get a bit more from a side valve six is a low restriction 2 & 1/2" exhaust, turbo style muffler, a twin carb intake or a late 50's Plymouth/Dodge 2 barrel intake, also Stovebolt Engineering has weber 2 barrel carbs that help a lot....... upgraded ignition to a HEI style dissy, electric fan & delete the stock windmill blades, and say 50 thou off the head to bump the compression...........you won't go hunting Ferraris but these things will help........if funds allow then a finned head such as those by Earl Edgerton,"Edgy" or if can be found a Fenton or Edmunds head.......also a set od tube or cast iron headers will help to boost the power a little.........with these things and a general tidy up under the hood you'll be surprised at the 2nd glances you'll get as its not a belly button car or engine..........heres a pic of the 230 I was building, edgy Finned head, Offy intake, pair of Oz single barrel strombergs & a split cast Iron exhaust......sold before installed but you get the idea..............regards, andyd

Nice score..........and Welcome Aboard from Downunder......even tho' I'm a hotrodder that business coupe seems to be so complete & original I would think it a shame to chop the top, but your car so your choice...........the 4dr sedan looks to be a good parts car or maybe tidy up for sale & use the funds to be put into the coupe.... .............BTW I assume the 4dr is licenced as a 1949 Car( a leftover 1948) but as far as I know everything about these "1st Series 1949 cars" is identical to the actual 1948 vehicles and unless there is an actual paper trail to confirm this "1949" status then I'd be calling it a 1948 Dodge........my Oz 2 cents worth.........Andy Douglas

Looks good......just a question tho'.........on just about every aluminium radiator installation I've seen the radiator is never painted black............is there a reason for the non painting?.......I have a modified copper/brass Oz GM Commodore radiator in my 40 Dodge, made up by the local radiator shop 20 yrs ago, painted black and working fine..........anyway as mentioned I am curious why the radiator was not painted?........regards, andyd

Also its a good idea to knock the welch plugs out, there are 5 on the dissy side then insert a piece of welding wire and loosen the sludge etc also undo the wtaer drain tap on the same side and insert the wire in there........then insert a hose and squirt it around hopefully there won't be too much crud left.......also as mentioned did you check the Water Distribution Tube that lives directly behind the water pump?........these can rust out resulting in a poor distribution of water throughout the block.........andyd

I didn't realise that there were still some Naugas left.....I thought they had all been shot & were now extinct...........lol...........andyd

Yep.........thats them..........lol..............andyd

This is only an uneducated guess, however I would be prepared to suggest that within the same brand within the mopar family that the radiator for Plymouth considering that the car design was basically the same from 1940 to 1948 that the radiators from 1940-48 would be the same.........and I would think that would also apply to 1940-1948 Dodge radiators.......this is only a guess but its my guess...........and considering that BOTH Dodge and Plymouth used the same basic 23" engine then it would stand to reason that they would use a similar if not the same radiator............again only a guess...........andyd

When I was collecting parts for the 230 I was going to install in my 41 Plymouth I found that on US ebay there was a couple of guys in TURKEY, yep, the place in the Middle East that were listing mopar parts under 1948 - mid 50's Plymouth on a regular basis.....apparently Mopar had their Middle East Distribution Centre based in Turkey and these guys had found various old NOS Mopar parts still in the original boxes, also various parts from US companies...........I was able to purchase timing chain & gears, oil pump, full set of tappets, valves and valve springs at really excellent prices, ie, less than the same parts were then available from USA sources, let alone Australian places........these guys also packed and shipped promptly and I never had a problem with shipping or parts.........the reason I mention this is that while you have a 1948 Dodge make sure to check other ebay listings for other years and brands that the parts you want could be listed under...........it does pay to think laterally.............I ended up selling the car & engine separately tho' I hadn't built the engine.....thesed 2 pics are from when I listed the engine & parts for sale..............andyd

That work you did on the floor & rockers is commendable.........to be honest I couldn't believe the first pics showing what was rusted out and literally just not there........for someone who says they hadn't done any bodywork before you certainly show what can be achieved by just getting in and doing the work........very nice..........andyd

Interesting way that the roof chop was done........your friend is a very skilled fabricator/welder.......and I love the paint colour......is the paint a custom mix or is it a factory colour?.........I've seen a few different variations of this shade on some factory cars but your looks like its over a gold base , its very nice..........andyd

Nice colour.........what is it?.........also like the roof chop, about 2" - 3"?.....what engine is in it?..........heres a pic of the 41 coupe I had.....BTW....the "chrome" molding running the full length of my car from the front of the hood to the rear of the body on both sides was not the original but a 3/4" wide chromed plastic aftermarket piece that a previous owner had used......it was o/k till I found something better.........lol.....in the pic showing the rear seat you can see the edge of the chrome molding.......most people didn't even realise that molding was a plastic chromed piece........it started at the front edge of the hood..lol...........andyd.

Got any pics.....I had a RHD P11 Coupe but sold it like a dope..........pics we all like pics...............andyd

The local place I went to uses an adhesive and/or silicon crap for the late model cars and had no idea what I meant when I asked for a non hardening "mastick" or sealant ....BUT in no way would I ever use the silicon "windscreen sealer" crap..........my oz 2 cents worth........1.5 US cents....at the current exchange rate................lol............andyd

Wow.......great story, that wrecking yard would be the perfect place for a visit............pity there ain't too many like it around now.............even has cars still with their jewellery, ie, tailights & bumpers.........and am impressed with Chris' collection........andyd

Sometimes if the hood is pressed from 2 pieces but spot welded together and is the "alligator" style when a centre strip or molding is used the companies will leave small gaps in between the two spotwelded centre edges that allow a small clip to push down from the molding where its locked into..........once the clips tang is thru the gap between the hood pieces its then twisted enough to "lock" itself and the molding against the hood.........no bolt, or nut is used...........I don't know if this setup was ever used on Mopars but it is a common feature of various makes over the years, especially GM................andyd

Us Dodge guys always look to make things a little more difficult..........lol........on my Oz 1940 Dodge which uses the US 1940 Plymouth 2 piece side opening hood which is what Bryan said regarding the hood removal to get that centre strip off is correct as my car(1940 Plymouth Hood) and his car both use the side opening hood.............BUT as your 1946-48 plymouth uses the front opening or "alligator" style opening hood then I'd suggest that there is probably a few nuts to undo under the hood along the centre and that should undo the centre molding................the hood should not need to be removed.........I think........I'm only guessing here as I have only my car, which does require the hood removal and also being the ex owner of a 1941 Plymouth which used the same style of hood up to at least 1948...........from my experience over the past 50 yrs of ownership of my car and 8 yrs ownership of the 1941 Plymouth all the moldings are generally held at either end by a small bracket that uses a bolt & nut underneath to keep the ends from springing out away from the body but the rest of the molding, ie along its length and in the centre of it is usually just held with a spring clip...........if you intend to repaint the car then a small paint scraper can be used to gently "lever" the moldings away from the body after indentifying where they are located ........but all cars are different, your best bet is to take it easy when doing this, maybe spray some WD40 or similar where each bolt/nut/spring clip is located and take your time......also those spring clips that are found where you have access to the back of the panel can sometime be "helped" by a light tap to help "push" them out or come loose...........but gentleness and nice thoughts are the key...........lol............andyd

That film was for the 52/53 models but I still think the earlier cars should have some sort of non hardening sealant squirted between the rubber & body edge, if not also into the channel where the glass fits.........andyd

I've always tightened belts so that there is no more than 1/2" of "play" as measured in the longest span, admittedly I have not had any experience with straight 8 engines my only experience with the wide belts is on Plymouths and Oz GM Holdens........the 41 Plymouth used the wide belt & I installed a new belt of whatever size the old one was and had no problem........maybe as Lemondana says you may have the belt too loose.........but I'm no expert................have you checked the pulleys completely, there is not a crack or chip in one?............andyd

My understanding regarding the original weatherstripping/front rear window rubber gaskets is that they should have some sort of non hardening sealer squirted between the outer edge of the gasket and the window opening edge but in no way should it be an adhesive like what late model cars use to hold the windscreens in as part of the cars structure..............the original body opening stampings were not that accurate and a small amount of sealant or what I know as windscreen "mastick" should be used........when I had the front screens replaced on my 40 Dodge about 6-7 yrs ago I had a discussion with the glass guy who didn't want to put any sealant in......in the end I just said o/k and did it myself later when i got home........no leaks yet.........I'd put something in if it was me............andyd

When I saw the thread title and reading the request I originally thought you were looking for a pulley from a chrysler/Mopar/Plymouth POLYSPHERE V8 as thats what i take the "Poly" term to mean .....but I think you want whats also referred to as a "SERPENTINE BELT".........ie, one of those 1-1.5 inch wide flat belts with a 5 ribs...........so is that what you want?.......a serpentine belt pulley?..........not trying to confuse the issue, just trying to make sure of what you want.................andyd

Sniper is correct, synchromesh was only between 2nd & top(3rd).......if you were lucky you might have been able to get the car into 1st just before it stops, ie 1-2mph but it won't do the gearbox any good in the long run.........a fully synchro'd gearbox didn't arrive till the late 50's or 1960's as far as I know.........andyd

Agree with Rich, while the car runs o/k that red arrowed thing is the dissy lube fitting and its normally in a relatively accessible position so I'd also agree that your dissy is 180 degrees out which is a common fault.........andyd

My understanding is that long intake runners or manifold ports are in theory more suited to developing torque with shorter runners more suited to high RPM and higher horsepower......however bore/stroke/cam specs/head porting,valve size, piston design and a heap of other things can affect the engines power band.........when I was assembling the bits for the 230 I was intending to use in my 41 Coupe I had a twin carb intake, split cast iron exhaust manifolds, higher compression finned head, reground cam , a balanced reciprocating assembly,ie, crank,rods,pistons,flywheel & clutch and all new valves,lifters,springs,oil pump& timing chain & gears.....basically a new engine apart from the block which would have had some mild porting with gasket/port/manifold matching ...........as a single carbed factory stock 230 had a final HP rating of 132 horses I was hoping to see something around 180-200 tho' that may have been wishful thinking.......sold the lot before really getting into it so will probably never know...but good to think about........lol.............Andy Douglas