Lumpy

True, you might spend as much or more time crawling around underneath the car to disconnect the body from the frame, as you would....crawling around working on stuff. An alternative might be to just get the car way-up off the ground some how or another. ??? Or not. ken.

Here in Eastern Washington we had a little bit of a lack of snow through November and January, so I got to drive Lumpy to work a couple of times, which normally would be unusual. Then we started getting snow in February, which is when the snowy weather usually breaks. Yesterday the roads were clear enough to take Lumpy for a drive, then this morning we woke up to more snow. !! About the only thing I've been planning to do is replace my front end springs, and maybe sand her down for some black primer, but I tore my ACL the end of January...which kind of put a kink in that and working on another project I'm just finishing up. (motorcycle) But, leg is getting better, in fact Saturday I changed a flat on Lumpy, so I think I'm able to do the springs now. So, normally Lumpy Lou, the motorcycles, the Dart, and the Super Bug go into hibernation from November to middle of February, so this year is a bit different as it's still snowing late February, but that's not really changed the normal routine too much. Hopefully it winter won't continue into March. Normally it breaks right in the middle of February. So that's the state of the winter address here at Lumpy's house. !!!! ken

That's nice. Lumpy has no apholstery. !!! Just seats and pieces parts of old carpet laid down at random. But Lumpy don't care. ken.

You know...there's nothing wrong with disc brakes. But if one completely rebuilds the drum brakes, new (or rebuilt) wheel cylinders, shoes, rebuild the master, flush the system, adjust them properly, the stock brakes will work pretty darn good. I know the brakes on my D24 work perfectly, and they were redone as above when I first got the car. So, sometimes I'm a bit puzzled when I find so many people think of disc brakes as a "must". But again, certainly nothing wrong with them!!!! ken.

Okay, took Lumpy for her drive...roads were just clear enough. I agree, it's all in the eye of the beholder. I won't argue. But, I like the way that the lack of trim emphasizes the fenders, I suspect that the designers did it to break it up a bit. But big fenders are more unique sixty some odd years later! So that's my reasoning. I like BIG fenders, or the big fender look. I put some aluminum trim on the rockers, as I think the side of the car is one area that is "BIG" enough. ??? ken.

That's a nice looking car, and I like it in black. My '48 2-door sedan was originally black, but when I got it, it was a two tone brown and cream. However, that paint job had seen it's better days so I put it in primer...but lately I've been thinking about putting it in primer black, as a foundation for a black paint job. It's been grey for about ten years or more, getting tired of it. (but I like it too) Anyhow, looking at your car has kind of inspired me to get that done. Black really does go good on a '48. My chrome strips on the fenders were a bit dented up, so I just "deleted" them, and I like the look of the fenders better without them. So that's an option. Perhaps I can take a pic of just my fender and post it today. Just fixed a flat on the car, so I might drive it around the loop (that's about a 4 mile "block" in my rural area) when I get that done, and take a pic. Just a thought. I'm glad you are keeping the six, I love mine and wouldn't want another engine in it. If you run three carbs, be sure to keep them small. I run two small B&B's that came off of 198 slant sixes, and they seem to be perfect for the engine, although I see that many on this forum are perfectly happy running two stock carbs. Stay conservative on any cam change....a flat head just does not rev enough to really take advantage of much more cam. Increasing lift a bit is usually most beneficial on an engine that does not breath well to begin with. Just my opinion...I could be wrong!!! ken.

That is nice. What kind of radiator is that? k.

I would think that a radiator shop could do that easily, and there are probably lots of other cores that could be adapted. Heater cores are usually a "lot of fun" to pull (NOT!) But maybe not so bad in your car. ? You'll find out! Good luck. ken.

Don's engine even looks good just laying on the bench. k.

If you wind up with .050" piston to head clearance, (.070" head gasket minus .020" pop-up, or positive deck height) that's about ideal as far as getting good squish, and insuring that there won't be contact when the engine is hot and the rods and pistons "grow" a bit. One can go as tight as .030" if your measurements are absolutely accurate and correct. Otherwise .050" is the general rule and more safe. As mentioned you should be okay on valve to head clearence...but easy to check. Airflow around the valves is best with generous clearence between valve and head, but thats' a minor detail...not hitting the head is more important...obviously. !!! Good luck. Edit: I forgot to mention, anything larger than .050" between the piston and head at TDC will increase the engine's tendency to "ping" or detonate quite dramatically, as that gap enlarges beyond .050". Or...the larger that gap, the lower the compression will need to be, and the less timing advance that can be used. I hope that made sense. !!! ken.

To get your tire-shredding ability it's fairly easy to convert to a standard 3-speed transmission, or a more modern manual 4 or 5 speed transmission. The car does already have a clutch, right? Or am I confusing it with the fluid drives that had clutches. ??? If not they do have conversion kits for the 904. k.

That would be true...!!! The fluid drives are a bit "sluggish" off the line. I was thinking in terms of the regular 3-speed and clutch, which is what Lumpy has. What tranny does the '51 have? k.

Oh I love it. You have some far out ideas going on. And a beer tap for the shifter I assume....! I'm here to tell you, that with peak torque produced around 1200rpm or so, the flathead six sure does not have any trouble smoking the tires. These things have over 4 inches of stroke. I don't do that, (massive burn outs) in deference to my driveline, but Lumpy will squeak the tires, or burn out the same as any other car. Well maybe not a Ford Maverick. But again, the flathead six will burn the tires right down to the rims, if you are really inclined to do that. And waking up those engines is easy, mill the head a bit, throw on some dual carbs, run a healthy diameter exhaust pipe and you are good to go. But I'm not worried, you'll learn to love it. Well my interior is gutted, but she came that way. Kind of a non-issue, as she runs and drives so nice that I don't worry about it...or notice it. Good luck and have fun with it. ken.

Yes, Don's engine just blows my mind every time I look at it...I'm beginning to think that he knows a thing or two. !!!!!!! Seems like I google'd those heads but could find no prices. What do they run as far as cost? k.

And loads of opinions! I think you'll learn to love the flathead motor, if it's not worn out. If it is, I still think you'll really enjoy it with a rebuild, which would be far less time and money than dropping in a small block V8. (But I salute you for sticking with Chrysler DNA!) A good running, fresh flathead six, with 8.0:1 compression is a fine running engine, and it has stump pulling torque right off idle. The flathead six is not a slug, it just does not rev real high...and does not really need to. Your flame idea is cool, I'd keep it subtle though, kind of "ghost" flames...? But, whatever works for you. I find that my D24 drives and stops great with the stock front end....mechanically she's in tip-top shape. I suspect that sometimes people replace the front ends on these cars because the front end and brakes were on their last legs, so to speak. So again, an overhaul of the front suspension and brakes with brand new stock parts may surprise you as far as handling and stopping goes. Like the engine, a total overhaul of the brakes is probably less time and money spent than swapping in some other kind of brakes, and same with the front end. ?? Just an opinion to sift through. That's a cool car and will be cool no matter what you do with it. k.

I'm not against slipping a Chrysler V8 into a....Chrysler product, but I think the flathead just has so much more "wow" appeal, just plain "neat". More "cool factor". I run into people all the time who have never seen a flathead....but I don't think there's too many out there who have not seen a modern OHV V8. Another thing, the flatheads aren't THAT underpowered....it's not like they can't get out of their own way. And they certainly have all the low-end torque you could want. I really don't have to shift the gears in Lumpy very often, don't have to down shift much, she'll just lug around in third gear most of the time. A good running, well tuned flathead with reasonable compression will do just fine. And yes, I keep telling everyone who'll listen not to go too high on the compression, but on the other hand, there's no reason to run the really low compression ratios like 6.0:1 either. Just some thoughts! ken.

A 12V generator would be cool. Can't those be re-wired for 12V? They do that quite often with the old 6V motorcycle generators. k.

Another idea might be to reverse the water flow, or pump, so that the cooled water runs into the head first, and then to the block, and then into the radiator. The auto industry did that quite a few years ago, (I think GM did it first...do'h!) for the specific purpose of cooler heads, which "resists" detonation, so that they could up CR. Well I don't know if "resist" is the right word, but you know what I mean. !!! It wasn't so long ago that our "modern" OHV engines, 225's, 273's, 318's, 360's, 383's, 400's, 440's, were only running around 8.5:1 in stock form. Now 10.0:1 is indeed the norm. k.

Could be leather, as the old timers were fond of using it in/on just about anything. I would guess that you could use anything that does not conduct electricty. ??? Or, I could be totally and completely wrong! k.

That should be pretty neat when you get it on the road. Thanks for saving it from the Toyota engine! (or any engine without Chrysler DNA) Thats' the first right hand drive Plymouth I've ever seen. I have buckets in Lumpy, ('48 D24) and sure like them better than the bench seat that was in it. Just makes the whole car feel better when I drive it...if that makes sense. I feel more "connected" or something. I was scolded by the wife for doing that, but it was worth it. Well good luck, that will be a very cool car, and your plan sounds great. k.

I sure like listening to the car and engine, rather than music. But, having said that, I have been thinking of getting a CD player, and some 1940's music for Lumpy for when she's parked at the park, or a car show, or something like that. k.

Compression in a flathead engine, and compression in an overhead valve engine are two different animals, mostly because of how far the spark plug is from the piston. In a flathead, the flame-front is considered to be kind of "weird", compared to an OHV engine. On an air cooled engine, sometimes the spark plug can be relocated slightly. But if you think about it, on a OHV, the spark ignites the fuel above the piston, on a flathead it ignites it off to the side, and therein is the (or one) advantage to a OHV, and why the flame front is "funny" or less efficient in a flathead chamber, and more prone to detonation. You certainly can use up to 11.0:1 in a OHV, hemispherical chamber. Been there done that. However, physics is physics, and there's is a limit to how much you can squeeze the air fuel mixture, before it just wants to detonate. Remember that the air fuel mixture does not explode, it burns. When it does explode, that's detonation and ping. That's why you can ignite the air/fuel mix before the piston reaches TDC....as you know I'm sure. Then try to remember that valve timing has a huge effect on compression. You might have a 10:1 static or mechanical compression, but valve timing can lower that quite a bit, leading you to think your engine runs fine on 10.0:1 compression, whereas it's actually only squeezing the air at around 9.0:1 or something like that....just kind of making up numbers here. How much the piston is really squeezing the mixture is dynamic compression, and it's often different (usually lower) than what the static compression is, as measured by chamber volume, bore, and stroke. Or in other words there are a lot of variables...when I say 8.5:1 is about tops, I'm speaking in generalizations. (and It's just my opinion) I don't doubt that someone else is getting by with more. The more overlap you have in your valve timing....that lowers your static compression. Temperature increases the tendency to detonate. Aluminum heads dissapate heat better and can run more compression generally speaking. An engine pinging or detonating with a 190 degree thremostat might not with a 160. etc. etc. !! ???? ken.

Well...that's very interesting. I learn something new every week! Well, I do know that the higher the compression, the closer you want that piston to the head, so it makes sense that a workable CR with a negative deck height would be 6.6:1 or somewhere around there....and the older those engines are, the lower the CR, generally speaking, so it does make sense. ken.

I've got to admit, although I've always thought the Jeep six would be the bee's knee's, as I have a Jeep and love that engine, that the slant six might be more better. Pure Mopar DNA and lots of hop-up potential. However, as long as there is an engine in the car that can be repaired, or you can find another like it, I think that's really the way to go, all things considered. That's certainly the cheap and cost effective way to go. You can probably get it on the road, and find a cheap second car for a daily driver at what it will cost to drop in a 318/360, and get it all running right and reliable. Ooops. Now I see you have a motorcycle and a daily driver....so....let's throw out the daily driver idea right now!!! To re-iterate a bit, the flathead six can go any distance that any other engine can, maybe not quite as fast. Sometimes I drive Lumpy all day. But again, in these old cars, the journey is more important than how fast you can get somewhere. If I have to get somewhere fast, I hop on a motorcycle, or take my '72 Dart, or, BORING, take the Jeep or the Honda or the pick-em-up-truck. For long drives, are there not alternative highways to take, instead of the freeway, or are you in the middle of the city? Last and probably least, I think a 1937 would be much more enjoyable if it's NOT a daily driver. I think it will lose it's "charm" if you will, if it becomes a work horse, just to argue one more time against that. I like the rat-roddy, street-roddy thing, that's kind of where my car is at....with a flathead six. Lumpy Lou is mechanically sweet, but has no interior to speak of, old carpets on the floor, and she wears primer. But the body is straight, and she has nice chrome wheels. So....?? Hope that wasn't too redundant. Once again....too much coffee. ken.

I would agree that a do-it-your-self set up would be just as good or better than buying a ready made deal, which will probably have to be modified anyways. k.