jeffsunzeri

I feel that best cruising speed would be in between best torque and best HP for just about any gasoline powered automobile. I feel comfortable with my flathead sixes doing 2,000 or so RPM all day long. Also, I feel the A833 is a far better choice than a GM trans.

Two items that have not been mentioned in this thread so far are vitally important to a modern braking system: Power boost and ABS. Disc braking systems without power boost and without ABS are no match for even the worst modern braking system. No doubt, a disc brake has much better potential than a drum system in many applications. However, any poorly maintained system, disc or drum, is unsafe. If you've got a properly maintained drum system (or disc) you should be able to do a panic stop from 45 or 50 mph and: -- lock all 4 wheels, and keep them locked until fully stopped. -- stop straight ahead. -- examine the skid marks and determine that all 4 are locked, and most of the braking is happening at the front (biggest pile of rubber dust). If your system can't pass those 3 items, you are in trouble. No reputable shop would return a car to the customer unless all those items were checked as good. Another note is that once the wheels are locked, the brakes are done. It's up to your tires and the road surface at that point.

Interesting topic with a lot of emotion involved, rightly so when smashing into things is at stake! The MoPar brakes as supplied in our Plymouths, Dodges and Chryslers are superior to their contemporaries. The double-leading shoe and well matched drum diameters to the vehicle made them better than the competitors. With today's far superior lining material, the drum brake system, properly maintained, is pretty hard to beat. Some facts about drum brakes: - No brake dust on wheels - Drum brakes are self actuating so they have a great pedal feel. - Drums are lighter than discs. Calipers are much heavier than wheel cylinders, and the brake surface area of a drum brake shoe is much larger than a disc pad. - There is a company that will drill your drums with all of the same benefits of drilled disc brake rotors. - Most big trucks use 4 wheel drum brakes What bothers me about the disc conversion that some do, is that it is highly doubtful that the owner/mechanic has the engineering expertise to properly set up the disc system. Factory engineers spend a lot of time balancing pedal effort, proportioning, and choosing size and type of discs. Brake systems also affect other components such as suspension and steering... A lot to consider. It's pretty certain that some of those folks who install disc systems (you do install a whole system, right?) are going from poorly maintained junk to new components and lots of labor replacing hoses and lines, so comparison to the drum system may not be valid.

Look on the left side of the block, up front, above the generator for the engine number. It will tell you how this started out. The big motor gives you lots of options! You lucked out.

Yes, that would be a good range for the Chrysler flathead six or eight motor. Generally, the inline flatheads make power (max torque and HP) at about 1,000 RPM lower than V-8, OHV engines. As for bogging or poor fuel economy, remember that all the Mopar flat sixes and for that matter the flat eights are relatively small engines that don't produce a lot of horsepower compared to the now-common V-8 engines. A large straight 8 of the modern period (after 1938 or so) never got much larger than 300 C.I., and you can compare that to the ubiquitous 318/360/383 V-8. So our little flatties are going to be running hard compared to more modern OHV motors, but well within themselves if not pushed too hard. Certainly they will be less stressed than many GM and Ford motors of the same time period. You should definitely be good with an overdrive with a 3.23 diff. if you're running a healthy 218/230/251/265.

I think that statement may be in error. For example, per Allpar: "The largest flathead six Chrysler used in its automobiles was 265.5 cubic inches that produced 218 ft/lbs of torque at 1600 RPM"

Sounds like you've got all the systems covered. Based on the photo of the dash area, I'd change around the order of things to put the wiring system either first or just after freeing the motor. It looks like there are some serious modifications that ought to be addressed with the customized wiring job.

"Besides, my wife would only drive it if it had AT and A/C." For me personally, that would be an excellent reason to keep it bone stock!

All really great suggestions. To completely check the choke circuit: 1. With the air cleaner off, pull the choke control out and determine where the butterfly valve is fully closed. That is the setting you want to use on a very cold start. 2. Check the choke butterfly to make sure it has mechanical integrity, and some of them also have a spring loaded air valve which must be checked for free movement at this time. 3. When the choke is full on, it should rotate a small cam under the idle screw via a rod. If that is not set correctly, you will have to manipulate the throttle as Jeff has indicated. 4. When starting cold, leave the choke valve open (knob pushed in). Press the accelerator to the floor three times (to prime with fuel from the accelerator pump). 5. On the third pump, hold the accelerator to the floor (this allows the fast idle cam to come into play as well as let the air/fuel mix), and pull the choke knob to the full on position you determined in step 1. 6. Count to 3. 7. Release the accelerator and press the starter pedal. Depending on the age of the engine, etc. you may find modifying the number of accelerator strokes, or the position of the choke may change. These things do have some individual idiosyncrasies!

I second Jeff's Optima recommendation. They are an outstanding battery.

Best ways to attempt to turn over a potentially seized motor: - remove the spark plugs and try to get some lubricant down each cylinder. - With a fresh battery and good starter connections, use the electric starter. - If the starter fails to move the crank, then if it's a manual transmission, put it in first gear and rock the car. - If the above fails, try turning the crank with the proper fitting socket attached to the front bolt on the crank with a 2 or 3 foot bar. Emphasis on proper fitting. If the above fails, the motor is likely stuck beyond a simple freeing up. The nut in the photo shows signs of a shade-tree monkey trying to tighten or loosen the nut with a hammer and some other devise because they didn't have the proper socket. Now that it's buggered up, a proper socket won't fit well...

Very nice find! It's got a good front bumper and running boards which are very hard to find if not present. That's going to be a great work truck when up and going! You'll find a lot of members here are also members on a Yahoo Dodge truck site devoted to these beasts, and there is a lot of good info and support.

Two likely culprits: Faulty regulator or mis-wired generator, assuming you have a generator system and not converted to alternator.

First check the master cylinder actuating rod - pedal clearance. Next check for kinks in the brake lines and/or old flexible lines. Then the final suspects would be the return springs, shoe pivot cleanliness, and then the shoe minor adjustments.

The gauge can be repaired if the cause of failure is the loss of internal gas due to a break in the capillary or bulb. If you clip the capillary tube, do it nearest the bulb as you can. We regularly repair these for customers all over the world. Send me a private message if you like to have your old unit repaired.

It appears that what you have there is a 1941 or 1942 WD-21 1 ton truck that left the factory with a flatbed. It is nearly identical to mine. It also appears that the rear of the frame is bent downward. Hopefully its just a figment of the photo lighting and angle. The flatbed is 90% wood. The side rails and other metal bits may be difficult to find, but not impossible. The switch on the shifter is just an old electrical switch probably used for who-knows-what light, but it has nothing to do with your ratios. The rear end looks like the normal 5.?? ratio rear end, which is pretty near bullet proof, and all parts are easy to come by. I did a total re-wire on mine in about 20 hours, the most difficult part being the wires from the gas tank sender. Keep it 6 volt as there's no need for 12 volt, especially in this truck which is too noisy for radio operation anyway. Since its an early model, the cab mounts differently from the 46-47 models and the dash is slightly different too. The distinguishing feature of the 41-42 cab is the stainless trim running horizontally on the grill. Very nice truck! Check out the Yahoo Job Rated site which has lots of specific help for these vintage haulers.

No. The temps you report are not ok for that engine. Those temps are too high. 1. Taking the temp from the outside of a brass fitting is misleading at best, and useless. 2. The proper temperature is taken where the original gauge's bulb is; at the back of the block/head inserted into the coolant. 3. In a healthy engine, the normal coolant temperature at the gauge's bulb should be between 160 and 180 degrees F. This would be with the stock cooling system. If your temps are actually as reported, your engine was likely poorly rebuilt. The most often seen culprit would be the water distribution tube not being replaced, or was replaced badly. This would create poor circulation of the coolant over the length of the engine and higher than normal temperatures. The most immediate problem with overheating like this on these engines is burnt valves at the rear of the block and blown head gaskets.

Yes, it will help. If you can isolate the two materials, it will slow or stop galvanic corrosion. Although, your first concern, differential expansion, is still very valid. Depending on the thickness and alloy. The aluminum will expand more than the steel in sunlight or other heat and oil-can/warp/bend depending on how large it is.

As long as the end with the cross fits well into the crank nut (no binding), it is safe. The design of the crank nut assures that when the engine starts, the crank will be pushed out of engagement with the nut - the crank only engages in one direction and ejects in the opposite direction.

No.

Assuming you've connected your multi-meter in series with the ground cable to show the load, and then disconnected circuits one by one to indicate which one is responsible for the drain. You did do that, correct? The most common parasite drain is the clock, followed by an interior light, and then by a badly wired component such as a radio. Fried regulators are pretty obvious from the burned and welded points.

All popular welding methods can be used to stitch together automotive sheetmetal successfully. Oxy-acetylene has worked beautifully for decades, TIG works just fine, and MIG is very successful. The only method that is not usually recommended is stick-arc. It is very difficult to get satisfactory welds on thin gauge material with this process, but it has been done. The key to a good bond and final appearance has much more to do with the body man than the welding method. Some notes: * Both TIG and MIG require the same amount of cleanliness of the base material before welding as both use burning inert gas to keep the weld area clean. * In order to keep warping to a minimum, the Heat Affected Zone must be kept to a minimum. Operator skill is key here. * MIG requires less skill to operate than either TIG or Oxy-Acetylene. * Welders are trained on Oxy-Acetylene process first, then move on to MIG and TIG to build skill in understanding how the weld process works. * No matter the process, hammer welding skills are necessary to get a satisfactory seam. * Cleaning the weld area AFTER welding is extremely important to a final finish that adheres and appears properly. The final word is that it is the skill of the operator, not the weld process type that determines the goodness of the end result. NOTE: I've excluded flux-core automatic wire welding and brazing methods as outside the scope of this little discussion.

The front looks correct and needs the brace, which also looks correct. There was no such thing as an original rear bumper for these trucks. The only version that came with a rear bumper was the panel truck. The bumper they are offering looks OK, and expect that you'll likely have to drill and fit the whole unit with brackets to your truck. Original front bumpers in somewhat straight but well-rusted condition with the inner brace will bring $500 and up when you can find one.

Check and replace that battery if it's at all questionable. From your description, it is dying far to easily and may certainly be contributing to the hard start/no start condition. If it's a wet lead/acid battery, check with a load tester and hydrometer. If it's an Optima, check the voltage after charging and after loading. A good battery will have at least 7 volts at the terminals.

Just a thumbnail impression says the most numerous W-models are 1946-1947, with 41-42 next, and 38-40 after that. Craigslist seems to always have a Job Rated listed someplace. From the parts availability I'd say there are a good many 42 left, and maybe 60% or more are mostly original (bed replacement, big electrical changes being the most common). The rust you have seems to be fairly common. The repro tailgates are OK, but I've repaired my originals. On one tailgate, I replaced the lower portion with a new tube, and with another I used a tube as a mandrel to smooth out the dents and spent waaayyy too much time patching. I think the result was worth the work but that was back when the repros were not readily available. The old steel welds up very nicely and predictably so that rust repairs are pretty straightforward. The generator-alternator conversions seem like a good deal because you'd be getting better output at low rpm's. I've been driving with generators and lead acid since forever with no issues in the charging/running department. For the past 10 or so years I've been using red top Optima 6 volt batteries in all my 6 volt-generator vehicles and I am extremely pleased. Very predictable failure profiles and very good charge holding characteristics and their health is very easy to monitor, much easier than wet lead-acid.