59bisquik

I will have to check the tag on where it was built. But it was my understanding that there was a small number of 54's built in 55 and sold only as fleet vehicles according to a book I read.wonder if it's the same book Plymouthy has?

My 230 is the original from my 55. Looks like that would be a better head to use and engine to rebuild. I have a dual carb intake and dual exhaust. Planned on bumping up the compression and adding a bigger cam.

Thanks guys!

Thanks... I will have to search that out. What things do I need to do the check if it's a good head still? If this head is no good, it won't hurt my feelings. I have the running 218 in the truck, the original 230 that needs rebuilt and then the extra head.

I have a 50 Plymouth head I pulled off an old engine that a guy was drag racing many years ago. How would I measure to find out if it has been shaved down?

Besides working on clean up and draining 5 year old gas out of the fuel tank, I decided to see if my truck pinion yoke would fit on my car 3.73 differential. Looks like it will fit. Guess the rear end might be the next project.

Love the stocker tow truck!

Sounds like a great trip! I cant wait to take my first road trip!

After 14 hours of driving and only stopping twice for fuel, I finally have her home!! It towed so well, I sometimes forgot she was back there until I looked into the mirror and thought who the heck in a yellow pickup is riding my bumper! First order of business besides unloading all of the spare parts is to get the 3.73 swapped in and the brakes back to functioning. Then figure out whats wrong with the distributor so I can drive it some. Then will be clean up the frame and do a spring-ectomy and put the bed back together! Somebody back in the day got carried away with adding some extra springs for carrying cords of wood in this poor old truck!

Sounds like great advice! I will have to do that and then make a decision. Thanks.

It just so happens that I also have a freshly rebuilt 3.73 diff from that same Plymouth. So it's R10 OD and 3.73. I want to be able to maintain 65 on the highway so I can go to car shows and such.

It mounts with two rubber mounts right to the crossmember. It's a 55 C1B if that makes a difference.

So I am getting my truck ready to tow home and thought I would check out the tranny and such. I don't see pedals or a master cylinder attached to the bell housing. Or see the bell housing attaching to the frame. I see it sitting on a crossmember and the master cylinder bolted to the frame. So maybe this bell housing will work with my Plymouth OD tranny? Am I misunderstanding something?

I dont think this is what you were looking for. Here is an airport tug with a 218. This is where my spare running engine came from.

Mine currently has a 218 in it with dual carbs and exhaust. It is an industrial motor and is otherwise stock. Obviously never been to the dyno, but the seat-of-my-pants meter says it feels a bit peppier than stock. Down the road, I will rebuild the 230 and put it back in with the dual exhaust and carbs and add a cam and shaved head. The 230 lost compression in #5 and we found a running 218 in an airport tug. It was an easy swap and got us up and running again for the time being. Who knows, once I get the back of the frame and bed cleaned up, pull the overloads off the back as well as a few leaf springs all the way around to lower the altitude, I might just have a head milled and swap it on. I do have a spare head...

Awesome truck! I love that old body style with the big grill and curvy fenders. I know these are rat rods and pretty rough compared to yours, but I saw them at a show last year and fell in love with the body style.

While I have only driven my truck a couple times, I am really excited about the flathead and the issues that come along with it. I have been doing a frame off resto-mod on a 54 Ford coupe for the last few years. 302/AOD, rack and pinion, 8.8 with 3.55's and trac-loc, 4 wheel disc and planning on a mild custom with the bare steel look for the body. It still has a couple of years before its on the road. With that being said, it should drive pretty close to a modern car and be reliable. But with the Dodge, I see a flathead, 6v and solid axles. I see it as a big yellow time machine. I want to keep it that way and couldn't fathom a chassis swap. To me, it's no longer a classic truck in my opinion. I am excited to be in the slow lane with my dual carbs and exhaust howling and puttering along at 55 to 65. The cool factor of a flathead outweighs the any modern high tech hotrod. I too think that that's part of the adventure of going somewhere. That's not to say that disc brakes and seat belts for safety are a bad idea. I am just under the opinion that I wouldn't do anything that I couldn't easily return to stock like a front ifs clip for example. I do wish they made the front disc kit for these that I saw on a 30's rod years ago. It used the huge Buick finned drums, but actually had discs hidden inside. Of course, to each their own and there is no "correct" answer. Just build the vehicle to suit your needs and intended purpose.

Thanks! Seems easy enough!

On my 54, I need to swap out the differential for a better gear ratio. I have two questions since the truck isnt right here to look at. 1) Many of the nuts holding the carrier into the housing have been rounded off. What size socket do I need to remove them? I am going to bring on of those extraction style sockets. 2) Is there a secret to getting the pinion yoke off? My dad says the nut and cotter pin are pretty deep in the yoke and he cant get the cotter pin out. Thanks in advance guys. I am driving a long ways to work on it and I want to go prepared.

Merle... I was close. Exhaust was routed that way so my dad could hear it while driving.

Thanks for the compliments guys!

Lookin good!

Hmmmm... thats a good question. I will have to ask him when I talk to him next. My guess would be, with the stock gears and low top speed, its always in the slow lane. So with the pipes on the driver side I can blast plenty of noise over at the hybrid cars. But again, just a guess.