Los_Control

While the # looks weird to me also, remember back in this time period it was normal to re-stamp a motor to suit the stampers needs. Seems I have heard you can get new engines with no stamp, then stamp it to match your old engine. Same with installing a used engine .... grind off the old number then stamp the number you want. I wanted to suggest Bannerman but could not find a link to them .... Thanks to @billrigsby for finding it. Bannerman has been collecting & logging motor identification numbers on these engines for years. Possible they know something about yours, I'm sure he would like to have your information either way just for his logs. Just thinking the # in your case only meant something to the re-builder. If you are unsure of the size of the engine. You can measure the stroke without pulling the head. That should tell you something. Also you can pull the head and measure the bore. Then go through a engine manual checking for bore & stroke for different engines .... Why possibly just the stroke will tell you what you need? I do not know the bigger 25" truck engines so I'm no help.

Here is what I consider a rough 1950 Dodge. Straight out of the field it sat in for 20 years..... Really took little work to get it running. The cooling system needed a lot of attention. I feel a experienced person could have gone through it and made it a safe dependable driver in less then 6 months of spare time. Not me though ..... Having never painted a vehicle before .... I just had to try it. ? Seriously, if it had some paint or bad paint ..... I would have been fine. But no paint .... I would feel guilty for being a bad caretaker. So while piddling around learning to weld & paint, I have been going through the undercarriage cleaning & painting everything. Inspected the front end, greased everything ..... upgraded the master cylinder, new wheel cylinders & lines. New fuel tank, lines, carburetor. Wiring was garbage, generator wrong & non working. New GM alternator and a universal wiring harness. I admit I was very lucky that mechanically the truck was in decent condition .... just needed a lot of neglected maintenance. I am not restoring it, just repairing it ..... fixed all the rust, took out the big dents left the little ones. Still a ways to go yet, when I hit the road with it "I" think it will be a dependable driver that is well maintained and have about $4k - $5k into it? She is the official Hound Dog Hauler. I live in a small rural town and expect to daily drive it for everything .... including dump runs when needed.

That crew is awesome. Seems they are having some website issues. ... Couple weeks ago I ordered a parking light lens from them ...... While installing my original glass one, I dropped it on the concrete and broke it I ordered the part and went through the full steps. After the final step I expect to see a page that says order has been placed .... instead I get a 504 error. So thinking I messed up I ordered again .... and got the same 504 error at the end. About 15 minute later DCM calls me on the phone, asked if I wanted 1 or 2 lenses. Explained that the order goes through, just the customer see's the error and they are working on fixing it. I received the lens in a few days, to my surprise it was also glass like the original .... I was expecting plastic. It was also cheapest at $26, on ebay they were selling $35-$40.

I think it really depends on condition of the engine. How much compression, a good working carburetor. Proper tune up. These engines ran in the winter time when they were new .... If in good condition they will run fine now also. I had a 1960 slant 6 truck ..... I sometimes needed to put a heat lamp under it to get the oil warmed up before it would start on very cold mornings. To be fair, the oil was probably closer to sludge then oil ..... I never changed it, just added to it when low. I had a 1951 Ford truck flathead V8. I needed to throw a rag over the top of the carburetor for extra choke to get it to fire up. Carb was Just wore out. Just suggesting that you can get the old beaters started without too much trouble .... I imagine if block heaters are normally used in your area, then use one. Might be a fun project, to have one that you can enjoy and use as you want. Not be so worried about parking lot dings or other normal issues that arrive with a daily driver. That is the whole goal of my truck ..... something safe & dependable to drive.

I like to think the Mopar Engineers designed it to be a self oiler ..... They were just way ahead of their time. They knew the average person would not remove the starter and oil the gear at the recommended intervals.

I checked mine, seems like a 1 13/16 socket fits. I have no idea what a 33 Dodge uses ..... or if it is the same nut the engine was born with. I never did report back ..... Wrong information can be harmful. My engine is a 1950 and 1-13/16 .... @Doug&Deb says 1-11/16" .... Ours are different. Just not sure about quality control back in those days, even tougher to guess what was available 10 years earlier.

You're progress looks great. Sometimes it is not what we want or meet the mental goals we set for our self. But it is still progress. Because I was medically retired, it was different for me to get accustomed to a different life. When you are working you have a pretty structured life where your time is taken up on a schedule. Retired it is now up to you to make a new schedule for your time. ..... Just different. I have not made any recent post in my thread either .... I've done some since the last post, but life just keeps getting in the way. ..... When I think I want to do something then my water heater in the house demands attention. I have my favorite Brother inlaw going through some problems. Wife & I got him moved from Washington to Texas .... getting the spare room in order ...... I just have no time to get things done on the truck. I went out yesterday to change the water pump on it. I have had the water pump on and off at least 3 times in the last 5 years ..... A bolt broke .... what I thought was going to be a quick, easy swap now is going to be a issue .... I'm only hoping I do not have to pull the radiator to drill it out & tap it. .... Again, not what I wanted to spend my time on. You know what I mean? I've had the new water pump on a shelf for 4 years ..... old one works fine just needs grease and the zirk fitting is plugged. While I'm here, I'm just going to put on the new pump. .... I can sit on the tire and get it done. So what should be a 30 minute job, life come along and I have no idea how long it will take to fix it. We may think as retired people we control our time ..... I'm not so sure we are in control. One day I went to the wrecking yard 1 hour away and I called the yard to tell them what I wanted. I got there and they never pulled the part yet. ..... Then it was lunch time, come back in 1 hour .... I did, then took them 30 minute to pull the part ...... Me & the sales lady was in a heated argument about the time it took to get the simple part .... she pulled me aside to talk to me to calm me down. ..... I said look lady I'm retired and I do not have time for all this BS. ..... We both laughed so hard, gave each other a hug and went on our way.

I will be out later working on my 49 218 ..... no idea if they would be the same as a 33 201. I do remember it awkward to measure because of the deep pulley and the small space. I do remember I found a socket to fit it though. I bought a tool box at a estate sale years ago, it had a set of 3/4" drive sockets in it .... thats how I happen to have the tool for it. Just thinking you might make a treasure hunt out of it ... go search a few pawn shops for a used 3/4" socket set .... maybe harbor freight has a cheap set? Just not something you will use very often but handy to have when you need it. ... Times like this. You can get a 1/2" > 3/4" adapter so you can use your 1/2" ratchet with it. I'm thinking if you go to the local parts store and buy a decent 1.5" socket, you may get a complete set used for about the same price.

Several years ago I had a Ford 1 ton work van. Wife & I drove it from Seattle to New Mexico .... we had it about 15 years. The heater worked awesome and always kept the front 2 passengers so warm we had to turn the heat way down and it kept the windows clear also. It was a awesome heater. One year it started leaking and I replaced the old brass heater core with the modern aluminum replacement ...... That heater just sucked after that .... It never warmed up enough to keep us warm .... I'm sure the windows would be a issue in the right weather. I remember thinking about a possible air pocket, I switched the heater hoses around just in case I installed them backwards, I put in a new T-stat thinking it might be bad .... I tried everything I could and nothing helped. My final take away was aluminum heater cores suck .... maybe different manufacturer & quality is the problem .... I do not know. Question to @uncleaud Do you have a modern replacement heater core?

Without knowing your location, cooler temps means different things to different people. .... Today is 60 degrees out and I needed a jacket to drive to the store ? I find when everything is in proper working order, these engines run cool. I ran my engine for a bit in the driveway and it never really got up to a good running temp with no T-stat installed. Then when I installed a 180 T-stat it runs right at 180. ..... If you are running in cool temps it may never get as warm as it should be. It was common in the old days to run a summer or winter T-stat depending on the season. Was also a known trick to put cardboard in front of the radiators to block airflow and raise the coolant temps to get the heater to work better. I remember hearing stories about truckers installing a roll up window shade in front of the radiator then just lower or raise it as the weather changed. Modern cars have pressurized cooling systems and run coolant at a higher temperature. The higher the pressure the higher the boiling point of coolant. Just saying modern cars are different because of a pressurized system and no longer have this issue.

My 2 cents on it .... It can be done in a emergency situation. If I'm at home in my garage ..... I do not consider it a emergency situation. To me if you are at home, if you need to assist it with 12 volts to turn over fast enough to start. .... You have a problem .... fix the problem. You need to know your wiring well and know exactly what is getting power to avoid possible damage. Not really a question a forum can answer ..... Nobody here knows what has been done to your wiring system over the years. In my case I feel like a total dummy when it comes to automotive wiring. I am in the process of converting to 12 volts and building a new wiring harness for my truck. Just saying I have a 12 volt GM alternator mounted, not wired yet. I have a 12 volt battery. All my original wiring has been removed .... only wiring I have left is power to the ignition switch turning power on off to the coil. ..... I know I can start my truck with a 12 volt battery ..... I still wont do it. I know I need to add a ballast resister into the system to drop the voltage to protect the points ... I have not wired it in yet. So I start it with 6 volts. I did start it on 12 volts for a short time .... I just knew it was not the correct way to do things. Just too many if', and's butt's & why thrown into it. ....... On the roadside getting a jump from a 12 volt battery to get it where you can fix it ... sure. Just doing it at home for no good reason ..... not for me.

I like the idea of using what is available. I'm sure you could make a 302 engine fit fine .... think about the transmission also. Most of the modern Ford transmissions seem to be large for whatever reason. I have never stuck the Ford engine in any other car before, going from experience working on my neighbors 53 Ford with a 302/A0D trans. The car would originally have a Y block V8 with a automatic trans. Whoever did the engine swap made it work, but it is a real hack job. The transmission bell housing is so large they had to lower the rear of the transmission to clear the floor. The proper way would have been to cut the floor & tunnel out and level the engine/transmission, then rebuild the floor/tunnel ... possibly modify the firewall. I changed the oil in the car and put in the required 5 quarts. The angle is so bad the dipstick reads 4 quarts ... you know the drive line u-joints are at a bad angle also. I talked online with another forum member who owns a few Hot Rods including a 53 Ford. He installed a sbc 350/700R in his Ford because it fit so much better then the Ford engines and did not need to modify the floor. There was a conversation about this. Many say it is better to put a Ford engine in a Ford car. Then those who have done it, know it can be a lot of extra work to make it fit right. I realize you are asking about a mopar not a Ford .... just pointing out you need to measure your clearances for bell housing & floor areas also when searching for a engine to install. ..... A lot of the old 40's-50's cars shared the same size motors/trans ..... modern cars and engines often share nothing including size and they are different.

I do not believe you can if I understand the question correctly. This is a 1951 Ford clutch, I assume it is very close to our mopar clutches ..... I have not yet had the pleasure to look at mine. The clutch disk has geared teeth that rides on the transmission shaft .... The disk spins with the transmission while the vehicle is in motion. The pressure plate forces pressure to the disk forcing pressure on the flywheel .... When you use the clutch that removes the pressure and allows the disk to spin freely. The only real adjustments here is the springs, They are color coded .... red ones like mine are considered a dump truck clutch because the springs are very stiff .... blue springs are softer and for a car. Then the arms are shimmed from the factory to adjust where the throw out bearing contacts them ..... basically all you get to play with on a pressure plate. Basically like @Dave72dt suggest, the only adjustment we get to play with is on the end of the clutch pedal.

Looks to me like they should have a speed nut with them. I have heard good things about AB, never dealt with them myself ..... your part looks incomplete to me. I feel AB should have provided the fasteners with the part if they want to sell it. I feel it will cost you another $4 to get them from the local hardware store with the screws to go with it. Same time I feel the size of the part is deceiving in a photo .... It may not be as easy to find correct size that will fit. Or it may be simple. I still feel AB should be told about the issue, it is their reputation on the line .... might be just easier to go get the stuff needed locally. That switch is not complete in my book with no way to fasten the wires to it.

I experienced water in the gas one time, it is not easy to diagnose imho. Many years ago it was a off topic plymouth mini van. .... It ran ok .... just fine. Then for a example going to pass a semi truck and get in the left lane of freeway and pick up speed. Get up to about the doors on the semi then it would fall on it's face. Would end up slowing down and getting back in the right lane behind the semi. Kind of dangerous in my opinion. The water is heavier then the gasoline, so it just kinda hangs out at the bottom of your tank ..... When you really start to burn some fuel passing another vehicle then the water gets picked up and spoils the fun. I fought this issue for a long time and could not figure it out. I sent it to a shop and paid for the deluxe tune up ... told them my issue. .... I had to wait my turn of 2 weeks just to get in line as it was a very expensive well known shop .... I ended up with gold plated spark plug wires ? ..... still had the same problem. I got so mad at it I just parked it for 6 months and never drove it. Then I thought about water in the gas, I had like 3/4 a tank of gas in it and added a bottle of heet to it and took it for a long drive to burn out the fuel. .... I did not see the problem again. Seems the chemicals in heet allow the heavier water to mix with the gasoline and it all gets burned together. I noticed the performance was not as good as normal ..... like the mixed water/fuel lowered the octane rating. The next tank of fuel performance was right where it should be. It was a $1 fix at the local gas station. I suppose it depends how much water you have in your tank as to how it runs .... A bottle of heet is pretty cheap insurance. I started adding it to my tank in all my vehicles once a year .... been several years though as I have forgot to do it ?

I have the feeling your car has been rewired over the years, not still the original cloth wiring the car was born with. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking that there was some creative wiring done when it was rewired ..... If it was intentional or not, I have no idea. Just using a modern ignition switch as a example. You turn the key on and it powers up the vehicle .... you twist the spring loaded switch further and it sends power to the solenoid using the "trigger wire" ..... Once started, the trigger wire never gets power again until you once again twist the key to start it. The push button that activates the trigger wire on our old vehicles works the same way. ...... For whatever reason, when your headlight switch is turned on, the power is removed from the solenoid. ..... I would have to look at a wiring diagram to see where the power to the solenoid comes from ..... then look at your wiring to see where it is coming from. It should not in anyway be connected with your headlight switch .... I think headlights and solenoid should be on different circuits not related to each other.

Not something we hear about today, At one time is was a popular sport to race greyhounds. Seems like there is still 2 tracks in USA that races them .... closely governed of course. They had the mechanical rabbit on the inside fence and the dogs would chase it around the track. The rabbit was invented in 1914 .... that helped the sport gain traction and popularity. Previously starting in 1876 they were racing them on a straight track with mixed results. ... I only imagine the results were mixed. So when the rabbit came along, by the 30's the greyhounds would be thought of as something fast and sleek. One of those things that does not make sense today, at the time it did.

Looks like it was original on 34 .... I dunno about 35. A google image search shows it on mostly 34 cars while others have used it on different years ..... Which came first? The Greyhound hood ornament or the Greyhound bus. Google search shows 1914 for Greyhound bus company.

Is there a #5 ? ...... Those that may or may not know how to do it ..... but insist on doing it anyways to learn? Sometimes this attitude has cost me money .... with the mistakes ..... It is a lot of fun learning though.

Getting pretty brave there buddy, considering 3 days ago it was 33 degrees and rained all day long

It is very common for these old engines to have stuck rings when they have been sitting for long periods. The rings are made of cast iron, the pistons a combination of different metals. The dissimilar metals cause corrosion and the rings stick to the pistons. A healthy engine, the rings will freely move around in the ring landings of the piston. The rings also act like a spring and apply pressure to the cylinder walls. When they get corrosion from sitting, the rings no longer move in the landings or apply pressure to the walls .... because they are stuck to the pistons. The valve guides on these old engines will have small amounts of oil left in them. When a engine sits long enough, the oil turns to sludge. When the engine is turned over, the cam will push the valve open. Sometimes the valve spring is just to weak to pull the valve closed through the hardened sludge. If you remove the head, you often can just use your thumb and push the valve closed .... repeat the process a few times and the valve will start closing on it's own. You have no stuck valves because you have compression on all cylinders iirc. But because of possible sludge build up, your valves could be sluggish in closing .... causing it to run rough. For both the rings and valves, it can only help to soak them in a light oil. It will not produce miracles, yet it wont hurt a thing. Fogging the cylinders will not hurt either, really would do nothing for the rings though. Marvel mystery oil and atf can be added straight to the oil if you desire ..... it will help you more adding it to the cylinders though ..... later to the oil for a further cleaning if you wish.

I wonder how much alike the steering boxes are between the cars and trucks? I only know for the trucks, a 1948-52 Ford F1 steering box worm gear will interchange with the Dodge truck steering worm gear. What I mean is they are both made by the same company .... is it Saganaw? .... The boxes will not physically interchange, but the guts inside are made from the same manufacturer. You would again need fab skills to cut the arm off and weld it in place on your steering arm, I'm thinking you should be able to get the rest of the parts needed to rebuild your existing box. ...... Just a idea to ponder, I have no clue if the truck & car boxes are even remotely similar ..... Maybe someone else here does? I only suggest this as it is what I will probably do if needed ..... I saw in your other thread that you have had yours apart and I think you could rebuild yours if you have the parts. ....... Does this gear look like yours? Again just thinking of another idea to fix your issue. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2332490.m570.l1313&_nkw=1951+ford++steering+box+worm+gear&_sacat=0

Now is a good time to add oil to the cylinders. A mixture of ATF & acetone is good, or plain old Marvel mystery oil ..... add it a few times over the winter, will slowly drain down into the pan then add some more. Good chance you have some sticky valves since you said it was running rough like not all cylinders were firing .... will be good to loosen up the rings on the pistons. A good soaking does not happen in a week ..... most of us do not have the time or patience for it ..... now is the perfect time to take advantage of the winter months and soak it. Will not hurt a thing. In the spring time when you are ready .... make sure it will hold water anyways, then I would fill it with straight vinegar and let it soak while you run the engine.

It is tough this time of the year to deal with cooling systems. Best just to keep water away from it if outside temps are near freezing. I have ran my truck several times with no coolant in it. ....... Meaning I cleaned my coolant system well to be sure it was ok, but the radiator was leaking badly and I removed it. I still started my truck and moved it around the driveway. If one of my other vehicles needed work, I would start my truck up and move it to the side of the garage. When the grass needed mowing I would move the truck around so could get the mower behind the garage ..... This went on for a couple of years while I worked on the truck. I just never let it run long enough to overheat. I can add, after running the engine with coolant in it for the first start and letting it run at operating temps it improved and smoke disappeared, valves started seating and was running good enough to be a driver. Then with no radiator for a couple years and running it several times without getting up to operating temps, it was smoking badly, running rough etc.... I was thinking I can not drive it this way. Now with a good radiator installed, let it run at operating temps, it has cleared up and runs better again ..... What I'm saying is, you can run it for short periods with no coolant ..... it will tell you something about the condition of the engine ..... if it is worth going forward with it. You really want to get coolant in it at some point and let it run for awhile to really know what condition the engine is in.

Batteries can fail in different ways .... what you describe is a common way. Sounds like your charging system is working fine. I've had batteries fail before, jump start them in the morning and will be fine all day to go to work and run around ..... Let it sit overnight and just wont hold a charge that long.