Karl Childers Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 So im new from chicago,new to these cars and make/model...i am a noob when it comes to moast things having anything to do with dodge, chrysler, plymouth, jeep, mopar. period. I love the car and it is extremely clean and was well taken care of before i picked it up. Can anyone school me on these cars? mine has a flathead 6/3 speed on the column, i dont think its the fluid drive trans after doing some research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Childers Posted March 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 ha, thanks...i couldnt pass the car up and i love the suicide doors, the car drives nicely and is all original and everything works, that is what i love best. Just looking to get schooled on it, i know the motor has been swapped out some time ago i am guessing cause the casting numbers dont match what i got out of an old Motors book...it comes back to a 1950 truck that is 33hp more powerful than what should be in here stock, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 So im new from chicago,new to these cars and make/model...i am a noob when it comes to moast things having anything to do with dodge, chrysler, plymouth, jeep, mopar. period.I love the car and it is extremely clean and was well taken care of before i picked it up. Can anyone school me on these cars? mine has a flathead 6/3 speed on the column, i dont think its the fluid drive trans after doing some research. Welcome. Looking at your other post I agree I don't believe you have a fluid drive car either. The fluid drive unit requires a much deeper bell housing. It should be fairly easy to source another tranny. I know the first couple years of column shift were cable operated but I don't believe the tranny itself was much different. I might have one for you if you ever get up to the twin cities. Wouldn't be available for about a month cause its currently snowed in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claybill Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 hi karl...i get to chicago often..used to work there... also I belong to he dairyland wisc/ill ply club..you might want to join us ! we are hosting the national widwest plymouth club "national MEET" in june...! dodge/ply were about the same for motors..only body trim was different.. bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claybill Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 #1...get the correct motor number. drivers side...front..top of motor just under the head. behind the generator..a flat spot has numbers punched in...dodge should start with a "D".. bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Childers Posted March 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 i need some help with my trans in this car so i can cruise it this summer and before i start to loose interest in it, i already had new glass cut for the doors and vent windows and started ordering small items to find out the trans needs to be gone through or it could be something else. it is a real bummer cause it drives nicely until i hit 3rd gear, i am new to these cars and manual trans', if i take it apart or "attempt" to it will NOT go back together, i assure everyone that...i know jack about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Childers Posted March 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 #1...get the correct motor number.drivers side...front..top of motor just under the head. behind the generator..a flat spot has numbers punched in...dodge should start with a "D".. bill yeah i got the motor number, it starts with D34 i do believe...and the exact number refers back to a 1950 truck motor...? i dunno...i could get the whole number when i go to where the car is parked, but the Motors book that covers this year and many others tells me it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40phil41 Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Welcome to the forum Karl. I have a Canadian 1940 Dodge Model D14 which is pretty well identical to your US D14. It should have a 3 sp. standard trans. I have installed a later model overdrive in mine to improve highway cruising. My original 3 sp. wasn't working properly either so I swapped it out for the rebuilt OD. I am sure someone on here will provide advice on repairing yours. FYI, here are a couple of photos of my car. I have many, many photos from during it's refurbishment which I will post as you ask questions. And a before photo (1968) Phil P.S. My car has a model D24 engine which was installed in about 1952. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Childers Posted March 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 well maybe it was a car, and not a truck...this is rough guess but i know its a '50 something. sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Childers Posted March 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Welcome to the forum Karl. I have a Canadian 1940 Dodge Model D14 which is pretty well identical to your US D14. It should have a 3 sp. standard trans. I have installed a later model overdrive in mine to improve highway cruising. My original 3 sp. wasn't working properly either so I swapped it out for the rebuilt OD. I am sure someone on here will provide advice on repairing yours.FYI, here are a couple of photos of my car. I have many, many photos from during it's refurbishment which I will post as you ask questions. And a before photo (1968) Phil beautiful, please do tell on your swap please if you can, i would like to listen in on it..any help you can provide will not go unappreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 What have you done to troubleshoot your existing tranny? You could have a bad clutch or cable adjustment. What about putting it in third with the car off and then trying to start moving? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Childers Posted March 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 i am gonna do that this weekend and run through the gears on jackstands and if i cant pinpoint it i might take it to my local shop/trans guy to put on a lift and have him look at it... thing is, parts are not simple to find and he cant even guarantee me that he will be able to run across them if it needs something. i do not know anything about this trans or knowing if things need to be adjusted or if the clutch is bad or anything along these lines at that. i am looking for someone local to help me with it but noone seems to know anything about these or how to go through them, which is no help to getting it back on the road, kinda sucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendan D25 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 Hi Carl, I see you made it here from the H.A.M.B. I use a different handle here(Copper Top on the other one). When you go to your car on the weekend maybe you could raise the rear wheels of the ground and run it through the gears and see what you can come up with. Don't forget to take some good jackstands. Keep us posted. Good Luck, Brendan. P.S. Is that your VW in the garage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Childers Posted March 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 lol, no, that was the guys house i bought the car from. i am gonna do exactly that this weekend though...any other suggestions on what it could be fro others are welcomed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmopar Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 Not real sure about the dodge but the plymouths use the same 3 speed manual trans for many years and you get pick one up for less the 100 usually around $50 at least you could a few years ago. So just thinking it may be easier for you just to get another trans. But 1st do as young ed and others suggest and be sure the trans is the problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveplym Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 Welcome to the forum Karl. Lots of good information on here. You'll learn more about your car here then you could anywhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Childers Posted March 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 this site already kicks ass! im loving all the help so far...more on here in hours than 2 weeks elsewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40phil41 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 beautiful, please do tell on your swap please if you can, i would like to listen in on it..any help you can provide will not go unappreciated. Karl, First off, I suspect that repairing, or replacing your current tranny with a good used one, will be a whole lot less expensive than opting for an OD unit. The OD tranny's are getting to be very expensive (especially a rebuilt unit). They are also getting to be very hard to find. This is an option you may want to consider further down the road. Having said that, the over-drive unit is a direct swap for the existing tranny, and greatly improves highway driving. Overall length is unchanged. The only items requiring change are (1) to replace or re-route the speedometer cable since the connection is on the opposite side on the OD unit, and (2) swap the levers on the side of the OD unit with those from your existing tranny. Oh, and there is a lot of wiring required for the 6V electrics. If I were you, I would first do what I did when trying to get my OD to work. That is, put the rear cross-member up on a pair of heavy duty jack stands, on a level floor, and start it up and run the tranny through it's gears and see if you can diagnose the problem. Have you checked the oil level in the transmission? Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Childers Posted March 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 oil level is full to the filler hole on the side, it is a light brown color Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 Light brown? Compare to 90w gear oil. If it looks thinner then that I'd drain it out and refill. If you open a bottle of 90w and smell it you should be able to tell if the oil in your tranny currently smells the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Evans Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 yeah i got the motor number, it starts with D34 i do believe...and the exact number refers back to a 1950 truck motor...? i dunno...i could get the whole number when i go to where the car is parked, but the Motors book that covers this year and many others tells me it is. Welcome to the forum Karl. Nice car. FYI.....your car originally was equipped with a 218 c.i. engine with a compression ratio of 6.5 and was rated at 87 hp. The D34 engine is from a 1950 Dodge Meadowbrook or Coronet and is a 230 ci engine with 7.0 c.r. rated at 103 hp. So ,you've got 16 more horses under the hood !!! A Dodge truck engine number would start with a T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moparjack44 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 Welcome Karl. Lotta great help, lotta great people here, and they have been friendly, even to me. I have a DeSoto, and I have gotten much more help here in 6 months, than I got on the DeSoto board in 3 years. H.A.M.B., good board, but lotta fluff, not much stuff. Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 One thing you have to learn about these old Mopars is: you sometimes can't be in a hurry about certain things. There are often times parts and such out there, but it may take a while to locate them. Not as plentiful as Ford & Chevy items. And, like you are seeing, not all mechanics know much about the old cars and may be unwilling to tackle them. Are there any antique or even hotrod car clubs in your area? If so, you might make it a point to attend some cruise-in's and shows to get acquainted with a few members. There may be someone who has a similar vehicle to yours. Or, they may be knowledgeable mechanics - but probably not in the actual mechanic business. An individual might be willing to work on your stuff, if you become acquainted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claybill Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 karl...there is a clutch and flywheel on ebay right now!!! look under 1941 plymouth. $50..... most motor parts will be the same as dodge/ply. most 218 and 230 parts are interchangeable...trannys were the same. bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Fred Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 yippieh, another 40 around! looking forward to more photos of the restauration! have fun and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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