1948mando Posted August 30, 2009 Report Share Posted August 30, 2009 I have a 48 p15 convertible with a bad engine in it and I have a replacement engine off of a 55 Plymouth that runs OK I was told. My question is should I rebuild the original 48 engine or rebuild the 55 engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted August 30, 2009 Report Share Posted August 30, 2009 (edited) Lotsa Depends here. If you ever go for Plymouth owners club judging you will get no points for the engine as it is not original. If you will never attend a POC meet for judging purposes then, the 48 is a 218 at 97 hp, the 55 is a 230 at 125? hp. Other than the engine number and different intake and carb, the 55 is visually identical to your 48 engine. And you can retrofit the 48 intake stuff onto the later one should you like that look better. If you are going to spend the money, why not rebuild the newer more powerful engine? Parts and labor are gonna coast the same. The 55 engine will bolt right in to your car, it has a higher compression stock so if milling the head is in the picture the results for the engine will be larger for the same money. I put a 56 engine in my 46 and it is a big improvement over the 218, and it gets better fuel milage in the bargain. But its your car and you know what you are going to do with it. So in the end its your decision. Edited August 30, 2009 by greg g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normspeed Posted August 30, 2009 Report Share Posted August 30, 2009 If you go with the newer engine, in addition to Greg's comments, you'll want to keep certain stuff off the old one. The 55 exhaust manifold may not match up to your exhaust headpipe. The carburetor was a different design. You may also need the P15 carburetor bellcrank linkage from your old engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS48plm Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Why not rebuild the 48 motor using the crank and rods from the 55. That way you'll have an original numbered motor with 230 cubic inches. JohnS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WatchingWolf Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Drop the 55 engine in as is, enjoy the car. Rebuild the 48 engine as you can afford to do it better, using larger crank and rods from an alternate source. Install the original rebuilt 218 (now bumped to 230) at a later date. Resell the 55 230 to finance the next project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1948mando Posted August 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Thanks guys . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Saraceno Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 I totally agree with WatchingWolf. First of all, a numbers matching car will always be more desireable than a non numbers matching car. The difference in horsepower is not that much, yes the engine has a larger displacement but if you have the same carb and exhaust, you won't utilize all of that extra power. So as WatchingWolf said, drop the newer engine in it, drive your car, rebuild the original in your spare time, then reinstall the original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Elder Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 You can put the crank and rods from the 230 into your original motor and make it a 230 and still look original:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1948mando Posted September 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 What is the original color for the 48 engine and the 55 engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niel Hoback Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Silver for both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1949P17BC Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 Rebuild it, A numbers matching car, especially a vert is worth the time and money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Elder Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 Rebuild it, A numbers matching car, especially a vert is worth the time and money Before vin tags, the numbers matching phrase really doesn't apply. Yes his engine should start with P15_______. But the serial number won't tell you which options came from the factory or which ones came from the dealer, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TodFitch Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 Before vin tags, the numbers matching phrase really doesn't apply. Yes his engine should start with P15_______. But the serial number won't tell you which options came from the factory or which ones came from the dealer, etc. Actually my 1933 has "matching numbers": The serial number, engine number and body numbers all match those found on the "build card" that I got from the Chrysler Historical Collection. But as far as I know, there is no way to determine if the numbers match on a pre-VIN car without some sort of information from the factory so in that sense you are correct that the phrase "matching numbers" doesn't apply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Saraceno Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 I always thought a numbers matching car would have numbers that were all specific to that year. Are you saying the term "numbers matching" refers to each specific car as it came from the factory? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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