why did plymouth use a 6? instead of an 8?

[michael.warshaw]

when ever i look around the flathead 8 motor seems to all over the place. did plymouth only use a 6? why not throw a flathead v8 in athe p15?

[Young Ed]

The plymouth was mopars economy car. If the buyer wanted an 8 they had to stepup to a chrysler or maybe a desoto.

[michael.warshaw]

was the 8 a better setup?

[pflaming]

Didn't Ford have a patent on the V8 until about 1955? And only Cadilac, Olds, and a few others made arrangements to have one also?

[Plymouthy Adams]

if this is in reference to the Ford flathead V8, it had lesser HP..the flat six was such good performer and acutally outperforned most all flathead L8's..the Pontiac flathead 8 in 52 was shot down in all performance by the 50 Plymouth L6 per leading performance magazine of the era. Further if you wish to put a Ford flathead 8 in the P15..you can go ahead and do so if you wish and still call it a coporate engine as the last Ford flathead V8's were actually cast under Chrysler...

[michael.warshaw]

wow didnt knwo that thanks mr tim .

[greg g]

The ford flathead V8 was a poorly designed engine that had lots of problems. Overheating chief among them. INnine 6 cylinder engines provide smooth, vibration free power, as their power strokes are better distributed around the crankshaft. The rotating mass in more in balance than an 8.

Plymouth didn't feel the need for V8 till 55 when the great Horspower race started.

the flat heads made by chrysler were made in France under Simca's license and were based on the smaller 60 HP version rahter than the 85 HP block.

[TodFitch]

Didn't Ford have a patent on the V8 until about 1955? And only Cadilac, Olds, and a few others made arrangements to have one also?

I don't think the a V-8 engine was patented by Ford. I would guess that they had a number of patents on their particular design and in the manufacturing steps needed to make it.

Chevrolet had a V-8 back in the 1918 or so era and there were a fairly large number of other V-8 engines along the way prior to Ford's 1932 introduction. I think Ford's claim to fame was they figured out how to make a V-8 cheaply.

An inline 6 engine is one of the better arrangements from a harmonic and balance point of view. For that reason there have been a lot of different manufacturers who used it over the years. The big reason for a V-type engine is that it is shorter and thus easier to fit more cylinders under the hood of cars styled as we have them today.

[desoto1939]

Mopar had a straight 8 flathead inthe 1930 DeSoto and then they went back to the straigh 6 flathead. They kept the flat head 6's up unitl the mid 50's when the early Hemi came into vogue.

Also when you look at the Airflows for DeSoto and Chrylser the cars basically look the same, the biggest differnece is that the Chrysler offered the inline 8 in the Chrylser version of the Airflow and Desoto only offered the flat 6.

Also as stated in the prior posts the Big 6 engine produced more HP than the early Ford V8's. The Big 6 Chryselr/Desoto produced 92 HP where the Ford V* produce around 82-85.

If you every looked at the early For V* you will notice that the Dizzy were is such a bad position that you could not really time the car because you would get your fingers and or hand cut off because of the fan blade. You had to send the dizzy out to have it put on a special machine to get it setup properly.

The ford V8 engine alwasy lloked great but the flat 6 out performed them. evey the Small 6 in the Ply/Dod had more HP than the ford V* which came out in 33 for the Ford.

BAck in 1936 Chrylser took a Desoto Airflow across the country from NY to San Fran and they average around 22-25 MPG. Consider that they did not have any Interstate highways and when you were away from the major cities wyou were sometimes traveling on tar and chip roads and not in the best of conditions. There were no turnpikes just good old country roads.

Also this was a cast iron block with standard point and condensor ignition. bia ply tires old style as we know of today. But the octane rating of the gas was much higher then as compred to what we have today with the ethinil combination. The Octane and the comperssion ration were al major contributing factors back then. Also rememebr that the cars weighted in at 3000+ lbs These numbers were very impressive so the big question is why do we not get that and better mileage as a whole with our new cars that have the same wieght and with better tires and electronics. The gas and compression ration comes into play and now we have modern highspeed roads if you want to call some of the pot holed roads superhighways to say the least.

But all in all the inline Mopar 6 out performed the Ford V8.

Rich Hartung

Desoto1939@aol.com

Rich Hartung

[greg g]

Remember the early ones had two difficult to adjust distributors. They also had a problem with the center cyliders running rich and the endo ones running lean.

Driving on country roads, and running at the engine's sweet spot led to the great fuel milage. I don't believe the octane of the gas was higher then, nor was it very consistant.

We drive our cars out of their comfort zone when we go bombing down he interstate, however, I get 19 + with mine on a trip. Probably could get more if I took it easy, coasted down hills, and didn;t have a lot of junk in the trunk.

[TodFitch]

...snip...

BAck in 1936 Chrylser took a Desoto Airflow across the country from NY to San Fran and they average around 22-25 MPG. Consider that they did not have any Interstate highways and when you were away from the major cities wyou were sometimes traveling on tar and chip roads and not in the best of conditions. There were no turnpikes just good old country roads.

Also this was a cast iron block with standard point and condensor ignition. bia ply tires old style as we know of today. But the octane rating of the gas was much higher then as compred to what we have today with the ethinil combination. The Octane and the comperssion ration were al major contributing factors back then. Also rememebr that the cars weighted in at 3000+ lbs These numbers were very impressive so the big question is why do we not get that and better mileage as a whole with our new cars that have the same wieght and with better tires and electronics. ...snip...

Rich Hartung

Desoto1939@aol.com

Rich Hartung

I believe octane ratings were much lower in the 1930s, or even in the late 1940s, than they are now.

Higher compression gets you higher efficiency. So all other things being equal you ought to get better mileage.

But mileage has seldom been a big sales factor, so all the higher efficiency has gone into being able to accelerate larger cars faster. Remember when getting 0-60 times below 10 seconds was a big deal when hopping up a car? Practically any SUV can to that today straight off the lot. And how many cars now advertise 400+ HP? You don't really need more than maybe 50 HP to cruise a reasonably aerodynamic car at freeway speeds. So the engines are loafing at 10% to 20% of their max power and that is not the most efficient (power out for fuel in) place to run an internal combustion engine.

[greg g]

Heck most soccer mom mobiles (mini vans) do a quicker 0 to 60 now than the performance cars of the 60's and 70's. I remember a friend who had a 405 tri power ford Galaxie with a 3 speed. His best time with cheater slicks was a 14.06 1/4 mile, a Stock Honda Odessey with an automatic will run a 15.6 right off the street.

[Don Coatney]

when ever i look around the flathead 8 motor seems to all over the place. did plymouth only use a 6? why not throw a flathead v8 in athe p15?

There are more flathead V-8 parts available than there are flathead 6 parts available. You should install a flathead V-8 in your car. You could probably find a powder coated flathead V-8 to match your frame:rolleyes:

[michael.warshaw]

powdercoating is the pnly way to go if you have the money y not do it right.

[BobT-47P15]

I think when Mobilgas did economy runs, they drove the cars about 35 or 40 mph--

so you got the best possible miles per gallon.

You can install the 25 inch Chrysler or DeSoto flat six in a Plymouth, as Mr Coatney

has done, but it takes a certain few modifications.

Or, if you were to buy a Canadian Dodge of 1947 vintage, it looks just like a U.S.

Plymouth, and already comes from the factory with the longer, larger 25 inch motor......like the

one owned by Robert K-B.

I suppose if a person wanted to go to the trouble, he could change all the Canadian Dodge insignias

to Plymouth, then let the people guess.........

Edited November 29, 2009 by BobT-47P15

[RobertKB]

I think when Mobilgas did economy runs, they drove the cars about 35 or 40 mph--

so you got the best possible miles per gallon.

You can install the 25 inch Chrysler or DeSoto flat six in a Plymouth, as Mr Coatney

has done, but it takes a certain few modifications.

Or, if you were to buy a Canadian Dodge of 1947 vintage, it looks just like a U.S.

Plymouth, and already comes from the factory with the longer, larger 25 inch motor......like the

one owned by Robert K-B.

I suppose if a person wanted to go to the trouble, he could change all the Canadian Dodge insignias

to Plymouth, then let the people guess.........

Canadian P15's also came with the longer block so no need to go the Dodge route. Maybe there is a market for Canadian long block Plymouths in the US.

All Canadian made cars from 1938 on had the long block engine. I am not even sure if I have ever seen a short block engine.

Edited November 30, 2009 by RobertKB

[Don Coatney]

powdercoating is the pnly way to go if you have the money y not do it right.

Were you able to locate some NOS powder coating? Are you going to powder coat your cars body?

[Plymouthy Adams]

Don..not sure about the car body but a powder coated dash if very nice...the shine is awesome and the texture is so super smooth and cleanup is a breeze..the window garnish has some very good wear properties for those who drive with their arm in an open window as it stay very pretty even if it should wear a bit..its truly the way to do the interior

[Don Coatney]

Don..not sure about the car body but a powder coated dash if very nice...the shine is awesome and the texture is so super smooth and cleanup is a breeze..the window garnish has some very good wear properties for those who drive with their arm in an open window as it stay very pretty even if it should wear a bit..its truly the way to do the interior

I agree but I still want to know where to find NOS powder coating???

[michael.warshaw]

the dash is wood what would need powder coating ????????

Nos powder come on mr c, stop hating.

[Don Coatney]

Wonder where you can find NOS wood powder coating?

[greg g]

The dash is WOOD??????????????? I wonder now if the dash in my car is original.

[michael.warshaw]

this thread is going retarded, peace!

[Captain Neon]

the dash is wood what would need powder coating ????????

Nos powder come on mr c, stop hating.

I can't believe that you are so out of touch with your car that you can't tell the difference between a wood dash and a metal dash that has been woodgrained. Are you bringing your coupe to KC for the Mecum auction in a few weeks?

[Joe Flanagan]

Michael, your dash is actually made of metal that has been painted with a simulated wood grain. There has been loads of discussion here on how it was done and how it can be replicated.