54Illinois Posted December 26, 2011 Report Posted December 26, 2011 (edited) I recently found what appears to be a complete, functional 230 engine for my 54 Plymouth. I was stripping a 218 from an "early" 54 Savoy, but was unsure about the adaptability to the PowerFlite transmission. I still have the original block 230 block, that came with the car. It has some cylinder wall damage. I thought about using a couple of the 218 pistons in the 230, put the motor back together, have it for a spare. I compared charts in the Motor's books, everything seems the same. I know the rods are different, but are the pistons? Motor's shows Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth all used the same L6 engines, with the 230 replacing the 218 for the late 54 models. I have yet to measure the 218/230 pistons. I am wondering if anyone has done this. Or...would I be better off swapping the blocks (avoid the wall marring)?? Somewhere I read the blocks are the same...only the rod length, and cranks are different. Edited December 27, 2011 by 54Illinois Quote
41/53dodges Posted December 27, 2011 Report Posted December 27, 2011 I think that the 218/230 pistons are the same, but the crank and con rods are different. anybody back me up? it may have a slightly different cam,too. Quote
54Illinois Posted December 27, 2011 Author Report Posted December 27, 2011 Yes the rods are different, length wise. I may measure the blocks. I read that later the blocks got taller as well. Quote
54Illinois Posted December 27, 2011 Author Report Posted December 27, 2011 I had the pistons measured at NAPA today. One from the 218, one from the 230. Also I noticed that the 230 and the 218 cast numbers on the engine blocks were identical. The only thing different were the cast dates. Both were cast Feb/March 54. So I can assume the only difference between the two motors is the rods. I need to measure the crank and cam. The only weird thing is the current motor, that was in a 54 Savoy, cast number is off by one. It was cast about the same time as the other two. Quote
Rusty O'Toole Posted December 27, 2011 Report Posted December 27, 2011 218 and 230 pistons are the same. The difference is in the stroke of the crankshaft and the length of the connecting rods (230 rods are shorter). This was a common way of making different engines for different cars with minimal cost for tooling and parts. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.