1950 Dodge running gear.

[61farnham]

Hi all,

 

I've been offered first pick of the the complete running gear out of a 1950 Dodge, a coupe I believe, and I'm after info on what will fit my 1948 Plymouth Business coupe. I've done a bit of searching and found out the Dodge should have the 230ci engine but unfortunately the head's been left off this one for a long while and I'm told it's more than a little seized, am i right in that it's just the crank,rods and flywheel that are different in the 230ci compared to the 218ci?

Would also like any info on any differences between gearboxes,rear axles, differential ratios, steering boxes, wheels, hubs, etc. and whether the front springs are the same as my Plymouths?

My car's already fitted with the R10 overdrive gearbox which I believe came out of a early 50's Dodge so a spare would be handy.

I've not seen the Dodge yet, hopefully going this weekend, and would like to be pre-armed so i know what's worth taking and what's not as i'm in England and the chances of finding someone parting out a car like this don't come around too often.

 

Any info/advice would be gladly received. 

 

Regards ............ Simon.

Edited October 28, 2013 by 61farnham

[Jim Yergin]

I built my 230 using a 218 Plymouth block and the crank and correcting rods from a 1948 230 Dodge. I sourced the 230 flywheel off eBay.

Jim Yergin

[hendo0601]

What is wrong with the engine that you already have in your plymouth? (Assuming it still has an engine, of course). If the cylinder head has been left off for a long time then you are going to be looking at a complete rebuild as moisture has definitely found its way into places it shouldnt have i.e. pistons rings and bearings. Most likely you will be looking at an overbore, in which case you will need new pistons and rings, and possibly turning the crank which means new main and rod bearings, at which point you might as well install new cam bearings and a bit of a hotter cam. Hotter cam, might as well go with multiple carbs, split manifold or headers, and an aftermarket cylinder head....or you could just do a stock rebuild. I suppose it all depends on what you ultimately want the outcome to be.

[61farnham]

Thanks for the replies.

The engine in my Plymouth's all good so I was only looking to take the parts to upgrade to 230ci in the future as they're pretty much on my doorstep. I was just wanting to pick the forums brains on things like whether the steering box was the same on the two cars and if swapping the diff was a worthwhile thing to do bearing in mind my Plymouths already got overdrive fitted.Ideally i'd take the lot but I have limited storage so I only want parts that I might actually use.

 

Regards........... Simon.

[greg g]

Well first you have to know if your are comparing apples to apples and whether the cars were built in Canada or were built in Detroit for export.  The easiest way is to measure the heads.  If they both are the length then most parts will swap.  you gotta have either two 23 inch or two 25 inch.  The longer engines were fitted to Canadian cars so if either reached Britain from Canada they are likely to have the 25.  There are also some vehicles that were knock downs assembled in England and I don't know which engines were sent over.  the engine with the head off might unstick easier than you might think.  Lots of folks have used 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF with success as a soaking and freeing agent.  

[RobertKB]

I agree with Greg. Make sure the engines are the same length. In the US, the 23 inch engine was used in the Plymouth and Dodge but Chyrsler and Desoto used the longer 25 inch engine. All Canadian cars from 1938 and up used the 25 inch engine which makes finding an engine for any Chrysler product here very straight-forward. I also believe that the internal measurements were slightly different for US and Canadian engines even with the same CID, the 251 being an example. I may be wrong on the last point but am pretty sure I read that somewhere.

[61farnham]

That's a good point Greg, the limited third hand info I have on the Dodge is that it was imported from the States in the last six months and is destined for the drag strip, hence the running gear removal, but that doesn't guarantee it's origins.Has anyone got any info on the rest of the parts ie. steering box, front springs and whether they are the same as the P15 Plymouths. I should have known this wouldn't be straightforward and will have to see what's there at the weekend. If there's anybody on the forum in my neck of the woods who could use any of the running gear off this car let me know, I've got the impression that what I don't take won't be hanging around too long. Thanks for everyones thoughts so far.

 

Regards......... Simon