Suspension question

[blucarsdn]

Well now, it would appear that a lot of people have their "nickers all bunched up" as a result of my comment that the Chrysler six cylinder engine was "unreliable and underpowered"... I know I am preaching to the choir, so be it, in any case I'll try to clear the air..

It is an undeniable fact that Chrysler set the automotive industry on it's ear when he introduced the Plymouth in 1928.. It was a stoke of genious to use the Maxwell 4 cyln engine, with a few improvements, as the basis for his "economy" car... Of course Ford opened the door for the success of the Plymouth due to Fords inability to make a smooth transition from the '27 Model T to the new '28 Model A.. It is well documented that Ford was not able to produce new cars in any quanity for almost six months. Many Ford dealers jumped on the chance to become Plymouth dealers because Walter P. had the sense to invest millions in a new plant to build the Plymouths in. He had cars to sell, Ford did not..Chevy also kicked Fords butt with the introduction of the "new OHV 4 cyln and hydraulic brakes in 1928.

It is also fact that the six cylinder flat head engine had a very broad application in farm machinery, boats, stationary power plants, etc., Did this make the engine a superior power plant?  Not necessarily.. The fact of the matter is that Chrysler developed a marketing strategy to supply engines on a "consignment basis" to builders, the engines did not have to be paid for until the unit was sold to the customer... Ford and GM, along with other engine builders wanted the money for their engines up front...

It is very true that Chrysler introduced some very inovative features into their cars, (and engines) during the 1930's/40's, the improvents to the engine have been well documented in this thread.. However, some very important issues have been overlooked, the major one being "attrition".. The survivial rate of vehicles and/or powerplants equipped with flathead engines is very low..

During the 1930's travel by car was a very limited practice.. The lack of good roads and funds to afford to travel keep the mileage on vehicles quite low.. Another fact is that due to road conditions 40-45 mph was the normal speed for open highway driving.. In the eastern U.S. a distance of twenty miles was a long trip. Travel in the Mid West, and Western U.S. was a whole different matter, distances in excess of 100 miles were very common.

I use to know a man in Idaho that had owned a '39 Plym conv from '40 until 2000.. He once told me a story about his aborted trip from Idaho to Los Angeles in 1941. Idaho had no speed limit so Marrion was driving the car pretty hard, within fifty miles the engine came apart.. He had it towed to a Plymouth dealer, the dealer repaired the engine, telling Marrion, "Mr Cultler, I do not want you to ever drive this car over 45 mph again".. Marrion told me that he never exceeded 45 mph with the car again...

I know several guys around the country that have older DCPD/s with flathead engines that run very well.. In just about every case the engine is highly modified, muliple carbs, improved ignitions, high compression heads, and the most important modification, an overdrive with a higher rear axle ratio.. Not what Walter P. had in mind..

When the "big three" of cars are compared, the overal quality, and engineering of the DCPD cars stand out, I would not trade my '39 Plym cnv cpe for any Chevy, Ford made.. I retained all of the good features of my Plym, improved on the weaker aspects... Bill

[fishnuts.]

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great product, easy parts to find and replace for the future.