S13 engine parts

[janan5243]

I'm a newby & just recently joined forum. I would like get a little more power out of my engine without a total rebuild & major modifications. I don't care about quarter mile times & speeds. I live in an area of New York with a lot of long hills. I'd like to drive my car without lugging the engine or downshifting & hearing the engine scream to maintain 30 mph with all the other citizens wanting to have me arrested for daring to drive so slow in front

of them when the speed limit is 55. My car is a 49 Desoto custom coupe with fluid drive & the tip-toe shift. The

car is totally original onside $ out & in very good shape. The engine is original with 76,000 miles on it. I'd

like to do stuff that can be done in stages with night & weekend work. I'm a fairly well rounded mechanic with all the tools necessary & a fair amount of experience on older vehicles can be repaired with hand tools without a

$10,000 diagnostic machine. Any advice, tips & help will be appreciated. I'm going to do a compression test first.

I already told my wife that, if & when the engine needed serious work, it was going to George Ashe or a shop to really do it up. I know nobody will believe me but she is all for it. She loves our car.

[Don Coatney]

Biggest bang for the buck is to shave the head for a compression increase. But first you must have a healthy engine and your compression test will give you that information  along with your oil pressure and coolant temperature readings.

 

This may be helpful.

 

 

 

[janan5243]

How much can you shave the head? One of the first things I bought was a shop manual. I'm going to check compression this week. That has

to be good to even do anything else. I'm working on the cooling system now. Since we finally got over 80 degrees in the NE, the engine

got hot 3 times, twice while climbing a hill, in 3rd & 4th. Tested thermostat & it is working properly. going to try to back flush & blow out radiator. by blow out, I mean the fins with air. Water pump isn't leaking, so I don't think that's the problem. I ordered a new pump from RockAuto just in case. If I don't need it, I'll put it on the shelf till I do. Thanks for reply.

[Don Coatney]

Post the results of the compression test and that will give you a feel of how much you want to shave off. Do you have any history of the engine? Has it been rebuilt or swapped out? Back in the day it was common place to rebuild/replace the engine after 50,000 miles. With current driving conditions and modern lubricants these engines will easily last a lot longer.

[greg g]

I have climbed the hills near Schoharie, Middleburg, and Cobleskill several times in my 46 Plymouth.  I have never had a problem on routes 20, 7, 10, or 145, or even some of the county routes between Cherry Valley and C skill.  First thing to do is check your timing, your engine should have plenty of torque to pull those hills (assuming the compression is good, the exhaust isn't pinched of blocked and the carb is getting proper air flow.  also assure you step up jet in the carburetor is working the way it should be, and that your distributor breaker plate is i good shape and allowing the centrifugal and vacuum advance to work properly.  

 

My car has a 230 engine, with a 50 thousandths mill job.  On many of those hills it is still accelerating at the top.Here is a video I took south of you in th Catskills.  My object was to catch the pick up truck that was starting up the hill about 30 seconds before I turned onto the road from a stop sign.

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xlw1mt_mvi-1377_auto

Edited June 10, 2014 by greg g

[TodFitch]

A 49 DeSoto in stock condition ought to be able to handle any of the hills I recall in Upstate New York.

 

For what its worth, there was a P15 with us on the tour to Tucson last year which had a horrible time getting up any type of grade. And since we were avoiding freeways we crossed several mountain ranges on relatively back roads some with substantial grades. Max elevation wasn't all that high, only about 6500 ft, but the some grades were in the 10% range. The '35 PJ, '37 P4 and my '33 PD had no issues but the P15 did. Come to find out later that the issue was a weak coil: You need a hotter spark to ignite the fuel when the throttle is wide open than you do at partial throttle.

 

So don't just go assuming you have to shave heads, go to dual carburetors or dual exhaust, etc. to be able to go 55 on your back roads. That car was able to do it when new and if it can't now then something needs to be fixed and it may not be the engine itself.

[greg g]

another thought, when your foot is down is the throttle plate opening completely??

Edited June 11, 2014 by greg g

[janan5243]

The engine is totally original. The gentleman I bought from was the second owner. He had car 25 years. Had 24,000 when he got it, he put 50,000 on it. He made his living restoring & rebuilding vintage cars for himself & customers, selling some of his when he had to, or to purchase another one. He has a collection most of us could only dream about. 2 are the only ones that exist & are pristine. Unfortunately he had 2 strokes, so he is selling & also can't do all the work any longer. I can call him for advice or even bring car there but under the circumstances, I don't like to bother him. Thanks for input. will post compression results. Am curious myself. Was considering a

pertronix ignition & coil & an Optima 6v battery. Any advice?

[greg g]

They didn't have gell batteries and Hall effect ignition triggering in the 40's but cars still ran and were daily drivers, must be they can run without those things.  Do they work sure are they necessary, no.  I would counsel to make sure the basics are right then you can add modern stuff to make it simpler.  But it behooves owners of old cars to get the old systems correct, before messing with stuff.  If your compression isn't up to snuff, and your timing is wrong, carburetor maladjusted and circuits going to electrical stuff not up to snuff, how will a new battery and sparky thingie help??

Edited June 12, 2014 by greg g

[janan5243]

I may have part of the answer. I was having a problem with the engine getting close to overheating on a hill that I drive when returning home when the temp here in the NE got to the middle 80's. I rtied it in both 3rd & 4th gear with the same result. Pulled thermostat & tested it. It was working fine. Ordered a new one & installed it anyway. Before installing it I backflushed radiator & engine block. Water was nice & clean. Couldn't run engine long because parts house forgot to deliver new antifreeze with thermostat. Did a compression test cold. 1. 92  2. 85  3. 78   4. 75   5. 85   6.  88  I am getting ready  put plugs in, antifreeze in & get engine up to temp & retest.

[janan5243]

I got a chance to work on the car again this afternoon. My antifreeze was delivered. Filled system & took car for a short spin to get up to temp. Ran fine, no leaks. Did another compression test & was happier. #1. 101 #2. 94 #3. 90 #4. 90 #5. 91 #6. 97 I don't know

these engines so I don't know if I should expect any more from a 65 year old engine with 76,000 mis. on it with nothing done to it other than regular maintenance. Also put new plugs in it. Next I'll dig out timing light & check that. I'm beginning to realize that all the tune up parts are old. I'm happy that I'm one of those guys that never gets rid of "STUFF". All my old tool are coming in very handy.

[greg g]

It not how much, it's how even, as far as compression.  All cylinders being within 10% give or take of the highest one bodes well for general engine condition. Yours look to be acceptable for age and mileage.  I wouldn't start bolting performance parts on but for an occasional use driver it should be fine.