41 engine upgrade

[homer41]

I was thinking I might want to upgrade to a larger 6 in my 41 sedan, are all 23" engines bolt in? How much modification to put a 25" engine in?   Dave

[Don Coatney]

13 minutes ago, homer41 said:

I was thinking I might want to upgrade to a larger 6 in my 41 sedan, are all 23" engines bolt in? How much modification to put a 25" engine in?   Dave

I believe all 23" engines will be a bolt in. Do a forum search for 25" engine installs. Not a bolt in but doable.

[dpollo]

If you want to keep this simple, put in a 230 from a later model Dodge  and use your 218 head to increase compression.

Check flywheel and starter ring gear offsets.   All will be bolt in modifications .

[homer41]

Thanks, are all years of 230s the same or should I look for a certain year?  Dave

[Andydodge]

Ideally the best would be to get the latest you can find, they were used in cars till 1959, 135 or 140 hp was the last couple of years but used in machinery till the 1960's but I'd try & find a car version if possible......I found an ex airport tug 230 to use as the basic for the engine in the 41 Plymouth coupe I had.......with you being in Alaska does that mean that Canadian mopars are easier to find?..........they all had the 25" long engine which Don Coatney has installed in his Plymouth has documented with some great posts on this forum........andyd.     

[classiccarjack]

Another option is to buy a set of 230 connecting rods with the crankshaft.  It will bolt in and make your 218 into a 230.  Both engines use the same diameter pistons....  

 

I may have a spare set of rods and a Crankshaft if you can't find one.  I am not trying to make a sales pitch here, I just have extra parts that I don't need.  And I certainly don't expect huge money for the stuff if you have interest.

[homer41]

I believe I have a 201.   I am not aware of canadian cars here.

[classiccarjack]

5 minutes ago, homer41 said:

I believe I have a 201.   I am not aware of canadian cars here.

If you put a 230 Crankshaft and rods into a 201(smaller bore), you will yield around 218 cubic inches depending on your overall bore size.  I thought of doing this once to keep my original block in my 1938.

 

But...  If I put the engine on a stand, install one of my 230's, Walla!  Problem solved!  And I will keep the original engine if needed in the future.  I will let my kids decide when the time comes.

[Mike36]

If you find a late 50's Dodge, they have a 2 bbl carburetor. More power.

[dpollo]

The 201 has smaller main bearings so it is not possible to use either a 218 or a 230 crankshaft.

A 201 can be bored  +.125 and use 3 1/4  pistons   but its crankshaft would be the Achilles heel.

There are lots of options for your  engine swap but a later 230 will be your simplest and likely most satisfying.

[homer41]

Great advice, I am going to try to find a later 230 with 2bbl if possible. Mopar flatheads seem to be fairly scarse here. I have seen some m37s but I have heard the early ones have 218s. Thanks again.  Dave

[plyroadking]

I put a 1955 Plymouth 230 in my 1940 plymouth.

The oil pan sump location was different, I had to reuse my original pan and pickup tube/screen.

The 230 distributor must be used, can not use your original. The crank will hit the earlier shafts, 230 distributor shafts are necked down.

Starter clocking on the Bell housing is different and I had to reuse the original.

230 crank was ~1\4" longer and rubbed on the rear side of my Bell housing, had to take an angle grinder and hog it out a little. 

230 fly wheels have 6 bolts, 201/218 are 4 bolts. 

My water temp probe was 3/4" NPT, the '55 head was 1/2" NPT, had to drill the head out and tap.

Some of the head bolts had to be rearranged to put the throttle linkage and air cleaner mounts back on.

 

[dpollo]

The 230s I have seen have 8 bolt crankshafts  but the 4 hole flywheel will fit.    again, check the starter/ ring gear location.

Earlier oil pans will fit but be sure to retain the pick up.   An original 40 engine would have had the oil pickup fastened to #3 main cap you will need the one that hinges from a pipe screwed directly to the block.    All very do-able if you have enough parts.  The later IAT distributors (small cap- non counterweighted rotor used from mid 1950 up) seem to improve performance likely due to a different advance curve.

The 2 barrel carbs were very rare , found on some 55 to 59s.  I have one on the '51 218 in my 35 Plymouth but I am not sure that it really improves things that much.