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new engine 34 PE


rageracing

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I have an issue with my 34 PE 201 engine.  I can get ahold of a later model motor that runs to swap in till I can get the 201 repaired.  I know I have read where the main issue is the starter not fitting.  I was planning on using the original bellhousing and trans from the 34.  Any easy work arounds for that and is that going to be the only issue I run into?  Thanks for the help.

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I think you will need to use the later bell housing.  The change in 35 and newer to incorporate full length water jacket on the cylinders necessitated the repositioning of the starter to clear the wider block casting behind the starter.

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The repositioning of the starter may also impact your starter pedal location in your toe board. If I remember right there is a difference in mounts from '34 to '35 also.

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I've seen a couple of '33 and '34s where the starter case was ground enough to fit. I've seen another where the bellhousing was modified and an adapter made to move the starter. I have no idea if a later bell housing would fit, especially with the funky way the gear shift tower/lever mount to the frame cross member.

 

What is the issue with your '34 engine?

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3 hours ago, rageracing said:

Oil pump locked up.  Not sure yet how much metal might have gotten through the motor.

 

Ouch. If the pump gears locked up then I wonder what was the weak link. . . Maybe the shaft gear that is driven off the camshaft. I hope the camshaft itself wasn't damaged.

 

I wonder how the pump locked up. . . Maybe the screen on the pickup was loose or installed incorrectly and some foreign matter got sucked in. But that then leads one to wonder how something big enough to lock up the pump was hanging around in sump.

 

I guess you won't know until the pan is dropped and you do an inspection.

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Yikes. I've not heard of that failure mechanism before. Fortunately the parts should be pretty easy to come by. At least ones that will bolt in. Not sure if the '34 cam had a different grind than later 201s or the 218s though.

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25 minutes ago, rageracing said:

I don't know, wouldn't mind that though.  I live in a hilly part and a few extra ponies would be beneficial

 

Me too.  My '33 Plym has it's original engine in it still and those 70 horses (when new) just doesn't cut it around my area either.  I just did a compression test on it the other day and it's averaging 81lbs per cylinder which pretty much equals the factory 5.5 compression ratio.  And the rear ends 4.3? ratio is not user friendly either.

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3 hours ago, rageracing said:

I've been thinking the next step is to put a gear vendor overdrive in it.  I am trying to keep the car as original as possible but also as safe and user friendly too.

 

I've heard that an overdrive transmission from something like a '37 DeSoto is almost a direct bolt in replacement for the original. Use the freewheeling control to control the overdrive, use the top cover from the '33 Plymouth transmission and shorten the driveshaft. Apparently a number of people in the Cascade Pacific region of the Plymouth Owners Club have done that.

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Thanks Todd, I will look into that. I looked into the Chrysler overdrive but didn't want to change all the current mounts to make it work and they used the different shifter style that mounts to trans instead of cross member If this is direct bolt in that will be awesome.

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44 minutes ago, rageracing said:

Thanks Todd, I will look into that. I looked into the Chrysler overdrive but didn't want to change all the current mounts to make it work and they used the different shifter style that mounts to trans instead of cross member If this is direct bolt in that will be awesome.

 

I haven't actually seen it with my own eyes, but I've been told that the later 1930s Chrysler product transmissions with floor mounted shifters can be used on the '33 & '34 Plymouth by removing the top cover and shift tower and bolting on the '33/'34 top cover. Apparently the bolt pattern is the same and the shift forks/shift tower interface is the same.

 

You'd probably want to look closely at the actual transmission before buying it to see if it looks like the above statement is correct (i.e. pull the top cover off and measure the key locations).

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/25/2019 at 9:56 PM, Frank Elder said:

Can you put a 230 crank and rods in a 201 to give it a little more pep in its step?

No.  Main bearing journals are completely different size.  

 

OP:   Why not just pull the 201 and get it repaired and then put it back in?  Seems like a lot of trouble to go though for a couple months of waiting...   

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you cannot use a 218 or a 230 crankshaft in a 201 because the main bearings are significantly larger in the 218 and 230

 

The 34 engine stands alone because of the water jacket issue and the cylinder head and  gasket is narrower too,    The 34 engine can use pistons ,crankshaft, valves , chain and camshaft from other 201s,   not sure about the oil pump but it is a good bet that it will fit.

 

I agree with the advice from thebeebe5 above

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