'51 Chrysler T & C Wagon

[Greg51T&CWagon]

I am finally getting to my wagon!  Going to swap out my stuck 251 for a combine engine I've found that will be rebuilt by George Asche. So I'm stripping the old 251 to make pulling it out easier and to reuse some parts on the rebuilt motor. Distributor, carb etc... Anticipating that removing the Fluid drive and flywheel will be interesting given the stuck motor. Any tips for doing this? BTW I'm not pulling it myself as I'm working alone and don't have a hoist, the neighborhood garage is game to pulling it and dropping the new one in for me. I want to make this as easy for them as I can. 

Greg 

 

[JBNeal]

It's no guarantee but I've budged a few "stuck" motors with the long prybar on the flywheel teeth trick...pulled the flywheel cover off, then rested the prybar on the bell housing to leverage against the flywheel teeth...typically this has followed pulling the head to see if there might be a chance this would work; if so, soaked with Marvel Mystery Oil for a few weeks, and if oil level dropped, I'd commence with the prybar, working back and forth to break the pistons free, then re-oiling...probably wouldn't hurt to get the valves moving with the prybar unside the valve spring area

[Greg51T&CWagon]

Thanks JB, I've been working on this 251 for a while trying to free it and it's really and truly stuck. I think it will take tearing it down to unstuck it. 

[RobertKB]

Sounds like an interesting project. Any pictures of the car? We love pictures!

Edited December 4, 2019 by RobertKB

[Greg51T&CWagon]

Here's a pic from when i first got it. 

 

[RobertKB]

That is a cool looking beast!!

[falconvan]

Awesome; that will be one cool ride!

[joecoozie]

Hi Greg,

This is Joe, the guy you bought the T & C from. 

It's good to see that you are starting on the project.

I hope you can accomplish finishing the car as I was unable to tackle it.

To answer your questions about removing the engine...

I am not certain on a 1951, but the earlier cars, up to 1950 I believe, had bolt in front floorboards which, once removed, gives easy access to the trans/bellhousing etc...

The easiest way to remove the engine would be to disconnect the trans first and remove it, even if you need to do it from underneath the car. This gives you plenty of room to get the engine out.

Good luck on your adventure.

Joe

[vintage6t]

What a great project, good luck with it. Really awesome!

[Greg51T&CWagon]

Hey Joe, Nice to hear from you again. I'm worried about accessing the bolts that hold the fluid drive to the crankcase flange. The manual shows a special wrench to get to those. I'm worried that because the engine is stuck I won't be able to easily access those bolts? Or am i worrying about nothin'. 

BTW I finally found a gravel shield for it! 

greg

[Dartgame]

For the stuck motor - I'd pull the head off while in the car. Examine the cylinders and see how bad it is. Clean up the cylinders best you can using steel wool and maybe 600 grit paper. Soak pistons with penetrating oil. Drop the pan. Drive out/remove pistons that are in position to do so. Try prying against the block and a crank throw carefully, to loosen the  remaining pistons. Good luck. 

[Greg51T&CWagon]

Dart, that might be what I have to do once the engine is pulled. get a little medieval on it. I did find the special wrench for removing those fluid drive mounting bolts. $15 bucks on ebay. Heading out in the morning to get the combine engine and drop it off at Asche's.

Greg

[joecoozie]

Greg,

I'm guessing finding that gravel shield would be the most difficult thing you encounter. I am glad you were able to get one.

Everything else should be pretty straightforward.

BTW. I know you posted on this forum and others about the 49 Plymouth Woody I bought. It was nice to hear your (and others) positive comments.

Keep me (us) posted.

Joe

[James_Douglas]

Pull the transmission from under the car, then pull the engine with the bell housing out the front.

 

FYI. I do not know if this applies to 1951. But, 1949 and 1950 convertibles and station wagons did NOT have body to frame rubber. They were bolted hard to the frame with extra thick washers and that was it. The upshot of this is that you cannot get an engine and transmission together out the front. The small flange on the bottom of the transmission (M6) will not clear the cross member.  I found out the hard way when I went to put my engine and trans back into my 1949 and I have the entire front clip off. So, I had to loosed the body bolts and lift it up an inch or so...slip the engine and trans in and drop the body back down. Now that the fenders are on and all of that...there is no way the combined engine and trans will come out the front.

 

I would drop the trans out the bottom, and pull the rest out the front.  Then you don't have to worry about crankshaft bolts.

 

James

[Greg51T&CWagon]

Thanks James Good to know. I'll do it this way.

[Greg51T&CWagon]

So back from the odyssey to pick up the engine and drop it off at George Asche's. 700 miles round trip. I used my 59 Apache. The engine is a 265! IND 265 13920C. Getting to Asche's was 'interesting' Super windy day so the truck was squirrely, that and the 700 lb? motor in the back made it even more so. That crazy transmission with the variable speed sheaves weighs as much as the engine i think. So I'm fried and what I thought was the last turn ended up being a 7 mile unlit winding near gravel road through the woods in the dark, Some parts were so rutted I had to slow to a crawl. But I made it. George and I had dinner nearby and shared stories then back to his place to see his shop and cool roadster then off to a hotel for much needed sleep. Anybody need a transmission for their combine harvester? Ha! 

greg

 

[RobertKB]

Sounds like a fun trip. Nice truck!

[tom'sB2B]

Worth the trip just to meet George

[Greg51T&CWagon]

Yep, Very interesting guy with a wealth of knowledge and experience. That part of pennsylvania is pretty beautiful too. 

[Greg51T&CWagon]

Almost done disassembling my distributor but hit a snag. How to remove that little wire retaining ring clip in the top of the distributor shaft so I can take the advance weights apart to clean underneath them etc.  This is an IAT 4012 distributor btw.

[Plymouthy Adams]

should be able to squeeze the two upright ears on this with a pair of needle nose or similar tool and draw it out from the top.

[Greg51T&CWagon]

you'd think. ? I finally just got it off. after hunting around for a tiny screwdriver. It circles the inner little shaft so you have to expand the two little nubs and with a needle nose plier then slip a tiny eyeglass screwdriver under it on the opposite side of the shaft and pry it out all with just two hands and normal old dude vision. The parts are now happily buzzing away in the ultrasonic cleaner with a mix of evaporust and simple green.

[Dartgame]

What works for me is to use needle nose pliers to expand the clip "ears" and then pulling up on the rotor...

[Greg51T&CWagon]

Putting the distributor back together. Thought there would be photos and diagrams online to help with the top plate arrangement, there are in general terms but this one part doesn't show up in the ones i've found. and I can't see where it goes. Any ideas? Autolite 4012 btw.

 

 

 

[vintage6t]

 

3 hours ago, Greg51T&CWagon said:

Putting the distributor back together. Thought there would be photos and diagrams online to help with the top plate arrangement, there are in general terms but this one part doesn't show up in the ones i've found. and I can't see where it goes. Any ideas? Autolite 4012 btw.

 

 

 

It looks like a spring clip that goes up inside a rotor.