Help decoding what I have

[woodscavenger]

I have multiple questions....

My engine is a straight 6

The head says Spitfire so I know it's not the original engine.

The number at the front drivers side is T149G 5810C

The engine has a tag from an engine shop that says

"Re-Manufactured Engine

Cyl 040

Rods 010

Mains 010"

1) I'm new to engine rebuilds. Does this mean the cylinders are bored 40 over? If so what would my new displacement be?

2)Also I can't seem to find a link to an article talking about how to go about starting an engine that has been sitting for a long time. Any ideas?

3) My rear axle does not appear original. It appears to be a bit wider than would be original and the front drums use bolts for the rims but the rear uses studs and nuts. How do I go about deciphering what type of rear end it may have?

4) I am missing the first chrome strip at the front of the hood. Are there any available?

Thanks for any and all help you can give.

Shane

[Tony_Urwin]

1) I think the Spitfire head means it's a 251 or a 265 displacement. Pistons 40 over, rod and main bearings 10 over.

2) New oil, points, plugs, rotor, condensor, dist. cap, maybe plug wires. Any old gas in the tank is very suspect, so you may want to run a temporary fuel line into a gas can. A lot of guys will pull the oil pan to assess the condition of the bottom end, and remove the sludge left by antique oil.

3) Aside from scraping off the gunk and looking for serial numbers, most rear axles have a unique shape. Yours has probably been replaced with a later model for a more highway-friendly gear ratio. There's lots of info online. It may not even be Mopar.

4) The stainless grills go for a premium price, but the top bar is the easiest to find. I have an extra one for my B1C. I can't remember if it has any dings, but I'll look and let you know.

[Merle Coggins]

I thought I read somewhere that some of the truck engines used the Spitfire head, so it may be your original engine. The serial number indicates a truck engine. (starts with "T")

And one correction to Tony's reply. Your Rod and Main journals have been ground .010" undersize and the cylinder bores .040" oversized. But unless you're going to do another rebuild you have nothing to worry about.

As for starting an engine that's been sitting... I like to squirt some oil into the cylinders to help lubricate things and possible loosen up any surface rust on the cylinder walls. I prefer Marvel Mystery Oil, but that's just me.

Merle

[greg g]

If the engine is not siezed and will turn over with the starter. Pull the plugs, put some (couple table spoons) new oil, marvel mystery oil, or auto trans fluid into each cylinder via the spark plug hole. Let it sit for a while, the with the plugs out crank the engine over for 10 to 15 seconds. You may want to do this for several cycles. Then do a compression test, and record your reading by cylinder. Depending on the engine and it compression ratio, you should have a reading from 90 to 120 lbs across the 6 cylinders. Acceptable varience among your cylinders should not exceed 10 percent. Low consistant readings are a better sign than 4 high and two low. O readings usually indicate valves stuck open for years of sitting. I have found that even with a couple of cylinders with stuck valves, you can get an engine running if you can tow the vehicle up to about 15 mph and then release the clutch with the ignitio on and in 2nd gear. many times getting the engine up to running temp will help loosen any valves that may be stuck.

When you evaluate the condition of the engine by the compression test, do a static timing, assure you have spark at the coil distributor and plugs, assure you have gas at the carb, then try to start it. Fresh plugs are one of the biggest contributor sto successful awakening of sleeping engines.

If and when you gat the compresion readings let us know what they are and several folks can probably give you some very good tips regarding what the internal condidiotn of the engine may be. If you don;t have a compression gauge, get on and also get a vacuum gauge as after the engine gets to running the vacuum gauge will help pinpoint other problems that may be present of come up.

The rebuilder's tag may be an important clue as to the situation of you rengine. Due to the conditions of the time and the difference in mettalurgy, many engines running on dirt roads, and doing hard work with oils available , found them selves worn out at 50/60000 miles. So engines were swapped for newer ones, rebuilt ones, or rebuilt and reinstalled. So if this is the case, and your truck has 80K it might indicate your engine only has 20K since it was rebuilt and should be in fairly good shape wear wise.

[townwagon]

1950 Canada DE-4, Fargo FM-4, it would have been a 236ci engine that is 25" long.

The Spitfire heads were only used on cars as far as I know, but apart from the lettering they are the same as the regular heads. I would guess the rebuilder just put on a generic head, without trying to keep the original parts together.

When I bring an engine back from the dead I like to do three things, one pour some PB Blaster into each cylinder (make sure you get it in the cylinder, and not just down the valves), once that has had some time to work, pour some light oil down the cylinders. Three overfill the crankcase with cheap oil.

After it has sat like that for a few days or more drain the oil and refill to the correct level with new oil. Then crank the engine over using the starter with the plugs out to clear all the gunk out of the cylinders. Then install fresh plugs and see if it will fire.

Due to a bad experience I like to leave everything but the spark plugs alone until I know the engine will or will not run.

I once rebuilt a distributor with all new parts before trying to fire an engine for the first time. It took me quite a long time to figure out that the brand new rotor was faulty....

Good Luck!

Eric

[woodscavenger]

Thanks for the help. I just figured out it was the 236. With it bored 40 over how do you figure your new displacement?

[townwagon]

But I am not an expert in engine rebuilding, so I may be looking at it wrong.

Eric