Putting a Chrysler Industrial Hemi in a 52 Dodge truck

I know. I was very judicious and careful with it.

I think that Dan and Jared identified the first big problem. Somehow, the brake booster is leaking and the vacuum source for it was tapped into the runner for no. 7. By locking that off,the engine now idles smoothly and quietly.

The problem comes when the carb come off the idle circuit. The missing intensifies and the engine doesn't pull smoothly and strongly on a hard pull. The plugs are snow white.

Dan said the carb had been rejetted, so I'd bet my favorite ball cap that it is too lean on the main circuit. I'm no expert in jetting 4 barrels but I've done a multitude of Webers and Solexes and I'm sure I could fix it with jet changes.....if I read up on AFB's.

 

Snow white is definitely an indication of a lean mix, should be a tannish color. Try changing just the primarys first, since thats what you've been running on, but ID the secondarys. Good luck.

 

AFB's are a piece of cake. You may not have to change the jets at all, just pull the rods (which come out of the top without even breaking the carb apart) and see what you have. If the plugs are white, try going to the next smaller size rod (richer). Edelbrock rods are the same as Carter AFB's, although not all the same sizes are offered. The rods have 2 steps, one for idle and another for accelerating, so if its not accelerating well at part throttle you probably need to go with a smaller rod size on both steps.

Rod kits are readily available from Summit, or even from most O'Reilly parts stores. Jets can be changed too if you can't get the right jet/rod ratio with what you have, but you have to take off the top of the carb to change the jets. If it runs and drives, you can probably get a handle on it with a rod change.

I would start with the primary rods and not worry about the secondary jets at first unless you're already spending all your time at WOT.

You can also download an edelbrock manual in PDF form right off edelbrock's site, the Carter AFB's and Eddy Performer carbs are pretty much identical (Eddy bought Carter).

 

I think I missed something? Didn't you say it ran fine with the trans off of it? No wobble. Would the weight of the trans mounted cause the engine issues to surface? Or was it a coincidence that it ran fine with the trans off.

 

I have the original instructions, a rod kit and a DVD. Maybe I'll give it a shot. Can't hurt to try it once...right?

It did seem to run OK without the trans. The only thing I can think of is that with the extra weight of the converter, the 'wobble' is amplified since there's more weight on the engine. I didn't rev it up a lot though...the motor was supported by a bottle jack and I didn't want to push my luck.

 

Dan, Good to hear that your finding the gremlins, no, not the AMC type...
If you need to remove the jets be sure to use the proper screwdriver.

.

 

With no load on the engine, you probably never get off the idle cicuit, Dan. Trust me, you have to richen up the transition from idle circuit to main circuit and also the main circuit. Now, how you do that, I'm not certain. It's probably a combination of metering rod and jet changes....BUT. Only change ONE thing at a time and check it each time you make a change.

Before you make any changes, make sure the float level is adjusted correctly. If it is off, nothing you do will make for a lasting fix.

 

Awesome! One day I might do a 315 Hemi in mine!

 

I missed the carb model, but if you need a service manual for a Carter WCFB I have a copy in PDF format.

Just drop me a PM with your email.

 

thanks for the earlier direction on the rustyhope.com brake kit. but now i'm having trouble finding a rotor/wheel bearing combo to fit the old spindles from my 52 dodge. i was wondering if you could tell me which ones you used? (what they came off of) thanks for the help! rick

 

The rusty hope kit comes with the brackets and hardware to mount the calipers and all the part numbers you need. I'm not sure what everything comes off of. I think its a mix and match of stuff.

 

The brake rotor Rusty Hope uses depends on what bolt pattern you want/need. The Mopar pattern uses rotors from an Aspen/Volari, the cotter key is real close to the end of the spindle, and you have to have the bearing spacer/seal surface that comes in the kit for them to work. Gene

 

i contacted the guy at rustyhope and learned he forgot to send me the parts list and instruction. he emailed it to me and already have the kit installed. thanks for the help guys!

 

I must have jinxed myself by saying I was done.

I tried some tuning to get the engine to run right and nothing seemed to help. So I bit the bullet and tore the front off the truck, pulled the engine and brought it back to the engine builder.

He tore it apart today and found that the damper wasn't right (I guess the rubber shifted) and also found one broken and one bent pushrod. Hard to get it running right with broken parts.

So new pushrods are in the mail and he'll get everything balanced and setup right. Then I can put it back together.

Right now, the garage is a mess and it looks like it did way earlier in the year. Should only take about 8-10 hours of work to get it back together, so hopefully that's a light I see at the end of the tunnel (and not a train).

 

Any idea what happened to the push rods?

 

I probably hurt them. I thought I had the motor in the right spot before adjusting each set...but it was the first time I was adjusting pushrods, so I could have screwed up.


When I was working on adjusting them, I didn't notice the broken one (and it's broken on the top near the adjuster where I would have noticed it) or the bent one (and I was spinning them to make sure they were loose before I started to set the preload).

With it all apart, the builder is going to go through it and make sure everything's right and nothings damaged or stuck.

 

Glad you found the problem, too bad it took so long. Better luck this go around..

 

For the short time i had the truck on the road, i thought the ride was pretty rough. Since i have the engine out, i figured i would take out the spring to recondition them and have a leaf removed from each one.

Taking stuff off that hasn't been apart for 60 years is a bitch. I have the front pass side off and the front bolt off the driver side....about 3 hours of work so far.

 

Hi Dan,
I'm in the process of brining a 52 B3B back to life, With a 383 and a 727 torqueflight trans. You may want to add to the radiator cost and add electric fans. I had to cut 6 1/2" out of the fire wall.

 

I stayed cool without electric fans...I'm running the generator and dont really have the output for them anyway.

Here's how it fit without cutting the firewall.

 

Still looking good Dan!

 

PB Blaster and and impact wrench are your friend, Dan! Good luck!

 

Spent an hour tonight getting just one bushing out of the front spring. It took using a 1/2 inch socket wrench with a pipe on the end of the handle for better leverage and some heat on the eye of the spring to break it loose.

Old rusty bushings suck!

Tomorrow i attack the rears and the engine might be ready to come home.

 

I finished up refreshing the suspension. Wound up needing to buy 2 new spring shackles (one broke and the other was too rough to reuse). I removed a leaf out of each spring to soften the ride a bit ( other guys at the pilothouse forum have done that with good results ).

I got the engine back a couple weeks ago, so tomorrow I'm going to put it back in. Plan is to then get everything rewired and running by next weekend.

My garage looks like it did about a year ago.

 

WOW this sure has turned inta an awesome ride! really hope you get the front end figured out. Good luck!

 

Got the engine back in the truck...hopefully for the last time.

 

looks like progress!

 

Hey Dan!

Great thread! I just read the whole thing! Im pretty close to starting my 50' dodge b2b v8 swap and your thread is helping me get a grasp on what to expect. Im putting in a 360 w/ a 727 and a ford nine rear end. Great looking truck and keep up the good work! Ill probably be asking ya a lot of questions haha!

Matt (OKC)

 

Cool Matt...I'll be glad to help. Look forward to seeing a build thread on your project.

With these projects, it's always something. I installed the water pump and now the crank pulley doesn't line up...I guess the new damper I installed is either in too far, or doesn't stick out far enough.

 

You still have your alignment 'tool' don't you?

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