Projects 1958 dodge d100

65-70 is going to require different rear end gearing and/or an overdrive.

 

Stuck valves are pretty common on this engine after sitting. I would think you would have zero compression on the cylinder with a stuck valve.
I had one engine that had 3 dead cyl and 5 stuck valves, I pulled the head and in a few min 4 valves were freed up, the 5th was more stubborn and took more work.
Gummy oil in the valve guides, rotate the engine, valve comes up, to gummy to go back down with spring pressure.
Clean oil and work the valve up and down by rotating the engine will free them up.

My current project has sat for 20+ years, had low compression but some.
I started with atf in the cylinders and got it to run.
Then soaked them with marvel mystery oil, That helped more, now they are all 80-125 psi, Still not able to drive it on the road yet, hoping they equal out with use.

 

What gear ratio should I look for in a rear end? I’ll probably replace this one


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These engines do not like to run over 3600 rpm.
In order to keep them down to 2500-2700 rpm at about 70mph, with a stock transmission, 30" tall rear tires .... a 3:73 gear ratio seems to work good.
While some that have a little more HP from mods, maybe a T5 trans swap, they like 3:55.
Truck in my avatar is the same engine as yours, the body is more narrow then yours.
For me a explorer or a cherokee is a good choice. Not sure what would work for you.

 

My dad knows a good place to get a t5 and I’ll look into finding a rear end, it looks like it’s just a bracket and some U bolts holding it in so that shouldn’t be too difficult, there’s a junkyard not too far away from me. Aside from a different bracket to mount the trans, what else needs to be upgraded for a trans swap?


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Regarding electronic ignition: look here.\
http://p15-d24.com/topic/27231-flathead-to-slant-6-distributor-conversion/
Lots of other good info on that site also.

 

Endeavor to persevere, young man, and enjoy your truck. Looks like you're on the right track. There are many folks on the HAMB who will help. Good luck, and keep posting your pics.

 

You are getting into a area I would try to avoid.
There are a few advantages to upgrading the rear end.
You get modern brakes for safety.
Highway gears.
Parts are more readily available. Drums, shoes, wheel cyl etc ...

In my situation, it is cheaper/safer to do a rear axle swap, then a simple brake job.
I can buy and install a used rear axle, cheaper then I can buy original brake parts.

To do the T5 swap, it is common but it is also more involved, I have no experience with it. I have no advice for it.
Only advice I would offer, get it running and drive it, I see why you would do the rear gear swap. The T5 is more advanced and would save it for next year if you think it is needed after driving it.

 

I’ll look into swapping a new rear end once it’s running and I’ll take you’re advice on the t5. Finals week is over tomorrow so progress should pick up soon


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A 318 will rev a lot more freely than a flathead six. Some years back I replaced the slant six and 3 speed in a Dodge pickup with a 360 and Torqueflite. It was much better on the hiway even with the stock rear end. I sincerely believe that if you can put in a 318 you will have no trouble cruising at 65 - 70 with the stock trans and rear end. I would be more concerned about the condition of the brakes and steering. If you go over the brakes, suspension, and steering and add new shocks and radial tires you will have no problems. My Dodge was a 1970 model with the same beam axle and drum brakes. It rode and handled well after I went over the front end and added radial tires. The brakes were very large, 11 inch drums on the front and 10 inch on the back, they worked very well too.

 

You say the engine has been replaced and has only 30000 miles. This suggests the only problem is stuck valves. Oiling the cylinders may get you enough compression to get started, then when it warms up things will drop into place. Or you may have to take the head off and work on the valves. This is not very difficult, and you should be able to reuse the head gasket if you are careful not to damage it. In any case, a head gasket is only about $30.

65 - 70 may be in reach especially if you install oversize rear tires. This is cheaper than changing rear axle gears.

 

I’m currently soaking the valves and pistons in atf and have been for a few days so once I’m done with finals things should free up a bit. Once I get this running consistently I’ll drain the oil and fill it with the most cleaning oil I can find with a bit of atf and marvel mystery oil or sea foam (there’s a video somewhere comparing them) and run that for a short while to clean up gunk in the engine. I changed the oil before I even first cranked it and it was dark but not super sludgy so hopefully it shouldn’t be too bad. The only constraint I have with the bigger tire is it not hitting the top of the wheel well and still getting full travel in the suspension. I am still planning on replacing rear gears as when I picked up a dropped gasket I saw that the diff has let go of any oil sealing capabilities so I’ll have to rebuild it anyway if I keep it so it’ll be easier to call the local junkyard and find something that will work. Thank you for helping me with this truck, I’m new to driving and restoring the older cars so the help is very much appreciated!


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Update:
Got it to backfire on all 6, adjusted timing and just pumps smoke but no running yet, I think it’s still just flooded with atf. It has occasional loud backfires on one cyl so I think I still have an exhaust valve stuck but no backfire through carb so that’s good. Will keep y’all updated on it as I progress through it


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Did you check the timing plug on the rear cylinder, #6?
Pull out the pipe plug and rotate engine by hand
same time pull the spark plug and as you turn the engine over, when you feel compression coming out of the spark plug hole ... and you rotate the engine back and forth to find the top travel position of the piston.

This will be the TDC of the #6 piston .... pull the distributor cap and the rotor should be pointing at or near the #6 plug wire.

Your firing order of your plug wires looks correct, and easy to remember 153624
15 is too young, 36 is too old, 24 is just right

But if your timing is correct, your wires appear to be rotated one click clockwise, #1 should be about 7:00 o'clock.
moving them all one click counter clockwise would look more like factory.

Mine is actually two clicks counter clockwise from what you show, because the guy that assembled my engine did not have the motor in exact position when installing the oil pump.
Why you need to pull the pipe plug on #6 and get that cyl on compression stroke and then set #6 plug wire to where the rotor is pointing.

Your #6 wire could be anywhere on the cap, not where others say it should be.

 

I’ll try to pull the plug and find Tdc, can I crank it with the starter? It could definitely be a bit off so I’ll try and get it correct as soon as I can. My goal is to get it to start and run okish by next week so that I can move on to figuring out brakes and such. I’ll also try to upload a video of it to show what it’s doing and cranking speed and such to make sure those things are in a reasonable range.


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So I have not had a chance to work on the engine yet as I am no longer able to borrow the battery I was using, so I’m waiting to get a new one, in the mean while I started sanding the hood so that it can get repainted soon. I plan on using rust converter once I sand the surface rust off. Any tips or advice? Thanks!!!!

-Jackson Householder


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Flathead Chrysler products have a very handy feature for finding TDC. There is a pipe plug in the head, above the #6 piston in other words, the last cylinder. You can drop a screwdriver down the hole and feel the piston as it comes up, if you turn the engine by hand.
#1 and #6 rise and fall together. So when #6 is at TDC, so it #1.
Take out plugs, turn engine until air wooshes out of #1 plug hole, that means it is coming up on compression. Find TDC by the #6 cylinder method.

Now slowly turn the distributor to advance it, until the points open. You can tell when the points open by using a 12 volt test light connected to the points, or by putting a cigarette paper between the points and tugging gently, when it comes free the points are opening.

OK now you have timed the ignition. See where the rotor is pointing, that is #1 cylinder. Put in the plug wires and connect according to the firing order. Double check you don't mix them up, especially 3 and 4. For some reason they are easy to switch.

That is how you time the engine from scratch. Get it firing at TDC and it will run, or at least, if it doesn't you know it isn't the timing.

If the plugs are gummed up the only way to clean them is to sandblast them. You can buy a little spot blaster for a few bucks that will clean them in seconds.

 

Update:
Did the timing like you said, it stopped backfiring, used the timing light and it was about 1/6th of a crank rotation off from the timing mark so I moved the plug wires over one. Didn’t start and run but fired enough to spin the starter fast to where it was just about to, I think some passages in the carb are blocked and it’s causing only the boosted to work, so I’ll rebuild the carb and see if that gets it, it’s looking like I’m really really close to getting it to run


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what you describe sounds good, but now I think you may have low compression, where soaking the rings in oil may help.
Would be nice to see results from a compression test.

A completely foolish way back in the old days, they could tow them around the field while in gear. This would get the engine spinning faster then what the starter can turn it over ... get old engines been sitting for awhile started.
That is simply for your entertainment and not advice.

may need to soak cylinders in a light oil for a couple weeks.

 

So I got it to run for a few seconds today, after rebuilding the new carb and then it has not run since, I think I can’t get it to crank fast enough or the carb is off, or low compression. I’ll take a compression reading and figure out where to go from there. Cylinders 1,2,3,4 are warm after cranking and it firing but not enough, 5,6 are not warm. I think if I can get it to run for a bit longer and get it to heat up the rings will free up, and if I can’t get the starter to spin fast enough I’ll just fix the brakes and push it down a big hill in gear Either way I’ll find a way to get it to run. Would you recommend more of a 2 stroke oil or something closer to like a 0wt engine oil? I’m gonna be out of town for a few days so hopefully that’ll help free stuff up. Thanks!!


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Also compression is up to about 72psi in cyl 1 which is good because it was at 30 when I started


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So today I tore apart the engine because I couldn’t get it to stay running, 3,4 and 5 were toast, 4 had a shattered piston, 3 had shattered rings and 5 had ruined bearings and no oil. I found a Chevy blazer for cheap so I’m gonna end up swapping out the chassis to make this thing drive. The attached image is 3&4.


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Nothing wrong with that.
If you have the fabrication skills and tools to complete the job, should turn out awesome.

On the other hand, if you do not .... is going to cost more to complete the swap, then to just get another engine.
It might cost you $2k to rebuild the engine you have.
You could find a used good running flat 6 for a lot less.
There is a member her trying to sell a old flat 6 engine and trans, has less then 30k miles on it and not ran for years. May be a pull it apart and new rings etc ... something to do in your garage.

And my only point here is, The cheapest way out, replace or fix the motor you have.

I think the next cheapest way, get a good running used small block mopar and install it.
Will be some fabrication, you will need to adapt the trans or mods to install a modern trans. Shorten the drive line etc...
But it is a do-able project. They sold these trucks with a V8 option, so things are easier.

The frame swap is another option. I think in the end, it would be the most expensive option.
Unless you are a pro fabricator to make all the needed pieces to make it work.

Dont get me wrong, when I was 22 years old, I worked with a kid that did a frame swap on his old chebby, he had a cum a long securing the cab to the frame. He drove it to work every day.

When you say, "I found a cheap chevy" That just scares me. The cheapest way is to fix what you have on a old classic. .... A cheap chevy is where people get overwhelmed with a project and then look for someone else to buy the pile of parts they have.

I only ask you be real about your fab skills, and the amount of time/money you have to throw at it.

 

Let me post a link, show you what I guy did with a Dakota frame swap.
It is a awesome truck and it took a lot of work to do it. I do not know how his energy level kept up with the work he did.
But it is a excellent read and it gives you a good idea of the effort he went through to build this truck.
I honestly do not think the effort of work will matter, weather it is a chevy or a Dodge.
It is simply just work .... and look at what went into the frame to get the cab and bed, dog house installed.

http://p15-d24.com/topic/47345-512-cid-c-series-on-dakota-chassis-build-thread/#comments

 

This. A full size truck on a compact truck frame will look like ass.

 

So you are ruining another old truck...that’s a shame.


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I would swap the Chevy engine and transmission into your chassis before attempting a frame swap, especially if I had limited mechanical experience.

A man has to understand his limitations.

 

Thank y’all for the input, I am reconsidering the frame swap, as to rebuild the engine wouldn’t be super expensive, and I could practice fabricating skills by making my own headers, since I have measurements somewhere of how long to make each tube to maximize scavenging at 2500 rpm, and making my own intake manifold to help with the lack of horsepower. My main concern with maintaining the stock setup is the solid I beam front suspension, but that’s a worry for when it actually moves under its own power. Thoughts on these ideas? Thanks!


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These trucks are easy to put a small block mopar in if you want to upgrade engines


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