Chrysler Flattie needs a home. Questions

A teacher of mine has an old forklift thats been sitting out behind the shop for a while eqipped with a Chrysler Flathead. I havent really dug to much into it, but as of last year it ran good. Power steering and hydraulics went out on the lift so hes looking to get rid of it. Its propane powered would a conversion back to gasoline be difficult and what would it entail? I dont have anything to do with the motor persay i just want to save it. He has agreed to sell it to me but i dont know what its worth. Ill try to get a little more information on it tonight, and hopefully someone out there has a use for it.

 

Well, if it was close to Tulsa and Cheap I would be interested as a spare for my pickup project.

It's probably a 230 and most 218/230 Dodge/Plymouth manifolds will fit to do the conversion.

 

Measure the head and get the engine number. The head will be either 23 1/2 inches or 25 inches long. Short is 218/230, long is 251/265

The enigne number is stamped on a boss just below the head front of the engine above the generator. It should start with an "I" for industrial. Also look for any riveted on tags near the dizzy which would indicate a licensed rebuild and give a hint to whether the internals are over, under or stock. To change from propane, you probably would need to get a gas carb and a distributor from a car ot truck. I believe most of the Industrial engines used dizzys with no vacuum advance since they were essentially single speed applications. These are tough reliable, torque monsters of an engine. You should also note the bellhousing. Most likely it is similar to the truck type with large castings on the side that fit into the frame rails. If so for a car application you would need to find a car setup.

Other engine letters which you may find;

P plymouth
D dodge
T truck Dodge
S desoto
C chrysler
No stamping, a chrysler block sold to a rebuilder (like Jasper Sears & Roebuck)

 

If it's always been propane, likely in very good shape inside. Propane burns cleaner so there's fewer fuel induced contaminants to wear the surfaces. Far as I know adjust the ign timing, and change the propane mixer over to a carb, and you got yourself a gasoline engine. good luck

 

i dont know a whole lot about flatheads, actually i know nothing about any of the specifics. i was only able to get to lift partially disassembled around the motor before it got dark and i ran out of time. the only thing i could see was the tag next to the dizzy it has a chrysler stamp on it. the lettering however is pretty rough and is hard to make out. ill try to take a closer look tuesday when i go back and get a little more information.