I recently acquired a 1949 Dodge B1C "Pilothouse" pick-up. I am looking to slightly modify the old 218 flathead 6 engine for basic performance improvements. Have been looking at Eggy for intake and head and Stovebolt for the cast headers. Anybody have thoughts on the best way for me to go with my mods to the engine? I really want to stick with the traditional flatty. Also any other leads for part sources for my pick-up would be helpful. Thanks
The 218 is a very small motor, swapping the 218 for one of the bigger Dodge or Chrysler flathead 6s is the fastest was to get more power. The Mopar flatheads were good motors and the bigger ones were built well into the 60s as industrial motors. Splitting the intake and adding another carb, and splitting the exhaust to make it dual will help out some, www.rustyhope.com splits exhaust and intakes as well I believe. You can also get the cam reground for a little more performance. Keep in mind, these motors generally don't like high rpm, so you want to increase the torque more so then the horse power. Changing the rear axle to something more modern with gears in the 3:55 range will help with drive ability, you will actually be able to drive your truck on the highway. There is actually a lot of info on these motors here on the HAMB, do a search here. Gene
I have had some amazingly bad luck with old machines, so I'm all for doing teardowns & inspections before sinking a lot of $$$ into one. You may have a small crack in the block or the crank that won't show up until ya try to squeeze more hp out of the machine than what it originally generated, then ya really do have a boat anchor. When it comes to the Pilot House power train, I think the general consensus is that the flathead head can be shaved upwards of .100" to boost CR, split exhaust and a 2bbl carb on the intake (as well as 180 or 195 thermostat with a PCV system) can get ya in the 125 hp range with reliable performance. Also, swapping out the 4.10 rear axle to something in the 3.55 or 3.73 range can get ya some respectable highway speeds. Another option is to keep the 4.10 but upgrade to the T-5 transmission, which can be a tad more work. Or upgrade the transmission & rear axle if'n ya got the $$$ & expertise. And with that extra speed, ya might want to do that disc brake conversion to help ya whoa it up; swapping to radial tires could be beneficial to ride, handling, braking, etc. If the fuel tank is leaking, you can get it Renu'd...I had my tank treated 15 yrs ago and the only problem was to run a ground wire to the sending unit since the tank had become insulated. And ya need to have that fuel line in good shape or some funky things could happen
The 218 is the exact same engine as the 230 minus the crank and bore. Here are some links to heck out. I agree with above statements. http://ecihotrodbrakes.com/dodge_plymouth_discbrake_conversions.html http://www.edgyspeedshop.com/index2.html http://www.butchscoolstuff.com/store/cart.php?m=product_list&c=15 https://scarebird.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=64&product_id=97 http://www.qualityengineeredcomponents.com/ http://www.50plymouth.com/02-hom/home.html http://reds-headers.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=818 http://www.jwjeep.com/search.html -for a new rear end- Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
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