1946 Chrysler Windsor

I own a 46 Chrysler 3 window (businessman coupe) Windsor with a flathead 6 spitfire. I bought this car about 3 months ago or so and had my eye on it for probably 7 or 8 months before I got the money to buy it. It's all original pretty much and probably will stay that way. The only things I really plan to change are disk brakes up front and change them to power brakes, possibly a rack and pinion steering setup and then lower it 3 or 4 inches all the way around and glasspacks. The interior will be stock appearing but will change it to tan interior. I haven't decided on the whole 6 or 12 volt thing yet. For now it will stay 6 volt since there is nothing wrong with a 6 volt system.

As for the engine, it has over 100,000 miles on it but I will drive it a little more before pulling it. I plan to change all the fluids, air filter, dress it up a bit, etc. I am also thinking about a different rear end in it and putting a t-5 tranny behind it for drivability since it has the big fluid drive in it. I will keep all the original parts though and not ruin the originality part of the vehicle.

Let me know what you think and any info on the disk and power brake upgrade would be greatly appreciated. Currently I have NO brakes so I can't and haven't even driven this thing.

You can buy a disc brake conversion , bolt on kit from ECI, it is around $575.00,they also have a dual MC, that bolts right on these cars. As far as the T 5 Trans, get one form an early S10 that had the 4 banger and you can use that. There will need to be some adaptive work to make this work, but it cetainly has been done before with this exact engine setup. As far as the diff is concerned, being a fluid drive, if it has the M5 semi-auto trans, the diff should be a 3.54, a good all around diff for this car, even with the T5 trans, you should be able cruise all day at 70 mph.You can also buy a split exhaust manifold, and a dual intake for the carbs, it will sound good and give you a little extra get-up and go. These cars when powered with the fluid drive are quite doggy off the line, a dry clutch, the T5 trans and modded the flathead 6 will give you the ability to move along well in modern traffic. Love the car, the color is Sumac red, I have a 47 Windsor Club Coupe, but is still under construction, I wish mine had been a 1/4 as good as your when I got it. I have a flattie 6, dry clutch, 3 spd trans and a 4.11 rearend, lots of jump, but winding up good at 50 mph, sounds like mad bees at 55 + mph.Fred aka Rockwood on P15 D24

Here is a pic of my beast in epoxy primer, long way to go but she does run well and is currently registered on the road, my only problem mechanically is a slow coolant leak from the rear freeze plug, which is a relatively big job to fix...Fred

The original brakes will stop the car fine, and it'll be a lot less money.

I've had a number of 1946 to 1948 cars myself. Including my first car - a 1948 New Yorker Club Coupe, and a 1947 Town and Country Convertible.

Andy Bernbaum http://www.oldmoparts.com/ has the parts you need in stock to do the brakes and a tuneup. Give him a buzz. Heck, most of the parts can be found at Napa too.

(Cool car btw!)

Peter

Peter, Itend to agree with you, these brakes are prety good, especially when they are adjusted properly, not an easy task for a beginner to Lockheed brake systems. It would be a lot less money for Shawn to buy all new wheel cyls, MC, new lines and hoses, then have the brakes re-lined, and the drums measured and machined to the absolute minimum it requires to be in good shape. The drums can be turned to a max of .060, if there bigger than that they should be replaced. Some of the new production wheel cyls, have the push pins out farther than the stock type, so if you want to go NOS, I know a gent who could sell you a whole set for around $40.00 a piece. With new brake lining, the wheel cyls and MC new, all new lines, you should be able to get real decent brakes, provided they are adjusted properly, this is the real key with Lockheed brake systems.......Fred <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Peter Gariepy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The original brakes will stop the car fine, and it'll be a lot less money.

I've had a number of 1946 to 1948 cars myself. Including my first car - a 1948 New Yorker Club Coupe, and a 1947 Town and Country Convertible.

Andy Bernbaum http://www.oldmoparts.com/ has the parts you need in stock to do the brakes and a tuneup. Give him a buzz. Heck, most of the parts can be found at Napa too.

(Cool car btw!)

Peter</div></div>

We are capitulating (i.e. caving in too) this fellow. We all know this is a car club that caters to originality and 98 per cent of us don't care for hot rodding. This "new member" comes on and says he has one of the rarest of post war Chryslers that didn't get certified by Galen Govier and we say cool, fine, chop it up. He says he wants to keep it "all original" then says he is replacing JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING including the stock interior. Disc brakes! Power rack and pinion!

He can do whatever he wants, it's a free world but someone needs to say "what a shame" Go at least get a club coupe Windsor or Saratoga and sell this 3 window to a Chrysler restoration freak. Rare-rare-rare.

Call a spade a spade, call a hot rodder a hot rodder. Go to one of their websites.

Luv the car, what a cool chop job.Hey I am only 2 provinces over here in Manitoba........Fred ps is the car yours

Thanks for the info. As far as keeping the car original I still want good modern (safe) brakes and good steering. Maybe I wont do the steering rack but someone through that out there to me a while back ago and I thought I'd look into it. As far as interior, it will stay stock but just change the color. It has the Highlander plaid (sp) interior in it now which is NOT original. I will keep the seats and designs the stock look, just tan. I wont shave the trim, change the wheels or nothing. Sure some stuff will be changed like the T-5 but like I said, I will keep everything and only change it to the point where if I want it all back stock all I do is take the old stuff off and put the stock that I kept right back on. Nothing perminant. Right now I need to get the engine going and new brakes. I get 50/50 answers on the brakes. Half the people say disk conversion is safe and the way to go and the other half say stock, I am looking into it. Only reason for the T-5 is because I want to drive the car just about everyday or weekend and from what I hear the fluid drive tranny is very sluggish, etc.

Sure I like to keep some cars stock and some I like to hot rod but for this I want it to be safe and "reliable" (especially reliable).

Highlander Plaid could certainly be original on the car.

I appreciate the response. I have a 68 Buick Riviera that will be visually stock with some modifications, but they made 35,000 Rivieras. Like you 48 Chevy Coupe, they made a lot. I get hot rodding, but prefer those guys do it on the less then rare old cars out there. Cut n' Chop's 3 window can never be returned to original, without a serious amount of cash, so it never will be. He would probably respond "I plan on keeping it a long time". can't blame him then, because he will get his kind of satisfaction out of it duringhis lifetime, and that's what's important. Some of us simply cringe when we see a rare old car "modified" in any way. They are time pieces, and reflect the technology and abilities of the time. Reliability is a big concern. I have been in old cars that got vapor lock on the way to shows. There is simply no way to make this car fast and reliable without major underhood modifications. That old Spitfire 6 is a dud compared to modern cars but the looks and thumbs up you'll get from envious passers by will be the same no matter what's under the hood.

I will get some pictures on here in a few days of the interior. I have ripped it all out because it was ripped up and had tons of rat's nests in it with baby mice all over so right now all that is in it is the seat which needs to be completely recovered in new foam and material. As far as the Spitfire goes, everyone tells me to put a 360 or something in it but I will keep the inline flathead in there. I love the old flatheads and they look cool. I have my 66 and 48 for my go fast hot rods, this one will be my cool cruiser and something to just work on and drive around. Like I said though, I do plan to drive this thing all over the place and drive it to work every so often.

As far as the color goes, I think it may have been repainted. The tags in the door and all are painted right over and if you peel the paint off the under color (which shouldn't be primer) is gloss black. The car used to look VERY nice until the owner put it outside and let it sit for 10 years and that is why it's the way it is. When I go to repaint it I am not sure what color to do. I like the maroon looking color and was thinking that since it's not original color now that maybe I just put a similar color on it and put the black cherry color they use on the new Lexus 330 cars. It looks black at night and day it is a dark maroon color and looks luxury to me. I don't know, it's all up in the air right now, first things first are to get it running well and new brakes all around.

Does anyone here have any history info on this car. Everyone tells me that it is a rare car but I don't know too much about them and why they are rare.

Thanks again and sorry for such a long post.

"Everyone" says flathead engines are no good but "everyone" never drove one.

Those who own and drive Chrysler products of that era, including me, know there is nothing at all wrong with original engine, transmission, and drive train.

On the brake question, I could go either way. The original brakes if in good shape are safe for all practical purposes. But, if you are going to drive in real meat axey traffic like you see on the interstate today, disc brakes and radial tires can be awfully comforting to have.

To answer your question in another way, I have a 1951 DeSoto club coupe with very similar engine, trans, steering, wheels, etc. Right now I am working on a mildly hopped up flathead 6, a 265 cu in as used in the last flathead 6 Chryslers. The car will remain basically stock mechanically including the fluid drive trans. I may change to disc brakes at some future time but right now I am rebuilding the original brakes.

I have driven these cars (Chrysler products of the 40s and 50s) and can attest that they are fully practical on today's roads. With the possible addition of disc brakes and radial tires.

Also you can surprisingly fast acceleration with the fluid drive if you know how to work it. For example, start off in low range and run it thru all 4 gears. Yes, it is a 4 speed. You can drain off up to half the fluid from the fluid drive unit and have the same thing as a high stall speed torque converter.

Furthermore the flathead engine is hardly the worthless junk a lot of ignorant people seem to think. Give your car a good tuneup and try it. Do a compression test.

Recently I talked to a mechanic who just finished rebuilding the engine in a 1942 Plymouth. He was very impressed with the performance because he drove the car both before and after the rebuild. Before, the car started and ran OK with no bad raps or knocks from the engine. But the compression was low and the oil pressure was a little low. After the rebuild it seemed to have twice the power and it probably did.

This was a guy who owns several hemi and 440 powered Dodge muscle cars from the 70s and has been rebuilding them for years. Of course the flathead does not compare to a race hemi but it has plenty of power for all practical purposes on today's roads.

So don't be too quick to change your car. Give it a chance. See if it doesn't impress you with its own merits. You may find you like it even though it is different from anything you ever drove before. And, if it turns out what you really want is a Camaro go out and buy a Camaro. Don't waste your time and money trying to turn a 46 Chrysler into a Camaro.

Some other thoughts come to mind. The flathead type engine is all about high torque and a broad powerband, not developed horsepower at high RPM's.

The hight torque nature of your stock engine makes driving s-o-o-o-o easy in traffic, hill climbing, carrying heavy passenger loads and similar day to day driving situations. Where it is not so good is maintaining high speeds for long periods. Now by high speeds I mean over 60 for hours on end.

When new your car had a top speed around 90 to 95 MPH and a comfortable cruising speed of 50 to 60, but 70 to 80 MPH for long periods was possible if you didn't mind pushing it a little.

Today out of respect for the car's age I would keep the speed down to 60 with short bursts up to 70 if necessary.

Now if you rebuild the engine with new pistons, rings, bearings, oil pump etc and especially if you balance it then high speeds are no problem. But, I would suggest using synthetic oil to keep piston and cylinder wear down.

I know 110 HP out of a 4 litre engine seems pathetic. But when you look at a few other factors it's not so bad. For example, the weight of the car is surprisingly low. It looks like it weighs 10 tons but actually it's around 3200 pounds which is less than a Ford Taurus and about the same as a Toyota.

Then there is the torque factor. The broad powerband means you have max torque available from just off idle all the way up to hiway speeds, and we are talking over 200 ft lbs of torque.

Combine this with the low gearing and the unusual transmission and you won't be holding up traffic.

I'm with you on these great flathead engines, either stock or beefed up a little. Thgey were very tough reliable engines, from what I have read and from others opinions the Mopar flathead was a leading engine in it's time, full pressure oil, hardened valve seats, and lots of torque. The main reason, combines, forklifts, airplane pushers, welder, army trucks, all used the Chrysler flathead 6s. Not sure if you remember Rusty, but I have a 218 longblock Canadian 6 in my 47 Chrysler Club Coupe, it also has the dry clutch, 3 spd trans and 4.11 rearend. I do own 2-251s, one seized and the other was running but had miles on her. I also found about 5 mile from home a 265on an old Lincoln Welder, can buy this one for a $100.00, but it has not been run in years and and is currently not seized, might buy it. At present don't have any plans to put a fluid drive and M5 trans back in my car, but I do have these items here at home, so I could, but it's not in the plans right now. My real desire is to have one of the 251 engines rebuilt, drop that in with the dry clutch, 3 spd trans, either the 4.11 diff or even a 3.54. The 218 longblock has compression of 100 to 110, except #5 cyl was 98, when I tested it last, oil pressure is 45 lbs at and idle and is still 40 when running full temp. Very happy with these work horses. Rusty any idea hoew much my 47 Club Coupe might weigh..........Thanx Fred

Thanks for that info on the Flathead, it's good to know. I do not plan to ever change the flathead, I love to have something different. Also I hear and believe these things are VERY tough and they even used the same engine if I remember correctly in some tractors and such. Just like the old inline 6 Chevy and Ford motors that people change out of their trucks. I don't understand why, they are tough as can be, lots of torque, reliable and easy to keep maintained. When I get around to it I want to pull the engine, rebuild the whole front end, take the front clip off and paint the engine compartment then rebuild this flathead. Only problem is finding someone around here that knows how to machine and do the bottom end. I want to read up on how to rebuild and what to look out for and do when you do a rebuild on one of these so I can make sure the machinest will do it correct. I'd like a dual manifold setup, headers, dual exhaust with (of course) glass packs, and dress it up a little bit. I want the interior and engine compartment done first very nicely and reliable and then worry about the trim, bumpers and paint last.

BTW, I was very surprised to find out this car weighs almost as much as a Toyota. That is good!

Also, I thought it would be cool to learn a ton about these flatheads and just know them VERY well and be able to rebuild them. It doesn't seem like very many people know these old flathead 6's that well, at least not around here. What I mean is have a specialty with flathead motors.

Go grab that 265 fast. $100 bucks is a steal.

If you have a good block with the full flow oil filter system rebuild it with the long stroke crankshaft.

If you feel like getting squirrelly add a reground cam, shim the valve springs .060, split the exhaust manifold for duals and add a progressive 2 barrel Holley/Weber carb with an adapter.

Keep the manual trans,or change to a T5 5 speed. Have the machine shop plane .060 off the head and shave the flywheel down.

For peace of mind at high speed , have the moving parts balanced and use synthetic oil.

You will definitely have the fastest flathead in town.

O by the way, there was a guy on Ebay selling .040 over pistons for the 3 7/16 bore engine for $40 a set. He got a deal on a pile of surplus stock.

Here is an interesting article that addresses the performance and reliability of the flathead Chrysler engine. This guy bought a 1951 DeSoto 8 passenger sedan new, and this story details his experience over the next 25 years and 175,000 miles.

Once he got the cooling system straightened out he thought nothing of driving that whale long distances at 70 MPH, pulling a trailer, from Death Valley up the Rocky Mountains to Yosemite.

http://www.allpar.com/cars/desoto/suburban-1951.html

I have the 251ci block. If I rebuild I plan to use this. Any information like this is helpful and I will be sure to save it so when I go to rebuild I will ask for this.

Fred it sounds like your engine is in excellent shape. According to my Canadian Service Data book, your engine had 130 lbs compression when it was new. It should have 45 lbs oil pressure @ 30 MPH.

The engines are very simple and easy to rebuild. Most any good auto machine shop can handle it. If you live in the country all the better. Those old flatheads are still around, being used to drive tractors, water pumps, welders, air compressors, combines etc. so the older mechanics are very familiar with them.

"Safe" ?

Any vehicle is only as safe as the person behind the wheel.

My turn at the soap-box.

I've been DRIVING pre-1970 cars and trucks since getting my driver's license, 20+ years ago.

Chevys, Fords, and MoPars.

Car for car, 1930's thru '50s MoPars have the best suspensions and braking systems that can be found on stockers of that period. The engines are bullet-proof reliable, if a little uninspiring in terms of 0-60 acceleration.

My present old MoPar driver is a 1941 De Soto S-8 De Luxe, mechanically un-restored, aside from a complete STOCK brake overhaul in '98, 102,000 miles, still going. When I drive this car, I DRIVE it; defensively for what it is, and knowing that it won't stop as quickly as my wife's 2000 Neue Beetle.

But it will say that I find the 1941 De Soto's brakes much more effective than the four-wheel disc ABS brakes on my recently-acquired '97 Jeep Grand Cherokee! Talk about a vehicle being under-braked!

All that said; my De Soto is "safe" and absolutely reliable, just the way the factory made it. I've owned it for ten years now, and it hasn't let me down yet !

Shawn, the last time I checked, this was still a "free country", and you are free to do as you please with your business coupe; but I will side with my fellow antiquers and implore that you please consider carefully what you have before you go modifying it; from your pics, it looks really nice and intact... the 3-passenger Chrysler business coupes are pretty rare...

If you want to go fast and stop on a dime, go hop up a Ford or Chevy or some other more common example...

Just my two-cent's worth...

(PS: When I was in college, in the late 1980's, my DAILY DRIVER was my '48 New Yorker 4dr sedan... put nearly 40,000 miles on it over about three years, many of those miles cruising up & down I-81 between Wilkes-Barre, PA (college) and Baltimore (home). Stock engine, stock brakes, Fluid Drive, semi-auto.)

Good luck !

I am thinking that if I did the dual MC and disks then there is no reason it would mess up the rarity of the vehicle if I can just put the stock stuff back on later if wanted. As for the T-5 tranny swap that is in the air. For now the fluid drive will stay in the vehicle and probably will stay. Now what about hopping up the little flathead 6 with a new rebuild, cam, dual intake and headers, etc? Will that take away from the rarity? Is it better to leave it completely stock? I do see what you guys are saying here though about the car being rare and trying to keep it stock as possible. I hate to see people take a very nice "stock" car no matter the make and tub it out, pull the perfectly good stock motor out and make it a pro street car or such. Now if it were a rust bucket with NOTHING to it like my 48 Chevy is then I don't see anything wrong with hot rodding it. Like I said, it's all up in the air still, I haven't made my mind up yet and I appreciate the comments and oppinions you guys are giving me. Don't think I am throwing them out the window, I am taking them into consideration, that's why I am here.

Shawn may I offer some suggestions based on many years of enjoying old cars? The best thing you can do is get the car on the road with the minimum of work. Do no modifications. Get new brakes on there, new tires, whatever else it needs to go back on the road safely and reliably. Then take it out and drive it. Shabby old paint and all. You will no doubt turn up a few more things that need to be fixed. You will also get the feel of the car. Once you get used to it, you may find it has all the power you need. On the other hand you may feel a little more "zip" would be nice.

Then, you can plan out your next move.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind. One is, it is a good idea to drive the car for a while. The next is, you want to get all the mechanical work taken care of first. Then body and paint. Finally, upholstery. I worked in garages and body shops for years and there is nothing worse than trying to pussy foot around a fresh soft paint job, trying to lean over the fender into the engine compartment without scratching the new paint. Some things are just about impossible. So get the mechanical work out of the way then get the shiny new paint and it will last a lot longer.

The other thing is, on an engine that old it doesn't pay to modify it. If you leave it stock and baby it a little chances are it will go for years. Hop it up and it will probably blow sky high in a month or 2.

If you want to modify the engine, tear it down and install new rings and bearings, new oil pump and grind the valves at minimum. Then when everything is in good shape, add your speed parts and the engine will have a good chance of lasting.

On the hop up subject it is possible to step up the performance by at least 25% with a few simple mods. Some of them show and some don't but they all work together for best results. Can give you some ideas if you are interested.

Hey Rusty excellent advice, you musta been around the block, a time or 2. Good idea to take car of all mechanical safety items and creat a reliable safe running car, then body, paint under body painting,chroming, then interior.

I was thinking about this today,when changing sparkplug wires today, would not want to do major mechaical if the car is all painted up purdy and lookin fine, so good advice on that one.

My car was so rough I had to clean it up a bit and strip and sand it then primer the whole thing, when I got her home in 2005, no windows ,seats, trim, lights,very filthy rusted out portions of the floor and rockers and a real mess. I will post a before pic on this thread to show you what it was like.My car was probably just a parts car candidate when I got her, so any thing could go with her, resto-rod, original type driver, but would never make it as an original show type car, but no big deal, it started out as a 48 Royal Club Coupe, it is now a 47 Windsor Club Coupe, no where near as rare as a Biz Coupe,but to be honest I have never seen another on the road in my area, just 2- 4 drs, and a TC Convertable.

Another good piece advice is for Shawn to get the car reliable and safe and drive it a bit, I owuld have went crazy if my car was in as good a shape as his from the beginning, but not cards for me.

I would be interested in the hop up items you mentioned, and do you happen to know how much my car might weigh, would it be the same as the biz coupe 3400 lbs.........Thanx Fred

Hi Rusty, here is a pic of my car at the beginning of it's resurrection, this was not even 2 years ago. A real basket case, but a decent engine trans and diff. A long way to go, but she has come a ways already......Fred

That is my plan to get it running and reliable first. Drivetrain, suspension, braking and then comfortable interior. I do body work and paint at a hot rod shop for a living, I understand the whole backwards thing with paint, etc. That comes last. Right now I want new brakes and get the engine running and drive it first because if not and I just tear it all down without ever driving it once I know I will lose interest....

Shawn,

I see noproblem with internal modifications to any motor that would be visually stock. In fact, most engine modifications externally can be changed back to stock. I am modifying internally my 1963 Pontiac 389 and internall/externally my 1968 Riviera with a Buick 430. The Pontiac will get a slightly hotter cam and roller rockers, visually stock, adding about 15 efficient hp. The Buick will get a lot more, trying to be as visually stock as possible BUT my 49 Roadmaster Buick with 322 straight 8 will be 100 percent stock.

Shawn,

Lots of good comments from the various posters here...

I'm a Chevy guy when it comes to trucks, and the first thing most guys wanna do to an old bowtie is yank the stovebolt six and the stump-puller rear...

At any rate, get to know your Chrysler in stock form; it's a really well-engineered car. Very driveable. And, the 3-passenger coupe is the lightest of the '46-'48 Chryslers, so you'll get a little better perforance than guys like me with the four-door sedans.

As for performance/ brake mods, if the changes /upgrades your perform are "bolt-on", and the vehicle could be put back to stock condition at a later date, I define that as "responsible" modification... no great harm in that.

Hope you haven't thrown that interior material away yet; even if it's stinky & rodent damaged, shake the mouse crud out, let it air out and dry, then put it away until it's time to get your interior done: the orignal material is valuable for pattern/installation reference.

The previous owner of my '41 De Soto gutted the original interior, threw it away, and installed a modern kit that is pretty sad; I 've had the car ten years, and I'm still trying to scrounge original seats and door panels to have as patterns to guide my restoration.

Now, I like to go fast, and stop quick, etc. and I have to admit that my '41 De Soto doesn't handle like a Miata or slammed Neon. But it's kind of nice to get in a 66 year-old car, and go for a drive on ITS terms... sure, I usually stay on the secondary roads, and find myself enjoying the scenery, etc... and I let all the "wackos in a hurry" stay on the highways... where're they headed???

I refer to my De Soto as my "Way-back Machine" ( a little homage to the cartoon "Mr. Peabody and Sherman", a time travelling dog and his "pet boy"; they were part of the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show)...

Think it over; get your car cleaned-up a bit...

If you'd gotten a gutted, rusty hulk, then a rod would probably be the "easy way"; but it sounds like you've got a strong candidate for preservation.

Good luck !

De Soto Frank

Fred thats a cool looking car you have there. I like to see the old timers back on the road. I'll bet it's a lot of fun to drive too.

On the subject of hopping up the Chrysler DeSoto Dodge and Plymouth flathead. There are a lot of things you can do to get better performance without spending a lot of $$$$ cash. There are vintage aluminum heads, manifolds etc out there but they often go for insane amounts of money. Just last night a Fenton head for an American made Dodge or Plymouth went for over $2000.

You don't have to spend that kind of money. The best heads were the latest models, the ones used in 1958 and 59 on cars and up to 1961 on trucks. Heads can be planed .060 for more compression.

It is possible to install oversize valves, get a cam reground by Earl Edgerton or one of the old time cam grinders like Iskenderian. Shim the valve springs. Modify the exhaust for duals by splitting the manifold or buying headers. Modified stock intake manifolds are available for dual carbs. If you are not so stuck on the old timey look, a progressive 2 barrel Holley/Weber or Carter/Weber carb works well, giving good power and driveability along with improved mileage.

These are all standard hop up tricks of the 50s. One old trick that does not get mentioned anymore is shaving the flywheel for zippier acceleration. If you have fluid drive, draining off some of the oil from the fluid drive unit gives the same effect as a high stall torque converter. Have heard of using as little as 2 quarts but 6 to 8 is better. Stock is 12 quarts.

For more details go to the Inliners International site and brouse around, there are several interesting articles by guys showing the engines they built and describing how they worked out.

http://www.inliners.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

Thanx Rusty, believe me this car has a ways to go, good thing I like the primer rough look. This is the only one registered in the province of Manitoba, so it is somewhat rare in my parts.I know you once told me , you would prefer the dry clutch and standard trans, as what I have in this car now.I like this setup, but realize it is not completely original, infact this car was supposed to get a SBC, but the previous owner found the flathead 6, and went with that. Went for a short cruise tonight about 6 miles, engine was running at 165 to 170 degrees, it was a cool evening at 68 degrees outside, our normal temp this time of year at night is about 75 to 80.........Fred<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Rusty_OToole</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Fred thats a cool looking car you have there. I like to see the old timers back on the road. I'll bet it's a lot of fun to drive too.

On the subject of hopping up the Chrysler DeSoto Dodge and Plymouth flathead. There are a lot of things you can do to get better performance without spending a lot of $$$$ cash. There are vintage aluminum heads, manifolds etc out there but they often go for insane amounts of money. Just last night a Fenton head for an American made Dodge or Plymouth went for over $2000.

You don't have to spend that kind of money. The best heads were the latest models, the ones used in 1958 and 59 on cars and up to 1961 on trucks. Heads can be planed .060 for more compression.

It is possible to install oversize valves, get a cam reground by Earl Edgerton or one of the old time cam grinders like Iskenderian. Shim the valve springs. Modify the exhaust for duals by splitting the manifold or buying headers. Modified stock intake manifolds are available for dual carbs. If you are not so stuck on the old timey look, a progressive 2 barrel Holley/Weber or Carter/Weber carb works well, giving good power and driveability along with improved mileage.

These are all standard hop up tricks of the 50s. One old trick that does not get mentioned anymore is shaving the flywheel for zippier acceleration. If you have fluid drive, draining off some of the oil from the fluid drive unit gives the same effect as a high stall torque converter. Have heard of using as little as 2 quarts but 6 to 8 is better. Stock is 12 quarts.

For more details go to the Inliners International site and brouse around, there are several interesting articles by guys showing the engines they built and describing how they worked out.

http://www.inliners.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi </div></div>

Shawn, neat car. I also have an unusual model, but like you wanted reliability and relative ease of driving. I agree with others that if brakes are re-furbished and adjusted correctly when you tramp on the brakes the car will stop real quick. Worth a try before shelling out $ for disks. I would absolutely change off the bias tires, when I did the entire personality of my car changed. I pulled the 4.11 diff and put in a 3.23 and can cruise easy at 55mph. I have just purchased some Langdon headers and twin intake manifold to spice up the power. Apart from paint and trim (both non standard) everything I have done can be undone in about 2 days. What I have now is still different from a modern and fun to drive, but some of the now unacceptable traits have been minimised.

Thanks again guys. Any yes anything I do to this car will be able to be taken back off. Paint and trim I am not worried about right now. I do want to start buying some of the trim I need slowly but like I said I want to get it running with minimal money and work right now and get all the brakes completely redone with new lines, MC, etc. They are rusty. I want to drive it around for a while before I tear into it full throttle and have it apart for a few months. If I did that then it may turn out like my 48 Chevy and I will lose interest in the thing. My goal for this year is to get the engine compartment, suspension, brakes and interior very nice. Reason for interior to be nice is so that it is comfortable to drive at the same time. Lately since I have no money right now I have been taking care of rust issues. I am going to buy a gallon of POR 15 and coat the floors with it and crawl underneath and coat under the floors and as much of the chassis as I can. I have begun to take trim off and DA the rust off and sealer primed it. Taking care of the rust is the other issue I want to attend to first before it get's any worse.

Beautiful car im looking to get another coupe and try something different with it.

This is my 1948 Chrysler New Yorker Businessman Coupe

Since you are leaning towards turning this into a street rod, contact me when the drivetrain comes out so I can find it a good home. Many of us drive mopars because they don't need to be modified.

My slant six, for example, will turn 500K miles this year.

Thanks,

Rick Marsh

Ya on the odometer it has 999k on it but its been restored im looking to get another one