1949 231 engine rebuild

I have a 49 Dodge with a 231L head engine that needs rebuilt.I need info on mods. so I can drive at todays highway speeds. I was told that someware there is oil system mods that can be done to make this engine happy and live longer.Also I would like to raise the compression up a point or two.I was told that there is a screw on oil filter system for this engine.A maybe some day 2 carbs, and dual exhaust system.Thank you for any help jockeyshift

Your car was not designed to go today's speeds, 60-70. The steering and brakes will not tolerate this. Rebuild your engine and drive the car the way it was intended.

I drive the wagon at highway speeds, But I put an overdirve tranny in it.

Maybe a gear change would help you.

I drive the wagon at highway speeds, But I put an overdirve tranny in it.

Maybe a gear change would help you.

The front end is fine for 60 mph.And as long as you don't tail gate stoping is good.Engine life is my concern I use BradPenn oil in all my engines.There is a paper on oil mods for L head motors some were out there.The car came with 3.73 gears.Overdrive would be the ticket.We are trying to keep it 50style

I'm curious why you think your engine will wear? I don't know about U.S. motor oils but all Canadian oils have friction reducing additives in them that has virtually stopped metal to metal wear. All the containers have it written on the labels as a selling point. But no Canadian motor oil company would bother putting out a product that didn't say that a friction reducing additive was in the mix. And that even includes house brands from Walmart,Canadain Tire etc. Our cars and trucks now go to the wreckers with 'good' engines, they just have too many other expensive repairs,rust etc., that makes it uneconomical to keep the car/truck going. And those old Chryco engines were built with chrome-nickel steel. The trannies were built the same. I've taken apart trannies out of the 30s and they look like they were just made yesterday. Maybe our Canadian market being smaller they have to put out a better product? Also our cold weather is much colder than yours. (Except Alaska.) Right now it's -28C outside but I will go out and hit the key in my 2001 Montana 3.4L V-6 (188Kkms) and it will start on the second time around. I also have added another friction reducer. I went through several over the years and have been using Prolong now for about 15 years. I just bought another 4L jug of it last week for $156 with shipping. I'm 71 and have been doing my own repairs since I was 16,cars,motorcylces,Ski-Doos,aircraft,you name it. I was in the R.C.A.F. as a technical air crewman in search and rescue and looked after P+W R1340 9 cylinder radial engines,as well as the whole transport aircraft. (I also have my pilot's licence.) Believe me if I wasn't sure about what I'm talking about,I don't know who would. If you have these kinds of lubricants in the U.S.,I would sit back and relax. The hang-on oil filter is good enoguh for the occaisional driving you'll do. But as choclatetown says the brakes and suspension are not up to turnpike speeds and traffic. I do not put my antiques from the 30s on our 8 and 16 lane 400 Series highways up here. (They say the 401 going across the top of Toronto is the busiest highway in North America. I live just north of it. It has 16 to 18 lanes in the Toronto area.) The average speed is 120 Kms. which is 75 mph. Way too fast for these vehicles. It would be suicide to take a 30s car on that stretch of road. I stay on the 2 lanes that have a more sane 80kms/50 mph speed limit and the average is 90 kms or about 55 mph. The day has passed when our old stuff can mix it up with the 21st century stuff. I would take some of my old man's advice and enjoy your car out of the craziness of modern day traffic. My 2 cents worth.

Here is a bone stock 35 Dodge truck except for the split exhaust manifold. Said it would do 75 with no problem.

Said it would do 75 with no problem.

Sounded like he said 55 to me.

In the interview, 65 without dropping a gear in Northern CA and Oregon. He said off the camera, it will do 75 with ease.

In the interview, 65 without dropping a gear in Northern CA and Oregon. He said off the camera, it will do 75 with ease.

Dodge L head motors are noted for having low bottom end oil pressure. There is a fix for this when you rebuild the engine. One thing is to do away with the canister oil filter and install a spin on oil filter. Most oils today do not have enough zinc and an other additives for flat tappet cam shafts.

I would suggest Marvel Mystery Oil added to gas. Flat head engines have no way to lubricate the valves. And I would listen to what nearchocolatetown says. Just my 2 cents.

My 42 Dodge cruises comfortably at around 53 MPH. I can go faster and I have had it above 60 however the comfort level drops quickly.

Braking on these cars doesn't come close to modern cars nor does cornering. Add narrow bias ply tires and grooved roads...

I used to try and keep up with traffic but I've decided it is easier to go slower. If someone cuts you off, they get ahead of you quicker if I'm going slower.

I've considered an overdrive and actually have one in hand but I am only considering it to reduce RPMs, not keep up. The early 50's Plymouth manual overdrive is the same physical size as I recall. Just need to swap the input shaft for my fluid drive shaft. If I put it in I would probably do up to 60.

More people get to see my car if I drive slower.

Make sure the engine is cooling evenly. It could be a bigger problem at higher RPMs. The cooling tube may need replacement.

I have had one bad situation where I think going slow actually saved me. I was doing 53 on a 65 MPH 4 lane divided highway. People were passing and waving. Then one idiot appeared and decided to pass me on the shoulder instead. He zigged and zagged in traffic ahead until he lost control, launched through the median, flew out of his car and laid dead on the other side of the road, about 40 seconds after passing me. Traffic came to a real quick stop and I was able to do the same because there was a reasonable gap that evolved in front of me. I'm not sure if I was doing 60 if I could have stopped in time.

Unless you have disc brakes, I would say keep the speed down and enjoy the drive.

I do use Marvel Mystery Oil as my car had an Inverse Oiler on it when I got it and it still works.

FWIW, my 1930's brakes work about as well as the pre-power brakes cars of the 30's, 40's, and 50's. I always thought my Chrysler product vehicles had pretty go brakes starting with my 1936 Plymouth.

My 1931 Dodge Brothers brakes work VERY well. Trouble is, sometimes the tires are too narrow to stop "suddenly".

Well there is "that". Just not much of a footprint is it?

So I'll ask since I don't know, How good do the brakes work. Can you lock them up or are they not that good. I've never know how good they should be. I've adjusted them using an Ammco 1750 tool and I got them better than they were before I had the tool, but mine don't lock up. Should they?

When new they would lock the wheels. Could the linings be glazed?

I had to get whoa'ed up once and this one will definitely lock them up.

But it has new everything.

Just my 2 cents worth;

I had a '53 Coronet 6 as a daily driver 1969-70. Mechanically almost identical to yours. It would do 65-70 all day long; above that it was noticeably straining. The brakes were good for 1 hard stop; after that they would fade badly. Handling? Straight line, fine. It was not meant to take curves at high speeds. That being said; there's nothing that says you can't enjoy the car today. You have to decide what conditions you are going to be driving under. If you want to take it for leisurely drives on back roads, you don't have to do too much from stock. Otherwise, you can have the head milled a bit to give you a little higher compression. Dual carbs and dual exhaust can help if it's done right. If the carbs are too big it won't idle well. The extra power could allow you to drop the standard 3.90 rear gear to a 3.73 without noticing any acceleration loss. Handling; not much you can do here; maybe heavier coils in front from an early dodge V8,and an extra leaf in the rear springs. Brakes; if you're going to do highways much, best way is a front disk conversion. You could try adding a Hydrovac power booster, or upgrade to the Chrysler 12" brakes, but probably cheaper and easier to go with disks.

This has actually been more like a dollar's worth, but you do have different ways to go. Just depends on how you want to use the car.

Good luck

Update

Probably the most innovative and safe design change ever made to an automobile was disc brakes. Unfortunately it changed our driving habits. We used to keep one car length per 10 mph of speed. Now we just keep the one car length........

I agree with nearchoclatetown 100%.