viv w

Late 1931 Model A Ford

The 1927/8 Chryslers did not have floating power motor mounts, the clutch housing was mounted directly to the chassis frame, yet they still had this "damper".

You can see the part mounted on the cowl just below the brake fluid reservoir, the link goes to the left rear head bolt.

The 1927/8 Chrysler 4 cyl cars had a very similar part to this. If I refer to the second picture, the part to the left is bolted onto the lower left side of the firewall and the link to the right attaches to a cylinder head bolt. It is some sort of stabilizer. Pretty sure this item has the same purpose, but of a slightly different design. Viv.

If you are bolting the ring gear, make sure for your safety that you drill the heads and install locking wire. I had a BMW glas 1800, some years ago, it came from the factory with torqued bolts, no lock washers or lock wire. The bolts worked loose and eventually the diff gears locked up solid, destroying the gears. The first time it happened at about 20 miles an hour and the car went sideways up against the curb, the second diff came apart at close on a 100 miles an hour, the diff locked up spinning the car 4 times before we luckily came to a halt. After that I got another new axle, stripped it before installation and drilled and lock wired the bolts. No more problems.

I got rings many years ago from Hastings, don't know if they will still make them. The early 28 Plymouth motor may be the same, but the 29 onwards the head is much squarer in the corners and I seem to recall the gaskets were different. The 4 cyl Dodge motors are totally different.

Is this the car badge? This picture is obviously from a later car, but the emblem looks right. Excelsior were built from 1903 and their cars were built in small numbers in Belguim. They were high end cars with some going to royalty. Sorry I could not find pictures of early Excelsior cars. Viv.

Sorry Terry, i disagree. Those frames appear to have had 4 bows and I think were for a touring car.

I have had at least 5 Chrysler 4 cyl motors in Zimbabwe, they ALL had an "A" suffix after the motor number, but NO prefix. At the time, in the early 80's both the Chrysler historical division and the technical guy in the WPC club could not explain why these engines had an "A" suffix and no " i " prefix. The one suggestion made was that maybe the factory put a suffix, to denote a right hand drive or export car. I find it unlikely that all 5 engines came bored oversize, but who knows. Steven, please look carefully again at your motor number, and see if the "A" suffix and "B" prefix is factory stamped, both should be capital letters of equal size to the numbers. It's possible the letters are slightly different and may have been added at a later date for some reason, such as a rebuild or alteration by a Chrysler dealer, as Spinneyhill has suggested.

Maok, I'm assuming this picture is of the rear main bearing. On one half, probably the bottom half, I think there should be a deep spiral groove cut into the white metal, that assists in returning oil into the sump. The spiral is important and has to go in the right direction, or it will push the oil out of the motor. Secondly, this trough just above the white metal in the picture, is to catch any oil that escapes out the back of the engine. Make sure the drain hole in the bottom cap is cleaned out, so the oil can return to the sump.These drain holes often get plugged with poured white metal or machining bits and if it is not clear the oil will piss out the rear main. The seal would originally have been felt that is tightly compressed into the groove. The Model A Ford uses felt packing and they say it should stick out about 1/8th of an inch on each side, so that it gets really compressed upon tightening.I would NOT recommend using cork as it is too easily compressed and may not seal properly. The design of this rear main is very similar to Model A ford, if the scroll is not there on your bearing, let us know and I will look out a Ford one and take a picture for you. Viv.

Dave Mellor, I don't think there are holes along the hood side, It looks more like a shadow from the right front fender side light. The car was obviously a custom built high end car, that was chauffeur driven, as it has a top only at the back to protect the owner and his passengers. The driver would have had to drive and get wet. The license plate has U22 on it, perhaps this was a license date, as the car is obviously built around that era. It is possible the whole body including the RAD shell were custom made specifically for the owner, and the radiator badge may have had the guys family name put on it? The holes in the door, maybe for sticking a shotgun or pistol out of to shoot at bandits??

On January 12 prewar40 listed a Chrysler 50/52 motor in the Photo and video forum, what is it section . Think it says "who made this 20's 4 cyl engine". Maybe its for sale?

Definitely top frames from about the early to mid twenties. Not Chev, ford or Chrysler. A key to identify these frames is in the last picture where it shows the top prop knob and the remains of the top support itself in the top right hand corner. A lot of the parts are probably interchangeable with other cars. Viv

The Fedco plate on a model 50 should be on the left side of the dash. The motor number you give does not seem right. The motor number should be on the left side of the block about half way along the motor, just below the head and above the water outlet. It might be hidden behind the horn. Motor numbers for model 50 run from i 1001 to i 83000. The RHD export motors may have the letter A after this number. All model 50 cars were 4 cylinder motors

Agree with David Mc, an engine that has stood for even 10 years, should not be started without taking off the sump for a clean out and internal inspection. You would be amazed at how much dirt, bugs, wasps and hornets get into a motor that stands around. a lot of it goes up breather pipes or just blows in thru the vented oil filler cap. I think the car is well worthy of restoration, so check and see if the motor turns, but don't start it, then do the bodywork first and then the mechanical stuff. Seen so many car projects fail, where guys do the easy stuff and get it running in a few months, then the hard graft starts. The body work is the most time consuming and lots of guys lose interest when it doesn't happen quickly. Talk to your wife too and see if she is willing to put up with you spending, probably a thousand hours and maybe more in your garage, because that car will take that number of hours and maybe more .