Quote from: 29 doUg on August 24, 2009, 10:51:10 PM
Chet-- I hope the car to be rodded had a VERY bad, rusty body. It REALLY pisses me off when these chuckleheads take a perfectly good antique and destroy it.

Doug,

It may better that you don't know.  The car will be an award winner for sure but it may not take any awards at a POC meet.  Doug I feel the same way you do but I don't get mad I just try to save as many old parts as I can.   I would prefer that if these parts are going to be removed (and they will, no matter what we think) that they go to a Plymouth Restoration in need of them.  It's very hard to change people's attitudes toward things and in the long run it will still be another Plymouth back out on the road. 

Chet...

Quote from: Doug on August 24, 2009, 03:06:35 PM
Chet, did you get the motor mounts that go on the bell housing? I have looked at the pictures and you can see mine. Still has the pb ser#. I am not concerned about it. I would just like to know what happened That got it this way.

The transmission and bell housing appear to be from a PA or PB in that the motor mount is on the transmission not the bell housing.  That might make sense since the car it was intended for is a 31 Plymouth.  These early Plymouth parts have a tendency to find a home just about anywhere.  On my 29 the bell housing bolts directly to the frame.

Chet...

Doug,

I haven't fooled with these adjustments but in my Plymouth Instruction Book pages 54 to 59 there is a good explanation of the steering system.   I think you would be interested in page 59.   Drag Link and steering Gear endplay adjustments.    If you have the time you might want to review the entire steering assembly to determine if your play is because of one thing or the cumulative result of a number of small issues.  If you can some how lock the steering arm coming from the steering box you may be able to determine if your steering gears need to be adjusted. 

My 2 cents,  PS if you don't have this book I will do an OCR of the text and post it in the Technical Info section of this forum.

Good Luck,  Chet...

By the way, great video...

I picked this motor up from a gentleman in Michigan who purchased a 31 Plymouth, which was being restored, but he bought the car to hotrod so he is selling off all the mechanical parts he doesn't need.   The car came to him with a completely rebuilt drive train and a second completely rebuilt motor and drive train from a 30-U, the engine never fired.   I purchased the 30-U drive train.   I asked him once he has sorted out what he doesn't want both from the parts received and the car that he would post the items for sale on this web forum.

Doug this motor is a 30-U engine.
It has the fuel pump and water pump.  Serial# prefixed with a U.






If anyone is interested I will be selling off the new style Bell housing and transmission once I check the numbers against the Plymouth parts book.

Chet...

Doug,

The mechanical fuel pump was cut into the 196 block during the manufacturing of the 30U.  The engine I am picking up is a later U motor serial number probably the last two or three months of the 30U production run and it has a mechanical fuel pump.  Certainly a PA or PB engine would have a mechanical fuel pump.  It sounds to me that your engine is an early 30U motor which had the water pump but didn't have the fuel pump added yet.  I can't imagine why it has PB stamped on the block ?.  It sounds like the correct motor with a misrepresented PB serial number.

My 2 cents...

Doug,

According to Tod Fitch's web site:  A great source for first generation.

Quote:

There were many running changes during production of the 30-U. Early production had a vacuum tank fuel pump. This changed to a mechanical fuel pump and a water pump was added. There were three different types of wire wheels used with three different bolt patterns. Early wood wheels were de-mountable rims while the later wood wheels were removable.

See Link:    http://www.ply33.com/Models/30-U/

Doug from the serial number info on the 30U page or the other modals you can probably calculate when your motor was cut into the production line.  There is a spec for the PA & PB all the way through the first 10 years of Plymouth production.

Chet...

Quote from: Doug on August 19, 2009, 05:52:15 PM
I went back and looked, In the Photo gallery the pictures are there

Doug,

I looked at your pictures and one question comes to mind?  The PB engine used a mechanical fuel pump and mechanical water pump.  Were these devices removed and plugged to make the PB engine function like the basic 29 U engine

Chet...

This is great as it turns out the engine is a new style U from a 1930 with the water pump.  I am going to go for it.

Thanks all,  Chet...

Thanks Doug,  Good point,

You are correct the PA could have a different block and not necessarily a bolt up although my engine gasket kit can be used for both engines the 175 & the 196 with some added in additional gaskets for water pump, etc.   I believe the block & the head are the same   Just a different stroke.  But that doesn't mean that the bell housing is a clean bolt up.  The casting might have changed a bit with the PA & PB.

PB...   196   3-5/8 x 4-3/4
PA...   196   3-5/8 x 4-3/4
30-U   196   3-5/8 x 4-3/4
29-U   175   3-5/8 x 4-1/4

I wish I could see them side by side ?

Chet...

I might have the opportunity to pick up a good PA engine.  I was just curious if anybody knew if the PA block would bolt up to a Model U bell housing.   If so I might take the block just to have as a spare incase my engine went south. 

Chet...

Doug,

From the Plymouth instruction manual: see link on this site:  http://www.1948plymouth.info/28Q29U/index.php?topic=122.0

"Spark Plugs

The gap between the spark plug points must be .027" to .030". Too wide a gap will cause misfire, especially at high speeds and when laboring with open throttle, while a small gap causes poor idling. Dirty or fouled spark plugs should be washed in gasoline. Uniform gap setting insures evenness of engine firing."

Chet...

Rodney,

I don't know what the spec sheet calls for but 50 to 60 from a cold crank seems OK to me.  This is what my car will also produce.  The main thing is that it is relatively even across all cylinders.  The range you stated is good in my book.

Chet...

Marty, Thanks for the info and welcome to the forum.  Since there are not many early Plymouths floating around it is always good to know alternate brands that used the same parts.

Do you still have the Desoto ?

Chet...

Rodney,

After a 2,000 mile trip with an engine that does not have an oil filter I wouldn't jump to any conclusions.   I think a compression test across the cylinders would be a first step.  After that I would drop the oil pan and clean it out.  Take a good look around and see if you notice any damage. 

Did you use an air filter?  The original Plymouth filters worked good in theory only and will let in sandy dust particles from a dirt or dirty road.   This dust can scratch your cylinder walls.  Also the oil pump gears have a tendency to grind themselves down ?

Anyway a great adventure that will provide conversation for many years.   For motor parts there is another post on this forum from 29UJohn.  He recommends:

Check Egge.  www.egge.com
They list a new set of pistons for $203.  Better call first.
Hastings will provide a new set of rings for about $75

Great Trip,  Chet...

Hi Rodney,

A great accomplishment and some really nice pictures.  What are the two cars directly behind yours in the 3rd. picture ?

Chet...