1942 dodge ambulance resto

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

That's quite a project you have there, the Dodge Ambulance must be quite rare in Australia?

There were quite a few of those Ambos here during the war, but just about all of them left Australia when the US forces moved Northwards .

Leo Shackleton ( or his brother ) were VMVC members years ago , they were young teenagers in Melbourne at the time the yanks were here and one of them snapped a pic of a Dodge Ambulance driving along Sydney road, Coburg or Brunswick . The pic appeared in a VMVC newsletter many years ago . Mike

[jake neville]

hi mike

would love to try and dig that photo up if anyone has a copy. might be able to recreate it one day when the trucks finished.

[jake neville]

time for a dodge update

i have commenced stripping down the 2 engines i have to see which one is suitable for a rebuild.

both appear to be in reasonable shape. i picked them both up for $300 from a deceased estate in melbourne. the guy i dealt with was unable to tell me what they came out of. some kind of car based on the clutch and bell housing that were attached to one of them.

they are both the larger capacity engine, 2 inches longer than the T214 it should have in it. i am after a bit more grunt to help with the diff's i have put in it.

i have been doing some research in an attempt to figure out what size they are but am not really sure by the numbers i'm looking at. everything i have searched on the net hasn't been much help as these things were built for decades in a large variety of sizes.

the engine number is :P2018114C
and has :K260 cast in the bottom of the block
L20 cast in the head

anyone familiar with these engines please fill me in, the only engine i can find listed on the net with 260 was a straight 8?? confused i will attempt to attach some photos if this thing lets me.


this is the one i plan to use, seems to be a bit more modernized with an automatic choke and a few other minor differences. hopefully more power??

the other has 231 in the side of the block and :E131

[jake neville]

here's the pics from engine 1, this is the one i plan to use. if anyone can give me some more info on identifying the year, power output etc i would greatly appreciate it.

[jake neville]

today i stripped down the transfer case. not in great shape at all. water has gotten in at some point and done it's thing.

if anyone has some spares i'd greatly appreciate it. it's the only one i have

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by jake neville

they are both the larger capacity engine, 2 inches longer than the T214 it should have in it. i am after a bit more grunt to help with the diff's i have put in it.

i have been doing some research in an attempt to figure out what size they are but am not really sure by the numbers i'm looking at. everything i have searched on the net hasn't been much help as these things were built for decades in a large variety of sizes.

e block and :E131

Can you measure the bore and stroke of one cyl. to work out the capacity and then multiply X 6

The early long blocks were first used in the local 1941 army utes and sedans with the TJ Richards bodies , these were Canadian made engines ,with a 3 and 3/8" bore X 4 and 1/16" stroke . The two 1941 military Plymouth De Soto utes I had both had those engines . P in the prefix is usually for Plymouth .

They later went to 3 and 7/16" bore and a variety of strokes .

Many years ago a guy in Sydney, Col Conyard, had a lot of NOS weapons carrier parts . I bought NOS transfer case shafts from him . He died, I dont know what happened to his stock of parts .

[David DeWeese]

Hi,

This may help with the engine identification:

http://t137.com/registry/help/othere...herengines.php

David

[Lynn Eades]

Really you should be looking for a T214, a T215, or a T223 engine for your ambulance. The T214 is correct with a 3 and 1/4 bore and a 4 and 5/8 stroke (all these three engines are the same at 230 Cu.in.They all have 8 bolts holding the flywheel to the crankshaft. These 8 bolt cranks have extra counterweighting to run at governed revs for long periods (to suit a hard working truck)
The T215 was from a half ton WC dodge and the T223 was from the WC62 and 63 6x6 Dodge. These engines are great engines and are very reliable.
I would make sure the water distribution tube is in good condition. It goes into the block behind the water pump and delivers a good flow of water to the exhaust valve seat areas.
The 4 and 6 bolt crankshafts are generally from cars and light duty engines.

The bigger block engines are in the same bracket, being a very reliable engine of that post war era.
The bigger block engines will require modifications with regard to the radiator. either a new rad. with different tanks or moving the original forward which I consider pretty ugly. Just my thoughts.

On the Diffs, there are two sizes of driving heads one (8 1/2"?) mounts on a 3/8 dia. stud the larger, later diffs mount on a 7/16" stud. You have the small one. These were improved as time progressed. Your one pictured, being the weakest, with the cast carrier, triangular holes, and had two spider gears.
They made a stronger carrier(still 2 spider gears with round holes in the carrier) and then the third one which was heavy duty with 4 spider gears.

As you said, the half ton axles (half shafts) were smaller dia. so the up grade was to change the side gears to take the 3/4 ton axles.

A note:Many of the gearbox internals are interchangeable with the Ford 4 speed truck box.
Nice project! Keep posting.

[Mike K]

I agree with Lynn

You should go for a T214 engine . Fussy collectors know what's what and the vehicle will be worth more. You are going to a lot of work, it will look fantastic when it is finished so may as well put the correct engine in it .

If you do want a long block , look for a 250 ci post war engine. People used to call them KEW engines , I think named from the Chrysler factory in KEW UK .

Bevan F used to have new piston sets for the 250 3 7/16" bore engine , might be worth asking him what he did with them .

Hughes in Sydney road Coburg had the 3 1/4" piston sets for years , but thats long gone .

BTW at one of the early Corowa events, early 1980's a WC 54 turned up, it was imported from New Caledonia ex French army . It was in very good cond.

Mike