Canadian Dodge, 3 ton 4x2

[Lynn Eades]

Mike, De Sotos are all beginning "S" 1941 begins S8S and S8C.
With a 3 7/16" bore the stroke was 4 1/2" to get 250 Cu.in.

For those that might want to know:
Plymouth block serials start with (funnily enough) a P, Dodge with a D, De Soto with an S, Chrysler with a C, and U.S. Military trucks, with a T.
I Don't know about the Canadian ones.

If the number includes a star, I think that indicates U.S. manufacture.

On the smaller blocks, the cars had lighter cranks= less counterweights.
These cranks had 4 or 6 bolts to hold the flywheel on. They are also likely to be shorter stroke. The U.S. military Dodges, T 215 / 214 / 223 all had 8 bolts,and were a 4 5/8" stroke, which were better suited to revving hard.

None of this however, helps Kevin.

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

Mike, De Sotos are all beginning "S" 1941 begins S8S and S8C.
With a 3 7/16" bore the stroke was 4 1/2" to get 250 Cu.in.

.

The wartime 1941 DeSoto and Dodge utes and scarce sedans assembled here with Richards bodywork were actually all Plymouth's in diguise.

The genuine DeSoto as seen in Nth America wasn't sold here. Instead they imported the el cheapo Canadian Plymouth ( probably as CKD ) and re-badged them as DeSoto and Dodge, the front guards and grills are a giveaway. Hence the odd engine prefix "SP" .

My DeSoto ute in 1981 ( cost me $80 ) with the SP 218ci engine , you can see the Plymouth lines in the guards and grill. Why they bothered to re-badge them is beyond me, they could easily sold them all as Plymouths.

[Kevin Goodwin]

I will get back to you once I have the correct info

[Kevin Goodwin]

Lang,
The engine number is T110L 494350
Kevin

[Lang]

Kevin

You have a truck with the original T110 motor.

3 7/16 bore and 4 1/4 stroke = 236.6 cu inch giving around 115hp.

This is around 15hp more than the Weapon Carrier T214/T215 230 cu inch short block motor.

Lang

[Kevin Goodwin]

Hi all,
Bit of an update on progress, the engine has been stripped and will require a full rebuild, unfortunately the old girl has received no basic maintenance, the crank will require a regrind, the bores will need a rebore plus new camshaft bearings will need to be fitted, hopefully we will be able to source the required parts. I dont think the engine has seen antifreeze judging by the amount of rusty crud we have removed so far. The water distribution tube had all but dissolved, thankfully we managed to remove the rusty material with some prodding and poking with various implements, combined with me turning the engine on its end lifting it up and down banging the block onto a lump of wood to dislodge the offending crud, as can be seen in the pictures. Thanks to Jerry for his assistance this morning and to Howard for allowing us to disturb his Sunday morning. I am considering giving the engine block the 'Mollases' treatment to help remove the remaining rust, have any of you tried this method?
The chassis is now coated in a gloss sand ready for 'flattening' before the final matt finish is applied. the chassis needs extending by approx 25" to replace the sections cut off for the tipping conversion (thanks Tom for measuring your truck). The last picture shows a rear pintle hook layout, does anyone know where I may be able to source these items? I can 'get away' with just the two brackets which the spring fits into, I can get a spring manufactured to suit.
I am now in the process of stripping down the rear springs ready to be cleaned and painted, it has been suggested that I grease the leaves to improve the ride being as I wont be carrying any great weight around, I would then cover them with Denso tape to keep the elements out (mainly grit) your views on that method?
I have ordered the material from our local forge to make the replacement cupola for the roof, I will post some pictures of that as it progresses.

Kevin

[Lang]

Kevin

I once drove one of those Dodges on a 300km each way trip. One way loaded and one way empty.

The ride loaded was of course very smooth but the empty ride was also quite good. I personally would not be creating a mess and bandaging springs as I doubt the improvement, if any, in the ride would be worth the effort.

Any empty truck will jolt over a deep pothole due to the sheer strength of the springs not sufficiently bending, no amount of greasing is going to alter this. Most trucks partially overcome this hard empty ride with a secondary helper spring which does not come into play until the load pushes the truck down to engage the helpers on their support brackets.

A bit of research will find evidence that greased springs are detrimental to ride as they rely in friction between the leaves to smooth out the bounce, particularly on the rebound. That is one reason coil springs are unworkable without shock absorbers while leaves still give a reasonable ride.

I would talk to somebody who has actually greased their springs to make sure it is worth the effort.

Lang