Not sure if this counts as being "Mopar guys," but my wife and I have been proud owners of Dodge, Plymouth or Chrysler minivans for thirty years!
Twice Round the Bend
- Thread starter Reallybigtim
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:
Not sure if this counts as being "Mopar guys," but my wife and I have been proud owners of Dodge, Plymouth or Chrysler minivans for thirty years!
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2020
- Messages
- 1,637
- Reaction score
- 5,361
I’m essentially a Ford guy but love Mopars too. Here’s a couple of Aussie mopars I owned. A 71 Valiant Town & Country ute and a 55000 mile 71 Charger. The bloke in the photo is the original owner Herb. He passed a few years ago at 102.
I sold it about 8 years ago. It is now a RT clone and has won awards against real RT’s at the best Mopar shows. As awesome as it is, I preferred it when it was original.
I sold it about 8 years ago. It is now a RT clone and has won awards against real RT’s at the best Mopar shows. As awesome as it is, I preferred it when it was original.
Last edited:
Sweet! 
That engine would fit really well in my ‘47 Plymouth coupe, however you likely can’t buy one in California. I think that was an “Aussie only.”
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2020
- Messages
- 1,637
- Reaction score
- 5,361
The “hemi” six was the main engine for Aussie made Mopars. It was available as a 215ci, 245ci and 265ci. I believe it was originally developed in the USA as a truck engine but abandoned. The top 265 RT version featured triple 45 webers and made around 300hp. The engine in the orange car above is stroked to 300ci and also has an aftermarket alloy head.
It was far superior to the GM and Ford sixes of the day. A mate of mine bought a ratty valiant pacer sedan like the one below out of high school. It was fitted with a mildly modified 265 and 3 speed stick shift. It would rev to 6500 and surprised a lot of guys with v8 powered machines. Sounded great too.
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
Inline six is a perfectly balanced engine, a great option for high revving horsepower. Jaguar, BMW, Nissan Skyline, Toyota Supra, all proof of the formula. They seem to have been ignored by the north american hot rod scene, with its focus almost exclusively on the v8s
I had the Dodge truck slant six, and it was a smooth engine for sure. Not nearly the equal of the Australian OHC six, but they were known to run for ever if you kept oil in them. That was in my van,and I sold that when it only had about 38,000 miles.
I’ve had a couple of Mopar flat head sixes.
Right now I’m planning to run this old flat head 230cid Dodge.
But I’m going to try and put crank trigger ignition on it. Also programmable fuel injection. I never could squeak more than 22 miles to the gallon out of this car with the over-bored 218.
In stock form they don’t wind up very fast, and the 230 will be slower with more stroke, but they have the low end torque of v-eights much larger.
It was fun in town and I used to drive all over just using second gear & second gear overdrive. I never had to touch the clutch unless I came to a complete stop.
It would go over 40 in second, but if you were above 22 mph, you could lift the foot and it would shift up into overdrive-second, and then you could cruise 45 no problem.
If you stepped hard on the gas, an inhibitor switch would kill the coil spark for a third of a rev, and allow the transmission to drop out of overdrive into second gear, so it would do an automatic downshift. I could make that happen in all three gears but first gear-overdrive didn’t usually make much sense. You had to wind it up too high in first, to make it up shift.
85 miles an hour was the maximum from that car with the 218, but it kept up with normal traffic just fine.
I’ve had a couple of Mopar flat head sixes.
Right now I’m planning to run this old flat head 230cid Dodge.
But I’m going to try and put crank trigger ignition on it. Also programmable fuel injection. I never could squeak more than 22 miles to the gallon out of this car with the over-bored 218.
In stock form they don’t wind up very fast, and the 230 will be slower with more stroke, but they have the low end torque of v-eights much larger.
It was fun in town and I used to drive all over just using second gear & second gear overdrive. I never had to touch the clutch unless I came to a complete stop.
It would go over 40 in second, but if you were above 22 mph, you could lift the foot and it would shift up into overdrive-second, and then you could cruise 45 no problem.
If you stepped hard on the gas, an inhibitor switch would kill the coil spark for a third of a rev, and allow the transmission to drop out of overdrive into second gear, so it would do an automatic downshift. I could make that happen in all three gears but first gear-overdrive didn’t usually make much sense. You had to wind it up too high in first, to make it up shift.
85 miles an hour was the maximum from that car with the 218, but it kept up with normal traffic just fine.
Another memorable Mopar mill was their slant six. It was a tough engine. They seemed to have fairly strong torque too. (Sorry Elu we were on the same wave length and typing at the same time.). Great minds. . .
When I was a kid I often attended Golden Gate Speedway in Tampa Fl. Looking back I find it interesting that the V8 classes (sprint cars and latemodels) were dominated by Chevys. The inline 6 classes were dominated by Ford's (A couple of Hudson's did well too). I loved the sound of the inline sixes on the back stretch. They sounded like a pack of unmuffled log trucks. In my opinion the proliferation of Chevys and Fords had more to do with availability and cost to campaign them versus less available makes. My favorite driver did run a Mopar six in the Early Model class.
Here is his Plymouth. His name was Dave Scarborough. He drove sprint cars, modifieds, late models, early models and tornados which were V8 early models. Dave was a past winner of the prestigious Little 500 sprint car race in Anderson, Indiana.
When I was a kid I often attended Golden Gate Speedway in Tampa Fl. Looking back I find it interesting that the V8 classes (sprint cars and latemodels) were dominated by Chevys. The inline 6 classes were dominated by Ford's (A couple of Hudson's did well too). I loved the sound of the inline sixes on the back stretch. They sounded like a pack of unmuffled log trucks. In my opinion the proliferation of Chevys and Fords had more to do with availability and cost to campaign them versus less available makes. My favorite driver did run a Mopar six in the Early Model class.
Here is his Plymouth. His name was Dave Scarborough. He drove sprint cars, modifieds, late models, early models and tornados which were V8 early models. Dave was a past winner of the prestigious Little 500 sprint car race in Anderson, Indiana.
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 9, 2020
- Messages
- 1,363
- Reaction score
- 5,255
I have a 1951 Hudson that came with the inline 6. Never have came across an ole timer that wouldn’t say they could run 100 mph all day. The cylinders are huge!
The Twin H-Power was legendary, in stock car racing, until 1955 . . .
So was the Plymouth, but for different reasons.
Tad billed this as "Old Reliable":
Tad noted that he drove a P-15 for 300,000 miles when the odometer broke and he quit keeping track.
I broke mine more than once, but it was my daily commuter for almost 5 years, and went all over central California and the high Sierra.
So was the Plymouth, but for different reasons.
Tad billed this as "Old Reliable":
Tad noted that he drove a P-15 for 300,000 miles when the odometer broke and he quit keeping track.
I broke mine more than once, but it was my daily commuter for almost 5 years, and went all over central California and the high Sierra.
Mine had pinstriping by Rubin. I was only able to save these roses though. Everything else is sanded to bare steel, and sitting on carts in the boatyard.
Those Aussie Mopars are very unique. There are always a few at the Mopar Nationals every year. I always take time to look them over.
I’d look impressive driving that monster around, but I couldn’t afford the stops at the gas pump.
The P 15’s are still around in force, because they built those cars without changes for three years. No other cars did that that I can recall, except for maybe the Model T.
They had a new car and a new plant all ready to go, but the workers were all on strike, and so they just kept building the old pre-war design. The actual ‘47 Plymouth didn’t come out till the end of ‘49, so it became the 1950 car.
People had a lot of money after the war and they were buying every car they could find, so Plymouth had no problem selling the obsolete P-15. (Ford was still selling their flatheads too.)
Because they made so many of them, they got extremely good at it, and the P-15s turned out to be extremely good cars.
They all crack right in that beltline crease, at the B pillar. They all rust out right below the tail lights. Mine was built in LA and it lived in the southwest desert its whole life, but it has rust holes thru the front floorboards from sitting in some field for part of its life.
The P 15’s are still around in force, because they built those cars without changes for three years. No other cars did that that I can recall, except for maybe the Model T.
They had a new car and a new plant all ready to go, but the workers were all on strike, and so they just kept building the old pre-war design. The actual ‘47 Plymouth didn’t come out till the end of ‘49, so it became the 1950 car.
People had a lot of money after the war and they were buying every car they could find, so Plymouth had no problem selling the obsolete P-15. (Ford was still selling their flatheads too.)
Because they made so many of them, they got extremely good at it, and the P-15s turned out to be extremely good cars.
They all crack right in that beltline crease, at the B pillar. They all rust out right below the tail lights. Mine was built in LA and it lived in the southwest desert its whole life, but it has rust holes thru the front floorboards from sitting in some field for part of its life.
My latest idea. A (partial) Monark fork on a Monark bike. It actually works! I wonder if this is modified enough to qualify for Class II.
That's a good idea! I don't think it's modified enough for Class II though. From what I understand, that class is for modified or custom bike frames, like if you cut up and/or welded stuff to your frame. All you're doing here is essentially modifying the forks with bolt-on parts. Nothing wrong with that, it's just that this is more of a Class I bike.
Side note: How do you keep the bolts holding the rockers to the rigid fork from falling out of the fork dropouts? I've admittedly seen this trick done before with 2 identical forks where one is modified into the springer part, but I don't understand how everything goes together in a way that doesn't fall apart, yet still pivots so the springer can spring.
The fork axle openings have an expanded area and then narrow down towards the ends. The bolts that I used have a square portion coming off of the head before the threads start. They fit in the widened areas of the openings very tightly, almost pressed into the holes. Then I used thin washers in between the fork ends and the rockers, and the rockers and the lock nuts. Grease the washers and snug down the lock nuts just the right amount and everything functions perfectly and safely.
Side note: My original statement was not a question, just a sarcastic thought. Class II doesn't require cutting or welding, just that extensive modifications are allowed. "Anything goes" means anything. Therefore, anything that can be entered in Class I can be entered in Class II. Even a new unassembled Walmart bike can be entered in either class as long as the build is documented.
Killer look on the wingbar.
Forks have always been fair game in Class 1. Do anything you wish.
Forks have always been fair game in Class 1. Do anything you wish.
TICK TOCK
Cross the finish line in 2 weeks!
Cross the finish line in 2 weeks!
