Hi all.

Looking at putting a 64 slant six into a 1953 Dodge M-37 (similar to a Power Wagon).
The stock inline six in these vehicles were not all that reliable and are poor at high speeds and are hard and expensive to maintain.
Lots of folks put Chevy 350 or some other V-8's into M-37's but I'd like to see about putting in a I-6 since they are such good and fairly common engines.

Any one out there tried this (successfully) before?

Thanks!

E.

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Erik the Dodge

My stepfather has a 1940's Dodge Power Wagon...what people don't typically realize is that life on the old battle field meant that the Jeep at 45mph in "High/High" was the fastest thing out there...the tanks were weighing in at about 25-30 mph. The engines are reliable, but being close to 75 years old, one would be asking for an overhaul and just being driven in parades. (My stepfather drives it to demonstations 25 miles away towing an M-3 Anti Tank Gun...)

The swap should be about as fun as replacing an old flathead six in an old Plymouth. You will need an adaptor plate for the tranny unless you are going to replace it too...be aware that the 40's Powerwagon had a rear ratio in the 8:1 neighborhood...so you may need to upgrade the rear axle as well so you have something in the 4:1 range to work with.

-D.Idiot

Hey Erik,

Welcome to the Forum!

I have no experience with the swap you're contemplating,... But I think it would be really cool if you did it!

And you'll find TONS of help here too.

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Some old Chrysler part suppliers, here, and here.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

You'll get every single part you need at http://www.vintagepowerwagons.com/.

I think you will have trouble with the length of the SL6. A friend of mine recently scrapped the plans for a SL6 in his W300M Power Wagon, in favour of a GMC V-6, because of all the work assosiated with the transplant.

The W330M Power Wagon got an engine upgrade in 1961, when they replaced the 230 cu.in. engine with a 251. It is easy to spot the difference from the outside, they had to take the radiator out from under the hood, and mount it in front. I believe there was some work done to see if the SL6 could be a sensible upgrade, but too many costly modifications had to be made to make it an alternative in a production vehicle. That doesn't mean it can't be done in the M-37, just take out you tape measure first, and do some careful calculations! Small modifications like using a el.fan instead of the fixed fan may be enough. Keep posting your findings, and Good Luck!

Olaf

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Aspenized

Helitool once offered a kit to swap a 318 into the M37. My favorite M37 swap would be the Cummins 4BT like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5VWckV5Khk

The 230 flathead is reliable when its in good shape but the M37 is heavy and geared for low speed. The M37 so equipped is quite capable when used as the Army intended but not really suited for highway use. You might want to go to www.dodgepowerwagon.com and ask for ideas.

The truck I have has a slant six in it. It was (barely) in there when I bought it... real hack job by previous owner. But at that time it was only a plow truck. I have done a lot of work to straighten it out and it's coming along. I had to move the radiator forward a little, removed the fan (because it was cutting into the radiator) and added an electric fan. It's a tight fit, there doesn't seem to be a issue with clearance for the distributor but be careful, the starter and wires are real close to the frame.

As already stated, length is the first issue you will encounter when swapping a slant into anything originally equipped with a Mopar flat 6, especially if you don't want to cut the firewall. If that's the case, the radiator will almost certainly have to move forward.

Depending on the inside width of your frame rails, you may also run into clearance issues with the distributor, fuel pump, oil pump and/or manifolding. Brake master cylinder and clutch linkage may also need to be moved. The flathead package is generally shorter and narrower, but taller than the slant. Then there is the oil pan vs. front suspension/steering issue. I know that some older Mopar flatty-powered passenger cars (pre-IFS) need a rear-sump slant pan to clear all that stuff.

What do you intend to do about the trans, etc.? Don't know for sure but doubt if there is any easy way to adapt the slant to the older running gear. Might be a good idea to get a whole, civilian, slant, rust-bucket, 4WD Dodge truck as a doner car for an engine/trans package that was designed to work together. New mounts can always be fabbed and drive shafts shortened/re-balanced but at least that way you won't need to look for an engine-to-trans adapter plate that may or may not even exist.

And always remember the old hot-rodder's adage: measure TWICE, cut ONCE!

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obliquely-inclined state of mind