Classic/Antique Car Repair: 1948 Dodge Fargo 218 six, chrysler corporation vehicles, mackenzie bc

Question
Is there any books on rebuilding a dodge 218ci flathead six
I have never worked on one before.
Can you give any information at all on rebuilding the motor and where will I find parts
Thank you in advance
Albert Grattan
Mackenzie BC Canada

Answer
These are very simple engines, and parts will be easy to find from any of the parts dealers that specialize in older Chrysler Corporation vehicles.  Andy Birnbaum in Massachusetts is a place to start, and of course doing a search on Google for "mopar parts dealers" will turn up many more.

As for books, the best book would be the factory shop manual for your vehicle - or for any 1940s era Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler or Plymouth 6 car or truck, as the engines are almost identical, in fact many of the parts interchange.  The shop manuals have detailed and specific instructions on how to proceed with everything you will need to do. They will assume you have a set of factory issued special tools, which of course you will not have, but I have found it fairly simple to come up with equivalent tools - and in a few special cases, make fixtures to hold parts.

The best place to look for shop manuals is the automotive literature dealers. I use www.faxonautolit.com but there are many others.   These manuals come up on eBay frequently also.

Thanks for saving a great old Truck!

Dick