The Chrysler flathead engine is a flathead automotive engine manufactured by the Chrysler Corporation from 1924 through the early 1960s. The flathead engine came in four-,six-, and eight-cylinder configurations and varying displacement, with both a cast iron and cast aluminum cylinder head. It was installed in Chrysler, DeSoto, Dodge and Plymouth branded vehicles.
Chrysler introduced a straight-four in 1926 when the Maxwell Motor Corporation was re-organised into the Chrysler Corporation in 1925.[1] Initially used by Chrysler, the straight-four was fitted to Plymouth cars and Dodge light trucks beginning in 1929, lasting in production through 1933.
The original version displaced 185.8cuin (3,044cc) and produced 38hp (28kW). This was only produced in 1926, with displacement reduced to 170.3cuin (2,791cc) for 1927 and 1928. Power was initially rated the same but was upped to 45hp (34kW) during the 1928 model year.
After the introduction of the Plymouth brand in 1929, the base engine has been subjected to a major redesign and enlarged to 175.4cuin (2,874.3cc) with the power rating remaining the same. It also equipped Dodge light trucks in 1929–1930. It was enlarged again to 196.1cuin (3,213cc) in 1930 with 48hp (36kW). The engine was revised for 1931 with 56hp (42kW) and 1932 with 65hp (48kW) for Plymouth only, Dodge continued with the 48hp (36kW) from 1931 to 1933. A small-bore version was developed for export markets in 1931, with a narrower bore which brought the RAC rating down from 21 to 15.6hp. For 1932 the bore was reduced further, bringing the tax horsepower rating to just beneath 15.5.
The first six-cylinders was the B-Model (seven main bearings) and introduced in 1924 with the first Chrysler Corporation production, the B70.[1] An upscale version designated E-Model equipped the new Chrysler Imperial E80 in 1926, and a downscale one named H-Model followed in 1927 (Chrysler Series 70). After the purchase of Dodge Brothers Inc. in 1928, Chrysler Corporation had five straight-6s in production with the addition of the Victory and Senior Dodge Brothers engines.[1]
So, with the introduction of the new Desoto brand in 1929, came a new and cheaper to product six cylinders, the K-Model (four main bearings, deep skirts).[1] By mid-1930, it partially replaced the previous engines in varying displacements on passenger cars, in conjunction with an all-new straight-8 block. Only the Imperial's engine remains in production for the Dodge Trucks[1] 2-ton Models F-40 & K-50, 3-ton models F-60 & K-70, 2 & 3-ton Special, buses from 1930 to 1934-35. To replace these two engines, a new and very large six cylinders was launched in late 1936 (331 cu. in.). The 1956 C-3 Series was the last to use this big straight-6 (413 cu. in.).
In 1932, the Ford's V8 flathead launch shook up the market. The demand for larger engines was even for entry-level brands. A new straight-6 for Plymouth (PC/PD) and Dodge (DP/DQ) came in production in 1933 (shallow skirt, known as the "23 in block", with a head desk length of 580 mm), followed by a larger variant for Desoto (S3) and Chrysler Royal (C16) in 1937 ("25 in block" – 640 mm), marking the K-Model end. There is one exception to this: when Chrysler established an engine foundry in Windsor, Canada in 1938, it was decided to only use the long block for all Canadian-built engines. These engines received a trailing "C" in their designation, becoming P8C for example. Thanks to judicious dimensioning, the Canadian 201- and 218-cubic inch engines had nearly identical displacement to their American cousins.[3]
Beginning in 1938, the 201cuin (3,299cc)inline-six was used in Massey Harris's Model 101tractor (later known as the 101 Super). It continued to be used by Massey until 1940, when it was supplanted by the 218cuin (3,568cc).[4] In 1940, Chrysler's 242cuin (3,966cc) straight six went into Massey's 201 Super, which lasted until 1942.[4]
The last automotive use of the Chrysler flathead inline-six was in 1968. It was replaced by the much more efficient OHVSlant-6 released in 1960, which appeared in most Dodge trucks starting in 1961. According to the Standard Catalog of American Light-Duty Trucks, the Dodge Power Wagon WM300 used the 251 inline flathead six until 1968, after which the Dodge WM300 was dropped for the 1969 production year. The flathead remained in production until the early 1970s for industrial and agricultural use.[citation needed]
The new in-line 8-cylinder engine is largely based on the six-cylinder engine that appeared on the Desoto Model K. It has five main levels, the central one being wider.[1] When the engineers had to rebore the cylinders to 3-1/2 inches, the space between each pair of cylinders was modified. This applies to all blocks with the same bore.
In the case of the Imperial (CG, CH) then Custom imperial (CL, CW), a new and unique straight-8 engine was created with 9 main bearings and equipped with a two-barrel downdraft carburetor. From the CW model, the cylinder head is made of aluminium. It also powered the Dodge Trucks G-80 models (1931-1934) and Fargo buses (1930-1932).[1]
Displacement
Years
Horsepower
Applications
Bore
Stroke
208cuin (3,404cc)
1930-1931
70
DeSoto Series CF
2+7⁄8in (73.0mm)
4in (101.6mm)
221cuin (3,617cc)
1930-1932
75
Dodge Series DC (discontinued September 1931)
4+1⁄4in (108.0mm)
1931-1932
77
DeSoto Series CF
240cuin (3,938cc)
1931-1932
84
Dodge Series DG
3in (76.2mm)
1931
80
Chrysler Series CD (until January 1931)
261cuin (4,273cc)
1931
88
Chrysler Series CD (from January 1931)
3+1⁄8in (79.4mm)
274cuin (4,486cc)
1933
90 (std.) 98 (opt.)
Chrysler Series CT
3+1⁄4in (82.6mm)
4+1⁄8in (104.8mm)
1935
105 (std.) 110 (opt.)
Chrysler Series CZ
1936
Chrysler Series C-8
1937
110 (std.) 115 (opt.)
Chrysler Imperial Series C-14
282cuin (4,622cc)
1931
100
Chrysler DeLuxe CD Series
4+1⁄4in (108.0mm)
1932
100
Chrysler Series CD
1932
90 (std.) 100 (opt.)
Dodge Series DK
1933
100 (std.) 94 (opt.)
Dodge Series DO
299cuin (4,894cc)
1932
100
Chrysler Series CP (Chrysler Hurlingham in the UK)
The straight-six engine is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balance, resulting in fewer vibrations than other designs of six or fewer cylinders.
Plymouth was a brand of automobiles produced by Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler. The brand was launched in 1928 to compete in what was then described as the "low-priced" market segment that was dominated by Chevrolet and Ford. It became a high-volume seller for the automaker until the late 1990s. Plymouth cars were marketed primarily in the United States. The brand was withdrawn from the marketplace in 2001. The Plymouth models that were produced up to then were either discontinued or rebranded as Chrysler or Dodge.
The Chrysler B and RB engines are a series of big-block V8 gasoline engines introduced in 1958 to replace the Chrysler FirePower engines. The B and RB engines are often referred to as "wedge" engines because they use wedge-shaped combustion chambers; this differentiates them from Chrysler's 426 Hemi big block engines that are typically referred to as "Hemi" or "426 Hemi" due to their hemispherical shaped combustion chambers. The corporation had been seeking a smaller and lighter replacement for its FirePower engines, in part because new styling dictates meant moving the engine forward in the chassis which negatively affected weight distribution.
The LA engine is a family of overhead-valve small-block 90° V-configured gasoline engines built by Chrysler Corporation between 1964 and 2003. A replacement of the Chrysler A engine, they were factory-installed in passenger vehicles, trucks and vans, commercial vehicles, marine and industrial applications. Their combustion chambers are wedge-shaped, rather than polyspheric, as in the A engine, or hemispheric in the Chrysler Hemi. LA engines have the same 4.46 in (113 mm) bore spacing as the A engines.
The Chrysler A engine is an OHV small-block V8 gasoline engine built by Chrysler from 1956 until 1967. It featured polyspherical combustion chambers, and was offered in displacements from 276.1 cu in (4.5 L) to 325.2 cu in (5.3 L), and in various high-power configurations. It began to be replaced by the wedge-head LA engine in 1964, and is not related to the hemispherical-head Hemi engine of the 1950s or 1960s.
The Slant-Six is the popular name for a Chrysler inline-6 internal combustion engine with an overhead valve reverse-flow cylinder head and cylinder bank inclined at a 30-degree angle from vertical. Introduced in 1959 for the 1960 models, it was known within Chrysler as the G-engine. It was a clean-sheet design that began production in 1959 at 170 cubic inches (2.8 L) and ended in 2000 at 225 cubic inches (3.7 L). It was a direct replacement for the flathead Chrysler straight six that the company started business with in 1925 until the old design was discontinued in the 1960s.
The 2.2 and 2.5 are a family of inline-4 engines developed by Chrysler Corporation originally for the Chrysler K- and L-platforms cars and subsequently used in many other Chrysler vehicles. After its launch in 1981, it became the basis for all Chrysler-developed 4-cylinder engines until the Chrysler 1.8, 2.0 & 2.4 engine family was released in 1994. It was the first Chrysler engineered four cylinder engine since the Chrysler flathead four cylinder was discontinued in 1933.
The Chrysler 1.8, 2.0, and 2.4 are inline-4 engines designed originally for the Dodge and Plymouth Neon compact car. These engines were loosely based on their predecessors, the Chrysler 2.2 & 2.5 engine, sharing the same 87.5 mm (3.44 in) bore. The engine was developed by Chrysler with input from the Chrysler-Lamborghini team that developed the Chrysler/Lamborghini Formula 1 V12 engine in the early 1990s.
The Dodge Diplomat is an American mid-size car that was produced by Dodge from 1977 to 1989. At launch, it shared a common design with the Chrysler LeBaron and for much of its later production run was the counterpart of the more upscale Chrysler Fifth Avenue and lower priced Plymouth Gran Fury. It was also sold in Mexico between 1981 and 1982 as the Dodge Dart, and in Colombia as the Dodge Coronet. The Diplomat was initially offered in a coupe and a sedan; in 1978, station wagons were added as replacements for the discontinued full-sized C-body wagons.
The Dodge Coronet is an automobile that was marketed by Dodge in seven generations, and shared nameplates with the same bodyshell with varying levels of equipment installed. Introduced as a full-size car in 1949, it was the division's highest trim line and moved to the lowest level starting in 1955 through 1959. The name was reintroduced on intermediate-sized models from the 1965 until 1976 model years. Muscle car versions were available starting in 1965 with the 383 and 426 wedge cu in Chrysler RB engine, followed in 1966 by the powerful 426 cu in Chrysler Hemi. Other performance models included the "Superbee", and featured, the 383 cu in Magnum, among other engine options. The nameplate "coronet" is a type of crown worn by royalty.
The Ford flathead V8 is a V8 engine with a flat cylinder head introduced by the Ford Motor Company in 1932 and built by Ford through 1953. During the engine's first decade of production, when overhead-valve engines were used by only a small minority of makes, it was usually known simply as the Ford V‑8, and the first car model in which it was installed, the Model 18, was often called simply the "Ford V-8" after its new engine. An automotive milestone as the first affordable V8, it ranks as one of the company's most important developments. The engine was intended to be used for big passenger cars and trucks; it was installed in such until 1953, making the engine's 21-year production run for the U.S. consumer market longer than the 19-year run of the Ford Model T engine. It was also built independently by Ford licensees.. The engine was named on Ward's list of the 10 best engines of the 20th century. It was a staple of hot rodders in the 1950s, and it remains famous in the classic car hobbies even today, despite the huge variety of other popular V8s that followed.
The Ford Motor Company produced straight-six engines from 1906 until 1908 and from 1941 until 2016. In 1906, the first Ford straight-six was introduced in the Model K. The next was introduced in the 1941 Ford. Ford continued producing straight-six engines for use in its North American vehicles until 1996, when they were discontinued in favor of more compact V6 designs.
The Plymouth Belvedere is a series of American automobile models made by Plymouth from 1954 until 1970.
The Pontiac straight-6 engine is a family of inline-six cylinder automobile engines produced by the Pontiac Division of General Motors Corporation in numerous versions beginning in 1926.
The Chrysler Hemi engine, known by the trademark Hemi or HEMI, refers to a series of high-performance American overhead valve V8 engines built by Chrysler with hemispherical combustion chambers. Three generations have been produced: the FirePower series from 1951 to 1958; a famed 426 cu in (7.0 L) race and street engine from 1964-1971; and family of advanced Hemis (displacing between 5.7 L 6.4 L from 2003 to 2024.
The SD engine was replaced by the Nissan TD engine. It was manufactured by Minsei Diesel Industries, Ltd., which was renamed Nissan Diesel Motor Co., Ltd in 1960.
The Polyspheric or Poly engines were V8 engines produced by Chrysler from 1955 to 1958 as lower-cost alternatives to the Hemi engines. These engines were based on the Hemi engines, using the same blocks and crankshaft parts, but completely different cylinder heads, pushrods, exhaust manifolds and pistons.
The World Gasoline Engine is a family of straight-4 piston engines, based on the Global Engine Alliance design.
The Dodge Series D5 appeared in October 1936 for the 1937 model year, replacing the previous year's Series D2.
The Dodge Series D8 appeared in October 1937 for the 1938 model year, replacing the previous year's Series D5. Production of the 1938 Dodges ran from September 1937 until July 1938, which was the typical pattern for Dodge in this period. As before, there was also a "Junior" line of Plymouths using Dodge badges and trim for the Canadian and global export markets. The main version is sometimes referred to as the "Senior" Dodge to distinguish the two.
↑ Zavitz, R. Perry (1990). "The Postwar Plymouths Changing Personalities From Staid to Flashy". In Lee, John (ed.). Standard Catalog of Chrysler, 1924-1990. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, Inc. p.119. ISBN0-87341-142-0.
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