VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 1949 216 under powered, novice needs help

Purchased 49 chevy truck not running. Owner said motor rebuilt. Installed 1 barrel carter carb. Started well but under powered. Bought carb rebuild kit. Did not make difference. Replaced muffler, barn find had been sitting 15 yrs, new muffler helped some. Replaced fuel pump did not help. Just bought a 1948 Dodge truck with original 6 cylinder one barrel and it has so much more power than the chevy. Can someone give some pointers.What's next? new carb? new exhaust manifold? The new Dodge has an oiler type air filter the chevy has a smaller non-oil type air breather. Should it have the larger air breather? Thanks, I love to drive the old truck but something is wrong.

I would check compression in cylinders first. It is common for a valve or two to have a problem sealing after sitting a long time. I that is okay then, timing, condition of ignition parts. Then check vacuum at idle if all that is okay. I am sure that the Chevy can run circles around the Dodge, at least they could when I was a kid.

First I would check the timing. It needs to be advanced several degrees. If you don't have a timing light, advance it until it starts to run rough then back it off until it runs smooth. If that doesn't help check the compression, all cylinders should be within about 10 lbs. of each other. I'm sure you will get some good suggestions on this site.

Did you give it a full tune up? Did you set the timing? I found that advancing mine to approx 30 deg BTDC at 3000 rpm woke it up quite a bit. My carb is a Rochester model B.

On a side note, I've never driven a flathead six Dodge, but I've heard they feel more powerful than the 216.

It looks like everyone was writing at the same time! Who knew this forum was so busy?

Look at these electrical / tune specs for your truck. Compare settings to what you have.

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/51ctsm1241.htm

Blue48,

If it's been sitting for 15 years, it's probably not getting enough gas. Check the cutoff valve below the tank and make sure the lines are fre . There is probably enough rust in the tank to fill a bathrub. You may want to consider cleaning the tank or ordering a new one.

Good luck,
Charlie

Thanks everyone for the advice. The head was checked and I had a valve job. I also replaced the gas tank and liine. I flushed the gas line and flushed the tank 3 times without pulling it ( mistake) . The varnished gas made to the head and stuck a valve which broke a rocker arm and bent (3) push rods.....novice to say the least..thus a valve job. It's hard to start after it sits a couple of days. I have to prime it. It starts good when it's warm. I did notice a little gas around the bottom of the carb today after I primed it. Maybe the problems with the carb. I will try checking the timing again and advancing a little. thanks again.

Are you chasing a ghost here?

You are saying it has less power than the 48 Dodge, but can you compare one 216 truck to another?

Perhaps the 216 is just not as good as you expected it to be, but it's running as good as it should be.

Possible or not ?