HELP! early hemi id!

GrantLoeberOH · Post by **GrantLoeberOH** » Thu Jun 12, 2003 7:17 pm

WE have a 1954 2 1/2 toon water truck we disected to get the hemi out of. This hemi has id stamps differnt then on any list we can find. the #s are as follows..... block stamp behind the bell housing-1632229, head castings fit 3 motors from our understanding 1554132-2, and behind the water pump between the heads is vtx342-2338. If you have any info for us we would appreciate your looking it up for us. As a thankyou i WILL send you progression photos as we restore and surpass this motors original beauty. TY Grant Loeber in Ohio

centerline · Post by **centerline** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 7:14 am

My data shows this motor to be a 1954 270 cu. in. Dodge hemi. Your head casting numbers seem to confirm this, as they were original equipment on 241, 260, and 270 cu. in. Dodge hemis from 1954 - 1956.

GrantLoeberOH · Post by **GrantLoeberOH** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 2:23 pm

The motor may well be a 270 hemi, but what made you pick it over the other two motors that are associated with that head casting number? It is important for us to be positive as we are doing a complete rebuild. thank you again for your help with this project.

GrantLoeberOH · Post by **GrantLoeberOH** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 6:11 am

We will be very grateful for any substantial information that can give us Verification to this motor "puzzle".

Thank You Again!

centerline · Post by **centerline** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 8:19 am

The VTx342 identifies this motor as a 1954 270 ci truck motor. It could also have had a code of VTx344 or VTx346. A code of D553 would have indicated a 1955 passenger car motor and a code of M44S-3 would be a marine 270. It could also have had a code of J8,JS8,KA8, or KS8 if it were a 1955-1956 truck motor.

If it were a 241 it would have had a code of I/IND/18 or 18a (industrial motor) or D44, D50, D50A if it were a passenger car motor. The 241 was not installed in trucks according to my data.

If the motor was a 260 it would have had one of the following codes B8,C8,D8,F8,G8,FS8,GH8, or HS8 for 1955-1956 model years or I/IND 52 if it were an industrial version. According to my data the 260 (or 259 as many people refer to it) was never installed in trucks.

If you are concerned about exactly which motor you have, just check the bore. A 270 Dodge should be 3.625".

Good Luck

GrantLoeberOH · Post by **GrantLoeberOH** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 1:11 pm

Thank you for your information. We will look into the bore as you have sugested. Good luck to you for your Hemi Project.

TrWaters · Post by **TrWaters** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 3:06 pm

What makes this interesting is that Tex's book does not list all the engine numbers, and some are incorrect.My book lists the vtx342 as being a 259 poly...not a hemi, and available in trucks. From what I can tell, there were no 259 hemis built. This is not to say someone didnt build a hemi from a 259 at one time. Also, the block casting number given is that of a 55 Dodge car casting. The second digit (6) indicates a late 55 or 56 casting.

TrWaters
Early Hemi Parts

TheHEMI.com

HELP! early hemi id!

HELP! early hemi id!

Thank you for your Reply.

Again WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Thank You

259 dodge