Hi,
Hopefully I'm posting in the correct section here. I have a 1933 Dodge DP that was my grandfathers and has been sitting since he passed away in 2000. I have been doing a lot of work to it but my new project is the brakes. And I have no Idea what the rear is from, My dad said it possibly came from a rambler? Would anyone be able to identify this by the pic? It has a tag with 3.54 gears. And a stamp with saying US PAT. 2018188 Its similar in size to a Mopar 7 1/4" I'm hoping to identify this so I can get wheel cylinders and brakes.. Any help is appreciated!

I believe it may be a dana 30. 1966-83 jeep cj5 and cj6

it looks like you are using a hub puller for the drums in the second pic. ramblers used those type axles, i believe, almost until the demise of american motors. if it has a sure grip type rear, and it is a rambler, there could be a tag on it saying "twin traction". i can't offer any ideas about what the rear may be, or the application, but you may be able to get an idea by measuring the drum, brake shoes, and see if there are any numbers on the wheel cylinders. grampa had a very nice car. glad you are getting it back in circulation. if worse comes to worse, you could always just swap out the rear to something with more desirable [and easier to work on] flanged axles. if you find out what that rear is, let us know please. just curious. if it were a jeep axle, in the 66 up year range, i think it would be a 5 on 5 1/2" bolt pattern with a very large hub register [to clear the front locking hubs] which would require adapters to run your original wheels. ramblers were a 5 on 4 1/2" bolt pattern with a 2.790-2.800 [or so] hub register, same as your wheels should be.

Thanks for the responses! I started by looking up the Dana 30 for a jeep and started finding lots of pics that looked like the correct center. And I cross referenced that and found several things it could have come from like a jeep, rambler, Studebaker and a few others. It has 9" brakes, I haven't taken the drums off yet. It is an open rear for sure not sure grip. The spring perches are 42.5" center to center, look to be in original spot. Once I get the drums off I can measure the piston of the old wheel cylinders. Saw several different sizes listed for that size rear..

Most Dana rear ends will have a BOM number stamped in the right tube (see red oval below) which will ID it. Scrape off the rust/crud and look for the number.

A body 8.25?

the 8 1/4 does not have the keyed axles that require a puller to remove the drum/hub assembly. the special puller required is shown under the assembly in the second picture.

Delayed thanks for everyones input. Been working on lots of projects... I ordered wheel cylinders for a 1958 American ramber and they fit perfect. Its a 7 3/4" gear. Also cleaned up the rear, gasket was leaking badly! And was able to wash it off and take some pictures! Still need a cylinder head for it that isn't cracked!

What a gorgeous car! Glad you had success with the rear end.

That basic flathead six remained in production until 1959 in cars. You may find help, there are clubs that do pretty extensive gathering of reproductions. For example, https://www.chryslerclub.org/reproduction.html. Then there is the Plymouth Owners Club, you definitely want to belong to it. Started out as the Plymouth 4 and 6 cylinder Owners Club. Here's the application for membership.
http://clubs.hemmings.com/plymouthowners/2006-images/application.pdf

There is an aluminum higher compression head that was optional on your engine, the Red Head.

R.

i have seen a couple of "red" heads over the years [no, not that kind ], but i always thought those were an aftermarket item. optional you say ? what other items , if any, were included with those heads ?

I only ran across the subject when looking into the engine and what head might work. This engine was in production in some way shape or form until at least 1959 and probably into the '70s. I know my friend put a 1959 engine in a 1948 sedan and it bolted right in.

The published data on the Red Head says it raised compression from 5:1 to 6.5:1 and increased horsepower from 70 to 76. The engine was 190 cubic inches. The largest Plymouth six was 230, a 40 cubic inch increase. Larger Chrysler engines are too long to fit easily into these early cars, that's my opinion.

The flathead engines had such a simple cylinder head design that higher compression heads were a natural. Example was Ford, some of the V8s sold in high altitude places had higher compression heads. Soon they were popular, called "Denver heads". I believe Hudson had higher compression heads available for some of their engines. Then there was the aftermarket which was active even before WWII.

I think the Red Head was a simple substitution of one head for the other and don't know if it occurred at the factory or the dealership.

I am a hot rodder at heart and looking at that fine body I see it sporting a 236 cubic inch six with dual carbs, split exhaust and a high compression head. All were available for the Plymouth 6 in the '50s. Horsepower would be between 120 and 140 which could make quite a difference in driveability.

R.

The 23 on the lower right side of the center housing casting is what identifies the rear end type. Spicer or Dana corporation, depending on what year it was produced. Very likely it came from a Studebaker as they used them in a lot of their lower powered cars. The higher number on the center casting, such as 27, 30, 44 and so on get stronger as the number increases, but the overall width (at least on Stude) remain the same. Studebaker, as well as Rambler used that style of drum for most all of their cars.