Projects 1950 Plymouth v8 swap-ideas?

Hol-ly Crap! A 472 stuffed in that??? I gotta see pics. I have a '50 Ply Coupe and it looks crowded with the flattie six in it.

 

i know right? i just got the car last saturday im still trying to get some time to go thru it and get some good pictures up and when i do ill post them here.but yea i think i agree the 472 caddy motor definetly has a cool factor to it that cant be denied.Cadillac and Plymouth both luxury rides in their own rights.maybe its a match made in heaven? i will also be starting a new build thread to help me figure out how to fix this roof HACK job the previous owner did..its hacked bad in all the wrong places..i think i might be looking for a new roof..hopefully someone here could guide me in the right direction..

 

Plymouth was never considered a luxury car. It usually cost less than a Ford or Chevy. It was just a better car.

Unfortunately it's always been a PITA to hotrod compared to Fords which already had a V8, or Chevys which had a bigger OHV engine. They were typically considered suitable for maiden aunts, and conservative type folks.

But despite all the Mopar-to-Mopar and Ford-to-Ford fandom you see here, back then you got the best engine you could find to build a fast car, and Cadillac was famous as a hot rod engine.

So famous that James Bond got to speed around in a Cad powered rod in the chapter titled Studillac to Saratoga. I remember reading that when I was about 12. I wanted one then and I still do.

 

Carson top? You can build it at home & the metal work doesn't need to be pretty because it's all hidden.

 

Yup, Plymouth was entry level. No. 3 selling Brand for a number of decades until Chrysler pissed it away. In the chrysler order of things 1. Chrysler, 2. Desoto, 3 Dodge, 4 Plymouth. Plymouth never got an early hemi, just the hemi based Poly.

 

I imagine the Canadian PlyDo's never got a Hemi either, huh?

 

Probably not where the Plodge is considered a Plymouth.

 

Chevy 229 v6 , torquey little bastard,,,

 

I always considered Plymouth #5 actually. Imperial was the No.1 mopar.

 

Most don't know Imperial was a separate Brand for a while. Chrysler Imperial sounds natural!

 

Pardon me as I self-quote...

But don't take my word for it folks, This was published over 45 years ago:


Published circa 1966 in the Tad Burness Auto Album.
Tad claimed that he owned his P-15 for some 300,000 miles, as I recall.

 

well i guess its just me but i always looked at older Plymouths as though they were Chryslers version of a Cadillac of sorts.they always seemed to have cooler features..all that aside im glad i own one. even if i am a chevy guy. it just didnt seem right to me at first. to leave the 472 caddy motor in my 1950 plymouth when i have access to a 440.but i think u guys made my mind up the caddy is staying..ill have to get some pics up for the curious folk after my florida vacation (i leave tommarrow

 

My earlier comment about making a decision later is what I did. Bought a '48 Plym 2 dr with an Olds 455 in it. Ran it for 7-8 years until the tranny let go, at that point I put in a 331 Hemi.

 

Damn...Now I want a too-big engine again. Just when I've convinced myself that a 318 will be enough I hear guys puttin 440's and 455's and Caddy 500's in, and my urge to downsize just evaporates.

I really don't want a boat anchor in the nose though. I want something that makes power without quite so much weight, as a classic big block.

 

Well, the B engine is not super heavy, and with a stroker you can still have 500 inches. If you don't mind cross breeding then the 70-72 Buick 455 is a torque monster and weighs about the same as a 318.
While I am not a big fan of cross breeding there are times when it makes sense...and I have a pair of 500 Cads and a 455 Buick sitting in the shop just waiting for something to come along...

 

Really? I find that amazing.

Never driven a Buick in my life, though I drove a 455 Toronado once & it was quite something.

 

C9 RIP, was an avid fan of the Buick 455. Lightweight for their size and great torque.

Here are some threads about them:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/buick-455-performance-parts.192559/
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/buick-455s-worth-it.290150/
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/buick-455-good-bad-or-ugly.372816/

 

Thanks Droog!

 

You guys have it wrong. Plymouth was not the bargain brand. Desoto was at the bottom of Chrysler's food chain. Chrysler's hierarchy (insofar as going from luxury to economy) was thus:
Imperial
Chrysler
Dodge
Plymouth
Desoto
Desoto was killed off because it reached a point where it offered nothing that the other brands in Chrysler's lineup did. Plymouth and Dodge both began selling lower end base vehicles that undercut Desoto. Plymouth was killed off for this very same reason decades later.
Ironically, it now appears that "Chrysler" will be next. At present, Chrysler only offers 2 vehicles and one of them (3oo) is slated for termination.

 

If you transplant a Brand X engine into your Plymouth, a handful of people will think it's cool. Ultimately though, you will only have created a white elephant: A car that neither Mopar, nor Brand X folks will appreciate (or want when/if it comes time to sell it). It is your car, however....build it into whatever makes you happy.

Any advice to drop a 318 into that Plymouth should be summarily discarded. A Chrysler 318 occupies the same dimensional space as a 360, and makes WAY less power. They also cost about the same to build. If it were my car, i'd hunt down a 360 (5.9) Magnum motor from junkyard Ram/Durango/Dakota and build it into a 408 stroker. There are kits available for this build from just about all major sources (Summit, Jegs, etc). My best friend has a 408 in his Cuda. It turns in mid 11 second timeslips and purrs like a kitten in heavy traffic. A 408 stroker will smoke a Caddy, Buick, Olds or any other GM boat anchor big block.

I favor Mopar big blocks. I can't imagine you'd want to go this route given your under-hood space constraints but if you can make it work, i'd go straight to the Chrysler 383/400. I picked up a swap meet, spun journal 440 crank and had the mains cut down to fit a 400 block I had. I used 440 pistons and rods and the result is a combination called a 451 stroker. I topped it off with a pair of cheap aftermarket aluminum heads (440 Source Stealth heads). The result is a big block that revs like (and weighs as much as) a small block. Easy 550 hp all day long. This combo also smokes the Brand X boat anchors.

The 413/440 are the widest Chrysler big blocks. Unless you plan on major surgery to your car, id pass on them.

 

If you are thinking of going with a 5.9, this site was made from a guy who was putting roller moters in A bodies and has some good info:
http://www.magnumswap.com/

 

You are mistaken. Desoto was positioned above Dodge and Plymouth in the mid 30's. Plymouth was at the bottom rung of the Chrysler offering. That said, Plymouths still costed more than equal Ford's or Chevys.