WHAT have I gotten myself into? New project..

1957 Plymouth Suburban 2dr - inline 6/pushbutton auto - straight but rusty

It's getting an early Hemi, probably 331-354 unless someone has a 392 they want to donate. A manual tranny and some pedals would be nice too.

Gonna be a fun low-buck (did I say Hemi?) project to tool around town with my dog. Price was pretty good. It cost nearly as much to get it to DFW from Florida as it did to buy the thing. I guess I've lost my mind.

Does anyone have any tips for putting the Hemi in this monster? Pans/pickups, exhaust, k-members, mounts, etc.. that I need to look out for? Thanks in advance.
Danny

Oh yeah, SPECIAL THANKS goes out to gears-n-grease for giving me the heads up and contact information for the seller. I appreciate it very much, just let me know if there's anything you need, even a place to stay for a DFW meet.

 

At least the glass is perfect.

 

I didn't know there was such a thing! Congratulations. Dollars per pound it was probably the best deal anyone has ever found!

 

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I didn't know there was such a thing! Congratulations. Dollars per pound it was probably the best deal anyone has ever found!

[/ QUOTE ]Thanks for the complime... HEY!!

 

Gonna look similar to this, after 400 sq ft of patch panels and a half million dollars..

 

Nice find. Love them monster two door wagons.-MIKE

 

Ok...I saw this done about 3 years ago. I know a guy here that has owned a 59 rag-top plymouth for about 1000 years. The car came with the 361 Golden Commando engine and it [the engine] needed a freshening up. The guy also had a 392 hemi for sale and hadn't sold the engine yet when he yanked the 361 out of the rag top. Just for grins, he popped the 392 on his cherry picker to see if it'd fit in the vacated hole. There was a little interference between the right valve cover and the heater box but other than that, if went in the hole ok.....sure looked huge in there! If I remember right, even the motor mounts worked ok. The front sheet metal was off the Plymouth so I don't know about inner fender panel issues....may be a little trimming needed.
I don't know why a pair of 361 motor mounts wouldn't fit your 57...the hemi may very well be a bolt-in operation with the right mix of parts.
Hot Heads [tm] makes adapters to fit a modern tranny behind any hemi. I can see it with a muncie 4 speed or top loader ford.

 

VIRGIL EXNER WAS A GOD!!!!! Those mid fifties cars were the best that MA Mopar cranked out, well some of the best . I think you've gotten yourself into one cool project. Good luck with it. later plmczy

 

Thanks guys! Rocky, I really appreciate the information. I sent off for a Hot Heads catalog months ago and haven't seen anything yet. I'll give em another shot, since everyone seems to be directing me to them.
Danny

 

how was Florida to DFW hauling a car? I made that trip before

 

OMG U ARE SO LUCKY TO FIND A 2 DOOR PLYMOUTH WAGAON!! hey does any one know if plymouth ever made a sedan delivery from 57 through 59? cause i never seen one. but i also never seen a wagon either so that doesnt make it nonexistant

 

Whooooaaa! Nice project. Would look KILLER in candy with a 'flaked top, chrome reverse and skinny whites.
Cool score man!

Josh

 

Looks good man! How did you get it home? I know ya didn'y use your Ranger...

 

I like it, those big ol 2 door wagons a real neat Geoff aka Whodaky

 

Just wondering, does it not have the spare tire slide out rack on the side? Or was that just the 4 door? There was one in Crane TX that I wanted so bad, but didn't have the cash at the time. Cool cars! Congrats!

 

Wow-- killer wagon! Nice find!! You're gonna need a sanding block from hell!

 

The '57 Plymouth is one of the best looking '50's cars. The reason more aren't fixed-up is the rust problem. Have you checked out the frame? Many frames rust in two at the rear wheels. My parent's '57 Savoy is still out at the farm. The only way I would consider it would be with a late model frame swap. You could do a full channel in the process. I love those tail fins.

 

They are unibody cars

 

Let's put it this way: the floors rust out leaving no frame structure and or body integrity. All unibody cars have stamped steel reinforcement panels at (at least) the suspension attachment points. Those old Plymouths had problems from the get-go. I can get you photos and more info later. I stand by my opinion that you will have a hard time finding one that a hot Hemi couldn't tear out the rear-end.

 

Hmmm.. well I'll take a closer look and see if anything looks failure prone, like cracks in the frame rail, suspension mounting points, etc. and shore them up. I may actually do a frame swap if it's bad enough. Hard to get those torsion bars low enough with good suspension geometry anyway. But there goes the budget.

Thanks very much for the heads up.

 

photo #1

 

photo #2

 

Yes these look extreme, but they are typical.

 

I'm not puting down your project. The '57 Plymouth would make a way-cool custom car. You just have to find a good one. Maybe yours doesn't have the problem.

 

I'll take a closer look tonight.

Got any more pics of your '57? graverobber63 apparently has a '57 Savoy wagon, and I've never seen one.

 

The '57 Savoy 4dr Sedan is at my parent's farm about 100 miles from my house. I may be up there this weekend. These photos where of a '57 Belvedere that I copied from e-bay. I guarantee my rust is as bad or worse than this.

I’ve have dreams of swapping the body onto an old Impala I have out there. I could make it to a 2dr convertible with a lift off top. Maybe extend the fins a bit. I doubt it will ever happen.

 

look up SUDDENLY Hot Rod Magazine dropped a 354 in a 57 savoy and set several records in 1957. Daytona (on the beach) and Bonneville
its a direct bolt in swap I think I would build a solid chassis before putting a Hemi in there

 

LOL, no kidding. Those pictures are downright scary.

If I have to throw a chassis under it, it will probably get (gasp) an S-10 setup. Cheap, plentiful, strong, holds a V8, discs, rack and pinion, etc and a huge aftermarket to lower it.

Or 4x4 it.

 

I had a 52 plymouth 2 door wagon with bad floors. I found a 52 plymouth hardtop with good floors and found it was easy to take the cowl windshield and some roof parts from the hard top and put them together with the wagon and ended up with a two door hardtop wagon with good floors and frame

 

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LOL, no kidding. Those pictures are downright scary.

If I have to throw a chassis under it, it will probably get (gasp) an S-10 setup. Cheap, plentiful, strong, holds a V8, discs, rack and pinion, etc and a huge aftermarket to lower it.

Or 4x4 it.

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all the mopars shared a common chassis for a few years find a good chassis and all the mount will line up and you can square the body before you start welding on it
You don't need lowering kits with torsion bar suspension