I found one thread on here about creating an altered wheelbase vehicle. I attached pics of the 65 plymouth hardtop I'm considering on starting this project. I have a copy of the Chrysler Technical Report 4208.7. Does anybody have a better copy of the pictures then the black and white copies I got? I do not plan using the altered torsion bar suspension. I'm looking for an A100 van straight axle and set of seats, if anybody has one they are willing to part with. My main question has to do with the doors and quarter windows. Are the doors simply sedan doors or modified hardtop doors with sedan window frames? The roof post, simply removed from a Sedan? What about the frame around the rear quarter window? I want to use a fiberglass front end and including bumper and fiberglass doors. Any ideas on supplier for them I found the Sled City site for the fenders and hood. I already have a fiberglass dash. Also on the door glass, the originals had the handles removed. Were the front windows operational at all? Did they utilize the belts like a superstock '68 dart did? I got the Jim Schild Superstock Racing text, any other suggested reading materials? I want to paint the car similar to the old racing photos of my '65 nonaltered 426 car. Thanks to any of you that can help out.
The '65 AWB cars had roll up windows just like stockers, except they were Corning glass, about 1/2 as thick as stock. My suggestion would be lexan, with sedan doors so you have the additional support of a window frame. Getting a four door donor car will make the job easier(rear floor section), and Mark Goodman in Missouri has done a couple of these, and has jigs made to keep all the front end stuff lined up correctly (if you want to keep the Mopar suspension like the originals). We found, when we weighed the options (literally) that you didn't save enough wieght by going to a straight axle to make any appricable difference. Those AWB cars were much more finished when they were built, than the horrible '68 hemi Darts and Cudas. Bud Faubel actually DROVE his new AWB car from Detroit to Pensylvania when he picked it up new! I think you probably just want to buikld a race car that represents the later versions after they were stripped and butchered up by the end of the '65 season....
This may or may not be true; I was told the thin glass is available for at least some of those light weight Mopars.
Ok, that's what I get for trying to reread research that early in the morning. The armrests are deleted, but the cranks are there and useable. In my dart the armrests had to be removed to gain clearance for the cage. I want to use the straight axle, just because I like straight axle cars and I'm also planning on using a wedge engine instead of the Hemi.
I ordered his other books and they were supposed to be delivered Wednesday, but with the snow and ice we got here they haven't showed up yet.
65 awb cars had plastic side windows, windshield and rear window-never corning. 65 A990 cars had corning glass. You cannot put a sedan door on a hardtop without modified the car's doorjam because the sedan door is different. also sedan frame does not fit a hardtop without modifications since the top rear of the window frame doesn't clear a hdtp roof. Remember the technical report is a proposal to mgt and they used an unfinished car (no sheet metal) to attempt the process. Actual methods used an amblewagon and by some of the teams who built their own (some of the original 12 were team built) differ. I went with heavier frame rail 2x3 than they outlined in the report. Best thing to do is go look at one of the originals and spend some time looking at the details. my 2 cents.
OH yeah, side windows were fixed, no cranks on an awb, but I'm sure they're there on a racer converted A990 car.
The original idea was to put more weight on the rock hard slicks of the day,thus improving traction which would lower the ET. JMO,ROY.
I'll throw up a few pictures of modified hardtop doorjambs. I used a pair of convertible doorjambs/quarters to convert my 4-door sedan to a 2-door. I think convertible and hardtop doorjambs were the same; but I'm not 100% positive. Either way, this shows how I converted my doorjambs to accept the sedan doorpost and quarterwindow frame.
The Jalopy Journal
