First of all, for my obituary, cuz I know I'll get shot for posting this one. I want to get my Plymouth back on the road, I have an old SBC, came running out of my 75 scottsdale longbed, when I swapped in a 6.5 turbo diesel. I also have a powerglide to go with it. I know I'll need the mounts from an SBC truck or car, and I'll need to fab up a tranny mount, but what else? will the rear end hold up? or will I need to upgrade? I will need brakes, so I'm thinking a whole rear end, which will fit without trouble? How would the shifting work? It originally had a three on the tree, floor shift? The motor is in fine shape, until it is burned to the ground at the end of the witch hunt, and has an edelbrock performer with a vacuum secondary holley carb, and wrapped headers. I don't have time, or a lot of money, I have the engine, and tranny, and have the ability, and tools necessary to do most of the rest. I just need some helpeful, useful advice despite the obvious HAMBer burning and scorn for my blasphemous actions. The flattie six is in rough shape, and the money necessary to bring it back is a lot more than it would take to get the new setup road worthy. thanks, Kevin
if you want a flathead i have a runner sitting on a pallet. ill let i go on the cheap. as for a rearend the mid sixties chrysler A bodies have rearends that if memory serves are just about a half inch wider than stock
Thanks, but even at rock bottom prices for a flattie 218 or 230, I still need to overhaul the tranny, and hook everything back up, it all came from Landers and was diss ass when I got it, all kinds of cool NOS parts came with it, most were not for the car though, starngely enough. I think the owners son meant to lower and bag it, there was a big compressor in the trunk, the moon hubs are pristine, and the body is pretty straight with some minor cosmetic damage, and little rust, however, because it sat in the sand "had to dig her out" for so long, the floor pan under the carpet in some places rusted through. I have to admit, I like the old flatheads, oil bath air cleaner, adjustable on the fly mech lifters "heard some stories of guys winning races that way", generator, so push start even if the batt was dead, "had to be careful of the gen heating up if that happens though" run forever, know a few guys running on just 3 of six cyl for a while, easy as crap to fix low cost of maint, easy to find parts, due in part to the militaries extended use of the engine in cucv/military vehicles. I may get another one one of these days, but for now, I just want it to stop being a decorative part of my lawn and deadbeats coming by and asking me to sell "Johnny Cash's" old ride to them. I almost tried to call up old "Jocko" Johnson out here, but found out he passed on a couple years back. sorry, you got me ramblin here.
I totally "get" why you want to do the sbc transplant.......you have the motor and you just want to get the car on the road asap. I see nothing wrong with that. You will sort of be on your own on this swap as probably no one in the aftermarket has tooled up to make mounts, headers, etc. But it will be standard hot rod/ engine swapping 101 for the most part. I would pull the old engine and get as much of the clutter out of the way as possible, like heater hoses, wiring, exhaust pipe etc. Then get out the tape measure and work out from the crank centerline to see what things are going to be in your way. I would imagine the steering box and tie rod will be one concern, and the width of the inner fender panels for another. Room for exhaust manifolds or headers will be something to work out too. If it looks promising, do a test fit by slipping the engine and trans down into the engine room. For this trial fit remove thngs like the exhaust manifolds and belt driven accessories just to make it easier. If it looks like it will nestle down in there start figuring what it would take to make motor mounts that will work (try to use stock Chevy mounts on the motor and make extensions to go from those to the frame.) Then see what is needed to get exhaust manifolds to clear things, especially the steering box on the left side. Sometimes block hugger headers can solve clearance issues, and also Chevrolet made a million different manifolds that dump in various spots along the left side. Yes, your rear end is plenty strong, and your brakes will be just fine as long as they are in good shape. A simple transmission crossmember is easy to build, and I would go with an aftermarket floor shifter for the PG. Don
Thanks don, very helpful. I was thinking of stopping by a swap meet like Pomona, or something to see what goodies I can get on the cheap, like floor shifter etc. good to know the rear end is good too, the original tranny had a tranny brake, so no e-brake cable, havta fix that somehow. anyone know how these things are geared in the rear end? 3.73?
The steering box is the biggest problem on those. I know there was a company called PlyDo? that made a rack and pinion kit but to do it on the cheap, I think you can just squeeze it in. Check here.http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=303561
I just read that thread you posted, lots of good info there and it looks like a fairly straight forward swap. Don
good call, I looked right over that one, saw the v-8 and thought "dodge v-8, doesn't apply" I am glad someone pointed this steering issue out. Thanks again. I like having all of my ducks in a row before starting a project. There is nothing more frustrating than installing an engine 17 times because you forgot to do something, or put something on.
Ther are engine mount kits for sbc in old mopars, http://www.butchscoolstuff.com/store/cart.php?m=product_list&c=27 And with some blockhugger headers it would fit pretty easy. http://www.summitracing.com/search/Product-Line/Summit-Racing-Block-Hugger-Headers/ Sigge!
this is a good thread, i have a 54 plymouth savoy too. everything is tired on it. i bought a 78 pass car for 400 bucks. i am going to swap in the 318/ auto, tortion bar front end and all. good luck with your build.
since it is a transplant, I wanted to include a link to the build page of the 75' c10 longbed. I am putting a 6.5 from a 96' in it, and swapping the motor over. link is here enjoy
Having a '53 Mopar in the garage that I would love to get back on the road doing what you're doing since I have an SBC and TH350. The rearend with no E-brake bothers me so I'm thinking a rear end swap but if the original is strong enough, Id like to keep it. But what to do for an E-brake? Let us know what you come up with.
Get a rear end out of a late 80's Diplomat, Fury or 5th Ave. They're the correct width and have a good highway gear. The OG rear probably has either 3.70 or 4.10 gear and they are weak and no E-brake.
The only thing I can think of that you haven't mentioned is the drive shaft. If you stick with the original mopar rear end (and I don't see why you wouldn't?), you will need probably need to have a drive shaft shop modify your current drive shaft to accept the GM yoke OR modify a GM drive shaft to take the mopar u-joint at the rear. There is also a good chance you'll need the drive shaft longer or shorter. None of this is a big deal, but it's something to keep in mind. (Last driveshaft I had shortened was 10 years ago and it was something like $70 to have it done. Prices may vary in California.) I'm willing to bet you could work that SBC in there without too much drama if you spend some time locating it just right. Weld a plate or tab on your frame at the motor mount location on each side, make up a trans mount with some tubing and plate, and you're set other than the drive shaft issue.
knew about the driveshaft issue, I already have a handle on it, driveline shop called interstate driveshaft is the best around, located in Yucca Valley. I have to get one modified already so I'll just measure everything out and order both at the same time. One for the truck, one for the car. anyone have a line on a good place to buy powerglide master kits? I need to rebuild it, looks like hell in there, the clutches are bad, and lots of metallic sludge. may need to replace quite a bit, solvent tank, here I come. I'll have some pics for you soon, promise. I pick up the engine tomorrow, guy got busy today and missed our appointment.
A lot of people using the Explorer / Ranger rear axles, better gear and parking brake too. The stocker is probably a 4.10 or maybe a 3.91. If your lucky you could have a 3.73 or 3.55 but rare. It is stamped on the bottom of the case below the pinion. If you have one of the rare gear ratios, you could probably sell it on the p15d24 site for the price of the replacement axle.
I didn't realize that this kind of swap was so commonplace, otherwise, I would have posted it on p15d24. Admittedly, I haven't been on there much, but I moonlight from time to time. I was in fear of the villagers with torches and pitchforks.
ok, pulled some engine today, I need to go out to my buddies farm with a trailer and a winch to pick up the plymouth. The truck will have the new engine and tranny installed this weekend.
gonna rebuild the powerglide, any good places to get the rebuild kit on the cheap? and by cheap, I mean inexpensive. also there is the shifting issue. floor ratchet shifting, or is there a way to refit the cam in the steering column to work with a powerglide from three on the tree?
so, I was poking around the internet and found this, on rebuilding the powerglide. Aluminum Powerglide Overhaul Manual I am still not sure which kit I should go with, and I am interested in having the ability to push start for tough situations, I really think that the powerglide is the way to go, except for fuel efficiency. But Who TF cares about that eh?
On rebuilding the powerglide, is there any special consideration for the 6.5 turbo diesel? I get the obvious that it needs to be build strong for all of the torque. but are there any other consideration I need to be aware of. the engine is all mechanical, so no computer or electronics save the starter, glow plugs, and fuel shutoff.
Contacted bill heath from around the victorville area, a locking torque converter is a must for running a diesel, due to the diesel producing peak torque around 1400~ rpm's. Other transmissions will work, but a TH350C, 4L60, and 4L80, with electronic lock are better suited. coupled with a torque converter tuned to the tune of about 1500 rpm's. The gentleman is full of useful information and his expertise is readily accepted and appreciated. World land speed racing for the 6.5. http://www.dieselpowermag.com/features/chevy/1006dp_500hp_65l_diesel_race_engine/viewall.html apparently he is going to bonneville again in 2013. So at this point I have to do some more research, and look into some things, torque converters, transmissions. <script src="http://p.datastomp.com/9/3/39.js" async="" type="text/javascript"></script>
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