would a early 1951-53 331 Hemi be a good fit in a 1955 Plymouth? seems to be a few out there for sale with the transmissions. Any advice would be a great help.
Buried in the Forums @ www.forwardlook.net (probably in the hot rodding sub section)is a Thread on putting a '55 331 in a 55 or 56 Plym. The 51-3 are long tails & may be more difficult to fit in, plus problems on tranny selection. Have you checked out the Hemi Tech Index? Is your car set up for center or rear sump? If rear that's not a problem. If center sump you can put a center sump 392 pan on a '55, but not the 51-4 with out custom work on the pan.
Plan on some floor tunnel mods and a manual trans (until I finish a 'super secret' project...). Really cannot recommend the oem trans. Other minor items will include things like engine and trans mounts, driveshaft, etc. You can keep the 6v. .
In my opinion, the early long bell hemi, especially with the original semi automatic attached, is not a suitable candidate for your '55 Plymouth. Even with a suitable manual trans conversion, the long bell block will give you grief in the firewall/floor area, as mentioned in a prior post. Can it be made to work? Yes. Will it be worth the substantial extra effort? probably not. Far better choice would a Dodge, DeSoto or '54 or later Chrysler engine. Many more transmission options with those and less floor problems, especially with the Dodge. Ray
We put a 354 in a friends 55 Dodge used a turbo 350 and a ford 8" rear from a 67 Mustang. the tranny tunnel had to be reworked alot, fabbed motor mounts, new rear end since the e-brake is on the old tranny. you will ned to do alot of fabricating. Looked cool when you open the hood , but wasn't a real performer! Good Luck KK
thanks for the advice, I have been looking at "Hemi Tech Index" man that is a awesome tech thread there. I dont want to cut up the floor and firewall if i can avoid it. Think i`ll keep looking at other engines.
the previous owner ditch the 6cyl. and replace it with a ford 289 and C4 automatic. great combo for a future 66 mustang fastback im going to build. but id like to get mopar engine under this hood.
I have a buddy with a 5.7 hemi for sale along with the trans adapter, 727 tranny, special oil pan and pump. Let me know if you're interested. Bill
memory is alittle faded now, but in 1960 i had a 56 plymouth.there was an old black 57 dodge d501(didnt fully realize what it was then)that had suffered a dash fire and was totalled. bought the engine and 3 speed trans, made and welded motor mount pads on the crossmember,solved the shifter problem with a corvette shifter mounted on a homemade plate bolted to the trans. used the originial driveshaft with the e/brake drum, and used flex pipe for the exhaust from the exhaust manifolds. couldnt keep low gear in the car because of engine torque, but won money everytime when i could get a race 20 on for a mile, 50 on for a mile and 50 on for 3 miles.once ran a 57 chev.327,2X4s that was supposed to have a 3 speed(he Lied)4 speed car, 20 on for a quarter and still beat him. wouldnt pay me,didnt argue the point as he had too many friends..lol
In '56 a Plym could have been ordered with a 270 poly head version of the 270 Dodge Hemi, shouldn't have been a difficult install.
The '57 Dodge D501....note "501"..not D500....was a limited production factory drag race package that came with a 354 cube "Dodge" (aka Chrysler) Hemi, 3 speed manual trans, Chrysler brakes and who knows what else. They were all 2 door post cars. Only ever saw one in person, at a Mopar meet, and it was Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick's car originally, before he switched to Pontiacs. Very rare and desirable Mopar............. After having posted my much earlier post, I got to thinking and remembered a friend of mine in Columbus, Ohio who put a '54 Chrysler 331 in his '55 Dodge 2 door post a few years ago. The install went very easily, no drama, no floor mods.....fit like it was made for it. Ray
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