Projects 40 Plymouth Sedan build

Well I finally found a little time to start a build thread...this first post will be a bit lengthier to catch you up.
I picked up this 1940 Plymouth out of 20+ year hibernation back in November. The great thing about the car is that it is very complete.
I pulled a frozen 1955 259 Plymouth poly out of a local barn and started tearing it down. My original intention was to build the poly, ditch the flat 6 asap, and get that poly dropped in along with a different trans and rear. I got the poly down to the block in a weekend and got it up on an engine stand.
Now looking at the bare poly block sitting next to the still complete car I started to think about what it is really going to take to get this poly built and in the car...a lot of time and money for sure. And looking again at the complete car...I have a complete car! So my mindset on the project shifted; let's just get this baby on the road.
I hooked up a battery charger to the 30 year old 6V for a day and behold; the head lights, tail lights dash lights, and interior lights all turned on. I pressed the starter button for shits and bwramp, the car (in gear) jolted forward. I'm grinning ear to ear at this point.
This past week I changed the oil. I was pleasantly surprised at the condition of the old oil, black but no sludge, it flowed out. I pulled the plugs, laid a rag over the holes, and turned the motor over by hand. She turns nice! I disconnected the fuel line from the pump and got back in the driver's seat. Hit the starter button and she spun like a top. Last night I put new plugs in, ran some fuel line hose from the pump to a gas can, and primed the carb. Getting back behind the wheel, time for the moment of truth... Hit the starter button and...that 30 year old battery decided that it had given me enough excitement. She just barely turned. So, tonight I'm picking up a new 6V and am going to give it another go.
New tentative plans: Get the flat 6 running. Brakes and suspension come next. Up front, disc brake conversion, drop spindles from Fat Man and cut 1 coil from the springs for a target 4-5" drop. In back, check out the drums, probably 2-3" drop blocks. Powder coat the original steelies gloss black with new tall and skinny black walls, a little taller in back. The previous owner told me that it was parked due to tranny issues so that will have to be addressed, and then, DRIVE IT!
I figure once the car is on the road I can enjoy driving it while picking away at body work and slowly building the poly. I even picked up a vintage offy 3X2 intake for the poly with original Stromberg 97s and linkage set up from a fellow hamber. The car will undoubtedly end up gloss black with all the original trim shinned up. No major body mods are planned.
So that's where I'm at. And now that I have a thread going I'll keep you posted.
build photos are here: http://jalopyjournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=21537

 

Nice car. I agree, it appears amazingly complete. I like the plan you have for it and I will be waiting for progress on it.

 

Cool car man and I'm glad your going to keep the original engine in her for a while. Is it a powerflite trans?

 

Nice looking plymouth....enjoy it...look forward to the follow-up.

 

the 259 will have a powerflyte trans. The car s/be a manual three speed - possibly with overdrive as it was an option

 

Unfortunately the early Poly engines, just like the EarlyHemi engines, are a bit expensive to rebuild. Neat pieces, lots of eye candy even in stock appearance, but pricey.

If you keep the inliner you might opt for an O/D, it will make it a lot nicer driver if freeways are part of the plan.
For O/D trans you can go in several directions; the original R-10 (sometimes incredibly expensive...), the t-5, an A-833 or newer Dakota type 5-speeds.

Send a PM if you want details on the last two options.

For flat six 'speed' parts be sure to talk with George Asche, 814-354-2621 and for disc brakes talk with our very own olddaddy (rustyhope.com)

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Far as I can tell it's got the original 3 on the tree, not sure if it's got overdrive. ???
I do believe that the trans that came off the Poly is a powerflite.
73RR - I'll have you in mind when trans time comes. I was indeed thinking about a T5, possibly using it with both the flat 6 and the poly. We'll see what kind of issues the original trans has and go from there. Overdrive would be nice for sure.

 

You might be pleasently surprised should you chose to keep the powerflite behind the poly, especialy in the relatively light Plymouth body. They are uncomplicated and reliable. low range of drive is good to about 65. Conventional wisdom (in fact a trick that the factory employed later) is to mout the engine offset by 1 1/2 to 2 inches to the passenger side. The reason being that if you leave the stock steering box in the car, there is interference with the drivers side exhaust manifold. Something to consider as you continue your build. Keeping it all mopar is something a lot of us with old mopars appreciate. Good luck.

 

looking forward to this build... 'im a huge fan of the plymouths; one of my favorite body styles...

 

Still no joy starting the flat 6. A couple things may be holding me up... I put a new battery in last night but the starter still sounded weak to me, turning really slow and cutting out intermediately. I cleaned all of the grounds and connections. A rebuilt (in 1987) starter that came with the car went in...it sounds exactly like the one that came out, seems to be struggling to turn. The motor did turn easy with the plugs out.
Also, it only has spark on front 2 plugs. The wires don't look great so that is on the list. The cap and rotor look really good and I cleaned up the contacts a bit. She seems to be getting fuel...still haven't heard a pop. Any thoughts for me?

 

Make sure you have a good ground and run something like size "0" battery cables. That may help your starter turn faster.

For the lack of spark make sure the wires inside your dist cap are in good shape. Look close, a lot of times they look good but aren't.

 

Try it with a 12V battery, won't hurt. Are you following Wolfhound's Poly build?

 

Thats gonna be cool!!

 

Hey Bill, that looks real cool. Like the black sedan and nothing sounds like a flat six through straight pipes. Looks like you are on your way. Look forward to seeing this one in person soon. Good luck with getting her to fire.

 

It's great to see you've started a build thread, going to following this one closely. Good luck and keep the progress reports coming!

 

Cool!


Sent from my iPhone4 using TJJ

iPOLYFRIED 35

 

I appreciate the encouragement guys!
Anyone have suggestions on where to buy plug wires for my flat 6? I called my local Napa and Autozone...no luck. One guy has original style wires on Ebay for $46 shipped, fair deal? I would prefer to install the new wires tonight as oppose to a week or two from now so a local supplier would be better. I've heard maybe a farm and tractor set will work???

 

12v is your friend! sweet 40!

 

Love the 40 tudor. My Pops still owns a 40 Chrysler tudor he's had since 1968...

 

sweeeeet!!!!

 

Tractor supply has pretty goo solid core universal wite for tractors, 6 cyl set is about 18 bucks. 90 degrees ends on the plugs cut to fit add terminals and caps to the ohter end. by the way, make sure that the coil wire is firmly planted in the dist. cap.

Also thee is a lead in the dist that goes from the coil terminal to the points, it can wear the insulation and ground against the dist body.

Mine was worn, I wrapped some silk thread around it then covered the thread with some rubber cement. Still flexible but no more inadvirtent grounding.


As mentioned make sure the cables are nice and thick and that the gounds are good.

 

Good luck! I embarked on a similar journey a year ago. I finally got tired of fixing whatever broke next and stripped it down to the nub. I'm now building it like I knew I should have from the start.

Be really careful with the wiring. That old cloth covered wire just falls apart. It will also burn your car down, if it shorts out.

Cool Car!

 

I've got a 315 or 325 poly motor here out of a 56 dodge that appears to be a good motor. Turns easy and has some tune up parts new in the box. Let me know if you want it.

 

polys are sick- my 57 315

 

Rhode Island wiring service sells new cloth wire and makes new harnesses. They also sell terminal ends and connectors. Just in case you didn't know.

 

Any industrial shop that deals with farm equipment, forklifts or stationary power plants will have wire sets. Remember, these engines were used in industrial settings well into the 80's.

VintagePowerWagons, in Iowa, also has plenty of flat engine parts.

.

 

Great looking project. Is that a Chief in your avatar? I have a '48. I have an old MOPAR too

 

Thanks Rock. I've been following your "engine swap" turned frame off. Love your car btw! You are doing some very impressive work and have come a long way, keep inspiring me! I have spent a lot of time debating whether to go the full distance with this car. I can see myself making that decision the same way that you did, but the plan for now is to keep her in as few pieces as possible.

I wish I could say that it is a Chief but it's actually a 2000 Kawasaki Vulcan Drifter, kustomized by me. 1500cc fuel injected, liquid cooled, shaft drive. Not very hamb friendly I know, but I wanted a dependable bike I could ride everyday, and ride across the country once or twice a year without a worry. Since I finished putting it together a couple years ago the only thing I've ever had to turn a wrench on is the oil drain plug. The Plymouth is going to be another story all together

 

I'm still working on starting the flatty. I picked up a new plug wire set from Tractor Supply, only $18 for a universal 6 cyl set. Also cleaned up the points. There is definitely spark at the plugs but the starter is still turning REALLY slow. Removed the belt...the water pump and generator spin free so we can eliminate that as a potential hold up. I did get a couple little pops out of her last night which was encouraging, but I just don't think that starter is getting the juice it needs.
The next thing I'll try is on this advice:

I originally thought I had some massive battery cables, but upon closer inspection have found that the cables are enclosed in heater hose effectively doubling the size that they appear. So I'm going to see if I can find some bigger cables for a reasonable price...any advice on that? I've got a friend who owns a welding shop, maybe he's got some extra cable around...

 

Why not go back to the tractor shop?
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