41 Plymouth SB Mopar Engine Swap

Looks good - maybe slide some heat shrink tubing up from below to further cushion wire to metal rubbing.


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That's the plan!

 

Ingenious. Cool.

 

I finished up the dash and under fitments. Got the wipers, cowl vent operator, AC, all switches, etc. mounted and filled all unnecessary holes. Also, I fabricated a cover to hide the extra u-joint and shaft on my steering column.

I am going to wood grain the dash and garnish moldings, so I think I will do the glove compartment cover, as well. It looks better in my mind.

I'm now working on the means to route the wiring into the door for the electric locks and speakers.

 

Great work on the dash Rock, nice job!

 

Thanks, Eric. Little by little.

 

Well, I put in a hard two days this weekend but got lazy and didn't take any pictures. This was a job that I have been dreading for a while, so it feels good to get it behind me.

Since day one, the trunk lid did not fit well. It was too wide for the body opening at the bottom. I was going to reshape the lid as I surmised that it had probably been flattened by people pushing on the lid to jump start it many times over the years. That is probably true.

Before I started , I decided to enlist a second expert opinion. My buddy Bill Hampton looked at it and I told him my plan. He was quick to say, "Bad plan." You start screwing with that lid and you will likely be looking for a replacement. He added that I should reshape the opening to accept the lid, as is. He also helped me do a little tweaking of the lid with a 2 x 4 to get the lip height right in the forward portion.

After getting it as best we could, I started working on it this weekend. I had to take 3/8" out of the DS rear quarter to gain the space I needed. I also had to cut my new floor and jack the corners out to meet the lid.

After welding that all up, I had to deal with the lower lip. I had to cut it loose, space it out and weld it up. It's all done and fits now. I wish I had done this first instead of last. It would have been easier.

All major body work is done. I still have some dent and ding removal to do and I still need to fit the window regulators and a couple of electrical components. Also have to fit my new repro running boards. I'm getting close to getting it ready for paint.

 

Sounds like less-than-fun, but you'll be glad now that it's behind you. Glad you're getting closer!


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After driving my 54 Chevy 2600 miles on vacation, I decided that I want to change the front suspension of my car to a more modern design. I have ordered a Fatman stub for it and hope to get it this week. The car will still be a Restomod, I just wanted to make sure it drove and handled well after I am finished.

Mods, please move this to "Traditionally Styled" forum. I think that will be where it fits since it will have AC and MII type front suspension.

 

I have thought about getting that setup for my truck (if I decide to keep it). Let me know when you are going to install it...I would like to help and see how hard it is to install.

Hope you have been well.

 

Hey Rock I have the fatman stub and ac on my coupe you will not regret it take my word.
41plym

 

Mods, Is it ok, or not, to show the installation of my front stub?

 

I'd like to see it. PM a mod maybe? Moving this thread from Trad to Trad Styled should be ok - I think.

 

I for one am very much interested in seeing how this comes out.

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Pm'd Ryan, we will see where it goes from here.

 

Cool Rock, have you ordered it yet? That thing seemed really expensive when I called Fatman. I am looking forward to pictures of the progress.

 

Took delivery today. It is expensive but I want a good road car when I'm done. Stay tuned for pictures this weekend.

 

Got my stub from Fatman on Friday and had already prepped the car. I set everything up level. Dropped all my plumb bob marks and got all the measurements written down on the tape.

I marked my cut marks, rechecked my measurements ad nauseum and took the Sawzall and whacked off the OE front stub. Then, I plug welded some tabs in just like the instructions said. and tacked everything up.

You really cannot get distracted when you are doing this. You have to keep checking and rechecking to make sure things are right......or at least I did. It's always easier the second time.

 

More pictures of initial tack up.

Because the frame cross section is larger than the stub, I had to make a couple of little "wedges to blend in the bottom of the stub. Those are not installed yet but are pictured.

 

The radiator support was not in the right position, so I cut it out with the sawzall and moved it back 3/4". That turned out to be unnecessary as we will see but may have been my fault with giving them the measurements.

After getting everything tacked up, I put the front clip on. I did not like the way the wheels were positioned forward in the fender well. After a lot of studying and procrastinating, I decided to take it all apart and move the axle center line back about 7/8" (That's why moving the radiator support turned out to be wrong. Luckily, I only tacked it in.)

I removed everything, cut about 7/8" off of the frame and have re installed the stub. I have not put the sheet metal back on. That will happen next weekend........after I move the radiator support back out where it needs to be?

This was a lot of work but I think I will be glad that I moved the axle centerline back. It was only about 1/4" ahead of where the OE axle centerline was, so I guess that's how these cars looked. It wasn't how I wanted mine to look, so I took creative license. Hopefully, I didn't create any unforeseen engineering problems by doing so.

The last 3 pictures are of the last install. I went ahead and zipped it up since everything seemed to be on the money. You can see that there are some indentations where the OE steering box was installed. I'll cover those up and reinforce them and the butt weld next weekend.

 

Wow, you have been busy Rock! It took me a long time to measure and measure before I did the first weld. I also had a hard time trying to figure out the exact correct position for the radiator support.......I've now made it so that I can still make some final adjustments when I need to during the final assembly. Looking good there Rock!

 

Thanks, Eric. I just couldn't stand the way it looked when installed "by the book". This sob better be right when I put it back together. I could not convince myself to cut the frame any more than I did because of those damned indentations.

 

looks great so far,,any up dates ?? im highly considering this conversion,,,

 

Ok. Here is the "before" and "after pictures. I shortened the frame 1" to accomplish this. The remainder of the pics are of the welding and reinforcing of the frame.

 

Here is the lesson learned. Always decide if you like your axle centerline BEFORE you disassemble the front end. If not, decide how much further back from the original axle centerline you would like to move it. Then, mark BOTH on the floor. You will still have to tack up the front end with the "prescribed cut" but then you will know exactly how far back to move it, if you don't like it.

 

Got the engine mounts in. Engine is still 3/4" offset to the PS to make room for the starter.

Next up will be figuring out the steering and re-doing the steering column.

Thanks to hotroddon for the tip on the Patriot headers. They look a lot nicer than the 340 exhaust manifolds and dump right where they need to.

 

A nice clean look Rock, something you can already be proud of!

 

Thanks, Eric. I like this a lot better, too.

 

Wow Rock, that looks great. I'd be proud of it too.

Nice looking welds, do you do it for a living? I am the design engineer at a steel tank fabricating company and you make the welders here look like a bunch of amateurs.

I am going to be tearing down the rest of that frame and taking the junk down to the scrap yard. I need to get it blasted to see how much is left I wish I were in your position right now!

 

Nope, just a hobbyist. Thanks!

Btw, I used a Sawzall to cut that front clip off, so it's in great shape to get grafted on. I will get in touch with you later this week or next. I'm really busy at work right now.