Anyone know if the front sheetmetal from a 51 or 52 Dodge or Plymouth will fit on a 48 thru 50? I was told the Dodge was longer than the Plymouth, not sure if that's true. Anyone know? I'm checking out a 49 Plymouth that's missing the front sheetmetal, and I kinda like the 51-52 front styling better. Just seeing if it'll bolt up without much hassle before I go shopping for the parts
My post yesterday failed, I guess. Dodge tin won't fit a Plymouth, longer wheelbase all ahead of the firewall. The newer Pilgrim front should work, though.
In my research on the subject, the 51-52 front will not bolt onto the 49-50 car. But I have seen a 49-50 front end put on a 51-52 body. When asking the owner of that car, he stated that in order to make it work, he had to trim metal away from the hood, at the firewall. Which would seem to indicate that you would have to add metal to the hood of a 51-52 to make it fit the 49-50...
Interesting write up on the differences between the years here: http://www.oldplymouths.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2 I had forgotten about the difference in the body line that carries from the front fenders into the doors...
Ok, so I'll take Dodge out of the equation. So, with maybe a bit of cutting and finagling, the 51-52 front clip will fit on the 49 if I'm getting your info correct?
First off, are we talking about a first series '49 or a second series '49? It'll have to be a second series car. Then, you'll have to rework the back of the hood since the 49 cowl is different than the 51-52. It's do-able, but will take a bit of work there. Plus, not sure if the area where the front fenders fade into the doors will match up right. Wouldn't it be easier just to work a 51-52 tooth grille and front bumper onto the stock '49 front clip? Might be another option.
I'm surprised too, since the Plymouth wheelbase is 15" longer (118 in vs 102 in) The Plymouth is heavier too, 200 or 300 pounds. The Plymouth has way more room inside. More passenger room, more trunk room, more room around the engine. More room everywhere. I don't know how they make new cars so heavy, yet have so little room inside.
It's not just the grille and bumper, I think the entire clip looks sleeker. I don't know how to describe it. How can I tell if it's first-series or second-series?
The first series was a carryover of the 46-48 body style the second series is like the 50, they are completely different bodies.
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