Technical Building a Gasser 51 Desoto coupe

Good Grief ! Good luck.

 

Measure, measure, measure, check alignment, measure, measure, check alignment and then measure again.

Making mounts is easier.

 

I'm having a friend who has done this to his 52 dodge Cornet and others do it.

 

This kid is the future of our hobbie. All us veterans ought to be proud to share our values with this fine young man who has come the greatest store of hot rod information on earth. Look what is being built in France Russia, that Cosmopolitan in the Netherlands. Spread our knowledge, he is a brave soul that has come here to the gospel of tradition, got beat up and still comes here for our wisdom, feel honored boys, feel honored

 

amen nochop

 

If he would make a plan and stick to one plan he will be fine.

 

Well I'm sticking with the 350 sbc and changing the front suspension. The next thing I thinking about what rear end I should use. I was thinking about a Ford 9 in but I don't know any suggestions?

 

any rear is going to be costly. first when you buy it and second when you rebuild it. gm 12 bolt, 9" ford, mopar 8-3/4. i read an article back in the mid '70's about how to build a bracket car. they said start at the rear and build it bullet proof. next build a killer trans and driveshaft. by this time you will probably be out of money so do what ever you can afford on the engine. with this plan you will never brake anything and you can race for some time cheap.

 

get an 8.8 out of an explorer - most are 3.73 posi with disc brakes.....strong enough for what you are doing and cheap...oh, and think twice about cutting the frame and welding on a new clip.....really easy to screw up and even if you dont, the welding needs to be up to snuff......

 

Ok what would you recommend for the front end then

 

AS I HAVE SAID MORE THAN ONCE . REBUILD WHAT YOU HAVE, UPDATE THE BRAKES AND BUILD THE REST OF THE CAR. Is that plain enough ? You can always put an axle under the car once you become more proficient in working on cars.

 

What? Having read the this thread so far, that's a TERRIBLE choice, and WAY above what seems to be your skill set. The DeSoto already has a decent IFS, with reasonably good drum brakes. Nose up attitude for a fake gasser is a couple of different springs away, and re-alignment, which you can do yourself much more easily than hacking up the frame and using the (too wide for your car) pickup suspension. Sounds like simply swapping in the 350 will be challenge enough for now. Not to piss in your cornflakes, but you should start simple.

 

You need to decide on a build style first. Just because you have a part on hand or it's cheap or free doesn't mean it belongs on your car. If this is your first build keep it as simple as possible, fix what needs to be fixed, change only what needs to be changed to make the vehicle function, keep in mind everyone has limitations of time, money, talent.
Having said all that, I recommend you forget about a straight axle and forget about fixing the original suspension. Clip the car with the front suspension from a '80's Dakota pickup, you get disk brakes and the rack means the steering box is no longer in the way of the starter or the driver's side header. If you have the skills, do it yourself, if not, pay to have it done.
Use a 9" rear if possible, as it is so easy to change gears if needed. Use S-10 or Baby Ranger rear springs as they are the shortest stock springs available. Best of luck to you.

 

Well I ended up with a using the I6 rather than the 350. I currently in the process of redoing the floor and fixing the body mounts.

 

another thing to remember is, all the work you do to it that is not what you really want, you will have to do it all over again when you decide you don't like what you first did. do it right the first time no matter how long or how much it cost. you will be happier with the results.

 

Read the words Desoto gasser and I cringe. I read Austin's responses and see that he needs help but there are too many conflicting suggestions. Carry a tape measure with you. Measure everything; the Desoto, the possible donor cars, EVERYTHING. From every conceivable reference point. When I was about your age, I attempted to graft a '96 Chevelle front end to my car and ended up with my wheelbase being 2" too long. Cut it off and onto plan B. Also you need to figure out how high to splice the donor and recipient in order to get it to sit right. Nose up, or nose down? Nose up, and you have to make a believable gasser, Nose down and it's a cruiser. In any case you have to take in account the weight of the engine and transmission because that will have a great bearing as to the final ride height. There are no definite reference points to measure from either; everything curves in 3 planes. This is where you might listen to those who suggest working with the stock suspension- it's already there and genuine engineers planned it all out. Still haven't decided on an engine? A 440 weighs a whole lot more than a Chevy 6. The rear end is a lot easier. Measure and find one that fits and weld on some spring perches. My friend who has a '47 Dodge D-24 which is about the same size as your Desoto used a Dakota clip and it fit well, but since this is your first rodeo, I would suggest working with the original stuff until your fabrication skills improve.

 

So far I put a straight axle under the original frame and currently building the roll cage for the car.

 

i told you to just do it the way you want from the first. if it didn't come out right, do it over till it is. all these naysayers either haven't done this or think nobody else can do it. how did they learn if not just trying. are you people trying to tell him he can't learn?

 

Is 10 gauge steel to thick use for the floor?

 

I never go past 18ga.

 

Yes.
18 ga sheet steel is sufficient if you roll some beads in it. 16 ga is good if no beads. Anything thicker is too much.

 

And trying to form even the slightest bend is impossible without a brake or it will look like crap.


Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.