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440 '48 Plymouth Coupe

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  • Bully
    replied
    Hi Nick.
    Could i ask you to take a measurement off the car for me?I have a bit of a concern that mine might not fit on my trailer when it arrives,width wise.Could you measure across the bottom of the body at its widest point?Across the firewall as you have the fromt panels off would be ideal.
    Ta.
    mark

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  • racingsnake440
    replied
    I was hoping to use some late 70s Mopar 'spool' type engine mounts as I thought it would make the frame brackets pretty easy to make and they're failsafe as even if the rubber breaks the bolt is still captured by the mount. I'd heard they're getting hard to find so when I saw engine mounts for a 400ci '76 Fury on Rockauto for about $8 I ordered them up rightaway.

    Unfortunately once they arrived it was clear they weren't going to fit and a quick check on my Dart's 360 proved them to be small block mounts. So, back to the drawing board. I noticed that a piece of 3x3 box section was a good fit between the mounting ears on the block so a few holes and a bit of work with the grinder and I had a couple of engine mount brackets. Next I cut some 4x3 box to make the frams brackets and it all bolts together with Mopar biscuit mounts as used on trucks and vans through the 70s and 80s.
    Attached Files

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  • racingsnake440
    replied
    Originally posted by hauen View Post
    Nice! It's practically a mid-engined car now. With all that setback you could build a pro tourer.
    Lol! No corner carving for this one, but hopefully the engine setback should help the traction.

    There is just about enough room to pull the valve covers - I would have cut the firewall recess higher to make more space but there was a nice swage line that made a good place to cut to. Anyway, with hydraulic lifters and non-adjustable rockers there shouldn't be too much need to get in there...

    Hi Mark, good to see you made it on here. It's going to be auto for the moment but I plan to leave room for a clutch pedal so I could always switch to a 4 speed later. As for the front shocks they're probably the worst designed part of the suspension. They mount on the upper and lower arms so they aren't very effective. You can just about see the top of the right one at the back of the upper arm in one of the earlier pictures. I believe you can get kits to relocate the upper mount to the frame.

    Milner, I was originally planning on running the fenderwell headers in the pic below but unfortunately I'd have had to cut away lots of the cowl and the front body mounts to make them fit. Plan b is a set of b-body headers which fit straight in - the steering is going to be a challenge though...
    Attached Files

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  • mrocketscience
    replied
    Originally posted by racingsnake440 View Post
    That '55 De Soto sounds cool - any pics?

    Back to the Plymouth, I've never really liked the rear wheel arches and with bigger tires going on it's time to cut them out! Before and after pics - what you can't see is that there's now a Dodge Polara 8.75" rear end hanging under there. Haven't welded spring perches yet as I need to set pinion angle etc.

    Will probably need to cut a bit more out to allow for suspension travel but at least I can roll it around for now.
    See, now that looks a lot better already!!

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  • Bully
    replied
    Hi Nick...thanks for the lead to this forum,car is looking good,this will be a nice place to watch your progress.
    You made a decision about going auto or manual with this one?
    Mark(viewing from the UK!)

    Quick question about the original front suspension...do the dampers go up through the centre of the spring?
    Last edited by Bully; August 10, 2012, 11:13 AM.

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  • milner351
    replied
    NICE!

    Fender well headers will be the order of the day with that engine placement! Sweet mother of set back!

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  • 1946Austin
    replied
    Looks good tucked in there, and unlike the SBC you don't have to worry about distributor clearance! Make sure you've got enough to remove the valve covers over the rocker assembly though!

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  • hauen
    replied
    Nice! It's practically a mid-engined car now. With all that setback you could build a pro tourer.

    Leave a comment:


  • racingsnake440
    replied
    Moving back round to the front it's time to see how the engine fits - not very well, it's a lot bigger than a SBC... Even after taking the steering out there's still no room. Nevermind, that's what grinders are for, a quick bit of cutting on the firewall and the engine sits in there nicely. Front suspension off next, ready to straight axle it...
    Attached Files

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  • cantvalve16
    replied
    That looks great and adds a grip of attitude to the car. Way to go! Applause!

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  • racingsnake440
    replied
    That '55 De Soto sounds cool - any pics?

    Back to the Plymouth, I've never really liked the rear wheel arches and with bigger tires going on it's time to cut them out! Before and after pics - what you can't see is that there's now a Dodge Polara 8.75" rear end hanging under there. Haven't welded spring perches yet as I need to set pinion angle etc.

    Will probably need to cut a bit more out to allow for suspension travel but at least I can roll it around for now.
    Attached Files

    Leave a comment:


  • Huskinhano
    replied
    Nice car! When I was little, like 4 years old, my folks had a 47 4 door brown Dodge. Still remember that car to this day. It was that car, my dad changing the oil and fixing flats on the inner tubes (remember them?) that got me started on cars. Next car when I was 5 was a 55 Desoto with the Firedome hemi that we had for a couple years. Dad went down hill from there, ordering a new 63 stripped down Rambler Classic 550.

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  • racingsnake440
    replied
    Thanks for the comments guys!

    1946Austin - I love your car! Your build thread encouraged me to get round to starting this one. My build plan is similar to how you built yours - keep it simple and get it driving, then go back through it to get teh cosmetics how I want them.

    mrocketscience - your buddy's Plymouth looks cool, any details on running gear etc?

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  • 1badmonkey
    replied
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    that looks like a kick ass neighborhood

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  • mrocketscience
    replied
    Oh Yeah! New project Thats going to look really cool, can't wait to see progress. A friend of mine just got one of these a couple of weeks ago.
    Attached Files

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