Projects 41 plymouth coupe 392 hemi build thread

Going to start welding the engine mounts on monday. For those who missed it, here's another look at my 392 being fired up for the first time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bynIPFTZK9Q

 

yes!!

 

Wow!Just Wow!!

 

Great car great build, I always check to see how its coming alone when I get on the hamb.

 

Got up early to start on the engine mounts this morning. Slanted them back slightly due to the fact that the engine will be slanted at 2.5 degrees down. Had to modify the driver side mount to clear the suspension cross member. Like I suspected, I'll need another joint for the steering arm, as I won't be able to make one straight line past the headers to the steering column. Going to start on the gearbox mount now. More pics soon.

 

Fabricated a mount to which the rubber gearbox mount bolts onto. Going to weld this to a chassis cross member. I've decided to cut this cross member (will be done later when the body is off) , add some end plates with nuts and bolts, so I can remove the gearbox without having to pull the engine, if needed. Happy with the progress today.

 

Hi, Mine is going in a 1952 Plymouth wagon with Morrison chassis. I can't imagine doing this kind of fitting without the plastic motor. Glad to see I am not the only one to break off the mounting ears. I'm done with the plastic motor, probably put in on here for sale. Good luck, should be a fun car. Jan in Ojai, CA

 

Thanks for the compliment.

 

Just mounted the original radiator support. A new steel bar will be welded underneath the frame to make it all rigid and have somewhere to mount the support. Will do this tomorrow. Mounted all front fenders and hood to ensure the postion of the radiator support is correct. Here's a look at the car for the first time all bolted up in primer. Definitely motivating.

 

Started on the radiator support bracket. Using a piece of thick walled steel tube, sliced the ends and welded it up.Drilled a couple of holes so the radiator support can be welded on. Added 1 cm steel on both sides in order to lower it and be able to slide in a piece of rubber against vibration. Spot welded it on the bottom of the frame. Tried to make some pics from underneath, hope its visible that whats been done. Final welding will be done when the body is off.

 

love this build tread i look forward to the updates. keep up the great work

 

Thank you for the compliments. Glad you like it.

 

Great job, Eric! Go man, go!

 

Thanks Rock! Going to be too busy to work on the car until after the weekend. Should be back in the garage on monday to sort out things like steering column and fuel tank position. I still need to sort out some metal work below the rear window and I've decided its probably easier to replace/fabricate a new floorpan than trying to patch up all the missing sheet metal.(there's a lot of them!). I'm afraid it would look too messy otherwise.

 

Great car, and true artistry showing in your work. Joel

 

Thanks for the compliment Joel. Going to bolt the gearbox and radiator support to the chassis tomorrow. I'll try and push the car outside in the morning for some more pics. If it will stop raining that is! Will post the pics soon.

 

Love this car!

 

Got up early this morning to bolt the transmission and radiator support. Placed some big blocks of wood between the c notch and the rear end and tied it down. (otherwise I wouldn't make the incline clearance wise out of the garage) Finally got my baby on her 4 wheels outside! Did come to the conclusion however that I'll need 2 inch drop spindles in the front. The car is at ride height in de pics, with the front completely bottomed out. The rear can come down another 4-5 inches, so thats fine. I think being able to drop the front another 2 inches would finish it off. Took a few steps back and just looked at the car for several minutes. Enjoyment.This certainly makes it all worthwhile!

 

Sweet man, sweet!

 

Here's a couple more pics...

 

Here are the last pics taken today.

 

The outer swoosh of the front fender is what makes the 40-1's tough to lower, since the front crossmember and the center of the grille are so much lower.
Have you considered dropping the fender corners?
Crude paint of what I've saying...
I'd shoot for the center of the hubcap aligning with the top strake on the back of the fender front and rear. One of those things that just seems to please the eye....

 

Man, 1937-1942/43 2 doors anything I think are my favorite. I've never seen a Plymouth before this post. Wow, I'm glad cause the Zephyrs are too much money, and these other 2 doors, fill my needs fine. One day....

Great Looking car man, I can't wait for the finish product..

 

I see what you're getting at. I'm planning to at least get a better flow with the front fenders and the grill. All the loose panels will be aligned properly and I'll weld all the seems/gaps for a cleaner look.Then I'll play around with adding metal for a better flow. There are just too many separate panels around the grill area in my opinion, creating a "messy" nose. Thanks for the input Rod!

 

Thanks HRod 50. I certainly like the Zepyrs too, but I'm a Hemi guy. So for me the choice was easy, it had to be Mopar. I feel this car suits my needs, a custom with a lot of power and still have a traditional feel to it. Not going with a flashy multi colour paint job, just a subtle dark grey as I want it to be a bit of a sleeper. Attention to detail is the key I believe and this will be the difference between a good and a great car. As a first timer I'm still learning, but am a firm believer of doing things right the first time. Glad you like the car.

 

I had the same promblem with a 41 chevy front clip. By the time i had everything where i wanted it to sit the chin piece of the nose was the too low, so last thing i had to do was modify the arc in the chin piece for reasonable road clearance. Just thought I'd toss that your way.

 

Thanks milwscruffy for the toss. At the moment ground clearance is not an issue, not even with the lower part of the grill. The whole nose, when aligned properly, will go up by approximately 1 inch. I need to lower the car in the front, and hope to achieve this with 2 inch drop spindles. Thanks for the input/thoughts. Eric

 

Thanks elvi411. Hope to get the rest of the metal work done in the coming weeks. This will include a new floor, smooth the dash and finish up the metal work below the rear window.

 

Thanks ajmopar, sweet it is. I feel that I'm approaching the half way mark on this build. Can't stand it when people see the car and say "you still have a lot of work to do". I just think, dude just look at everything that has been accomplished so far. Luckily these are the people that will never build a car.

 

Been reading this thread with great interest. I have a 47 coupe that I intend to start next year, plans are chop,channel and a 318 mopar. Just collecting the relevant parts at the moment.
I absolutely love your car, and its improving daily.
As already stated I was/still am totally hooked on the Lincoln Zephyr coupes, but money just won't allow at the moment. The plymouth came along cheap and is perfect for my plans. I also think it will turn into a better car than the Zephyr because I will have no worries cutting it up and turning it into a cool custom and then driving the hell out of it. Its going to be a daily. If I had spent big bucks on a Zephyr then I don't think I'd want to mess with it to much, and if it was real nice then couldn't justify driving it daily and risk it getting damaged.

Cool thread, keep up the good work its really coming on well.

Paul.