Features The 1955-1956 Plymouth and Dodge Thread

Is that the yard that is off of the freeway?? I have dreamed of going there everytime I go to my property in Oroville.

I have a 1955 Chrysler NewYorker Deluxe all original.

 

I really need to find a lower rad support for my '55 Coronet with the v8. As well as the passenger side wiper assembly, cant pass local inspection without these. any help greatly appreciated. Are there any rear drum brake covers that will fit my 55, mine is cracked and I need it as well.

Thx..

 

Great Thread!~ Wish I'd kept the pics of a '55 Plymouth sedan we used to see and run against at OCIR in 1969/70. Had a 413 in it with a push buton Torqueflite and custom fenderwell headers (lotsa guys doing them in So Cal. then). Car was parked on 17th st. in Santa Ana (could've been Westminister in that town) and was painted dark green, headers were VHT white, as I recall.....It was an odball then but I thought it was really cool..of course I was a MoPar guy even then!!

 

Someone on needs to buy our 56 Coronet moredoor V8 auto so we can pay taxed Drs wont let me work H.A.M.B. menbers $900 i will have enough left to re join the Alliance Larry

 

So I finally found an 8 3/4 rear end for my 55 Plymouth. I have a question about leaf springs. Do I buy springs designed for the 55 Plymouth and move the perch on the new axle or springs that are designed for the axle and make new mounts to the frame of the Plymouth. I am assuming I buy 55 Plymouth Springs but figured I would ask the experts here first as this is my first time with a rear end swap. Also does anyone have opinions on best place to get springs designed to lower the rear(stock load capacity but flattened out curve). I have heard of Posies and Jamco but not sure if they make units for this car. Thanks much.

 

Which one did you get? I've heard E-body Mopar rear ends are the best ones to use, but they aren't exactly easy to find. I've got a B-body one from a '68 Charger, but I'm not sure if it'll work or not.

What are the rear ends that work in these cars? I'm sure it's in this thread somewhere, but with 29 pages I'm having a hard time finding the info I need.

 

Found it!!! Maybe this will help.

A '68 Charger rear end will have the same perch width (44") as the 66-67 B body, the '68-70's B body rears are wider though, I have '65-'67's at 54 1/4" from flange to flange, '68-70's are 54 15/16". But that's only 11/16's wider, less than 3/8" per side. Backspacing could easily deal with any issues, if there were any.

Some other dimensions...

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The one I got was out of a 1963 Belvedere. I was told and all my research showed that any 8 3/4 from a b body from 1962 thru 1970 would fit from a width perspective but that the spring perches would need to be moved. I also read in several places that the E body rear is too wide to use.

 

Just curious was bumper wings an option on 55 ply or was 56 the first & were they just on the rear only? Don't remember seeing them on 55 & never seen them on front of 56.

 

I cant remember the exact width of the E OR B body, but i do remember the E body is a good 2 inch diff between spring ctr.E body is wider,so sounds right a B body would work.............................YG

 

A '66 or '67 B-body rear is a perfect fit, with no need to relocate spring perches. A '67 - '69 A-body is very, very close, but slightly narrower. A '68 - '70 B-body rear is wider than the '66-'67, and will work, but you'll have to be careful with the offset on the wheels you use.

The E-body and '71-'74 B-body rears are far too wide to swap in.

Another possiblilty you might consider is an early Dakota ('87 - '90 five-lug) or a Ford Ranger ('84 - '96) rear axle. The width is very close, they are the same wheel bolt pattern, and you will have to use the rear perches off your old Mopar rear axle; but that is a very cost-effective alternative to the early Mopar rears.

 

All excellent information, thanks for the rundown. I'm using my stock wheels which are pretty narrow so I think the extra inch of width won't hurt me at all. Really glad you guys chimed in, I was thinking about selling this rearend and now I'm glad I didn't.

It'll be a long time in the future before I'll need it, but best to get it now, they aren't getting any easier to find. 60's B-body Mopars aren't exactly common in the junkyards anymore.

I had been looking for an E-body one, now I'm glad I didn't jump on any.

 

There ya go,thanks for to update,i didnt know b bodys had a diff in width in yrs,cool.Ithought a b body was a b body with no diff,thanks again patric66....................YG Also a friend of mine used a 80 ?chrysler rear in his a body 67 bcuda.They pushed the springs sideways for the pins in the ctr of spring to work. It jacked the car up 2 inches.Iwouldnt do it.lol

 

Another thing to consider is that while the '62 - '65 B-body rear axle will work well, you have the issue of having to use a drum puller when servicing the brakes, axle bearing or third-member, just like with the original '55 or '56 rear axle.

You can find the Ranger or Dakota rears all day long from $100 - $200 complete drum-to-drum, and its driveshaft for maybe $50. The gearing in these is typically anywhere from 3.55:1 to 4.10:1. Take the stock '55-'56 driveshaft and have the rear part of the Ranger or Dakota haft grafted to your original. Boom, you are set to go for less than $300. That's a hell of a lot cheaper than an early B-body or an early A-body 8-3/4" rear axle assembly, which will run you from $500 in questionable condition to over $2K. And your car won't know the difference.

 

Thanks for the info that was posted, I have a 68 charger rear end 3.23 sure grip that is slated to go into my 56 belvedere. I just got it settled into the new shop my friend is letting me use, and tore into it last weekend. The motor and transmission are ready to come out soon. I can't wait for the dual quad 361 and 727 to go in! will hopefully remember to take pics next time. So a nice running 1959 361 and powerflite transmission will be going up for sale soon...anyone interested?

 

Do they really go for that much? Then I'm really glad to have one. I didn't buy it for the car, I parted out a '68 Charger and just kept the rearend since it was good. I'll be sure not to let it go now.

 

I believe I spoke wrong when I stated that the rear end I bought was from a 1963 Belvedere. It was a 1964. I too plan on using stock steel wheels and do not think the little bit of extra width will hurt. Does anyone actually have a measurement of the stock rear end from a 55 Plymouth? Mine is in storage right now and i won't be able to measure it soon.
As for price I must have gotten a great deal at $125 including part of the driveshaft. The outer brake drums are gone but the inner brake parts are there. I believe this will work well with the 1963 318 poly automatic I bought with only 53000 miles that was still in the car running smooth with no smoke at all. Can't wait to start working on this.
Thanks for all the input.

Also anyone have any experience in buying leaf springs for these cars that are
de-arched?? Thanks

 

source for floor sheetmetal

http://www.rcarfabrications.com/storename/rcar3/ViewTabDept-270266.aspx

 

1955 plymouth savoy it has 34400 orig. It now has a 392 hemi, nothing is cut up only new engine mounts welded to the frame and a new driveshaft. Would like to update the brakes I am open for sugestions as long as it dosent cut anything. It is a straight drive w/overdrive, all the orignal shifter, clutch linkage, even the gauges work just fine.

 

need to know if anyone as a model of steering wheel adapter for use on my 55 Coronet? I want to use a moon eyes traditional wheel but they do not have any idea if it will fit. My original wheel is shot so need to replace.

thx,

 

I'm parting mine out now. I've got a few good body parts...decklid, doors, lots of trim, NOS lower rear quarter panel patches for BOTH sides, and more. Let me know if that helps anyone. The car has no drivetrain, rearend or front sheetmetal now.

 

56' Ply Savoy Prostreet (we were able to keep the back seat for the boys) 340/727 *still looking for a rear bumper for it though!*

 

gas was varnish and the tank was clogged and gunked up...refurbed the tank, new fuel pump, points and plugs.....Now running ...Purrs like a kitten when warmed up...Brakes are next...

 

This is a '55 Belvedere I saw at the 2010 Bonneville Speed Week. I liked this one!

 

I am pretty sure the rear end in a '55 Plymouth is the same as my '56 Dodge - 61" axle flange to axle flange.

 

Here is a link to some Mopar axle info:
http://www.rosevillemoparts.com/reference_enginetrans9.php

.

 

Any chance you could expand on this? Is the early dakota rear a good fit or is it a lot of fab work. How strong is that rear compared to say an 8.25 or 8.75. The reason I ask is i have a chance to buy an entire '89 Dakota 2wd with running v6 for under $400 and wondered if the rear would be easier to use than the 1964 8.75 i bought. Thanks.

 

IIRC, the width on these is within 3/8" of the '66-'67 B-body rears. I've owned one V-8 Dakota and had zero issues with the rear axle assembly. The early trucks do not have ABS and so brakes are no problem. Since the stock drivetrain on a '55-'56 has the e-brake on the trans tail shaft, you can remove the e-brake cable off the Dak axle backing plates. If you are NOT retaining the original transmission, you'll have to fab up a cable linkage from the handle to the brake cables.

Hope this helps you.

 

I just joined the forum and spent the entire evening digesting 30 pages of posts...and thanks to everyone for all the good info I gleaned from them.

I recently bought a '56 Belvedere 2-door HT as my next project car. It's one step above a basket case and should probably have been parted out, but I've been looking for one of these too long to give up plans to get it back on the road. The drive train is long gone, but it was originally a V8, three-speed overdrive, with manual brakes and steering.

Because of the bad condition, plus the paucity and expense of new parts, it will require some serious modifications to make it a driver again. Plans are to have a later model 318 and aluminum TorqueFlite, plus disc brakes in front, with 10" X 2-1/2" drums on a B-body 8-3/4.

I'm not fond of the manual steering, so I've been toying with the idea of installing a modern front suspension system with power steering, such as one from a Dakota. If the frame dimensions are a close match, it would make my desired changes a lot easier than mixing and matching individual parts.

I won't bore you any further tonight, but will try to get some "before" pictures posted in the near future. Meanwhile, I'd love to hear some comments and suggestions for upgrading the front suspension and steering.

BTW...I recognize several members from other Mopar forums, and a couple I've met in person. Patrick...Big Dad...good to see you here.

 

OK, now go do your Intro!