What bodies would work with a 1965 Chrysler chassis?

I've been talking to a guy about a 1965 Chrysler he has for sale. It has a running 383 and is very cheap. The body is shot but the engine is strong so I figured it might be a nicely powered drivetrain and ch***is for my first build.

However, I've read that different bodies fit different track widths. I want to use a 35-45 coupe body of some sort. Will these bodies fit the 65 Chrysler ch***is track width ok? What are my options? I hate to let this motor get away if I can use it.

Rick

 

Offhand I think you will have some problems seeing as how I am fairly positive the chrysler is Unibody and has no frame. I think
if I am wrong I am sure someone here will correct me

 

Just checked, Chrysler went to unibody in 1960 and 1961, NO frames

 

Hey,

The "C" body Chrysler's of that era were of ''modified'' construction i.e. sub framed engine cradle and supension from the cowl panel foward, unitized construction from the firewall aft.

 

Doh. Well, poop.

 

pull the motor and ****** and drop them in what you want....

 

Yeah, was just hoping to knock out the drivetrain and ch***is in one fell swoop. I'll settle for the drivetrain. Thanks for the info!

 

If this is your first major build,dropping a body on some other frame may just get you frustrated and into some different hobby when you sell the mess!

Best to keep body with proper frame,and modify or adapt the engine rear and suspension to that if you want

 

My thought was that I would get ps and pb along with hp by starting with a later model ch***is.

 

It's very hard to get all the body sheet metal to line up when dropping on another ch***is.

In my opinion, you don't need ps on an early 30's car as the engine is placed farther back than a modern car ,and there is not as much weight on the front wheels.

The rods I've owned (5 of them, 27,29,32,34,36) all had manual steering,and the one that did have ps steered like **** til I changed to a manual rack

 

Little known fact the four door nash rambler station wagon is a drop in on that ch***is.

 

Just a thought, but if you don't know something so basic as that a '65 Chrysler is a unibody car, you might think about leaving the building to someone else, either buy a finished car or buy a late '50s car that has no need of ch***is upgrades.


I can't understand the desire to destroy this Chrysler rather than use a later engine and trans combo particularly when you don't even have a car to put it in.

Because let's face it, that's what you'd be doing, destroying the Chrysler, which may well be a perfectly enjoyable car in it's own right.


Everybody gets all gung-ho for these frame swaps and a good percentage of the time you see these half-baked destroyed cars for sale where the builder ran into a problem and couldn't finish them. The best one around here was a '39-ish Buick they'd put on a 70s or 80s GM ch***is - the cowl sat way up in the air because of course it didn't fit over where the frame bulged out for the cowl of whatever car it had come on. By the time someone cuts that up and makes it work, they could just as easily have changed the suspensions out on the stock frame - and with a Buick that's not nearly as easy as a lot of other cars. The bottom line - a frame swap is not as easy as you think and it's not the easy way out to building a car.

And I'll add I'm even responsible for one - but all I destroyed was a wrecked '79 Electra and a '51 Chevy coupe that had sat in a junkyard rotting for 30 or 40 years. And when I did it it was 1991, before the internet's information at your fingertips and before the huge aftermarket support for 49-54 Chevy cars, existed.

 

I'm not a fan of dropping a body onto a late model ch***is either. I'd rather get some 2X4 tube and weld up my own frame before doing that. Too many fugly cars running around on S10 frames. Look like ****. Let's see a picture of this too far gone chrysler. Ken

 

65 Chrysler will have a big block B or RB motor, 361-383-413 depending on model. Engine and trans will more or less bolt into any full size Plymouth Dodge or Chrysler 1958 - up. The only one it won't fit is the A body Valiant, Dart and Barracuda.

Rear axle will fit C body.

 

I'm going to ignore your advice about leaving the building to someone else Rustynewyorker. This site exists because you all didn't leave it to someone else. Like I said, I'm here to learn and I just Iearned that those years are unibody. I appreciate the sentiment concerning saving old cars. If they hadn't sheared the top off (including windshield and frame) in an attempt to make a convertible I just might consider fixing the other body problems.

 

Welding back on a windsheild frame and roof would be 1/10 the work of a frame swap. While doing this windshield frame re attachment you could easily get creative and chop it for not much extra work.

 

You're kinda right about not leaving stuff to others and learning to do stuff yourself...but you are planning something that only 5% of fully experienced builders could pull off successfully...and then only with certain body/frame combinations.
First you learn...then you get ambitious!

Thumbs up for being a go-getter though!

 

In addition to the pain of a frame swap, I'd like to point out some common sense issues with using a frame donor. I never see anyone point it out but unless your frame donor is a newly restored ch***is or a brand new off the lot car, it will need hundreds and probably thousands of dollars worth of work to be road ready anyways. Tie rods, brakes, wheel clinders, rear end, axle seals, pitman arms, the list goes on. After rebuilding the steering system and braking system, painting the ch***is, and all the fab work involved you could have just upgraded your own frame, or possibly even bought a rolling ch***is from someone like el Polacko.


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

i just find it interesting that most folks have a body style in mind,or in hand, then go find a ch***is to fit, rather that starting with a ch***is and looking for a body. I'm not saying it's wrong, just interesting.

 

All good points. I appreciate the input.

 

Close, but not completely correct- Chrysler Corp. did build A Bodies with big blocks. Between 1967 & 1969 Plymouth Barracudas and Dodge Darts both were offered with 383 C.I.D. engines. My 1967 Barracuda Formula S had the 383 RB with Torqueflight and 8 3/4 rear end from the factory. This build used the cradle from a C body to support the 383, but even with factory disc brakes it wouldn/t stop well

Using the powerplant and underpinnings from an C body Mopar ain't as looney as it may sound, but you won't rebuild anything Mopar for the cost of a ''shev-o-lay''!

 

This is the Hamb and you did ask for opinions so they are going to be wide and varied but one thing for sure sticking a body on a frame from a boat like a Chrysler is not going to work although the engine and transmission will definitely work.

Read and learn,,use your cars existing frame and modify it to suite your purpose. HRP

 

Mopar made a special 383 with a dent in the side of the block to clear the steering box, not to mention a very odd looking exhaust manifold. The engine out of a 65 Chrysler will not fit an A body car without a lot of work, while it will fit the medium and large cars.

I was trying to offer a suggestion to a beginner. If he could find a decent 58 up Chrysler Plymouth or Dodge that needed an engine transplant (not an A body) he could build himself a decent car for very little money, providing he can buy the 65 for s**** price and the powertrain is good.

Or he could just weld the roof back on.

 

If it's an Imperial, it does in fact have a full length frame under it...they went unibody in 67 IIRC...Chrysler was unibody in 60.

 

This is correct.

 

Old Detroit cars with body on frame construction each used there own specific dimensions for everything. Finding 2 cars where MOST of these dimensions is close is challenging. Your original question about track width is just one issue, the ch***is very large. Long ago I shortened a '61 biscayne ch***is and mounted a Reo truck cab on it. It was a mountain of work, and pretty ugly. I'll side with the others, find a new home for the good 383.

 

While anything will work given enough cutting/stretching and effort, have You considered the source. You have a car damn near 20 feet long, and 6 feet wide. a liitle bigger than the 35-45 Ford-or anything else for that matter. People ran off the road when My Newport came around a corner. Like putting the batteries in the Energizer Bunny backwards, it kept coming and coming and coming. On the plus side,no one cut me off on the freeway, and I didnt need a pickup. Wasn't much I couldn't fit in that trunk. If you must, consider something like a S-10 or Ford Ranger Ch***is, with Closer Dimensions.

 

Just to clarify this without veering too wildly off course, there never was a "special 383 with dent in the block". A "B or RB" swap into an A body car is common, everyday stuff in the Mopar world. There was a special exhaust manifold for the 383 Darts that had a "dent" into it's side, but today you can call ******, or Macini Racing, or any other number of header manufacturers and order a pair of big block "A" body headers... Just had to clear that up.

 

Oh yeah, that's right!

 

In addition to the nash rambler, I have first hand knowledge a 43 or 44 ford coupe will fit near perfect atop a 65 chrysler. Should be lots of those in the local wrecking yard, right?