Been reading this forum for a little while on other cars I have done minimal work on. But I finally have my dream car to build and I want to do most of it myself (friends helping of course) so my new to me 90 yr old 34 5window Plymouth. Its in rough shape, but definitely salvageable. Few things upfront. 1. I'm not restoring this. I like the Bonneville salt racer look and that is where I plan to take it on it's 100th Bday! 2. Roof will be chopped, not sure how much but thinking 3-4in in front and not sure on the back 3. I'm ok with Ford parts on this built due to durability and mostly ease of acquiring. Not really looking to put chevy things on it. Also ok with other cars for things like tail lights etc. It's about what looks appealing and not the brand. Though, when I can, I will use Plymouth or MOPAR items. Upfront condition of the car: 1. No floors or trunk pan. It has some floors temp fit in it now. I may use those or go with something else. 2. Lots of rust damage at the base of the car. I have some patch panels already for in front of the door and rockers. Will probably get a panel for the lower rear deck and not have the fuel filler hole. 3. Frame was not original to the car, but is a Plymouth frame. Not sure yet on if I want to go with a new frame (depends on how I plan to proceed) 4. FR and RR axles are chevy (not sure what) but they are 100% going. Most likely putting in a 9in Ford rear end, not sure on the front yet 5. The trunk lid, hood, side with louvers and push outs are in pristine shape. Just minor surface rust that will wipe off 6. I've never seen a grill as straight at the one I have. 1 small bend in 1 slat that I should be able to straighten. Otherwise it just needs cleaned up. 7. Came with a well used (dirty) 331 Hemi. Most likely going to send that to the local MOPAR drag engine shop here local to have it put back in working order if it can be Here's the trip home
So where I need some suggestions upfront before I start tearing into this build: I planning no power brakes, most likely won't do power steering either, I can go either way. looking at a 5spd manual Tremic transmission for the Hemi. I'm not doing any fenders either. The front end what to do? I know there's a tribe of folks that want it more original and then there's me that want original, but safer/better. I could go IFS with a mustang II front end. That typically gives my coil overs but I haven't really seen any of these cars with those when there are no fenders so I'm not sure. Do I just put in an aftermarket front end that is based off the 34 style with 2in drop spindles? How's the ride on that? Would really like someone who has pictures and explanations to help me figure this out.
Looks like a great project. I'm sure you know the roof has already been chopped. Are you talking 3 inches more? And yes, the Mopar engine would be more money than a Ford and way more than a Chevy, but if you have it, I would try to keep it. As for the front end, on this site the rustang II front ends are Off Topic (OT) and are frowned upon. I'm not sure how well they would fit your frame rails if you did attempt them, but there are a number of coupes running dropped straight axles that handle high speeds just fine. I don't think you're planning on road racing it, so I would go the more traditional route which not only has more support around here, but it would add value to the classic look you are going for. Just my 2 cents.
are you sure it's chopped? I don't see it...but then the pictures are really small and it's hard to see much of anything. Maybe OP could figure out how to get the right size images posted? around 1000-1500 pixels on the long side would be helpful. Crop the full resolution image, to get rid of the background. The hemi would be neat, but expect to pay a fortune to have a shop work on it.
Are you sure the top has already been chopped? I looked at photos of stock '34s and it looks unmolested to me, although mopars from that era look chopped from the factory
Cool project! Consider a 30's Mopar wavy tube front axle with disc brakes. Don't go too wild with the chop. they have a nice roof line from the factory. I have a 34 PE 2 door sedan. Chopped 2 "
Here is my '33 Plymouth with 331 Hemi and LaSalle trans and wavy tube '38 Dodge front axle. My build thread is at the bottom. Dave
I figured it was frowned upon....probably why I never see any pictures with it on it anywhere. I'm ok going the traditional route on the front end. Just need more research as it currently isn't the stock front end now.
Agreed, I didn't see any cut or weld marks on the inside of the pillars. The black stuff on the pillar was tape holding the door shut. Either way though, my plan was to chop it shorter. I don't like the tall look. There will be plenty here that want me to leave it original or do a mild chop, but not my style. Not budging on that one.
Wavy tube seems the direction I'd like based off the build threads I looked at, any info on aftermarket for that or do I need to find originals, I'd like disc brakes and/or the drum disc brake hidden thing so that works for me since I've seen this setup
I can resize/crop the pictures, didn't realize the site was forcing them small. They were taken with my cell phone so they weren't small/low pixel to begin with.
'38 Dodge axle has 11" drums. So does the Mopar 8.75 rear axle I used. All new parts in them, stops great. I tried to keep everthing '65 or earlier, or same as. Dave
Welcome from East Tennessee. Not bad for a first post and introduction. May I suggest that you read the rules thoroughly. It will save you from having posts deleted by the Moderators. I agree with the wavy front axle idea. It would not only look good, but you'd probably be the only kid on the block in your area who has one. Another suggestion, why don't you post your general area in your profile? I don't mean your street address, but it might make it easier for you to get some help and suggestions from other HAMBers who might be close to you.
I read through the rules....seem pretty straight forward. I'm trying to keep the car more period correct which is why I asked about front suspension, didn't think folks were doing the mustang II but wanted to see other options.....My 50 Chrysler has a GenIII hemi (fuel injected) and I did some 3D printed parts of hard to find things....but I don't have that in the traditional area. I'm out in Dayton Ohio area, profile updated. Thanks
Don't look chopped based on the patina and location of the top door hinge to bottom door hinge. I also have the inner window moldings and they fit the openings, they also don't appear to have been modified
Parts I figured would have been bad but were not. I'm missing my picture of the grill, I'll get that later today.
Nice project, lots of work ahead of you. I would try to keep the Hemi if it's savable, especially if you are going fenderless-- pretty tough to top that visual appeal. A small chop wouldn't hurt, but that rear quarter window is already rather petite, and the entire greenhouse well proportioned, that IMHO you could leave it as is and enjoy the headroom.
Lots of good, hard to find in that shape, metal there. Do it justice and put it back together and enjoy it
How about a picture of the current front axle? Someone here can probably identify what year it may be. The frame looks to still have the parallel leaf springs, but they look like they are a long way in front of the body. That might just be the angle of the picture, or maybe the frame is from a 4 door sedan or something. Brace that body before you cut anything else to repair it, if the doors still open and close well. Attempting to replace the rusty rockers with out bracing it can mess the body up fast. Chopping a car is a matter of personal choice. The only thing I would say is to make sure you will fit into the car when its chopped. If you are 6' tall, that could be bad. I know more then a few that just had to chop a roof and then found out they couldn't get into, or out of the car. I love those 34 Plymouth coupes! I'm 6'1" tall, old, and fat. I don't fit in them at all (I have a friend that has one), but man, I sure love the way those cars look.
I can get that in a couple days on the pic. It's some Chevy 6bolt drum brake. The studs are almost non existent threads due to rust. Leaf springs weren't much better. Previous owner stated he only threw it on there to make it a roller. I'll measure the frame to see if it's from a 2 door since it wasn't original to this car. I can tell you the leaf springs connect at the very front of the frame though. As of now I'm headed in the direction of 32/33 axle with single leaf with disk brakes or the dodge wavy if I can find one. For any body work I intend to square it up and brace it before I cut out rot to add new. Thanks for checking to be sure though. I'm sorting parts, checking prices on things I know I need and creating my attack plan. I know I need to make a little progress each month. And I'm short and skinny-ish. I have bucket seats I'm putting in my girlfriends 36 Ford 3 window coupe for her I plan to throw in this to see about roof/window/windshield height before I chop as well
Keep at it, slow progress is better then no progress. A solid plan, and a step by step process makes it easier to have the parts on hand when you are ready for them. There are enough guys here that have been through the process we know where some hidden pitfalls might be, so that we may help you avoid, plan around, or get out of them.
Thanks....I plan to start on some little things in a couple weeks. Today I got the car into a storage area that I can do front end and some interior work. Once it's a roller again I'm going to bring it to it's final build location. Still winter out here in Ohio and I didn't have room quite yet for it.
Go here and study everything, including the installation tech sheets. Better to study this in advance. https://www.peteandjakes.com/
Sounds like an awesome project. I would never go independent front end with fenderless. A good option would be a ford style dropped axle. Looks neat, readily available and easy to make low. The stock design parallel leaves would look ok. But hard to get low. You could go something more unique which is always cool and use a torsion bar front suspension. They were quite popular in the early 70s. Sometimes seen on t-buckets and such.
If you are building your car for Bonneville, I would suggest becoming a member and getting the rulebook and figuring out a class that you wanna run in before you start building your car.
That is correct. If I fit a class when I'm done who knows....but I'm not building the car specifically for it. It's going to be a street rod to drive around in for the joy of driving.
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