Okay, the best way to go is to start with a solid plan, and build from the frame up. Decide on this frame or a replacement. Make sure it's square and can handle the torque expected. It may need boxing and will need a trans cross member for the different transmission. A Ford 9" is a solid choice, or go with a Mopar 8.75. Connect it to the current leafs (easy, but again needs to handle added power) or go with a different rear suspension (to your plan). Front suspension is best done with either current leafs (hard to lower, as mentioned) or swap over to an early Ford style transverse leaf (again, to your plan) like the Pete and Jake's mentioned. The type of steering should be thought out and part of the plan, it will be part of the front end design. Once this is a roller, the engine and trans should be setup and located. This will affect steering location, clutch pedal and linkage and exhaust choice and location. All of this should be juggled to get everything happy and easy to work on, plus look good. The body should be a part of this too, so clearance is right. I doubt the hemi is going to fit with the hood sides. IIRC, they are about 29 inches wide, you can measure it then mock up the grille and hood and check inside clearance. Price out the engine rebuild, trans, clutch components and bellhousing/adapter. It isn't going to be a budget build. Price out the other parts you are considering. It often affects the build plan and will help you spot good deals during the build. Be realistic on how much time and money you can put toward this, and what skills you can do yourself or pay others to do. I like to search for builds of similar cars and collect a ton of pictures. This helps to visualize what I want and don't like. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=+1934+Plymouth+5window+Coupe+PE&form=RCIR&first=1 https://duckduckgo.com/?q=1934+Plymouth+5+window+Coupe+PE&t=h_&iax=images&ia=images https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=4ee34b91b601045e&q=1934+Plymouth+5+window+Coupe+PE Here's a chopped fenderless one.
perfect write up and that's how I did my 50 Chrysler (I just didn't do enough of the work myself). On that build I caught a few areas that I feel like had to be done twice or tweaked after because we got ahead of ourselves. I've noted those for this build to look forward more to the end product....I hate doing things twice, and I really hate paying for it twice!!!. That picture is a very good example of the chop I'm looking for.....maybe just a touch more in the front but overall that's it, so thanks for that! I did just find out I have access to 2 free 8inch Ford rears with drums as an option. (maverick and falcon I believe). One was cut down and should be closer to my wheel base already. I'm going to measure them and and talk to the engine shop to see what HP I can expect with the budget I give them (and going over) to see if it works out....I can't see me going over 320HP in my budget range with the motor, so an 8in may work at the free price point. The front end is going to be the 32 or the Dodge wavy at this point. It really comes down to what I can get in a reasonable time frame when I'm ready. Like you said, I need to measure the frame for square, brace it up and do the trans mount and motor mounts. Sounds like fun!
So far I've only done a bunch of research for parts I need. Found a few more parts in the boxes that came with the car. I went to FB and joined the 34 Plymouth thread and might have a lead on a wavy front end. I just spent a week in Cayman Brac scuba diving.....it was a rush to just get the car before that trip.
Updates are slow right now. I'm focused on getting my 50 Chrysler back home. It's currently having the engine wired for it's first start up. I did find a set of 34 Plymouth headlights though. They should be here in a few days and they are in pretty good shape. Still looking for a wavy front axle within driving Distance of Dayton Ohio. Seems they are all 6+hrs away. So I've been researching 4in dropped axle kits as a back up plan. I know this route would be easier for lowering the front end and part availability. I like the unique look of the old Dodge part.
Keep your eyes peeled, and it never hurts to get the word out that you are looking, too. For those wondering what they look like (like me) here's a topic discussing these wavy axles: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/mopar-wavy-tube-axles-whos-got-em-let-me-see-em.425775/
I have a '34 short wheelbase coupe (green car in my avatar). Your car is un-chopped. I can't see what your current front end looks like (a front/top photo would help), but you indicated it may not be original to the car. There are 2-different wheelbases for the '34 Plymouths. Mine is a short wheelbase that originally had a straight axle (that was long gone when I bought the car in 1974). There was also a stock independent front suspension produced that used a different frame, not easily converted to a straight axle. Your hood looks to be for the longer Deluxe model (it has the side vents), which I believe was on the longer wheelbase cars. You may wish to mock up the hood & grille to the body to get an idea of the proper wheelbase for the car when you are considering a frame layout. I also believe that all of the "wavy" '33/'34 Plymouth/Dodge front axles were mounted with parallel front leaf springs, which will look a little ungainly (my opinion) if you are going fenderless. The use of a P&J/Super Bell front end with 4-bars or hairpins would probably give you more flexibility in your build. You have a lot of the hard to find sheet metal pieces, which is fortunate 'cuz everything was hard enough to find in 1974, but is next to impossible now. It looks like you have a good start. The hardest part (for me) would be to build out the bottom of the body that has rusted out. Everything else is pure "hot rod fabrication".
Yes, but there are 2 different wheel bases and also a "straight" axle and an independent front suspension available for the 1934 Plymouths.
The picture of the hood indicates that you have a PE model which had a 114" wheelbase. might be a good idea to mockup the hood and grill then decide where you want the front wheels to land. Might flow a little better with them pushed forward from stock.
Thanks guys. Currently there is a Chevy front end of some type bolted on. This weekend I'm removing it. It has dual leaf right now. That is also going since I'm going fenderless My plan was to measure frame distance and current axle. At my local hot rod shop, they have a drop axle setup there on a frame. I planned to measure all that and compare to ensure all the dimensions are right for what I plan For the wavy, I read Dave's thread on here where that was converted that to single leaf. That would be my goal. Also, the previous owner mentioned the current frame wasn't the original frame. He wasn't the original original owner either. There's a chance my hood and body are not the same car as well....but hey, it's only metal...it can be modified. I planned to start mocking things up as well. Yes, there's a lot of body work to do. Scares me, but also looking forward to it
Don't know how I managed to miss this one! Heres mine for reference its chopped 1" I have seen em get ugly fast over chopped as they came with a raked, chopped look from the factory. Mine is of course a 33 dodge but same lines. Mine had a 54 olds rear jammed under it back in the day. Theyre cool cars though! Parallel leafs and the stock chassis leaves you oodles of room for a hemi or whatever. They can be done fenderless and look good. Just require some thought and effort. I personally am gonna run bobbed rears and cycle style fronts. Dodge had juice brakes stock but if you know how to set up a front end, the king pin bosses arent far off and you COULD ream em to ford specs and run ford spindles. You need to check all your angles because there are differences but ford spindles make life with the wavy tube have a lot more options! Subscribed!
Think about chopping the windshield about an inch less than the A-pillars. It requires a seam all the way across the top of the windshield. This will minimize the bulky looking sheet metal above the windshield. I will see if I can find a picture.
I can say, most of mine is in better shape than that! I got that going for me. I ran out to the storage area for mine and took some pictures and measurements. Looks like my current wheel base is 104in The outer distance of the frame rails at the middle of the cross member is 28in and the inner (to edge for frame rail, as if I boxed it) was 23. Looks like I'm missing some door striker plates as well.
I can say, most of mine is in better shape than that! I got that going for me. I ran out to the storage area for mine and took some pictures and measurements. Looks like my current wheel base is 104in The outer distance of the frame rails at the middle of the cross member is 28in and the inner (to edge for frame rail, as if I boxed it) was 23. Looks like I'm missing some door striker plates as well.
Frame and axle appear to be early Chevy. Not a bad choice, my avatar '31 Plymouth coupe is on a '33 Chevy frame. Fits really well...
You can tell by the frame horns if you look at mine. Yes, mine needs quite a bit of metal work! It was only 900 bucks though and I am up for it!
That front crossmember is not a Plymouth. BTW, the bodies are all the same. The difference in the wheelbases is all in the hood length and frame. When you are searching for parts, don't rule out the Dodges - they are the same except for the fender style, which won't make any difference if you are running a highboy. The 104 inch wheelbase sounds too short. I think mine (a short wheelbase car) is 112, but I will have to measure it tomorrow to confirm. Do you have any other measurements you would like me to check?
This is the original frame that is in my 34. The photo is an earlier iteration of the car (1975) when I was installing a Corvair front end. The frame is upside down. The original Plymouth front crossmember can be seen below the Corvair unit, along with all of the original boxed (with stamped holes) front section of the frame. There is also a MASSIVE original rear frame crossmember that sits above the gas tank (at the bottom of the photo). All of the rest of the original crossmembers, including the X-member, have been cut out and new crossmembers fabricated.
Looking online looks like Chevy was 107in wheelbase in 33-34. So that makes sense as my measurements may have been off a touch. In my defense, I was wearing a white pullover I didn't want to get dirty. I just did some quick pics and measurements Guess I need to throw the hood on to see where to put the front axle if I keep this frame. Looks like it'll move forward 5-10 inches as the Plymouth was 114.
Also this picture shows the rear end might not be far enough back either. Could be the angle I took the pic
For 1934, Plymouth and Dodge bodies were slightly different. The Dodge has an extended cowl whereas the Plymouth is basically the same cowl as the 33s. 33, Plymouth and Dodge have the same bodies.
Got the front end off. Was trying to mock up up the radiator and hood but a tree fell and I had to chainsaw that up and stuff. You can see the temp brace in front of original. That gives me enough for the hood length and 114in WB. So that's all closer to a Plymouth Oh....and FREE. Come pick up this Chevy front end!
I feel like I'm missing something here. When putting the hood on I used the one radiator support rod I had. It was 35in. It was too short. Seems like I need something closer to 40, unless I'm doing something wrong Does anyone know the correct length for the PE? Source for them?. I only found 30inch with the nut on one side and flat bar on the other.
'33 and '34 Plymouth cowls are different. The '33 has a narrow cowl vent, while the '34 cowl vent is larger, by roughly 1". I measured my '34 PG coupe wheelbase (it is a straight axle car with the short hood without the hood side doors), and it is 108". BTW, the '33 PC (straight axle) car was 107". As you noted, the PE with the independent front end and long hood was 114" for 1934 (112" in 1933). The Dodges were all bigger, ranging from 111-1/4" (early '33 DP models), 115" for late '33 DP's, to 122" for the DO model, all with the wavy tube axles. I also measured the outside width of my frame at the front crossmember and it is 28". There is too much stuff in the way to get other decent measurements, but the front crossmember appears to be centered over the wheelbase centerline. It grossly looks like this: |>--------<|, with the legs of the "V"s being u-channel going to the inside of the side frame rails.
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