Projects !952 Plymouth Savoy Wagon

Does anyone own a plymouth wagon that has done a engine swap in one of these ?. If so would like info on brand of engine that fits the best. Any pictures out there on 50 - 53 wagons customs etc. Thanks

 

Small block chevrolet is gonna be the easiest. Coupled with a modern overdrive automatic, that's going to be the simplest and easiest to work on. Small block Mopar would keep things in the family, but they're not as friendly for hotrod applications as far as parts and aftermarket support goes. There's nothing unique about the wagon when it comes to an engine swap, so any info you find on 1948-54 Plymouth will be pretty much the same as what you'd need to tackle yours.

 

I went the whole route -- engine, trans., driveshaft and rear end. Good to get rid of that silly drum brake on the trans, too.

 

Here is one thread about this:

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/49-plymouth.1313203/#post-15185606

 

I’ve got 3 51-52 wagons for sale if you’re interested……..and need more parts……all with ***les.

 

Here is a piece I wrote about the swap;

 

Way back there in 95-96 I acquired a 51 Plymouth 2 dr station wagon from an elderly lady in central Texas. Body was cherry,even had factory tinted gl***. I took one look at the factory frt suspension and determined it was junk. I bought an early Nova clip that unbolted from the Nova. Don’t remember the year but the steering box(on the Nova clip) was fairly close to the firewall(later model clips had the actual steering box farther forward(almost even) where the radiator mount was next to the box. Found a 4.1L Buick v6(252 cubic inches—believe 80 model full size luxury Buick)with a factory aluminum intake and Quadrajet carb and Turbo 350 auto trans. Ordered a set of headers and “drove the wheels off the car” for 5-6 years; then a Saturn dealer from s.Texas paid gr8 money for my daily driver and it was gone forever; and the v6 Buick and early Nova clip with disc brakes made the car so much better than the flathead straight 6 and the stock Plymouth ****py suspension.

 

Why 'anyone' would swap an engine in another car and 'that' engine had its distributor stuck in the very back of the engine.....up against the firewall(most probably) making timing/ignition adjustments a REAL pain.. Unless you're a thin/fit/YOUNG guy able to scramble up on TOP of a hot engine...Jus say'in.....
I bet a 5.0 SBF with the T-5 ****** would make PPPLENTY of power for that old wagon !!
Maybe a MII front suspension so headers would be less of a problem...
Worth a look........
6sally6

 

Thanks guy good info on these. More in always welcome.

 

Measure your engine bay and go for it

 

Thanks for the info looking for pictures of engine swaps or front clip changes its hard to find aftermarket parts for these old plymouths .

 

The old front end rode great.
Doesn’t need aftermarket parts

 

Having actually done a lot of frame clips, and complete frame replacements, I can tell you that without a doubt, if there is any hope of saving the original stuff, keep it original!

That Plymouth stuff was the top of the line stuff when that wagon was new. A brake upgrade, a front sway bar upgrade, and shock upper mount relocation, will make it handle as good as nearly anything you can swap under it. Replacement parts are still available, and its not hard to drop the car a couple inches. Frame swaps or frame clips are not something that is done quickly, nor are they easy.

Power steering can now be done with electric power steering under the dash. Unless the original stuff is rotted away or completely missing, rebuild it and keep it, and do the upgrades mentioned.

 

@gene-koning knows these cars, he has good advice. @gimpyshotrods also has done lots of low-cost upgrades to existing suspension (sway bar, brakes, lowering etc.) somewhere on here he provided some great details.

Regarding engine choice, has anyone done a small-block Ford in one of these era Mopars? Seems like a good choice, narrow for a v8, distributor up front, starter on the p***enger side, lots of shorty headers to choose from.

 

SBF ford is narrower. Thicker timing cover and front sump.So they are often longer overall
The rear sump ford pan helps.
The oil filter location for ford can cause issues. If so, either relocate it or clock it

the distributor issue with gm is mostly HEI.
The smaller points or Mallory units help a lot

both gm and ford have a lot of manifolds to chose from.

the worst part for mopars seem to be the starter location. Not insurmountable

all engines are lumps of metal with holes in em. Brand is irrelevant

 

My ‘51, with the relocated shock mounts and bigger sway bar drives great. Steers easy with the 318. A Camaro clip is over 3” wider track and makes for an awkward wheel placement to me. The engine size info is a good start, but doesn’t show things like oil filter location.
No doubt, builds were done with different front clips, it just seems like a lot of work to replace an easily updated original. And not really in synch with this site.