I'm a little disappointed that out of 120,000+ threads theres less than 125 that even mention the words 1950 plymouth, but i guess that means its different, so heres another for the books. I've got a barn special, 1950 plymouth deluxe, 4 door, with the original Flathead 6, 218ci motor. Its got some surface rust and the paint doesn't quite have the same shine it used to ;] but the cars been inside a garage since the 60's so the floor panels and rockers etc. are alot better than some other cars i've seen (you can click on the pic's for a bigger view) brand new white walls As of right now i have the body off, sitting on blocks and I pulled everything off the frame and dropped it off at a local powdercoat shop last thursday, As for the flattie upgrades, I'm running a pair of double barrels on an Offy intake, a split Fenton Style Exhaust , An HEI with mallory wires and coil, and a 70's mopar Alternator. The carbs, headers and dizzy were all from Tom Langdon. I'm still looking for some finned or Edmund's style air filters and a beehive oil filter, if anybody has any recommendations... Intake and Exhaust Dizzy and Ign. Eventually I would really like to get a finned high comp. head and a bigger cam, and I regret not stroking it to 230 cubes. Someday...
...As for the chassis, I have a front end rebuild kit from Kanter that is going on as soon as i get it back from powdercoat. It's hopefully gunna run four wheel disk, I bought a kit from Charlie Akers at rustyhope.com to convert the drums to run Mopar Volair rotors and '82 Camaro calipers and I've got a ford rear end off an old cougar that I want to put disks on. I'd really like to run a T5 with OD but I'm still not quite sure how to go about that. I read Don Coatney's T5 thread but I'm not quite as confident with a welder so I think the truck clutch housing and an adapter plate might be the route for me. ANY help or advice I can get on this one is welcome. Keep you guys posted as this progresses........
Cool find! You know you really have to have a love for these homely old plymouths...LOL. Here's a pic of my highschool ride. It's patiently waiting to be put back on the road....
Its fun cuz you dont see too many, I went to hot august nights last year, and out of the 5000 cars in reno that week i only saw one '50 plymouth,
straightsnotshapes, you might want to try PARR Automotive, they have the Moon beehive for $69. Link is below. http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb...~S24A043YPA68942017136f~Z5Z5Z5~Z5Z5Z50000042b
another option is to buy the adapter plate and custom flywheel from Wilcap- not cheap at $750, but it swaps you to the chevy bellhousing, so you don't have to modify yours. I copied Don's tech for my street car ('50 Dodge Wayfarer)and plan on using Wilcap's for my HA/GR. I'd like to do a third swap, using a Toyota W series five speed, and eventually run that in the Wayfarer. The Toyota box is much more plentiful around here, and WAY stronger. The downside is, at least to start, I'd have to get the Wilcap setup, then buy a kit intended to put a Chevy engine in a Toyota pickup. Not particularly cost effective, unless you count busted T5's into the equation!!!
Try searching for any posts from Blueskies, or PM him. He's a nice guy, and his car is very cool. He's also got a good website. You could also check out the forum at www.p15-d24.com which is nothing but flattie sixers. The change to 230 inches gives you 20hp and more torque. Milling your head 60-70thou is also the most cost effective mod you can make to these motors, and will work as good as any finned head, just wont be quite as pretty. Blueskies has an Edgy finned head which looks really sharp on his motor. I'd suggest doing your own adapter, ala Don C's setup. You can do all the fab, tack it up, and get a weld shop to do any welding. Much cheaper than the Wilcap option. The 230 in my '55 is currently stock until I get the car street legal and sorted, then it will come out and I'll be going down a similar road to you. I'm looking at the Toyota Supra 5speed, not traditional, but then neither is a T5!
I talked with blueskies in the past, while I was rebuilding the motor and he was very helpful. I've checked out his website and i thought about going with an automatic OD like him, maybe buy one from Goerge Asche, but I decided I'd rather have a manual. I'm building this on a 16 year old kid's budget, so the Wilcap option is a little out of reach. Whatever I end up doing I want to try to stick to parts I can pick up at a junk yard and work i can do myself. I know a guy who can weld whatever i cant do myself, so I mite just copy Don's build. Would it be possible to do that with a toyota tranny instead of a borg warner T5, and what other changes would i have to make as far as clutch, input shaft, etc...?
Plymouth's are rare, I agree. I usually see 3 or less at the shows. Add one more to that total when my '50 gets on the road. So to repeat what George up above said, "anybody got a spare overdrive trans for one of these?"
<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">Dude. check out Vintage Speed they have some cool Edmunds repro stuff for the flatty plym. Good luck with the project!!-Sololobo/Roadburners of Omaha </TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Scratch that. I just got a call from PARR once they received my online order and there is an error on their website. The price is $225 dollars not $69. So I would suggest OBrien Truckers for a Hildebrandt beehive filter.
Andy Bernbaum auto parts treated me well when I built my 50 Plymouth fastback years ago. Flat six engine parts could be obtained from the Caterpillar dealer.
The early Mopars aren't really rare. They just run along in their own world faithfully providing transportation without an ounce of "KOOL". There are lots of them, many modified but not appreciated by magazine writers and editors so no ink unless built by big name builders(that happoens about every 10 years).
try plymouthdoctor.com ....I was talking to him yesterday and if I remember correctly he was telling me about someone in Detroit that had made an adaptor for mating the T-5 to the plymouth flat six. I don't know if it is someone already mentioned in other posts, just wanted to pass it on.....
I'm working on a 50 2-door fast back. It came w/ no drive train but I've got a '74 Valiant that I'm stealing the transmission on 225 " leaning tower of power from. The Valiant has pretty much the same dimensions as the P-19, the '50 is just taller. Currently I've got a 95 Dakota rear end that I'm planning to use in it. Need to go to 5-hole axles instead of 6, though. Good to see other old Plymouth guys out there. Joe
$800 or $2,800? There's a small difference there. Oh, and I am working on a '51 Plymouth club coupe. You have gotten a lot accomplished on your 16-year-old budget. Good job!!! Try the pilothouse Dodge truck website for a bellhousing. Those guys say it won't fit into a car, but if you trimmed the ears on the side that mount to the truck frame, it would fit okay. Be sure to check out the "OldPlymouths" website, too. I am working on putting a 440 and 727 auto into my car right now. Kudos for keeping the sixer, I wanted more of an Interstate cruiser. My car sounded like it was going to blow up when I had it on the highway with the original drivetrain. With the 440, auto, and 2.76 gears, I should meet my goals.
As most of you know, I have a '55 Dodge factory overdrive in my '50 Plymouth, behind my hopped up flathead six and still running the stock 3.9:1 rear end. I love driving the car with the overdrive, it is very easy to drive, and reliable as an anvil. I drove the car to Tulsa, OK from Idaho for the Buried car event, a total of 3,302 miles round trip. The only issues I had were a dead heater blower motor, and a seeping frost plug in the engine block. I ran the car 70-75 mph 8 to 10 hours a day for seven days, and as fast as 85 for short periods on the freeway. The engine tach's at about 2500 at 70mph, about 2800 at 75mph. Redlines at about 4000. It has gobs of torque even at 75mph, and jumps from 70-85 more easily than my '02 Tahoe or '07 FJ Cruiser. It's not a 1/4 mile car, but fabulous for cruising down the road. And it gets 19 mpg on the highway to boot. The stock overdrive is an easy few hours of bolt in swap time, and a bit of wiring. It shifts into and out of overdrive automatically, but you can split shift the gears by mounting the kickdown switch on the shifter or dash. I shift manually from first to second, automatically into 2nd OD, shift manually into third while holding the kickdown switch, then automatically into 3rd OD. Five forward speeds, and manual control of the OD at any time. All of this stuff is on my car's web page, click the link in my sig... I wouldn't change a thing if I were to do it over again. Pete
i absolutely love 1950 plymouths. my first hot rod was one. they look really good with a chop. the one in my avatar i built and sold it a few years ago. i`ve tried like crazy to get it back.
Blueskies' is a manual 3 speed with OD, not auto. the Toyota W series box I mentioned previously is the same as a Supra, which someone else mentioned. There's a good bit of info on here, search for a flathead Ford to Toyota Supra. The W series box adaptation would follow similar procedures to the t5, but the shape of the bearing retainer, and the subsequent bellhousing bolt pattern, present unique challenges.
Keep up the good work! It will pay off in a big way. It's real nice to be one of the only Plymouths or Mopars at any event. I also run an "Asche Overdrive" special. It is incredible!! I also have a long trip under my belt; 5500 Charlotte, NC to Viva Las Vegas and back and evrywhere in between. My engine is an un-rebuilt, stock 1951 and knocks on occasion but has been more reliable than any of my dailys or my other cars. You'll truely enjoy your car.
Bloodyknuckles - I have to see your car sometime. I think I actually saw it at the Autozone in Harrisburg while I was working one day but I'm not certain. Damn that's nice looking.
I'm embarassed to post my wagon, it's just rusting away till I get two other projects done. I love it but time is not on my side. this is the only photo and the rear fenders are photochopped
I've seen Andy Bernbaum's site before as well as the Obrien Truckers page, both of them have parts I'll be needing in the future. As for the tranny if i go with OD it'll most likely be a T5 or Toyota five speed, I have the original 3 speed and i had it checked by a local tranny shop, they said all the gears, bearings, etc are in great shape, but I'm sure I'll be much happier with the 5 speed. Plus I love the sound of a sooper tall floor shifter with a big ol' 8 ball on the top ;] I talked to the powdercoat guy today, and i should be getting the frame back by the 10th, and I decided to go with a white/ivory body, red frame, smoothies and pinstriping, which should all match the motor nicely. The interior will be a white with red piping/detailing scheme as well, im hoping all the white will keep it cool, as i dont plan on putting an ugly a/c pump in the engine compartment. for the oil filter ill check out Obriens, and before i do anything for the airfilter i have to either cut myself sum bases for these wierd shaped carbs i have or get a pair from tom langdon. depends on what type/shape/style air cleaner i decide to go with
bloodyknuckles that car is awesome by the way, love the lake pipes and the triple carbs! and that intake manifold trips me out ive never seen the long runners like that before
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