And as it should all of us. Recently I purchased a '41 Plymouth business coupe. I was torn between building it as a g***er or custom, deciding to go custom. I love custom cars and think that the coupe has an excellent body style (especially the sloped B piller) for a custom. But I've always had this "thing" for g***ers. Not sure why 'cause I didn't grow up around them but the same is true of customs. But today, walking around Autorama I was struck by many of the g***er style cars. I've always liked Steve's (Hotrod2hell) "Plan B" '55 Chevy, and of course any Willys g***er is inspiring but I think it was seeing the Stone, Woods, Cook coupe that finally put me over the edge. I had only seen (many) pictures of it but seeing it in person was a thrill. Now I know my Plymouth ain't no Willys but I think if I can get the same stance it could look really good. Questions. My coupe has A arms and I want to run a straight axle. Do I just remove the A arm suspension and replace it with parallel leaf springs? I know Speedway offer kits. Also, I'm not sure at this point what motor I'll run but probably a small block Chevy or Mopar. Would an S10 rearend be sufficient? Here's a pic of my coupe (as it set when I bought it) and a pic of the SWC coupe.
why not keep the front suspension? Just lift it some. As to the motor, it had better be a real fire breather. Big compression, big cam, big twin carbs. And **** can the s10 rear for a ford 9" with at least 4:88 gears. There are enough poser g***ers out there. Step up and do it right.
Google "lead Baloon plymouth" there is a bunch of cool stuff on these guys. they ran a 41. A s-10 axle may be to narrow for these the *** is kinda wide. im using a 87 dakota axle but thats cause mines on a dakota frame.... but the s-10 is narrower then the dodge. http://atascadero.name/wordpress/?p=9
e-body 8 3/4 rear end is nearly a bolt in. Just hog out the holes in the spring pads laterally to prevent the springs from being pulled inboard. Pinion angle is even pretty close for a normal height street car. For a g***er stance, you may need to shim it or re-position the spring mounting pads.
A Plymouth eh...... You have to find a Hemi.....Any Hemi No BBCs No SBCs Hemi Pick a number But make it a Hemi Who gives a rip if you pose...That would make it a little easier to drive at $4/g gas. But a Hemi with a llittle rump is the way to go.... We all have opinions, don't we. HEHE Build it your way................................It your car. BKR
Honestly Don, these guys are right, on a couple of things... If you put ANY reasonably hot motor in this car, a 7.5" 10 bolt (S10 rear) is gonna be shrapnel. It's (internally) the same rear as was under my '78 Malibu, and even with aftermarket parts, I couldn't keep the rear end together. I would try to find a olds/pontiac rear first; if that failed, I'd proabably go with the 8-3/4" like was suggested above; but you can really never go wrong with a 9". As for what motor to run... I do agree that Chevy motors are a little played out, but they're EASY to go fast with. As for a Mopar in a Mopar, that would be cool too, but back in the day, it was all about going fast, they didn't care about "brand loyalty"... The Stone Woods Cook car has an Olds in it! That being said, If I were building it, I'd do my best to find a 392 Hemi for it, and when I eventually gave up on that, I'd put a Mopar 440 in it. There are a ton of speed parts available, they can make serious power, and motor cores are DIRT cheap. Whatever you decide to run, it has to have AT LEAST a tunnel ram with dual quads, but a blower would be MUCH cooler. As a reference, "Plan B" has a 10.5:1 406sbc, with a fair amount of work done to factory iron heads, a .507 lift hydraulic cam, two 550cfm Holleys, converted to 1:1 mechanical secondaries with a straight linkage (it's dumping all eight barrels at once) on a Weiand tunnel ram, a 3000rpm converter in a TH350, and a '57 Pontiac rear with a 5.13 gear and 30" tall tires. It cruises 60mph at 3500rpm, and gets about 9mpg.
I have a Pontiac rear end, a Plymouth round tube parallel leaf axle and a Dodge 400 big block core for sale if that's what you're wanting I can give you a Plymouth G***er Package Deal...I'm running a Pontiac posi and Pontiac 400 in my '40 Plymouth sedan...
Who gives a rip if you pose...That would make it a little easier to drive at $4/g gas. But a Hemi with a llittle rump is the way to go.... We all have opinions, don't we. HEHE Build it your way................................It your car. BKR[/quote] Racing fuel isnt even twice as much anymore, hot rods and g***ers should race, street rods, well you know, get out the lawn chairs. Don
I bolted in a '78 Chrysler Cordoba rearend under my '48 Plymouth coupe---no hole changing or anything else.. I used the stock springs---you might want to put a beefier spring under yours, but I'm happy with mine. Mine has a nicely built 318 in front of a t5 transmission.
Low bucks would be to raise the front end, swap in a small block and a basic rear. It might be decent on gas, but people will be cruel. Next up is a straight axle. I'd suggest doing a fresh frame from the firewall forward, due to the huge size and that it's designed for an IFS, not a straight axle. That will make the steering and engine upgrades easier too. Full on would be a hack job. Holes everywhere, basic frame, big by huge drivetrain.
I left my stock framerails up front for now, I can always hack em off later...my '40 is a low budget car, and I just want it on the road quick...someday it'll turn into a full-on drag car...
A straight axle set up with new front rails would probably be lighter than the stock IFS, but if your independant is in good shape you could do the g***er with a lifted independant front end....It worked on the Ramcharger's "High and Mighty" and many others. If your set on the look of a straight axle some rectangle tube rails up front with an econoline or early dodge truck axle would work, or step up to a new axle and spindles from Speedway or such.
I will say build as a g***er if that is what you want. the bug bit me hard and I bought a good starting pount but I will warn you, dont pose with the motor. My nose high 57 is weak in the motor department and it has driven me crazy. the car looks like it should run but it doesn't (its slow and does not sound like a racer). To the point I am going to drop it back down (or going to have to spend alot of money on a strong sbc..) to me mty ride has to have 500hp or the car is going to become a mild custom...
Good advice given. Now step up. I've got a new 427 (real L-88), a reverse pattern T-400 with a 10" converter, and a selection of 9" rearends. Bring the car over (after the thaw) along with every dollar you can get your hands on (can loan a .357 and/or a .45 if your short on $$$'s) and you will no longer be worried about being a poser. The conversion comes with a change of underwear for that first full throttle run. Frank
If he puts a Chevy in that Plymouth, I'll hunt him down and...wait a minute, mine's Poncho powered...nevermind...just go fast and straight...those are the rules...
Well I agree 100% about the motor, it should be BIG. But since I'd probably shoot my foot off with a .357/and or .45 it will probably be the last thing I do since it will cost the most. Frank, I'd like to take you up on your offer but I couldn't live long enough (or you either for that matter) to pay off what all of that would cost me. And it would be YOU making the first full throttle run.....You know you'd want to. My plans for now are to pull the original flat 6 and ****** and set up the front suspension. I'll start picking up bits and pieces, tires, steering wheel, tach, seats, whatever I think I need and can afford. I really appreciate all the replies. Yes a Hemi would be cool but I don't see that happening. A BBC would be really nice (I do favor Chevys). I've got a 700R4 that I could use, and I think I'll run the 14" Fenton mags that came on the front (w/ wide whites) and a pair of steel wheels in the rear w/ some big-*** tires. Again, thanks everyone for your input.
If you need any parts/advice/suggestions/build pics from me just holler, I've been through a lot on my Plymouth already and I might have some hints...good luck, and maybe we can run em at a track together someday...
Yea, don't cha just hate that! So what type of steering would I use with the straight axle/leaf springs?
41 Plymouth g***ers rule!!!!!!!!!!!! S10 frame, 8 3/4, injected HEMI and Clutchflite trans= DANGER DANGER DANGER !!!!
im not sure on steering but i know for a fact it was covered in one of the tech articles posted not to horribly long ago about front ending a tri 5. id asume whatever worked there would work here as well...
After reading some posts/replies and talking to a few people I've decided to keep the coil suspension. I don't plan on going for the nose-bleed look so I think this would be the best setup. I'll just need to run some stiffer springs. Plus I can keep the stock steering. I'll be looking for a Mopar that I can purchase and scavenge the drive line out of. Once I find the tires I want for the rear I'm going to radius the rear fenders. The stock seat will make way for racing seats. Rollbar, gauges, floor shifter and a tach. Half the fun is looking for parts. I still plan on making some "custom" changes such as headlights and tailights.
Look for Diplomats, Cordobas, etc...usually came with decent V8's and rearends...my buddy had a Diplomat with a 318 and posi 8 3/4 rear that he bought for $100
Here is some motivation.....The Growler 41 is the real deal from back in the day, and I think it was running tweaked independant front suspension. The Ramchargers, a later body style but still carring the stock A-arms. And the final pic lifted from somewhere on the net, a 40 thats just a little higher than the others, with a straight axle.
The last pic is about the same height as my '40...honestly I'd love to see Donzie's coupe as a custom, they've got gorgeous, flowing lines...good luck with whichever way you build it bro...
The turbonium green one that is here on the H.A.M.B and Deadend mag is one sharp 41. and the candy desoto that is on the H.A.M.B is as smooth as a custom can be. I have the same problem as Donzie, build a tail dragger custom, or a screamin g***er, although he has a much better car to start with.
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