Torn between engines for my wifes 54 plymouth

what do you want to put in it ?

 

Think about a 340. A great little motor with some HP and nice size for your car. I believe there nicer then the 318 0r 360.

 

Not sure if anyone has mentioned the Super-Six yet. The bullet proof aspect of the Slant with a little more power and better mpgs. Slightly more expensive than a plain Slant,but very cool with the Offenhauser long ram intake and dual carb set-up!

 

it,s your car put the motor that you like the best it,s a hot rod a sbc, sbf , or a mopar is cool

 

my vote...

Pete

 

I bet you could find a good F6 laying around in somebodys garage and buy it for next to nothin'... that would get you running.

Or try to break the original engine free.... soak it and work on it. these things will usually free up pretty easily and run forever after that. Who cares if it smokes a little?

 

well then shouldnt it have a mopar rack n pinion two....

 

If you can swing getting the van with the 360, go for it... Otherwise, go to the SBC. If it was in the budget for me, I would be putting a 340 in the 50, but it's not so a SBC is goin' in.

 

So if I run a sbc in my plymouth everyones gonna give me shit huh? The only reason I would run it is because I have a 283 and powerglide waiting for something to go into!! And I'm sure parts are a lot easier to find for a sbc!

 

You'll get crap no matter what you do. I like keeping the same make motor in the same make car too,,,,and my next project is a 1918 Dodge roadster. I have a couple of Dodge vans with small V-8's and torqueflight trans............but then now I have run across a 56 Buick with a nailhead and standard transmission. I'm thinkin my little Dodge roadster will be Buick powered and stick shift to boot.

 

I would drop in a 318/904. One from an a-body would be near a drop in, except for the mid sump oil pan - replace it with a rear sump truck pan.


If you are piecing together a motor and trans - get an 88-89 non magnum 318 if you can since they will have the best heads ever factory put on a 318, and a roller cam. It should also have decent compression - around 8.5-9:1. If its from a car it will have the A999 trans with the deeper first gear. If its from a truck it might be the A500 (which is just a A999 with an overdrive), an A518 (a 727 with an overdrive) or the old reliable 3 spd 727. The overdrives have a fat tailshaft and might need some trans tunnel surgery to fit.

Before you drop the engine in, replace the valve seals (they harden with age - but its an easy and cheap replacement), and timing chain (nylon sprockets unless its a police car).

If you want to perk it up a bit, stuff in a 340 camshaft, an early 340 4 brl intake with a square bore carb flange, and run a 600 Edelbrock or Holley. This really wakes up a 318.

 

I have a slant 6 that would be great comes with the auto trans and a D200 service truck its in with only 36,000 miles..... Truck its self is in great shape...came off an midwest airforce base..

 

Honest horsepower on the cheap? 318!
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tech/0901phr_mopar_318_magnum_engine/index.html
and the Junkyard Jewel
http://www.hotrod.com/howto/113_0304_318_small_block_build/index.html

I have one sitting that will get used, soon too.

What? They don't exactly make new 340s. 318 and 360 were everywhere and cheap now.

 

My Plymouth has a SBC in it, and I have no regrets. I consider it to be simply holding a place, until suitable Mopar power is available. It might just be holding that place until the next owner takes over.........

 

Leaning tower of power all the way!

 

I'm in support of the 318 as well.
I don't think anyone mentioned, best thing you could do is find a junker Aspen/Volare/Diplomat/Gran Fury and pull the entire K-frame. Ya got the engine cradle and mounts, suspension, power steering, and disc brakes all in one compact package, and they're pretty straightforward to adapt to your Plymouth.
Best thing ever would be to pick up an 80s Diplomat cop car to pick apart. I found a wrecked state police car in the classifieds, bought it for $250. That gave me the K-frame with stiffer springs and larger brakes, a 318 with the swirl-port heads, a 904 auto, and an 8 1/4 SureGrip rear. Do the basic stuff to the 318-intake, headers, maybe a cam and timing chain, and you got a nice, tight, reliable package. You won't regret it.

 

I am in th same situation with my wifes 55 Plymouth. I looked at all sorts of options. Fitting another six can bring problems in that the original flathead is a short motor and you will need to cut the firewall tio fit most motors.

I looked at a GM V6 / auto and thought no.

As I have two flathead sixes I am have decided to build a good motor up out of the two.

With split exhaust manifolds and twin carbs it will be a cool little around town cruiser.

 

What about a good old stump pulling ford 300" straight 6, intake, exhaust, and starter all on the passenger side

 

I was in about the same predicament with my '39 Ply coupe, the flat six died. I ended up putting in a 235 Dodge flat six. It cost me more to rebuild this engine than go with a sbc. In the end I'm glad I went with the flat six. It's got a Fenton head, Edmunds 2x1 intake, Langdon headers, Edgy cam, bored +.060, and duals with Smithys.
It's your choice but my vote is for going MOPAR.
In the end the cars that standout are not the ones where the builder took shortcuts (or the easy way out).

Good luck with your project.

Dave

 

I have a 477 big block chevy and turbo 400 in my 54 plymouth wagon .........why be cause i had a fresh mtr and trans sittin here........and its my car

 

I recommend a Mopar engine.

48 Dodge with a 318/904

 

you know were I stand thats why I did what I wanted kuz its my car. And I went s10 clip and sbc with malibu rear all parts were in the back yard but the real good running sbc. Which cost me 50.00 with a 700r4 I drove that truck home so I also have the wire harness and a lot of other parts including all brake parts master, booster, valve and such. After all real Kustoms never open the hood as it ruins the overall look. FRUCKIM IF THEY CANT TAKE A JOKE.

 

Yeah Jason, Dad and I were talking about a diplomat or similar. Right now I have a buddy of mine that has a 77 Dodge Van with a 360 in it and he only wants a buck fifty for it. I was thinking I could pull the engine and tranny and sell of or scrap the rest and have my money back and then some.

But thinking about the diplomat or other I could just roll out one frame and in goes the other, hmmm. A lot of good ideas but still saving so I have plenty of time to think on it.

 

I agree with shadowmtkustomz (see quote). The first engine swapped into my '48 coupe (which is essentially the same as your '54 I think) was an early '70s Dart 318 with matching automatic transmission, a 727 I think.

The mounts were easy to fabricate and the stock Dart driver's side manifold wrapped around the steering like it was made for it. The only serious change was to swap the oil pan/pump/pickup for another to give clearance...I wish I could remember what pan I used, but I don't.

You'll need to reshape the inner fenders to provide enough width for the V8 but I think that's the only sheet metal mods required.

The rear end was swapped for a 9" with lowering blocks and had a custom driveshaft fabricated to hitch it all together. I still have the housing, axles and brakes if you're interested. Been sitting a long time, but they're still here.

I drove the car many, many miles in that configuration and had the transmission stayed together it would probably be that way still.

Hope this helps.

 

just do it

 

Bring it on.

 

No go ahead and put the chevy in. Everyone else does. It beats thinking and working a little. You will have more friends because everyone has a small block chevy just like everyone has a bellybutton. When you go to a cruise night you wont have to worry about people scratching your car looking at your motor because they have only seen nine million of them before in every concievable combination. In fact they wont even need to get close they will see the motor from about 15 feet away and yawn and walk on. You wont ever have to worry about someone bugging you to buy it. The chevy guy wont want it because its a mopar and the mopar guys wouldnt touch it with a ten foot pole. I believe they are called Mules these cars. A mixture of two much purer strains unable to reproduce.
Course you could pop a 340/360 in it . It would have more power and get bettter mileage and would be the right combo but why bother? Just follow the crowd blindly It would be no fun having something special. After all it is only your wifes car!

 

All right boys and girls, can you say the word "sarcasm"? I thought you could.

However the logic is hard to argue with.

 

I feel your pain... I've got a '46 Chrysler that came with a seized, partly disassembled flathead. I also have a 400sbc bored .040, freshly magnafluxed, cleaned, and after a few hundred more dollars ready to shred some Goodyears. But' I just can't do it. I can't Frankenstein it and still sleep at night. So, I found a 70's Mopar 318 at my local engine shop. I felt better already. The 318's are great motors for this type of application: they're inexpensive, light, were produced in huge numbers, are reliable, and with the proper tuning can still get you 300+ hp without blowing your wad! Whew! I didn't mean to write a book here, but I just had to get that out.... Good luck with your project! (And stick with a Mopar will 'ya)

 

Ditto that.