Hello guys, I'm new here and I got some questions and feedback/suggestions would be greatly appeciated! Well I bought a '53 Chrysler New Yorker a while back. The car itself had been sitting at a farm since 1964. Sadly she was soo rusty she was beyond saving. The main plus was that the car still had the Hemi under the hood coupled to a fluid drive transmission. I pulled that out of the car for possible future use. I could turn the motor by hand surprisingly and the car had something like 17,000 miles on it. I'm looking for a late 40s or early 50s Plymouth/Dodge and might possibly try and fit that hemi under the hood. Are there any major clearance issues that should be noted? Another thing is transmission choices...I'd like to keep the car basically period correct but I don't know how well a standard 3 speed would hold up against that hemi if it would even bolt up. I understand that the extended block hemis can be problematic when trying to get a transmission to mate... Thanks!
Hemi tech index Start reading! 40s:It won't fit all that well with the stock front end. It'll fit rather well subframed with a Camaro. Chevelle or simular clip that had a rear sump engine in it. A guy had a 392 in a 48 with stock clip, but he said he had to recess the firewall several inches. My '48 has a cutl*** front clip & the 331 fits in nicely, but it's a short tail '55. Early 50s would probably be about the same story.
Or you could let me have your '47!! Haha Thanks for the link...I'll have to get to reading...That thread didn't come up when I searched "Hemi"...hmm I really wan't to try and avoid subframing and deviating from Mopar as much as possible! First I need to find a decent car..then I can get a better idea of what I need.
Many years ago I put a '51 331" and semiautomatic in a '53 Plymouth. There were some serious space issues with that install. The extended bellhousing hemis have to be quite forward to clear the stock floor/firewall, which in turn causes radiator and weight distribution issues. Even at that, the starter and steering box collide. I did get the car operational, with a push start, but it wasn't very satisfactory. For those and several other problems, I pulled the V8 and put the six back in. I was about 17 at the time and didn't have any money. A year or so later, I did swap a 270 Dodge hemi into my buddy's '53 Plymouth (we both had '53 ragtops at the time) and that worked much better. The Dodge is physically smaller, lighter and doesn't have the early Chrysler's extended bell so it fit much, much better. It still required moving the steering gear to accommodate the starter, but was a very driveable car. You can use the early 331 in the era of Mopars you propose, but it ain't gonnan be a cake walk. For your purposes, a '54 or later Chrysler would be more 'friendly'. George is correct that a frame clip of some sort will solve some of the problems, though it may cause others in the process. The "others" may be easier to overcome, however. I also have a '53 Dodge (Coronet Diplomat hardtop which uses the shorter Ply body shell/wheelbase) with a factory 241 hemi and, while very similar to the Plymouth of that year, it doesn't have the starter/steering clearance issues. I have long been curious what Mother Mopar did to change that, but have never taken a tape measure to it. Ray
I figured it would be tight if not impossible...always pays to ask! I'm trying to save myself alot of trouble in guesswork and whatnot. I thought about maybe trying to find a Dodge "baby hemi" due to the smaller size and weight. Finding one for a reasonable price...thats another story.
One of the car magazines just recently did exactly that, I think it was Rod & Custom, but could have been Hot Rod. They did an excellent job of re-working the firewall to make it look like it was made for the Hemi. They have had several articles on the build of this car over the past year, you should be able to get some good ideas if you can find the right issues, check your local library.
This may or may not help...this pic is of a 53 Dodge with the oem 241 in place. It is as tight as it looks. I do believe that earlier bodies will be as snug if not more and then you want to add the long block...it will require trans tunnel rework and the steering issues will add to your vocabulary. No doubt you can make the 331 fit in an earlier body, it will all depend on your level of expertise and amount of shop space and tooling. .
Perhaps you are referring to the series in Streetrodder by Ron Ceridono. He is building a '49 Plymouth Business Coupe with a Chrysler Hemi. BUT, and it is a BIG ****, he not only reworked the firewall, but the car got a new front frame clip and a g***er style straight axle in this application. That is game changer for the install compared to a basically stock ch***is. If there is another article to which you refer, ignore the above. Ray
I don't seem to see the car for sale? I'm looking for a car relatively close to NC. Well this is going to be an interesting project I can definitely see...haha The only other option I had was souping up the old flathead or dropping in an LA motor..but the latter would take away from the period correct look I'm going for...
hi I have a 1955 plymouth w/ a6 auto in it hear are some pics are you intesed/Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0004.JPG /Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0005.JPG /Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0006.JPG /Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0007.JPG /Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0009.JPG /Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0010.JPG /Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0140.JPG /Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0141.JPG /Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0142.JPG /Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0143.JPG /Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0144.JPG /Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0145.JPG /Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0146.JPG /Users/phillipmarkola/Desktop/cars for sale 9:13/DSCN0147.JPG
I only subscribe to R&C and HR, so it has to be one of the two. I usually p*** them on to someone else after I read them, so I don't have them here to check back issues.
If you're itching to work on a project until you find one of your own, I could use a hand. I'm putting a 354 in an old dodge truck. Link in my signature line. I'm up in Greensboro. Another local Hamber (rockable) has a business coupe and it looks like it would take major surgery to get the 354 tucked in his car.
I use search tempest daily...and have gotten some pretty good deals off of it. I don't have unlimited funds and most people think anything thats old is worth a fortune... I'm really looking for something older..but I'm a ****er for Forward Look Mopars! Your links to the pictures don't work? Where is the car located? Lookin pretty sweet so far! If I get some free time I wouldn't mind at all to give ya a hand with something. Right now school and work is taking over most of my time! haha Thats a sick ride right there!
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