Old man starts new build so will need much help I'm sure. Picked up a 48 Ply.S.D. with a good body but shot power train. Always loved these old sedans but hated the problems keeping them up Soooooo, I'm thinking "Cool " street machine/ daily driver !! Wow, living my childhood all over again !!! The plan is to install an 01 Mopar 5.2 L Mag with an a518 trans. This combo was purchased from a neighbor after his Ram truck was stolen and wiped out.(side-swiped both sides but power train undamaged.) I am considering converting from FI to carb, and have already purchased a new intake for this purpose, but really don't know what I'm getting myself into? Just want to stay away from anything super high tech... Also want to replace the rearend with a Ford 9in. or Mopar 8.5 with EB capability. In addition front disc brakes, front shock relocation and new drive shaft a few of the mechanical upgrades before cosmetic changes like new interior and paint. Overall goal is a daily driver that looks stock but has a more modern and dependable power train with that cool street rumble sound, on a retired teachers budget. This will be a slow build ( I'm not as old as I once was) and will post pics as I go. Looking forward to all the advice, suggestions, and down home critique as I go. Thanks in advance, C***, alias Littlemo...
ch***is engineering may be your best bet unless you can make your own mounts good luck with a nice project
Nice thing about these old Mopars is they are pretty much the same under the body shell. Most of the stuff your planning is not new, so you can benifit from those that have gone before you. There are several great treads going on builds of these 40s-50s Mopars that will be useful to you because most of the info will transfer to your car. Specific info concerning your 01 5.2 with the A518 like wiring and engine mounting will probably have to come from a Mopar site like www.moparts.com and several others. Again, fortunately, your plans on this angle are not new either, so you won't have to figure it out on your own. Several places offer disc brake conversions for your car, personally, I have used conversions from www.rustyhope.com I believe he also has the shock relocation kits and posibably a rack & pinion steering system. Someone will add more web sites, I'm sure. Gene
Hit the search function for "360 in a '41 plymouth coupe" there is a guy here that has been doing this swap recently and has aquired a 100 posts or so from many of us about this swap. Myself and another couple of guys on here have written several lines on doing this swap, so I won't repeat it here. The condesed version though is that it fits very well by offsetting the engine trans unit about 1 - 1 1/2" to the p***enger side. Check out that thread and Rockable's others for some good info.
If you cannot figure a way to use the stock engine mounts I can offer some like these: As for the trans electronics, check this out... .
Thanks Guys, that's the kind of info I'll be needing. Looks like I will be needing some alternate motor mounts as the ones out of the Ram Pickup appear too large for my frame application. The A518 wiring data was really interesting and informative. I'm trying to "keep it simple" !! Will changing over from fuel-injection to a regular 4 barrel carb be a major issue??? Here's a pic of "the Rose" as she sat when I bought her.
An 01 518 trany is a computer governed transmission. In other words, even if you go to a carb you will still have to have the computer for the transmission to work. I don't remember who but someone is making a stand alone controller for the transmissions. Yours is not known as a 518 now but rather it is probably a 46RE. E meaning "electronically controlled. Yours may also be an A500/42RE/44RE transmission which is a 904 with OD. Look at the pan, if it is square it is the A500 type transmission. If it has a dog leg corner where the dipstick goes in then it is the 518 type transmission. To use an OD transmission without a computer you need to find an older 518/46RH transmission or A500/42RH. 94 and earlier. Both large and small transmissions use the same overdrive unit which means they use the same yoke. For drivability why not use the whole system, Fuel injection 46RH and matching computer. Mixing the systems is asking for headaches. You might try this website for some useful transmission info. http://www.transmissionsone.com Look at the bottom of the page for using the older 518s. It's a very long page.
I did look at the picture of the transmission and it is a 46 RE. Definitely not the smaller A500 style. Also if you look you will see a rather large bundle of wires plugged in just behind the shift linkage. If you find the older transmission the plug will only be 2 or 3 wires depending on if the transmission has a lockup converter. 3 wires means is has lockup. Shoulda looked sooner.
Louver: Looked for the thread "360 in a 41 Plymouth Coupe" but could not find. Do you remember the "posters' handle ???
Hy there Littlemo, I am doing a similar setup! The only diff is that o got a '94 dodge and my trans is a 46RH (will need help with that later on by the way). I can hep you with the folloing (if you don't know that already): You will need a distributor since the one that came with the engine will only work with the original ECM. I had a really hard time finding one since the specs never mention the fitment on Magnum engines, but the distributor for the LA block (Earlier similar block) will fall right in! I purchased the Pro-Comp 7006 (i think). It was the "simplest" one with only 2 wires for the coil coming out and needing no extra "Brain box". Hope i could hep with something. All the best with the build!
I think there are a few people on here who have swapped that whole dakota front suspension in to those cars as well. That may be more work than you want, but you already own all the parts. The wheelbase may be on the wide side however.
Rockable's car is on a Dakota frame, so that won't help much unless you want to swap in Dakota frame. I think a search on here for "46-48 Plymouth" will net you a ton of info concerning the original ch***is upgrades and installing of a small block Mopar engine. Gene
Thanks Slickadelic and 4Woody, your info was much needed. Whew, at this rate it looks as if I may need to consideer the install using the original ECM and keeping everything as is. I did have my heart set on the "Carb" setup and even considered manually shifting the trans like I used to do in my 65 Sport Fury. ( actually don't know if that can be done with the 46RE trans ??) Will have to give this build some careful study over the winter. Everything's on hold right now with the weather as it is. Guess I better concentrate on the disc brake conversion, install the new Master Cylinder and replace the Rearend before I continue with the engine/trans install. Thanks again to all, C***, alias Littlemo...
Hy Jbtine, You seem to know about these trans, maybe you can help me... I am converting my engine/trans ('94 318 magnum/46RH) to instal in a '30 pickup. I already have a "self contained" distributor to take care of the spark, will eventually buy a manifld + 4 barrel carb for gas/air, and a Lokar shifter for shifting and to keep stuff as simple as can be. My major glitches are the OD and the speedometer. The OD according to the Chrysler manual "is controlled by a manual operated switch in the instrument panel. The switch is in circuit with the OD solenoid and the powertrain controle module (ECM). When in the ON position, current flows through the switch to the solenoid for the 3-4 shift sequence". Does this mean that i can simply "byp***" the ECM and just controle the OD funtionabilitty with the switch (knowing that it will only engage if in 3 gear)? And how the hell do i hook-up a speedo? Does it have to be a eletronic one? Or can i run a simple mechanical type? If so where do i hook it up? Thanks for the help
I have an 89 518 transmission in my model A behind a Desoto 341 hemi. I use to use this transmission in my 39 plymouth pickup until i put it up for sale. Now I have changed my mind or I should say my wife changed her mind about keeping the truck. You can activate the OD with a simple switch, That's all I ever used in the 39. If you look almost to the bottom of the link I had in my original post It tells you a lot more about another option. Either way works. In case you didn't get the 2 wire plug that goes to the OD solenoid they also now have that available. If you ever have problems with the transmission not shifting to OD when you throw the switch you will need to change the solenoid. That happened to me on the way back from Louisville and I kept toggeling it until it finally went in OD. Would not have been a fun trip with 3.91 gears. It worked ok until I got ready to go to Knoxville the next year and it ****ped out all together. The day before I was suppose to leave I decided to take a shot in the dark and change the solenoid. It's been trouble free since. Remember also that with the OD you will need at least a 3.55 gear. I had 3.91s behind a 360 gas hog and thought I would go to 3.55 and lost 1 mpg. Right now I am using a set of Cl***ic guages with the programmable speedo. Beats the hell out of trying to run a cable. It came with a small electronic counter that screwed to the cable outlet on the transmission and then it was a matter of routing wires. Cables don't like to bend as much as wires.
If you hook a vacuum switch in series with your switch, you will end up with "Automatic" downshifts on the highway. I have an adjustable one from a forklift application on mine. On the highway when the engine gets a load on it (Flooring to p***, or going up a steep grade) the engine loses vacuum, the trans downshifts into 3rd gear and as the load decreases it shifts back into 4th. A simple addition for full automatic control on the RH series Mopar trans.
Hy 73RR, I was just considering those engine mounts so i checked my motor and noticed that the right side rear "ears" only have the top hole, and the widths of the mounts left to right are different, while yours seem to have the same width (kind of hard to tell with only the picture to see). I thought that the only difference in these later engines ('92 up) was only the heads (magnum) and the top end oiling system being a "thru the pushrod" type but the engine block was unaltered. Is it possible to check if these mounts will fit on these "later" style engine blocks?
Over the decades MotherMopar has 'blessed' us with inumerable small changes that usually go un-noticed...the thickness of the individual ears is one. Since the factory mounts always attach to the same side of the ears the machining operation does not have to be as precise for the final ear thickness. So, depending on whether you would place the mount on the front of the ear or on the backside of the ear, and depending on which engine you are using, you may find more than just 'a little' gap. The brackets have a fair amount of flex so adding a spacer/washer should only be needed if the gap exceeds 0.1" or so. Be sure to use three separate bolts, or add a tube between the ears if you need to use a single bolt at the top. The ears can be broken. Although the folding operation is fairly accurate, it is, still, a folding operation and not as precise as a machining operation. Of the many brackets in inventory at this time there is a variation in most all, but generally, the large mount has 2.6"+ between the ears, 3"+ overall and the small mount has 2.7"+ between the ears, 3.1"+ overall. Hopefully this helps.
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