Hey I have been a long time lurker, reading about all your awesome hot rods, but now have the opportunity to buy my first one. I have alot of knowledge about 70 camaros corvettes etc, but not much about 40s and 50s cars. The best way I have found out how to learn about them is to dive right in! SO with that being said, I am going to look at a 1949 Dodge Business coupe today, and was wondering what you guys can tell me about them? What can you do to upgrade the suspension? Brakes? This car hasnt ran in 15 years, what can i do to loosen up the engine? (Ive heard about tranny fluid in the cylinders) I have heard the fluid drive tranny is unique and drives differently than a regular standard shift car. Can you buy motor mounts to fit in a Chevy 350? Thanks in advance for your help!
You should do an intro dude before you get flamed. Lot's of good advice about to come your way in regards to the chassis, upgrading the brakes and front suspension etc. Here's what I know - find a mid sixties mopar b-body for the 8 3/4" (it's the carrier type, sorta like a 9" Ford but better) rear axle, cut off the spring mounts and put it on the original springs. Some are using Ford Explorer rear axles as well which are much easier to find, but to each his own. Do a search for stuck engines or stuck pistons and you will find a huge wealth of info on mystery oil and other ways to unstick an old motor. I will make one plea to not put a Small Block Chevy in that fine car and then I am out. Mopar made so many excellent engines, why put a chevy in there? 318's and 360's are not hard to find, not expensive and make lots of power for a long long time. Hop ups are cheap and easy and 400 horsepower out of a very streetable 360 is a cakewalk. Good luck on your new ride.
To build a nice dodge motor, or restore the original one, whats a ballpark estimate on those? The only reason that I would consider the chevy motor is that I have one lying around. nothing special but I know that it is relaible. Ill be posting pics whenever I get back from looking at the car.
join here as well. http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2 brakes are easy.rutyhope makes a good kit. goggle rustyhope. my car is a 51 plymouth and i installed the dreaded sbc plydo makes a kit. if i were to do it again i would go sbm search shadowkustoms on here he did one looks factory.my car has a jeep cherokee rear fit great. and i will second to an intro.you can see my build thread in my signature line.
Well, first of all, there is nothing more reliable than a 318. I have one in a 79 PW with over 250k on it and the heads have never been off... The cost to build a 318-360 is little different than a sbc or sbf. There are several listings on the DFW craigslist and don't overlook the 63-66 Poly 318. As said, plenty of threads on this kind of swap. .
Beutiful solid looking original car. Id say that if your interested in building it and you can afford it Id pick it up. Its definitely a whole lot easier to drop a small block mopar in these thn a sb chevy. The steering shaft causes clearance issued that can be overcome with early 1960's dodge dart exhaust manifolds, which I have found out is the only way to do it withough putting r&p steering or subframing the car. Good luck. BTW, I have a 1950 wayfarer. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask
Same frame and suspension as my 48 Plymouth. Running 440 / 727 with an E-body 8-3/4 that mounted to the stock springs. If you rebuild the front end, relocate the shocks and upgrade the brakes there is nothing wrong with the front end. You will need the caviler rack and pinion.
i got one just like it in my garage only a plymouth and a lot worse shape, please for the love of god dont put a small chavy in it, its been done to death and will get nothing but bad feedback when mopar guys look at it. a 318/ 360 will fit right down in there and get you a lot of praise and will be easy to maintain parts wise. ive seen people put late 70's volare front suspension under them or just rebuild the original front end. with a 8 3/4 out back. just my opinion being a tride and true mopar guy.
It's the Wayfarer model, the least expensive of the Dodge line. A "business coupe", with only one seat. Has what I like to call the "better" heater. How are the actual floors, could you tell? Doesn't look all that rusted out. If you put in a V8, you can probably sell some of the Dodge pieces to other enthusiasts. Rustyhope does make a good front disc brake kit. And several later model mopar rear ends should pretty much bolt in with minor work. The "Fluid Drive" is actually a fluid type clutch in front of a normal 3 speed transmission. The seat and door panels have been re-done somewhere along the line....are not original. However, the seat isn't too bad a look.
Looks like a sweet ride. Depends on what they are asking for the car as far as picking it up. Why do an engine swap? Might be surprised and the six might actually run! I have a stock 6 in mine with a 3 speed and it does fine. A T-5 swap would give you some more gears and make it more freeway friendly. Definitely weigh everything out first. If the floor needs to be replaced parts aren't cheap. I built mine myself becasue I'm a cheapskate, but it can be done. Do some research because they are cool cars and like said above please don't put a 350 in it
Looks like a good start. As mentioned, pull the mat back and check the floors and the trunk too. Mopars usually will rot there first... My dad has a 50 Coronet convertible project. He was thinking of going the sbc route but has put that on hold to hunt for an early Red Ram hemi . A 318/340/360 mopar would go in nicely. You can find them as easy as a sbc too. Look on craigslist for vans, etc... Keep in mind that you should do some searching on here BEFORE you bring into it. Lot of little tips that will help you (like offsetting the motor). I also second leaving the stock frontend in it, just upgrade the brakes and rebuild the rest... good luck
I'll wait for that some more photos. It is really nice dodge motor. I agree with what you say that it is really reliable motor.
The Jalopy Journal
