41 Plymouth SB Mopar Engine Swap

Correct on the 46-8s they are higher, don't know on the pre war ones.

 

here are some images of the side of the vehicle i have not yet touched.
on pre war the rocker is used to mount the running boards so that is likely the difference. you can see the rocker is below the door at a height set by features in (below) the 1/4 panel

 

LOL! Hell, I've got another project sitting directly behind this one. It would be a long time before I got to yours! Hope you don't mind it sitting outside!

 

All thumbs, in your opinion are those rockers worth what they are asking for them? thanks for the pics. shawn

 

Alrighty, then! After taking my Catalina someplace else for storage and removal of my dolly/rotisserie, I have now separated the body of my 41 from its frame for the first time ever.

This dolly is the only way to go. It has jack screws in each corner and is worth every hour and every dollar I spent building it. I removed the body by myself and the heaviest lifting I did was picking up one of the large steel tubing pieces that go along the sides. You essentially assemble this thing onto the car one piece at a time. It also has a set of hoops for rolling the body over.

Here is the website for the plans. http://redwingsteelworksplans.com/ It's the best money you'll ever spend. There is a jack screw in each corner post that allows you to raise and lower the body with a ratchet and socket! You can even use an impact wrench if you're really lazy and in a hurry!

I'll take this stuff to the media blaster soon and get all the rust removed. I guess I'll have to disassemble the chassis, too. No big deal at this point.

P.S. Can someone tell me the hot lick for taking off the beltline trim? Mine is nice and I don't want to screw it up figuring out how to take it off.

 

Can someone tell me the hot lick for taking off the beltline trim? Mine is nice and I don't want to screw it up figuring out how to take it off.

Thanks for your reply.<!-- / message --><!-- attachments -->

 

IIRC, the rear stuff is held on with nuts, same with the doors. The hood edges use clips. It's been a long time since I took them off however.

 

Take the trim and leave the clips as some are retained by nuts. Use a small block of wood to push the trim up from the bottom where the clips are located, then pry gently at the top. I used an old gasket scraper, put some tape on it to protect the body if you need to.

the clips ar shaped like "H's" with the long legs down, there is some play where the trim clips over the legs, this give you the room to push up and relaeas the top edge from the upper legs. When replacing, fit the bottom push up and snap the trim back over the top of the clips legs.

 

Thanks, plym46! I'm not worried about the paint. I'm just trying to get the trim off without screwing it up.

 

Ok, I'm still eating on my elephant................one bite at a time.

This weekend, I finished grinding some welds on the bottom of the floor pan and trunk pan. It sure is easier, and cleaner, grinding them from a vertical position. I hate lying on my back and grinding.

Also, I tackled the first rear corner. Both are rusted out and will need this same treatment. As someone said earlier, the hardest part is getting started. I studied it for quite a while before diving in. Everything turned out pretty good. I've still got some move work to do on the bottom but I'll roll it over to do that next weekend.

One of the things I like about this rollover cage is that you can move to an inboard body mount. Because I needed to redo both of the rearmost ones, I scooted the whole thing forward about 16" and got it out of my way. This thing works great for restoring cars.

Here are the "before" pictures.

 

Here are the "after" pictures.

 

Like I mentioned to eric, that must be a problem area on these year mopars. My 40 dodge went bad in the same place. Looking good, off to work I go. later shawn

 

Leaky trunk seals and an area that holds water. That's the problem.

 

Looking great Rock! Nice fabrication, it appears we all have the same problem in the same areas. What's next on the "to do" list?

 

Nice work. It's gonna look great when you finish it.

Ive been working on mine too...but just wiring. Thinking about buying a nicer welder so I can do some of the welding on the rear axle.

 

The other side!

Then, I have to repair the the lower sill area right behind the passenger door. I THINK that will finish up the main body. Then I have to work on the fenders and the front clip. I don't have a lot to do with them but that should finish the main body work. Then, I've got to strip the body and the chassis and finish it.

There's no timeline. I'll be finished when I'm finished.

 

Ok, both rear corners are done. I didn't take shots of the other side because they look almost identical. I also finished up underneath the corners. I had to hammerform new ends for the crossbrace. The rest of it was solid enough to save. I'll wait until I can put it back on the chassis to drill the holes.

Also, I started on the repair of the area below the quarter windows. This part is a bitch to make because the bends are so close together. I ended up using my brake and piece of 1/2" square tubing to make the bends. They turned out ok, even though the surface of the metal is somewhat dinged up due to the hammering. It won't matter because the running board hides it. I'll try to sand them some before body prep. Also, the piece has a little curve to it. I hammered it over a welding gas tank (argon/co2) with a wooden mallet to get the curve in it. I've got to do both sides.

 

That's looking good Rock. Just 2 questions: 1) How are you going to mount the running boards? Using the original mounting holes/bolts or fabricating something else to strenghten it? 2) With regards to the lower quarter panels, did you use any primer underneath the bottom lip where you punched the little holes? Keep up the great work!

 

Eric, I'm using the OEM mounts for the running boards. I had to go in and put new tapped plates in the rocker because the nuts were either rusted away or the bolt wrung off when trying to remove the boards.

I did not put any primer underneath the lips. I will seal all that up well with, rust encapsulator, seam sealer and undercoat however. I can't see where primer does any good when you just burn it off. Heck, the factory metal has lasted 70 years with much worse exposure than I'll ever give it, so it should outlast me. As long as you keep moisture out, the rust will not progress significantly.

 

Rock, I have the same problem with my running boards as well.I'm going to tackle this by probably strengthening and welding it to the body unless I can come up with another solution.

Your climate is a lot better than ours, that's why I try to cover every area that will never see daylight again with the red rust primer. (even though some of it will burn off during welding).

Very impressive work your showing Rock! Keep it up!

 

Ok, both sides are finished now. The driver's side looks better than the photo. I really need a high crown hammer to get the seam done right, so I'll have to borrow one. But, all in all, this turned out pretty well.

Next up is the passenger side front panel in the wheelhouse. I already did the other side before I took it off the frame.

 

Great work Rock. Looking forward to your progress! I may learn a thing or 2....

 

If you need something with a head that looks like this one, I have one you can use.

http://www.eastwood.com/pick-hammer-fiberglass-handle.html

 

I need something that I can hammer on in the concave area where the weld is. Therefore, the hammer must have a fairly rounded face to it. I can't tell from your picture, Dan. I'll look at it when we hook up again soon.

Here's one I was looking at on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220730567058&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

Ok. Even though I haven't posted any pictures lately, I have been working. It's just not very interesting stuff. This weekend, I finally finished removing all the trim and disassembling the entire front end.

Who knew there were this many parts in a front end? I took lots of pictures..........hoping that I could remember how to reassemble it. these pictures don't include the lower inner fenders, the hood or the outer fenders. Lots of parts.

I'm getting ready for this stuff to go to the media blasters. At that point, I'll have to start the dreaded chore of priming and painting everything. I hate to paint.

 

It's good to see you're still at it Rock. Hopefully you won't get too many surprises when you get the parts back from the blaster. I still need to locate some inner fenders for mine, any leads? Or maybe I'll need to fabricate my own.......

 

No worries. Everything looks good. This car was really in good shape for 70 years old.

 

Nice to see you're making progress. At least you have the room to store everything.

I cleaned up my garage last night and was happy with all the room I got back because my engine is back in the truck.

 

Its amazing how much more room these take up when they are apart then they take up assembled, isn't it?

Keep going Rock, its good to know at least someone is still making progress. If the weather holds (its still cold but at least drying out finally) I might be able to move mine back on the driveway and begin to work on it again. First up on my list is the windshield header rust and to build a vent box above the Dakota heater, since I'll have the windshield removed. Gene

 

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Who did you get your new gas tank from and is it a stock style and size replacement or something totally different?

Thanks for taking the time to share you experiences keep up the good work
MobilDave