Projects 41 plymouth coupe 392 hemi build thread

When posting that pic, I knew someone would comment. hahaha It's one of Martin's customers car, he bottomed out on the race circuit. The frame is bent and a new piece will need to be welded in. An expensive day racing........

 

Thanks Rob! Hope to have the Hemi in the chassis early next month, and will make a video of the initial start up! Can't wait either.

 

Started drawing some lines on the firewall. I want to start fabricating some panels tomorrow in order to close the sides. I want it to look clean when looking into the engine bay, also giving me some hidden space to run wires and brake/air lines. The plan is to run the panels perpendicular to the firewall. Update will follow tomorrow.

 

I remember seeing this car listed for sale locally, actually have a couple pics saved on my computer when I saw it. Got a Chrysler I'm chopping, got a pretty similar chop to yours.

Glad to see it went to a good home. Love that your putting a 392 into and ditching that chevy. Best of luck to you.

 

Just got home after a full day at the shop. The plan is to cover the sides in front of the firewall for a clean look and also giving me some hidden room to run wires etc. I fabricated two upright pieces and two small horizontal pieces to give the large cover some support. Welded these in place and painted them with red primer. Then made the drivers side cover and kept on grinding and filing until it fitted exactly in place.

 

part 2: Got the side panel installed in the proper position. Then punched holes along the firewall side and the lower horizontal piece. Welded it all up and ground it all. It actually came out better than I anticipated, even if I say so myself. Going to finish the passenger side next week.

 

Looks good! What sheet metal tools do you have? From what I can see in your work, it appears you probably have a sheet metal shear and brake?

You do great sheet metal work. I need to get practicing if I'm ever going to be that good.


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Looks good Eric. I was wondering about the top area where the new panel meets the cowl, maybe add a rounded, curved piece to blend with the rest of the curves on the car?

 

Here's a quick photoshop of what I mean.

 

Thanks TexasSpeed. For this part I only used a shear for the initial piece by cutting the maximum metal required. Then used the brake for the 90 degree bend. From there I cut it by hand using metal scissors until it fits. This part takes a couple of hours, finally using a grinder for a good fit. Good tools are certainly the key, combined with patience.

It always seems that time flies when fabricating. I made the braces for both sides and fabricated/installed the driver side panel, all taking around 7 hours in total.(including coffee/smoke breaks and thinking time). The best part is always at the end of the day when you can step back and look what you've accomplished.

 

Thank you for the photoshop OahuEli. Yes, the plan is to finish it with a rounded piece like you suggested. First I need to strengthen the hood bracket support on both sides and the the plans are to fabricate a horizontal piece to cover the firewall "driprail". Once that is done I'll do the curved pieces.

I was actually expecting you to make a comment regarding the db7 in pic number 2...

 

I thought it was a Mazda.

 

Hello Eric.

I see that you are coming along quite well. I will have to steal some of your firewall ideas...LOL We have a bit of a set back on my build, my Fabricator is ill. I found a couple of engines, a '58 392, and a '09 5.7 with 300 miles on it. Can't decide yet. Perhaps you can tell me where the "A" code is on the 392? I'v got a 58C3710, it is from a '558 Imperial. My concerns are room for the headers with that Elephant block. Do you have room between the frame rails etc.?

 

if the 5.7 is from a car it's a 4-6-8 over drive hemi(highway runs 4cyl or six when cruising.i have one and love driving it in my 300c,

 

Thanks powhatan42! The A-1 is cast in the block on the driver side. (between the head and valley pan, near the distributor.) btw, the 392 is a "whale" and the 426 is an "elephant". Didn't know that either until some Hambers pointed that out.

The 392 is a wide engine. To make things a lot easier, try to get hold of a plastic mock up engine. This makes determining engine mounts, headers, clearances, transmission support, etc better. I did set the engine back about 3 inches to give me better radiator clearance and better weight distribution.

 

Got back to my own garage today and did a little fabrication/welding/drilling on the chassis with my buddy Jaap. It's turned upside down at the moment, giving easy access to some areas needing to be tackled. Started off on the area in front of the c-notch. Here some tubes and welds come together, creating an ugly sight. Created a template for both sides and welded it on.

Then it was time to partly box the rear cross member. This will give added strength and also good mounting points for the exhaust later on.

 

Got ya, my plan was the same...You really got a build going over there.

OK so Iam looking at a Whale not an Elephant! LMAO It is big either way, you just use a different gun. Thanks for the tip Eric, and all your help along the way.

 

I agree. It would be nice to have all the tools necessary for a build. But it's not impossible without them. are you doing all of this in a garage at home or a detached garage/shop?


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I've got a double garage in my backyard with the basic tools. For the actual fabrication of parts I go to a friends shop, about an hour drive. He has every possible machine and tools you would ever need. I'm very grateful to him letting me use all his stuff! He's teached me most of the things I know today. If you google Martin Dijkhof, you'll find his site.

 

Next on the list was to finish all the rough edges on both sides of the chassis. Jaap and I then got to drilling holes. Lots of holes. After doing the underside, we flipped the chassis right way up and drilled some more.....The chassis will be zinc coated, requiring holes for the zinc to enter and holes for air to escape. This way, zinc will penetrate into the cornes inside each tube. The plan is to have the chassis powdercoated after the zinc work is completed.

 

Done something today that I'm getting quite good at: installing the front and rear. I wanted to clean up the garage floor and at the same time turn the car around. A good opportunity to take some photos outside.

 

Eric,

Wow, fast work, and nice job. What gears are you running in the rear end? You will have to put it back together after the powder coating. Well you will know the car inside out for sure. Nice to see it on all fours.

I got some leads on some 392's, still shopping.

 

Thanks Glenn! I'm using 3.70 gears in the rear. I calculated that at 70 mph in 5th gear I'll be doing 2200 rpm.

Good luck shopping for that 392!

 

Great progress man ... zinc dipped frame , thats smart building , to really help your custom stand the test of time and elements ...

 

Thanks LabRat! Considering I'm about 10 miles from the coast, I'd hate for the chassis to rust from the inside out after a couple of years under the influence of salt air. Would be a shame after all the hard work. So zinc dipping was the best option, then I'll have it powdercoated. (2 step) This should give me all the required protection.

 

Here are a few more shots of the chassis from this afternoon. Last picture shows it back in the garage. Now I'm going to think about where I'm going to run the wiring/fuel lines/air lines etc.

 

Eric,

Looking really good, how low will the chassis drop drop with that air suspension, or does it go up from whereit is in the photo?

 

Eric, those tires look pretty good, what size are they?

 

The tires are from Coker and are 225/70r15 on all 4 corners.

 

Thanks for that info. I'm pricing tires right now for my '51 F1 and have to find a balance between what I want and what I can afford. I like the way those Cokers look.