Have been driving my old 48 Plymouth P15 for three years now with stock drive train. Finally decided to make it more road worthy. Have spent the better part of my life messing around with cars and have built customs, done restoration and just worked on cars. I can do most anything as long as it doesn't involve the computerized vehicles. In simple terms electronically, what is required to use the drivetrain from something like a 10 or 15 year old Dodge Dakota drivable donor. Can go either way with a clip or engine swap (preferred) and the updated rear axel. Just want enough power to run highway speed and pull one of my little vintage campers around. Thinking of the V6 or small V8 with auto trans. Cost is a concern so would like use donor to get everything required. Am worried about instrumentation as I would like to retain original look. Have already converted to power disc brakes and can handle the rest of front suspension mods if I do a swap. Sure I can find an older Mopar engine and tranny but then they will probably need rebuild etc. Reliability and mileage of the newer drivetrain is what I am looking for. Some mild customizing to follow. Your input appreciated.
a friend swapped a 318 Plymouth with either 704 or 727 transmission into his `47 Plymouth. Ford explorer rear on stock rear springs , disc brakes added to stock front suspension. it all worked out great. he got the engine/trans mounts from Butch's
As for instrumentation, you should be able to use your stock dash cluster. IIRC, the Mopar temp guage is Bourden Tube style, requires using the original block/head fitting to seat the 'bulb'. The oil pressure guage is direct reading, just need to hook to an oil gallery, probably use a 'tee' on the new engine pressure sender port. Amp meter is no problem to hook up, though the amp range may be too low for an HO alternator. Fuel guage is adaptable to 12volts. Any sensors needed to run the engine electronics should be able to remain intact with the install. You might check with some of the harness makers to see if there is a simplified FI harness for the Mopar engine as is commonly available for Ford/GM engines.
Have you considered rebuilding the stock engine? I know someone who had a 42 Plymouth coupe. The engine ran well but was tired and had low compression. He decided to get it rebuilt and change the rear axle. When he tried it with the rebuilt engine he was surprised how much more power it had because the old engine didn't seem to run that bad. But with the fresh rebuild he had no desire to change gears or anything else. Those old flathead Plymouths and Dodges will continue to run with no bangs or knocks in an advanced state of wear. As they wear out they just get down on power and hard to start. It is also a very simple engine to rebuild and parts are cheap. Vintage Power Wagons has new NOS pistons for $75 a set of 6. Other parts are cheap and easy to get. You can do a mild hop up with reground cam, milled head, dual exhaust and bigger carb for a little extra oomph. If you can do the work yourself it should be possible to rebuild it for less than $1000. It would be hard to do an engine swap for that little when you add everything up. Normal life between rebuilds, 50,000 to 80,000 miles. Longer today because of better oil and materials.
If you do a motor swap you will need to swap rears because of the Detroit U-joints and the e-brake on the transmission. Instead of a frame swap, swap in an IFS and IRS from a XJ6, XJ12 or XJ-S Jaguar. There are some good threads here that tell how. That will give you amazing handling, ride and brakes - plus rack and pinion steering. A Jag donor will cost you less than $1000 and you will get everything you need, even pedal boxes in you want them. As for motors, with the stock steering gone you can fit almost anything in there. Even a V12 Jag.
Speaking of towing little campers around.... check out this guy's ride. 1951 DeSoto Suburban 8 passenger sedan towing a 15 foot camping trailer with the original flathead six and 4:11 gears. http://www.allpar.com/cars/desoto/suburban-1951.html My favorite quote: "at high altitudes, at 70MPH it smooths out like a perfectly balanced turbine". The DeSoto/Chrysler big six is basically a bolt in swap to your car except it is 2" longer.
Have no plans for a full frame swap. Have already relocated front shocks with '50 F1 brackets, rebuilt front suspension and kingpins upgraded to power disk brakes and am looking for Jeep sway bar next time I hit the U Pull. Also added 6 volt electric fuel pump, rebuilt carb and rewired car while adding turn signals, replaced all brake and fuel lines and every piece of rubber on the car . Plan on swapping lower spring pocket to bottom of A arm and installing new spring to lower the front just a little while getting rid of tired old coils. Totally rebuilt instrument panel with new and restored parts. Finding that rascally watch spring was a bear. Happened upon a NOS light switch in Detroit last month while visiting. Have all material for interior and will sew it all up myself. Maybe I should just upgrade to a better rear axel with maybe a 373 or so ratio and disc breaks and see how that works. If I can live with cruise speed I have another 218 I can go ahead and start rebuilding myself with just paying for machine work. Trans is good just will need a clutch and plate soon. Weather was nice today and went for a ride, Love this ugly old beast. Question ? Is there any reason I can't relocate rear spring mounts to fit newer springs to go along with newer rear end? Am going to U Pull and measure every spring I can to see if anything comes close. Figure as heavy s this car is springs from a PU or jeep might be heavy enough if I can find something close to the right ride height. If I don't like the cruise speed the only thing I will be out is the cost of some drive shaft work. Then I will rethink the Power train or at least be looking for one. My campers weight between 1300 and 2000 pounds loaded and just want to be able to go down the expressway reliably at 65 so I don't get run over. Usually my trips are 700 mile round trip or less. Pics of car and my campers http://www.flickr.com/photos/39874725@N05/
That's a very Ala Kart looking avatar. Keep reading about the T5 swap but don't see anything about anyone who has done I and is driving it.
I have yet to do an old Mopar, but I have put a T5 in just about everything else. I really like the old flathead six. If you mill the head to get a better compression ratio (stock is like 7.1:1), you can get a bunch of power, with no increase in fuel utilization. http://home.comcast.net/~tcbass/t5.html There is a Ford pattern adapter, too, but the S10 T5 has better ratios for the little six. The Ford stuff is V8 power and torque oriented, and you don't have that. A Ford 8.8 would work in the rear. The 8.8 uses a 1310 u-joint. There are off-the-shelf 1310 transmission yokes for the GM T5, in the race car catalogs, as there are pre-made driveshafts, in every length you could think of. The trick is matching all of the gear ratios, and the tire size. A 3.76 S10 T5, and 3.55, or 3.73 gears in an 8.8, depending on tire height, would do the trick, I think. Certainly a lot less work than a full engine swap. You already own the engine.
Rambler motor. I guess you can get one from a Jeep with an AX-15 5 speed transmission already attached. You would have to do something to the rear of it to eliminate the transfer case. There are no dual- or triple-carb manifolds for this engine, though. Just 4 barrel manifolds. You might be better off with a Stovebolt 6.
I would think you could de-electronic a late model 318 pretty easy if they use the same parts as the older ones. A points style dizzy, an aluminum intake and carb, GM style alternator and you're in business. I'm not really familiar with MoPars, but I know you can do the 5.0 Ford's that way real easy.
Was looking at rear end yesterday and noticed left rear has been rubbing on frame. Shackles and hangers are totally shot. Just another reason to put in newer diff and springs. Will have to make left turns only until I fix it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is a 5 speed trans from a Mazda / Ford Ranger pickup, mid to late '80s, that works very well with the Mopar 6. the Mopar enthusiasts site, P15/D24, has a thread or two that details the swap. As for the AX15 trans, it can be found in 2 wheel drive versions in some Cherokees and more commonly in full size Dodge & Dakota pickups. The AX15 has a semi-integral bellhousing, but it is removable. If, for instance, you found a Dakota trans but wanted to use it with an AMC/Jeep engine, you can swap the bellhousing from a 4x4 Jeep AX15 to the Dodge trans. Also, Novak Adapters has a face plate that replaces the bellhousing and configures the front of the AX15 to common GM/Chevy specs, so the AX15 can be used behind a variety of engines.
I love these old MOPAR 6's. I had a '48 Plymouth Business coupe for years. Then a '41 Tudor sedan and I now have a '48 Dodge club coupe. Lot's of easy upgrades as others have said to the 6 to make it a good driver. Also, disc brakes up front from a Ford Explorer and an Explorer rear end . T5's are great with these as are the early 50's Chrysler 3 speeds with the overdrive. They are hard to find but out there. Check out Losthope's thread on what he's up to: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=853965
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