Projects 1940 Plymouth Coupe Build!

Well, I haven't really been working on the Plymouth lately to take a small break for the inevitable long haul to get the frame done with tranny mount, motor mounts, and R&P mounts.... BUT, I decided to start back in today. I found the spot for the engine, everything is perfectly level, now onto working on the tranny cross member. I need to do a little more chopping on that, but overall I should have it pretty much put together tomorrow. I will also get some steel and match 36dodgerams rack and pinion mount setup and install that so everything is good to go. I should be able to get that together as well.

Here are some shots:

 

Not a lot of room there for me. I will have to take a look at it and see what I can do... It is going to suck to have to hunt for something else. Maybe I can find something that will fit for cheap... any ideas on what will fit other than a custom one made to stock specs?

 

Great to see you're back at it Scott. Looking good as always!

 

I adapted one of thes by welding some angle brackets to the side, then move the radiator to the forward side of the core support.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Champion-Al...its=Model:Model+T&hash=item417f8e01b7&vxp=mtr

You will have to do a little sheet metal work but it will fit. Check my build thread for pics.

Good luck.

 

Well I started working on the rack and pinion mounts today with the help of my friend Todd and free steel from work. I taught him how to weld today... he does not have any mechanical experience, but is a natural after a little help.

Here are the mounts for the rack and pinion... tomorrow I will drill some holes in it and take a stab at mounting it.





We also had this tranny cross member in and out like 12 times trying to get it close enough to work how we wanted it to. We got it close enough that I think that I will only have to do about an hours more work on it and I will have the mounting plates, the support plates, it fully welded and installed into the coupe.

 

That lower hose connection on the radiator is going to be tricky, on my '46 radiator I removed the stock lower hose neck and soldered on a straight neck, it made the lower hose nice and easy just one 90* bend instead of some crazy custom "s" bend.

 

Well I had jury duty the last couple days and was selected to be part of the jury, so not a lot of stuff done on the Plymouth the last few days. I hit it hard today to get it close enough where I can get a bunch of stuff done by the weekend. I finished up the rack and pinion brackets and got them mocked up in the coupe... tight fit!

 

Thanks guys! I found a nice one that is a 3 core aluminum that will handle this one that will fit in the stock location with extra room on top of it. I think I'm saved, but I just have to save up for it.

 

Thanks Rock, I have been working on this and found one thanks for the help!

 

Thanks Eric! I appreciate it... looking forward to some progress on yours again!

 

apache i see that you selected a radiator,,,,my friend just picked up a 40 ply,,came with a aluminum radiator made my howe,, not built for the car its just a universal radiator,,,,all we had to do was cut off the mounting that came with it and reposition it,,the rad fit in the center of the rad support not in back towards the motor,,its a little lower in hieght so the rad cap is not a problem,, if the rad was to tall the cap would be a problem with center tank mounted cap,,,he runs a big mechanical fan and car stays at 178/180 also has a electric fan full size of the rad on the front made to run as a pusher if ever needed,,,you dont need to have one custom built to fit exactly unless you perfer that look good luck

 

apache your rack mounting hardware looks new,, did you get it from a donor car or find a source for the mounting straps and rubber mounts ?? is that a fat man kit ??? if not where did you get the adapters to go from the cavliere tie rods to what ever tie rod ends your using ?? the current tie rod ends being used are 2004/05 explorer fit the 40 steering arms,,,

 

These are parts that I got from Rockable... He robbed them from a wrecking yard. rockauto.com has some of the mounting stuff that you will need. I copied 36dodgerams Plymouth mounting kit from Plydo (same type setup from Fatman). it is really stupid for what you pay for (over $200). It looks like Rock welded the adapters on the tie rod ends, probably because they weren't the right tie rod ends. I don't know where he got them, but will let you know how everything goes on the install tonight.

 

Well I finished up the tranny cross member and bolting plates. Once the engine and tranny are out and the body is off for me to paint the frame then I will drill and bolt up the cross member, for now tacking it in place will do fine.





Also, I found that the rack and pinion that I got with the bulk purchase was too short and decided to copy 36dodgerams setup instead... surprisingly the power rack and pinion that was needed was only $88, so I bought the reman r&p and sold my beer fridge out of the garage to pay for it. Tomorrow I will fix up the brackets and hopefully get it installed and welded so I can get this frame out this week and in paint.

 

It's commendable the sacrifices that your making for the car.LOL The refridgerator?

 

R&P too short? I made the steering arms shorter and they made lock to lock turns. I don't understand what was too short. The tie rod ends were adapted from my original tie rods to give adjustability, as I recall.

 

Yeah I can't drink beer anymore due to health issues... it sucks... so the beer fridge hasn't been used in months... might as well make some money off of it. Plus it is one less thing to move

its not wide enough and not power, the conversion kit that is called for from Plydo/Fatman requires a rack that is 33-34 " wide, the one I have now is 28-29". Its nothing against your work rock, its manual steering and I can't really use it because of a heart problem (the extra strain of doing that kind of motion causes my heart to go out of rhythm). You have plenty of adjustments on these rods for me to successfully use them along with the steering arms. At this time I am just in the process of trimming up the brackets to get everything to fit where it needs to fit for the rack and pinion.

 

Ok. You are using the Ply Do kit and I made my own. I get it. Good luck!

 

Thanks Rock! I'm using 36dodgeram's Plydo instructions and made my own kit, mounting brackets, etc., but used your steering arms and tie rod setup. From his example of it being on the road for 15-20 years without issue and rides just fine, I don't think I could go wrong.

I have the rack bolted up and in position, everything mounted on it, but will need to raise it up another inch and rotate it a bit so the rack angle will better match the steering column. Right now the steering column is practically right above the rack, but parallel to one another... too much of an angle for anything to work.

 

"I have the rack bolted up and in position, everything mounted on it, but will need to raise it up another inch and rotate it a bit so the rack angle will better match the steering column. Right now the steering column is practically right above the rack, but parallel to one another... too much of an angle for anything to work."

I never did like the way I had this worked out. It is really hard to get the u-joints and shafts set up in an acceptable way. Hope yours works well.

 

Yeah I think I will be doing the final push this evening to get it where it needs to be. Did you get your frame stub installed? how is the rack and pinion angle working out for you on it?

 

wow! great work on the frame and everything Scott! Glad you found that radiator support too. I need to remove and clean up my leaf springs and maybe remove a leaf. Thanks for posting your pics. I'm getting further along with progress on my '41. Here's a look at my new skirts:

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Hey good to hear from you and thanks! The skirts look pretty nice! Its almost a shame to cover up those nice wheel covers!

 

So was the other R&P that you didn't use a manual rack? I want to run a manual but can't find any in the local yards. I just don't want to mess with a power steering pump. If so I might be interested in taking it off your hands.

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Yes it is manual and yes I still have it. Make me an offer

 

Well after reading again it sounds like maybe I need to go with the longer power rack? Any ones opinion?

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welll i finally got back on after the new hamb soft ware,,,trying to re learn this forum,,cant find the log off button,,lol apache hows it comming??? the manual racks are near impossible to fimd

 

apache any new progress??

 

I had to thrash to get it together only to find the driveshaft was too long by 1.5 inches lol. The wheels are spot on in the wheel well, the aren't stink bugged out of the fenders like before and everything looks really good. This car sits about 5 inches from the ground on the front and I need to remove a couple leaves from the rear springs to lower it down.

 

Looking good Scott! Thanks again for the deal on the R&P. I'm going to fab that bracket soon and I just eyeballed some scrap at work this week to fab the mounting hardware. Almost time to finish my research, snag a new column, tierod hardware, and throw it together!

Hope all is going well and best of luck in the new job!

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