Hi guys. New here. I've been reading through some posts here in the past months and it inspired me to pick up a 53 plymouth Cambridge. I would love to chop the top in the future and I'm sure I will be posting plenty of pics and questions. First I want to do the motor work. I found a Chevy 350 and trans with some good ad on for a great price. Do peope do this kond of swap often.? If so are there problems I should look out for? The straight 6 that is in it now and the manual trans run and are currently in the car now. Is that worth selling? Do people buy them? Any advice is welcomed and thanks for reading guys.
There's a reason the 350 Chevy is known as the "Bellybutton" engine, everyone has them. I'd say get a rear sump 318 out of a pick up or van instead, old Dodge pick ups tend to be cheap.
As for the current running gear it's basically a boat anchor unless you find someone that want's it. Not too much demand for the old Plymouth engines. HRP
I and a lot of other people would disagree. There is nothing wrong with the flathead six especially if it is running good or maybe just needs an oil change and tuneup. If it was mine the first thing I would do is go over it and get it running nice, brakes steering etc working, and have fun with it. Drive it around and see how you like it. Then map out a plan of what you would like to do regarding body mods, looks, performance etc. Do a search for flathead six and see what people are doing with them. There are guys that love them and hop them up. Unfortunately the little Plymouth is the least desirable model. You might find someone in your area to buy it but the value is only a couple hundred $$$ bucks unless it is in perfect shape, and if it was in perfect shape you wouldn't be taking it out.
If you insist on swapping in a V8 the Chev is probably the easiest, easier than a Plymouth or Dodge V8. I don't like to say this but it is true. Your car was designed for a six cylinder and nothing else, no V8 was ever offered in that chassis. If you got a car just a year or 2 newer it would be a lot easier to do a swap because by that time they had a V8 and the chassis was made to fit one, even the six cylinder cars. One odd feature your car has, is a hand brake on the transmission. That means, no hand brake on the rear axle. So, if you swap out engine and trans, you have to change the rear axle as well. Not to mention radiator, wiring, change from 6v to 12v etc. I hope the ol' six is looking better and better.
One problem with swapping in a V8. At car shows everyone will look at your engine and go "so what" because every car has one. If you keep the flatty you can expect a lot more compliments on your "cool" engine even if you leave it stock and just clean it up and paint it.
Another good site to check out that's dedicated to the old mopars is, http://p15-d24.com/ I agree with Rusty, keep the old flathead, seems like now in days everything gets a V8. Get it roadworthy and enjoy cruising it around.
You can make the straight 6 look cool and it will be different that all the V8's you will see. This is what I have put in my '53 Plymouth Suburban.
Funny people don't go so what about my cars even when I have a car that came with one. Here's the deal on the old Plymouth. If you go with a v8unless you go with a flathead ford the rear is going to have to be changed. That old paper mache rear won't handle much more torque than what it came with. if you stay with the flat motor it will be an OK driver, probably won't break any land speed records but it will be perfect for learning on. I know when I was a kid we had a lot of inebriated fun in those old Chrysler products. I would use the car as a learning tool in preparation for the next big project.
Porky ol' boy if you said you were going to put a Chev V8 in a 53 Plymouth I would say go for it, and I would expect you would be driving it around next week. But if a kid as green as grass comes along and says I just bought my first old car, a 53 Plymouth 4 door sedan, and I want to put in a Chev V8 and chop the top, my first thought is to slow down and don't bite off more than you can chew. If he has the time, money, tools and smarts to get it on the road with good brakes, steering, and a smooth running engine, he is already doing better than I did with my first car project. Let's see him driving it around, even with spray bomb primer and Mexican blanket seats, and go from there.
One problem with swapping in a CHEVY V8 is .......At car shows everyone will look at your engine and go "so what" because every car has one. Edited for accuracy!
That car looks to be in pretty decent shape body wise. Rusty is giving you really good advice.That is not an easy car to put a SBC in.Why not get it running and driving if you can and drive it some? Those are easy to work on and parts are available.Being able to drive your project makes a huge difference in motivation level for most folks. If you run into trouble someone here will generally have the answer.Good luck.
Rusty that's some good advice. Thanks. This is why I love this site so far. You guys are a huge help already. So far it runs great steering and breaks are good. It's converted to 12v already with alternator. Slowly fixing the body. I'll post more pics tomorrow when I have the daylight. As soon as my license plate comes in I can't wait to drive it around. You guys are right. Maybe just clean it up some and drive it around a bit before I jump into anything like an engine swap.
I'll give you the same advice I give guys I build cars for. What you do to the car depends on how you're going to drive it. Take it out on Sundays and toodle around to car shows, burger joints, ice cream parlors, then keep the original driveline. If you want to keep up with traffic, hot rod around, put a V-8 in it. If you plan on going on long trips, hiway speeds, and want a safe driving, steering, and stopping car, update the whole chassis! If you even attempt to drive a car 'normally' today, you'll need good steering and brakes to avoid the huge number of inattentive, stupid drivers on the road. "The longer you drive, or the faster you drive, the better the chassis needs to be".
A little inspiration for you! I did work on this one for a young guy, a long time ago, but he's working on it and changing it himself, in my shop.
Hi. Rusty said - One problem with swapping in a V8. At car shows everyone will look at your engine and go "so what" because every car has one. If you keep the flatty you can expect a lot more compliments on your "cool" engine even if you leave it stock and just clean it up and paint it. Could not have said it better. My little coupe always draws a crowd when the hood is raised because so many lookers at the shows or cruise nights just have NEVER seen anything like this. I get way more questions & conversations than the ho hum small blocks in similar cars. I totally agree. Unless you plan to make it a race car why would you need a V8 engine??? Even if you drag race it there are classes for these. When I was a teenager in the 50's doing drag races I was happier than a bug on poop with my 18 - 19 second runs. If you plan to drive it daily just get it running. Check out the rear end ratio & see what it has as many of the old 6 cylinder cars had 411 rears & just do not work well at today's higher Hwy speeds because you are screaming the six if you run 70 on the road. Remember that back in the day the speed limits were often 45 - 55 MPH on most roads. That was pre Interstate HWY's. I changed the 411 in my 46 Chevy coupe to a 355 & increased rear tire size from 600/16 bias to 700R/16 radial's along with 600R/16 radials for the front & now it cruises down the road at 65-70 with low engine rpm & is not a Hwy hazard poking along causing wrecks. My 6 cylinder engine is my photo avatar on my posts here. But above all else it is your car & your build so do it whatever way you like & enjoy. Jimmie
I have a list of links you may find helpful - I started collecting them because I would like to get a 50 Plymouth Suburban for a retirement project. P15-D24 Plymouth and Dodge 1950 Plymouth Special Deluxe 1950 Plymouth Engine Rebuild Page 1950-1953 Plymouth & Dodge Thread....lets see what you got. 1950 Plymouth Suburban Wagon Official Chrysler Flathead 6 W/ Dual Carbs Dual Exhaust Thread Flat head 6's lets see them Mopar flathead 6 motors- whats to be expected | The H.A.M.B. Projects - Free engine followed me home today | The H.A.M.B. Can a 241 Dodge Red Ram Hemi fit as an easy swap into a 1950 Plymouth? Lets Talk Mopar Flathead 6's... | The H.A.M.B. Hot Rods - My full race flatty 6. First fire video. | The H.A.M.B. HotRodders mopar flat head 6 performance parts - Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board AllPar Flat Head Engines: Plymouth-Dodge-DeSoto-Chrysler Six and Eight Butch's Cool Stuff ECI Disc Brake Conversion Kits - Chrysler Products Edgy Speed Shop Langdon's Stovebolt - Specializing in Inline Six Cylinder High Performance Parts Quality Engineered Components Red's Headers Scarebird 1946-54 Plymouth Deluxe, Special, P15, Dodge w/10" drum front disc 1935 Plymouth various links 5 Speed, Not T5 - P15-D24 Forum - P15-D24.com and Pilot-house.com
Don't worry, even if it's running and driving great, as you start actually using these old cars things will start going wrong and there will be lots of things to fix. That's a good thing, because fixing old cars is the best way to learn about them. The flathead six will probably grow on you. Cool car, congrats, the fact it's running and driving already is huge.
Cook87, if it were me I'd pass on a 53 Plymouth. Not the most desirable body style to be dumping a lot of time and money into. Gary
I am currently working on a 53 convertible for a guy. I`ve been looking for a flathead six for a while for my pre 40`s build. I`ve always heard for years, they are the best sounding motors with the split manifolds. My other buddy tells me he tore up 3 cars and never had a problem with his motor. He drove them like he stole them. They have plenty of power for cruising around also.
If it runs, drive it while constructing a build plan or a for-sale sign. If you keep the flathead 6, try to maintain a straight face while driving it around with your favorite straw hat on. But to your original question: A chevy small block will go in with some home made mount brackets....watch for interference at your steering box. I'd replace the drive shaft and rear axle with ford explorer parts. swap to front discs and it'll stop on a dime. If it was my car, I'd use one of those fatman Mustang II setups on 2"X3" square tubing rails.....the steering rack will clear any engine and you can sit the car down nice and low. A guy here in town had a 53-54 tudor set up that way . He loved it. I had a 50 ford with the complete fatman setup and it drove great,sat low and used a 350 chevy with no problems.
Welcome to the HAMB. Make it safe , drive it and enjoy it . Think about what you would change about it while you are driving around.
There would be many interested in the old drivetrain. You can still get parts for them, the flatheads were made all the way up into the 70's for industrial applications. So they are not gold, but to the restorers, they are desirable. Myself, I would want to drive it as is for a bit. Make a game plan to change what you think you must have, I would think modern disk brakes to be a first improvement, That might include a rearend swap to get the disk brakes and gearing you want. you might think about a T5 5 speed swap at the same time. You could make it work with the flat 6 and then only need to get a new driveline once. Then later could swap the motor. But I would drive it and make a plan first. Good luck and have fun.
If you decide to keep the original engine, a big improvement would be to find an overdrive transmission. Quite a few of the Plymouths that year had overdrive, so the transmissions are out there somewhere. With the overdrive, you will not be straining the engine as much at modern highway speeds.
I had a '52 Plymouth 2 door. I swapped in a T5 (5 speed OD), converted the brakes to 4 wheel discs with lever activated calipers on the rear so I had parking brakes, 12V conversion (already done on yours), electronic ignition, and modern radial tires. The car was a joy to drive. Not a tire burner, but with OD, it would run at 70 no problem, and the 4 wheel discs (manual, NOT power) slowed it down in a hurry. If I had kept the car, I would have had the head shaved .090 to bump the compression up to 8.5:1 (up from about 7:1), which, from what I understand, is the quickest, cheapest way to wake up the 218. It's a 4 door. Don't go nuts on it, but DO learn on it and drive it. Have fun. Chris
So I know it's been a while since I posted but I figured I would post some pics of the progress Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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