I have a 48 Chrysler New Yorker that I am thinking of putting in an early 392 Hemi. I am concerned about the steering box as it looks like it may be in the location where the exhaust manifold will land. Has anyone done such a conversion and what did you do with the steering? Thank You, Roger Ps, I may be using the engine that is in my avatar.
I don't think it depends on the body style. It's a New Yorker and, as I remember, they're all 8-cyls. I was surprised when I put a 354 Hemi in my 54 Plymouth. I figured that I'd need a flange set for the headers but I bought a pair of "block huggers" just so they'd have something to cut apart. The strange thing is, the ports almost point straight down because of the hemi configuration and they were used completely. Maybe you'll luck out too.
@Roger Walling I have two experiences from way back with similar issues with my ‘53 Plymouth ragtop. In the first instance I installed an early hemi 331 (extended bell housing) and ran into starter/steering box interference. For reasons other than that, and there were several, I aborted the swap and reinstalled the OE six engine. About a year later, I got a ‘55 Dodge 270 hemi and began again. This time most of the other issue were either non-existent or more easily solved, except for the starter/steering box interference. In both instances, stock exhaust manifolds fit within the chassis. The solution I chose for that was to narrow the box section of the chassis were the steering box mounted, moving the box outward about 2”. The frame was a box section, consisting of two face to face ‘C’ channels. By cutting the welds and the inner ‘C’ channel either side of the steering gear, the inner section was pushed into the outer section and the ends of the notch closed with filler sections welded in. On the outside, I added a 1/2” fishplate that spanned the notched section to regain some strength. Tie rod lengths had to be adjusted accordingly to center the steering. The thing about the early (non extended bell) Mopar V8s, they all have the same block to trans dimensions and bolt pattern. Hence, the starter location is the same for 241 Dodge through 392 Chrysler. However, overall size of Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler hemi engines grows a couple of inches with each make. Ray
I used the block hugger headers and the steering clearance was not an issue with my 392 in my 40 ford. Depends on the front rail width of yours though.
I had a 1941 Plymouth Deluxe 4 door with a 241 Dodge Red Ram back up by a two speed auto (had a natural but no park) transmission that came with the engine. Everything fit even the cast iron exhaust manifolds.
I put a 1969 383 with a 707 auto in one of these. The steering box was in the way for the rear of the factory exhaust manifold. I had to modify it by chopping and welding. To change the spark plug would require a engine lift. The good part was the 1969 N.Y. drive shaft was the correct length and the yoke for the rear U joint also fit on the 48's rear end.
Great car, my father had one, used, early '50s, We used to call it 'The Bomber'. Good Luck with your Hemi. Thanks for the pics.
@Roger Walling Regarding ‘bump steer’. None that I can recall. I thought the Plymouth drove fine, but this all happened in 1962 and I wasn’t even aware of the concept or term at the time. Years later I discovered that ‘53/‘54 V8 Dodges had a factory frame with greater width between the frame rails in that area moving the steering box outward a bit. Instead of the Plymouth long and short tie rods, those Dodges used an intermediate tie rod link with an idler arm on the right side….and two outboard tie rods of equal length. If I were now doing what you are intending I would take the steering linkage geometry into consideration and try to determine the actual effect when moving the suspension up and down a couple of inches, at the wheel, from ride height. Millions of cars were produced with ‘imperfect’ geometry to some degree, even now, and in normal driving it wasn’t noticeable. Stripping the car of the front sheet metal assembly (aka front clip) is a real benefit when doing an engine swap on older vehicles. Removing the OE power train is the next step. Then, I would also remove the front springs and support the chassis at desired ride height. With simple measuring tools you can determine the geometry of the stock suspension and see what you have now. You could, at that point, modify the steering box location to provide the starter clearance you need (a 1/2” to 3/4” is sufficient imo) and mock up the tie rods and check geometry again. Depending on the results, you can go with it or consider your options. Ray
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