So had a lack of impulse control moment a few months ago and bought a project. A 59 plymouth Suburban wagon 4 Dr with a Poly A 318 and 3sp manual with overdrive. The car sat for years in Nor Cal and has great surface rust on is so im going to leave that as is and restore the interior to new. I want to leave the original Poly A 318 and have been to the poly a group on yahoo and plan on hopping it up a bit with new cam, new intake and probably have headers made with dual exhaust. Dont plan on racing it but want it to have the guts to get out of the way if needed. I want to make this a daily driver get it out to be seen. I plan on doing some long trips this is where I need some advice from folks who have probably been there already. A buddy suggests I drop a Fat Man or comprable front suspension system into the car. I was already planning on the disc brake conversion from AAJ. I suspect this thing will steer like a boat even with a full front end rebuild so maybe that is the way to go? I also plan on switching out the rear for an explorer 8.8 or other suitable alternative: better ratios available for hwy driving, disc's for the rear on post 94 rear ends. The current ratio is a 4.11 or 3.73 with a 8 3/4 inch rear. Im a rookie at this so i appreciate any advice in advance. Here are a few pics of the Burb. Thanks
Unless it runs I'd swap the Poly for a LA 318. Cheaper, better, parts available everywhere. Poly parts are hard to find in B.F. Egypt. The 8 3/4 has a removable drop out so changing gear ratios is easy. Pick a ratio you like and slide it in! Have you driven the car? For your purposes the front suspension might be fine. Disc brakes I can understand, but why remove something that might work fine for your application?
GREAT looking RIDE!!! I wouldn't do anythimg but get it running before I started replacing anything. I undersand changing brakes. Be sure and check out "The Forward Look Network" This is a place for the '55-'61 Mopar crowd. I have a few Dodge andf plymouth wagons.
I wouldn't let the body continue to rust. I'd keep the Poly. Get a 392 adaptor from T R Waters or Q.E.C.(73RR here) & put the overdrive A/T in it with a newer axle. The front end is a good torsion bar suspension, perfectly fine with a disc upgrade. The LA 318 would be cheaper, but I'd still do the A, plus they can take a pretty good overbore.
Keep the poly, put a 4 barrel on it and a 340 grind cam in it and dual exhaust, headers with equal length 36'x 1 1/2 primaries and 2 1/2" collectors will give you pretty good power. Polys torque like a small big block, just what you need in that big old Plymouth. You are going to have to build your own headers BTW, in case you hadn't guessed, and there are a number of threads on here on Poly 318 a motors that will put you in the right direction for cams and parts interchange with LA motors. sweet ride!
The original rearends in these cars suck balls, because the drums are a super huge pain in the ass to take off. I'm told B-body Mopar rear axles fit real nice, I have a '68 Charger rearend saved for one of my ForwardLook projects. That would be time well spent. Same with the disc upgrade, not that I'm in love with discs but the dual wheel cylinder front drum setup on these cars is expensive to redo ($50 per cylinder) and they're not all that reliable (at least, they haven't been for me) so I think that's another good plan you have. The stock front suspension on these cars has torsion bars and they ride and handle quite nicely as long as the bushings and all that is good, putting in a different front clip would be a huge waste of time and money, that's definitely an area where Mopar did it right. The Poly engine and stick/OD setup in the car now is pretty sweet and I personally would keep it. A 4 barrel intake, cam, and dual exhaust would produce nice power and the overdrive trans should be real good for highway trips. If you insist on keeping the rusty old paint, at the very least clean it with CLR and oil the whole body with Gibbs or something to keep it from getting rustier. It'll really go to hell fast if you just leave it.
Oh, and a dual chamber master cylinder from an early 70's Dart pretty much bolts into these cars so that's another cheap and wise upgrade to do.
If you have any real plans to 'go inside' the 318 then talk with Gary Pavlovich first. He is a member here but not a regular so send him and email vs a pm. .
DOs: Keep the Poly Late 60's B-Body 8 3/4" rear or your 8.8 idea (I lkie the 8.8, cheap easy to find and strong) protect the body Upgrade the brakes (Dual Master, front discs) Rebuild the stock front suspension The stock steering box can be rebuilt into a "Firm Feel" DONTs: Cut up the frame for a fat man Mustang II suspension clip the frame The 318 poly is a great motor, hop up parts are rare and $$ but it will run forever. Any late model small block Mopar trans will bolt up to the back, even the 5 speed manuals from V-6 Dakotas work. Hell even the new transmissions from the new Hemis will bolt up. The Mopar suspensions from the late 50's were very well designed the only problem is the over boosted power steering. If it was mine I'd just get it running and upgrade the brakes and drive it...
Awesome!!! A kindred spirit. I've been slowly working on a 59 Plymouth Suburban between other things. I'm jealous, my body is lots of rust and filler! I've replaced the eyebrows, right rockers, both inner and outer, and the right side floorboard. Lot's to do yet. I swapped in a 95 360 Magnum attached to an A833 O/D but am using the stock rear end. Whatever you do, do it your way. It's your car.
Nice Ride! Im almost on the road. Got the rear drums off finally after the ups guy arrvied with the real puller. Ruined 2 of my cheapie ones....having the right tool helps. Just waiting for the gas tank to get finished....it started leaking when i was pounding on the rear axle.....Sending unit gas tube was rotted off so getting it rebuilt.
Nice Ride! Im almost on the road. Got the rear drums off finally after the ups guy arrvied with the real puller. Ruined 2 of my cheapie ones....having the right tool helps. Just waiting for the gas tank to get finished....it started leaking when i was pounding on the rear axle.....Sending unit gas tube was rotted off so getting it rebuilt.
The right puller makes those tapered axle hub removals a snap. I've got a mechanic buddy who has one I borrow. My fuel pickup/sending unit was shot as well. Pricy but what are you gonna do. I got it a couple of years ago and the gas gauge quit working again. :-/ I need to trace the wiring. How rusty is your tank? Fuel line ok? Keep us posted and keep after it!
Keep the torsion front suspension. Many of the Station wagons came with anti-sway bars. If yours doesn't have 'em, find some and add it to the system. That is still a very good front suspension system. The polys had good horsepower and were very economical. Not as good as a modern EFI system, but they were a great engine. I love the old Mopar Station Wagons. Got a cool ride there. Don't screw it up.
My first car was a 59 Savoy with a 318 poly and I will guarantee that you cannot abuse one to death! I tried.
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