1939 Plymouth Rat (snake)

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charliebob

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
146
Location
Alabama
This seems an appropriate time to begin a build thread on a 39 Plymouth, since a 6' rat snake moved in about an hour after I removed doors, fenders, and stripped the interior! I had though about making it shiny, but the rats have it!

Front suspension will be Supra. Rear suspension will likely be a MK3 Supra IRS with torsen diff, but may be Ford 8.8 or 9". Have yet to make an engine decision. May be Toyota !JZ or 1UZ, or ubiquitous SBC (have), or 454 Rat (also have). Stay tuned, and get out the popcorn!
 

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Popcorn time ..... and there seem to be many popcorn lovers on this forum!

Here is the Supra front suspension--also on some 1990s Lexus SC models--that I plan to use. This is the third one for me.

I have nothing against Mustang II IFS, except cost. The Toyota/Lexus piece is available here and JDM sources, and costs a fraction of a new MII. Crown Vics are also OK, but much too wide. Jaguar IFS is also OK (used on my 56 Dodge truck), but is rear steer which is a problem with many engines that have rear sumps.

Good suspension geometry, rack & pinion, big brakes, parts available but rarely needed. All in one unit that attaches with only a few bolts. Popcorn anyone?
 

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This seems an appropriate time to begin a build thread on a 39 Plymouth, since a 6' rat snake moved in about an hour after I removed doors, fenders, and stripped the interior! I had though about making it shiny, but the rats have it!

His cousin moved into my shop! :eek:

BoB
 

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I like the looks of that Supra front end, how wide is it hub face to hub face? Is it torsion bar?
Liking the idea of the Toyota motor, too. Those big sixes have some good power. I wanted a Supra back in the early 80's but couldn't afford the payments, went with a Corolla SR5 instead. It had the Hemi head 4 cylinder, lots of fun in the small car. Wife hated the mpg's though, so it got traded in on a VW Rabbit diesel.
 
I like the looks of that Supra front end, how wide is it hub face to hub face? Is it torsion bar?
Liking the idea of the Toyota motor, too. Those big sixes have some good power. I wanted a Supra back in the early 80's but couldn't afford the payments, went with a Corolla SR5 instead. It had the Hemi head 4 cylinder, lots of fun in the small car. Wife hated the mpg's though, so it got traded in on a VW Rabbit diesel.

Hey from Opelika, Bamamav!

The Supra front is about 63.5" hub (wheel mounting surface) to hub. With Toyo 16x7 50mm wheels and 235 tires, outside tire bulge to bulge is under 70".

The 39 Plymouth is 72" wide, so the Supra will work (barely!)

A JDM 1JZ or 2JZ turbo engine with AT and ECU can be obtained complete for < $2k. The 1UZ V8, domestic or JDM is less. Early ones did not have antitheft in the ECMs. I can't rebuild a 350/350 for that, much less one with 300 hp!
 
Wow, didn't know we were almost neighbors! For those that don't know the geography of our state, Opelika is on the east side, I'm on the west side.

I'm liking the looks of that front end more and more, might have to find me one one of these days for My Lincoln. It's pretty wide, a 67 Fairlane rear put my rear tires dead center of the fenders, and I think that is a 58" wide rear IIRC. Sounds like it might be about the right width with some shallow offset wheels up front.
 
I'm liking the looks of that front end more and more, might have to find me one one of these days for My Lincoln.

I'm not sure, but I think they are essentially the same for 1995-2000 Lexus LS400, SC300 and SC400. Brakes might not be as big as on the Supra. B'ham pull-a-part may have one.
 
Is it torsion bar.

No, it has tall strut. The upper a-arm is just barely big enough for a coilover, as shown in the attached pic of a 36 Nash I built several years ago.

You will want to get the stock sway bar.
 

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Started building a frame for the Plexus (!) but progress may be slow due to the heat.

I wanted to use much of the original frame, but the metal thickness is too thin for me and even thinner than some older Dodge frames I have worked with. The main c-channel frame rail is an 1/8" or less. After sand blasting through the rust it would be even thinner. I may use the X-member with my new frame rails, tho.
 

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