1949 Mopar More-door build

[falconvan]

I'll give that a shot, thanks.

 

[falconvan]

I needed some kind of heater and the original one took up too much space under the hood. After looking at several different kinds of old heaters on ebay, I decided to go with this from good old JC Whitney. It's 7" square with a heater core and two speed blower and should tuck up under the dash nicely. I'll just have to build a little sheet metal plenum so it can run some air to the defrost duct. Plus it's new and under $140.

 

[falconvan]

I got my heater in this weekend and it works great. I used the controls from the 49 and a generic OReilys heater valve. I also got the cowl seal on (without it the back of the hood was rattling) and my friend Kyle was kind enough to buff the whole car for me. The old paint came out looking pretty decent.

 

[Snake Farm]

That's gonna be a nice "all weather" driver now!

 

[falconvan]

A friend came by today; he was cleaning out his dad's garage after he passed away last year. His dad was a car builder and avid hubcap collector. He gave me a set of these for the car; I think they look pretty spiffy.

 

[bob w]

Nice. They look like Dodge Lancer or an aftermarket cap styled after a Lancer cap. Perfect for your Mopar.

 

[falconvan]

I pulled the old tank and got the fuel cell mounted. Looks like it was a good move; I looked in the old tank with a flashlight and it was rusted pretty bad all the way around. Now I just need to run the fuel lines and the vent and we'll be back on the road.

 

[Sam_Fear]

Those caps are sweet!

 

[falconvan]

Well, after cruising the 51 around for the last few months I got a call from a HAMB member (dhcustoms) about wanting my car and working out a deal for a 49 Plymouth business coupe he had. After a few weeks of talking back and forth and exchanging pictures, I took the 51 to Cleveland and brought the 49 home yesterday. He wanted the bigger car to haul around more grandkids than the business coupe could hold. Dennis is a great guy to deal with, very honest, and he did an awesome job on this car. Im proud to be the new owner.

 

[Snake Farm]

Wow, sweet trade! [cl[cl You always see ads that say...."all the hard part done, ready for paint" but that thing looks like just that! That's a good lookin' coupe for sure!

 

[jfg455]

nice! [cl

 

[Snake Farm]

..... Dennis is a great guy to deal with, very honest, and he did an awesome job on this car. Im proud to be the new owner.

Oh and don't sell yourself short......he should be proud to own your '51 too!

 

[ronnysplymouth]

I like much better cuz I just don't really like 4 doors that much.......now to drop another small block in this one.

 

[falconvan]

I really liked the way I had my 51 drivetrain set up but I've always wanted a business coupe. This thing is new top to bottom; suspension all powder coated with Fatmans dropped spindles and disc brake conversion, new exhaust, glass, upholstery, weatherstrip, fresh engine with dual carbs and exhaust, and the list goes on and on. The guy had a boatload of work and money in this thing. Plans are to just drive it as is for the summer, paint it red this winter, and maybe next year build a stroked 360 with the same 5 speed setup I had in the 51. He really liked the 51, too. He wanted the bigger car to haul around a pack of grand kids. Worked out great for both of us!

 

[bob w]

That's a cute little coupe. Sounds like the owner did all the little things that make an old car comfortable to drive.

Do you think that 6 cylinder would push a little T bucket pretty good?

 

[falconvan]

Thanks Bob. I think it would, they make about 100-125 hp.

 

[falconvan]

Ok, I made it about three weeks with the flathead before I broke out the wrenches. It runs really smooth but tooling down the interstate at 60 MPH while everything blows by like you're standing still is not for me. So the flathead went on Ebay and it's time for an upgrade before we put paint on the car.

First thought was a small block Mopar; either a 318 or 360 with a 5 speed and an 8.8 just like I had my 51 set up. But last weekeknd I took the car up to one of our local shows and the guy a few spaces down from me had a 46 Chevy street rod with a really cool looking drivetrain setup. He had a 3.2 Taurus SHO motor turned front ways with a Ranger 5 speed behind it. Very slick looking, sounded great, and the guy loved it. I have the same motor sitting in my garage that I was going to use for another project but now its got me thinking. I've got a Mopar with a Chevy engine, just did a Mopar with a Mopar engine, why not try one with a Ford? Lo and behold, there's another one in September's Street Rodder, this one in a 36 Ford.

So here I've got the motor, wiring harness, computer, fuel tank, and basically everything to make the swap work except for the 8.8 and a Ranger 5 speed. What the heck, I'm going for it. I think this will make a pretty cool little cruiser.

 

[ronnysplymouth]

Beats putting a SBC in there

 

[falconvan]

Beats putting a SBC in there

Nope, no SBC. It's this or a SBM.