39 Dodge questions

[Husker]

I am now the proud owner of a 39 Dodge coupe and am kicking around ideas for building it now.

In the garage I have a 350/350 combo sitting idle that I should go with because I own it and parts are so darn cheap but I am a Mopar man and am having trouble with throwing a bowtie drive train in the old girl.

I have access to an old Nebraska State Patrol car that has the police package on it they used back in the 80's for a couple hundred bucks, kicking aroung going that way with the build.

I am also kicking around the chassis, I am wondering if a Dakota chassis would work. Anyone experiment with this before?

[enjenjo]

Go with the Mopar, it fits right in. 318 I assume. Hurst style mounts off the stock mounting ears. The rear mount comes off the Xmember, simple plate or channel. If you mount the engine back as far as possible, the fan will clear the radiator, if you move it ahead to the big six position. The only tight spot is the brake/steering/starter/kickdown linkage area. Use a Mopar FWD column, the puts the first U joint inside the body, angle the shaft out to a second U joint, with a heim mount at the inside top of the frame.  the third U joint is at the rack, because we are using a Mustang II front end.  The cop car rear is a bit wide, but will fit with the right wheels. a 65 to 70 B body rear is the right one.

[donsrods]

I know what you mean about slipping a sbc in there, it sort of seems sacreligious on some level.  But, there is a reason they are so popular for swaps.......they are compact, don't have things sticking out like some engines, they perform well and are reliable.  Add to that the fact that parts and hop up parts are cheap compared to most other brands. I just used the first sbc in 30 years in a build, and I was amazed how cheap and available stuff was.

What engine is in the cop car?  Anything will go into anything else, it just depends on how much work you want to invest to get it done.  I'm sure one of the Mopar guys on here will have great info for you though.

Don

[Husker]

It's the 318 4bbl setup, the car is a Diplomat I believe.

Somewhere along the way the frame of the 39 got molested up front by a torch. It's pretty darn tough so I won't be using it. Original plan was to have a tube frame built here in town. Then I remember a Plymouth PU I looked at a few years ago that had the Dakota frame under it and started wondering if one would work for this body as well.

[river1]

Then I remember a Plymouth PU I looked at a few years ago that had the Dakota frame under it and started wondering if one would work for this body as well.

check with steve at INDUSTRIAL CHASSIS  he's a dakota front end conversion guru. he'll set you on the right path.  don't let the weak website fool you.

later jim

[Learpilot]

Then I remember a Plymouth PU I looked at a few years ago that had the Dakota frame under it and started wondering if one would work for this body as well.

check with steve at INDUSTRIAL CHASSIS  he's a dakota front end conversion guru. he'll set you on the right path.  don't let the weak website fool you.

later jim

I love my SBC in my 36 Dodge. The most bang for your buck !
Rick Harris

[Husker]

I hear you.

[Husker]

What S-10 frame configuration "short or long box, extended cab etc." and years should I consider?

[GPster]

What S-10 frame configuration "short or long box, extended cab etc." and years should I consider?

I'm gathering up all the information I can because my Jeepster will be sitting on an S10 (S15) frame. Here is a start . The short bed pick-ups are 108' wheel base. The long bed pick-ups are 117" and the extended cabs are 122". You want to stay away from the 4X4 frames because their configuration is flatter and the spring hangers are differant. The width of the axels (tread width) is 53" on the 2 wheel drives but the 4 wheel drives have 58" wide axels and negative offset wheels to keep them looking like the same width. The 58" wide 4X4 rear axel is a "bolt-in" on the 2X4 frame and springs if you need that width and the most common fix for more tread width in the front is wheel spacers and you can find them as wide as 2 1/2" to keep things even with the rear. The frames are built in halfs (front and back) with a welded joint in the middle and the back half slips into the front half. So if you started with a frame longer than what you needed it would be an easy task to cut the welds and slide the frame together more and re-weld it. A V6 powered truck after '89 would give you an easier time using factory motor mounts but if you were going to use a 318", 340" or 360" motor the mounts would be up to you anyway. The frames seem to be of the same configuration except for the sliding together for wheelbase and I have a short bed (108") powered rolling chassis in my back yard now, I have succeeded in getting a frame drawing that they use for frame straightening and I am in the process of "whiteing out" all the dimensions and putting in the kind of dimensions that would be usefull for frame swapping but if you want any dimension before that drawing appears just let me know. I cut up the cab today and hauled it off. All that's left of it on the rolling chassis is the firewall and the floor. You can keep it on this forum or PM me if you want to know more. I don't have all the answers but I have a few more but my eyes are failing me now so more would be later. GPster

[Husker]

I have decided to go all Mopar with this project.

The chassis will be built by a buddy who builds modified and late model race car chassis. I can get this done pretty economically which always helps the wallet.

I am going to build a small block Mopar engine and run a 727 tranny to keep cost in line.

It will take some time but at least I know what the plan is now lol!