was approched last night....

tomslik · March 24, 2005, 08:57:05 AM

about doing the front suspension in a 51 dodge wayfarer.....,
don't suppose anyone has did one before,have you?
can't say as i've ever been under one.just kinda wanting to know what the frame looks like...

1st instinct is a heidts hub to hub universal kit with a power rack(owners choice).
it'll be getting a late model hemi and auto trans...

what's you guys opinion?

Charlie Chops 1940 · March 24, 2005, 10:05:18 AM

All I can remember about those cars is that they weren't small block chevy friendly as I had a friend doing one 30/35 years ago - and I think it was related to the front crossmember configuration. Universal kit may be the best way to go.

Charlie

enjenjo · March 24, 2005, 10:30:50 AM

The frame on them is a full box on the front. You will have to "straighten" the rails to install a Mustang. You might see if Fatman makes a frame stub for it.

tomslik · March 24, 2005, 11:34:18 AM

Quote from: "enjenjo"The frame on them is a full box on the front. You will have to "straighten" the rails to install a Mustang. You might see if Fatman makes a frame stub for it.

oh, don't make me go with fatman........

kb426 · March 24, 2005, 01:17:02 PM

Fill me in: whats' wrong with Fatman?

tomslik · March 24, 2005, 03:15:56 PM

Quote from: "kb426"Fill me in: whats' wrong with Fatman?

attitude....looks a little like farm equipment...

Charlie Chops 1940 · March 24, 2005, 06:29:23 PM

Heck Tom, you can do farm equipment yourself(LOL), without the attitude, right?

Charlie

tomslik · March 24, 2005, 07:10:51 PM

Quote from: "Charlie Chops 1940"Heck Tom, you can do farm equipment yourself(LOL), without the attitude, right?

Charlie

well, grew up in nebraska and i've got a couple acres so, yeah, i know what farm stuff looks like

actually, FM's crossmember itself i really don't have a problem with it's the upper control arm /spring mount that flexes aroud that bothers me....
if it's gonna be crude, it ought to be beefy!

Crosley.In.AZ · March 24, 2005, 07:34:45 PM

do you know the track width ....??

that might gives us some more idears to shoot at ya

do you think cross member kit?

or a sub frame or a clip install while maintaining the OE front section and frame behind the clip?

tomslik · March 24, 2005, 08:05:49 PM

Quote from: "Crosley"do you know the track width ....??

not yet, it's still in the body shop but they're not very wide...

that might gives us some more idears to shoot at ya

do you think cross member kit?

well, i've used a street rod engineering kit in a 47 plymmy.
if you put it in as per instructions, it sits higher than a stocker so they're out.
or a sub frame or a clip install while maintaining the OE front section and frame behind the clip?

we ALL know subframe swaps are a lot of work(more than you think) altho i've been looking at some carpsmobiles for a really promising front clip.2wd tacomas have a rear steer r&p setup and a decent track width(within an inch of a MII)

just thought somebody might have done one before and would want to share.....

Crosley.In.AZ · March 24, 2005, 08:43:48 PM

I got purty good at clip swaps when I did several of them... they can get time consuming

Beck · March 25, 2005, 06:07:27 PM

I don't want to ruin your business but the original Mopar front suspensions were not to bad stock. I assume this is like the 46-48 stuff. Dropping the spindles isn't to hard. The A arm setup isn't bad. The steering leaves a little to be desired. Brake kits are available.
If I were to look at subframes I would check out the Volare. The area to look at on these is the front tire overhang. The bracket to hold the torsion bar goes forward. You don't want to put a bulge in the front pan to have to clear them. A buddy has one on a '41 Plymouth. It rides good but has the bulges on the front pan. These were popular with the 50s Ford truck guys, don't know if they still are.
Beck

C9 · March 25, 2005, 08:45:05 PM

In the fwiw dept., these cars have no tie rod.
They have a forked pitman arm instead and a couple of draglinks - one to each side.

The main bone of contention for swaps is the steering box protrudes into the engine compt. quite a ways compared to other cars.
Generally speaking the V8 engines clear the steering box, but there are serious conflicts with the exhaust manifolds on most any engine.

The sway bars are prone to breakage.

I don't care for the stock front shock mount setup.
They attach to the upper and lower A-arms. Sounds like it wouldn't work, but it does due to the upper mounts are further inboard than the lower.
Which means the shocks don't stroke very much. A better setup here is brackets to mount the lower shock mount a little further outboard and the upper mount, mounts to the frame.

Disc brakes can be installed without too much trouble, but I don't have the detailed information on this swap.

After owning a stock 50 Plymouth coupe for a number of years I'm convinced the best way to go is with a subframe swap.

(They don't call em Mayflowers for nothing. Handling is akin to a sailboat in a following sea. Can you say wallow?)