Depends what you want. There are cores all over the place up here, if I
dig a little, I am trying to get a '56 Plymouth convert right now that
appears to be totally complete underhood. A "core" means a motor that's
been sitting for ages and needs to be torn down, and at a minimum have the
cylinders honed and new rings installed. If I happen to sell one this way
I like to pop at least one head so you can see what shape it's in, inside,
but usually if they've had a closed hood and the carb on them they're okay.
A runner is harder both due to a smaller proportion of running cars and the
fact that when a guy gets one that does run, he's that much less likely to
want to hack it up. You might try posting on some hot rod boards, if you
can find the guy stuffing a Hemi or a later motor of some sort (such as a
small block chevy - ugh - ) into his Plymouth, you might score a running, or
at least free turning, motor for not a lot of money. Of course it could
still need a rebuild, but you could probably manage to do a compression
check on it with it out of the car if you jury rig a battery to the starter.
Of course, shipping becomes the issue, unless you find one locally - you
are, however, better off spending $150-$200 between your gas and food or a
hotel to pick one up yourself, than to trust it to a shipper that will get
as much money anyways.
The other considerations are originality and how many parts are needed to
make the conversion work. The former, you open yourself up to more
possibilities if you're willing to use any early Plymouth or Dodge V8
(probably 1955-1959 here) in the car. The latter, someone with a shop
manual or more experience than I will have to tell you what else needs to be
changed to swap out the 6. Would I guess, the motor mounts may need to be
changed, and V8 car springs may be a little heavier duty. You may need a
V8 car transmission, too.
The 6 is a tough motor, an overdrive will help it on the highway if it's
straining to keep up with traffic. Performance parts exist for it, they're
scarce, but a dual carb intake and aluminum head (or maybe a plane of the
stock head) will make it go. I have seen a few old circle track stock cars
that ran Plymouth 6's in them (oddly, both 4drs), too, don't know how
successful they were but they didn't have rods sticking out of the block or
anything like that.
Bill K.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jesus Jimenez" <chemnixon@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, March 17, 2006 11:09 AM
Subject: [FWDLK] information
>
> Thanks to all of you who responded to my question on the oil type and
distributor points plate---
> On another note, how difficult is it to obtain a V8 engine for my '55
Ply in decent condition? For some time, I have been working on the idea of
replacing the 6 cyl on my car with a V8. Some guys tell me that I don't have
to modify the suspension since these cars already came with a hefty front
suspension for either engine. Also what about brakes, etc? Any opinions?
> thanks!
>
> Jesus '55 Ply Belv
>
> *************************************************************
>
> To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to
> http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 268.2.2/280 - Release Date: 3/13/2006
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 268.2.2/280 - Release Date: 3/13/2006
*************************************************************
To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to
http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1
|
|
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network