Fastback50 Posted October 16, 2016 Report Share Posted October 16, 2016 Keep the straight eight! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 On 2016-10-16 at 8:54 AM, jxc330 said: Keep the straight eight! Ditto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 I don't see anything here but a failure to proceed in the direction you wish to take....keeping the straight eight and drivetrain intact evidently is not an option for someone with the physical limitations you described. so if you like the body...do the upgrade...however the 440 and 727 is slightly overkill for a driver like most folks, many do relate to the equation there is no substitute for cubic engine...they wrong for certain....but it does impress the masses for the most part and that is usually more important over RM&A to many builders.....next photo...show the straight out hung on a cherry picker with a for sale sign on it...for certain to anyone who wishes to maintain the old engines as stock..it is going to be quite valuable to them and you can recoup a portion of your build cost...damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayfarer Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Overkill? Nah....just right. Remember that this car tips the scale at about 4100lbs so having some grunt under the hood is not a bad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 a lhs sedan tips the scales at +4200 and with the 3.5 V6 is more than adequate road machine and all three of mine got upwards to 28 MPG on the highway..as daily to and from work 24.4 average..my mini van is no light weight and with a 3.6 I have recorded 33 MPG till I hit the mountains and still got 29.2 overall...and I guarantee you that little V6 engine is a far cry from a slough...rated 283HP...I know apples and oranges but give me a modern computer controlled car any day over carburation..and before I get nailed to the cross....I have 5 big block Mopar cars...they represent the era..but they do not represent the best available.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knuckleharley Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 (edited) 1 hour ago, wayfarer said: Overkill? Nah....just right. Remember that this car tips the scale at about 4100lbs so having some grunt under the hood is not a bad thing. That's not as heavy as you think. Lots of late 70's Camaros came close to weighing that much. Besides,are you going to drag race it or drive it? My "daily drive in nice weather before the radiator went out" was and will once again be a 51 Ford coupe with the original flathead 6 in it. I have no trouble at all pulling out into 4 lane traffic with it,or keeping up with them driving down the highway. I can cruise at 60-65 MPH all day if I want and am not stressing the engine. Which is really all I require from it. Granted,if I lived in a mountainous or hilly area I might want some more "oomph" for climbing hills,but here in the flatlands the tiny 226 flat 6 does just fine. If I want to go faster,I drive a faster car. I am replacing the 305/Turbo 250 in my P-15 with a balanced and blueprinted 412 SBC and AOD,but that is mostly because I already happen to have both with about 20k miles on them,and the 305 and 250 are flat worn out. I originally built that engine with the roller cam,big valve heads,NASCAR speed shop balance and assembly,Keith Black pistons,gapless rings,etc,etc,etc to put in a 39 Ford,but the 262 V-8 in my junker 1 ton Chevy van took a dump,so I put it in the 1 ton instead. The 1 ton finally got so rusty it started falling apart,so I pulled the engine and trans and crushed it. I replaced it with a 4x4 3/4 ton diesel,but still have the 412 laying around doing nothing. It should do a fine job of waking up that sleepy little Plymouth,though. Still,if I had an original car with a good running straight 8 in it,the straight 8 would remain,even if I had hills to pull. It will pull the hills and it will also run smoother than anything else you have ever owned. Edited October 17, 2016 by knuckleharley 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 knuckle...for the record, I do own a running flathead 8...but will I say it is any better or any worse than most others...nah..just a relic of the ages...if it runs and you like it, suits your style/build/performance/comfort level, keep it, if not.....NARFLE THE GARTHOK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogprince Posted October 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 (edited) I understand both sides of the equation. The straight 8 engine is interesting and a piece of history. If I keep the engine around then my plans where to build either rat rod or a Bonneville racer style vehicle and put it on display in that. Granted if someone wanted to buy it off the forum here once I get it pulled I am more than happy to sell it. The reason I settled on the 440 is that I wanted something different. There is the argument that displacement is king and more is better. Most hot rods I have seen intend to use a Chevy 350 or a small block of some sort. Don't get me wrong they are great engines but what I want to build is an ode to a 70s era hot rod. My thinking was some teenager would have picked this up for a few hundred, pulled the motor out and shoved one in from a truck. I might drag race it for kicks now and then but I get more enjoyment out of setting off car alarms in parking garages. Though I know I have some people in the camp fix and drive it. This car was 1 step away from being a demo. It needs everything worked on and that is the main reason I am doing the swap. I am going to rewire the car with a modern fuse panel and not restore the wiring, the paint is shot and has a great patina so that is going to stay. I am going to do a slightly different design on the interior but will taking it back close to stock. One issue is I am 6' 9" and my wife is 5' 4" so anything with a standard one piece bench is out. To me I am changing enough of the car the last bit is the motor. So next picture will be the car in the garage with a for sale sign on the engine. Unless someone on here wants a 95% complete Newport? Edited October 20, 2016 by Frogprince Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam H P15 D30 Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 Good on you for building a BB, non "belly button" powered HOT ROD. Too many old cars out there with the (yet again) 350/350th combo. After all, this is a hot rod, right? So modern V6's, fuel injection, pollution control devices, SRS air bags are out. Don't let people sway you into putting something in that is easy on fuel or "more drive-able" I say if someone wants those qualities, go buy a new car but don't castrate a hot rod in the name of modern conveniences. Looking forward to the pictures... There's no replacement for displacement Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggdad1951 Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 5 hours ago, Frogprince said: I understand both sides of the equation. The straight 8 engine is interesting and a piece of history. If I keep the engine around then my plans where to build either rat rod or a Bonneville racer style vehicle and put it on display in that. Granted if someone wanted to buy it off the forum here once I get it pulled I am more than happy to sell it. The reason I settled on the 440 is that I wanted something different. There is the argument that displacement is king and more is better. Most hot rods I have seen intend to use a Chevy 350 or a small block of some sort. Don't get me wrong they are great engines but what I want to build is an ode to a 70s era hot rod. My thinking was some teenager would have picked this up for a few hundred, pulled the motor out and shoved one in from a truck. I might drag race it for kicks now and then but I get more enjoyment out of setting off car alarms in parking garages. Though I know I have some people in the camp fix and drive it. This car was 1 step away from being a demo. It needs everything worked on and that is the main reason I am doing the swap. I am going to rewire the car with a modern fuse panel and not restore the wiring, the paint is shot and has a great patina so that is going to stay. I am going to do a slightly different design on the interior but will taking it back close to stock. One issue is I am 6' 9" and my wife is 5' 4" so anything with a standard one piece bench is out. To me I am changing enough of the car the last bit is the motor. So next picture will be the car in the garage with a for sale sign on the engine. Unless someone on here wants a 95% complete Newport? Please keep offers of selling and buying off the main forum. There is a "For Sale"/"Wanted" section on the forum. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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