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hi guys heres some pics of my new truck. truck details 360 v8, with Edlebrock 600cfm carb and mild cam, c7 3 speed auto with shift kit and b&M shifter, adjustable ladderbar rear suspension with coil overs, upgraded to torsion bar front suspension from a Plymouth fury with disk front brakes, 4.5 inches chopped out of the roof, Diamondplate bed, custom gauges and bucket seats.

Number 1,subframing is dangerous and doesn't work that well if whoever is doing the work doesn't truly understand all the engineering that goes into factory suspensions,and is a excellent welder with good fabrication skills.. Number 2 is that not everybody wants a old car that drives and rides like a new car. Some people prefer old cars that ride and drive like old cars because it brings back memories. Which is the reason many of us fool with old cars to start with. A older car with a newer drivetrain and original suspension will ride and handle exactly like it did with the original drivetrain in it,but have more power. The rear end makes no difference at all on anything other than the engine rpms,and a 3:70 rear gear ratio (for example) in a 49 Chrysler acts no differently than a 3:70 rear drive ratio in a 2000 Ford Explorer. I own old cars set up both ways. My 39 Ford has the original beam front axle with 4:10 Detroit Locker rear,automatic transmission,and probably 350 hp. The rear springs were changed to parrarrel springs (like your 49 Chrysler has) when the rear was installed. I am in desperate need of either a 4 bar setup or traction bars on the rear if I try to nail it hard taking off,but other than that I am happy with it in every respect. My 48 Plymouth coupe has a 78 Camaro frame clip,motor,transmission,and rear end,and the entire suspension has been rebuilt. It rides and drives like a brand new 78 Camaro. It clearly handles better than a stock 48 Plymouth in the curves,but my Roger Road Racer days are over with,so that doesn't matter to me. I bought the car with the basic suspension install done,but had to finish it up and detail and rebuild it to get it to where it is today. If I had to do it again,I wouldn't. My OPINION is that it is just too damn much work for so little "real" return. These cars rode and drove fine as they left the factory,and there is no need to fix it if it ain't broken. Now,if you have a shop,all the tools you need,and the experience to set it up and do it properly and you just want to do it,go ahead. Nothing wrong with it if that's what you want to do. If this is your first project car and your tools and experience are limited,keep it simple,safe,and reliable. The goal is to get the car on the road so you can drive and enjoy it. If you do decide to let him do a frame clip,make sure you get the names and phone numbers of other customers he has done this for,and check with them on the quality of his work and how happy they are with the end results. If he can't or won't provide that,don't get him to do it.

I gotta tell you my hat is off to the Plymouth motor car. Wow. I got the drive shaft off (a few taps with a hammer). I took off one of the rubber covers and in the gunk around the U joints was a bearing. The car has been running without any vibration, noise, signs of something wrong. I have no idea how long it's been like that or how long it would have lasted. But it did last and did not let me down. Of course now I have to find new U joints. What a wonderful car. I haven't checked out the front bearings yet. I don't have a slide hammer - I do have a wheel puller though I don't know where to connect it. The service manual shows a special tool. This is tomorrow's chore.

Merle's DT bearing picture looks normal to me when pulling a DT 4 speed trans out. In a truck the throw out bearing and sleeve is hooked to the hold back return spring and no way will the bearing drop completely down so the input shaft will miss it. There is no room. The DT bearing sometimes drops a half inch down and is stopped by the spring unlike the cars. To adjust the clutch on the trucks it is completely different from the cars. A shop manual is good reading. Some pics of a parts engine W/clutch pieces....

The truck setup is a bit different, although the concept is the same. You can still see the flats between the fingers of your throwout fork. Here's a shot of mine.

Larry, they made Mopars all over the place, well assembled them from US sourced and local bits.....lol.....I had a 1941 Plymouth Coupe up till 2 mths ago, it was a factory RHD car built in Sth Africa, Chrysler opened an assembly plant there in 1941.....built a few cars .....then Pearl Harbour.....the factory closed till after the war.....it was interesting having the car as I was able to compare the differences between the USA and Oz cars, disregarding the different body shapes obviously. Some of the differences were the 1/4 window pivot points, internal door handles and the use of large splines on the Oz cars against the 3/8th square shafts in the US cars, USA internal against OZ external door hinges, key & dash button ignition on Oz cars, USA vaccum wipers against Oz electric wipers and of course my cars use of Plymouth fenders, hood, bumpers,headlight surounds & taillights with Dodge grille, dash and badges. One thing that really emphasises the "Upmarket" nature of the Oz Mopars is that my car was originally upholstered in leather and included that rear seat armrest as standard..........as far as I have been able to work out only Chryslers had that rear armrest feature.........lol.....its interesting seeing the differences etc between the cars and its what makes this forum such a great thing..........andyd