jclars

Body swap underway! Easier to put he Lexus on the Plymouth frame, right?

Having now removed the front body panels from the Lexus, I was able to more accurately measure the distance between tires for track OD in the front. As it turns out, it exactly matches the Plymouth fender OD at 69". My next task is to disable the air bags as I start to peel away the rear and side body panels on the Lexus. So far, it appears there is substantially more frame on this car than most uni-body examples. Perhaps because of the electric motors in the center and battery pack in the rear.

The Plymouth is up on two carts now and very stable. Actually I used two carts from previous projects, one long one, catching the gas tank in the rear to the A-pillar support at the front, along with two supports in between. The square front cart I had used previously on a truck cab, catches the firewall supports and the radiator support. With the car off the chassis, I was able to more accurately measure clearance between fenders. I am happy that at the rear I am over 1" wider that the Lexus track OD. Up front, it is marginal, but doable. The track OD will be about 1" over width. This could possibly be remedied with slimmer tires up front. On the other hand, the fender opening provides a full diameter opening compared to the rear, plus the Lexus tires are smaller in diameter, so there will be clearance, but as a rule, I do not like tires that protrude beyond the fender well.

This is the subtle approach I will give to the Plymouth. Nothing apparent from the outside. Most people who see the "Electric" emblem think it's a fake. That its a joke of some sort. The Plymouth should look a bit more like a standard resto-mod under the hood. Not this guy!

Truth in advertising..Read the emblems first!

Two weeks later and my body is recovering from lifting and moving the chassis from under the car body. During the lift process, I found lots of rust in the rockers and sills to finally realize why the doors weren't closing properly. For an instant during the lift I had really nicely latching doors, so there is hope. I searched everywhere for specific anchor bolt locations. The four on each side were easy to locate. There was mention of an odd one penetrating the spare tire well. In addition there are two at the rear of the trunk going into the rear frame rail, then two at the radiator support. Some of mine were hidden by rust and had no ressemlance to hex head bolts. Surprisingly, most of my bolts came out easily which made it a success. Only one bolt head to chop off. I drug out a body dolly I have used multiple times and will now refit it to work on the Plymouth body.

I Hear ya QED! I will be 74 next month and I am now on my 4th "last" project. I might be the Lexus power plant you referred to. But it is actually a V-6 hybrid. So a bit of electric mixed in there! 340 HP total, so it is not embarrassing. But my sleep-in days are longer and my shop hours are shorter. That's why I give this one a 5 year time line. Part of it is the challenge of wrapping my head around the future of hot rodding - electric power! Ready or not, it is what's happening for top performance. The "green" aspect is just pixie dust to divert our attention.

I got clarification from Sunco that implies it is 34k lumens as supplied, with dimmer switch bringing the rating down to the lower rating of 21k. I added the second light in front of my lift at 14' elevation and those two lights alone would be sufficient light in the area covered (about 24x24. I have one more UFO coming to extend the brighter lighting another 12 feet or so in the main work area. I will then remove some of the tube lights that are losing their ballasts. Area specific lights like tube lighting over side work benches would still be needed IMO. Looks like you'll have to start a different thread for you car build Kilgore! This one turned into a shop build thread, but has pushed a few of us into new lighting technology that is much appreciated! John

Quite happy with the output as it is, but wondered about the lumen range is all. Does it start at 34K or do I need more umph? It came with two capped wires labeled dimmer switch. Instructions very lacking in details, but still happy with the product. Amazing the size comparison to the old vapor lights!

Me too Bob - thanks! Just got two for now to see how they worked in the shop. Same spec by Sunco. 21000 to 34000 lumens. Doesn't say, but do you have to be on the highest voltage to attain the 34K lumens? Bright enough as is. I mounted at 15'-6" but may lower it as my vapor lights (400W) were at 13'-0".

Looking good Kilgore! Good thing you are planning the interior design well in advance. Those things have to be just right! Happy new year, as I'm sure it will be, as you enjoy your long awaited shop! woo hoo!

Okay, ready to roll again! Many days spent changing O2 sensors and spark plugs on a 2003 F150. Unless you have experienced the joy of first finding, then getting a wrench on them, and then breaking them loose, you haven't lived car life to the fullest! However, it did encourage me that I should be physically capable for what lies ahead on this latest project! If I can minimize the flow of blood running down my arms. So, after getting the F150 moving again, and clearing friends off my lift, I rearranged my shop to fit both the Plymouth and Lexus close to each other for the tear down. I am thinking of removing all exterior sheet metal from the Lexus to help access to the main hybrid components. I will also lift the Plymouth body off whole to either 1) move hybrid parts over to similar position on the P-19 frame, or 2) determine if I am better off doing a total body swap onto the Lexus floor/frame. I mocked up the Lexus wheels to the Plymouth body to show where I am headed. I expect the wheels to be the only giveaway for what lurks under the beautiful old curves of the business coupe!

Cool! Is there a pic in there of one loaded up with goods? Was there a shelf option for the Business Coupe? Or was that added by the dealer/salesman?

So my business coupe, being 1950, would be a P19. I think I have been mislabeling it as a P20 for lack of clarification. Thanks! And thanks for this post. I am wondering, is the pic by your (Young Ed) ring binder a factory issued booklet or one you made?

Did the P number remain the same regardless of model year? For instance, Loren called her 1949 a P17. Was this the designation through all the years? I just got the service manual for my 1950 BC and they show the shortened frame dimension, but don't mention it as "Business Coupe" frame. I recall there were three different P designations for that shortened frame, one being the convertible. John

Good progress! If it weren't for the Thanksgiving Holiday, you would be dry by the end of next week!

Yeah, there's that, but also I realized there are a great deal of magnified views that take many pages to cover one circuit. That's good news for my eyesight. I also didn't expect color diagrams - that is super!

I got two manuals this week. A service manual for the Plymouth and a book of wiring diagrams for the Lexus. Shown in the middle is my Electric, Vacuum schematic book for The T-bird transplant into my 56 F100. Based on page count, are we really making progress with the EV? I can't imagine how many miles of plastic coated copper are represented in those pages, but I will guess it would equate to a few barrels of oil. Not to mention eventual recycling costs.

I got myself a 1950 Plymouth Service manual not necessarily for repair, but for the frame dimensions and disassembly instructions. Turns out the one page I found on a forum post was the P20 frame, just not labelled in the book precisely. From the looks of it and from me peering into the engine bay, it is looking more feasible for the Lexus engine with electric transmission to fit in its entirety without a lot of cutting. Now if I could find a dimensional of the 3.5L Lexus engine, as well as a floor pan schematic, I could cross and maybe do my own schematic showing the overlay. Peering into the Plymouth engine bay required removing the loose hood that sat on top - by myself. Do you know how heavy those things are? Yeah, you do. Well, actually it didn't seem too bad at the time, but using outstretched arms with the peak of the hood in my gut, my wrists took most of the dead weight. So I've had a cast on my RH since Saturday and got more pain relief yesterday when they doubled my dosage of strong anti-inflammatory drugs. (So that explains my numerous quick responses to various threads and maybe some weird answers. (Maybe. Friends would say that is a normal trait.) Thanks all for the entertainment while I mend! Not to mention some very useful info! I haven't been to the shop since Friday, except to access a certain fridge which houses further medicinal agents. I am being kicked out of the house this afternoon on wifes orders. With the extra pain relief, I might even feel like doing something other than computer stuff. John

Yeah, my sentiments too. But on the other hand 😬 there were 5 million Model A's built in three years. Price reflects that aspect I suppose. Some models like the coupe will demand more, but not much more. Ironically, they are only worth more by turning them into good quality hot rods. Marketplace demand. I now get more enjoyment out of watching this clip than I ever did from actually driving the car! (But it was a totally fun build lasting over 3 years.)

It was more the bone jarring ride of buggy springs under a '53 flathead (3x hp of original A engine) at speeds of modern traffic. I had cut away the package shelf to gain about 6" of leg room, so not bad there with 60's era MGB bucket seats (from an earlier MG restoration). I too used a F100 steering box and column including 3-on-tree shifter cast off from my F100 truck. Also the Dana rear end from that same source. I was trying to do it the old fashioned way by using vintage left overs from previous projects. It succeeded in that regard and was a very satisfying build. I knew it wasn't going to be comfortable and it didn't disappoint! Shhh! I had electronic ignition and electric fuel pump, sight unseen.

The ultimate truth being, as hobbyists, we get to play with the cars for awhile, then have to give them up as we downsize, maybe going to a place that has one parking space, if that. Or we become unable to drive them, and they are of no interest to the few who might still be interested. I recall my 2nd "last" car, as in "this is my last project" That was three cars ago counting my current Plymouth. I had always wanted to do a "traditional hotrod". The HAMB didn't put me off enough I guess. So I targeted a fenderless Model A coupe for a starting point. Do you know how hard it was to find a fenderless body as a starting point?? Well I started looking for a raggedy fender version, but really didn't want a bunch more body parts to store forever. I answered several adds for complete running Model A coupes that were maybe restored in the 80's. $6 to 8K. Not bad, but I couldn't pull the trigger on ripping apart someone's dream. I actually told one old fellow that as his son showed me the car. The fellow says "I don't give a sh@# what you do with it, I want it out of here!" I could see why, as it was now parked in his son's backyard under a tarp. Its last home. Eventually, I drove all the way to southern California to pick up just a body and some fake deuce coupe rails that went with it for half the price and no sheet metal to take up space! The ultimate truth revealed. The cars will outlast us, regardless of how they are put together. That is unless combustion engines get restricted...then we can own some expensive shop art. Now my hotrod resides in North Carolina because I feared that no younger generation would appreciate it if I held onto it. I enjoyed the attention it got, but man was it uncomfortable! (That's part of the deal too, as we age.)

Whoa! A business coupe gasser!

They didn't wait to see what engine was coming! As mentioned on another post herein and further confirmed by another forum member, The IRS and especially the Jaguar IFS were over the line. I couldn't stick around to see what they might say about the other things yet to come! (how about an ECU?) Apparently I was exceeding the parameters of what they considered a "traditional" hot rod. There was a bit of a bru-ha-ha over it, as the Jag XJ6 IFS was quite a popular swap out for leaf springs on the F series of Ford Pick-up. A couple of quick notches in the Jag sub frame and it slipped right onto the F100 frame. They relented and saved all the valuable how-to info on a sub forum. It was actually initiated by a hot rodder in New Zealand. Maybe that was their problem.

That 56 Ford F100 that got me kicked out of the HAMB? It has a 3.8L Super Charged V-6 from the Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe. Including automatic transmission and 8.8 IRS. Interior also took advantage of many super coupe conveniences. I added AC before my Rte 66 trip using the original compressor and a look-alike interior blower cabinet. It all ended up looking like factory. Almost.