steveplym

Just a quick note here on my own experience with serial #'s on engines and what they mean. Several years ago the engine in my car was a fresh rebuild and I ended up rolling a rod bearing on it. Pulled it out and knew I was in need of a crankshaft. Didn't have much money so I had a friend who said he had a '35 Plymouth he had just bought to make a street rod with. The engine was usable and it ran. I took that motor out and put it in my P-15. It ran really well, but smoked a ton. The serial #'s on the engine showed to be a '35 Plymouth, but it had a casting date of 1945. Also had a tag on the side that stated "Use 218 parts only". Come to find out it was apparently a replacement engine put in that car. It was a 218 and when I saved up enough to rebuild the original flathead I pulled the crank out of that engine to put into the original one. To my surprise all those parts were in very good shape. The machine shop told me it had not been machined before and was in very good shape. Almost made me wish i would have rebuilt the other one, but oh well. There is always time in the future. The point is just because the serial # says it is such and such doesn't necessarily mean that it is so.

Just a note, all of them were sold out on this auction, but they posted more on another auction. Link to that one. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/POLISHED-STAINLESS-STEEL-SWAN-NECK-STYLE-MIRRORS-4-/120766594677?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c1e3ffe75

Thanks for the clarification. I did have that backwards.

Yeah the engine is stock. Thanks for the help Tim.

Yeah they asked me for the same info and told me the same thing. I have had good luck with their products. Granted I haven't used it in my Plymouth, but I've had it in my Chevy truck 283 for about 6 years with no issues. Friends of mine have had good luck as well. I would have used them for the Plymouth if I wouldn't have converted to 12v.

So it is pretty much 3 degrees positive on trans = 3 degrees up on pinion?

Thanks for the help Adam. I measured it when I took it out, but I am having slight issues and pretty sure they are pinion angle. As I used temporary shims and the noise got progressively better. I should have written it down when I took the old rear end out. Afraid I may have it a few degrees off. I've ordered the correct wedge plates and I'm going to borrow my friends angle finder. Hopefully I can get it squared away.

Searched the archives without much luck. Were the pinion angle in these cars different from car to car or basically the same? If so what was the pinion angle set from the factory on a P-15?

Glad to hear you got it figured out Mark. Sounds like you had quite an adventure, but I'm sure it was well worth it.

I bought the Cragar smoothies 15x6 with 3.75" backspacing. Works great on my car, no issues. Running 205 75 15's as well. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CRR-3135605P/

The only places I know of right now are Northwest transmission parts and fifth avenue garage. George Asche as well. http://www.nwtparts.com/ http://fifthaveinternetgarage.com/

Thanks for the comments. I have been driving the car the last few days. Speedo is about 8mph slow. No wonder I was passing all that traffic at 65mph. Checked it with my GPS. It handles pretty good, and the OD works pretty well over 50mph. Anything less than that I try to stay in 3rd w/o od. Only had to kick it out of OD to get up one hill coming up to a stop. Mostly because I was going to slow once I hit the hill. Gonna keep driving it to make sure all the bugs are worked out. Heading to Evansville, IN for a trip at the end of the month for Frog Follies. Gotta have it ready for that.

Right now Greg I am running 205 75 15's. I was impressed about how much clearance I had between the tires and fenders on both sides. It seemed a little close before on the left side, but wasn't much closer with this swap. Another note on the swap, it was pretty straightforward, I used the brake lines off my old rear end as I had just purchased them a year or so ago and the brake hose hooked right up with no problems. Since this rear end is only an inch longer than the original, I shouldn't have been surprised about the clearance issues I guess.

It did great so far James. I am interested to see how it will do with larger hills and more highway driving.

With the old rear end out of the way and the new perches welded on. I finished painting it on last Tuesday night and installed it on Wednesday. I spent about a month or so cleaning it up and replacing the parts I needed to. I pulled the old rear out Tuesday night and had the perches welded on and all of it pretty much done on Wednesday night. All lined up well and I didn't have any clearance issues with the wheels and tires either. Then the hiccup came. I had a new driveshaft made about two years ago and thought I could remove the end piece that went from the u-joint to the pinion flange and the u-joint would go right into the new one. It all worked great and the u-joint fit perfectly. Only issue was the driveshaft was too short now. Wasn't real happy until the next day I took it to a local machine shop and they added about two inches to it for around $100 bucks. I had thought about that being an issue, but with the slip joint I figured it would be fine. It worked out anyways. Got off cheaper than I thought I would. I finished putting the car back together on Friday and went cruising. Bled the brakes and all seems to great. The OD does great with the 3.55 so far. I drove it about 25 miles or so. It goes up modest hills pretty well. I just have to kick it out of OD now a little sooner than I did before. RPMs do not get as high in the lower gears which I like and I took it up to 65-70 and no noise or vibration. I think I'm ready to get it back on the interstate soon. I'm going to try to drive it more this week as the weather is supposed to be much cooler by Wednesday. Here's the photobucket album with all the pics I took of the project. http://s167.photobucket.com/albums/u122/siufan6/Rear%20Differential%20swap/

I removed the cover and made sure all the gears were in good shape and no issues with any leaks. This one is out of a 1990. The guy said he had recently got this truck in and the guy drove it to him. The motor blew up so he basically sold it to him for scrap. Checked the seals and bearings and all was good. Next up I replaced all the brakes and bought new drums. Went ahead and painted it about halfway as I was taking it out to a friends house to weld on the new perches I purchased from Northern tool. I used an angle finder and set the pinion angle the same as the old one. Put them side to side and did a lot of measuring to make sure.

After having a noise problem with my car and slight vibration I had been chasing for a couple of years, I decided it was time for a swap. I had changed basically the entire driveline and all wheels and tires. So I figured I needed to rebuilt the rear end, but instead of rebuilding the one I have I decided I might upgrade a bit. I discussed it with several forum members and appreciate the help from James Curl as he did the same swap on his P-15. With the 218 and R-10 OD I was concerned about getting too high a gear ratio, and started looking for a 3.90. That was an option for the '87-'90 Dakotas and was not easy to find. So I found a 3.55 locally and I got it fairly cheap. With reservations about how my car would handle with that setup I went ahead and purchased it and hauled it home. This is what I started with. Had to cut off the shock brackets and then I removed the spring perches.

Prayers to both of you Tom. Wish you both the best.

Throwing this out there as I have not read in your posts where it was addressed. Do you have a vented gas cap? I bought a new gas cap one time and asked for a vented type, I got a pressure cap instead and didn't know it until the car kept falling on it's face at stop signs. I put the old cap back on and the issue was resolved. Sounds like an easy fix, just finding out what to fix is the trick.

Yeah I was working out near Gateway Raceway close to St. Louis yesterday and wondered if I would see him coming on the interstate. It was very hot yesterday and will continue to be close to 100 degrees until at least Saturday night they say.

Yes I think you are correct.

Wow you guys have had quite a trip so far, but you have made it there safe and sound, that is the important thing. Glad to hear most of the issues have been minor and can be fixed on the road. Good luck in your travels and hope you guys have fun and enjoy the show!

I went with the arms that came on the transmission Joe. They should work just the same, like the others have said though looks like it is upside down. Flip it over and it should be okay. Another trick that I am going to try on my next transmission install is use some all thread in the top holes to slide the transmission on and in. Heard that trick from Shel and I would think doing it yourself that may help you a bit.

Well another update. I had my driveshaft checked and balanced. Helped the vibration issue a bit, but still a lot of noise in the rear and a slight vibration above 62mph. So my next step was going to be work on the rear end, but at this point I have decided on a rear end swap. After talking with several forum members who have been quite helpful I think I'm going to go the Dakota rear end route. Hoping to get something done the next month or so and will post the progress here.

Yep that's mine.