New Guy here! 50' Coronet Convertible

[bad71burb]

Hi,

I found your site here thru the HAMB forum. I recently aquired a 1950 Dodge Coronet Convertible in fairly rough but complete(minus engine) condition. The car actually isn't as bad as I make it sound, especially for being stored outdoors. The previous owner thought enough to protect the car by laying a huge sheet of 1/4" rubber over the roof and decklid. There are a few minor holes in the heel area on the front floors, the rest of the floors and the trunk are solid, inner rockers are solid also. Outer rockers, lower 1/4's have rot but not too bad. Doors are rusty but could be fixed with a little effort...

I was hoping to find a solid Coronet Diplomat for a donor car but it appears they are as scarce as the convertible...

Thanks! Joe

Oh, here's a picture of it when & where I first found it.

[Alexander]

Welcome Joe

you will find the members of this board to be a great set of people with great knowlge to share.

Aside from my 47 plymouth, I too own a dodge coronet convertible (1951).

I hope to have it finished and on the road befor the winter is out.

Good luck

Alex

[greg g]

Well its a start. Welcome aboard. There is a lot of information on the mai page of this site regarding mechanical stuff (which is pretty much the same among the years) just hit the tab that says return to P15 D24 and start reading. Lot of FAQ's burried there. Hopefully it won't look so forlorn in a differnt setting.

Lot of interest in MOPARS lately, you might also want to check the classified here. Drive trains show up on e pay once and again, and check you regional craigs list also.

[bad71burb]

Alex, Absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I just noticed we're neighbors too! I'm over in Glassboro~!

I picked this up for my dad, his parents bought a 50 Dodge new and he always liked that car. After contemplating it, he isn't so sure he wants to put a 6 back in it. Cosmetically, he wants it restored, but mechanically, he wants it to be able to drive it for long distances w/o having to worry about breaking down and being able to find replacement parts while on the road. The car is right on the edge of going either way but he decided on this approach:

V8/auto swap without hacking anything.

Stock interior/body

Stock suspension with maybe a disc brake upgrade in front.

Mopar wire wheels

Not sure on a color yet, it was originally gray with a blue leather interior.

The only problem right now is finding the parts he needs which hopefully we can do that here...

L8R - Joe

[Alexander]

hello neighbor!

I just sent you a PM. lets get together.

[Don Coatney]

he wants it to be able to drive it for long distances w/o having to worry about breaking down and being able to find replacement parts while on the road. - Joe

I have driven my flathead powered P-15 on several long road trips. It is very dependable. I carry a few spare parts with me but I have never had the car break down while on the road.

[BobT-47P15]

And, pete (blueskies) has driven his flathead sedan on even longer trips

than Don. Probably the best upgrade for these ol sixes is the addition of

an overdrive transmission. The Borg Warner R10 is the one.

You can remove the fluid drive tranny, bolt on a Plymouth flywheel, then

go with a regular 3 speed trans w/o d.

Welcome to the forum, Joe.

You said looking for a Coronet Diplomat for a parts car - is that the

two door hardtop model???

There's a 49 DeSoto for sale here for about $1200. I think he has moved

it now into his back yard. This one needs quite a bit of work, but wonder

if the doors would interchange with the Dodge.

[bad71burb]

Thanks guys... The doors from that Desoto are the same... It's funny. Dad is usually more into the stock/restored cars. I was surprised when he said V8 after I located a few running flat6's. He wants a restorod out of this though. He never liked the gyromatic and I tried convincing him to go to a RedRam hemi but that's out of the price range for now.

[BobT-47P15]

I don't know what V8 engines Dodge had, but the 318 like in a Plymouth

of the 60s is a pretty good motor, in my opinion. And there are

numerous others out there. You might consider

keeping it all Mopar, as opposed to using a GM engine.

Hemi's are nice, and everyone likes them, but it seems they are

costly to rebuild. Not sure how readily available the parts are.

Then, there are the polyspheric engines of the 50s and 60s.

Lots of choices........ Just add $$$.......

[bad71burb]

I agree with the whole idea of keeping mopar in mopar. The only drawback I see so far is the 318/340 /360's seem to need trimming on the fenderwell (pass side) and a dimple in the firewall whereas the SBC doesn't:( Again, he would prefer to keep it so that if he wanted to return to stock, he could do it easily.

[greg g]

Don;t know about clearancing the firewall, but so know that clearing the steering box is a consideration in a V8 swap. Moving the engine to the pass side about an inch and a half usually does the trick. Have you given any consideration to the MOPAR V6? The 3.9 is basically 6/8ths of a 318. Fairly plentiful and inexpensive. reliable as a brick and decent fuel milage with good power. You could probably get a Dakota P/U doner and get the whole drive train. And by using the front clip from the truck, you can get the PS and disc brakes, motor mounts and OD 4speed auto or 5 speed manual. That would make it a bit more difficult to return to stock, but it would give you a nice cruiser. early 2wd drive daks have the same lug pattern as the dodge also.

By the way be aware that Dodge used left hand threads on lugnuts on one side and right hand on the other.

[Plymouthy Adams]

AS Greg says..the 3.9 and donor clip..however it will not just bolt in..even using the clip the engine must be set left and rearward...we talking quite a bit of an adjustment might I add..but with the clip and forward mounted rack...etc..even the front of the clip cross member must be notched for the moving of the engine less you have serious banging on acceleration due to torque twist..

[wayfarerstranger]

BOB YOU can bolt a plymouth fly wheel to a dodge motor and add a O.D. ... BUT IT WON`T BOLT back into the dodge without a lot of work ."it`ll go back into a plymouth " . the bellhousings are different sizes . so if you put it in,,, the rear motor mount / cross member is about 5 inch further back than on a standard 3 speed . and cutting out the mount and moving it forward isn`t as easy as said either as the master cylinder is in the way ..and linkage is a little problem .... i wish it was that easy as it solve a lot of my head aches .. we`ve gone around the post on this topic several times ..

[Alexander]

I have full respect for all types of restorations. However in your case since the 1950 coronet convertible is an extremely rare car, going all original might have a better return on value in the long run.

You would be surprised at how well the original 6 cylinder flat head runs in these cars. they are strong and help plenty of power to keep up in modern traffic. However I agree with you on the gyromatic as its not my favorite either. Thanks to a nice gentleman on the board, I now have a 3 speed manual from a 1951 dodge that I will be replacing it with.

[Captain Neon]

I have driven thousands of miles in unfamiliar country with my L6 just in the past few months. Not a lick of trouble. Fill'er w/ gas, check the oil, and away we go! After the "issues" discovered on my '89 Wagoneer and '92 LeBaron, I am dreading Missouri's "safety" inspection to get my '46 P15S registered. If they didn't limit me to 1000 mi./yr. and require me to keep a log, I'd get "historic vehicle" designation. However, I like to drive my toys!

I don't think one would have any trouble w/ a freshly rebuilt L6 from a reputable experienced shop paired with an OD. You can go any where w/ that set-up!

[BobT-47P15]

Chance.....now that you mention it, I do recall some discussions earlier

about other changes needed on a Dodge......crossmember, etc. I forgot

about that. Not as easy as I was thinking. Thanks for the reminder.

[bad71burb]

Thanks guys...

Putting a clip on it is completely out of the question. It will be done using the stock rails & suspension. No need to ruin the car to drop in a V8, as Alex said, it is a rare car. It could be put back to stock with little effort this way...

[RFleetwood]

Nice to meet you Joe; Im doing the same thing youre planning to my 50 Plymouth conv.

I had to rebuild the floors, rockers, and conv only rocker boxes.

Im installing a dodge van 318 and automatic trans.

I am also doing disk brakes with original suspension but am currently contemplating a rack and pinion conversion for the steering.

good luck with the car and keep us posted.

Rich

[RobertKB]

As has been stated, these old flatties are very reliable when rebuilt and with an O/D they can run highway speeds comfortably. Carry a few spares on longer trips as mentioned in previous threads. This way the car is kept stock and is driveable for your dad. Why mess with a good thing.

[Frank Elder]

Rich I am very interested in MANUAL rack and pinion steering, have you any thoughts?

[RFleetwood]

ive been talking to "Fat Man Fab" they have the rack and pinion mount kit.

The rack they say to use is chevy cavalier; I would assume this rack could be either power or manual as it was an option in the cars.

[Frank Elder]

Thank you, don't want to change much on this car, just interested in options. With such a large wheel steering is easy I think M rack&pinion would almost make it feel like it has an assist.

[Frank Elder]

Sorry for the attempted hijack, how rare is this vert? I've seen quite a few coronets in my travels but don't remember actually seeing a convertible. I owned 1 of the last coronets a 76 model, maroon with brougham package.

Lean burn model.

[Alexander]

Frankie

A totaly grand total of 5550 were made durinng the years of 49 50 51 52

some folks are sugjesting no more then 10 are running today.

For the 10 years I have been in this hobby, I have not yet come accorss another one yet.

[wayfarerstranger]

there is one on EBAY now , not going for a lot of money .. i`ve seen several on EBAY in the past few years ..