Gearing up for modern powertrain in 48 windsor.

[Lumpy]

Tim, maybe you could swap a 230 into that chevy truck. Just kidding, as perhaps DefEddie is.

 

Yeah, that's it! "Beattie".

 

 

 

ken.

[Ulu]

Wiring is daunting when you start with a whole harness and have to dig into it and diagnose things.

 

It's easier to wire a car from scratch. Soldering's not that hard once you "get it", and if you build it & solder all the terminals by hand you'll have a system you know, and one that will survive vibration & corrosion.

 

Those are the two big enemies of all wiring and electrical devices.

[Lumpy]

I so agree. The old cars and motorcycles can be wired from "scratch", and when you do that you do know it by heart. You can also use better, heavier wires, and really, have a system that makes sense in the real world, not just to an engineer, or whoever dreams up wiring harness. And is very much simplified. 

 

k.

[Ulu]

I so agree. The old cars and motorcycles can be wired from "scratch", and when you do that you do know it by heart. You can also use better, heavier wires, and really, have a system that makes sense in the real world, not just to an engineer, or whoever dreams up wiring harness. And is very much simplified. 

 

k.

 

So many things that make sense to engineers become made senseless by the accountants. Engineers get a bad rap on a lot of things they were forced into doing against their judgement.

 

The engineer's code of ethics says that you will not do these things, if they represent bad (or lack of) engineering judgement, but neglects to tell you where to find a new job after refusing the guy who signs the checks.

 

(edit...my grammar was made senseless...LOL)

Edited May 10, 2014 by Ulu

[Thumbtack]

To me Hot Rodding is about using what you can get your hands in to make "something". Or to make something out of other men's trash. I.e. model A with a Lincoln motor? Or how about a Caddy flathead?. We celebrate Gen I Hemi's in T buckets and the like... why not the LS?

I say go for it! Take a bunch of pics and post'm up! Just a wild guess but 400+ HP and 20+ mpg? (N.A. at that). I would think the 8.8 ford rear would be a slightly better choice though. '95up explorer 31spl+disc.

All in all it may be what a young LS fan needs to see to get him/her interested in the hobby.

I have a family member catching the same grief 'cause he is gonna put a 5.3 in a 55 Chevy. Go figure...

Matthew

[Ulu]

 . . . I would think the 8.8 ford rear would be a slightly better choice though. '95up explorer 31spl+disc. . . .

 

I'm definitely going to change out my rear axle, but don't have one yet.

(I haven't even picked one yet.)

 

Is that one 5 on 4.5 or 5 on 5? 

Does that 8.8 have an extra pinion bearing like a Ford 9"?

[Thumbtack]

No "extra" pinion bearing. I do know it is virtually identical to the chebby 12 bolt and reportedly stronger provided you weld the tubes to the housing. Yes it is the 5 on 4.5. It seems to fit the trans tunnel a bit better too IMO. The housing is offset to the pass side 1.5". Super easy to narrow too if you choose to go that route too. I picked mine up complete for $125.00 3.73:1 limited slip. Gear sets are cheap too!!!

Edited May 9, 2014 by Thumbtack

[Ulu]

Thanks Thumbtack. I'll need to do a lot of research before deciding, but clearly there are a number of good choices for the rear axle in these cars.

 

BTW, I have one of those ram's head hood ornaments. I don't recall what year it was used, but when I was a schoolboy I cut it off the hood of a junkyard Dodge and put it on the front fender of my sister's Stingray bicycle.

 

Too bad I cut & drilled it as the chrome was still nice.

[Lumpy]

Well, I still suspect old DefEddie, Chevie guy, maybe just swung by the P15/D24 forum to pull our leg a bit. ?? I don't disagree with you Thumbtack, but this is a type of Mopar fourm, and I would not drop in a chevie forum, as a first poster, and ask about putting a 5.7 Hemi in a 1948 Chevy panel truck, or something like that. I personally would not go to the Ford forum, and talk about dropping a caddy flathead into my Model A...? Seems a little odd to me.

 

But I could be wrong, I often am. And again no offense to DefEddie if he's on the level.

 

ken.

[Thumbtack]

Well, I still suspect old DefEddie, Chevie guy, maybe just swung by the P15/D24 forum to pull our leg a bit. ?? I don't disagree with you Thumbtack, but this is a type of Mopar fourm, and I would not drop in a chevie forum, as a first poster, and ask about putting a 5.7 Hemi in a 1948 Chevy panel truck, or something like that. I personally would not go to the Ford forum, and talk about dropping a caddy flathead into my Model A...? Seems a little odd to me.

But I could be wrong, I often am. And again no offense to DefEddie if he's on the level.

ken.

I will say that confirms my first thought...but let it go...it has quite the undertone of advertising. mention he quite proficient in making wiring harnesses for those apps. Drumming up business? Idk. just a thought and I most likely am wrong cause I usually "are". Lol. Same here, no offense meant if I am.

Matthew.

[Dave72dt]

I'm not offended by anyone putting  GM power in a Mopar.  It's not my choice. It wont' enhance the value of the car if and when sale time comes.  It won't lower the price to a Mopar  fan any more than a non- running or locked up flathead would and with the proper skills anything done to install it, can be undone.  It would be more logical to look for a GM brand project to put that particular power plant into.  I wouldn't say to myself, " I have a nice GM motor, I think I should get a Mopar to put it in."  However if I were looking for a project and found an affordable one I liked, regardless of brand, that needed an engine and that's what I had, I wouldn't be adverse to putting it in. I know there's a couple PH trucks with GM power, a current car with Ford and various projects with a variety of underpinnings from several brands.  One PH truck in particular with C4 Corvette drivetrain pulled a lot of interest.  

[Tim Keith]

I'm not offended by anyone putting  GM power in a Mopar.  It's not my choice. It wont' enhance the value of the car if and when sale time comes.  It won't lower the price to a Mopar  fan any more than a non- running or locked up flathead would and with the proper skills anything done to install it, can be undone.  It would be more logical to look for a GM brand project to put that particular power plant into.  I wouldn't say to myself, " I have a nice GM motor, I think I should get a Mopar to put it in."  However if I were looking for a project and found an affordable one I liked, regardless of brand, that needed an engine and that's what I had, I wouldn't be adverse to putting it in. I know there's a couple PH trucks with GM power, a current car with Ford and various projects with a variety of underpinnings from several brands.  One PH truck in particular with C4 Corvette drivetrain pulled a lot of interest.  

 

There is a plethora of aftermarket support for the GM motors and many low budget swaps for the 5.3.    The Pentastar V6 might be a good motor swap but I wouldn't know how to go about it.

[Ulu]

Good Lord guys, I can't believe I'm going to say this, but my mind is bending over backwards right now & I'm turning 180. It's regarding what's "correct" as far as vintage hot rod stuff goes.

 

 

See, I was leafing through my Dad's yellowed old 1957 Motor's manual when I found some pages he cut out of the Dec 1955 edition of Speed Mechanics magazine, titled "Hopping up the Red Hot Chevy V8".

 

I'm looking at this article thinking that in 1955, any guy with a tired Plymouth and easy access to a Chevy V8 engine would have jumped at the chance to swap engines.

 

So while dropping a SB Chevy in a Plymouth might seem trite and uninteresting now, back then I believe it would have been quite the thing to do. Brand new V8's were hard to get in '55 though, so this mod was seldom done back then.

 

But it seems that in the 50's, dropping the Red Hot Chevy in a Plymouth would have been as desirable and therefore as "period correct" as can be.

 

I think that anyone who sneers at that idea now is missing out a bit.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Ulu

[Lumpy]

I think the idea has passed. !! I hope it is passing. I hope we can get passed it, and power our Chryslers with Chrysler, Fords with Ford, and GM with GM.

 

Just a thought.

 

K.

[knuckleharley]

Those are the two big enemies of all wiring and electrical devices.

There is a third enemy.

 

Me.

[DefEddie]

I am on the level,and this is an actual project.

It has been awhile since i posted because of life,and the project will have to be furthur pushed back.

My mother died last month and i've been dealing with that as i'm executor and also have inherited a baby sister fresh out of high school that still lived at hom and is moving into our place.

Being the only male in a family of women (3 sisters) has proven to be pretty trying,as well as a 9yo son who's twin baby goats died the same week as his grandma.

The reason behind this actual vehicle as a project is because it is a family car.

It was bought new by my grandfathers uncle in 1948 and he drove all the way to Detroit and picked it up.

When he died it was left to my grandpa,who drove it until the 70's when it was parked for a small issue.

I've wanted it since I was 12,having been parked in the same place for years and years.

When grandpa died it was left to my uncle,who is older and doesn't have the health to restore so I finally got ahold of it a few years ago from him.

If it weren't a family car it would have long been stripped,ebay'd and scrapped since that is all an old Dodge is worth to me.

Never liked them,but this was my first "dream car" and I want it to be my sons eventually and maybe survive longer.

So the vehicle has sentimental/intrinsic value,but that's about it.

Though my plan is to not substantially alter so that my son can't later use the stored factory parts to restore factory if he wants to.

I'll be glad to post up some pics,jumped on here real quick to find the wheel offsets for it as i'm about to get rid of a Ford I gave my mother before she died and thought the wheels might work on it for now.

Alot of stuff has happened in the past two months,but plans for the car haven't changed. Just have alot of stuff to deal with (mom's death is only part of crap going on around here currently) and the plan only being set back is actually great news.

[DefEddie]

What is a good resource to tackle the wiring? I'm considering swapping to a 5.3 in a Chevy truck. I don't want to spend the money for the aftermarket wiring.   I wish the aftermarket for Mopar was as strong as for GM, but $800 for wiring is a lot of money for me.

Every bit of info you need is at LT1swap.com for the wiring harness,I generally just use factory diagrams as I have quite a bit experience knowing what's needed and not needed.

That site (though labeled LT1) has listings/pinouts of what you get rid of or keep depending how you're doing the swap or what components you're using.

Any pin's or misc wiring stuff can be found at EFIConnection.com .

I'm not affiliated with either of those sites,though I've known the owner at EFI and collaborated with him online many times.

(His book is a great resource).

Hope that helps

[48Dodger]

Great chatting with you online last night....was fun and I even "lol'd" for real a few times!!

 

Didn't know about the family issues based on the chat, but you're in my thoughts my friend, its tough being the rock sometimes.

Glad you feel strongly about the project. Its a great way to vent some energy when you've had a tough day. 

 

I'm a Truck guy on this site, so I'll keep up with your project best I can, or try and get a report on chat. 

 

48D

[bobjob55]

Not the bad guy, Lumpy. Just a guy with a different opinion.

 

To me the coolest cars are the ones built up out of unique stuff which works well, that somehow was brought together from different corners of time and space, by a mechanical artificer.

 

To others the coolest cars still have the factory paint and upholstery.

 

We're not gonna argue about that and spoil everyone's day.  

 

But in the interest of clarity, it's not cool IMO to, for instance, stick a Ford engine in a Jaguar just because it's different and nobody's done it.

 

What can make it cool is that either the Jag parts are just unobtainable and this keeps it on the road, or that the Ford engine is a superior engine to the one replaced.

 

Now some guy who stuck a Stude flathead in a Desoto just to be different, ehhhh....not too interesting.

                       ......  you are right  ,,,,   NO ONE puts a FORD  motor into a  JAG. ... however ,,, they DO put chevys into them ... small blocks fuel injected ,,turbo's .... they are fun little cars  ...... and YES ,,, swapping motors  MAY hurt sale value ,, somewhat  ,,, but how can a fiberglass replica 32 Ford with a chevy big block be worth $65,000  or more ..... any more ,, it doesn't matter ...... 

          BUT ,,,, then I would NEVER. Cut-up a really nice stocker .... there are SO MANY 1/2 done project cars that are really nice ,, that someone has just  lost interest in ,, or found-out that they really don't know what they are doing .............................. 

[DefEddie]

[pflaming]

Nice, now that's a car! Will be watching.