1948 P15 Super DeLuxe sedan as LeMons racer

[OnkelUdo]

Ok, re-doing research on front springs, the Moog Aerostar springs seem to restore ride height.  We need to stiffen and lower.  Is the generally accepted practice to use those coils and cut the "soft" coils first?

 

the rear seems simple.  Lowering blocks and the sway bar.  we use all-thread for our sway bar mounts so we can easliy adjust the pre-tension.

[OnkelUdo]

FYI, we have some rule changes that make things potentially sticky for our hope to run the flathead a few more races.

We have to have an "anti-spear" steering column solution for 2017.  Normal solution is a collapsible column from an aftermarket company but the column shift causes a challenge (without craploads of money).  We are at a decision point:

Custom driveshaft plus column plus shifting solution = lots of time and/or money for something we plan to replace once we have max'ed our potential for the stock engine.

Move NOW to modern'ish engine tranny combo, steering upgrade, etc.

Use a "subframe solution" like the bolt-on 2003+ Panther subfrome (crown vic, P71, etc)

Other?

Thoughts?

[OnkelUdo]

Just picked up a 2003 Crown Vic front subframe for the Plymouth.  I know the hub-to-hub dimensions are too wide for our cars so it will be an interesting experiment. With the late model CV wheel offset we are still about 3.5" too wide on paper and add to that the relatively wide tire...likely some sort of fender flaring or fender displacng (spacers) are in order.

Tomorrow morning I go out to measure the frame rail dimensions to see how much fun this will be.  My guess is the frame is also at least 3" too narrow (alignment pins are 31.5" center to center).  There is a distant possibility this will enable offset double u-joints for the steering shaft meeting the anti-spear columne requirements while still potentially keeping the stock drivetrain including column shifter...unless someone has a floor shifter solution.

[OnkelUdo]

We have now decided to go full-crazy racecar on the old girl.  I just picked up 1999 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi so we can swap in the supercharged 3800.  Next step is to obtain the proper manual transmission...likely this weekend.

I fought for keeping the flathead for a few more races but was overruled by the other car owners.  I can't say they are wrong but I am a little sad not get to see how far we could have gone with the flathead and just improved steering and handling.  240 horsepower and almost 300 lb ft of torque will be fun.

This does mean both our race vehicles will share the same engine architecture since the racevan is a Series I 3800 NA motor.

[OnkelUdo]

And here she is....

Not been here is a while since life got really busy (moved to new rural property, life, work, racing, got flooded, etc) but the Plymouth will be back to racing in about three weeks.  It is now sporting an 1997 L67 (Buick 3800 SC) from a Pontiac Grand Prix GTP with a T5 from 1996 Camero (official Cragislist spelling), 2003 Ford Crown Vic front subframe, 1998 Explorer Trac-Lok rear axle and bits from about 10 other cars.  First test drive was today and teammate tells me it is a ton fun...until it died (electrical issue).