1948 dodge club coupe frame swap

[Fredro75]

Just got 3 1948 dodges 2 coupes and a sedan. Got them in on trade and trying to spruce them up a little so I can sell one or 2 of them to finish my other projects. I was told they would fit on a dodge dakota frame and was wondering what year of frame id be looking for. Also how tall of a rim and tire can I put under it without cutting the body to accommodate them. Thanks for any help or suggestions

[wayfarer]

Nothing is going to fit easily, neatly or quickly.  If the stock frame is structurally sound then there is no good reason to start such a swap, IMHO.

You can, of course, install a newer rear axle and get better brakes, just like you can install disc brakes up front. Suspension-wise, the front is a decent design and years ahead of the other guys.

As to how-tall-of-tire...if you stray into the goofy 18-24" stuff then you may be on the wrong forum. Just sayin'.

[linus6948]

Do you have any pictures of the three cars to post?

[Fredro75]

No nothing crazy big like that on the wheels and tires just didn't know if I had to stick with a stock size wheel and tire of if I could get something a little wider in there. What year of rear end would bolt right in with minimal effort and which front brake set up is there.  

[Fredro75]

[linus6948]

ScareBird Classic Brakes has a front brake kit for 46-54 Dodge for $329.99 Product Code: DGE

 

Edited September 13, 2016 by linus6948

[dpollo]

I can see no benefit to a frame swap .  The rear of the frame on the pickup may not kick up enough to fit under a passenger car's body.

The front suspension is fine the way it is.

[Fredro75]

I found a guy on etsy that has replacement floor panels for 45.99 so will work on getting those first since the drivers floor in my blue one is shot. Was a running all original car till it sat for a year and a half

[Fredro75]

Will a 440 fit in a coupe I have one just sitting on a pallet that hasn't sold yet so thought about throwing it in.

[Plymouthy Adams]

15 hours ago, Fredro75 said:

Just got 3 1948 dodges 2 coupes and a sedan. Got them in on trade and trying to spruce them up a little so I can sell one or 2 of them to finish my other projects. I was told they would fit on a dodge dakota frame and was wondering what year of frame id be looking for. Also how tall of a rim and tire can I put under it without cutting the body to accommodate them. Thanks for any help or suggestions

as for a bolt onto the frame...big big misconception. Frame or body mods will be involved to pull this off.....as for the 440...it is in some measurements smaller than a small block and in truth the true killer is the wide manifold distance outside to outside...any Mopar V8 with the large water pump set up on the front is your killer on installation and massage of firewall and forward mount of radiator is often the keys to success..even a late model Mope V6 will cause you a few headaches...the Dodge is a bit wider than the Plymouth of the era but still not super forgiving..and if you intend to fully fit the compartment..there will be a great number of inner fender changes also..

[Fredro75]

Is it possible to use the suicide rear door latches and switch my coupe to have suicide doors? Or way more complicated than I'd want to mess with?

[Plymouthy Adams]

latches are only needed ONCE the hinges are correctly position for the operation you desire...

[Fredro75]

So I could just use the ones already on the coupe?

[Fastback50]

Nice cars--love the middle coupe.  How are the frames and interiors?  I've heard that a 360 swap is not too bad.  

[Fredro75]

Frames don't look bad but the seats are pretty shot. Thinking about taking seats out of a newer car and bolting them to the seat frames and calling it good

[Plymouthy Adams]

seat frame of old compared to seat frame of new especially the front are totally different animals....source a seat with frame that is designed to bolt to the floor....be sure you are properly sandwiched with good floor metal in the pinch...

[Fredro75]

Yeah true. Got the Idea from a guy that had a 48 ford and he took seats out of a newer dodge and bolted them to the front seat brackets and they fit well. Not sure what the back seat was out of but it looked pretty decent since they aren't reupholstered to match yet

[Fastback50]

1 hour ago, Fredro75 said:

Yeah true. Got the Idea from a guy that had a 48 ford and he took seats out of a newer dodge and bolted them to the front seat brackets and they fit well. Not sure what the back seat was out of but it looked pretty decent since they aren't reupholstered to match yet

I was thinking of checking out 80's/90's Caravan front seats as a quick fix for my P19, as the seat height might be high enough and they are pretty comfy.  Should be fairly cheap too  

[Fredro75]

Did I miss the post on the rear end to swap with that takes minimal effort? Or did it not get addressed yet? Sorry reading things in between working so I apologize if it hasn't been

[Dodgeb4ya]

Probably easier to just buy a new car.

[John Reddie]

I love the Dodge Club Coupes style like the blue one in your photo. If it were mine, I'd try to keep it as original as possible and try to keep the flathead engine and fluid drive and even the brakes.. That is my opinion of course and where the cars are yours, it is your call. Good luck with what ever you decide.

John R

[Fredro75]

I think I'm going to sand it down and throw some single stage firemist cobalt blue on it and get it sold first since it's the most complete. So far every person that has looked at them are expecting them to be perfect unrestored 68 year old cars and just want to be able to drive them now so they have all told me they want less of a project. Even though I have been very clear in the ads putting them up for sale

[Don Coatney]

First you are going to throw a 440 at it, now you are going to throw paint at it. I have never tried this throwing method. Does it work well? In the army tried throwing some C-4  at a jeep and it broke everything that was fixed. 

[wayfarer]

...nothing like the smell of RDX in the morning......

[Fredro75]

60% of the time it works every time lol