Is a front suspension swap from 48 Plymouth to 52 Chrysler New Yorker possible?

[bigdaisy19k]

Sorry, I hope you don't think I was slighting your skill.  If you're comfortable then do as you feel.  The only reason I was compelled to say anything is to save you time in the long run.  But if it's your desire, hot rod it up man!  It's not like companies are lining up to make parts for us so gotta get back to our racing roots! Dude edit, I see you've been screwed by the VA too! Lol you know I gotta ask when and where with who?

Edited April 27, 2017 by bigdaisy19k
saw something cool

[52Yorker]

OK, update time.

 

Looks like this swap is going to work.  

 

2 differences between the setups.

First difference is minor. The steering arms are shaped differently.  The NYer steering arm is longer and straighter than the plymouth.  They were a direct swap no problem. just 2 bolts to move it. The circled picture depicts my NYer steering arm after moving it over.  

The tie rod end link on the NYer connects to the top of the steering arm (nut on bottom, tie rod end on top).  The Plymouth connects to the bottom (nut on top, tie rod end hangs).  Without swapping, my tie rod ends would not have cleared the brake caliper. 

 

The second and major difference is the pan the springs sit in

My NYer pans are on the bottom of the lower control arm.  The Plymouth spring pans are on the top of the control arm.  This means a 1.5 inch difference in height.  

It appears that I can move the spring pans and bump stops over and drill holes to make them fit.  Since they are mirrored side to side, I can lay them on top each other to mark the holes for easy alignment and drilling. 

I haven't tried taking apart the lower control arm pin and bushing to see if they are the same size.  I suspect that my NYer pin and bushing are larger in size than the plymouth but I intend to disassemble them to see if that is the case as I would rather not cut the rivets off and move the spring pans if I can just move the whole lower control arm..

my springs measure 16 inches uncompressed. I am not sure how the plymouth springs measure, maybe it is possible to just use plymouth springs? maybe just use some 14.5 inch springs instead? 

it was dark and the mosquitos were out so this is as far as i have gotten.  Otherwise, everything seems to measure to similar dimensions. I am very happy with it. 

 

Edited May 22, 2017 by 52Yorker

[Andydodge]

Regarding the spring pans or pads a common trick to lower cars is/was to remove the rivets holding the pans to the top of the A arm and bolt the pan/pad onto the lower side of the A arm, instant 1.5" lowering job.........looking forward to see how everything goes.......regards, andyd 

[52Yorker]

54 minutes ago, Andydodge said:

Regarding the spring pans or pads a common trick to lower cars is/was to remove the rivets holding the pans to the top of the A arm and bolt the pan/pad onto the lower side of the A arm, instant 1.5" lowering job.........looking forward to see how everything goes.......regards, andyd 

Thanks Andy, 

Right now I am delayed by rain so I spent the last hour looking for springs that might fit, while there are some springs that come close in dimensions, I'm not certain it is time well spent as i dont know the correct spring rate or load for the NYer. 

My springs measure 16 uncompressed, .75 in diameter, 4 inner diameter...

Moog 5711 and 5713's come close but not quite.  

Dale.

[52Yorker]

Looks like everything fits. Finished install last night. 

Short answer is yes this swap is possible, long answer is that you need to modify the plymouth hardware a little and it helps to have good New Yorker parts to do it. 

The main differences are:

1. The lower control arm pin and bushing are physically smaller in diameter on the plymouth suspension that I installed.  This makes sense as the plymouth was a 6 cyl and was lighter. I'd say this is the weakest point though it still seems more than adequate. 

2. The spring pads and bump stops needed to be flipped. that meant drilling out 32 rivets and drilling holes for the pads and bump stops and swaybar hold down.

3.  The new yorker uses slightly different steering arms but they will directly swap with no modification. I found it easier to leave the steering arms hanging on the tie rods when doing the swap. Just 2 nuts to remove them from the hub and no need to pop the tie rod end off. 

Previously used 5x5.5 wheels, now uses 5x4.5  I will need a 1" wheel spacer to get max turning radius from the 2001 Ford explorer rims that are on it now. 

I measured after install and it has just a tiny bit of toe in so Im not sure it will even need much of an alignment after this swap. 

Have not driven the car yet, will update with results once its got a few miles put on it.

I intend to use the original new yorker parts that I removed to make another disc brake setup that I can use as spares. I do like that they have larger pins and bushings, Hopefully 80s to 90s dodge calipers and rotors can be made to fit. That is on the back burner. 

Performing rear axle swap next week. Putting on a ford 8.8 with 3.73 limited slip.

Hope everyone found this informative. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. 

Dale.

Edited May 26, 2017 by 52Yorker

[Andydodge]

Great news........now go win some races.............lol...........andyd

[bigdaisy19k]

That really worked out well.  Let us know how it races.

[52Yorker]

5 hours ago, bigdaisy19k said:

That really worked out well.  Let us know how it races.

 

21 hours ago, Andydodge said:

Great news........now go win some races.............lol...........andyd

Thank you both, I'm happy with how it turned out, will see how it handles being on track.  Hopefully the weight savings helps and the lower control arm pins are strong enough. 

 Got quite a check list before it sees the track in October.  Deciding if I want to put in all the money and effort this year or just wait a year and race in 2018 instead. 

rear axle swap with whatever driveshaft headaches accompany it.

cut out holes for dash mounted style brake booster and pedal.

plumb brake lines to entire car. 

make new steering column

mount new seat with electric slider

replace pickup tube inside fuel tank. 

rewire entire car and put on brake lights.

service carburetor

make new kickdown linkage

make new exhaust since the current exhaust hangs low and the car sits on it during hard turns at speed. spun out in 'the bowl' at NHMS from it

Test drive it, and then fix whatever turns out to be broken...

etc...etc...etc...

 

dale.

 

[classiccarjack]

What a neat work in progress!  Please let us know how it handles on the track comparatively.  Your efforts and research will be helpful for many of us.  Thank you for making this topic.