pflaming Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 When I was in high school a student got a '55 plymouth for graduation. To my recollection that car as quite fast! Question: Will the engine, tranny, rearend fit into a '52 Dodge 1/2 ton pickup truck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 Was the 55 a 6 or an 8? If its a 6 the engine would fit. Tranny wouldn't without mods and wouldn't be worth it unless you wanted an automatic. Rear end I don't know about. Plenty of mods you can do to your truck to make it go faster though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Truck bell housings and rear motor mounts are different, but the engine if your talking flat 6 to flat 6 should be a bolt in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pflaming Posted November 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 My friend had a flat 6, V-8's didn't come out until '56 if I recall correctly. Is/are the automobile engines different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Evans Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 54 was the first year Dodge trucks came out with a V8 241 semi-hemi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Engines are the same unless you are talking about canandian manufacturered engines, if they are 23.5 inches long at the head there is no difference between car and truck engines except for the numbers. Truck engines begin with T car engines P D C and S depending on origin, C and S (chrysler and desoto) american engines will be 25 inch versions, same as Canadian origin engines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pflaming Posted November 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Since the engines (flat heads) were the same, then the differences are in the trannies and the rear ends, correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 It has already been noted that truck bellhousings and transmissions are different from cars. The bell housings are not interchangable because they provide for the rear motormounts. These are different between cars and trucks. The transmissions for the trucks are different in that there are a couple choices of floor shifted varients and most for truck use have a super low 1st gear not needed for car operation. Some light duty trucks shared the three speed column shifted trans with the cars. The rear ends are likely close to being the same unless the truck is built with the springs over the axle, cars were mounted with the axle above the springs. Trucks probably carry a numerically higher rear gear set meaning more rpms, less road speed, again for load hauling. So can you make the car stuff work in the truck? Of course you can with some modification and some expense. You will find that the truck clutch and brake pedals mount differently and would need to be dealt with also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pflaming Posted November 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 My truck has the "3 on the tree" shift. Does that mean it may then have a tranny like that on a car? My inquisiveness is caused by a desire to stay old school yet to put a better engine in and a different rear end to get me a nice comfortable 65+ mph which is desirable in California. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rockabillybassman Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Greg, if I read your post right, my P-26, which is Canadian bodied, has a US made engine, as you stated that Canadian engines are 25". Is that correct? My engine, being a Plymouth, is obviously 23 1/2". Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 All Canadian built export cars, like the cars built for Canadian use, had the 25 1/2 inch motor. If your car was built in Canada, that is what you should have. This is true for all Plymouths as well as Dodges, Desotos, and Chyslers. From 1938 until the end of the beloved Mopar flathead, only the long block was used in Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rockabillybassman Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Hmmm... the plot thickens. My engine is definitely the short one, maybe my car's not Canadian. I just assumed that all exports were Canadian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 I can not comment any further on the hardware used in truck applications. I would suggest you post your query on the pilot house board as they will be more familiar with the intricacies of the swap. I believe that the car engine will fit to the truck belhousing. The rear end swap will be what it is regardless of whether it si going under a car or a truck. You will need to have a new drive shaft made, or at least have one modified to account for the newer U joint on a more modern third member. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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