1954 Plymouth Belvedere 4.0L Jeep Engine Swap

[54 Plymouth]

I bought a 1954 Plymouth Belvedere a couple of years ago.  I was finally able to dig into it this past summer coming to find out that the engine is pretty worn out and I am just not sure it is worth rebuilding it due to the availability of parts for it.  I am looking to do a 4.0L Jeep inline 6 swap, fully aware there will have to be some fabricating and head scratching along the way.  I also plan on using the automatic transmission already mated to the 4.0L, or going to a 700R4 out of a GM and getting the adapter plate for everything to work.  Moving on back to the rear axle I am going to use the ford 8.8, 1995 or later to get disk brakes, as well as the Mustang II front end disk brake conversion kit.  Finally wrapping up the project with a new wiring harness.  I am looking for reliability and part availability as I move along getting this old car back on the road.  I am seeing if anyone out there has done something similar to this.

[Los_Control]

Just curious why not use the jeep Cherokee rear end? .... seems like you might possibly find one that was wrecked and get all the parts you need from the same donor vehicle.

 

I'm betting that the newer Cherokee has disk brakes also .... and you could save all the e-brake stoofs to swap over, possibly the master cylinder?

The drive line would need to be shortened or stretched .... but you have correct ends already.

 

While I have never done the swap, I would be curious how long the engine is .... old mopars had the ability to move the radiator to the front of core support to accomodate the longer 25" engines. .... No clue how long the jeep 4.0 is.

 

Good luck with it, you picked a fine drive train .... just curious why not the rear end also ..... Carry on.

[54 Plymouth]

I absolutely thought the same thing, using all the parts from the Cherokee as I could.  My thought was that I would like to keep the rear end and front end with the same bolt pattern for the same wheels at some point down the road. 

 

I have done some reading on either this forum or others and found that the jeep motor is around 32" long, seems like i will be going to electric fans if this is the case to allow for some more room to work with. 

 

Much appreciated thank you for the feedback, love it when people make suggestions that I have not thought of, keeps my mind turning and always thinking.  Best

[Plymouthy Adams]

just wait a bit till the number of crashed Jeeps and Rams with the Hurricane 3.0 inline 6 with twin turbos start entering the pick and pulls.  410 SO and 510HO versions....torque beyond belief.  Of course, you would have to embrace the electronics associated with such powerplants....this alone will likely kill 98% of those that would even entertain such a transplant.  I went with the full electronics package of the 3.7 and 5 on the floor for the bz cpe.  It is an amazing experience to drive this beast as equipped.  Braking beyond belief and turns on a dime.   While not a rocket ship, it proves to bring a huge smile to whoever I let drive it.  Handles excellent.  It is not for the many here as they tend to be purist and there is nothing wrong with that.  But get a bz cpe body dropped in you lap void of original drivetrain and you have a blank canvas with no regrets.

[kencombs]

1 hour ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

just wait a bit till the number of crashed Jeeps and Rams with the Hurricane 3.0 inline 6 with twin turbos start entering the pick and pulls.  410 SO and 510HO versions....torque beyond belief.  Of course, you would have to embrace the electronics associated with such powerplants....this alone will likely kill 98% of those that would even entertain such a transplant.  I went with the full electronics package of the 3.7 and 5 on the floor for the bz cpe.  It is an amazing experience to drive this beast as equipped.  Braking beyond belief and turns on a dime.   While not a rocket ship, it proves to bring a huge smile to whoever I let drive it.  Handles excellent.  It is not for the many here as they tend to be purist and there is nothing wrong with that.  But get a bz cpe body dropped in you lap void of original drivetrain and you have a blank canvas with no regrets.

The price of parts that new will keep me (and probably others ) out of that game.   But, lots of the v6 pieces from Mopar are relatively cheap, RWD, still have the electronic complication but worth it..   Plus, they are much more compact than the Jeep inline.

[Plymouthy Adams]

The V6 is in my opinion very much the way to go....but I have an upcoming 4.7 V8 5 speed floor shift retro warming up in the wings right now....got to get a shop mod done first.  While trying to get a look at the raw block..pics are of it in dress form with the all in one top cover that hides components and distorts the view.  Allpars web page has been fully revamped and not as user friendly as in the past, was not worth the visit at all.

[QEC]

The later 3.7 is a stout performer! The 4.7 is fairly compact and also a good choice if you can find a low mileage

unit or can rebuild it. I had a 4.7 in a 2000 Grand Cherokee as well as a 2002 Durango, Not slouches.

[greg g]

I think the 4.0 is about 10 inches longer than the flathead.(32 inches fan to bellhousing)  Measure a lot before purchasing.  Any thing is possible, but heavy mods of firewall and radiator position are probably in the works as well as oil pan sump location.  4.0 are great engines capable of going hundreds of thousands miles and there is big after market stuff as they are still in demand by off readers in western states.  But it is a long engine.