Hello, all! I'm a Mopar nut from way back, who kinda fell out of the hobby for (too many) years. My list of priors : 1960 New Yorker 6 passenger T&C wagon, '72 & '73 New Yorkers, '54 Imperial, '72 Road Runner 440 - 4, '64 Valiant convert, '66 barracuda "S", '76 Feather Duster, and '66 Charger. The bug bit me again, when a guy I know told me he was selling his '49 Dodge.It is an early production '49, so it's physically a '48. He built is as a mild '50's style rod, flat 6 with a shaved head, 3x2's, header, etc. At some point several years ago, he decided to put an O.D. tranny in it to make it more highway drivable. He bought the tranny supposedly rebuilt, but when he got it in, there was no reverse. He got sick, and it has sat since. I bought it after a real quick look-see, and with the body and interior as near mint as they are, coupled with a steal of a price, I didn't really care about the rest. The fuel system needs a flush, it runs when gas is added to the carbs, so I know the motor is good. NOW... It still resides in his garage, waiting for the temps around here to climb back above ZERO to bring it to MY garage......and my uncle passes away. I talk to a cousin I haven't seen in years, and he tells me he's got a model A he wanted to street rod using a '52 331 Hemi he just had gone through, but just doesn't have the time. He'll sell me the motor and all the parts he bought for it for a song. Anyone have any thoughts on yanking the 6 out for the Hemi? I'm not looking for a street race king, I'm more looking for a nostalgia rod that some high school kid would have built out of Dad's old family car in the '50s.....I bought this car to be able to pile my wife and kids in on a Sunday afternoon with their bikes, a cooler and a grill. Thanks in advance for your input!

Cool! I have no advice on your build, but Welcome Aboard!

You might want to get your question moved to the Street Rod section as it's closer to what you're asking for. It just gets less traffic than here.

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=Rodder

Thanks! How do I get it moved?

Early hemi in there replacing the 6 would be awesome. Pics would be awesome too.

Pics will be forthcoming, as soon as the block of ice encasing the garage thaws! LOL! I'm chomping at the bit myself! He threw in the good Fluid Drive trans he took out of it, as well as a ton of other extra parts.( However, I don't know what he put IN it for a tranny, I haven't been under it) I don't want to use anything on this car that wasn't around in 1955 or '56. Like I said, the whole car was done in the mid to late 80's and has been beautifully maintained up until the last 2 or 3 years, the amount of time it's been sitting undriven. What would this kind of swap entail? What trans to use, motor mounts /adapters, suspension... I'm still trying to find out what's available out there that ISN'T muscle car related....I haven't put a car together in about 20 years, and even then, none of them were mods....just stock restos. However, having both the car AND a finished motor practically dropped in my lap for next to nothing, Fate isn't speaking to me, it's SCREAMING at me!

Lurk over at the P15 D24 forum and the Imperial club forum.Both will have info you need.

IMHO, I would not bother with the swap unless you gotta be in the garage to be happy. The 331 is a better motor, but it's still pulling 3500-4000 pounds of 6 volts positive ground metal. Either keep the car close to stock and enjoy, OR build something lightweight for the small cube hemi.

If you get into a swap, it starts into mission creep. Better brakes for the idiots out there and the increased power. Might as well convert to 12V. Better rear axle for the extra power. Might as well go with studs and lug nuts by now. The hemi was single exhaust and the chassis is a challenge to put duals into, but I gotta hear that hemi. The stock manual trans and the fluid drive are old tech. Might as well adapt a 727 or even better, a 518. Tha means a new driveshaft to go from turnnions to U joints.
At this point, you might as well get a 89-03 dodge van with V8 magnum and auto as a donor and forget the early hemi. Or move up to a 3rd gen hemi donor.

Early hemis are cool; I love 'em. But they are big, heavy and under-powered for the effort unless hopped up and installed in something light.

A 52 331 will have the extended bell housing cast into the engine block. That will put a limit as to what transmission you can use. You will probably be ahead of the game to have the trans that is now attached to the Hemi rebuilt or replaced with another like it in better condition. A 52 331 Hemi in a stock rebuilt condition makes 180 HP at 4200 rpm. That is less HP then the currently available V6 engines, but is 77 HP more then the 49's original flathead 6. How much more HP your supped up flathead 6 makes might surprise you. With having a modified flathead 6, I'm not sure a 52 Hemi will be much of a step up, considering the effort involved it getting it there. A 3 carb flathead 6 is almost as impressive as an old Hemi under the hood.
At minimum, to change the flathead 6 to the Hemi, your looking at: motor mounts, exhaust, wiring modification, inner fender modifications, a transmission for the Hemi, possibly a driveshaft, and a lot of work. The process will involve removing the hood, radiator, inner fenders, pulling off the front sheet metal, removing the flathead 6 and its transmission, modifying the frame to adapt the new Hemi motor mounts, fitting the Hemi and its trans, modifying the wiring, remounting the front sheet metal, installing a radiator capable of cooling the Hemi, modifying and reinstalling the inner fenders to give side clearance for the Hemi, and having an exhaust system made for the Hemi. I'm sure I missed something, and any time you speak Hemi, the price of anything doubles, even the old low power versions.

The flathead 6 motors were pretty good motors that were capable of moving the cars along quite well. They were not race cars, but not dead dogs either. The fluid drive transmission flat killed the power from them, and the rear gearing turned them at pretty high rpm at highway speeds. There are several modern automatic transmissions that can be installed behind the flathead 6 that will perform well, probably the reason the guy you got the car from was adding an OD transmission. I would that the one you have rebuilt or replace it with another in better condition. You will have a nice cruiser that will be a fun family ride.

As far as the other upgrades mentioned above, they do tend to happen. I would suggest an upgrade to the 12 volt system though. Gene

The mods you are talking about are pretty much completely out of the question, completely undermining my mission of building a rod that a high school kid would have built out of his Dad's old family car circa 1955 - '56. My father's first car in H.S. in 1957 was a '51 Hudson Hornet Hollywood Hardtop - 308 C.I. 6, twin H power, GM Hydramatic transmission...He claimed to be darn near untouchable ....I want old school with the Dodge.

I guess I should leave well enough alone, then. It has already been converted to 12v, the head was milled,hot cam installed the bottom end was gone through,3 carbs, a header split into dual exhaust.He already has it old school rodded, but I just thought an old Hemi under the hood would be really cool and a little more powerful.... I'm not looking to completely tear down an already beautiful car for kicks, though....

Why don't you try changing the gearing since it seems like the flat head is modded a bit. Get the transmission's overdrive fixed and swap the gears in the rear end. Maybe try to upgrade the brakes to better stop the vehicle. Reading some of the comments, it seems like the Hemi would make the '49 quite top heavy.

the overdrive swap - is it a stick or automatic ? or did i miss something ?

It is a Fluid Drive car. He bought an O.D. transmission for it, because it would scream going down the thruway - It has something like 4.11's in the rear end. He didn't want to change the gearing, because the acceleration would suffer with the 6, so he bought the transmission which was claimed to have been rebuilt. There is no reverse for some reason though. He got sick and the car has sat ever since. I bought the car 2 weeks ago, and at this point, only possess the paperwork. With the nasty winter we've been having, the guy's 2nd garage where the car is got plowed in. Getting the car out isn't happening right now.With temps in the negative numbers, The car is there until the spring thaw. I didn't really get too thorough with it when I bought it, but cosmetically the car is beautiful, having been completely redone in the mid to late 80's. The old guy I bought it from had a stroke a few years ago, and he is difficult to understand at times.

Yeah... after reading poorboy's post, I think I'll leave well enough alone. Tearing down a perfectly beautiful car just because I can get an unnecessary motor cheap isn't a smart move. Even though the restoration is around 25 years old, it still looks as if it was done last year. The guy's attention to detail is impressive. I think I'm just going to undo all the little things that sitting a few years has done to her, get the trans issue ironed out, and enjoy her. I only paid $2800 for her, anyway!

Sounds like a better plan then ripping everything apart to put a low performance Hemi in it.

What body style is your 49?

I don't suppose you happened to get any pictures of it you would like to share? We are all a bunch of picture junkies.

It sure seems like a spring thaw is a long way off this year, even though Sunday is the 1st of March. Sure couldn't tell by looking out the window at my Plymouth coupe buried under snow along side my driveway. We've gotten more snow in Feb then we got all the rest of the winter. Gene

It is the "first series 1949", which is really just a 1948 with 1949 numbers. It is a Special Deluxe Sedan, in "Panama Sand" which is a yellowish tan color. I will get over to get pics as soon as I'm able. As soon as we have a bit of a warm up, I'm going over to repair the power feed to the garage which was pulled down by ice. I want to get the heat in there working again!

Glad that you have come to your senses!
I wrote that big list because that's often what happens when someone tears a car apart to make a couple changes.
It sounds like it will be fine once the trans is fixed. If you still want more at that point, I'd suggest a 5 speed manual, driveshaft and a 3.23 rear axle.
It will be a blast and still cool under the hood.
The hemi would be just a ton of work for little gain.

Here's a similar one from the net...

I thought the Hemi would give it a bit more oomph and look badass under the hood.....That coupled with the thought of getting a fresh 331 Hemi for $1200.....I really just want it to be able to keep up with traffic on the thruway 65 - 70 mph comfortably. Like I said, this car is going to be used as it was meant to be during the summer....an almost daily driver. Picnics, park trips, beach runs camping.....It's going to be babied, but it's going to be used. The pic you posted looks almost exactly like mine, except mine has skirts, a visor, wide whites with baby moons, I can't see the front, but mine has 50's period fog lights and bumper overriders. It's also been lowered 2". I gotta say... I like that body better than the one they came out with for '49! I'm not going to do anything with the tranny that would require modifying the column, mounting out of place floor shifters, or anything like that. I love the look of the dash/wheel/interior in general too much to go screwing around with it. As more and more of these cars get hacked up and modernized, it leaves precious few originals out there. Although mine isn't "original" it wouldn't take much to get it back there.....I personally have an affinity for the look and feel rods of our fathers, although I may consider a brake upgrade for safety reasons-maybe power discs..... anyone know what's out there interchange wise?

Here's a build I just found, it's beautiful, but as I said it adds a bunch of stuff you weren't going to include.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/48-hemi-plym-mock-up-pics.847329/

I think you will be happier keeping your theme of a 50's high school build by keeping the flat 6.