I have a `56 Plymouth car that I would like to put a 360 4-speed in and was considering a whole front suspension upgrade at the same time, maybe Heidts ??. Keeping the outside looking stock .

Any input from anyone that's been there done that would be appreciated.

pismopowerwagon@aol.com

My '56 Plymouth with 360 and 5-speed has a '91 Dakota front clip spliced to the original frame. Modern ball joint suspension, power R&P steering and disc brakes.

Mine has 2" dropped spindles so I don't know how the ride height would be stock.

WOW that make me want to drop it a bit
Front width looks right too.

Very nice

incentive for sure thank you

There are all sorts of mustang II-based front ends out there, such as Heidt's or Fatman, and they have been working for years. I believe with most of those setups you keep your existing framerails. The aftermarket is full of upgrade parts for this basic setup. The same basic setup was used on the Granada so don't let someone tell you it isn't strong enough.

The Dakota swap is very popular here and it looks like that's because it is a good one. People either swap the whole frame or else cut and weld the new front end to the old back half of the frame.

I wonder when Dakotas are going to become scarce, they aren't really valued for much else and they are scarce on the roads right now. Probably quite a few sitting besides barns, though.

The Crown Vic is way too wide for a '50s car and there's no easy way to narrow it, as the crossmember is an aluminum casting. The rack and pinion is another problem. Hard to make it shorter...On the other hand, the Crown Vic would be just right for my '50 Buick, now there's a thought.

R.

Any build pictures?

The work was done by the PO.

Do you use wheel adapters to get away from the 6 lugs Dakota?

Any idea what year donor truck is preferred?

Thanks

Andy

Thanks I like the Dakota idea

My lugs are 5 X 4.5" so it might be a '90 clip or rotors were changed...junkyard receipt says it was a '91.

OK so I will look out for a regular 5 4.5 truck
thanks for great pics

There is a one or two year overlap where the 6 lug rotor/hubs can be switched for 5 lug rotor/hubs. After that the suspension changed and it isn't easy at all. But it seems to me that the later Daks had wider tracks and wouldn't work as well anyway.

R.

5 lug Dakota were 1988 through 1990.
6 lug Dakotas started in 1991 and were present through the end of the truck line.
The 1991 through 1996 Dakota 6 lug stuff could be swapped by simply buying the 5 lug rotors on the front, and replacing the axle shafts (same size axle, the different sizes do not interchange) & drums on the rear.

In 1997, the front rotor, & bearing design was changed (along with the body change that appears to look more like the full size trucks). Converting from a 6 lug to a 5 lug is a major operation and not worth the effort. If you want 5 lug, get a 1996 or older frame to convert, or a 1990 frame with the existing 5 lug stuff. Gene

Thanks again everyone for all the info

it really helps

OK its not a Dodge I oops it a Plymouth Plaza I got excited with a new project. Found a Dakota the other day also. So here we go!!

Plaza straight six is suppose to be good runner so I will test it out where it is and if good I have `40 that could use it.

Looks like a great place to start from. That will be a cool ride. Gene

Found a decent truck for the swap, it has PS. PB. at least so those parts will come in handy. Dang it even runs so I can move it around at the shop tell I am ready. I have lots of measuring to do, better get a new tape measure ready.

Anyone need a service bed ? LOL

The service bed might be worth the hassles of a Craig's list ad, you sure won't need it, and its probably only worth $25 in scrap these days.

We will be watching the build process! Gene

Those Service Truck Beds make killer trailers I built a fleet of them years ago for my workers out of old utility trucks.

Rickster

I suppose if your only using the front clip, making the utility box into a trailer would be very hard. Getting them titled here in IL is getting to be a challenge these days. Gene

Saturday my wife and I started the flat six just to see if it would fun before we pulled for another project, ran real well so maybe just a minor rebuild or ?? .

And we took front clip off for a better look at the frame and good cleaning. She looks solid, I can start to see the similarities between the two frames now. Nice being a 3 on the tree car "it's got three pedals!!" since we are adding a 4-speed to the 360.