Cody
I think its a good idea to keep it as original as possable but thats just my thing.
What I really think is great is a young man getting started in this fun hobbie.
Over the years these old cars will give you a lot of enjoyment (as well as aggrivations).
So stick with it no matter what restoration path you deside to take.

George ;D

 Thanks to all. This is Cody's dad. Just to clarify, Cody is a 13 year old, beginning motor head and I am anything but a mechanic. My father gave Cody hs 1952 Cranbrook. It had sat in the field for years. Cody loves this car a wants to restore it. I would prefer it had power steering and brakes but everyone I spoke to said you had to find a newer style plymouth frame to fit the car. Long story short, we decided to forego the power steering and brakes and restore the car to original.  It is under primer now and we are trying to find engine parts. We are going a little further than expected with the restoration but it will be worth it when he takes me for the first ride. Thanks again. :)

Hostility from swaps on Plymouths aside, unless your frame is damaged or rusted beyond repair, my recommendation would be to keep it under your car.  If you must upgrade the front, a couple of easy (relative t your skill level and tools and equiment available) are the front clip from an Early 2wd Dakota Pickup (same wheel lug pattern, R&P steering, Disc brakes) and if you can locate one, the bolt on front crossmember from (wait for it......) an AMC Pacer.  This system features a rather stout cross member holding all suspension steering, and braking bits held onto the sub frame by 4 botls.

Since the prime objective of the Plymouth Club is to keep member vehicles as close to factory as possible, most comments on this forum will be slanted toward that goal.  It is an admirable goal, and there are many fine stock Plymouth cars and trucks owned by POC members. 

For Mopar enthusiats with a wider point of view regarding their cars, I would sugest you visit the forum at P15-D-24.com.

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2

Though dedicated to 46-49 Dodges and Plymouths, the group there comprises owners of various Mopar vehicles from that era as well as earlier and later. Both stock and modified cars are represented.

Keeping early MOPARS on the road is important to both groups, but the P and D group is more open to non stock repairs, enhancements, and modifications.

Good luck with your project.

Plymouth only made pickups 37 thru 41?

As a foot note to this topic..
I just returned from a trip to Idaho to pick up my '31 PA. Since it is the car show season (summer in the high country) I had the opportunity to check several of them out.

I saw a '36 Plym pickup in Nevada that had been sat on a later model chassis, which appeared to be Mopar with a 360 Mopar engine. The body on the truck was very nice, a bright red. The only problem was the chassis was wider than the body as was the engine, therefore, the truck had no hood. The more we looked at the truck the more it became appearent that in spite of the fact that the paint/body work was well done the whole outfit was a mess. My friend that was traveling with me is a Hot Rodder/Rat Rod lover from way back. At first glance he liked the truck, them he too was turned off by the clabbered together mess.

Oh well....... to each his own....Bill

Like I said, Volare.

You'll never see my '36 Plymouth in a car show. Maybe in the parking lot at a car show; it's definitely a driver, not a show car. Right now, it's about the same as if I had it in high school-remember high school? Not much money and you did what you had to in order to keep your car running.

Modifications so far:

1942 generator and voltage regulator (it was like that when I bought it)

Green and yellow shoestrings running from the radiator support rod to the plug wires. I had the plug wires in the metal loom that bolts to the engine, but the engine ran terrible with that setup.

6 volt electric fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, and rubber fuel line. It came that way when I bought it, except for the pressure regulator.

I have considered myself a gearhead since age 14, but don't worry, I'm not going to butcher this car.

My family will probably sell the Plymouth when I croak, and all of the modifications can easily be reversed, returning the car to "stock."

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy it.

Regards,

Pat O'Connor

Holy Mackrel DELETED COMMENT -  You sound very upset over something as trivial as what one does with their own car. The debate as to stock versus hotrods goes on.

NOTE TO ALL, Keep it civil here - get upset but don't start fighting.  ADMIN

Cody, I cast my vote with the guys who say keep it as close to stock as possible. Bill Steed is absolutely right - stay as far away from the "motor heads", particularly the Chev types, as you can get. Personally, I think it should be a hanging offence to introduce identifiably "foreign" parts into a Chrysler product when, if you must, you have a huge range of reallly good stuff to choose from.

Not long ago, I came across a retard butchering an absolutely pristine 41 Dodge Luxury Liner 5-pass coupe. He was in the process of installing a Chev clip with a complete GM drive train. DElLETED COMMENT - let's just say, it disturbed this poster - a lot! ADMIN

I cast my vote with the other replies so far:  You can upgrade the brakes and steering without swapping frames.  Many people have already done so.  There are also performance parts for the flathead six that will give it more get-up-and-go.

In spite of the fact that I have modified the front suspension on my '39 Plym conv, it was a matter of a frame that was damaged beyond repair, I would strongly recommend that you rethink the idea. Far to many newbies to the old car game think they have to discard everything from the earlier chassis in favor of disk/rack pinion, this is not the case. With a good rebuild of a stock suspension, maybe the addition of Chrysler/Desoto brakes, an OD trans with a little higher gear ratio in the rear end and after market springs like Posie with radial tires, you have a car that is still basicly stock, not all butchered up and a good hyway car.

The thing you have to watch out for, is the 'Motor Heads" who think if it ain't Chevy powered it ain't worth having. I would suggest that you do a little more research, avoiding people that have a Victor torch in one hand and a welder in the other.....Bill

Frame replacement isn't popular around here.  If you really want to replace the frame, have you thought about putting a Volare clip under it?  It can often bolt under your existing frame after you remove the front suspension, and give you PS, PB, and V-8 motor mounts.  Plus Volares are cheap. 

I would agree with David - the whole frame replacement is a bad idea.  If you plan on adding something like modern suspension, there are kits available from places like Fatman Fabrications

http://www.fatmanfab.com

This type of conversion (Street Rod) is really not a restoration but a lot of owner's want disk brakes etc.  I would agree that you can up-date the brakes and other items without the complete replacement of a frame.  Even the most hard core hot rodder's seldom replace the whole frame - the front end of the frame is commonly replaced with a GM sub-frame.  If you need to find out more about those type of conversions, I would suggest you check out discussion groups that are Street Rod oriented.

If it is a problem with a Plymouth car or engine, our members have a great deal of information but major conversions will probably not get a huge response.  Just so you don't think we are ignoring you and your project.

Mark

I cannot recommend setting your car on a different frame, it is highly unlikely that any kind of structural or engineering harmony could be achieved.  If you really need power steering and disc brakes this can be achieved without a major tearup.

My experience with Plymouths of this era, and this includes several hundreds of thousands of miles of driving is that they drive just fine in stock form. I have installed eleven inch brakes, found on Desoto but which were an option on Plymouth and these eliminated the tendency of brakes to fade after several fast stops. Good tires and good shock absorbers do the rest provided that nothing in the suspension and steering is badly worn.

I have a 1952 Cranbrook and i want to set it on a frame with power steering, power brakes, ect.  Does anyone know what kind of frame off of whatever other kind of car, truck, ect. I should use? ???