Am I nuts? 1940 Plymouth Commercial Car (Truck)

md11hud said

Thanks for your interest and the questions. We primarily moved the cab back so that the front tires would line up with the opening in the 40 fenders. We then moved the engine back to fit the firewall and give us enough room for the radiator, although I did have to put the radiator ahead of the yoke instead of behind it.

Mike

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So if I understand it right, if you had left the Dakota firewall in its original position on the Dakota frame, then the 1940 front fenders would have been too far forward. Do I have that right?

If so, would it have been possible to extend the cab underneath the hood to meet the Dakota firewall? I'm guessing if you had done that the engine would be to too far forward and would interfere with the radiator, right?

If so, it would mean that the 1940 engine bay was not much longer than the Dakota engine bay and sat further back relative to the front wheels.

It sure would have been nice if you could have retained the original engine, transmission and cab mounts as well as the relationship between the steering rack and the column, the clutch linkage and/or automatic shift linkage, and even the seat mounting points relative to the steering column and pedals. But if it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit.

As it turned out, do you feel it was worth keeping the Dakota firewall?