Am I nuts? 1940 Plymouth Commercial Car (Truck)

65DartGTConv said
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?

I opted to keep the Dakota firewall primarily because I knew that the shape would work with the V8. The Straight 6 is actually a slightly longer engine, but the 40 firewall is indented in the middle to account for this. We had to move everything back a bit so we would have enough room for the radiator behind that art deco curved nose. The Dakota engine was moved rearward on the frame which required fabbing up new motor mounts. As you surmised, this is because the firewall to wheel centerline for the 40 and Dak are different.

Using the Dakota firewall gave me the proper position for the brake booster and clutch master cylinder. As it is a hydraulic clutch, I didn't have to worry about linkage. The steering linkage was still a pretty straight shot. I just had to shorten the coupling a small amount. Was it worth it? Well, I would have had to modify the 40 firewall to fit the V-8 closer, plus the 40 floors are made of plywood. So some major metal massage was in my future no matter what.

Since I am using the Dakota floor and seats, the seat mounting points did not have to move. However, there is not a lot of travel in the seats. Thankfully, my wife and I are close to the same size for driving position, so not a lot of travel is needed.

And yes, it is close to paint. I am going to put windshield glass in and drive it around on some non rainy days, as it is not waterproof primer, just to insure all the bugs are worked out, but then it all comes apart for paint. Soon. I hope.