Well a few people asked about my enginge & trans combination related to my Pushbutton post so I figured I would update the group on the status of my projects. As far as my "Restofication" process, I have not made any real progress on eithr my 56 Plym Savoy or the 56 Dodge Custom royal. BUT I have been doing a lot of reading, web surfing and planning. I am begining to come to grips with the fact that 2 complete project cars may just be too much and am considering getting rid of the 56 Plymouth Savoy only because the Dodge is in much better better shape. However, I am holding off that decision for now because I already know that I will forever regret selling it. My plan was always to Hot Rod the Plym and restore the Dodge. I REALLY want to build a nice quick street/strip car (I live only 10 minutes from Raceway Park in Englishtown NJ) so this is what I plan to do (at least for this month) I was looking to go with a Big Block, and had my heart set on a 440 but I am worried that the conversion may be too much fo me to handle (finding motor mounts fitting, placement etc) so I will stay with a small bock. I have a complete '74 360 4bbl and 727 TF trans in the garage. Mopar Performance now makes a stroker crank (see the latest Mopar Action for a review or I can e-mail a copy to anyone interested) so I think I would like to build a 408 CID small block using the new stroker crank and take the best of both worlds. This build up is somewhat $$$$ even doing the assembly myself. Buying the complete shotrblock kit from Muscle Motors is about $2000 for the shortblock alone (all top shelp stuff though and fully balanced) so I have not made up my mind yet. It would be strong, relatively light and streetable though. I would be very happy with 400HP and 400 ft lbs torque and that is my goal. I just picked up all the parts to make a 3:55 8 3/4 sure-grip rear. The housing is from a '70 Charger and MAY bolt right in ... it is pretty close in width and spring placement, but I won't be sure till the old one comes out. Don't you know that after looking for over a year and finally collecting individual parts I get a call from a guy with a complete, rebulit drum to drum rear for less than I paid for the parts, timing is everything. Brakes will be disks in the front. AAJ makes a kit http://www.artistic-design.com/aaj.htm, and it looks solid and put together well, the price seems right ($379 for everything, $149 for just the brackets). He uses a GM Caliper but MOPAR 11" rotors seals and bearings. His own test car is is a 56 Dodge as well! I would recommend that anyone looking to do this check him out. I may go with a power Master Cylinder later on but for now I will focus in a non-power dual master. It might be overkill but I am looking at rear disks. There is a kit by Stainless Steel Brakes (ssbrake.com) reviewed in MOPAR Muscle (I need to stop buying those damm magazines). Safety is my main concern and the only thing I havn't fully worked out yet is seat belts (shoulder belts all around). Looks like a day in the salvage yard will be in order to find donor cars. If anyone has tips on where to secure the upper part of the belt on the pillar let me know. I can always go with a 4 point harnes but this will be too much of a pain for a street car. The steering column is another concern, Does any one know if this is the collapsable type? I hate the thought of being impaled by the steering shaft, boy we have come a long way in auto technology in 40+ years. I want to keep a classic look so I have some scrounging to do here as well. The beauty of all these changes is that I can put the car back to original over a weekend long as I hang on to the original parts. Sorry this is so long I just started rambling. Scott
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