73 Sebring

[Chevykillerx13]

I traded a motorcycle for a project car... And far as i can see, I have my work cut out for me. Car is a 73 Plymouth Satellite Sebring. Here's what I know about it...

Originally a 318, automatic, A/C car, unsure of axle I wanna say 8 1/4, shift on the column, etc. Car is tore up, mainly in the interior. Outside body isn't that bad, but The drivers side fender, and the "header panel" is trashed. Theres some rust about the wheel wells, and the drivers door has a dent, and shes a biggen.

Here's whats going down, I just bought a 1994 Ram 1500 318 2wd automatic. 9 1/4 rear, 3.5X gears, a/c, etc... This truck is going to be torn down, and I'm going to be rewiring the Plymouth as a 94 Dodge. I know, I know, a 360 is slightly better out of the box, but the price was right, and everything works.

INTERIOR
The RAM gauge cluster will be modified to fit as I want. I'll be making my own dash out of fiberglass and vinyl or maybe even use microsuede. The car's interior was originally gold...Yuck.. Going to try and start upholstery and make the interior black with green accents. That and ALOT of custom interior work, It will have a console shifter (a ratchet shifter of whatever I feel like at the time). Main question is.......Does anyone have any idea what materials I could use that would save weight? Obviously Carbon fiber would be the ultimate way, but that all seems expensive and I couldn't do it myself. Oh and front buckets to replace the bench.

Exterior
Pretty straight forward, except I'm going to put a hood scoop on it. Probably buy a fiberglass one that sticks on with 3M tape, only make it fully functional. Tinted windows, either a gunmetal gray or candy apple green.

Now for my favorite part... The technical aspect.
Engine -318 Magnum with the 94 2wd transmission. As stated before, rewired so It's more-or-less a stock dodge pickup. Maybe get the mopar performance computer, put Ford 4-hole injectors, and then mainly just bolt on performance to have a little extra zip from the ole 318. Oh and probably use either the stock manifolds, or try and find some R/T manifolds, although I'm sure headers for the plymouth would work, aside from that a dual exhaust system that will have a deep, "respect me for I am Mopar" tone, with electric cutouts for some fun at stop lights.
Suspension- I'll be going over every aspect of this car, so I'll save what I can, and replace any part in doubt. I want the *** up about 2" higher than the rear for that classic muscle car stance, and plan on running disc brakes all the way around....Now the big question. Does anyone know the factory width of both the 73 rear and a 94 ram rear? I know the truck rear will be wider, and of course have the bigger bolt spread, But If it's close, enough where changing a tire won't be a major pain in the ***, I'm seriously considering using the stock ram rear axle, and maybe even the front spindle and a arms from the ram if possible. I am not dead set on using this, I just want to utilize the parts truck before she gets turned into a Toyota.

Now I know you're probably reading all of this and thinking Woah, dudes got his work cut out for him. I am aware this is not going to be an over night build. This is just what I have envisioned in my mind. The swap is the easiest part, and in my mind, all the custom interior work I want done is what is going to take the longest and be the most expensive. and just to cover my bases and make sure for 100%....

-I can use an LA mid sump pan correct? I have a spare from an 87 Diplomat laying around.
-The 318 magnum lost its "ears" after a certain year. I know mine has them, but just at a glance, are they still machined?
- If anyone would PM me with ANY interior tips, like the best fiberglass to use, fabric, etc, please do not hesitate.

 

[YY1]

I have a bunch of tan interior parts including a new in the box headliner, if you're interested.

 

[Photon440]

Do you have a budget in mind for this? Have you looked into the availability of body parts?

First of all, unless you have your own machine shop, I don't think it'll be cost effective to use the Ram 9 1/4 rear. Since you yourself have both, you can go and measure the differences. Not just length, but spring perches and shock mounts. If you aren't going for a big torquey engine then I'd stick with the 8 1/4, but perhaps get performance oriented gearing in there.

That truck auto is a 4 speed isn't it? 42RLE or 45RLE. Being handy with a plasma cutter or your choice of metal cutters will help when you have to enlarge the transmission tunnel to get it to fit.

I don't know anything about the Ram gauge cluster but isn't it electronic, meaning you'll have to send signals for the speedo to work instead of the old manual drive cable?

Using the front spindle and A arms from a truck will be interesting. Take a look at your Satellite front suspension and notice the torsion bars, then try to figure out how the truck parts will fit in there.

It sounds like a big project, and if this is your life long dream for a customized '73 Satellite, make some careful plans first. It won't be cheap, by the time you're done you could have bought a fully restored 1973 440 GTX or maybe two. But it's up to you.

 

[Ron 73]

Looks like a big project and i agree there is a lot of money involved in it but if you want it, I would get it out and road worthy and then take your time and buy whats needed and start putting all together.. Kind of make a rolling project and enjoy the best of all of it...

 

[Chevykillerx13]

I derby, and I'm very handy with a plasma cutter/torch/sawzall and welder, and I'm not afraid to hack stuff up to make things work. And the 8 1/4 rear is only scrap weight IMO. we snapped an axle in a diplomat the day before the derby, granted that's the only experience I have with them, I've never heard anything good about them in any application. Just looking up the factory numbers though.....

1973 318- 150hp--265 ft/lbs. torque
1973 440-220-275hp---350-380ft/lbs torque
1994 318-220hp--300 ft/lbs torque

So with those numbers, Why would I use the 2bbl LA rear axle when obviously the Magnum is going to have just as much out of the box (as some applications) horsepower as a 440? I'm not going to make HP claims as to what I think it will be after some modifications, but I can tell you it will be more powerful than a stock smog 440. The entire car is being rewired as the truck, so there are no snags when making the swap. The reliability, fuel economy, power increase, and parts availability make this a no brainer (atleast to me anyways). I'm thinking that the most money im going to spend is on the interior stuff.

The interior modifications aren't a must. Just an idea of what I want to make it. The bench seat is going, and so is the column shift. I plan on getting the body fixed, doing the magnum swap, getting it painted, and then start working on the interior. A rolling project is exactly what I had in mind, as once the Mag is in its new home and it moves under its own power, I won't be able to just let her sit there.

- - - Updated - - -

And I apologize if that post came off as rude, lol. But pretty much, I'm not saying money isn't a factor, but I'm not setting a limit, and the amount of work doesn't scare me, we stuffed a Cadillac 472 in an 88 S10, just because we were bored. Talk about ALOT of cutting, welding and fab work lol.

 

[Chevykillerx13]

So I have a list of some parts I'm going to be buying, but my main snag is the Mopar performance computer #P5249545. I can't get many details over the phone from Summit, But I'm just wondering what sort of gains I can expect from it? Other things are the Hughes Air gap intake and Big gulp throttle body, maybe a 100 shot of juice, DUI ignition system, a cam (don't have one set yet, but it has to be computer compatible, not sure what the limits cam wise are with the computer), dang it i don't have my list here next to me, but anyways without "the juice" I'm looking at only 1600 in parts. I set a low budget of 5K (I have a buddy that's going to shoot the car for the cost of materials) I will update the parts list when I go grab the paper from the truck lol. Anyone know what Mopar City generally charges for a fender and some trim?

 

[Ron 73]

Here is a email you can check quicker to get a price but im afraid you may want to put an ad in here for what you need as Mopar city is pretty high priced from what ive seen, it wont hurt to ask though! Good luck...

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