It's no worse than my Chevy powered Mustang. At the local drag strip the final rounds in some classes are SBC engines in Fox body Mustangs.
I was looking for a 331or 354 hemi, then my uncle gave me this 440 and tranny out of a 1974 motor home. I have a 283, but that would be boring
Wish i had under hood pictures of this 55 nomad. When i purchased it, it had a 383 mopar engine and torqe flite transmission in it. I drove it for a whlie like that. It worked good. I sold it about two years latter, the person took the motor out the same day. Today it has a 454 chevy in it.
I for got to mention my wagon will have a Fiberglas flip front end,no inner fenders and a 49 chev straight axle
There was a 55 back in the 80's I think called the bronze elephant......426 hemi under the hood! Don't remember what mag it was in..........
Im sure that the owner was devastated every time that a big block chevrolet blew his doors off. Was it a 4 door? You need as many as possible when the Chevys blow them all off
You could also use what some of "Morepower" guys use when planting a hemi into a small body, "elephant ears". Like a front motor plate that sandwiches between the front of the block and the water pump . I say go for it, sometimes nessecity becomes the mother of invention. We put a RB 383 and 727 into a '62 C-30 welding truck , pretty easy swap and is still on the road today.
Reggie Jackson had a '55 Chevy with a 426, it was pretty cool. He made it appear factory underhood and had that long curved Hurst shifter from like a '64 Belvedere.
I keep telling my Pop when he kicks off I'm going to stuff a 440 in his 1957 Chevy Bel Air! I thought about a 440 or 383 for my 1956 Chevy but ended up using a 350 because I had a runner handy and the side mounts for it were already in it.
I think this is an awesome idea. I love the big mopars,I probably would have done something crazy in my 54 if it didnt already have the bbc
Ric at Panneton Bros. racing's recent post on the 56 gasser found has a wedge motor setup in it. Check it out for some ideas. Big Block Mopars are easy to stick into anything with "elephant ear" mounts.
Go for it! I have pondered this idea for years. Have a 1948 Chevy panel truck with a rebuilt 350 combo in it. Looks nice but is boring. Son yanked the 440 and Torqueflite out of our 77 Dodge motorhome and planned on putting it in his 1950 Studebaker. Like me, more ideas than time or money. So I keep thinking that 440 would look nice in the 48 Chevy panel truck painted orange with Chevy script valve covers. Dare to be different because you can. Those Umakee mounts make installation a breeze.
Sound's cooool !!! But I think a Hudson 8 with twin "H" power would be a lot better and get you noticed at all the tuner car show's !!! LOL
Thats cute...I picture you sitting in your chevy with it on jacks in the garage, with it all in pieces making car noises as you crank on the steering wheel side to side, like a 5 year old kid. Someday you will grow up and know what a real motor looks like I love this! I wish i could see the look of disgust of all the chevy guys faces on the other side of there computers!!!! Makes it so worth it, But doing it would mean we are no better then the chebbie nuts sticking there motors in everything they can get ahold of. So my vote is put a chevy in it, if it was a ford put a ford in it, and same with Dodge. Just my 2 Cents
My buddy put a 440 in a 57 hardtop in 1968 ... Ran great ... He did a state patrol turn around running 70 mph and that was the end for that 57 ... I was a tank & armored personell carrier mechanic in the army ... The 114 apcs had a 283 chevy engine ... the 113 apcs had 360 mopar engines ... I put around 50 new 283s in the 114s and never had to replace one of the 360 mopars ... You cant beat a good mopar engine ... Hell yes !!! Put that 440 in that baby and ride ...
If you can find a BB Mopar oil pan for a truck, you'll be ahead of the game--Trucks are rear sump. -Brad
here's how you figure the value of a 440 powered 57 Chevrolet. look at the old car price guide for cars in your condition, then rather than looking at the 1957 Chevrolet page, look at the page showing values of a 62 Rambler.
Don't know if he is on here. There is a guy in N.W. Pa. that has a 426 M.W. in a '57. It's called Suprise Package. Someone here might know him. I have one in a '40 Ford coupe. Hurst used to make mounts to do it but I made my own. Hurst mounts made it sit too high. They might have also made mounts to do your swap. Some of the other guys are right. Rear sump truck pan helps. I had starter vs steering box problems. So you might want to be aware of that.
Who's worried about re-sale/values with a swap like this? Wade ..... wear a 'Ford' t-shirt when you're out there swatting the 'Bowtie Purists' .......
put it in there.we did this kinda of stuff on our 55s in the 70s.no big deal. i look at it like its a american car a american engine and a american v8. ive got fords with chevys and gonna have a chevy with big block ford. who cares. as long as it runs and its fast!!
As I suggested on your other thread, see if you can borrow a set of Hooker 440 a-body fenderwell headers for mock-up. My gut level hunch is they will probably work, depending on where you position the engine fore/aft. Where are you in BC?
The mounts in my car are homemade . The. Body was raised up 1/2 so the firewall wouldnt have to get cut for 727 torq flight to fit . Heres some pics .Good luck with your project . http://s75.photobucket.com/user/The...urprise Package 1957 gasser/IMAG1215.jpg.html