as I posted awhile ago I picked up a 51 kaiser an at the moment I am scratching my head on how to get this small block in her without chopping the girl up.......any ideas????
A little more info would help .Like what is in the way , I would think the transmission tunnel is large enough it had that big GM hydro in it . So what is in the way ?
Why don't you think a SB will fit? Is the steering link in the way? Have you tried to mock it up? Kaiser had test mules with Olds engines in them, as they were considering sourcing engines from GM, so a V8 will fit. There are SB powered Kaisers out there
I don't think the Kaiser was much if any smaller than the Frazier. My Dad put a Caddy V8 with a hydro on it into a 48 Frazier. So it can be done. All he told me was it involved a lot of time with a torch, and a buddy of his who could really run it. Unfortunately, they're both gone, and that's all the detail I have. Oh, and it went like hell with that caddy.
There were THREE Kaisers in San Jose with 324 Oldses w/Hydros in them. There was an old rust bucket Kaiser with a 59 AB flathead in it! No shoehorn needed for a SBC, I reckon...
When i was in high school there was a Kaiser with a nail head in it. They were both pretty new at the time. Looked OK as much as I remember.
i have a 350 and im going to have to cut the tunnel the thing im worried about is how the drive shaft runs through the x frame.....
I absolutely refuse to believe the tunnel needs to be cut for an SBC and with any GM passenger car transmission behind it. If you place the centerline of the engine crankshaft in the front, and the output shaft of the trans in the tunnel, on the same centerline of the original eng/trans the tunnel should be fine. You may have steering linkage or oil pan interference, but those are relatively easy to accommodate on most swaps. Ray
Ok,I wasn't going to chip in,but with the things I read,guess I should. Kaiser/Frazer made a smaller car then what your playing with called Henry J,it came with a nice little Redseal Continal 4cly and also the op. 6cly that's the same motor your removing from a bigger Kaiser. I owned a 1951 Henry J back in 1960 ,that I put Olds Rocket V8 with hydro tranny in,did not cut firewall or hump,only a few hammer hits were something stuck out,other then for a homemade floor shifter. I did remake the rad.mount so I could move it forword an use a larger rad. EX I homemade twin ,coming off the stock manafolds. The Rocket was more lbs. then the 6cly by some,I don't know by how much,but I never needed to cut or heat the frontcoils,it just gave me a nice rake{but then I only had about 3in. of sub left before it would bottom out with stocksub,arms an all{had to realine it when all was done,but it drove great. Point being,if a Olds Rocket V8 fits,no oilpan mods other then a few dings an it all cleared,whats stopping you. I made it into a fullcustom J,an made CarCraft Jan. 1963
Until you hang the engine and trans in the chassis, you can't know what you're going to have to do to swap it, and neither do we. Why don't you, if you have a 350/350 combo, roll the cherry picker up to the front of the car, lower the combo between the rails, and get an idea. Then post photos. An X member frame doesn't preclude fitting a driveshaft, my 48 Pontiac convert, '51 Pontiac wagon, my old '48 Chev convert, and my '56 Caddy all had X members, no issues running the driveshaft, in fact, the tailshaft of in all of them was smack in the middle of the X. We ain't gonna know what'll fit, what'll be in the way, if anything.
ok this is whats stopping me.....header is hitting the steering gear box....engine needs to come down but the oil pan will hit the steering linkage.....trans needs to come down a little....here are pics and thanks everyone for all the advice
The header has to go......there are a variety of SBC factory manifolds to choose from. Offhand, I'd say a '55/'57 era manifold that is mainly above the ports and has an outlet near the front on the left side which should clear your steering box. Or, a custom made header would do the job. The pan can be modified in the front to clear the steering gear. The oil pump is at the rear, so the front of the pan is easily reshaped without causing internal conflict. Next issue? Ray
You could also offset the engine 1-2" to the right. Maybe 3", if there's room. For steering box/header clearance. Deal there is, the trans also *has* to be offset an = amount. Marcus... BTW: If you change your mind on the mill-of-choice, it'd be worth considering the Kaiser Alum-hemi-headed roller-rockered 6-banger. Developed for the US mil, & run in the J-10/J-15 jeeps + Wagoneers (I think). Used a TH400 behind them. Eventually most went to Argentina.
Don't know if you went to the Swap Meet in Belleville today, but I did. They was a vendor in the building with a nice assortment of SBC exh manifolds.....including a set of the type I mentioned from the early models. Other versions looked like they might work also with rear exits but one would have to trial fit to see. Hoped you were here to see that stuff.....might be helpful to your project. Ray
Eric Gordon's 1954 Kaiser Manhattan Rebuild "google" this title. The guy fixed up a 54 Kaiser and stuck a 350 in it. Some of his hints may be of some help to you.
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