If I find an Olds motor, it will not bolt up to a Chevy TH350, correct? Don't I need to find a B/O/P TH350? What about Cad? What motors can I bolt to a Chevy TH350? Do they make adapters for these applications?
You can use your early Olds with the TH350. Ross Racing Engines does a bell housing that installs similar to the JW Ultrabell stuff. http://rossracingengines.com/p/224/Auto-350-Turbo-Automatic/
The GMC V6 would be unique, but they weigh in north of 800 pounds. http://www.transmissionadapters.com/ The Olds ideas sound neat. Or put a 350 crank and a cam in that 307.
I vote Dodge Red Ram Hemi, thats what i had planned for my 53 but too hard to find over here in Oz but i did find an old corvette 327 that im dropping in instead.
oh boy what the heck , put a packard stright 8 in it with a turbo ,or how about a offy turbo charged that should be diffrent and exotic dont u think ? or how about a stright 6 out of a supra we had one in that had twins and made 1100 hp
I hate to be a stick in the mud but a SBC is the most wise choice. You're already selling one car, so suppose down the road this one has to go. How many potential buyers will liken themselves to the "different for the sake of different" thinking? I know there's no real rules to this shit but ther are rules to protecting the investment value of kool and collectible stuff. It's already subframed and you have 3 different Chevy V8s to pick from, the SBC, BBC, and the W. IMO, how you dress it up can net enough different without losing value. Sure, an argument could be made for "...I can always swap it out if...", which is fine if you live to turn wrenches and buy/sell parts. Just sayin...
Please, anything but a SBC. You can't swing a dead cat by the tail at a car show without hitting a SBC. Here's an alternative. A 292 in my '39. I had to recess the fire wall 3 inches, but that's easy. It is a torque monster, sounds great, and is fun to drive with the four speed. WX1
I am an Olds guy for tradition and a big block Chevy guy when it comes to going fast but a few of my buddies had nailheads in their old Chevys and they were quick , dependable and looked great under the hood. If you do go to Olds power deal with Tony at Ross you won't be sorry. There is a good thread on here which deals with the installation of a nailhead in an early Chevy.
Originally I was planning on putting a '56 365 Caddy Eldo engine in my '54 but then I switched thought process and will more then likely go with a 301 with a 4spd. The cadillac engine would look incredible though.
If I had a 327 on an engine stand there would be no decision. But if you had a hankering, then it should be the 500 caddy - you can use it to haul all the baby crap around!
Have a 54 Desoto Hemi to put in my 49. I had planned an Olds, but I already have the hemi rebuilt, so the Olds will go in my Merc one day.
I would vote for a Dodge Red Ram Hemi. If you set up everything correctly it would look perfect in the engine bay and not at all awkward like some engines (SBC) look in the engine bay of the '54. It would fill up the area but would not make it look cluttered.
I'd get a new frame and add a nice SBC, wanna be different? how 'bout a 55 265 with the oil filter on top of the intake, maybe a 2-4bbl Corvette motor, or maybe a Vette fuel injection set up? still too boring? vintage algon fuel injection will get people talking. blowers are always fun... don't get yours at walmart, do it with vintage magnesium stuff, and don't forget the vintage fuel injection. how 'bout a factory correct air cleaner to oil pan 365 HP 327? 1970 LT-1? ah what do I know... I'm boring.
I had a 455 olds sitting between my frame rails, and exhaust manifolds wanted to dump right onto the frame. I was going to try building headers, but lost my nerve. 302 GMC would be cool.
The coolest would be a Nailhead Buick and it was actually a popular swap in those cars back in the day. Practical and reliable would be a 250 or 292 Chev six and the a sbc. My personal preference would be an Olds/Cad 350R as I have have owned a bunch of them over the years and they are great engines for cruising or burning up the highway for hours and miles on end. For the sale of being able to maintain the rig and if needed do on the road repairs when headed somewhere in the vehicle I'm not a huge fan of off the wall engines as several suggested. Leave the off the wall stuff for the profilers who trailer the cars to events and love to show their non mainstream engines. Being stuck somewhere in the middle of nowhere and hoping to hell you didn't loose Hotrodladycruiser's cell number so she can post he needs help thread because you can't get something like a waterpump or valve cover gasket or simple item until the brown truck hauls it in on Tuesday rather negates the cool factor of a lot of stuff. Those that drive rigs with uncommon engines usually take that into consideration and figure if it gives them trouble they will have to deal with it.
Dudes what's the problem? The most obvious and easiest choice is a Ford 300" six. Same outward physical configuration as the original engine, and can produce copious amounts of power and reliability. Are'nt those the reasons given for the 350/350 into Ford swaps?
Well, that's different, alright. DOHC inline 6 EFI supercharged? Probably not what Big Mac was looking for, but I like your willingness to think outside the box, ELpolacko! Way outside the box!
Why not? Inline six with a history to the GM 250 (indirectly) makes tons of HP, aftermarket like no body's business and it fits the hole well. Not traditional by any means. When has that ever stopped anyone here.
Thanks! Seriously If dressed properly the Supra engine could be a stunner, in more ways than one. I would rather rock one of these than a Quad Four, not too many here frown on those.
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