I remember reading in the late 40's people use to swap in engines from Caddies, Chrysler,Olds into their 40's era cars. I have been thinking of dropping in a Chrysler 440 into my 48 Chevy instead of the usual SBC. Any idea's on this subject?
In 1968 I dropped a 413 Chrysler with 727 trans into my '40 Chevy coupe. Had to eliminate the inner splash pans on the fenders, and a fair amount of floor work to redo, but it wasn't a bad fit. Should be even easier in a '48.
Yeah, it also had an early 50's Chevy truck straight axle, and the rear axle from the Chrysler in it too. Was a handful when I got into it, but at 18 yrs. old I figured if it didn't scare me it wasn't any fun!
Why not ,make a sleeper out of that 'ol bowtie . A guy I worked with put a 392 in a '51 chevy , didn't last long as he blew a tire at speed and wadded it up on his way to the "cat house" in Nye county. He and the '92 survived .
70 Camaro w/ 440, 727 and 8.75 rear. Had to build pan and pick up. If your going to sell it stick with the status quo
Absolutely! I love oddball swaps, but when it's time to sell, it sure reduces the buying audience! Somebody will always be offended by a swap that isn't considered traditional.
I put a 421 Pontiac tri power into a '62 Studebaker Champ pickup. At various times I had a Saginaw 4 speed, a Muncie or a TH400 behind it. Did I mention that I had transmission troubles? Scary fun anyway.
It would be a sleeper to a point, I was always taught to use what I have. If I do this then it's a keeper which I planned on doing anyway. I was curious to hear what people have done in the past and problems they run into.
in the late 50s and early 60s if you had a car with a bad {not good}engine you would swap in what ever you could find. A example was 352 V8 Packard with auto transmission in a 52 ford. Countless trucks and cars with any thing that you could find cheap..
You might want to pick up a copy of these:http://product.half.ebay.com/Practi...n-Thawley-1976-Paperback/1053925&cpid=1525487 and http://product.half.ebay.com/Engine-Swapping-1981-Paperback/1331016&tg=info Both are "back in the day" that give some really good tips on fabricating things that don't come in a kit plenty of pictures in both.
Since your '48 had an engine with a rear sump oil pan the swap will be easier if the donor engine is rear sump,click on this:http://www.440source.com/oilpans.htm the part # 100-1064 is a rear sump for 440 Mopar read the foot notes.Other rear sump engines are SBC's,Olds 330/350/455 and Pontiac 350/400/455, AMC 360/401 and 5.0 Fords fox body and later.The first book I listed above has a chart showing all the measurements and weights,downside of the big block Mopar is it is the widest across including manifolds at 29 1/2",SBC is 26",302/5.0 & 351W Fords are 22" something you want to keep in mind for steering box clearance you can get a rear sump pan for 360 Mopars http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rnb-264-232/overview/make/dodge and they are only 25" wide. Somehow the idea of a 351W in a Chevy really makes me grin!
get this book....all kinds of neat swaps, plus helpful info on which combinations don't work out so well! there are several editions, I have one from 1960. Good section on blowers, too. http://www.amazon.com/How-Build-Rods-Race-Them/dp/B001NXYL6C
built ran a 413 out of a 63 imperial in a chopped and channelled , fenderless 36 buick , with the push button shifter mechanism installed on the dash , ran friggin sweet.
My Dad swapped a 232 stude v8 into our 48 jeep station wagon when I was a kid. Then when I came of driving age the 232 was replaced with a 259 v8 four barrel. This was my high school driver. Lot of fun.
I remember my dad and uncle putting random engines in stuff. It was never about what was cool or rare, it was whatever got them the cheapest horsepower.
My told told me about literally swapping a Falcon V8 engine with a Volvo engine. Took the Volvo drag racing and kept the Falcon on the road.
I had an off topic Datsun 240Z someone had dropped a 351 Cleveland into, that went like hell! Did a 460 in a 48 stude pick-up. Other than that I always stayed with same brand, just seemed easier
Not sure if it's still around, but I've got an old paperback book titled, "Peterson's Complete Book of Engine Swapping" (or something like that?) It shows dozens of different engines swapped into all sorts of cars. I bought this book new in the late 60's or early 70's, and have referenced it often over the years.
Found it at Amazon. Looks like it's newer than my memory! 1975. http://www.amazon.com/Petersens-Complete-Book-Engine-Swapping/dp/B000ZG4HGM
I've got something along those lines in my archives! It's mostly big engines into smaller cars. Maybe the same manual? I can't remember the title but I remember part of the blurb on the back was "build your own supercar". It was a HRM special I think? It was printed same as a magazine and it was all reprints of magazine articles. My father used it as a reference source when putting the 327 (only Impala 327 ever switched into a car, much rarer than the 'vette engines everyone else used, lol) into his 1957 OT fast swoopy record setting body.
Welcome C.M. I'm all for unusual engine swaps, but you'll have a clearance issue between the stock steering column and the rear of the passenger-side head with any big-block engine. So either use a small-block engine or plan on modifying the steering, or mount the 440 high and/or biased to the passenger side. Rear-sump oil pans and passenger-side starters make things a little less difficult. Good luck.
I put '59, 318 Poly in, after pulling a 241 Hemi out of my '54 Dodge Royal. There hasn't been much fabricating except for mounts and a bracket to operate the passing gear. Its not on the road yet. Ask me how its going in about a month
Put a 364 Nailhead and T85 3-speed in my '56 Ford Victoria in the early '60's. Put early Hemi's in almost everything you can think of. Buddy of mine had one in his '54 Chevy, another buddy put one in his '57 Chevy. Cads were really popular in lots of stuff and so were Olds'. Lots of Y blocks in early Fords were common when I was a kid.
The Jalopy Journal
