Hi new to the forums and joined to ask for help for a 1931 chevy 2 door hot rod. i want to put a 292 straight six, turbo 350 trans and i am wondering if i can use the stock rear and how do i go about converting the electrical system from 6volt to 12 volt. what is involved in this conversion besides motor mounts trans mounts moving the steering column ectera. Anyone who has done a swap like this i would love to hear your input. Thanks, Kevin
i've never done a `31 Chevy , but i would think that the stock rear end would not be a good choice...i'd look at an 8" or 9" ford rear , or maybe something GM like a 10 bolt...maybe 70's Nova? a tape measure will tell you how wide you need once you decide on wheels/tires converting from 6 to 12 volts is easy....rip out all the old wiring and start over not sure if a `31 Chevy steering box is any good , you may want to rethink that i do like the 6 cylinder idea
Your stock rear end is (I believe) a torque tube style which won't mate with open driveline parts as you have described. I'd be checking salvage yards for rear ends that are about the same width (S-10's would be a good place to start, I don't remember off of the top of my head but I believe the four wheel drives are narrower than two wheel drives). Here are a couple of web sites that discuss upgrading to 12 volts. http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/6v-to-12v.html https://www.fillingstation.com/articles/6volt.htm I'd recommend just buying a ready made wiring harness and follow the directions since it is highly unlikely that your original wiring is usable. I've had good luck using a Rebel harness but there are several options, use the search function to get LOTS of opinions Good luck and I hope you are good at either replacing rotted wood.
55-63 chevy rear should fit good. the steering box you will not have to move, but you may have to move the radiator forward or cut the firewall to clear the 292, they are long engines. fuel gage will need a voltage reducer [runtz work well] and all the bulbs will need to be changed. the coil/alternator will get changed with the motor swop. pictures, we need pictures, pictures and more pictures!
heres a link to my thread, it's a '33 but you can get some ideas......maybe. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/33-chevy-3w-time-for-a-cool-change.863287/
Hi thanks everybody for the responses and sorry i didnt respond quickly. ill go through everything by next week 53+ page thread haha. think well go with a rebel harness change all the bulbs if needed and I think it would be better to move the radiator up rather than cut into the firewall if it isnt as much of a hassle[probably wont]. i was thinking of getting a 10 bolt rear out of a 90s s10. I also wanted to give it a modern brake system[ the current one is all mechanical] run our own lines get a master cylinder and disc brakes on all 4. we also want to put a rack and pinion steering system. if anyone knows of any kits that can be bought or had success with other parts id love to see what you guys did or we could do. we have the body off the frame and its a rolling chassis. Ill be happy to put pics up when we get everything going.
My project has a 250ci , 373 posi rear and a t5. Car has been replaced with 390cfm carb and new line and proper wiring.