I bought a '54 Chevy this fall that I thought was a good deal for $1,000. Turns out it had a cracked head AND a cracked block. Something I wish the seller had told me. Anyway, I have a complete engine/tranny out of my buddy's '57 Chevy. It's the 235/three speed, but there are no mounting bosses for side mounts. I saw the kit for a front motor mount through one of the stovebolt suppliers. But what I want to know is, can I bolt this engine up to my stock three-speed/torque-tube setup? Are the bell housings different? I need to do this as cheaply possibe with the parts I have. BTW, I've searched high and low on Inliners.org and haven't found the needed info. Thanks, Jake
I'm sure you know this is the wrong forum, bu tI'll throw you a bone. the motor mounts are the only thing that change, bell housing interchanges. 6 volt starter must match flywheel, 12 volt starter must have 12 volt flywheel, not interchangeable.
The head, no problem. The block is another story. A '58-'62 block would actually be easier to mount in your '54, as the '55-'57 blocks have motor mount bosses at the very front of the side of the block. Starting in '58, they moved the bosses back to the '53-4 location. They are a different bolt pattern, but it wasn't too much trouble for me to make some adapters from plate steel, which I welded to the original mount brackets when I put a '58 engine in my '53.
Thanks for the help,folks. I thought the bellhousings looked alike, just wanted to make sure. Sorry this is the wrong forum. I thought just the opposite, that we were supposed to post ALL questions here. Guess I need some glasses. Jake
I originally had this posted in the Questions and Suggestions forum. Sorry for the confusion. I've had a lot of people tell me to shitcan the closed drive and go to an open driveline with a later Chevy rear with good gears. I can see the merits of that, but what I have isn't broken (except for the block), so I don't see the need to fork over more bucks to buy the rearend, make a driveshaft, etc. This is going to be a very mild custom, mainly due to limited funds. So the less money spent on unecessary mods, the more left for paint and interior. Anyone else on here drive a closed-drive early Chevy on a regular basis?
I drove one for 5 years, but eventuallu the 3 speed shit itself, and I eventually ran a cast-iron powerglide and 8", after a brief run with a *8 thingy. If you like the closed drive-line a lot, then please consider that Patrick's Antiqur Car and truck has a kit to put a 4 speed saginaw into the torque tube drive line. Ring them and ask for a catalog, as it has the directions for the engine swap you want to do!! Cheers
There are thousands of those running today. There are literally hundreds of those cars being parted out. I suggest you start networking parts sources now, then when you need a part, tranny gear, etc. The replacement is only a 10 day wait away. The original driveshaft setup is good to stay with. The first thing that might go, after the unit has a couple of hundred thousand miles on is the wheel bearings. If you have the need to take it apart for some reason, I suggest you replace the bearings when re-assembling. Repairs are almost always more practical than replacing the complete unit. Even with the tranny, if it shits the bed, repairs are not expensive and if performance suits you now, stay with it. Parts are available, complete units are available. There are thousands of those running today.
Moody, you watchin? he runs a stock driveline on hydros, drives it all the time. I have a 62 235 for cheap, but too far away 2 things I know for sure. it will ride better with the 3sp/torque tube, and be more fun with the t5, and ride like crap. swap cost under $500. i think i need a sway bar
Damn, 'hoppy! Your '54 looks like my car's more glamorous twin. Here's mine as she sits. I've stripped and cleaned the interior, and pulled the trim off for welding holes and fixing rust.
Every single day. Granted, it's only a 2 mile round trip But the real reason people usually suggest a open drive swap is to free of those rear end gears so it doesn't it wind out so quick. My car hums at 60-65 on the highway, but I wouldn't push it much further than that. I'll swap in newer/better stuff as things break. But if it ain't broke...
screwtheman, I like the stance on yours, a lot. That's what I'll do soon enough, cut coils and blocks out back. Here's another stupid question, guys: how traditional is it to run 14" wheels on an early fifties car? My wife's car has a near new set of 14" wide whitewalls that she could take or leave (she wants Cragars and blackwalls, what can I say, her first concert was the Scorpions in Springfield, MA). My tires aren't bad, but I know where I can get some Chevy pattern 14" steelies cheap. Then I'd be that much lower, sitting on some fattie whites. Did they ever do this "back in the day" to acheive a lower stance? Jake
My take on the 14's is don't do it. I have a 52 CHevy running 4:11 stock gears in the rear it had 14's on it when I bought it and man it was SCREAMING at 50 mph. I put a set of original 15's and G-78 X 15 bias plys on and now it screams at 55-60 so I'm going to put a power glide rear in it next (better gear ratio for highway driving). Remember your tire/rim size will affect your overall gearing. Those old Chevys are geared pretty low.....
Originally Posted by hammy Anyone else on here drive a closed-drive early Chevy on a regular basis? Used my 52 as daily quite a bit through the years. 235 3spd torque tube 4.11's. It runs around just fine, doesn't like to do much more than 65 on the highway though.
careful with the trim ya remove , put that stuff on e-bay and make some money back! hammy-screwtheman your rides looks good! drive 'em !
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