hi i have a car that is set up for a big block chevy, my buddy tells me that a change of the rubbber mounts and i can put a small block in it, now if this is true, would it be possible to put something like an olds rocket 350 in without changing anything but the rubber mounts. and will an olds or pontiac motor bolt right up to a th 350 or 400? Thanks
Depends...more often than not, you have to change the part the rubber part mounts to. and the transmission, typically the first half of the exhaust, sometimes springs, a bunch of schtuff. what are you building, Theo?
Hit a nerve here, Theo. The ONLY Rockets are 303, 324, 371 and 394 Kettering engines. The 350 is a corporate engine.
it has already been built (by someone else), it is an older model t rod that had a bbc in it, it was picked up as a roller and instead of the big dollars for a big block i thought i would run a small block and thin i got to thinking i would like to run something you did not see evry day, and seeing how i am living over seas now, i donot have alot of time when i come to the US so i wanted to do the easiest, quickest engine install i could untill i get to come home for a longer while (longer then 2 weeks) . thanks
*ahem* and now a word from the muscle car dork. Phil, you are right and wrong at the same time. in the early 70's, Olds called thier rather anemic 350 platform a "rocket" 350 to increase excitement about this turd of a motor. they did this because they saw the writing on the wall about any large displacement motors in smaller cars becoming extinct. So, Yep, it's a rocket, but no, it's not a ROCKET.
sure you can. just bolt some vintage "ROCKET OLDSMOBILE" valve covers to your small block chevy. who's gonna know the difference?
That's a hell of a quandry, Theo. the beausty of a B.O.P. motor is, they're everywhere, and relatively cheap.last year I bought several olds motors for pretty cheap, BUT. you're standard issue hot rod parts are more expensive. like a bunch more expensive.you can build a stout BBC for the same price, if not cheaper than ANY poncho, olds, or Buick. with the same power. and it will "dress up" a heckova lot cheaper, too. and not to be a prick, but it sounds like you may lack the experience to build one of these "tender petals"-meaning minor (relative to chevy motors) issues such as timing, oiling, and parts avalibility can kill these motors where a chevy will run through some of those isseus. I'm an Oldsmobile guy personally, and I have purchased recent rebuilds with little problems that turned them into parts motors for me. Most recently, I had a fella play with his own timing on a 400 pontiac and knock the tops out of all the rod bearings. I reccomend LOTS of research before jumping both feet first into a B.O.P. motor.
ok then on to the second question, is bbc to sbc more then a swap of rubber mounts and transmisssion adaption?
the sbc and bbc mounts are the same...you can pull out a small block and bolt a big block to the sbc mounts and bellhousing. There are other issues like clearance around the heads, length of the engine, accessory mount brackets, exhaust, etc. Around the mid 60s the GM divisions kind of sort of standardized a bit, all of them except Chevy went to a common BOP bellhousing design. But the mounts are different, the part that bolts to the frame is not the same, so you can't just swap rubber mounts and expect to be able to bolt in an Olds or Buick or Caddy or Pontiac engine...at least with the 60s-mid 70s mounts. Each division had their own frame brackets.
all of you rock out and thanks alot for all the good info , but squirrel you are the man and told me exactly what i wanted to know. all i needed was the mounts as this cars has a stretched frame, and the bbc fir in fine, so an sbc should, and there is no accesorys or exhaust with the car, only what i have at home which is all sbc stuff.
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