Got a '54 Bel Air 4 dr w/ straight 6, all original, 3 spd man trans. I also have a TH 350 tranny sittin' in the corner. What do I need to make the swap. I'm pretty sure I have to change the driveshaft. Do I get one that fits the tranny and, will it fit this rearend ? Trying to keep it as low buck as poss. I want to see how cheap I can do this. I got a sweet cherry body and running car for $1500. Nice steelies w/ W.Whites and caps. I'm hoping to put an interior in, trans swap, and lower it for less than $2500 total. Can it be done easily ?? I searched the forums but didn't see anything on this please forgive me if this has already been discussed. Thanks guys !
Hi Kawboy You'll need to make or buy motor mounts, tranny cross member, you'll need a radiator w/tanny cooler, figure out new wiring, either buy a drive line at the junk yard or have it built, you'll need linkage for carb and tranny..do you care if the speedo works? oil pressure, water temp, volt metter...that kind of thing. Tools, cherry picker , jack, jack stands..?
You are better off with a t5, you don't need the $400 adapter. But if you insist... s10 4x4, g-body 55-57 or early camaro/nova rearend, $12 Mopar spring perches from Jegs, 70s midsize gm driveshaft, you will need to rework the parking brake. And a $400 adapter. The rearend will need new holes drilled in the perches, about 1.5" forward, to locate it in the center of the wheelwell. Otherwise it will be to far forward.
Sorry Kaw I though you were changing to a v8...haven't changed 6 to auto for a while, someone on here will know if the bolt pattern is the same. I don't think it is, but you should beable to get an adapter plate/starterflex plate..?
I assume you have a 235 six and it requires an expensive and somewhat hard to find adaptor to run a TH 350. In my 54 I went with a 230 six found here on the HAMB from from good men up in KC becuase it would bolt right up, then had Dirty's Speed shop put in a ford 8inch rear with a new driveshaft and all is well... Not cheap but well worth it to me. Another choice and could be a cheap one, if you look hard enough is what 53 Sled spoke of in an s-10 chasis..good thing there is you get front to rear, better brakes ect.ect. Good Luck Bud
That's one of those projects where you define the budget up front. Double that and you should have some beer money leftover to cut the dust while you work on it. I like the 230/250 swap idea. I would think of changing the rear to a later GM 10-bolt and figure on having a drive shaft made up for it. While you have it apart, you can play with rear leaf spring and lowering block options. Bob
I don't think it will. I helped a buddy of mine basically do what you are going to do. We used an adapter purchased from Patrick's. Not what you would call cheap, but worked well. You will need to convert the car to open drive line, which means swapping the rear end, not a big deal. I thinks we used a Nova in his, as well as the drive shaft. I used the stock trans-crossmember, but modified it a little. There was a little more involved, but it wasn't too bad..
Easiest way so far. Rear end can be from anything GM that will bolt up, perhaps S10 rear end and modified driveshaft. the 230 or 250, or even a truck 292 will not require any fancy Dan adapters. Hell you can even go with a 2004r or 700r4 trans down the road if you like OVERDRIVES.
the adaptors are expensive but steve at buffalo ent. in stanwood wa. will make them all day long if your paying! do a search T5 and read.
I think that this link will answer your question- not sure on price but it does what you are looking for http://www.transmissionadapters.com/Chev 235 six cylinder to Chev V8 Style.htm Ed
You're still going to have to swap out the torque tube/rearend no matter which way or trans you use! And that makes for a lot of extra work and money. Here's another idea, Patricks makes a conversion kit to use a 4-speed Saginaw WITH the torque tube. You supply the trans ouput shaft for modification, and everything's a bolt in. You WILL need to use a TRUCK bellhousing in order to do the swap; bolts to the "old" six and "new" trans. The kit is $479.95. You'd also need to fabricate a plate to connect to the trans mount/cross member. It's marketed as a kit for 48-54 Chev/GMC trucks, but it will work in pass cars with the use of a truck bellhousing. The torque tube "ball" is the same. The Saginaw 4-speeds come with several gear ratios/spreads, so pick the one best suited for how you drive. Butch/56sedandelivery.
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