Hot Rods 1954 Corvette V8 Conversion

We will also be installing a glass bowl style fuel filter so we won’t have to worry about the ethanol breaking down the plastic style one. Now all grandpa needs is his gold V emblems and dodge lancer hubcaps, and it’s 1960 all over again for him.

Thanks for the continued support,
TR

Grandpa’s 55 Corvette in 1960

 

Nice build, good to see you're modifying the old vette, enjoy it and have fun with gramps !

 

Well adding a 4 inch bore in the 283, that is going in place of the 235, what would you call that?

 

A 301.

 

We received the engine from the shop and now have the crank and high compression pistons installed. The cam has also been installed. More progress and updates to come.

Thanks,
TR

 

Just a word of caution, before you get it painted all pretty, prime the oil system real good to make sure the new plug in the deck surface on the odd cylinder bank doesn't leak. I've had headache's with them leaking after the factory plug was replaced. Lookin' good Though!!!

 

Now is a good time to make sure those pipe plugs on each side of the pan rail can come out easy for coolant drainage.

 

Got the double hump 202 heads on today. Slowly getting towards the finish line. Anyone know if the pushrod length is different between the originals on this engine for power pak heads and the double hump heads? Will the originals work ok in this application?

Thanks,
TR

 

Engine assembly is now mostly complete and it is now finally painted. Valve covers are just sitting on the heads for the pictures. Have also decided to ditch the power glide for a turbo 350 transmission. We did know that the powerglides were v8 and 6 cylinder specific. Not to mention having one more gear will help the drive ability considerably. Does anyone know if the adapters to mount a turbo 350 to a 283 work well? More updates to come.

Thanks,
TR

 

Weren't all 283's drilled and tapped for starter's for Turboglide applications?

 

Lots of progress, after a couple tries the transmission is installed. We may have allegedly bought the transmission in a back alley, so everybody cross your fingers that it works. We also positioned the engine in the car and are starting to make new mounts for it. Now it finally looks like a 55.

Thanks,
TR

 

Looks right at home in there! I´m sure gramps is gonna have fun with this little 301 powered vette!

 

Nothing makes me happier than a modified corvette.

Restoration purist be damned

 

Looking good.

Any idea what the compression ratio is going to be? I sure hope you're able to run on pump gas as it (in my mind) would be a pain to constantly be adding octane boost, av gas, race fuel to the tank to make it drivable.

 

There’s a point in every build where you know you’ve done the right thing and made the correct choice. One of these moments wears when we got the intake, carbs, and set the valve covers on it. The next big moment will be fire up and driving…hopefully. I also have no clue what the compression ratio will be but I know it’ll run on pump gas. Meanwhile we’ve got to get this thing done, summer’s almost over and the homecoming parade waits for no corvette:

Thanks,
TR

 

Early in this post some guys tried to deter doing a engine swap. What the hell kind of hot rodders are you??????

 

That's gonna be so much more fun to drive!

 

Makes me hungry.

 

It’s not done yet?

 

We’ll today was a big day, it started and ran much easier than I thought it would. Had to shut it down because the carburetor wouldn’t idle down, just seemed to keep climbing in rpm. The throttle was shut and so we’re the blades so it’s probably an air fuel mixture problem? Anyways here’s the short video of it finally making some noise, already sounds better than the 6, even with no exhaust. Here is a link to the short start up video.


Thanks,

 

This is one of my favorite threads on the hamb right now. A 301 powered early Corvette. What's not to like.

 

Are we really trying to talk someone out of a HAMB period correct engine swap? Isn't that the epitome of hot rodding.

 

Got the corvette running loads better. Had to take off the front carburetor temporarily to tune the rear wcfb and plugged the holes with an approved 1950s method. If all goes well it should be on the road tomorrow and here is the video of it running much better this time, more to come…

Thanks,
TR

 

If your swapping a V8 to an older Corvette, a 245-270 hp is a great choice and you made it…

 

It lives! Took it out for a quick drive down the road and back. This thing is fast, the transmission does have a shift kit too. We determined that after we were going 35 mph and it squealed the tires when it shifted into second. On top of all that the front 4 barrel still isn’t mounted yet. More to come, in the mean time a short video of its first outing.

Thanks,
TR
https://youtube.com/shorts/ukinqHv5oNw?feature=share

 

Congratulations, the fun is about to begin

 

Took the corvette out again to work some of the bugs out. Turns out $12 electric fuel pumps are not as good of a deal as they appear. So we replaced that with a better example. Also ordered another wcfb as we can’t figure out what is wrong with the front one that we rebuilt. In the meantime here is a new video of its last more successful outing.


Thanks,
TR