I've got a 56 265 chevy small block that I rebuilt a couple years back. It's a 265 with the front motor mounts and no side mounts factory. I'm a uni student and up here in Canada tri five chevys (or any mid 50s to early 60s Chev for that matter) are scarce and priced out of reach. Its a stock spec motor, what my plan always has been to put in a traditional hot rod in a mild state, in an ideal world a 35-36 ford. About all the one's here in Canada are overpriced pieces of junk. Does anyone make a fiberglass 35-36 for cheap. Also, what would be another idea for a period correct late 50's build that would be a direct bolt in swap for a front mounted 265 that would be easily available, cheap and easy to find relatively complete?
If you are into boating, the 265 makes a great engine in a 16 or 18 foot flat bottom ski boat. It would be period correct and make a great addition when you finally get your car and build it. Trivia fact, the first anything to win a sanctioned race with a SBC was a boat. Vic Edelbrock built a 265 for a 266 (F) class hydroplane named WaWa II and it was a very successful boat. The boat was a 16’ 4” conventional Lauterbach wooden hydroplane. Last I knew it was in the Edelbrock private collection.
I don’t see why it can’t be used in anything, may not be “bolt in”, but mount pads can be fabbed to work with a front mount.
I'm looking for a bolt in swap idea, I don't want to start extensively modifying things and it's an all-complete rebuilt motor that would be perfect in an older hot rod
> >Its a stock spec motor, what my plan always has been to put in a traditional hot rod in a mild state, in an ideal world a 35-36 ford. > > Nothing works better or is more traditional than a souped up flathead in a mild 35-36 ford hot rod....except a stock Chevy 265
Truck bells from 55-72 ish will work Oil leak? Who cares There is an improved modern style rear seal available A mid mount addition to use a non PG auto or non mid mount style bell isn’t hard to do https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...th350-or-powerglide-front-mount-help.1045176/
I don’t know what a “uni student” is, but assume you are on a limited budget. So cross tri-5’s off the list, cross ‘35-40 Fords off the list. Dodge, etc can give you the same smiles per miles at less investment. Just a friendly suggestion.
Someone who studies the ends of a drive shaft....????? Come on man, keep up. We will wait for you............
A strong 265 will turn a lot of cars into hot rods. While my dad was dealing with medical issues, I borrowed the 265 that was bored and balanced for our 280 hydroplane and put it in my 59 Rambler w/ 3 on the tree and electric over drive. That upside down bathtub could scoot. Dad eventually figured it out and I had to take it out. Wound up with a junkyard 283. It just didn’t have the same zip so I sold it. Edit: a 265 could be bored out to .125 over. Don’t let them tell you they aren’t hot rod engines.
A "T" Bucket is the easiest and cheapest way to go. When I was putting myself through college in the early sixties (working in a Supermarket at all kinds of odd hours) I built one for myself. A bunch of steel from the surplus place and a 180 amp Miller "buzzbox" was enough to make the frame. A Model "A" supplied the front axle, while a mid-fifties Dodge provided the drive train (a 270 hemi and a 3-speed transmission) to make the major components. Numerous trips to the local boneyard supplied the rest, and I got it on the street in two years. The body was a combination of the front half of an early twenties Model "T" touring car and the back half of a model "A" pickup bed. I managed to trade for a set of chrome valve covers and a chrome "T" windshield, and the result turned out better than I would have ever expected. I managed to navigate Minnesota's DMV system and obtained a '66 "Homebuilt" title and a set of plates, and had a blast with the car for the next two summers. Unfortunately, a couple of things happened that put a quick end to all of my fun. First, the frame stared to sag badly (2X2 1/8" wall is NOT strong enough for a frame, no matter what the surplus dealer tells you) and the car was vandalized and stripped of all of the good parts it's third winter in storage. I have kept the hulk and the title all of the intervening years and started to reconstruct the car a few years ago. Old age and infirmity has crept up on me and put a halt to the project lately, just after I got it to "roller" status. Oh yeah, if you build a bucket the 265 will be just fine. I had a good runnin' 270" hemi, a Dodge "plow box", and 4.30 gears out of a '49 Plymouth and the car was a block to block terror. It had a top speed of about 80, but I could do burnouts at will in first gear running Ellingson's recapped slicks. I generally drove it around town in second/third only. You already have the engine, scrap steel is relatively cheap, and I am sure you can scrounge up the rest of the running gear, just like I did 60 years ago.. You can probably find a fiberglass body pretty cheap, and you're on the way. If you're like me, a decent radiator and a nice windshield will probably be the most expensive parts. Go for it!
I have a 1955 Chevrolet 265", no oil filter Chevrolet v-8 in my roadster. It has been there since the late 1950's. It looks good, and runs good too.
I would expand beyond ‘35-36 Ford. Say.....1928-1951 Ford car. I would keep an eye open for ‘46-48 sedans and coupes. Another consideration is trucks. ArtDeco and Advanced Design 1940-1955 GM ‘40-41 Ford, Jail bar and the first two generations on F Trucks....1940-1956 Consider Post War GM cars ‘46-48.... maybe 49-54 You can find decent stuff it you look. The main thing....... Save up about 5-10K, otherwise you are just kicking tires. Save up and buy the best you can afford.
Hello, The 265 was used in all sorts of early hot rods. It was one of the first motors to be plopped into simple Model A coupes and sedans. Then it got so popular that companies started making motor mounts for the 265/283 to fit right into a Model A chassis. That was a basic start for that model. A teenage friend had a 56 chevy with a 265 motor. He put on a 4 barrel carb, a Duntov Cam and it was fast for a 56 chevy in 1958-59. Then he saved enough to bore and 1/8th over and became a 283, new cam, pistons, and a dual carb intake. Now, he was one of the fastest 56 Chevy sedans in Long Beach. Your choice for where to put the 265 is wide open. If you want to start from scratch, then get a complete frame and go from there. Or get a Model A coupe in various stages of build and that could be your starting point. A rolling chassis with everything needed to install your motor is also available, but it sounds like you are limited in funds, so the last choice is a 50 ford in the HAMB ads. Jnaki If you wanted to do the work yourself, then there is one interesting hot rod for sale 1922 model T coupe Discussion in 'Cars For Sale' started by magoozi, Jul 21, 2024.
I bet you could find a few flat fender Jeeps up there. And I think that they had some sort of front motor mounts kind of like a 265. May not be exactly what is considered a hot rod, but there were lots of those kinds of swaps done back then. And they were even in Hot Rod magazine! About double the horsepower of the 4 bangers. I had a 62 that I stuffed ultimately a 283 in, and it was a blast to drive. Well, except both times the wiring went up in smoke!
Oh, don't worry guys, you can get rear main seal leaks on any old small block Chevy, with a rope seal, or with a rubber seal. They're not picky about what kind of parts will leak oil. 55 used a bypass filter (optional). 56 started with the block mounted filter, but it was still optional, so there was a block off plate available, too. By 57 they decided to just install filters on all of them.
The Hurst style front engine cradle is made for the 265 style motor mounts, and are good for lots of applications. Shop away for abandoned rod projects.
Here's 115 pages of uses............................. Hot Rods - How about some love for the T-Bucket? | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com)
Hurst style mount(now sold as an off brand copy through speedway) allows easy adapting to other chassis. And if said chassis is mainstream like a model a or 49-54 Chevy car you can get the whole setup as a bolt in deal. And will allow the use of a tail shaft mounted transmission mount which will open up transmission options
University in Canada ? Building a hot rod !!! Awesome where in Canada as that will determine what you can buy for a given price . check out the classifieds , I got a sweet 40 merc for sale anyways 49-54 Chevies are still ok prices 41 and later fords can be found for decent prices Dodges and their subsidiaries are usually under valued compared to chevies and fords . Look into the 265, mounts , transmissions etc etc . Basically everything you would need to shoehorn it into a car . vintage engines and speed equipment is way cool , but also way expensive . you might be better off selling the 265 to a restorer and buying a regular old 350 and dress it up to look old . I build a 261 inline 6 years ago and by the time I was done with the rebuild and all the speed and dress up parts I could have had a running 350 dropped in for probably a 3rd the cost . Anyways don’t want to discourage you , just make you aware of different options .
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