You also might want to go on the PY forum there are a few people who have builds like this on there. They wont like the chevy V8 much though.
Just tell them its a late model Poncho. I personally would put a flat head in it so it wouldn't have no belly button motor in it.
If it is a 3 or 4 speed, I'd keep the 4-cylinder/transaxle. I saw one at a local morning cruise and it was pretty bitchin'!!
First off thanks to @draggin'GTO for the pics. Now unless I am mistaken that motor could be one of these right? Yep I would probably drop a small block in it myself.
Bill Shrewsberry 63 421 Tempest AFX car came with a transaxle later changed to regular drive train. My guess the transaxle should stand up to a SBC.
You see where the starter is , right? About where the 5 &7 cylinders would be. This is one of the things that preclude bolting any kind of V 8 in there . SBC starter is on the right side, being only one more problem. BTW, we still don't know if the OP's car is a 2, 3. or 4 speed. Probably would need to know this before recommending "dropping in" a V8. Speaking of the OP, I guess he didn't like what he was hearing here.
Only the lower bolts and the dowels are in the same place as on a SBC. Same goes for all BOP & C bells
Look up nunzis 63 tempest on youtube. Theres also a video of a 64 tempest on there with the earlier 4 banger turbo'd. They can make some power.
The '63 Tempest was available with the 326 V8, the transaxle was upgraded over the 4-banger transaxle to handle the torque of the 326 as previously mentioned here. Putting a small-block Chevy V8 in a 4-cylinder car would spell an early death for that weak transaxle. The '63 326 crankshaft is a one-year-only 'odd-ball'. It has the six holes drilled and tapped in the rear to mate up with the flexible driveshaft, so not just any Pontiac V8 can be used with the transaxle. Any Pontiac V8 you want to use will need the '63 326 crank in it.
I'm starting to think a complete drivetrain swap is the only way out. But, if you use IRS it may fit easier. Jaguar has an IRS that drops out of the car as a complete unit on its own sub frame. Are there any others that might be suitable? Would need to be on the small and narrow side. Of course there are millions of small SUVs with IRS but do they have a subframe?
Not too HAMB friendly but if horsepower will be in the equation; then a Dana 44 out of an 88-96 Corvette would be the strongest. I had to narrow the half shafts for the one that I put in my Nova four and a half inches each.
Looks like the OP deserted us. Oh well, here goes...... If I was going to do the SBC swap and absolutely HAD to use the original transaxle, I would; 1. Make a bearing carrier/input shaft/yoke assembly to bolt to the Chevy bellhousing. (serious design/machine work) 2. Make a similar assembly for the input of the transaxle. (maybe using the end of the old rope shaft?) 3. Make a driveshaft to connect them (if it's too long, probably a two-piece like a '58-64 Chevy w/center support) You would be smart to use a small cubic inch small block Chevy such as a 283-327. It will need to have mounts on the bellhousing as well ('55-57 Chevy pass or truck bellhousing?) Run narrow rear tires and treat it nicely since the transaxle isn't all that strong. It should be fine as a street car. Personally, I can't think of a reason in the world to keep that goofy, weak, swing-axle rear end if you're swapping engines.
Being that money isn't a problem, head down to your local trusted chassis shop and pay them to put a conventional drivetrain in it. Hang a Ford 9-inch on some leaf springs, a 4-link, or whatever suits your fancy. Lots of these early transaxle Tempests and Le Mans cars have been done up this way, quite a few of the old race cars including some of the original 421 SD Tempests were converted after transaxle failures. Don't screw around with the transaxle, just get it done. Good luck.
Not sure where you live, but there is one beautiful Tempest I see every year at NMCA races in Ohio and Illinois. Never looked under the rear, but this car is cool. We're racing at NMCA Indy this coming weekend, if it's there I'll take pictures and talk to the guy.
Forgot all about it, but a friend of mine had two 62 Cutlass' with SBC in them. One rough one he bought and resold that had the tie rod going through a tube in the pan. The other was beautiful except he built dropped ends on the tie rod to go underneath the pan. To do it right, you would have to reverse the sump in the pan. He also ran a narrow 9" that came with trailing arms that bolted right in. He never did tie the sub-frames. Man that car was fast. Warren
As has been said, this is the world's worst car to "drop a SBC into". There is no conventional transmission floor hump, no trans. crossmember, the torque tube tunnel is dead center, where it needs to be offset to the right to clear a real driveshaft. There is no place out back to hide leaf springs so they don't look goofy. In short ,everything in these cars is in the wrong place for a normal drivetrain. I know that the Pontiac backed teams built them for A/FX use, but they had unlimited resources. (Kinda like the guy who started this thread, now that I think about it) It does look like the o/p has moved on, but for anyone else with limited experience and equipment...Forget about it!
For a wild ride.... Porsche 928 with V8 has the same drive train layout as the Tempest Unfortunately it only has a 98 in wheelbase vs 112 for the Tempest. If you could somehow lengthen the drive shaft 14"...
I'm not familiar with these cars... 1961-63 Tempest... But are these cars Full frame or a sub frame ? thanks.....
Unitized body construction, to be correct. https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/change-agents-the-1961-63-senior-compacts-from-general-motors/ https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/secrets-of-the-1961-pontiac-tempest-rope-drive/
This thread goes back a lot of years, but to answer your question, going with the 9" or whatever axle, you need to run a driveshaft and the Tempest floor is not conducive to that. If you can find a 61-63 Cutlass or Skylark, you can cut the floor out of that and replace the Tempest floor. Friends of mine have installed SBC in their Cutlass' and they were scary. All three cars share the same basic architecture. If you are putting horse power to the car, you might want to consider connectors. Warren
No full frame , but unit body including front frame rails. The front suspension ,including motor mounts, bolts to it. The steering box is bolted to the sheet metal frame. See , I told you they were weird.
Any of the above will work. The question should be what type suspension. Answer ...I don't know. ...I do know...NO ladder bars, if you intend on driving it very far. ;-) What town in CT ?
I saw one here locally , it was sitting on a later ( late 70s early 80s ) Cutlass frame . The floor was completely gone , but the frame fit nicely .
I just bought this one. Although the 1962 Hot Rod article states a 421 will bolt onto the factory 4cyl mounts it will clearly be offset about an inch and half to the drivers side. This was done to balance the weight of the slant 4. I will be fabbing my own mounts. And I'm pretty sure a whole driveshaft tunnel.
I’d love to have a conventional drive line in mine, but a man has to know his limitations. I don’t know if I could fab up the rear end. I’ve read up on it over on a Pontiac forum, and it seems quite extensive.
I believe the 63 with the V8 is a bit easier as they centered the engine. From what I gather the 63 V8 front subframe is desirable
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