Technical Odd Engine Swaps

I once saw a Small Block Chevy IN a Chevy. Yuck...

 

My son and I swapped a 1997 Jetta TDI drivetrain into a 1995 Saturn SL2 parts car he had. With some tuning we were getting 73 mpg out of it on the highway. It was fun to mess with people when we pulled up to a diesel pump; we liked to tell people it was a Canadian-market car.

 

Kaiser Jeep bought V-6s from Buick and installed at the factory. When Buick decided to stop making the V-6 Kaiser bought the tooling at a deal and made them themselves. When AMC bought Jeep from Kaiser in 1970 they ditched the V-6 for their excellent in-line six. Buick needed an economy engine again so AMC sold the tooling and design back to Buick for a tidy profit.

 

^^Yup, I have a 1967 (Kaiser) Jeepster Commando with the Buick V6.
Great running engines, but you need a hernia belt if you want to replace the clutch. The flywheels are incredibly heavy to tray and balance out the odd-fire V6.
All in all, a great vehicle

 

Supercharged SBC motor in a custom 50 Ford hot rod. Daily driver/surf transportation…

Versus this old bit of hot rod cruising:


Hello,

A long time ago, I saw a custom 50 Ford cruising down one of the main streets in a So Cal coastal city. We were both headed towards a shopping center during the Christmas rush, one winter. Then that custom chopped 50 Ford was seen again in the actual shopping center near some restaurants and it was unusual to see a custom car cruising in a vast parking lot.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/T3gS8iiAtFY

From that second sighting, that custom Ford disappeared from our views of old hot rods and customs all along the coastal So Cal areas. My wife and I always take a side trip to the oceanfront to see the waves, sun and folks enjoying the So Cal beach scene, during all seasons of the year. It makes life wonderful for us and our old memories of beach life as we grew up in So Cal.

Jnaki

Then one day many years later, we came upon a cool similar 50 Ford Coupe. It was parked in the same location we saw a local surfer get out of his cool old sedan to go surfing at a great waves location.

So Cal surf transportation in one fine custom hot rod... These days, plenty of room in the back seat for a modern short board.

So, was the new sighting of a supercharged SBC in a Ford Coupe a recreation of that old 50 Ford we saw years ago in a new better version? By the way it looks, the similarity was there, but something new was poking out of the engine compartment.

 

350 olds in my 41 ply.Been in there for 35 years and still runs great.

 

Ford 300 in a jaguar and a 426 hemi in a 56 T Bird

 

Here's one I just remembered. My buddy and I painted a 57 Thunderbird for a guy. He bought it at one of the big auctions. He was puzzled as to why the tune up parts for the "Y" block didn't fit. I looked under the hood and it had a ford blue, with all the correct Ford decals and correct air cleaner 350 Olds in it. The guy didn't know it had been engine swapped. He wasn't to happy.

 

Ford 6 cylinder in-line Diesel installed in this1938 Chevy p.u. truck.

 

Back in the 70's during the gas crunch a friend of mine put a Toyota corolla 4cyl and automatic in a full size 2wd nearly new Blazer

 

I met another guy with like a 68 Roadrunner with a Buick nailhead in it

 

56 Chevy 265 and cast iron Powerglide in a 51 Jeepster with the stock rear. Shifted half way across the intersection and topped out just over 60 mph.

 

Well, we'll give you "odd" for the '61 Rambler American convertible.



jack vines

 

Many sources including quotes from Ed say one of the 3 Ford FEs went into the '55 Chevy. But they were 390s not 406s.

 

I’ll quote something often mentioned here- Pictures or it never happened. The Car Customizing book only gave it a mention, no photo.

 

I remember a big block Mopar swap in a 66ish El Camino in a popular magazine back in the late 70s

 

The chromed 265 roth car was documented in hrm.

 

I was not referring to the 265 powered car, I’d like to see a photo of FE power in Roth’s ‘55 Chevy.

 

In the eighties I swapped a 440 mopar with a tornado six and a 65 2 Wheel dr so Jeep pick up. Great little shop truck that ran mid thirteens, one of my favorites…
Looked stock as a rock with its two tone paint and white walls.