348 in a first gen Corvette????

Hi I was thinking about a 348 for my Corvette! Will it fit? What will need to do to make one fit??? Thanks Rob. P.S. The engine is a 1960 and the car is a 55

 

why?

 

I dont like small blocks and I have an extra 348!!!!!

 

Hot dam, now you're talking...


there was a tread this year about putting one into a tri 5 body. they said pan clearance to steering linkage...notching the pan I think.

I have no clue on a vette chassis though.. BUT it's worth trying


To Mazooma1....why not

 

I've heard of 348's in 53/54 vettes from several people, so in a word, yes, it will fit..Pretty sure cast iron exhaust manifolds were used but no one remembers if the fuel pump or steering box had major issues or the engines were mounted really high..set it in and see?..

 

Sell me the 348 and put a 427 in that bad boy!

 

Not a bad idea but if you don't like "small blocks" then you don't like corvette that much because it's such a huge part of what a Corvette is...particularly that year. A 348 is kind of a boat anchor isn't it? So basically what you are doing is taking a top of the line sports car for 1955 and making it a stylish slug. I'd start loving early chevy v8's or maybe go with that 427 idea.

A high revving 301 or 283 would be rad...... in fact I can't see it getting any radder unless it has a hemi in it.....

 

Id do it
Iv seen a few of them early vettes w other motors swapped in…..why not a 348 or even a 409

Why wasn’t there a 409 vette?

 

Never seen a combo like that myself for some odd reason. I have, however seen several 1st-gen Corvettes w/Mark IV´s fitted in, so I can´t see why it couldn´t be done. Since You´ve already got both the car and the engine on hand, all the dimensions involved in this should be convenient enough for You to figure out. Best of luck.

 

Top of the line Sports car for 1955? Maybe not. They were basically .54 Chevy running gear on a shorter lighter chassis. Not considered very sporty at the time by Sports Car people. Pretty yes. But Top of the Line. I don't remember that.

 

Although you will get all sorts of guys telling you how nose heavy it will be I say go for it. There were more than likely a few guys that did it back in the day for sure. If you want to go straight it may be a bunch of fun- on the road courses it may not perform real well. The chassis/suspension is quite old technology. Here is a pic of one with a 409. If you run fenderwell style headers (basically where the battery runs) it may be easier. The front exhaust tube may give you a problem with the steering box. I've got some fenderwell style headers (BBC) and can ship you a photo to see how they got around the steering box with the BBC (as there is not a bunch of room there)-removable tube-slip fit.

The front mount may take a little engineering. I have a couple of front mounts for BBCs I could photograph which you could engineer something similar (one is the Bill Thomas style).-Jim

 

I agree 100 % with JeffreyJames<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_5791377", true); </SCRIPT> ...

Needs a high rev'ing 301 and Hold on Brother.....

Would be great IN a straight line OR around the loop t loops ........

 

Maybe American sports car??? Didn't they have a good weight ratio at least?

 

Speaking from the experience of owning a solid axle 'vette I will advise that it will be nose heavier (like jimdillon wrote) and be harder to steer at low speeds. Skinny front tires will help. I can respect not liking a certain engine but the sad thing is that a 348 would likely make little or no more power than a 327 or the dreaded 350. They do win the eye candy contest though.

 

I say do it. I put a 348 in my dads '58 Chevy pickup because small blocks are boring:

 

not to get anyone panties in a knot but i too have a 348 sitting in my garage! wanna get edelbrock 409 heads for it. but anyways i got it for the 47 ih rat i'm building. but big heavy engine in the front of a light rat truck..... well i don't know so i been thinking since its a burly big block i ''might'' stick it in my 86 suburban! why? nobody has done it. suprise everyone at car shows. also an 86 suburban is old school tech thats not much more advanced than lets say a 56 suburban so yeah.... nothing is set in stone but its an idea that i like

also yes a 348 in a old vette does work and is awesome!

 

I think thats an awesome idea. Just some encouragement.

 

I knew a guy that had an 09 in a 62 Vette.. Was cool as hell. Might need a little firewall clearance. I think the pan is OK I say go for it.

 

The best reason to is .. it will give the corvette nazis aneurisms

 

Do it, its different!! NOBODY notices or will talk about a 301 in 55 vette they will however notice the 348.........

 

awsome!

 

Corvette and sports car used in the same sentence with out trashing the corvette??!! Man I needed that laugh!! Thanks.

Doc.

 

Anything will fit in anything, it just a matter of how much time and money you want to invest.

 

That's Cool! We're thinking of putting a 348 in the 56 Chevy P/U we want to build for my Brother!

 

Put two ads in the swap section. The same car with a 348 and then with a 400 small block. Count the responses. Actually there is probably no use wasting peoples time, you already know the answer.

Charlie Stephens

 

You probably don't see many vettes with different engines because most vette guys are just that "vette guys" and not hot rodders. Will definatly draw alot of attention, first question everyone asks me about my "A" is 348 or 409? It don't matter if they don't know what the car is they still know those valve covers.

 

Ha! It's funny to see this topic today. I was at an old racer's house today and we were going through some old photo albums of his cars and in 1962 he built a '58 Corvette with a Tri-Power 348. He traded the car in one year later in 1963 for a brand new 1963 Impala SS 409-425 HP with factory 4.56 gears in the rear! Those just had to be the days when you could buy a brand-new car with factory-installed 4.56-4.88 gears!

 

i saw a 409 powered corvette around here in the early 70's looked stock

 

That 348 with the right intake weighs within 15 lbs. of the straight 6. Plus it will sit lower and to the rear shifting the weight bias, add an alum 'glide and it works great.

cav

 

I say do it, and I like the look of straight axels under them also.