Help with suggestions on installing a 454 Chevy into a '63 Pontiac LeMans and keeping all the other original drivetrain...rope-drive and rear mounted trans-axle. Help me out guys, someone, maybe several have done this already, I would really like to see some input. Thank you
man this brings some memories back !had a convert with a 326 blew the trans axle twice .finally sold the car guy i sold it to cut the floor pan with the trans hump out of a nova i belive.and used a nova rear end with some fab work dont know if he ever got it going but i know i hated the trans axle...lol
The rope drive will last just long enough to knock a hole in the floorboard and kill the driver. Seriously.
I broke an axle in my mom's bone stock 63 Tempest GT With a 326! You won't get out of the driveway before that rope driveshaft wraps itself around the car like a giant squid! Build a square tube frame, or sub frames front and back and install a 10/12 bolt, or 9" and a regular transmission. You can make the big fella fit in the hole, but I guarantee the rest of the stock drivetrain will turn to glass.
One of my favorite cars If I was doing one id convert to traditional drive train . and never again put a chevy in a Pontiac. I had a BBC in one of my GTOs . not only was I constantly ridiculed by the Pontiac guys they owned my doors
If your gonna do all the work to put a 454 in why not go all the way and put a normal drivetrain in? Realistically you should sell the car and buy something else to put your engine in if you're set on a 454... Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Don't do it! the 326 V8 came only with a powerglide trans and in my 63 1/2 Lemans convertable it would snap axle shafts like they were match sticks (Actually they were!) as a 16 year old kid My favorite junk yard would actually pull and hold tempest axles for me when one came in!. If I had the car today I would install a Vette independent rear and drive shaft set up if I wanted to put in more motor but I got to tell ya I think out of all my daily drivers I loved the Tempest vert the most and would like to find another.
That's never going to make it around the block . You'll brake something between the flywheel and wheel studs . It's sort of like putting a 18" pipe on your 1/4" ratchet.
...but...I get it, I should avoid this one and shoe horn the 454 into something else... Thank you, Mark
I think this would be the only way to get actual power from the front to the rear without destroying the drive-train. Thank you for your input, Mark
That's a very scary thought, never gave that any thought, other than possibly possibly turning the rope into a large pretzel...LOL, never the death thing, but it could easily do that at say easy 2,000rpm-3,000rpm become something from a horror flick ! Thanks for your input and insight as well, Mark
Thanks for the input, I actually thought about the Vette rear swap since there is so much room under there, out back. Be an easy way to keep the IRS and be able to put more power to the ground. Thanks again, Mark
Thank you for the input, that much work would put me in the "dog house" for spending that much time in the shop, I spend a lot of time in there now, but a whole frame job...whew, I'd love to do a super car build like that ! I better stay away from doing that big a swap for now. Thanks again, Mark
I have thought about running a conventional drive-train in the LeMans, and I totally understand the Chevy in a Poncho idea, I would catch all kinds of grief from the locals at the cruise-inns and car shows. Thank you very much for your input and the side note, Mark
If you had ever gotten a good look at the drivetrain components on those cars the question would have answered itself. The '61 - '63 Tempest was closely related to the Olds F-85 and Buick Special of the same years. Although I have never done it, parts mountings, and maybe some body structure from one of those cars would put a conventional drivetrain/axle in a Tempest. The stock Buick/Olds axle wasn't a heavy-duty piece, but it held up ok in a Chevy big block powered F-85 a friend of mine put together. The power steering box wouldn't clear the engine but a manual box and a little grinding on it worked. The stock two piece driveshaft was barely adequate in everyday use. An upgraded one piece replacement takes care of that. I don't remember the exact weight, but they were light cars.
There are lower cost ways to getting a bigger engine in there. It doesn't need a "frame job". I know a guy who is using S-10 leaf springs in back. I'm pretty sure he used the same mounting locations for the front of the spring as the original control arm mount. Not sure what he did for the rear spring perch, but he wasn't blowing a ton of money and it was working out pretty nicely from what I saw. There aren't any Tempest differentials that can handle any decent amount of power. They all have 7" ring gears. The powerglide trans was the strongest trans, but both of the manuals were fragile.
Thank you for the input, I believe you have the right idea on putting the 454 into something else...I'll start looking and keep the LeMans the way she is, been a good running and driving car, just wanted to add some more wow to her I guess...oh well, it was just a thought. Thanks again, Mark
Thanks for your input, especially the 18" cheater bar on a 1/4" ratchet...that's about what it's sounding like with the idea of applying that much power to the "rope-drive". Thanks again, Mark
The Tempest transaxle was Corvair based. Knowing that should help put things in perspective. There are some things that can be done to make them a little stronger, but they can never be more than what they are.
Hey Jess, thanks for the input, I believe I'll stick with the Pontiac power, and leave the whole drive-train alone...sounding like it's going to break evrything unless I go the route you mention with the rear-end. I'll look for another small car like a Nova or Camaro to drop the BBC into. Thanks again, Mark
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