Hi All, I am hoping to gain some advice and feedback from the wealth of knowledge and experience in the forum. Any replies would be greatly appreciated.... I have a 1949 Chevy Fleetline 2-Door with no engine or transmission. I also have the complete Powertrain/running gear from a 1954 Chevy 210. I have the 235 with Powerglide transmission with the transmission crossmember, the torque tube with attached rear end and leaf springs, the steering column with automatic shifter and linkage and lastly the powerglide master brake cylinder. The 235 Powertrain is original and ran nicely before being pulled so the 1954 could be customized/upgraded. I would like to put the 1954 Powertrain in my 1949 Fleetline. Besides the front motor mounts that need to be drilled in to the 235, is there any other obstacles that any one knows of? I believe the frames are almost the same but I'm not sure if the holes for the parking brake cables and ****** crossmember to frame holes are the same? I'm hoping there are no major modifications needed.... Thanks again, and have a nice day!
I'd find a '53-'54 3 speed parts car to go with the engine, and use the front brakes, master, trans, bellhousing, clutch & all the linkage. I wouldn't do that much work to end up with a torque tube PG.
I agree on upgrading the front brakes on the '49 to '51 up Bendix....the same as the '54 rear end has already. I do not agree that you should necessarily go to more expense to replace the '54 Powerglide trans with a manual trans unless you prefer manual to automatic. While they are no 'ball of fire', the 235 Powerglide will provide more than adequate performance for normal driving/cruising. I know this from prior experience with a '51 Bel Air/PG I had years ago. I was determined to 'blow' the Powerglide so I could justify converting to a manual three speed. I only managed to blow the babbit bearing 235. When comparing the performance of a 235/PG to a 235/3 spd, there is a small advantage to the stick shift, but no transmission is going to make the 235 6 cylinder seem like a V8. Ray
Thanks for the feedback. Fortunately, I did grab the front end (complete) from the 1954. I was only hesitant to swap it because I just put new wheel cylinders and tapered bearings in the 49. However, if the rest of the Powertrain bolts up with little modification/money then it's only a small loss. I'm just trying to figure out how much modification/money is required for this project. I agree with Ray, the Powerglide is more than adequate for the driving/cruising that I do, and I do prefer automatic over manual transmissions. I also agree with 302 GMC, I don't want to spend a bunch of effort and money to make this swap work. After feedback and research hopefully I can choose between: A: fairly simple bolt on project without very many modifications/welding or money. B: if it is going be a lot of modifications/effort/money, then I will probably just upgrade to a newer transmission and rear end. Thanks again!
You mentioned in your first post the needed modification to the front motor plate to use early mounts. You could use the frame side mounts from the '54 as well. which are, in my opinion, superior to the lower front mounts. But aside from the mounts, the only area I can foresee where you may have to make a mod is the transmission support cross member. Since PG didn't arrive until '50, it's possible the '49 differs. On the other hand, it's also possible the '49 is the same as the later PG cross member. Either way, I don't see that mod, if needed, as being either especially difficult or expensive. Best wishes on your project. Please post your progress........ Ray
Thanks Ray, as soon as I have some free time I'll get started and definitely post the progress....thanks again!
Jb 49, Good luck on your project. I have had 50 and 54 Chevys in the past. Swapped later 235 and 261 motors into the 50, switched from stick to hydromatic later, swapped rear end to open drive. Switching to open drive is the most difficult of all as spring and perches need to be moved around. From my experience with Truckstell overdrives for 46-54 Chevs that the torque tubes are different lengths only before 49. So using the 54 drive train should be a bolt in job even the trans crossmember. The most important difference is the front mount and the lack of stablilizer mounts on the 54 bell housing that would be on a 49 or 50 bell housing. Also the 54 engine may not have the front mounting ears that the 49 engine had. Hnstray is correct that the side mounts of the 54 are far superior so get those off the 54 and fit them to the 49 frame. I've done it, it's easy. just drill and bolt them in the same place on the frame as on the 54. Best Regards and Good luck with all your endeavors, KB.
If you kept the 54 steering gear box, swap it in to the 49 also. It's the same size as the 49 box but uses roller bearings instead of bushings that the 49 gear box uses. I did this swap with my 50 sedan delivery. It's a lot easier than trying to swap only the steering column from the '54 and you end up with a far superior steering gear.
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