At about 6 pm last night we successfully fired up Faye's new engine. Tonight she goes in for exhaust and after a little bit of valve adjusting and tuning, she's BACK! For the SBC haters out there, all I have to say is this engine could not have gone in my car any easier. Everything was so much simpler, and we didn't have to fabricate every little bracket we needed this time or fight to get everything to fit. I like it when things work right the first time and do exactly what they are supposed to do! Sixes are cool looking and interesting, but sadly my experience with them has been just plain painful, frustrating, and ****py. And I have to say that the V8 just really looks right under the hood, it's the perfect size and shape, and fills in the compartment nicely. I have no regrets and it was worth it to me just to see my Dad ENJOYING working on Faye for a change . Boy did he EVER deserve a break! If you're worried about fitting an SBC in a 49-52 Chevy, don't be. It's a minimal amount of t******* on the firewall to make it fit and minor fabrication for a new transmission mount. If I knew then what I know now, I would have put the SBC in back when my old 216 died. I'll take some pics of everything this week, once I've had a chance to blow the dust off of her and shine up the chrome. You can meet Faye at car shows all summer long, and I'll be the one driving her with the HUGE grin on my face! Stacey
Congrats to you and your Dad,Stacey!! It's been a long hard road, as you say. I'm glad you could share your experiences here on the Hamb with us. I only hope to meet Faye one day. Sparky Viva La Hamb!!!
Congrats on Faye..........always fun to hear an engine come alive and run well. Sounds like the season is starting off great!! P.S. I like SBC's!!
Stacey, I think you'll enjoy the added torque of the 8 way more than you could ever have enjoyed the look of the six. Drive it like you stole it kid.
so will i finally meet faye at the hoedown in philly or someplace?... congratulations, this has been a long time in the making. i'm both glad and relieved to hear that it's about over for you and now you can just drive faye and give your wrenches a much needed rest. tred.
Stacey---Congratulations. Did you encounter any clearance problems with the steering box. I have always heard that when swapping a chev small block into a 50-52 chev, that the engine had to be offset towards the p***enger side of the car about 1 1/2" to clear the steering box. Any truth to that, or is it just another urban legend.---Brian
Yeaaaa....Congrats. You know, ya could have put a flathead in there instead of the 216....hahahaha Skot
Here's a pic of her before we lowered her... Here's after we lowered her but before the springs settled, she's a bit lower now... I've also taken the bumper tips off, they need to be chromed and the bumper itself is in great shape. I also took off the fog lamps (too busy) and she has Lancer hubcaps on her. I really want to put the skirts back on, but I need to come up with a solution for the back wheels since the bullet in the center of the lancers prevents me from putting the skirts back on. Here's the new engine...
I would think the stock steering box might cause issues, but something that I didn't mention because we did it with the 235 swap is that my stock front end is gone... we put in a mustang 2 last year. We had no problems at all with that set up. There's plenty of room to clear the mounts, and to hook the exhaust up to the headers. Stacey
Glad she's back in the land of the living. Might be able to come up a with a solution to your skirt problem.
Congrats, Action Girl! I like the way you hid the alternator. Haha. Is Faye gonna see paint this year, or will that be next winter's project? Again, congrats on gettin her on the road! Rob
[I like the way you hid the alternator. Haha.] Yeah that's the way the bracket works for the A/C compressor/alternator combo. Don't start with me Nappy, you won't win! [Is Faye gonna see paint this year, or will that be next winter's project?] You've got to be kidding!??? Yeah, definitely next winter's project. I can't stand to have her apart again so soon.
I would have dumped the 6 for an sbc in the first place. If it's just a cruiser / daily driver, I probably would have gone with a 283 / 700r4 combo just for the gas mileage, but that's just me. If I don't intend to drive them fast, I like 'em to run cheap. SBC's are great motors, period. Anyone who says different is an idiot. I don't understand why one of the best engines ever made is so maligned around here. There's a reason so many people use them: they're cheap, they make tons of power, and they're reliable as an anvil. What else matters? Congrats on being back on the road again.
That's GREAT news, Stacey! You gotta be sittin' on top of the World about now! Now cruise the wheels off the old Gal...you've BOTH earned it!!!
Having put a SBC in my 52, I totally agree. I seriously think GM was already having V8 dreams when they engineered these cars... except that stupid steering... Glad you're (almost) back on the road! You might check with Night Prowlers about some shallower bullets for your Lancers if that'll help?
I previously owned two early Rancheros. One ran a vintage Edelbrock tripowered six coupled to a Dagenham four speed, and the second a small block Ford mated to a C4. Although the inline six had the "wow-factor" with the hood up, reliabilty, power and ease of maintenance proved the cookie cutter small block and automatic a much better choice, especially for a daily driver. Similarly, the SBC in your car will enable you to spend more time behind the wheel and the MII gives you a significantly better platform than the original suspension coupled with the 216 l6. Congratulations on an outstanding ride.
The Jalopy Journal
