First off thank you for taking the time to read this. I have a 1953 Chevy 210 with the 235 L6. I am trying to do a engine swap, because to rebuild the 235 will cost about $2800. The questions I have is do I need a 4-bolt main or a 2 bolt main? And second do I want a 6 bolt hole exhaust or a 7 bolt hole exhaust. And thrid question what rear-end ca handle the 350 with a turbo400 trannyand fit into the 53 with little mods? Thank you for the help. Thank you David Zigler Hanford, CA
4 bolt vs. 2 bolt main...I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you balance a 2 bolt correctly, you can build it up to about 450hp and it won't even quiver on you. I have no idea what in the hell you're talking about w/ the exhaust...I just put the bolts where the holes are. If you can find one, get a Ford 8" or 9" rear...you might have to get it chopped down by a diff shop, but if you put too much torque on that stock rear end, you'll snap shafts. Helpful?
And you might want to take a little time to introduce yourself on the "Introduce Yourself Here" thread. That way we can know where you're at knowledge wise and what not.
58-60" Chevy rear-ends work well in these cars. I used a '78 Camaro 10-bolt...just had to cut the perches out and weld in new ones. Don't forget the change the leaf springs, the stock ones can't handle the torque of a V8 (at least without traction bars). Check out this link for rear-end widths: http://www.carnut.com/specs/rear.html Bryan
thanks for answers. But, I forgot to clarify it is going to be a long block 350 does that change anything?
the two bolt and four bolt blocks aren't going to matter unless your building major horse power which I bet you aren't. I have a 54 chevy 210 sedan thats got a 350 w/ a 350 trans. You have to cut some of the fire wall brace out of the way to get it in there. Your probably going to spend about that much just putting a v8 in your car unless you already have a running engine. If you put the 7 bolt heads on you can use just about any style manifold that they make for the exhaust. But the drivers side is going to be a pain in the A$% because of the stock steering box. I think on my buddies 53 we used some late model 80's caprice driver side manifold to clear the steering. But if you use that style manifold for it you need an 80's model 350 so that the oil dipstick tube will come out on the pass side instead of the drivers side. You can use several different rear ends in that car. 55-64 style rear ends work good in those cars and some camaro/nova rearends work to. I used one out of a monte carlo in my car because I wanted higher gears. If your just going to use the car as a driver the stock leaf springs are fine. I have stock one's in my car and I have done a ton of burnouts and dognuts in my car with out any problems. I also have 3" lowering blocks in the back to. Your looking at a lot of work if it was me and I had the six in there now I'd just rebuild it, make and hei dist fit in that motor or convert the stock one to some kind of after market electronic setup. Then put some split manifolds on it and some kind of cool intake either a single 4 barrel, 2 onebarrels, or 3 one barrel setup. Then drive the crap out of it. If my car had all the stock stuff in it I would have probably just rebuild the 235. make sure your motor is a 235 and not a 216 babbit rod engine they suck. thats just my opinion and you know what they say about that....
7 bolt head refers to newer engines that had a provision for ac on the drivers side. Has nothing to do with anything else, aftermarket heads will have accessory holes drilled. a long block is a complete engine. short block is sans heads. any rearend from a 68-78 gm product that is 58-60" wide and leaf sprung will almost bolt right in. your real concern is the skinny weak springs back there. They will be the first to snap. not to be a dick, but if you don't know what a long block is, you may want to read "how to .... your small block chevy" and use the search function on a few forums. you can never have too much information, esp. when you are modifying a 50 year old car.
yes the long block and short block question was dumb. I know the difference. I keep getting quoted about 3k to rebuild my 235 engine. Does that sound about right. I figured it was about 1500 to 2k.
Man My freind and I just rebuilt his 235 totally everthing is bran new and it didnt cost that much If you think that you might want to keep it then give Patrick's a call these guys a fuckn rad when it comes to the 235, 250, and 261 6,s they have it all as far as performance for these engines goes. look them up before you decide.
Its the cost of parts that will kill you on the rebuild. Think of it this way, if you are happy with the power or would like a little more, rebuild or find another stovebolt (they're cheap), triple carbs and split manifolds, and a new timing set. I just gave a perfect 235 away, complete with drivetrain for a 53. I had no use for it. If mine ever breaks, I am going to go v8, and keep the stick. Real hot rods have 3 pedals.
I would go look for a later model 6 cyl and use that,but you will still have to change the trans and rear end. Ive done the V8 swap and If I were to do it all over again Id just use a mid 60's 6 cyl. Unless you really want to go fast, but if that was the case youd probally be looking for a different car to start with.And rebuilding an engine isnt that hard , it just takes time and patience with assembly, ( and some money for the machine work) try it your self before spending 2800 dollars for some one else to do it.
David, If you're set on the V8 swap let me give you some pointers. I did a 327 in my 53 about 6-7 years ago. It has a th350 trans and a 57 chev rear. The hardest part was finding a left side manifold that would clear the stock steering box. I eventually found one from a 96 Yukon. This dumps out the back and works perfect. Not sure what other years are the same but any junkyard should be able to tell ya. Also the 55-57 chevy rears are pretty much a bolt in swap. You just have to drill new holes 2" forward in the spring perches ( for correct wheelbase) The 58-64 rears use the same diff so gear choices are plentifull. (these used coil springs) The Camaro and Nova rears are very close width wise but used wider leaf springs so the spring perches are different. You will run into several small things that will need to be changed or altered but I can't get into them all here. One more thing. I've been using the stock rear springs for about 7 years with 300hp and have had no problems. (more HP and they will break)
I didn't read the whole thread, but lemme throw this out there. Unless you have some seriously cheap bone yards near and can fab your own stuff, you'll end up spending more than $3K on that swap. Hell, Ive seen rebuilt 235's in the classifieds for less than $800. Now, if you're like me and just want more power than that 6 could handle, have at it.
i just installed my 400 sbc and th350. i used chassis engineering motor and trans mounts www.chassisengineeringinc.com . it all fit pretty good, but i "sectioned" the trans mount to get a little more ground clearance. in the rear. i used the CE spring hangers/shackles on some junkyard 67 dodge pickup front springs with a 65 chevelle 10 bolt. fit really nice and centered the axle too. if you use the stock springs keep in mind that the pin/bolt in them is about an inch and a half forward of center. the stock rear is 60" hub to hub. Gleeser and i managed to get all of this in and done in about 2days, but we had the body off the frame. maybe i can get you some pics on saturday. good luck.
oh yeah i forgot a couple www.waltonfabrication.com never used there stuff but i here good things www.50chevy.com this site is just down-right kick ass
Here's a link with some great info on manifold and header options: http://www.chevytalk.org/threads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB7&Number=857860&Searchpage=5&Main=855755&Words=small_UBBT_PHRASE_block&topic=&Search=true#Post857860 If it's not in the thread, I know people have used the Sanderson block-hugger headers or even offset their motors for steering clearance. Personally, I'm not into the second option...it's more work and can bring on other issues. For whatever it's worth, I bought a '78 Camaro for $300. Used the rear-end and tranny out of it...sold the clip for $200. I built a nice motor for $1000...350 with camel-hump heads, new crank and cam, etc. Motor mounts were $70, built my own tranny mount (free ), drive shaft is $100, spent another $200 (roughly) on random parts at junkyards and from friends (headers, pedal, throttle linkage, spring perches, and a few others), and $200 on a leaf-spring kit. Even if you nickel and dime it a little more, that's only $2000 for a pretty sweet setup. For ME, that's worth it for the power and reliability. Yes, the 235 is also a good motor and there are many options if you go this route (too many to go into). I guess the point is, you need to do as much research as possible and make a plan once you've figured out which route you decide to follow. Just my .02. Bryan
Put a wanted ad in the classifieds for a good running stovebolt six in Cali. You'll probably find one under $300. Direct swap for the motor in your car now and you're cruising. Squablow always does what's cheapest.
the following rearends will bolt in if you redrill the locating hole in the stock spring perch - it needs to be moved up and in about 1/2", check the search feature on this board for open drive conversion to 1949-1954 Chevy - 1970-1981 Camaro/Firebird (1967-69, also, but those are worth $$$ 1974-1979 Chevy Nova/Pontiac Ventura/Olds Omega/Buick Apollo 1982-199? Chevy S10/GMC S15-Sonoma - 4x4 ONLY! 2x4 is too narrow! The older examples should handle most V8s no problem, but be aware if you plan much more than a basic 350 the stock 49-54 springs are not able to handle the power and you either need to add traction bars or replace them with Posies or Wilton Fabrication replacements. The stock spring was not meant to handle the torque an open drive rearend may be subject to.
The Jalopy Journal
