Technical 287 Pontiac into a '57 Superchief - Problems (Argh!)

Hi All,

The original 347 in my '57 Pontiac SuperChief is unsalvageable (trust me, everything tried). So I purchased a '55 Pontiac 287 with a transmission. I was told it should be a straight bolt it. The motor is in the chassis but the rear transmission mounts and the chin mount are not lining up. After hours of shifting, twisting, lifting and lowering, I gave up. The mounts are off literally an inch, but it looks like the driver side exhaust manifold is interfering with the steering box. I've attached some pics of the trans mounts (and motor).

Does anyone know why this 287 is not fitting in place? Is there a trick? Do I need to trim something? Get a different steering box to make clearance? HELP!!

Thanks,
Dave

 

I may be way off here, but assume you are in Canada; any chance that you are working with a Canadian engine going in an American car? I know they had differences, but what exactly, I am not sure.

 

Pontiac chin mounts should be the same 55-57 but can''t be sure of Trans mounts.
I feel your pain!
It looks like you are off to a good start, let's see that left side manifold. They are special to the 55-58 cars 'cause of the box.

 

55-60 trans will bolt up to 55-60 engine. 56 dual-range trans is same as 55 trans except for a few internal differences. 56 Strato-Flight (aka dual coupling) and 57 will bolt into the 55 with a 56 or 57 crossmember, which will bolt in to the 55. For 58, you would need the 56 Strato-Flight or 57 crossmember and then make a couple of adapter plates to bolt up the 58 trans.
Saw this on a Pontiac website, don't know if it will help.

 

Did you remove the 287 and trans from a Pontiac car, or could it possibly be an engine and trans combo that had originally been from a mid 50s GMC truck? There was several years where GMC offered the Pontiac V-8 in some of their light and possibly medium duty trucks. I think they marketed the engine as a 288 C.I.D. but I'm not sure if the engine or trans used different mountings than the Pontiac car chassis.

 

Hi All, the engine is a "Strato Streak" based on the valve covers. I definitely know that it came out of a '55 2 door hard top - confirmed it is an American car as well (same as my 57).

 

Definitely out of a car. It came out of a '55 2 door hardtop - American car

 

Fyi, the 55 trans is a dual range unit, while the 57 trans is a dual coupling unit so they are not the same. Might want to log into the Ames sight to see what additional info you might get regarding your swap. Look at the 60 and older section. RA

 

The engine looks tilted towards the steering box to me.

Have you tried the 57 mounts on the 55?

 

I agree it does look tilted to the drivers side.

 

That might be something I should try. Good call.

 

Yes, I see it now. Something I will have to check out.

 

Swapping on the ’57 mounts and exhaust manifolds should get you there. The bellhousing mounts may still be a problem because the StratoFlight uses a different intermediate housing than the older Hydramatic.

 

Are the "chin" mounts the same for 287 and 347? Make sure about that. If they are, then the issues are with the transmission and/or the cross member mounts. I would do a comparison of the 347/stratoflight length to the 287/hydramatic length. Which transmission do you intend on using? That would help in solving the issue.