Hot Rods Best SBC donor cars

Access to SBC here in Japan is somewhat limited but there are wrecking yards dismantling US cars. What chevies should I be targeting or even better avoiding, to get a SBC and preferably attached ****** for a Model A?

Thanks
Pete

 

Honestly over there more than likely any donor would be considered off topic. That said id hunt a vortec from a 96-99 Chevy truck

 

But In a light model a there really isn't an SBC that won't work well ***uming good shape

 

Just about any full sized chevy car from the late 50s through the 90s had V8 options. Up until the 80s models most everything should still be pretty much all mechanical. Obviously the newer the model the more electronics there will be. Nice thing about the sbc platform though is backwards compatibility.

 

62-67 327.

 

Late 1960s 1970s 4-bolt 350cid engines in Chevy trucks.

 

It must be from a Corvette! That is the only one that fits a Model A!

 

any with a roller cam would be my first choice

 

I picked up a 57 283 in Utah on my way home from the LARS. $400 on Las Vegas Craig's List.

 

***uming you want to end up with a carburetor, distributor, and no electronics? Most of the injected engines can be converted backwards. You just throw away a bunch of parts. The suggested '86 up roller cam block is a good one. The biggest pitfall is probably the transmission that may be attached to these later engines as the electronic controls get complicated with the likes of the 4L60E etc. ***uming you want an automatic I would look for a 200-4R transmission. Not my normal advice, but considering your location and local resources it's probably cheaper in the long run to consider a crate engine.

 

Anyone that is orange because they came from a vette.

 

I'd look for any of the SBC 350's from the roller cam and one piece rear main seal era. That's around 1987 forward to the end of the SBC V8. Don't forget Chevy and GMC trucks and Vans too!

 

I plan on retaining the 2 barrel carb and points distributor that came with the motor, Plus a nice Chevrolet orange paint job with black accents. Going into a 32 highboy roadster with a Shake N Shoot and brush paint job.

 

All this roller talk. If the dipstick is on the drivers side, that’s the one you want.

 

That immediately makes it a vette engine no matter what the year or displacement!

 

Much as I love the 200-4r, theyre starting to get harder to find, and hard to find parts for. Depending on the type of driving being done, a th350 or 400 would probably be fine.

 

Are there really that many 1980 and earlier GM cars being s****ped in Japan?

I guess the answer depends on what the OP's goals are. If the goal is simply to make a car move reliably, then any 1980s era 305 with a 700R4 will more than get the job done. It's not the most traditional of options. In fact, I can't think of any good manual transmission options after approximately 1975.

Any 305 or 350, non-vortec will get the job done. Put a basic 4 bbl intake on it with front oil fill tube, a short water pump, a small body distrubutor, and 99% of people will think it's an early engine.

 

I have owned no less than 7 IROC Z28s and GTA T/As back in the day. Best donors on the planet at one time. You could drive them for a summer and have fun, tear the running gear out (tuned port 350s and 5 gears), sell the t-tops and tire/wheels, salvage suspension and rear ends, wiring harnesses, etc. And you bought them cheap because no one could afford to insure them. Those were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end.

 

I did the other way I imported a
Toyota 2jz from Japan 14 ish yrs ago for 32 5 w
Stock truck Vortec with cheap $160 intake 2 or 4 barrel it will be like 327 365 .in power heads will out flow 2:02 .
You can swap waterpump if you prefer.
Swap distributor gear from vortec .
Exhaust manifold eill bolt up .
There are nice Center bolt covers
If you look hard & know what The difference are,
The Aluminum finned .
And yellow circle shows the difference.
I put a 220k Vortec in ,
& if you want to keep 4L60'
Controller a few hundred now .
Did cut & shorten to hide .

 

Wow thanks fellas. Goal is a fun Model A with carb, dizzy etc. Id love a manual but that seems like a big ask here. Having had a look Im surprised too that there are quite a few cars, vans and trucks getting wrecked here. Many many vehicles have been bought over by USFJ military as well as imported by Japanese. Once these fail local inspection requirements or the the guys get posted elsewhere they tend to sit around. Had thought about using a Japanese motor in much the same way as Oak Swamp Brian but not sure I want to do that

 

@Bandit Billy

 

I prefer the small journal ones

 

See post #5.

 

For those vehicles that come with 4WD transmissions are the transmissions the same as 2WD with the transfer case bolted on?

 

No trans are different

 

wouldn’t those be Har-ree valve covers?

 

The transmissions are the same but they have a shorter output shaft and the tail housing bolts directly to the transfer case. You'd need to change the shaft and tailhousing. With the aftermarket parts available today you can pretty much get a dumb engine to work with a smart electronically controlled trans - or vice versa. What are the financial differences if you order a fresh rebuilt engine/trans from the states and have it shipped - is that prohibitive?
It might be fun to swap in a Japanese V8 - usually smaller, lighter and available.

 

Japanese V8, hmmm. Didn't Toyota or Nissan make those cute little Hemi engines that were all the rage a few years ago?

 

Limos and other high end cars used them IIRC.

 

The tail shaft is different meaning that you have to take the trans apart and swap tail shafts. I've done it going both ways before. Most often using a 4x4 tail shaft to convert a 2 wheel drive Turbo 350 to be a 4 wheel drive trans.
Nothing says you are required to buy and use the transmission that is with the engine in the donor rig though. If the car has a V8 Chevy now you can probably get by with a flex plate or flywheel change to use the existing transmisison. They sell adapters to run W58 Toyota 5 speeds behind V8 chevy engines.

1 more vote for going with the Roller cam 350 rather than an older engine even though the chevy engines have to be orange brigade will get their ******* in a knot. The Reason being is that you can find parts for the roller 350 in Japan plus you don't have to worry about wiping out a flat tappet cam. That and cost. 350 parts are more reasonable cost than 283 or 327 . The older engines are fine when you live in the states and period correct is more important than reliable driver. It just makes more sense to go with the later roller cam one piece rear seal engine when you are an ocean off the beaten path.