I have 1949 2 door sedan. I just got a 1954 235 bluflame 6 and matching 2 speed powerglide. What do I need to do to make it fit? The 235 has the side mounts. I of course had the 216 before. I have the bare frame sitting ready to go. Any help appreciated!!
Drill 2 holes into the plate under the timing cover, as per the 216, and it'll bolt in. the frames are the same, so you shouldn't have many other probs. are you usig the motor and box? now don't forget to introduce yourself, or someone will give you absolute ****e
Ya. Ya. What about the side mounts that are on the 235 now? And it was so long ago tht I took out and sadly threw out the 216 that I don't remember if there are rear mounts too? Also where do I go to introduce myself? Thanks man!
Click to the main page with all the threads...at the top it will say "New to the HAMB? Introduce yourself here" Good luck and welcome aboard....
I swapped a 54 235 into a 46 chevy and all I had to do was drill the front cover the holes lined up for the rear mount.
If the rest of the '54 is still around, steal the front brakes, entire rear end, and steering box from it for your '49.
The '53-'54 steering box is an improved design, the '54 PG rear has 3.55:1 gears, which are much more highway friendly than the 4.11s you've got now, and the brakes are the same Bendix self energizing design that were used for decades after that and are much superior to the Huck design brakes that Chevy used through 1950.
Are you looking to use the powerglide or keep the 3spd? You'd be better off keeping the 3spd and getting the 3:55 rearend as suggested. The 'glide will cut the performance and gas milage noticeably. You will also need to change the linkage and shifter setup, And if I remember correctly, the "K" member is different between stick and auto. Either the design or the position is different. If you can, take a closer look at a 50-54 that has an automatic, just to be sure.
As far as the 3-speed goes...... it's gone. As far as my research goes the powerglide gave you about 10 more hp than the 3-speed. Quote (Chevrolet's "Blue Flame" six made 105 horsepower with manual transmission and 115 hp with Powerglide.) I may be wrong but this is out of a book I have. How bad will the 49 rear end actually be? Just not as good or horrible as far as the gearing? Thanks again guys.
dont use the power slug trans, but see if you can get the rear end, better highway gears like they said. All the advice thats been said on here is right on so far.
Not sure about 54', but in 55' the reason for the horsepower difference is because the cams were different. Automatics- hydraulic, Manual- solid lifters. Of course with different profiles. Frank
Very cool to find a BlueFlame 6- where'd you come up with it? The cast iron powerglide is not worth using- heavy and slushy. My dad used to work for a Chevy agency in the 50's (Kirsch in Bala Cynwyd, PA) that was always getting some kid with a burned-out powerglide and wanted to switch to a 3 speed. The mechanics would send them to my dad, he'd have them order the parts for the switch, limp the car home, and change it out over a weekend. If you were doing a "matching #'s" car, I'd say keep it, but you will be ALOT happier with even a 3 speed.
Is my info wrong then? Why does it say that the powerglide has more hp. Or is it just a slug of the line?
The engines with a powerglide were given a little more power (or at least they're rated higher) because an automatic requires more power to work than a manual ****** does. Problem is that it's not enough, and like I said before, it will also lower your fuel milage due to the extra effort the engine needs to make to get power to the rear wheels. Modern cars can get nearly the same milage, etc.. with an auto as a manual, due to the computer managment systems they have. Not so with older cars. Your stock '49 rearend is a 4:11. Without overdrive, your engine will be turning some pretty high rpms. You're probably not going to want to go faster than about 55mph with those gears. Putting a rearend in there with 3:55 gears will lower your engine rpms and allow you to do 65mph without problems. All of this ***umes that you are looking to stay with the torque tube rearend...
Since your '49 3-speed trans is gone, it may be worth considering rounding up the parts to convert the car to an open driveline and a late model T5 5-speed transmission. The transmission doesn't add power to the engine, it only takes it away. It's a matter of how much of that power the transmission needs to work. A manual needs virtually none, it only has to overcome a small amount of friction. An automatic is basically a big fluid pump, and it needs some of the power to pump the fluid to turn the driveshaft. To go to an open drive, you need a rearend which fits - 1970s Nova or Camaro just about bolt in, as will S10 4x4. The trans can come from a mid-1980s S10 2-wheel drive. For a bellhousing, a 47-59 Chevy truck works, a 55-62 Chevy p***enger car works, and the 49-54 car manual bell can be made to work with a $125 adapter. The adapter may be worth considering, as it also compensates for the input shaft of a T5 being longer than the original transmission by about one inch. There are lots of tech articles available on this conversion, you need some fabrication skills to make it work, but it's not really very complicated. The T5 gives you an overdrive gear and will let you keep up with most highway traffic with your 235 pretty easily, as depending on what rearend ratio you use you'll be able to do 75-80 without putting a lot of stress into the motor. That's usually enough for most situations. Rebuilding the brakes on the newer rearend may be a little cheaper, too. That does bring up another problem to consider as you put the car together, and that is the brakes. You'll want to think about if you would prefer to keep the stock setup (you'll need to leave the stock master in place as the clutch pedal mounts to it) or convert it to a dual chamber master either under the floor or on the firewall. On the firewall is the cheapest way to do it, just because it can be done with a junkyard pedal mount and a few added holes. I chose this change for mine simply because to buy a nice rebuilt stock master is about a $350 proposition, or by changing the mount I can use a master I can buy for $20 in any parts store, and walk in and exchange if I get a bad one.
The powerglides take off reeeeallly slow. Maybe because the blue flames came stadard with the 3 carb setup? there is also an adaptor plate so you can run a Turbo 350 if you get a nova or camaro rear. Just another option
rustynewyorker.. rebuilt original master cylinders are $186.00 from chevsofthe40s.com .. kits are $21.00 49 - 54 frames are all the same (ex convertibles) with the exception of the trans crossmember. your 54 powerglide won't bolt into the 49 frame. not sure what the difference is... but it is different one way or another. I'm with the others who suggest a 3 speed or T-5 rather than the powerglide.
You will regret a TH-350 behind the 235 - especially if it is a stock 235. The gear splits are poor - better off finding a 700R4 if you spend the money on the adapter plate
rustynewyorker.. rebuilt original master cylinders are $186.00 from chevsofthe40s.com .. kits are $21.00 i just checked for one for my 51 at napa 135-140 my price. i still don't want to pay that. might have it sleaved.
The Chevs of the 40s and Napa prices are still a lot more than a $20 master for an all drum manual brake '68 Chevelle, which also lets you go to a dual chamber and have at least one more pump if a line leaks. Plus can still be bought in pretty much any parts store. Even if you have to drop another $20 on a pedal and bracket - mine was free, I just had to get it out of a '55 Chevy.
if i go that way i'll get the bracket from buffalow i don't want and boster or master cylder on the fire wall. thats just me. but no you are right its is safer havning the duel and cheaper to replace. after you do the bracket. make it or buy it.
Does the 53 run the old 4.11s? If so are the 3.55s (torque tube) a direct bolt in? Sounds like something I could do for my 53.
49-52 stick is 4:11 53-54 stick is 3:70 50-54 PG is 3:55 "blue flame" doesn't mean anything. They were all called that starting with the '53 PG engine, through '62. In other words, if it was painted blue, it was a "blue flame"... I've seen alot of "new" stock master cylinders on Ebay, usually go for under $50. The easiest way to convert the master cylinder is to pull the guts out of it, cut the back end off and run a longer rod all the way through the old master, to your new master that you mount behind it. If you want to run a booster, you'll need to locate it to the rear of the "K" member. An 8" booster will fit, but not bigger. Spend the extra money on a dual diaphram booster, the single diapham 7" ones are almost worthless on a heavier car.
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