Hi, I have a good friend who has a '52 Chevy with 216 6 cyl. and manual transmission. He would like to swap the six for a 350 or 305, while keeping the original ******. Would the original transmission be able to take the V8's power? He doesn't want to change the whole drivetrain for the engine. Any input from you good folks would be very appreciated!
i dont think they make an adapter anymore for that swap so it might be a pain in the ***. hes better off changing the trans too and converting it to open drive. better yet, just keep the reliable 6, and buy some speed parts for it its hella cooler then any 305 ect.
There is no adapter required, just the right bellhousing. The bell from a '55 to '59 will adapt the motor to the trans okay, but will need some custom work to mount on the crossmember. As for power it really depends on how its driven.
This might be possible with an early style 216-235-261 six cylinder engine; but with V-8's, the bellhousing pattern on the engine if different. I recently sold my conversion setup, that started out by using an old Speed Gems adapter. BUT, I was planning on using the later style, 194-215-230-252-292, six, to hopefully, not kill the stock 3-speed trans. There are still adapters out there to do this swap, but don't use a V-8, the trans won't last unless you drive it like an over-careful grandma. There was an adapter some time back in the cl***ifieds here on the HAMB and some over one KillBillet.Com. I used to have an old article from some magazine where they did the conversion by redrilling the bellhousing and modifing the throughout bearing collar. But, they were building the car for a woman. Butch/56sedandelivery.
For some reason I ***umed he was talking pickup, which looking back at the post there is no reason to think that. If it were a pickup the later V-8 bellhousing will do the trick. If its a car then of course its a different matter. Sorry for the confusion.
First place, the early-50's 216 was around 90-100 horsepower, if I remember correctly, and very little torque compared to a later, larger Chevy engine. Also, I believe the '52 Chevy had a torque tube, which would be a lot of trouble to adapt. He'd be better off switching in a early 60's 235.
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