348 in a first gen Corvette????

Recently I ran into a guy with a bunch of old vettes that he had since high school. One of them was a 54 with a 409 and a 4 speed. It looked like it was made to fit and my guess is there was not a lot of fabrication done, maybe none at all. I know that a w block is a bolt in to a 55 Chevy.

 

I'm not a W motor fan by a long shot but I would call a straight axle'ed 348 powered any year early Vette an improvement and interesting. Monetarily, unless it was all matching numbers, it will probably bring more than a restored car for what you will spend. My .02

 

The torque, and the quality of this engine makes the swap good sense. Assuming you know the quality because you own it!
It would be a fun driver!
http://enginefacts.com/chevrolet348.php

 

I can't imagine doing that to a 1st gen Corvette. You should throw a 302 Ford in it , then nobody will ever buy it. It is your car .

 

Why are you worrying what other people think?? I built my car for me to enjoy-not some knownothing wannabe to find fault with( and believe me the're out there!!) So stop worrying and start building,and have some fun while your at it. Later, matt.

 

In my youth I had a 389 Pontiac tripower in a 53 vette. B&M Hydro.
Was lots of fun.

 

Everybodys a critic! Didn't say anything about buildin it to sell ... Rock on, just the picture in my head excites me!! This should have the yuppie corvette purists screaming in the streets. I saw a 56 vette with a big block Ford at a show years ago , they should have sold popcorn for the amount of drama put on by the vette set...............PRICELESS!!

 

Many, many, many, many years ago (when I was in HS) a couple of local car guys decided to swap engines in their cars. One had a '60 Impala with the 348 and the other guy had a '58 Corvette with the 283. With a little shade-tree engineering, it worked. (I know we're talking '55 vs '58 here.) The guy with the Impala was thrilled with the swap. The Corvette owner, .......... well, ......... shortly thereafter, he sold the car.
They both ran at our local strip. The Impala was just as competitive with the 283 as it was with the W motor. The Corvette was a pig.
I'm not offering an opinion here; just relating a story.

 

That would be the #1 reason to do it for me. But what the hell do I am gonna chop up a 51 Mercury woody wagon. I am sure that all of Vettes that ended up on the drag stips back then were # matching at one point. I think if done right it will only make the car. Good Luck I can not wait to see the progress.

 

There is a 55 chevy on this site that has a small block with W motor valve covers mounted on the small block covers to give the apperance of a 409????? anybody seen or got pics of this???? I got to see the way this looks in detail

 

Let me make an assumption here. There were only 500 Corvettes built in '55 so we may be talking a different year. I am hearing a lot of talk of '53 Vettes I don't believe I have ever seen or heard of a '53 vette maybe in a state that titles the year a car is registered?

Ok so much for offending the general public. The 348 will fit it will take a little finagling and '57-60 Vettes with 409s in them. Granted the body changed in '58 but just for information.

So here is your down side, the 348 is a very heavy chunk. You are going to take a lighter engine out that has better rev capabilities and more HP potential out of a car that already drives like a truck and put more weight right over the front axle. It will be a pig unless you are willing to move the firewall back and shove the W motor right up against it.

Would I do it? Well lets say that I have a high winding Olds not 12 feet away from me here at my desk that I would shove in there so if I were a 348 man I would do it in a heart beat. I personally don't think you will be thrilled with the results but I certainly don't want to crap in your corn flakes. It will fit with a little finagling but it is doable and it can't be that hard the fellas that were doing it back then weren't any smarter than you are.

Best thing is to settle it in where you think it should go and start working out the problems. Whatever your decision good luck to you. If you hit a snag send me a pic and I'll try and help you with a solution.

This is just conjecture and I am probably going to step on verbage experts toes here but here is my thinking on the W motor in the Corvette from the factory:

The Corvette was a Pony Car it was originally built to compete with the European sports car market. So handling and being quick was the major focus. I never worked as a GM Executive but I am going to guess that the heavier engines were not used because of the handling issue. If you want one to handle you don't hange a lot of weight over or ahead of the front axle.

Like I said it is just conjecture.

 

Do the swap!!!!!!!

 

Hot Rods and Custom Stuff built a nice 409 powered '59 'Vette a decade ago.

http://www.hotrodscustomstuff.com/projects/1959-chevrolet-corvette.html

Huh? Are you trying to be sarcastic?

 

http://www.web-cars.com/corvette/1953.php

 

348 engines are different looking ,can make good power by spending a lot of money. SBC is common,can make more power for a lot less money.When the hood is closed no one really knows what motor is in the car....So if you park a lot with the hood open,a W engine is nice.
But it's your car,build it your way.

 

x2 ?????

 

I'm putting a 409 in my sedan because not everyone has one. Do what you want and have fun. You can always change it back in the future.

 

i have had 5 big blocks 3 small in my 58 vette as far as drive and ride it sucks with both but i liked both in it it;s yours put it in if you don;t like it take it out

 

that is one of the succinct and helpful answers I have ever seen on the HAMB!

 

In my earlier post I referred that some may point out that the car may be nose heavy. I have people tell me this all the time although I am not convinced that such is the case, in all instances. For instance I have a 62 with a 427 big block. My car doesn't have any feelings and doesn't know whether it has a W motor, a porcupine motor or a SBC-it only reacts to weight over the front portion of the suspension. When I tell skeptics that my car with a BBC weighs less than a low horsepower SBC that comes stock in many of these cars they roll their eyes.

The weights as I read them are Generation 1 SBC is 550 to 575 lbs depending on intake etc (I believe the iron 265 was 575). The Blue Flame 6 is 615lbs. The 348/409 with iron intake is 665lbs and the porcupine BBC is 685lbs (iron) and 610lbs with aluminum heads and intake.

Now on my car I have moved the battery to the trunk so there is weight savings there, I have an aluminum water pump, Dart Pro aluminum heads and of course aluminum manifold. I have an alternator which weighs less than the generator and there is no regulator. In my car I have removed the heater and radio and it has an aluminum radiator. I would believe that my car is less nose heavy than it came from the factory although some will still believe because it says somewhere in a book that it must be nose heavy.

If the OP is entertaining the thought of a W motor I think that is pretty cool. it is hard to beat a W motor for looks (although there are probably a few other motors in the Mopar and Ford camps that are right up there) but still a pretty decent choice.

As to it being a boat anchor a 348 can be made to run pretty strong and efforts can be made to lighten things up (it is only 90lbs heavier than an iron SBC). Move the battery and run an aluminum intake and change to an alternator and you are somewhere in the ballpark-not quite there but not too far.

Why Chevrolet never used the W-motor in the early Corvettes is only conjecture but with Duntov at the helm with his work on the high winding 097 cam and setup I do not believe the W motor held a chance. He saw it as a truck motor and history has proven the SBC was no slouch. I do not believe that diminishes the W motor though as a motor to be played with.

1963 was the year that Chevrolet adopted the AMA ban on racing so no more open R&D into racing and after the Grand Sports ran at Nausau in 1963 even the engines out the back door slowed to be almost non-existent for awhile. All the while though Chrysler poured tons into the Stage 1 and & 2 wedge motors and Ford went full ahead with their work on the FE motors (side oiler and SOHC). The W motor was kind of the last hurrah for awhile so nothing new for 64 or 65 but in 61 Frank Sanders took Super Stock at the WinterNats and Nicholson took top stock. Nicholson took top stock at Indy in 61 and Pomona in 62. Strickler took Super/Super Stock at the Indy Nats in 62 and Hayden Proffitt took Top Stock all with 409s. In 63 with the W Motor 427 Z-11s Sanders took Limited Production at the Winternats and Strickler took A/ Factory experimental at the 63 Nats.

Not bad for the last hurrah of a boat anchor.-Jim

 

Back in the 60's, a guy in NJ had a 409 in a 63 Vette, The Plumers Worry,(something like that) he ran at Island Dragway, forgot the class he was in. I did drive it once, it was scarry fast, and hard to stop.

 

That got my vote! lol Go for it!

 

Doesnt sound like he was worried, just asking what it would take to the do the swap. I say do it!

 

Oh yeah man, I like it. I always wanted a '57 cosmetically cloned to a fuelie, but with a 409 and a straight axle.

-Dave

 

As a young guy in college in New Mexico in 1963 I remember a late 50 early 60 Vette with a 409, the motor was nasty sounding and I suspect as quick as it sounded as both the owner and his friends were racers. I'd just like to hear the sound again, go for it!

 

409 is not a boat anchor now and wasn't then.From what I read the original Herron head 348 design made more power at mid range than a wedge head so it was a good truck engine.The 409 was a great short duration engine ,but the heavy piston design limited hi rpm potential for NASCAR longer tracks.But is larger size makes plenty of power.
The 348 by comparison is outclassed by the SBC in every aspect except the so called "cool factor". So is a hot rod about best performance for the buck or just being cool? Just my opinions............

 

Like with anything else, you have the "stock nazis" who won't change anything for originality sake, but saying Vette guys aren't hot rodders? They may not all be hands on hot rodders, but that describes a lot of people...even here...and they have a place in the hobby. I don't know a single vette owner who isn't a hot rodder.

I could see keeping an early vette 348 powered that was done in the early 60s, when a 348 was a moderately respected performance engine, but now? Why? Any 327 or 350 would make more power, without hacking it up, and would retain the inherent value of the car. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for engine swaps, but unless it is an improvement...and this isn't...what is the point?

As far as the "cool factor"...if you were talking 409, maybe...but you couldn't give 348s away for anything but restos til recently, when all the new speed parts became available for the W engines.

Do what you want, but I'd save the 348 for something else.

 

Thanks for ALL the replys. As for the car it was a basket case, and the SBC I have for it is not a "Corvette 265" I think its a 283! And the 348 is a runner. Rob.

 

In the end, all that matters is what YOU want...based on that, and the above, do it!

 

look up how much a 54 Chev six cylinder weighs...then look up how much a 348 weighs. I have done a few A-H/sbc swaps. The Healey six weighs about 60 lbs more than the Chev small block.

This swap was done many years ago in Seattle. Somebody stuffed a 348 into a 54. Went like stink.