Is it possible to put in a 350 sb and a turbo 350 tranny to a stock drive shaft and original rear end or do I have to get a different rear end that came out of a chevy that had a 350? If so what rear end should i look for?
The rear does not care what type of engine/transmission is in front of it, ecxept for strength factors as might be required by increased horsepower. Your real problem lies in the TYPE of rear that a '54 Chevy has; it is a 'closed drive shaft torque-tube type' which is actually a type of rear suspension as well as a method of transmitting power to the rear wheels. I don't know if you are asking the question in anticipation of purchasing a '54 Chevy or if you already have it. If you have one, I'd suggest taking a good look at the driveline. You will have to convert the rear to an 'open driveline' with the rear totally supported by the rear leaf springs in place of the torque-tube which is partly supported by the rear of the transmission as I don't think anyone makes an adapter to fit the 350 trans to a Chevy closed drivshaft.
Thanks for the quick response. I own the 54 already and yes it has a closed drive shaft torque tube. I was assuming I would have to get rid of the drive shaft but my question now would be how to convert to a open driveline and keep the same rearend.
Is this your first project? First off, don't even think about trying to use the original rear axle. This is an easy swap, far and away the easiest part of what you say you want to do. A Chev 350 with a 350, or 700R is as simple as it gets, you can go shopping with a credit card and a Speedway catalogue (or the back of Street Rodder, Rod&Custom, or any other popular magazine) and have engine mounts, trans mounts, etc., on your doorstep in a day. Sounds like you are a novice, don't make it hard on yourself. Do a search here for info. Scrounge up an S10 4x4 rear axle, some new spring pads (the locater holes need to be 1 1/2" ahead of the axle tube center). Make sure, before you tear apart a running car (if it's running) that you have the neccessary basic tools, a plan, and the determination to turn the car into a pile of stuff that you'll be able to put back together. Brian
You can't convert to an open driveline and keep the '54 rear end. You need a later open drive rear end and a new driveshaft to connect to the transmission. Measure the width from wheel mount surface to wheel mount surface then measure the distance from spring perch to spring perch and find a new rear end that comes close. If i remember right the early Camero ten bolt rears are almost a bolt in.
I just put in a rear end from a 79 Chevy full size car into my 51 Chevy. Its almost a bolt in, and its the perfect width. Its also a 10 bolt posi and will take anything a stock 350 can put out.
There is a ton of information available about these swaps. Do a search here and check out 50chevy.com, there is detailed info on the swap and options. I put a 327/th350 in my '53 and i'm using a '55 rear end. I had the original springs in and drilled new locator holes in the spring pad, it worked fine, but the springs were shot. I bought new ones, with the locator pin already moved and the original locator holes on the pad, and it centered the wheels in fender well nicely. good luck
I hate to say can't, but it would be cost prohibitive for sure. I doubt you could get it adapted and fabricated up cheaper than I swapped in a s10 4x4 rear. Shorten a junkyard driveshaft and you're in business.
Thanks for the advice. Im trying to make a decision on keeping the straight six or going with a 350. My brother inlaw has a truck that used to belong to me that has a good running 350 with a mild cam. Im thinking about buying back the motor and trans. No this is not my first project I had a 68 impala that I switched the 327 with a 350. Wasnt to hard but this is my 2nd real project and I want to get it right and not have it up as a parted out rat rod on craigslist.
Actually, there is a way to do this and keep the stock 54 axle HOUSING. The real problem is finding a 53 CORVETTE third member that's needed, and then dealing with the cost of buying one. You would also need to re-bracket the axle swivels to make them spring pads. BUT, it can be done; it's just not practical. Butch/56sedandelivery.
There is no way to switch out the tube/shaft for a later "drop out" center section on the '54-earlier car rearends, other than possibly the '53-54 Corvette center, but I'm not even sure about that. Besides, that rearend can't handle any real amount of HP anyway... This is possible with the truck rearends, but not the cars. Sorry. A '55-57 car rearend is the closest thing to a direct swap, but even then you will need to do something different for the lower shock mount plate. Many other rearend choices will work too, but you will need to change the spring perches on the rearend as well with those. If going V8 & automatic, you will also need to consider motor & trans mounts, exhaust & steering clearance, firewall brace modifications, converting car to 12 volts, shifter, emergency brake, installing engine and pinion angles correctly,and many many other issues that will need to be handled correctly to do this engine/driveline swap. Switching out a 327 for a 350 in a '68 Impala is nothing like what you are contemplating doing to your '54. Find someone locally who has done similar things and have them help you through it all and make sure you are mentally commited to see things though or you will end up on craigslist....
i used a S10 blazer 4x4 rearend in my 50'.. perfect width, just had to cut off the spring perches and weld on new ones....
just drill a new hole in the perch, done. donor car springs are too wide to use without changing hangers. or use posies springs, they account for that,
Mine has stock springs with the Nova rear Another option I learned from Choprods is FRONT springs off a Ramcharger. 2" wide and FLAT for instant drop, they come in 3 and 5 leaf packs. I have a set wating to install.
I've read if you swap them eye to eye, it can also make up the difference. but I can drill a hole faster than I can change leaf springs. Posies springs almost eliminated the wicked wheel hop I had at first.
The stock springs are not made to take the twist the rear end applies. That was the function of the TORQUE tube. If you are careful they will work for a while but power applied suddenly through tires that bite well can cause some big, noisy surprises.
hi Roose, I am gonna get long winded the 54 in my advitar pic has been my baby for 30yrs you got a lot of good advice from the gang here,my 54 was my 1st real hot rod build, i built the engine my self put in mounts and the rear all in about 2 yrs,and ya i ran in to road blocks,and made mistakes, 1st advise i would give you is have patience! next is have a plan,do you want a nice cruiser to drive around town or take a trip to the Nats with? or you want drag racing at English town,? or like mine just a fun little ride with some muscle when a mustang pulls along side? that will determine how much work you gonna need to do....i have a 10 bolt ,8.2 posi out of a 69 firebird in mine , pretty much any rear with a 58 inch to 60 inch width should fit, and when i first built it i used the stock springs,....lol ,i replaced them finely last month, along with the shocks and added a 3rd member Waltons rear shock mount, of coarse the rear spring were pretty much gone a year after i got the car on the road with the v8 in it.oh and i had air shocks in it back in the day,...fyi these are a mistake, i got on the throttle one day hard and put a shock thru the floor of the trunk, dont use air shocks,i replaced my springs with a stock replacements from National chevy asso. and been driving her sense with no problems.so when it comes to the budget, have patience and and save your pennys you can do the car in steps and still have it drive-able...just dont make the mistakes i did,...lol
hahahaha ....well if he shows up i guess he will have some reading material!!...his post showed up when i logged in i thought it was recent....oh well....lol
Has happened to me more times than I to care to admit. Get caught up in the question and forget to look at the date. Ray
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