GET YOUR POPCORN READY BECAUSE THIS WILL GET SOMEBODY'S PANTIES IN A BUNCH: So I have a 401 'Nail that's going to be going into an FED. It's in a really solid nice driver '62 LeSabre (think Impala with Buick sheet metal). I wan't to swap a Chevy into the Buick so it will be dependable and so I will actually be able to get parts for it when It's out on the road. Has anybody done it one one of these cars? My main concern is that I don't want to have to chop up the trans tunnel because it's a solid original car with a nice interior. The original Dyna-shit trans is a tiny little dude compared to the TH350 so I'm wondering if the tranny tunnel is tall enough to clear it. Anybody done this swap?
Hmmm SBC... nope I bet nobody ever did that before. Okay so now that I got my sarcastic remark out of the way... I'll bet it'll go right in with just a little massage of the transmission hump. When I swapped in a TH350 for the PG in my '63 Impala all I had to do was shorten the front drive shaft and beat on the underside of the hump a little, actually very little. Here I was all ready to give you shit for putting a sbc in it but sounds like you got a great plan for the old nail. Good luck.
The Buick and Impala are both x-frame cars on the same platform so I'm thinking that the floor pans/tranny hump are the same as an Impala which would mean I don't have to chop it up a whole lot. Can anybody confirm or dis-confirm this?
I put a SBC in my 63 lesabre. The oil pan hits the steering linkage so I shortened the pan. Also went with a th350 and had to have the drive shaft shortened. Also going to need a Chevy radiator.
You need to think in the box. Buick Grand National V6 with TH-200-4R. Or, if you don't have one of those under your workbench, a Buick 340/350 with the TH-200-4R.
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