I recently picked up a '61 Pontiac bubbletp with a 389 and an automatic. I don't have a whole lot of experience with pre-65 pontiacs and I was wondering if anyone knew if I could bolt a late 60's turbo 400 up to this engine and what would have to be done to do so.
With an adapter, the early Pontiac starters bolted to the bellhousing the later ones bolted to the block
Not without a tranny adapter...In 1964 the bolt pattern changed and the starter was attached to the block in '65....some 64 blocks are drilled for the block-mounted starter also.
Who sells the adapter?? Will a flexplate compatible with the turbo 400 bolt up to the earlier 389 crank?
There are a few companies out there Nunzi I am pretty sure has one, Bendtsens is another and there was another that escapes me at the moment,I am pretty sure it's Wilcap.
You could check with Brad at Fabcraft: http://www.fabcraftmetalworks.com/ He's big with Pontiac oddball parts. You could also check with Butler Performance.
i put a berdsen adapter on my 1962 catalina and kit included flexpate and starter i use a chevy th 700 trans but adapter is drilled for bop battern allso.there is a good magazine article on berndsen homepage allso a 62 cat
Which model is your car? Catalina, Ventura, Bonneville? The Catalina and Ventura transmission tunnel was a little bit smaller than a Bonneville; in order to fit a TH400 you'll probably need to do a little hammering in the tunnel in spots to get it to fit.
You need a butler adapter plate if you use the 61 389 for the starter. that's pretty much it besides the drive shaft.
No. not sure about the offset but the flex plate for a 61 Pontiac was never drilled for a 350 or a 400 turbo torque converter. In 1963 Pontiac increased the center hole diameter of the flex plates/flywheels also. I'm told the crank flange bolt pattern is the same for all Pontiac V/8 engines. I've always wondered if a guy may be able to redrill a stock 61 flex plate [either a slim-jim or a hydro] to accept a 350 or a 400 torque converter...dont' know without trying. If you buy the Bendtsens kit, you won't need to worry about it.
Rocky, The Slim Jim had an actual flywheel with a cushioning center plate attached to it..I can't remember what the Bonneville Hydramatic had.
61-62 crank is not same as 63 and newer. trans dont matter what trans it is on. butler adapter you need to use 65 or newer flexplate(th 400-350) on my steel adapter it stamped berdsen as manufactuer. berdsen sells a kit with auluminium adapter allso.
I don't know about the e.t. predictions yet. We don't even know if this is a Cat or a Bonneville, that will be several hundred pounds heavier. Even a Cat street car will be close to 2 tons. Solid mid 12's with a low comp. 455 will require a 3.5 to 4.0 gear in the rear, and at least a 2800 converter.. Not sure that the o/p has this in mind . That being said...13 .90 's would be easily attainable ..even with 3.08 gears
Nope not a phantom just not very pretty to look at I guess which is why I never posted a pic. It's a Catalina. Really rusty but runs. The short term goal is to be able to run low 12's. After that maybe a straight axle. Don't know yet.
posting some more pics. Like I said the Catalina is really rusty so a lot of the sheetmetal needs repalcement. Picked up a set of VFN fenders off the HAMB and will get the VFN hood, doors and deck lid. I'll omit the front bumper. The car has manual steering and brakes. No A/C. Will retain the original interior.
Always been a bubbletop fan. Gonna take some serious grunt to get that beast into the low 12s. From your avatar, looks like it's not your first rodeo though. Great start & good luck with it.
oh thats nice ... i would freshen up the engine n interior and leave the outside the way it is ... IMO
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