Mounting a 68 230 engine in a 1951 truck

I've just recently purchased a 230 motor from a 68 Nova and was wanting to know how hard the conversion would be. Also what path do I need to take to drop a T350 ******. Thanks

 

Either you get enginemounts on sides,or redrill and make fixture as in front on the original 216 cid engine.Also radiator needs to be moved forward approx 1".... About transmission....if you wanna keep the original 3 speed, you are in a need of a spacer to convert to the original boltcircle, or you can get boltcircle from the old one drilled right. ,and with a 350, change on the rear crossmember for transmission mount. Open driveshaft, and another rear end. Do a search, and you get many posts about the conversion, its similar as to the V8, only a touch longer engine... Good luck!

 

Thanks was planning on changing rear and drive shaft. Just trying to look into the build so I know what to do to start. I'm gonna remove original ****** and go with a 350. I read it will bolt right up with 230. Just wasn't sure about the mounting of ******.

 

1. here's 1 230 bolted up to a th350

 

Youre right! The 230 bolts straight up on the th350. Some 20 y.ago i did this conversion, and just cutted the "crossmember" at rear of trans, turned it upside down, and made ears on it to bolt it together with the "crossmember" drilled holes on the edge for th350 rear mount.

 

You should really consider not using the TH350 and use a 200R4 instead,it will also bolt right up and has a better 1st gear and the 230 won't be screaming at highway speeds and ****ing more gas because of the overdrive advantage,another advantage is it is slightly narrower which helps with clearance.Just order these next:http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Small-Block-Chevy-Engine-Mount-Kit,81335.html And: http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Tubular-Transmission-Mount-with-2-Inch-Drop,4219.html

 

...gotta 250 with a 350 turbo in my 48 Ford F-1 with 3:08 rearend gears, runs out real nice, great mileage, with a 29" tall rear tire. Lots of room in those Chevy trucks for a 350 turbo with a flat floor, no hump.

 

When you remove the crossmember that runs under the original bellhousing you need to do something to reinforce the frame in that area so that the weight of the cab won't twist the frame rails and allow the cab to sag over time. That is the reason you see a lot of AD trucks that look bent in the middle at the cowl.

I've got a thrown together mess using the stock 250 car mounts in my 48 with some stuck together mounts as when I put the truck back together in 1989 I intended to drive it to two events and then tear it down to the bare frame and build the frame for the 396 that I intended to build for it. Life got in the way of that. This time around I am putting a 292 in the truck and intend to build side mounts that will bolt to the pads on the side of the block and have a piece of square tubing running out to where there will be a corresponding piece on the frame that will hold a Ford biscuit style mount (Flathead) that the piece off the engine will sit on.

I drew this for another thread earlier today and understand that the drawing is crude and not accurate it shows how you would run the piece off the engine and it's relationship to the piece off frame. The actual mount on the frame will sit a lot higher than in the drawing.


I have to go along with Rusty 1 above, with the turbo 350 and around a 3.08 rear gear and the right tires that six will cruise down the highway thinking it is still in it's original home rather than in the pickup. You may not stay up with the big blocks in the club on long road trips but you will have the last laugh at gas stops.

 

Thanks for the help, that’s a lot more stuff that I didn’t account for in the original building plan.