I found this '63 wildcat and I'm gonna try to grab the engine for a future project. Do the old (like '53) manual trans bellhousings fit later blocks. Also were all wildcats 401s in '63? It's a 4dr sedan, so it's probably the lower performance engine. I looked around on the web and found that there were the 425 and 445 engines in them. Any way to make sure before I pull it out?
The bellhousing pattern is different, I think the break point is 57-65 are similar, and 53-56 are similar. Buick rated their engines by torque, so the 445 is the engine ft-lbs of torque. If the engine is a 2 barrel, it would be the lower torque rating 425, and the single four barrel is the 445 version. Any 401-425 (cubic inch size) intake will interchange, so you can put whatever intake type you want on that 63 401. That 63 will have a dynaslow, the turbo 400 trans came out in 64 until 66 with the nailheads. There was a post a couple days ago that discussed this in detail.
So, how hard is it to have a manual transmission on the back of a '63 or so 401? I can't imagine there'd be too many buicks made past '57 that didn't have an automatic.
your right there. the manual trans bellhousings are hard to find and general a bit pricey. there were aftermarket ones at one time though. i have an alluminum one for my 62 401 (going in my model A) that adaptes an AMC manual trans to the Nailhead engine. i will likely modify it (ie, CUT IT UP!!) so i can bolt a Tremec 6 speed behind my mill. stil looking at just making a steel one from scratch too though. i'll attach a pic of my aluminum adapter/bellhousing... Mike Brimm
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