Technical Odd Engine Swaps

Kaiser Jeep bought V-6s from Buick and installed at the factory. When Buick decided to stop making the V-6 Kaiser bought the tooling at a deal and made them themselves. When AMC bought Jeep from Kaiser in 1970 they ditched the V-6 for their excellent in-line six. Buick needed an economy engine again so AMC sold the tooling and design back to Buick for a tidy profit.

 

^^Yup, I have a 1967 (Kaiser) Jeepster Commando with the Buick V6.
Great running engines, but you need a hernia belt if you want to replace the clutch. The flywheels are incredibly heavy to tray and balance out the odd-fire V6.
All in all, a great vehicle

 

Supercharged SBC motor in a custom 50 Ford hot rod. Daily driver/surf transportation…

Versus this old bit of hot rod cruising:


Hello,

A long time ago, I saw a custom 50 Ford cruising down one of the main streets in a So Cal coastal city. We were both headed towards a shopping center during the Christmas rush, one winter. Then that custom chopped 50 Ford was seen again in the actual shopping center near some restaurants and it was unusual to see a custom car cruising in a vast parking lot.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/T3gS8iiAtFY

From that second sighting, that custom Ford disappeared from our views of old hot rods and customs all along the coastal So Cal areas. My wife and I always take a side trip to the oceanfront to see the waves, sun and folks enjoying the So Cal beach scene, during all seasons of the year. It makes life wonderful for us and our old memories of beach life as we grew up in So Cal.

Jnaki

Then one day many years later, we came upon a cool similar 50 Ford Coupe. It was parked in the same location we saw a local surfer get out of his cool old sedan to go surfing at a great waves location.

So Cal surf transportation in one fine custom hot rod... These days, plenty of room in the back seat for a modern short board.

So, was the new sighting of a supercharged SBC in a Ford Coupe a recreation of that old 50 Ford we saw years ago in a new better version? By the way it looks, the similarity was there, but something new was poking out of the engine compartment.

 

350 olds in my 41 ply.Been in there for 35 years and still runs great.

 

Ford 300 in a jaguar and a 426 hemi in a 56 T Bird

 

Here's one I just remembered. My buddy and I painted a 57 Thunderbird for a guy. He bought it at one of the big auctions. He was puzzled as to why the tune up parts for the "Y" block didn't fit. I looked under the hood and it had a ford blue, with all the correct Ford decals and correct air cleaner 350 Olds in it. The guy didn't know it had been engine swapped. He wasn't to happy.

 

Ford 6 cylinder in-line Diesel installed in this1938 Chevy p.u. truck.

 

Back in the 70's during the gas crunch a friend of mine put a Toyota corolla 4cyl and automatic in a full size 2wd nearly new Blazer

 

I met another guy with like a 68 Roadrunner with a Buick nailhead in it

 

56 Chevy 265 and cast iron Powerglide in a 51 Jeepster with the stock rear. Shifted half way across the intersection and topped out just over 60 mph.

 

Well, we'll give you "odd" for the '61 Rambler American convertible.



jack vines

 

Many sources including quotes from Ed say one of the 3 Ford FEs went into the '55 Chevy. But they were 390s not 406s.

 

I’ll quote something often mentioned here- Pictures or it never happened. The Car Customizing book only gave it a mention, no photo.

 

I remember a big block Mopar swap in a 66ish El Camino in a popular magazine back in the late 70s

 

The chromed 265 roth car was do***ented in hrm.

 

I was not referring to the 265 powered car, I’d like to see a photo of FE power in Roth’s ‘55 Chevy.

 

In the eighties I swapped a 440 mopar with a tornado six and a 65 2 Wheel dr so Jeep pick up. Great little shop truck that ran mid thirteens, one of my favorites…
Looked stock as a rock with its two tone paint and white walls.

 

Sure would like to see more pics of this machine! what intake is that?

 

Growing up my dad had a 57 Chevy pickup with a six and 3 speed. In the mid 70s I helped him swap in a odd fire v6 and auto trans. Ran that for a couple years. Then he built a 330 olds motor with a switch pitch 2 speed trans. With the truck gears and the converter switch in high stall it was quick off the line.

 

Then and now:
1962 Chevy Nova with 371 Olds, 1954 slant pan hydramatic.
1974 Ford Courier with 2.8L V6, C4 auto.
Current projects are:
1958 Renault 4CV with rear mounted Buick 225 V6, 1955 Pontiac slant pan hydramatic, Dana 20 transfer case, and Ford escape rear end.
1955 Rambler Country club with 374 Packard V8.
1957 Ford F-100 with Lincoln 368 V8 and Lincoln hydramatic.
1959 Opel rekord with 225 Buick V6.

 

let's see the rambler wagon pic!

 

Caddy 500/Turbo 400 in a 78 Skylark (Nova Clone).

 

Not that "odd", but may be considered "odd" that all three of my cars have swapped engine/makes in them.
My '39 Coupe with a 283 Chev
My '40 Convertible with a 303 Olds
My '40 Ford p/u project with a Buick Nailhead

 

Many years ago, I was wandering through a local U Pull It yard and saw a Corvair van off in the distance with a radiator mounted on angle iron on the roof with the hoses going in through one of the rear doors where a window used to be. It ended up having the performance version of a Pontiac Tempest slant 4 in it. At the time (early 1980s), you could have picked up a 140 hp four carb Corvair engine for next to nothing, so...????? It made me think of a scenario similar to "The Flight of the Phoenix ", like a bunch of guys were stranded in the desert and had to make a running vehicle out of it with whatever they had!

 

Its a 2 door coupe, not a wagon. Going to be really tight, but I believe it is doable. It already has a 4 speed hydramatic, so only need to change the bellhousing to an early Olds bellhousing and then an adapter plate and crankshaft adapter.

 

ah-brain went right to 'cross-country'-still sounds killer-keep the cont kit!

 

slowest Camaro ever