Rebuild a 53 235 engine

My Belair has a 235 with a 3 speed trans and enclosed drive shaft. How hard would it be to put in a Chevy 350? I have a friend that willing to help me rebuild my 235 that has experience. I'm on a tight budget. What's BEST? All advice welcome.

 

There's a lot more to the V8 swap than some think. You'll have to swap to an open-drive rear, swap the tranny, cut the fins on the firewall, fab or buy new motor and transmission mounts, and a handful of other things. Not that difficult, but a lot more work than rebuilding the 235 (which can be a fun engine and IMO, even better with a just a few mods...split manifolds, dual carbs, etc.). If you're on a budget and want to get back on the road soon, I'd suggest keeping the 235.

You can always do a search here 'cause this subject's been covered many times.

Bryan

 

A 53 stick shift motor is a babbit bearing splash lube motor, only the powerglide cars got the full pressure insert bearings in 53. Id start with a 54-62 insert bearing motor if I was going to rebuild it. You could find a motor much cheaper then having one rebabbited