Engine ideas

[RC3]

Been thinking its about time I got my 68 back on the road again.  I have a 250 strait six in it now and would like to keep it, but finding parts for it seem a lot harder now.  Been toying with the idea of dropping a 350 in it.  Anyone knows where I can get one for a relative inexpensive price?  My Bel Air needs some love and affection.

[Caster]

Don't know your budget but the little 6 banger can be made into a firebreather with the right setup.  Parts are available online, They take a bit of leg work tracking them down but they're there.  Stacy David made a badass six cylinder on Gears [tv show].

 

Headers, aluminum intake and a top notch head job are top of the list.  Ported to match, stiffer springs and a valve job by someone WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING.  

Nowadays, you can order pistons to suit, not to a specific engine.  All you need is bore size and pin location and Wiseco will make whatever you want.  You could throw a smal plate fogger for some giggle gas and get well over 300 horse out of the 250.  

 

Of course, for the same money you could get a 350 that would stomp the 6 cylinder into the ground....but come on...Small block chevy are like they're cheap and easy and there's one on every street corner.  Ain't you sick of seeing them in EVERYTHING?   I am.  BORING!!!!

[Caster]

I'm sorry guys but for a street driver, this is ten times cooler than your vanilla small block.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p3-cAJrLCw

[Caster]

This:

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ofy-5416/overview/

 

Plus this little 390cfm four barrel would make a SWEET street runner and if you keep your foot out of it, it'll probably get decent mileage too!.

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hly-0-8007

 

 

Here's a set of headers too,

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/big-11510flt/overview/make/chevrolet

 

 

 

 

 

Found all this in less than 5 minutes.  

Edited April 8, 2015 by Caster

[Murgatroy]

You can find a SBC all day long on Craigslist.

 

It is going to be cheaper and easier than hotrodding a straight six.

 

There are a lot of things to take into account though. New motor mounts, transmission, transmission crossmember/mount, driveshaft, etc, are just the start.

 

If you choose to hotrod the straight six, you will be unique and staying true to the car as it left the factory.

 

It is all up to you and your personal taste.

 

I could be down with either option.

[Caster]

What are you rally wanting to do here? Cruise around for burgers and chicks? Maybe leave a patch of rubber on the ground leaving the Dairy Queen? The six will do it and do it well if you build it right.

If you're wanting to run bumper to bumper with some of the other boys out there, your probably gonna want to drop the dime for a v8 swap.

[peejman]

Buy a wrecked late model chevy anything with the 5.3.  Swap the whole thing over (engine, trans, computer, ...)

[Caster]

Computer? In a '68???

Blasphemer!

[luvmyberetta]

Is there a "Pull-A-Part" salvage yard near you? They sell complete 6 & 8 cyl. engines for $150-$200 & even have an online inventory of vehicles, parts, & prices. Here's a link... http://www.pullapart.com/

[DaveTN]

Anyone knows where I can get one for a relative inexpensive price?

Define "relative"?

I would put a 350 with a 671 blower in it. They sell them here complete:
http://www.bigalstoybox.com/

[RC3]

Its the same bel air as the one on the photo. I been thinking of everything from finishing the rebuild on the 250 to dropping a 6.6l diesel in there. I will most likely keep it simple since a few years ago i ordered a really nice cast iron head from arizona. And dont feel like converting it to a automatic or a floor shifter. The three on the tree is really fun. Until you switch cars and keep cussing out the windshield wipers.

[RC3]

And if I do replace it, i will probably not modify it for a long time. This is going to turn into a bad ass cruiser. At least badass enough to put those crownvic boys in their place. And no, im not bagging it. But she will drop an inch to an inch and a half.

[raildog]

Put a B series Cummins in it or hot rod the heck out of the 6 banger. Good friend of mine has a fiberglass 34 ford with a turbocharged fuel injected 4 cyl out of a late model chevy it runs like a raped ape

[bersaguy]

I have heard and read a lot of ideas all the way back to the Transmission when it comes to ideas. No one has mentioned that if you go with any V-8 that 6 cylinder rear end will never stand up under it and you will be gear so low for the V-8 you will either destroy the rear gear or blow the v-8 for to many RPMS. If you stay with the 6 cylinder you will be far better off............jmho

[Tempest455]

I have heard and read a lot of ideas all the way back to the Transmission when it comes to ideas. No one has mentioned that if you go with any V-8 that 6 cylinder rear end will never stand up under it and you will be gear so low for the V-8 you will either destroy the rear gear or blow the v-8 for to many RPMS. If you stay with the 6 cylinder you will be far better off............jmho

 

I've put some much larger V-8's (HP/TQ) with six trans and rear ends. If you are not running slicks, not to worry.  :)

[Caster]

I've put a .060 over 350 on a 4 cylinder S-15 rear end. Traction was.....poor so longevity was not an issue. Far as I know, it's still going. It'd only be a problem for you if your car hooks up really good. If you're on a normal street tire, I wouldn't worry about it. Edited April 9, 2015 by Caster

[TNWNGR]

Rebuild what yo've already got with some performance add on's or just go with an older 327 or 350 someone else built but never used. Yep, people build a spare engine or sell a project car leaving them with an engine. Run an add in Craig's list and see what happens.

[Fourtyfive]

My son and I are building a BBC 454 at this very moment for his 57' Chevy truck. If you can wait about 6 months there will be a 350 for a decent price.

[RC3]

My son and I are building a BBC 454 at this very moment for his 57' Chevy truck. If you can wait about 6 months there will be a 350 for a decent price.

I wish. I been waiting almost two years. Its finally got to the point where i want to have this thing on the road. Screw the interior. I made a goal years ago to own a classic car and ill be damned if i let this one down.

[RC3]

Is there a "Pull-A-Part" salvage yard near you? They sell complete 6 & 8 cyl. engines for $150-$200 & even have an online inventory of vehicles, parts, & prices. Here's a link... http://www.pullapart.com/

I thought about a junk year as well, but its a much higher risk for an older engine.

[RC3]

Your current transmission should have the same bolt pattern as a SBC, if not a new bell housing is easy to find and install. And because the transmission is the same the drivetrain will remain the same. You will need new motor mounts for a V8 and possibly a new radiator depending on how but the motor is. If it is basically stock, with an intake and headers, the radiator in there should work. Add another $300 for exhaust if you swap to a V8.

Something you might consider that would be easier and cheaper is swap out the rear gears. It likely has a 2.73:1 gear set which is great for mileage but sucks for seat of the pants feel. Install something in the 3.40 to 3.90 range would really change how the car feels. You could probably get the gears, a positraction unit and get them installed for under $750.

Yeah. But that three speed will be murder with a v8. And the bell housing is removable and will mount to a t5 five speed transmission. I been toying with a ton of engine possibilities. Even though about mounting a quad rotor wankel in it. But i will be beaten and banned from the good guys car show. I also looked into a vq35 conversion with a six speed. As far as engines go, that engine bay makes the world my limit.
I just need to find something and stick to it. Preferably something that wont break the bank. And i am not wanting to make it fast. At least not for a few years. Just need her looking sexy again and on the road. Seeing her in the back yard pains me. That white is a real head turner too. Not to mention pissing people off when i fill up. Nothing like a gas door behind the license plate. Sticking so far out when filling up.

[luvmyberetta]

I thought about a junk year as well, but its a much higher risk for an older engine.

 

The reason I specifically mentioned PAP is because they used to offer warranties in the $40 range plus you can usually try the engine out. We used to take a gas can & a 12V battery with us & fire them up right their in the lot. Either route can become addictive & add up to a lot of dough. I have a '88 Ranger that I was only planning to do a little work on. A small block stroker & more mods than I can list in a week I'm still not done. (Being laid off put a hold on the project) Now here's where I'm at on it & still not done... http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3220092/1988-ford-ranger-regular-cab/

[Murgatroy]

Yeah. But that three speed will be murder with a v8. And the bell housing is removable and will mount to a t5 five speed transmission. I been toying with a ton of engine possibilities. Even though about mounting a quad rotor wankel in it. But i will be beaten and banned from the good guys car show. I also looked into a vq35 conversion with a six speed. As far as engines go, that engine bay makes the world my limit.
I just need to find something and stick to it. Preferably something that wont break the bank. And i am not wanting to make it fast. At least not for a few years. Just need her looking sexy again and on the road. Seeing her in the back yard pains me. That white is a real head turner too. Not to mention pissing people off when i fill up. Nothing like a gas door behind the license plate. Sticking so far out when filling up.

Having gone the three speed route with a V8 before, it is a lot of fun, but it tops out way to soon to be any fun for anything other than roasting tires. The fact that any form of rapid shifting locks the linkage up also take a whole lot of the fun out of it. Anytime you think you are going to chirp second gear with a really fast shift just locks you on the front track and you have to stop, get out and twist the linkage to free it. It can be pretty embarrassing after an epic burn out.

 

As for the rear end, I have run more V8 swaps on four cylinder rear ends than I can count and never had a problem. However, I hate a Chevy rear end and I hate c-clips even more. Unless you are out doing clutch drops with slicks on it, I am sure you would be fine.

 

 

 

 

 

As for all the fancy engine ideas, unless you are an electrical engineer, or a very dedicated mechanic, don't. If you don't even know where to begin with finding a SBC, you will never get a VQ, an RB, or any other super computer controlled engine to run. If you have to go new, just get an LSX with a standalone/swap harness and drop in it. Being unique is great and all, but it is also a really fast way to lose a lot of money and have a car sit in your garage for the next fifteen years until you get frustrated and sell it to someone else with the moon in their eyes.

 

Rebuild the six. Learn as much as you can. Learn so much that folks ask you the advice. Then you will know if you are capable of doing something absurd.

 

For the record I have been working and tuning on the same car for fifteen years, and she is absurd. I have more money poured into her than any man has a right too on a 25 year old POS Toyota. But I am also the guy that everyone comes to with a question regarding the platform.

 

So smoke, I am not blowing up your ass.

 

Experience and grounded reality I am.

[Mike.357]

I am not a gear head but I love cars.

 

That is not the car to turn into a hot rod.   I'd rebuild the stock motor and try to get the car as close to showroom stock as I could. 

 

That was a sweet ride the day someone drove it off the dealers lot.