Inliners International Forums General Discussion Hi Performance 350 Swap

Ok guys I posted on here a while ago asking about 6 cylinder perfomance. Since than I have decided to go with a 350ci engine swap occuring this winter. I have some tecnical issues to work out in the mean time.

The current engine is a 250 I6 with a Powerglide attached to it. I have a Turbo 400 in good shape also in my garage. If I keep the powerglide and attach it to the 350, will it be able to take this abuse?

I mean, switching to a Turbo 400 would cost me a lot more money.....new driveshaft, cableing, mounts, speedo gear...etc. As well as a sh*tload of work in my opinon.

So I would rather simply unbolt the 250 I6 from the tranny and take it out and drop in the 350 and bolt it up to the old powerglide.

So I need to know:

Can I use the powerglide and how can I make it take more abuse.

The engine I am building (1970's Chevy 350ci) will have about 400hp and 420 ftlbs trq. at the flywheel, can my powerglide take this?

Cheers Thanks a lot.........Steve

We Don't do the Vthing here But Yeah the glide was behind many Vthings Good luck cya.And you may find you'll get better/more answers Over on Steve's nova site.

To get 400HP from a 350 you'll have to run a cam that won't like the stock stall in the 'glide. If you want to keep the 'glide, go for a mild cam that makes good torque at low stall speed.

Dear Steve;

The Turbo 400 is the one for a high HP V8 + you have one.

Walt is correct. The PG has/is used for drag racing but costs several hundred (in parts) to make strong enough.

Like Larry said too, "we are inliners".

Good luck.

Your posts do not mention where you are from, but there are probably several local Inliners who be glad to get the 250 out of your garage.

I would not expect the stock PG to hold up to 420 lbs torque. You are either going to need to spend money for the 400 install or a serious rebuild of the PG.

i once had an aluminum-case Powerglide behind a full-out 348 v-thing in a '37 Chevrolet pickup, and i reckon the 'glide is strong enough to take just about any abuse a 350 can produce. i don't like automatics of any kind, and i should rather have had a stiff clutch and a close-ratio four-speed, but that 348 convinced me that what i really wanted for that pickup was a GMC.

That was 34 years ago. The pickup is long gone, i'm sorry to say, but i'm glad to say that i have the GMC in front of a Saginaw four-speed with overdrive, and i wouldn't trade that combination for a whole warehouse full of v-things. If you've seen one, you've seen them all; if you've heard one, you've heard them all; if you've driven one, you've driven them all. (Driving with an automatic is not driving, but merely steering.)Every inline is unique, and the people who make them run well are creative and ingenious, because they have to be, and therefore they are much more interesting. i learn from them.

God's Peace to you.

d
Inliner #1450

AMEN Don.

I'll take the Powerglide if your not to far off. I'm in California

Well if your just looking for convenience, and lots of bolt on performance parts I guess you can't really say anything bad about a V8. The reason I prefer the inline is like it was stated earlier, you don't see a ton of them like you do the Chevy SB, and they just look so dang cool with dual carbs and such. It's fun surprising people with the sound and performance that an inline can produce. Plus there's just that whole ol' school feel and look to them that you just can get from a ... (yawn) SB V8. I won't knock them, cuz' there good reliable motors, but give me an inline any day.

Thanks,