Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines 216-250 swaperoo?

whats the deal on this? found a 250 and auto. tranny out of a nova and wanna put it in my 49 3100. is this gonna require much more work than say a 235 which i had been looking for?

Dear Mr. Lee;

Yes; this is a lot of work and not very 'cost efective.'

I would look for a 261" engine, build the "Cadilac 6" or just overhaul & put it in stock. This will add a great deal to the overall value of the vehicle w/o any conversions.

A conversion to the later models (1963 +) doesn't do that unless a lot of time/money are invested. If you go 'that route' then you want a 292" engine, which makes the most power for the $.

Good luck, John M.....

what sort of conversions an i looking at?
motor mounts, what?

i know even with the 261 id have to move the radiator forward wouldn't i in lue of the increased size right?

id probably have to fab side motor mounts right? seeing where as my 49 3100 uses front motor mounts.
what about langdons stovebolt motor mount kit. wouldn't that cut down on the work?

Just looking at the engine, yes motor mounts will need to change. Either bought or homemade, you'll need to be able to do some welding before you're through.

What kind of budget are you on???

The other issue is the tranny. If you go with the automatic, you will need to remove the center crossmember and fab a new one farther back, and the rearend will need to be converted to an open driveline. Esentially, its the same amount of work as going to a V8 auto. setup.
Even if you stay with the original tranny/rearend combo, you will need to change the bellhousing, flywheel, clutch, linkage, etc... and still do something about that crossmember. I THINK the 63-66 trucks had a bellhousing with side mounts on it, which would help alot.

If we knew where you were from, we might be able to direct you to a source for a later 235 or 261...

okay, well aside from conversion and fabrications, which engine would be the better engine to build up? a 235 or a 250?

250.....

292 would be better....

yeah i figured the 292 would be.. but i never see those around for sale.

this probably won't work, i stumbled upon it, got excited and then depressed cause it says 49-52 car not truck

http://www.waltonfabrication.com/1102.htm

would it? im guessing not but perhaps?

There's a '54 235 on ebay right now in CA. It would be a direct swap with what you have.

what is the cadillac 6 mr. meredith spoke of?

would a '53 3100 235/ 3 spd. be splash or oiled or have full pressure

There are "universal" type tranny mounts out there, but will likely require welding of some sort. Some are "bolt-in". Try Chassis Engineering or RB's Obsolete Automotive or Speedway Motors for mounts. If you can't weld or can't find someone to do it for you, you're going to have a hard time restoring an old vehicle.

If we knew where you are located, someone may be able to help you with a lead on an engine...

The Caddilac 6 is a modification you can do to the later 235/261 engines to gain more cubes. It uses pistons from a caddy V8 and rods from a 292 Chevy six. Requires offset grinding of the crank. There is an article in a previous issue of the "12 port news" that describes how to do it. Tom Langdon did the article.

A '53 engine from a truck or manual tranny car will be the last of the splash oilers.

The easiest way I know of to tell the difference is to look at the drivers side of the block. The splash oilers all have what is called an "oil distributor" which is a protrusion that has a 3 bolt plate cover. Look at your '49 for example, it should have this.

well the guy i would get it from is from my church and is doing a 350 swap into his nova. and other people in my church weld so ive got help.

but ive about decided to wait for a 235 or 261

yeah i was figuring that about the 53

thanx

Hi Lee,
It's funny but I'm going through the same thing myself. I pulled my 216 out of my 50 Deluxe and putting in a 250 of a 70 camaro. My problem now is finding the right mounts. I would like to know if the mounting plate on the front of the 216 will mount onto the 250. Does anyone knows?

Dear Lee;

A 235" bored .125 =252 & your 'all set'.

John M......