Engine: Engine swap

[Farrier1951]

So a fella has two Hawks, a 62 with v8 4speed and a 63 with v8 automatic. If this fella wants to take v8 from 62 and transplant it into 63 what problems would he encounter? I have heard that the engine and automatic tranny need to be indexed, but I am not sure what that means. What else ? Both 289's. Jim

[StudeRich]

Much easier and cheaper to get another full flow '63 Engine to rebuild and dial-in and install than to ruin the value of a '63 with a '62 Engine, unless the '62 is a late one with the Full Flow Filter on the bottom.

He would have to pull the Oil Pan and rear main Brg. Cap, remove the long bolts from the crankshaft and replace with short Auto. Trans. ones. Then dial indicate the centerline of the Crank to the center hole in the Converter housing and re-drill the Pilot bolt (dowel) holes to mate the Auto. Trans. and Torque Converter Housing to the mismatched Manual shift engine.

Then what do you do with a parted out '62 Hawk, a pile of extra parts etc. ?
And when all done what have you got? A slightly better, also well worn Engine and Trans.?

A lot of work to save an old worn? engine.

[jackb]

memory lane. I did this exact swap on my 1st 2 Hawks that I owned. The 63' auto had what I think was a flex plate crack...tossed the engine. Simply swapped the entire drivetrain from one to the other. Swapped in the standard tranny/clutch stuff (direct bolt-on)...... and drove that 114K mile 62' 289 another 40-50K miles with simply the usual oil leaks. I think I replaced the tailpipe and battery.......

[jclary]

Well...if "this fella" is not comfortable with engine swaps or "indexing"...he could always swap car bodies and leave then engines in place! Or...front clips...that way, he could have a '62 coming and '63 going it's the morning caffeine again!

[Farrier1951]

Thanks Rich. Well the 62 is a pile of rust but the drive train is pretty good. Been salvaging parts since the boss wants it out of here. Guess I will hide engine tranny and rear end in the barn with the rest of the parts. Going to have some good doors, seats, console and complete dash and the like to trade I guess. Thanks for the input on the engine swap, not really experienced or qualified for that on my own. But at least now I know which engine to focus on. Have you ever had any frame straightening done? I was told by a PO that the 63 sort of goes down the road with a slant but drives and steers ok. Thanks again Jim

[StudeRich]

Thanks/Cut/Have you ever had any frame straightening done? I was told by a PO that the 63 sort of goes down the road with a slant but drives and steers ok. Thanks again Jim

Yes a Car will "dogwalk" when the frame is bent, but more often when the rear axle is not square in the frame, this sometimes happens from a rear end collision.

[SN-60]

Yes a Car will "dogwalk" when the frame is bent, but more often when the rear axle is not square in the frame, this sometimes happens from a rear end collision.

Not sure about "dogwalk".............but it will sure "crabwalk"!!!!!!!!!!

[sals54]

The engine swap you're considering is not as daunting as some might think. The only significant difference between the two is that the 62 has an oil filter on top of the engine, and the 63 has a screw on type under the engine. It would take some patience, but could be done without serious trouble. As said above, the rear bolts that hold the flywheel would have to be swapped out with those from the automatic. That does require removing the oil pan and rear main cap, but as along as the engine is out anyway, you'll want to change the pan gasket. Its a source of leaks on most Stude V8s. This would be the perfect time to solve that problem. Dial indicating the engine to the bellhousing is not real tough either. There are plenty of places here on the forum and in the shop manual describing the procedure. I bought a dial indicator from Harbor Freight for $10 and made my own bracket to mount it on the crank. A couple of turns of the crank and a few taps with a mallet will get the two lined up within tolerance in a minute. Drill the new dowel holes, and boom... you're done.
If the 62 engine is a good runner that does not smoke, it would surely be MUCH MUCH cheaper and easier than an engine rebuild. A rebuild will surely cost in excess of $2500.

Now then, why not swap in the entire engine and 4 speed into the 63 ?? All the parts are there to do it. No drilling, no indexing, just moving parts from one car to the other.??

[jackb]

....hey Sal...that's just what I did as per post #3

[sals54]

Hey Jack, Perhaps you could make a note or two on the ease of the operation. ? ? ? Naturally, its going to be a bit time consuming, but the level of difficulty is minimal, wouldn't you say??
I would think that makes a much more "fun to drive" package, eh? Plus, its easier to burn rubber with a decent running 4 speed that it is with a slush box.

[jackb]

..it really was a simple swap.....for me, I had spent very little time under any car at the time (so that should hint as to the ease of it all). I think we removed the hoods, marked all the wiring, disconnected the engine & tranny mounts-to-frame, removed the access panel for the floor shift....dropped it in and reconnected the wiring. I believe it was the 1st time I fussed with the square bolt heads inside the steering column when swapping the collars. I do remember it taking the whole day for the 2 of us with the hoist. OH....and did I say I was 20 years old. Minor point at the time, not now....

[sals54]

Good show Jack. As a comment on the note of you being just 20 years old when you did the swap... Ya gotta admit, tho, that we've traded great experience and wisdom for the exuberance of youth, eh?? Well, that's what I keep telling myself.

[jclary]

Good show Jack. As a comment on the note of you being just 20 years old when you did the swap... Ya gotta admit, tho, that we've traded great experience and wisdom for the exuberance of youth, eh?? Well, that's what I keep telling myself.

Just came in from finishing chores and checked the forum...saw this post. Got me to thinking (uh oh). One of you fellas with more energy than I...how 'bout starting a new thread about projects you've done in your youth you wouldn't do today. I suspect that more than one of us has done a job and screwed it up so bad, you wouldn't attempt it again. Then there's the broken down (blown engine) rod I bought when I was a teenager. How I managed to finagle a used car dealer out of an unbelievably built engine, use his lift and tools to remove it from the car it was in, and then install it in my rod...in four days...still hard to believe! I have a few other "just to see if I could do it" projects in mind, that I probably wouldn't attempt again.

Anyway...didn't mean to derail this thread...somebody start another one on the subject...I'm too tired.

[sals54]

John, That's almost exactly what I did when I got my Coupe running the first time. I went to the auto wrecker, bought an engine and trans out of a Lark. They let me use their cherry picker, the lift, and many of the tools they had there for me to finish the job. It also included dozens of misc parts I needed to make the changeover work. I found a good 12v coil, new plug wires and plugs, a 4 bbl carb and intake, mufflers, 12v wiper motor and so many other parts, I can't even remember. They let me have the run of the yard while I did the swap. My car was there for about a week. I would go between school and work and two Saturdays before it was ready. The guys there were Studebaker guys, so I think they were excited about me getting my car on the road. One guy had a red 55 President Coupe with a 53 front clip. A buddy of mine had a purple 53 with a 289 4 speed that was soooo cool. It had white tuck n roll interior. I was soo jealous.
I hadn't remembered that little episode till you mentioned yours.
But, yeah, I wouldn't want to do it that way again. I had to leave my car out in the wrecking yard for many unsupervised hours at a time. I never gave it a thought at the time. Now I would have panic attacks every day till it was home.