Engine swap - just curious

[bezhawk]

I think a Cad Northstar that has been properly fixed would be a good engine in a Stude. The aftermarket bronze inserts locked into place, and an ARP stud kit would make for a good engine. The starter in the middle just gives you more room for headers! I haven't seen one give out with less than 200,000 miles on it. They need a better crankcase breather system, possibly a larger PCV valve would fix that. My Eldorado had plenty of power, and was silky smooth past the 7000 rpm redline.

[alpayed]

Here is a Z with an L28/p90, 6 throttle bodies , coil over plug ignition with Megasquirt EFI. = WEAPON.
The body has been strengthened by beefing up the chassis rails and lengthening them.
These cars fatigue and crack at the firewall with too much torque.

I looked seriously at the Rover V8 for my 60 Hawk but they are produced for 4WD cars and lack a good 4 speed auto option without a transfer case.
So the SBF won.

[studegary]

Wow! A 240Z that hasn't been reduced to a heap of rust particles. Shocking!

Seeing as this has become an engine-swapping thread, has anyone ever managed to swap a big-block Olds engine into a late-model Studebaker?

Probably not what you mean by a "big-block", but there used to be a 1953 Starliner with an OHV Olds V8 in it in this area. I lot of guys used Olds engines in this area, because Texaco Research Center, Glenham, NY used to scrap good Olds V8s and guys would buy them for the scrap weight price. After a while Texaco started to bash the blocks first before scrapping them.

[Alan]

Gord, I have done a few. In an Avanti you have to rework the pan or drop the bell crank pivot. But in a C or K it is just mounts.

[Noxnabaker]

Now you wakened something in me Alan... How do you drop the bellcrank pivot?
Do you mean losen it while working or put it on the underside of the balk?
The last would be nice if it's possible.

[Alan]

No, You notch the front cross member and lower the upper plate and use some spacers to drop the pivot housing.

[Noxnabaker]

That I can't see in my imagination, do you have a picture?
Interesting since I would like to lower my engine...

[Alan]

I will have to go to ransombucket and look for some pics.

[PackardV8]

IIRC, early 1970a - The Complete Book of Engine Swapping (maybe #2 or 3) has a feature on an Avanti which had been running as an R4, but it kept blowing up. The owner had Herbert and Meeks swap in an Olds 425" and Muncie 4-speed.

jack vines

[48skyliner]

It seems to me the easiest way to solve some of these engine swap problems is to install a modern crossmember with more modern suspension, brakes, rack and pinion etc. My friend Sean just put a Jag XJ6 crossmember into a 51 Ford pickup, and the hardest part of the job was extending the steering with a couple of U-joints to connect to the steering rack.

As for the front sump problem, modifying a steel pan is pretty easy, and you just have to reshape and extend the pickup tube to fit the new sump location. Of course an aluminum sump is more difficult, requiring TIG welding skills.



I think some of the later turbocharged 4 bangers are worth considering, with about the same horsepower as a stock older V8, smaller, lighter, good transmission choices and much better fuel mileage.

[Alan]

Jack, That was my old friend Bob Patton's car. There was another guy in the club named Ray Cash, that had just closed up his shop in Burbank. He went to work for Herbert and Meek, so Bob had them do it. When Bob came back to pick up his car, the R4 engine was striped down to a short block.

[Noxnabaker]

Thanx Alan, but I don't see the difference in hight, even thou I see the spacers.