The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop age old tranny question

Quick question; will a 1962 stovebolt hook up to a T-350?

Not without some special adapters(as far as I am informed)
I do have a couple of stock Hydromatics for the trucks that MAY bolt up.
Contact me

[ 11-26-2001: Message edited by: Mechainiac ]

Well from what I've been told here and in the factory shop manuals of the era, the block and tranny came as a matched and numbered set. Not sure about the later 200r4's, if the tolerances were more foregiving. Believe the 200r4 hydramatic was made until '62, so more research may lead to a marriage :rolleyes:

The Chevy bolt patterns for the bellhousing should be the same. I recently had a '56 Belair 3 speed behind by '63 230, then took the 230 out and put in a 70' 250 out of a Camaro and the '56 tranny bolted right up. Later I put a turbo 350 autobox from an '81 Monte Carlo into the truck. It too bolted right up to the '250......So a t350 should bolt right up to the '62 stovebolt engine...
Now the crossmembers are a different story. You have to take out the front and rear crossmembers and add a rear tranny mount on the back member. (That's as long as the '62 has the same frame as a '63)
e-mail me and I'll send you pics of how I did my crossmember.

The automatic transmissions with the small block V-8 bellhousing bolt pattern, like the TH350, will not bolt up to a Stovebolt 6 cylinder. Your choice is the Powerglide or Hydromatic.The manual transmissions themselves will bolt to the back of the 48 to 62 stovebolt bell housing.

Tony is correct.
however, only the 62 and earlier powerglide will blot up.In 63,the bellhousing pattern of all6 cyl and 8 cyl engines were sort of standardized for chevy/GMC

Splash . . . were there two series of 200R4's? The only ones I am aware of were typically installed behind later model V6 motors in light trucks, vans and cars starting in the early 90's.

Okay I may have shot my foot. A little research turned up the following: In 1954, GM's bullet-proof four-speed Hydramatic could be had on all trucks up to one ton. The half-tons used the model -180 type Hydramatic and the LARGER TRUCKS were fitted with the model 200-54 type." Now I yield to someone with more expertise to tell us more about these units.

No, no direct bolt-up. I wouldn't try to put that old Hydramatic in anything. Very hard to find all the linkages, very expensive to rebuild, very bulky. www.stoveboltengineco.com has a "kit" with a plate to mount on back of your stovebolt engine and use later starter and flywheel/plate to mount automatics from 63 and up. It costs about $400 last I looked (Ouch!). Otherwise, pull it all out and put in a V-8 and any auto you wish and be done with it and faster, smoother too. Why does everybody want one of these old trucks and THEN want to change it all to a "new" truck all the time. I figue if you don't want to shift and go "slow", buy a newer truck. :rolleyes:

While we are swapping trannys...
will a 700R4 bolt up to a 77 Olds 350 block? Currently have a universal 10 hole T 350 behind it and looking for a little better milage.

Its my understanding that TH350 tranny adapter mentioned never worked too well and required modifications and still was a problem.Perhaps it has been re engineered.I know there may be reasons for an automatic trans in an old truck,but it seems every modified old vehicle has GM automatic. Maybe no one can figure out clutch linkage any more.

I'm going to get a lot of flack, from ya'll, since I just figured changing to an automatic would make driving easier. :rolleyes: How well does the old girls 4 speed work as far as being able to drive her at freeway speeds,(60) mph? I'm not used to having a truck with a granny 4 speed?

Driving with the 4 speed isn't that bad, you'll rarely use granny. The big player in cruising is the differential gearing, you probably have a 4.10 if you have a 1/2 ton. Swapping the ring & pinion for something in the 3.08 to 3.50 range will make a huge difference at 60.

Am I missing something here with all this talk about different trannys. If the bolt pattern for a '56 Belair bellhousing is the same as the bellhousing for an '81 Monte Carlo t-350 then why won't it bolt up to 6t2burb's stovebolt engine? It did for mine!!!
You guys are all talking about adapter plates, is this only for the ancient hydromatics? Which I admit I know nothing
about.
He simply asked if a t350 will bolt up to his '62 engine.... It did for mine! (ok '63)

62 was the last year of the 235 and a 63 was a new 230-292. They have a completerly different bellhousing bolt patterns.If you are talking V-8 then they are the same.

I get it now... the tranny came from a Belair with a stock 283...sssoooo the tranny fits my engines. Got it, won't forget it!

I think I understand the confussion. The '50s
'sixes' bellhousing bolted to the engine that was narrow at the back the same as the front.
The trans to bell housing didn't matter 6 or 8. The '50s and '60 V8s bolted the same to engine, and trans patterns were the same.
However, Chevy in the '60s changed the '6'
block in the rear with the wide flange so the bell housings were the same pattern to the engine as the V8. The same common trans to bell housing stayed the same.
If you want an six/at in an old truck, I think a nice set-up is the 250/at out of a late '60s, early '70s Nova/Camaro. Not too heavy, plenty of pep, quiet, little work needed on brakes and steering. They have
(I think) 5 main bearing so they don't shake
and can take the higher RPMs. You can paint them to look old like the original.

Putting a car tranny in a truck is ok? I was under the impression that the truck sixes are bigger and heavier duty as compared to a car six of same displacement. I know the six in my truck is larger than the six that was in a 63 impala that was staying here for a while. How can I tell a 250 from a 292 or 235? :confused:

Hey Burb, the 292 is real easy to identify.The front motor mounts are staggered, not in line with each other, the sheetmetal side covers are about 6 inches tall and the water pump sits 1-1/2 inches below the head gasket seam.The fuel pump is in the center of the block, not foward like the 230-250.The 250 and 230 have common block casting numbers,so look by the distributer for the code letters following the engine number.Someone here can probably decode the numbers for you.The 235/261 engines look totaly different, 4 screws on a rectangular valve cover, the newer 230-292 engines have a smaller irregular shaped cover.The distributer is in the center of the block rather than towards the front.The engine is wider and simpler or cleaner looking than the newer 6's

[ 12-10-2001: Message edited by: Tony ]