The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks 235 to a Small Block??

Good Morning Friends!

I have a 61 1/2 ton 2wd with a 235 in it and I am interested in making my truck more useful in the towing and going department. I have decided to put a small block v-8 in place of the 235. I am curious if anyone who has done this can tell me the best source for motor mounts? Will my old 235's bellhousing work with the small block? I have a 4 speed (Granny Low) tranny that I would like to keep, I just want the small block power. Is there a good book or online resource for this swap? Thanks for the help and time!

Kyle

I will also probably be changing out the rear end gear ratio for something a little more highway friendly...

your shop manual should have all the info you need, the V8 mounts will need to be found used, just new rubber pads available ... need to get a V8 bellhousing as well, but common for many years and will bolt up your 4 speed - 3.38 rear gear sets may be available if you have an extra thou, but you might consider an OD trans, much cheaper

Bill

I did the 235 to 327 conversion in a 57 about 5 years ago. I found a 66 1/2 ton in the junkyard that had a complete drivetrain and got everything from the fan to the tailshaft, carb to oil pan for $400. Dropped it in in a day's time. What a huge difference that made. The 235 wouldn't do more than about 55 mph, the 327 would run along at 65-70 and was only turning 32-3400 rpm. 235 was DONE at 2500 rpm. I left the factory 4.10 gears in place.

I did mine on the cheap with what was available to me cheap. Ideally a 350, 383 or 400 would create more torque and about a 3.55 ratio seems to work best with about a 30" tall tire. A 26" tire would be ok with a 3.08 ratio. I understand that rearends are the same width (or close enough) to fit your truck through 72. Those are still pretty common here.

Devin

Is there a performance company that makes motor mounts?

i have the front "U" Shaped motor mount needed to install a V-8 in a 60-62 Chevy truck. pictures are on the way.

Is that for a side mount application or am I doing some sort of Front mount with that Ushaped mount?

Thanks for the pictures!

front mount, it bolts up the the holes just behind the inline mounting holes.

So the engine would be held in place by the front mount and then where it attaches to the transmission? That's different than the typical mounting way right? Aren't most v-8s mounted with an engine mount on each side of the block? Will any v8 work with a front mount?

it is held by the front mount and the bellhousing mounts,some of the 60-62 V-8 trucks did have the side mounts (but i have never had a pair of those mounts),small block motors will work with this mount.

I think Speedway motors has the mounts with the crossmember that runs underneath the engine to mount to the frame on each side . Go to www.speedwaymotors.com , if I remember correctly ? They also carry various other items of interest . Check it out .

Wow! They have all kinds of stuff! Thanks for the tip. I will see what they have to offer for my project.

I put a 305 in my 62, I used the motor mounts from a 66 that I have. I just bolted them to the engein and put it in the truck, marked the holes, pulled it out and drilled the frame and cross member.

62 - I have also thought about doing that. A friend of mine told me he did something similar. I think that if I cannot get a hold of the correct front mount then I will do that. Was it hard to get it marked and drilled? I am nervous about drilling holes in my frame...this project is gonna test my mechanic abilities. I want to do it myself because I want to have that good feeling when I am done and the motor fires for the first time

Kyle

Drilling the frame was not as hard as I thought it would be, I bought a new set of drill bits and a varable speed 1/2 inch drill. Start with a small bit and work up to the size you need.Take your time and use lots of oil.

Is it hard to align the eingine to the position that it needs to be and then drill the holes? I am worried about doing it wrong...

I bolted the bell housing to the eingine and then bolted the ruber mounts and bracets to the side of the engine. Put the hole thing in the truck and bolted the bellhousing to the crossmember then just sat the frount mounts down in the frame and front crossmember and marked it when I got it were I wanted it. Then pulled it out and drilled the holes.

There are a couple of options available if you are willing/want to retain the original bellhousing/crossmember mount.

The stock 60-62 V8 installation with a standard transmission has a U shaped motor mounting bracket with a single rubber mount similar to the 235. If you can find the bracket and mount it's a simple bolt in. I've never looked so I don't know how plentiful these are. It's shown on page 8-59 of the 1960 Chevrolet Truck Shop Manual. The downside with this arrangement is if you want power steering. A conventional p/s pump may not fit since it appears the U bracket would be in the way.

1960-62 trucks with an automatic transmission (very rare) had multipiece box style motor mount towers that bolted to the front crossmember and used conventional style side motor mount pads. I found one set in a wrecking yard 20 years ago that I couldn't get (the engine was still sitting on them). I've seen a few sets on EBay but they are rare and very expensive. I'm not sure if the rubber mounts are available, or if these towers (rather bulky) would interfere with a p/s pump. The automatic equipped trucks also came with a bolt in transmission crossmember that uses a conventional tail mounting pad. Should you ever consider installing an automatic transmission, you must convert to side engine mounts and use a trans tail mount crossmember. Every 60-62 frame I've seen has the mounting holes for this crossmember. There are 3 per side in a crescent pattern so it's easy to know where it bolts on. 20 years ago I went through over 50 trucks to find the one I have, and I have seen only one other offered on EBay, so they appear to be even harder to find than the motor mount towers (although the crossmember would be somewhat simple to replicate). Going this route also requires cutting out the standard shift bellhousing crossmember which is welded in place.

On my 1960 GMC I used 1967-72(?) motor mount towers with stock 67 style rubber mounts. The frames are different between 60-62 and 63 up. The height of the frame rails where the towers bolt on are shorter on the 60-62. I simply placed a solid steel spacer plate between the tower and the frame, then attached with grade 8 bolts. It's been years but I seem to remember the spacers being 1" tall. To arrive at the correct alignment I bolted the engine to the trans/rear mount, attached the motor mounts and towers to the engine, then lowered the assembly into the chassis to identify where the holes needed to be drilled on the crossmember and frame. This later style tower is readily available on EBay, and I believe there are also reproductions.

Side motor mounts along with the original bellhousing trans mount should result in an incredibly strong setup. The beauty of retaining the bellhousing mount is that the transmission can be pulled in minutes by simply removing the driveshaft, and the tin clutch cover under the bellhousing allows easy access for clutch replacement.

Classic Performance offers tubular engine towers, but they are 63-72 only. I called quite a while ago and asked if/when they were going to release a 60-62 version and was told it was not under consideration.

Hope this helps.

When it comes to drilling the holes, do yourself a favor and get a set of step drills. Harbor Freight has inexpensive titanium nitride coated sets that work great. These are essentially double flute cutters more than drill bits and go through sheetmetal like you can't believe until you use them. They cut clean holes and don't chip on the edges like conventional drill bits.

Just drill a pilot hole with a regular drill bit then switch to the step drill, go slow and keep going until you reach the size you want. It also saves a lot of time and effort changing bits. I've been using my set for over a year on metal up to 1/8" thick and they still work great.